Do or Die Week

So this week is do or die for me for many reasons. Number one, the 49ers face a must-win game at home against Tennessee. In their three consecutive losses the Niners have fought valiantly (at least in the last two) and fell just short. But there are no moral victories and close losses don't count for anything but an L. So the Niners need to prove they can pull out tough games. San Fran really should dominate in this game but the Titans have Vince Young and just picked up their first win so I'm not sure what to expect from them. I'll take a W anyway they can get it.

Next, it's do-or-die for me in fantasy. I'm 5-3 and facing the 2nd place team in the league. I should be able to make it to the six-team playoff but for me to have any realistic shot of winning the regular season title I need to win this one. Speaking of fantasy, you've gotta check out the new show on FX, The League. It's hilarious. You want to talk about guys that take fantasy football to the extreme. The show is about a group of friends with differing family situations, who are in a fantasy league together and use it as leverage in certain situations among each other. In one instance, two of the guys, who are lawyers, are in a prison cell with a man accused of robbing three liquor stores. One is trying to prosecute the man and the other is trying to defend him. The prosecution lawyer says he going to go for the maximum sentence of 10 years. They end up making a deal to drop it to five years if they switch first round draft picks in their fantasy league, giving the prosecution lawyer the first overall pick which would be access to Adrian Peterson. If you love sports, sexual jokes and debuachery this show is right up your alley.

Well finally it's do or die for me if I want to be considered the Gridiron Guru anymore. The past few weeks have been awful so it's time to step it up. So here are my predictions for Week 9:

Eagles over Cowboys
If you checked out my last blog post you already know that I like Philly in this one. There's no reason not to. The Eagles are at home. Their offense looks better than ever. Dallas has the 22nd ranked pass defense. Dallas has received too much media attention meaning too much pressure on the team.Philly leads the NFL in turnover margin and we know how Romo doesn't take very good care of the ball. And last but certainly not least, the Eagles know that all the attention is on them now that the Phillies have lost the world series, and they need to prevent this town from exploding.

Colts over Texans
This is the most important game in Texans' franchise history. Pretty sad to say that when it's only Week 9. I've seen people pick the Texans in this one but I'm not buying it. Peyton Manning probably treated this week's practices as if the Colts were coming off a loss. Manning didn't throw a TD last week against the 49ers and the team didn't even score one until the 4th quarter off a halfback pass from Joseph Addai. I think the Colts offense is a little upset and I don't see the Texans defense being able to stop Reggie Wayne (who can) or Dallas Clark right now.

Steelers over Broncos
I've learned this year how important a bye week is for a team and how tough it is beat a team coming off one. Pittsburgh will have had 15 days off to rest up for this game. I think Baltimore exposed some weaknesses in this Bronco team. They showed that if you can stuff the run against Denver that Kyle Orton will sometimes struggle to beat a team by himself. And a quarterback that can avoid sacks and extend the play can beat this Denver D. That's what Joe Flacco did, and it's what Ben Roethlisberger is known for. The Steelers are playing the best they've played all year right now and they haven't hit their peak yet so look out for them.

I really hope that Steelers safety Ryan Clark makes the right decision and sits out this game in Mile High. Clark has sickle cell trait and the thin air of Denver prevented oxygen from getting to his spleen the last time he played in Denver which forced him to have his spleen removed. Playing in this game is life-threatening for Clark even though he's been medically cleared to play. There's no reason to risk your life for football, especially in the regular season. Just watch the game and support your team Ryan, you'll get your chance next week.

Giants over Chargers
I don't expect this Giants slump to last any longer. It's a long road trip for San Diego and west coast teams usually struggle in cold games in the eastern time zone. My advice for the Giants: run the ball! You're facing a 27th-ranked Chargers run defense and have a hungry Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. Run the ball down their throats and take some pressure off of Eli. If his foot is bothering him this will lighten the load and he can rest up on the bye next week.

Cardinals over Bears
The Cards are a difficult team to figure out right now. They win on one of those long west-to-east coast trips in New York and then forget to show up at home against Carolina. I'm going to take the minor upset here because I think the Cards defense will force Jay Cutler into some turnovers. Although the Cards have a -6 give/take ratio they have plenty of potential to force turnovers, as they did so effectively in the playoffs last season. I kinda hope I'm wrong on this one because I want the Niners to be in first. Keep an eye on Anquan Boldin who is a game-time decision for the Cards.

Fantasy Studs and Duds
Studs
Ryan Grant RB GB- Grant has struggled in this pass happy offense this season. But similar to a couple weeks ago in Cleveland, I expect the Packers to get a lead and go to the run if for no other reason then to keep Aaron Rodgers from being hit. I'm sure he's sore from last week and happy he doesn't have to see Jared Allen anymore in the regular season. I also like Rodgers to find Grant who's an underrated pass catcher, for a few completions.

Packers Defense- On the other side of this matchup you have QB Josh Freeman making his first NFL start for the Bucs. I'm sure the Packers are salivating at this opportunity. The Bucs have no dangerous weapons on offense so I think Green Bay will bring the kitchen sink at Freeman. It's very likely the Packers' defense will get a TD in this one.

Brandon Jacobs RB NYG- I've already noted how important it is for the Giants to run the ball against the Chargers. I like Jacobs to get his first 100-yard game on Sunday. Without Jamal Williams this Chargers run D is way too soft and Jacobs will take advantage of it

John Carlson TE SEA- After my fantasy draft this year I thought I was stacked at tight end with Carlson and Kellen Winslow. Turns out that the tight end position has killed me each and every week. I don't get it. Carlson has a great a rookie campaign and started out the season with a huge game against St. Louis (of course I started Winslow that week). If he doesn't take advantage of a great matchup with Detroit, then I'm giving up on him.


Matt Ryan QB ATL- After a season and a half in the young Ryan's career this is the first time he's lost two consecutive games. The Georgia Dome will be a welcoming site and a matchup against the Skins is even more welcoming. The Skins' D isn't a push over but I still think Ryan will have a very good game. Just get the ball to Roddy White as much as possible and let the man make plays. I'm sure seeing Michael Turner go off for 150 yards last week helps Ryan's confidence as well.

Duds
Tony Romo QB DAL- The ball-hawking Eagles defense stands in the way of Romo and I'm expecting Romo to make a mistake. Then the raucous Philly crowd gets in Romo's head...another mistake. All of a sudden we have deja vu of last year's debacle on the season finale in Philly.

Knowshon Moreno RB DEN- One thing that's consistent with Pittsburgh is that they always defend the run well. I don't see this rookie blowing up on such a disciplined defense. This will be a game where the quarterbacks have to make plays to get a win. And it's usually Correll Buckhalter who gets the catches out of the backfield.

Santonio Holmes WR PIT- Holmes has had a disappointing season since Week 1 and now he going to draw a good amount of coverage from Champ Bailey. I think Big Ben may look to Hines Ward and Mike Wallace, who's done a great job this year, more often than Holmes.

LaDainian Tomlinson RB SD- LT owners, please don't get all excited because he scored twice last week. He still only averaged 3 yards per carry in that game and hasn't gained over 71 yards in any game this year. I wouldn't start him against the Giants D this week.

Beanie Wells RB ARI- If the Cards are going beat the Bears like I predicted it'll be through the air. This passing offense looked poor last week and Warner wants to get all six of last week's turnovers out of his head. I don't see Beanie getting more than 12-15 touches against a Bears D that is good against the run.

OK its time to do, not die!