"HAPPY FOOTBALL SUNDAY!!!!"

“Yes It Is.”

“YAHOOOOOOOOOO!”

One of the best things about football season is that, even though we are hundreds (or thousands) of Kilometres apart, I know where my football fan friends are, and it’s heartening to know that we’re doing the same things, together/apart.

I watch football because I enjoy it. That’s the same reason I write about it, and I hope that’s the same reason you’re reading this. I’m no expert. Players and agents don’t text me, and I don’t have any coaches, owners, or GMs on speed-dial. My picks are part observation, part psychology, sometimes part wishful thinking.

This week, as with every week, my needs are simple when it comes to the product on the field:

·         That the players and coaches get to decide the games, not the officials

·         That no one gets injured

·         That we are entertained

(Above: Maximus Decimus Meridius snaps when he sees a Jets fan in the press box)


This week, and for the rest of the season, we are missing the likes of Vince Wilfork, Jerod Mayo, Leon Hall, Dennis Pitta, Brian Hoyer, Reggie Wayne, Brian Cushing, Sam Bradford, Brian Bulaga, Henry Melton, Julio Jones, Dustin Keller, Mark Sanchez, Maurkice Pouncy, Larry Foote, Ahmad Bradshaw, Danieal Manning, Ryan Clady, Dwight Freeney, David Baas, Chris Snee. The game is better with these guys healthy, because they raise the level of competition (or, in the case of Sanchez, provide comic relief and make Jets’ fans suffer). Come back healthy next season, guys.

Happy football Sunday? Yes, it is. Yahoo!

49ers “at” Jags FC

Location doesn’t matter. Rain shouldn’t matter. Winner: 49ers

Cowboys at Lions

Lions favoured only because they’re at home. Winner: Cowboys

Dolphins at Patriots

Until the Dolphins fix the O-line, they’ll only beat bad teams. Winner: Patriots







Bills at Saints

(All signs point to) No Jimmy Graham. Bills’ defence is good. Saints favoured by too much in this one. I’d pick the Bills is Spiller was healthier. Winner: Saints

Giants at Eagles

A win against a wretched Vikes team isn’t enough to tempt me yet, Coughlin Mystique. Winner: Eagles

Browns at Chiefs

Imagine trying to play QB against a top NFL defence with the equivalent of a jet engine screaming in your ear. Winner: Chiefs

Jets at Bengals

“The Red Rifle” is smokin’ hot, Gio “Storm” corners like he’s on a rail, and AJ Green, he’s pretty good too. Winner: Bengals

Steelers at Raiders

This pick’s all about Terrelle Pryor, my favourite new player this season. Winner: Raiders

Washington at Broncos

Back to pushovers. Winner: Broncos

Falcons at Cardinals

Roddy White’s a no-go. Steven Jackson is a go-go, at least until he’s gone-gone again-gain. Winner: Cardinals

Packers at Vikings

This is the best the Pack’s running game has looked since Aaron Rodgers became the starter. Winner: Packers

Monday Night

Seahawks at Rams

Since the Panthers played on Thursday, would it be completely out of the question for Steve Smith to do a run-in and hit Janoris Jenkins with a steel chair? By the time the Seahawks are through with them, most of the Rams will probably feel as though they suffered a similar fate. Of course, no one in St. Louis will be watching. Winner: Seahawks

My wife, a big-time Pats fan, showed me this video of Tom Brady “miked” during last week’s game against the Saints. I’m usually loath to link to videos from the NFL website, due to the ads, but I recommend this one. Whether you love or hate the Pats, you should respect what Brady has done and continues to do for that team. He’s been given a tough assignment this season, with so many changes in offensive personnel, and he’s handled the situation like a champ.



Bills at Dolphins

I’m still a bit skeptical about the Dolphins’ offence, due to their seeming inability to run the ball or protect Ryan Tannehill. Miami needs to get after Bills’ QB Thad Lewis hard, make him uncomfortable, force some miscues. Should be a close one. Winner: Dolphins



Patriots at Jets

Give Rex Ryan some credit; he began the season with a team on the low end of the talent scale, with a quarterback situation no coach would envy, and he went back to basics of running the ball on offense and stopping the run on defence. Ryan’s counterpart this Sunday, Bill Belichick, has had different challenges. After the offseason purge of, essentially, all of Tom Brady’s top (consistently healthy) receivers (and that other unpleasantness), he began the season with a team loaded with talent on defence, and with deep running attack to support Brady as he acclimated his new receivers to the Pats’ system. However, New England enters Week 7 with an uncertain future, without its three key players on defence; defensive line anchor and run-stopping vortex Vince Wilfork, defensive captain and tackling machine Jerod Mayo, and shut down CB Aqib Talib. (Don’t get too caught-up in the Gronkowski will-he-or-won’t-he talk; Belichick’s saving Gronk for a playoff run.) This should be a hard-fought, close contest. I think the Pats win, based on their advantages in the passing and kicking game. Winner: Patriots



Cowboys at Eagles

If you’re looking for scoring, this should be the game you want to watch, featuring two teams that move the ball quickly on offence but don’t stop anyone on defence. Philly is at a distinct advantage due to its vast superiority on the ground. Winner: Eagles



Rams at Panthers

The Rams scored an impressive win against a Houston team that failed to execute in any facet. Panthers’ coach Ron Rivera has promised a new, more aggressive approach on offense (it’s like he suddenly woke up and realized that he has a dynamically talented QB, talented RBs, and a veteran, playmaking WR, and that offence should be proactive). Factor in a tough Carolina defence, and you’ve got an easy win. That is, if you trust Rivera. I’ll give him a shot Winner: Panthers



Chargers at Jaguars

The Jags gave a good effort against Denver last week. Back to reality. Winner: Chargers



Buccaneers at Falcons

Tampa may be a disappointment this year, but not nearly to the extent that Atlanta has. The Falcons began the season as contenders for one of the top seeds in the NFC, but now they sit at 1-4, ravaged by injuries, with virtually no hope of even making the playoffs. I guess I’ll pick nothing to lose against no hope. Winner: Buccaneers



Bears at Washington

RGIII is starting to run more and more as the weeks go by, which makes him a very dangerous opponent. Unfortunately, if he continues to be such an inaccurate passer, he’s going to end up just like Michael Vick does every season: injured. Chicago’s offence should have little trouble scoring points against Washington’s defence. Winner: Bears



Bengals at Lions

Cincy should be able to generate enough QB pressure without committing extra personnel, so they can devote more attention to not getting beaten by Megatron. The Bengals definitely have the playmakers to go toe-to-toe with anyone, especially with the emergence of rookie RB Gio “Storm” Bernard. Winner: Bengals



49ers at Titans

So, Jake Locker’s back this week for the Titans. That makes this game very interesting. Before Locker’s injury, his solid play, along with Tennessee’s vastly improved defence, made them force to be reckoned with. San Fran is in for a tough test this week. Colin Kaepernick has been talking this week about how Tennessee passed on drafting him in 2011. Between that, and admitting that he gets motivation by reading bad things that people post on Twitter about him, I think he’s got rocks in his head. That’s a lot of negativity, dude. Join a yoga class or something. Arian Foster can probably hook you up. Winner: Titans



Browns at Packers

The Green Bay offence is dealing with some injuries at WR, but Aaron Rodgers is playing really well right now, and it appears he finally has a running game to shoulder some of the offensive load. Winner: Packers



Ravens at Steelers

Pittsburgh’s defence looked decent as the team picked up its first win of the season against the Jets. The Ravens have a bit more talent, but their offence has been inconsistent. Expect another close, heated contest in another installment of one of the NFL’s most heated rivalries. Winner: Ravens



Texans at Chiefs

Have the Texans hit rock bottom yet in this nightmare season? They looked about as bad as a team can look last week. Case Keenum starts in place of injured Matt Schaub at QB, and he couldn’t have asked for a tougher assignment that the KC defence in mega-loud Arrowhead. The nightmare continues, as dreams of a Super Bowl must seem a lifetime ago for the Texans. Winner: Chiefs



Broncos at Colts

Forget all the hoopla surrounding Peyton’s return and Colts’ owner/town half-wit Jim Irsay’s typically asinine comments about Manning. This is the best team that Denver has played so far this season, and that’s the real story. Sure, Indy lost on Monday night the San Diego. I watched that game. Andrew Luck looked sharp, but the Colts had numerous drives killed by untimely and uncharacteristic drops. Maybe they were guilty of looking past the Chargers. Who can say? If Indy’s defence can get a few stops, Luck and Co. are more than capable of keeping up against a bad Denver defence. Broncos’ OLB/Cheating Asshole Von Miller makes his return from his too-short suspension. I expect him to have about as much of an impact as he did against Baltimore in last year’s playoffs. Winner: Colts



Monday Night

Vikings at Giants

My buddy Vince pointed out to me that this is, apparently, the worst matchup in Monday Night Football history. Both teams are playing so badly that it’s difficult to pick a winner. That Coughlin mystique makes me lean towards the Giants at home. However, they have so many injuries to overcome, Brandon Jacobs being one of the most recent (a big blow to their already depleted running game). Do they just let Eli air it out and go for the shootout win? That’s fine in theory, but they can’t seem to protect Eli and he looks lost this year. The answer here lies with newly-acquired Vikings’ QB Josh Freeman. Freeman is talented, but his game suffered tremendously as a result of the way he was treated by the coaching staff in Tampa. I imagine he must be feeling pretty spectacular being out of that mess. Winner: Vikings

I remember one Sunday, several years ago watching the Tennessee Titans lose badly at home. I don’t remember the exact score, whether the game was of particular importance in the standings, or even the opponent. What I do recall is that with plenty of time still left on the clock, the colour commentator (who I won’t embarrass by naming because he’s not bad) suddenly announced something to the effect of, “And the Tennessee Titans’ faithful are streaming towards the exits,” as the camera panned the stands to show just what he had described. Faithful is a fancy word sports journalists often use in place of “fans;” considering the circumstances, it was ill-used.

That game came to mind again just this past Sunday, as I watched Tom Brady lead his Patriots down the field in dramatic fashion to a late comeback victory against the previously undefeated Saints in front of tens of thousands of empty seats. Brady had thrown an interception on the Pats’ previous series, and when the going got tough, the “fans” got going. As the ball settled into Kenbrell Thompkins’s  grasp for the winning score I remarked to my wife, “And those idiots who left will swear they were there for the whole thing,” at the same time as Troy Aikman said almost the same thing on the broadcast (No surprise that Aikman and I think alike; we’ve both had multiple concussions, neither of us can stand Joe Buck, and, combined, we have three Super Bowl rings.)

The people who attend professional sporting events are a curious lot. They wear garish clothes, hold up signs, paint their faces, cheer successes, boo the other team (or their own, if dissatisfied), and, ideally, participate in a communal experience.

Oh, and sometimes, they are stupid, classless morons.

Week 6 was not a great one for the NFL in terms of fan behaviour. Besides the baffling actions of the Saints/Pats attendees (“I mean, Brady’s good and all, but what has he done for us lately?”), we had a couple of highly publicized instances of idiotic behaviour by the paying customers. In Houston, struggling Texans’ QB Matt Schaub had to endure an injury, then he and his teammates had to listen as people in the stands cheered as Schaub lay on the field. Meanwhile, in San Francisco, as Arizona Cardinals’ DE Calais Campbell lay immobile on the field, fans did the wave (Apparently, the 49ers’ players were so embarrassed that some tried to urge the fans to stop, to no avail.).

At times like this, when those attending these games exhibit boorish behaviour, the media shifts to its default axiom that “fan is short for fanatic,” as if being passionate was any excuse for cretinous acts such as these. I prefer to think of the more descriptive “fandom.” It sounds like “fan dumb.”

Thursday Night

Seahawks at Cardinals

Calais Campbell is expected to play tonight, though I don’t know how effective he’ll be on short rest, and he’s a key part of the Cards’ better-than-average defence. I’m also concerned about hobbled Larry Fitzgerald playing opposite physical CB Richard Sherman. For some reason, the Seahawks have struggled on the road this season, and I expect that this game will be low-scoring and close, but I don’t like Carson Palmer against Seattle’s defence, especially with his propensity for turnovers. Winner: Seahawks

It’s Thanksgiving weekend north of 45 (or, in my case, about 40km south of 45), and I have a great many things for which to be thankful:

 I am thankful that I live in a country where, as we in Nova Scotia demonstrated last week, I can participate in free elections to choose my government. I am also thankful to live in a country where a person can choose not to vote at all (even though I believe that that is wrong).

I am thankful that I have the opportunity to write this column, and I am thankful that people read and enjoy it (and sometimes give me feedback… comments always welcome… follow me on Twitter @GFHowie).

I am thankful that I have some of the best friends in the whole world. Seriously, I would stack my friends up against anyone else’s ( Some of my friends might even enjoy being stacked against others, kind of like human Jenga… who am I kidding… they would LOVE it!)

I am thankful for my two intelligent, talented, beautiful, daughters, who bring me so much joy and aggravation (but mostly joy).

And I am especially thankful for my wife. Words cannot adequately describe everything she means to me.

Now that that’s of of the way, let’s dispense with the sap. There’s football to be played.

Packers at Ravens

Looking ahead, I was feeling pretty good about picking the Packers in this one, but without Clay Matthews, I’m a lot less sure. I’m counting on Aaron Rodgers and his cadre of talented receivers to come up with a superior effort against a Ravens team that has its own division race to worry about, and will be playing hard. Expect this one to still be a game in the 4th. Winner: Packers

Panthers at Vikings

I’m starting to wonder if Carolina would do better if its horrendous coaching staff were kidnapped just before kickoff. They sure have the talent on offence, but it’s being stunted by poor decision-making on the sidelines. If this ends up being a tight contest, as I expect it will, I like Adrian Peterson to carry the team on his back to victory like he did so many times last season. Peterson’s playing with a heavy heart this week, and I for one will be rooting for him. Winner: Vikings

Eagles at Buccaneers

Since I have no faith in Tampa right now, and I know that Philly can move the ball, I know which way I have to go. Winner: Eagles

Raiders at Chiefs

Though I have openly expressed my admiration for Terrelle Pryor in previous columns, he managed to impress me even more in beating the Chargers last week in a very special “NFL After Dark” presentation. Pryor’s maturation process continues this week as he faces a buzzsaw Chiefs defence in noisy KC. Pryor is in for one heck of a ride. Winner: Chiefs

Bengals at Bills

Cincy, fresh from shutting down Tom Brady, face the slightly less experienced Thad Lewis at QB for the Bills this week. Now, in a very winnable road game, is not the time for a Bengals letdown/meltdown. Winner: Bengals

Rams at Texans

Here’s the cold, hard truth: Matt Schaub’s psyche must be so fragile right now that I would not be surprised by anything at this point. Houston’s defence should be able to overwhelm Captain Checkdown (aka Sam Bradford), but, if Schaub starts throwing touchdowns to the Rams’ gambling secondary, is there a point where JJWatt and Co. start questioning just what in the hell they’re killing themselves for? I think Schaub’s threshold for benching in this game is very low. Still, I have to go with the better team, playing at home. I imagine that this is what Texans’ head coach Gary Kubiak must feel like now, giving Schaub another chance. Winner: Texans

Lions at Browns

Any time you watch Detroit play, you get a real appreciation for how important Calvin Johnson is to everything they do on offence. Johnson is in phenomenal shape, plays hard, consistently wins one-on-one battles, and demands opposing defences’ constant attention. In Megatron’s absence from the lineup last week, the Detroit offence managed only 9 points against a Packers team that in previous weeks had given up 34 points to the Bengals, 20 to Washington, and 34 to the 49ers. Not to put too fine a point on it, but Johnson will either be playing hurt, or not at all, against a really good Cleveland defence. Also of note: for all his shortcomings, Browns’ QB Brandon Weeden has been really careful with the ball this season. Winner: Browns

Steelers at Jets

As much as I may dislike admitting it, that Rex Ryan sure is one hell of a coach. The Jets’ defence is playing extremely well, which takes a lot of pressure off the offence and rookie QB Geno Smith. At home, against a struggling Pittsburgh team, that’s a formula for success. Winner: Jets

Jaguars at Broncos

This game features the Jacksonville Jaguars, an NFL team, against the Denver Broncos, another NFL team. Winner: Broncos

Titans at Seahawks

Ryan Fitzpatrick vs. the 12th Man. Oh, and the Seahawks are pretty good, too. Winner: Seahawks

Saints at Patriots

Here we go with the “Patriots don’t lose two in a row” crap again. With the loss of DT Vince Wilfork, the Pats are suddenly soft against the run. Subtract DT Tommy Kelly, and the Pats are potentially heading towards getting blown out at home by Drew Brees and the high-powered Saints offence. Winner: Saints

Cardinals at 49ers

Arizona’s defence is pretty decent, but on the whole, San Fran is just a better team, playing at home. Winner: 49ers

Washington at Cowboys

I know what happened when Dallas played Denver last week; two teams with so-so defences and great QBs with lots of weapons at their disposal went toe-to-toe in a thrilling display of offensive firepower. Denver won, Dallas lost. End of story. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something. Putting aside all the jibber-jabber about heartbreak and letdowns and whatnot, what we have in this game is a Cowboys team that is in first place in its division, playing at home against a Washington team with a really horrendous defence. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something. Winner: Cowboys

Monday Night

Colts at Chargers

Okay, I believe. I believe in the Colts. I believe in their defence. I believe in their coaching staff. I’ve always believed in Andrew Luck. I believe. Winner: Colts

 

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

“(W)hen you start to count them out, they come roaring back.”

 “They look like a .500 team to me. Of course… that could mean that they start 4-8, win their last 4 games… win the division crown on the basis of the 10th tiebreaker, then run the table in the playoffs, thereby creating the most unlikely dynasty in sports history.”

 “(W)hen the season is on the line, (they) usually play like it.”

“That’s a lot of pressure for one team to handle. Sounds about right to me.”

“(They) made a huge statement last week… that being that they are still the champs, and that they can beat any team, any time.”

These are all things I’ve written the past two seasons about the same team, a team that has frustrated me perhaps more than any other when trying to divine the outcomes of their games.

Guessed it yet? No? Then here’s one more:

“A lot of people, myself included, have been waiting for the Giants to wake up and do that “Giants” thing they do, where they suddenly start playing like champs.”

My first season writing this column, picking Giants’ games was maddening; they’d play terribly, lose games I’d be sure they would win, then play a top team and kick their asses. In the playoffs that year, picked against them in the divisional round, NFC Championship, and Super Bowl. I needn’t remind anyone how that turned out (especially Pats’ fans).

Even after I picked the Eagles to win the NFC East last season, I still kept expecting the Giants to win. This season, even though they didn’t win last year, even though they didn’t look very good, even though they were rife with injuries, I still picked them to win their division.

I don’t know what else to call it, so I’ll just call it “The Coughlin Mystique.” I have complimented the man many times over the past two seasons, and I wrote in more detail last season about him. He’s a great motivator and a great coach.

So, even though I’m not a Giants’ fan, I find it a bit sad how low they have sunk. I’m afraid that in a sport where results matter, where memories of past glories are sometimes short, and where a no-nonsense coach wears out his welcome quickly when the wins are scarce, that this may be Coughlin’s last stand.

Which brings us to:

Thursday Night

Giants at Bears

Chicago has had some really bad luck with injuries on both sides of the ball, but especially on defence. In the past, this is one of those games where I would expect the Giants to make a stand, capitalize on a favoured team’s weakness, and pull out an unexpected a much-needed victory. In fact, I picked New York to beat the Eagles last week for these same reasons. I don’t believe in the mystique any more. Not with this team. They look like they’ve quit on Coughlin. It’s a shame. Winner: Bears

Abbreviated intro this week. I started a new job, and the CEO of my marriage had some yard work that needed to be done this weekend. Now I’m settling in for some NFL action. Should be a good week; close matchups, which made for some difficult picks.

Looking at the standings, I see lots of surprises. Who had the Chiefs at 4-0 and the Giants at 0-4? How about the Falcons at 1-3, or the Dolphins at 3-1? The Lions and Browns in first place, and the Packers, Bengals, and Texans in third? Not me, that’s for sure, but if you did, well, congratulations.

Lots of sports journalists did “quarterly” reports this week, something that happens every season after week 4. They gave out awards, explained what has happened with the amazing gift of hindsight, and made and remade predictions. At least one columnist declared a Broncos-Seahawks Super Bowl a lock.

Me, I’ll just wait and see. They’ve only played 4 out of 17 weeks, plus one game in week 5 (hence the title), so there’s a lot of football left to be played. I’m not giving out any awards or crowning any champions just yet. Let the rest talk about the NFL season’s “quarter pole;” it’s a tired metaphor from an outdated sport. Besides, it sounds too much like something you’d see in the world’s saddest strip club.



Eagles at Giants

The Giants’ have been nothing short of dreadful the past few weeks, and their defensive shortcomings make them look like sitting ducks for an Eagles offence which can move the ball on the ground and through the air. Then I remembered that the Philly offence hasn’t been all that great either. This is one of those games that always gets me when it comes to the Giants; I start thinking that they’re down and out, then they come back and have a big game. The biggest issue with the Giants right now, other than injuries, is turnovers; mot only do they kill drives, but they put too much pressure on the already depleted defence. I think Eli and Co. come through with a clean game, and New York wins a shootout. Winner: Giants



Saints at Bears

This shapes up to be a classic duel between a great QB, Drew Brees, and a QB with great talent, Jay Cutler, which I believe will stoke the competitive fire in Cutler. Despite all the talk about how great the Saints’ defence is, I think they can be had. Winner: Bears



Jaguars at Rams

Sam Bradford completes 40 checkdowns for 100 yards. Then again, his team is facing the Jags. That’s some excitement right there, folks. Winner: Rams



Seahawks at Colts

After going into San Francisco and thumping the 49ers, I’m sure a lot of people are thinking that the Colts have a good shot at beating Seattle in the friendly confines of Lucas Oil Stadium. They don’t. The Seahawks’ defence is a much better all-around unit than the ‘niners’, particularly in the secondary, which allows them to focus more on stopping the run. This is a bad matchup for Indy. Winner: Seahawks



Ravens at Dolphins

Miami hung in for a bit against New Orleans on Monday night, until turnovers put them in a hole. The Ravens offence doesn’t have enough weapons to move the ball consistently against a defence as good as Miami’s. Winner: Dolphins



Patriots at Bengals

The Bengals, suddenly in an unexpected dawgfight for first place in their division, host the Patriots at an inopportune time. Cincy’s secondary is banged-up, and Tom Brady’s rapport with his new young receivers, particularly Kenbrell Thompkins, is improving. Also, the Bengals’ #1 playmaker AJ Green will have to contend with one of the best CBs in the league, Aqib Talib, fresh from making Atlanta’s Julio Jones eat his words last Sunday night. Winner: Patriots



Lions at Packers

The Packers are fresh, rested, and healthy after their bye week, so now it’s time for them to step up and play some defence before their season starts slipping away. A loss to the Lions here drops them to 1-3, and would put Detroit at 4-1. If that doesn’t spur the Pack to a big performance, then I don’t know what will. Winner: Packers



Chiefs at Titans

Just when I was starting to come around on the Titans, Jake Locker gets hurt. Without Locker, and with Ryan Fitzpatrick running the offence, I don’t envision Tennessee’s offence being able to do much against KC’s defence. Don’t be surprised if Fitzpatrick helps the Chiefs out with a couple of turnovers. Winner: Chiefs



Panthers at Cardinals

The Cards squeaked one out on the road in Tampa last week, but the Panthers can do a lot more on offence than the Bucs. Carolina’s defence should be able to get the job done here too. Winner: Panthers



Broncos at Cowboys

I don’t think that Dallas can do much on defence to stop the Denver offensive onslaught. What I will be curious about, however, is how well the Cowboys’ offence fares. This is the best offence that the Broncos have faced this season, and I think that Dallas will show the league that Denver’s defence is not as good as a lot of people think. (Note: The CEO thinks I’m wrong about this one) Winner: Broncos



Texans at 49ers

I want to pick Houston here. There are plenty of reasons that I should. They’re properly motivated, being challenged for the division lead by both the Colts and Titans. They were humbled last week, losing a game at home to Seattle that they should have won. Matt Schaub, after having almost literally throwing away last week’s game, will be determined to be better. However, the 49ers are pretty motivated as well; they were beaten soundly in their last two games, and are already two games behind the Seahawks in the NFC West. There’s a difference between playing to win and playing not to lose, and I believe that that will be the deciding factor here. I can’t stand Jim Harbaugh, so I hope I’m wrong. Winner: 49ers



Chargers at Raiders

Nice to hear that Terrelle Pryor is healthy again. Unfortunately, Darren McFadden is out for Oakland. Philip Rivers continues to play well; not having Norv Turner around has severely hindered his ability to suck. Winner: Chargers



Monday Night

Jets at Falcons

Atlanta is reeling, already three games behind New Orleans in the NFC South, but they should be able to get back on track against a bad Jets team. Winner: Falcons

Thursday Night

Bills at Browns

Interesting contrast between the paths that EJ Manuel and Brian Hoyer took to their current places as starting QBs in tonight’s contest. Manuel, 23, a rookie first-round pick, won the Bills’ starting job almost by default when Kevin Kolb sustained a concussion in the preseason. Hoyer, who turns 28 next week, was not drafted, is in his 5th year as a pro, and has spent his career primarily holding a clipboard for both the great (Tom Brady) and the cover-your-eyes awful (every other starting QB in on the Cardinals last season). Oddly enough, Manuel has one more career start than Hoyer. Manuel has been brilliant, while leading his team to two victories (including a late comeback against Carolina), as well as erratic, as you would expect a rookie to be. Hoyer assumed the starting role for the Browns after Brandon Weeden was injured, and has played well in leading his team to two consecutive victories after starting 0-2. Both have given their respective teams’ fans hope that they have finally found offensive leaders who can turn their moribund franchises around. I’m certain there are plenty who would say that tonight’s game isn’t worth watching, but I see it as an intriguing matchup between two teams with potentially bright futures, especially if Manuel and Hoyer can live up to the hype and the hope.

This should be a close game. Both teams have plenty of talent on defence. The Browns are tough against the run, while the Bills have a disruptive pass rush. I like the Browns a bit more on offence right now; Hoyer has been steady, and he has a dangerous weapon at his disposal in TE Jordan Cameron, who has broken out with 30 catches and 5 TDs. Also, despite the fact that both teams are 2-2, Cleveland has been the more consistent. Even with the awful Weeden at QB, the Browns still managed to be competitive against Miami and Baltimore; with Hoyer, they put up 31 points against the Vikings then beat the favoured Bengals. The Bills lost to the Jets despite New York’s historically undisciplined performance (20 penalties for 168 yards), and barely beat the Ravens even though Joe Flacco threw FIVE interceptions. Add a stadium full of suddenly hopeful fans, and the scale tips decidedly in Cleveland’s favour. Winner: Browns