This may not be the Windy City, but the predictions certainly blow

Quick thought on the latest, greatest must-win Vikings game of the season. Why am I hearing things like “I could see the Vikings winning big this week” from people who are paid to opine on the team and (allegedly) know what they’re talking about? Has past history really given any indication that’s likely to happen? Now I’d like to opine on sports for a living, but at the moment it’s merely a hobby. A lot of us like to think we’re smarter than we are about this stuff, arguing with friends about trades and draft picks, saying “so-and-so is an idiot, I can’t believe they actually put him on the air”. Most of us are full of it most of the time, we just don’t have anyone recording all of our stupid utterances and preserving them for posterity. The opportunity to look back on my opinions, crowing about what I got right and laughing about what I got wrong, is the one of the main reasons I started this blog in the first place; right behind boredom and the fact a lot of my friends tired of my whining and complaining via email.

But what give every armchair analyst out there the impression that they could step in for the guy on the radio is hearing statements like the one I just mentioned. I might not be a pro here, but I have been paying close enough attention over the last decade to realize that the idea of a Viking blowout in Soldier Field would be pretty damned unique. Anything is possible, but I would love to ask the guy what gives him that impression. A 5-minute flourish against a terrible Cardinal team? The fact that the defensive end who singlehandedly destroyed a much better Vikings squad at Carolina last year is now residing in Chicago? (If this game was at the Dome, I’d suggest handing out pairs of Bryant McKinnie novelty roller skates to the first 10,000 fans) Or is it just the stellar history the Vikings are bringing with them to town? I’d suggest renaming Soldier Field “Metrodome South”, but only if the South is intended as a reference to hell.

In the last decade of facing the Bears on the road, Minnesota has crafted a gaudy 2-8 record. The last one, 34-31 in 2007, could not exactly be termed a cakewalk, as it required 224 rushing (at the time a team record) and 361 all-purpose (3rd most in NFL history) from Adrian Peterson to get it done. You recall that game, it took a 70-yard kick return with a minute left to set up the winning FG, quite the thrashing indeed. Before that? Roll back the clock to 2000 and the high-flying Vertical Vikes of the Randy Moss Era (do I need to clarify that I mean the first one ?), which seems like a lifetime ago. Those were the days.

So to recap, one 3-point win in the last nine games, and getting it took one of the great individual efforts in the history of football. Seems like a recipe for a blowout to me, how about you? And sure, you can say the Bears had some pretty good teams during that stretch, great D early in the decade, went to a Super Bowl. But I will see that defense and raise you Jim Miller, Kordell Stewart, Rex Grossman, Chad Hutchinson, Jonathan Quinn, Kyle Orton (rookie version) and Craig Krenzel. Heck, even Moses Moreno might’ve started one of those games for all I know. Should’ve been able to manage more than one win on their turf, and that’s why I think there’s something more cosmic going on here. They may eek out a win, but a blowout? Don’t make me laugh.

Although I will say if AP goes for 361 all-purpose, I think we win handily. Just throwing that out there. Sometimes you’ve gotta be bold.


Speaking of reflecting back, we’re heading into Week 10, and most teams have half their season in the books. Seems like a good time to see how my NFL preview is panning out.


AFC West

San Diego
Prediction: 9-7
Current Record: 4-5

Comment: I said the early season slate looked easy, forgot that Norv Turner teams don’t starting playing until October. Guess we all have memory lapses once in awhile.

Kansas City
Prediction: 9-7
Current Record: 5-3

Comment: Loving this! The Official 2010 Sleeper of Loserville is making things happen, and the sked looks favorable from here, keeping the fingers crossed.

Oakland
Prediction: 6-10
Current Record: 5-4

Comment: Blinded by Jason Campbell and never even saw the league’s scariest running game north of Houston coming. Campbell’s been pretty solid too, but when every safety takes two steps forward at the snap, a lot of mediocre QBs can look great. Just not T-Jack.

Denver
Prediction: 5-11
Current Record: 2-6

Comment: Are who I thought they were. Now roll Tebow out there to get pummeled so we can put this whole “I’m a quarterback!” farce behind us and see what he can do at H-back next year.

AFC South

Indianapolis
Prediction: 12-4
Current Record: 5-3
Comment: Stormy seas thus far, but I stand by my initial assessment…well maybe a couple more paces to the right of it, but in the same general vicinity

Houston
Prediction: 10-6
Current Record: 4-4

Comment: Hmm, got roped in by the Houston hype again, felt good about this a month in, now not so much. Still, beat Denver, Jacksonville twice, split with Tennessee…and then you only have to get two of @PHI, @NYJ, vsBAL, @TEN? Yeah, maybe the playoffs aren’t happening after all.

Tennessee
Prediction: 8-8
Current Record: 5-3

Comment: I’m claiming victory on my Expectations > Vince Young take from the preseason, as he’s been missed games due to both injury and ineffectiveness this season. Sure he’s 3-2 and sporting a 103.1 passer rating, but he still plays from the sandlot “one-big heave” school of quarterbacking, as evident by his 10-21/253/2 TDs line last week. The Titans still haven’t faced Indy, and I think they’ve still got it in them to blow it.

Jacksonville
Prediction: 7-9
Current Record: 4-4

Comment: With how bad they’ve looked at times, it’s pretty jarring to check out the standings and see them at 4-4. My brain has trouble reconciling it, every time I hear someone mention them as still being in the hunt, I’m momentarily confused. And the I remember this is a bizarre year where the Parity Monster is running amok.


AFC North

Baltimore
Prediction: 11-5
Current Record: 6-3

Comment: Shouldn’t have lost last night, but still seems okay. Double the opposition’s best WR in the last minute fellas, free advice from me to you.

Cincinnati
Prediction: 8-8
Current Record: 2-6

Comment: Was getting bad vibes off them in the preseason, should’ve picked them lower, oh well

Pittsburgh
Prediction: 7-9
Current Record: 6-2

Comment: An excerpt from my preview: “I’m feeling a down year for the Steelers. I’m well aware that this is the pick most likely to make me look stupid though, they’re a scrappy team going back as far as I can remember.”  Sometimes, deep down, you know, but for some reason you don’t acknowledge that part of you that knows something. That’s probably about the time you start expecting the Vikings to blow out the Bears at Soldier Field.

Cleveland
Prediction: 3-13
Current Record: 3-5

Comment: Happy to be proven wrong here, next to the Chiefs and Raiders resurgence, a competent (could even call the dangerous) Browns team is my favorite storyline of 2010.


AFC East

New England
Prediction: 11-5
Current Record: 6-2

Comment: Return to glory? Check. Huge year for the Brady-Moss connection? Not so much.

New York Jets
Prediction: 9-7
Current Record: 6-2

Comment: Preseason quote #2, “Replacing Thomas Jones with LaDanian Tomlinson was a mistake in my mind, nobody ever wants Jones, but all he does is produce.” Also called them overhyped. Whoops.

Miami
Prediction: 9-7
Current Record: 4-4

Comment: MAKE THE EVIL VOICES STOP!!! “Very excited for the Chad Henne Era now that Brandon Marshall is in the fold”

Buffalo
Prediction: 8-8
Current Record: 0-8

Comment: Best 0-8 team ever? Technically not mathematically impossible? Yeah, I know, FAIL!


NFC West

San Francisco
Prediction: 10-6
Current Record: 2-6

Comment: Don’t think anybody saw this coming.

Arizona
Prediction: 7-9
Current Record: 3-5

Comment: Here’s to cheap Cardinals tickets readily available during my holiday trips!

Seattle
Prediction: 4-12
Current Record: 4-4

Comment: In my defense, they do suck. They just suck selectively.

St. Louis
Prediction: 3-13
Current Record: 4-4

Comment: Ceiling was low, what a pleasant surprise, it’s fun to be a Rams fan again! Here’s hoping they can take this crap division.


NFC South

New Orleans
Prediction: 12-4
Current Record: 6-3

Comment: Had them at 8-1 through 9 weeks, but the slate of tough road games I brought up (@DAL, @BAL, @ATL, @CIN) is looking quite a bit friendlier.

Atlanta
Prediction: 10-6
Current Record: 7-2
Comment: Convoluted theory of mine about blowing the playoffs in the final week no longer in play.

Carolina
Prediction: 6-10
Current Record: 1-7

Comment: They get a “meh” and no more

Tampa Bay
Prediction: 1-15
Current Record: 5-3
Comment: Dear Josh Freeman, I don’t watch Kansas St. football, and Bucs games were never on TV last year, how was I to know? But now I see the error of my ways and would like to say, I’m sorry. Your pal, Pat.


NFC North

Green Bay
Prediction: 12-4
Current Record: 6-3
Comment: Another team doing an impressive job of weathering the storm, right on track with 7 to play.

Minnesota
Prediction: 10-6
Current Record: 3-5

Comment: Murphy can take his Law and shove it up his ***

Chicago
Prediction: 8-8
Current Record: 5-3

Comment: Good one here. “This season will tell us with some certainty whether Jay Cutler is actually good, or if he was just being propped up by Brandon Marshall, we shall see.”  I still have no clue, can I say both?

Detroit
Prediction: 5-11
Current Record: 2-6

Comment: Yikes. “Matthew Stafford will suffer a career-threatening in Game 1 of the 2012 season” Doubtful he makes it that far.

NFC East

Dallas
Prediction: 11-5
Current Record: 1-7

Comment: Why wait until the postseason to completely fall apart? Many thanks for taking a bit of the focus off the Vikings season, otherwise it would be unbearable.

New York Giants
Prediction: 10-6
Current Record: 1-7

Comment: Feelin alright here
Philadelphia
Prediction: 9-7
Current Record: 5-3

Comment: High comedy here, wrong, wrong and wrong. “I’m a Kevin Kolb believer, but still think the Eagles running game is going to lack something fierce with LeSean McCoy as its top back. Just didn’t see anything out of him last year that made me think he’s going to get better, and if he can’t pickup blitzes in this offense, get ready for a lot of Leonard Weaver.”

Washington
Prediction: 6-10
Current Record: 4-4

Comment: Nailed it “Couple epic McNabb performances, he beats Philly once, misses some games due to injury, same as it ever was"



Won't bother with Super Bowl predictions, because everything is a mess at this point, even Vegas has a logjam of a bunch of teams at 7/8-1, no clear favorite emerging.  Getting to be one of the schizophrenic seasons in recent memory.  I mean if somebody offered you a million dollars to pick a winner, but the downside was they got to shoot you in the head if you were wrong, would you take it?  If so, how many teams could you trust?  Ponder this highly plausible situation for awhile, while I make my Week 10 picks.


Last week: 7-5-1
Overall: 52-47-3

You've heard of the Pros from Dover?  Well these are the Pretenders from Denver, two chumps who thought they could out-pick the master.  I trounced them last week, this week one of them got the better of me and the other tied.  Someone must've tampered with my thumbwarmer, it will not happen again.

BenLast week: 8-3-1 (Didn't pick the Jets-Lions, should probably get a loss for it, but I'm a nice guy)
Overall: 16-8-1

Brent
Last week: 7-5-1
Overall: 14-11-1

Missed the game last night, too bad because I would've won...at least as far as you know.

Detroit +3 over BUFFALO
New York Jets -3 over CLEVELAND
INDIANAPOLIS -7 over Cincinnati
TAMPA BAY -7 over Carolina
Houston +1 over JACKSONVILLE
Tennessee -2 over MIAMI
CHICAGO +1.5 over Minnesota
Kansas City -1 over DENVER
St Louis +6 over SAN FRANCISCO
Seattle +3 over ARIZONA
Dallas +14 over NEW YORK GIANTS
New England +4.5 over PITTSBURGH
Philadelphia -3 over WASHINGTON

There are 13 of them Ben.