NFL 2012 Season Week 9 Picks

In case Matt wants to reconsider his Cardinals-Packers pick. The Packers are favored by 10.5 at home, and still haven't lost a game at home when favored 10 or more in 11 years. Also, the Cardinals, be it the St. Louis, Chicago, or Arizona variety, haven't won a game in Wisconsin since the Truman administration.

As a cowboys fan, you have to know how disappointed I am in so many things. One thing for sure is, there's a lot of wasted talent! But, when the stars align, this team can do some damage. Now that we're up against a great team like Atlanta, I have to sit and wonder if we're up to it. For Atlanta, aside from the NY Giants, no one will really challenge them in their last 9 games. If they're going to lose, it will be against NY or Dallas. I choose Dallas! {fingers crossed}

Not that their current 4 game winning streak has made them look unbeatable, but there is one point that seems somewhat significant. The Packers have put up 42 and 31 points against the 4th and 7th best scoring defenses in the NFL. So they've got that going for them, I guess.

over his last 6 games, Rodgers has thrown 22 touchdown passes or 3.66 TD per game (he upped the pace yesterday). If that trend continues, he's on pace for 47+ touchdowns over the final 13 games. Adding the 3 he threw in the first 3 games (in which he was obviously bogged down by having so many healthy players around him), that's 50+ touchdowns he's on pace for, depending on how you wish to slice up the numbers (since this method produces the most impressive number, I'm going with it).

to break down the race for number 2 in the NFC (I forgot about Atlanta, and since I'm thinking in terms of where the Packers might end up, I don' think they are going to catch Atlanta), I broke down the strength of victory of 4 teams fighting for the number 2 spot in the NFC. Here's what I came up with, with a number for number of wins against teams currently have a winning record (not what their record was at the time of victory)

Chicago Bears
Current Record 7-1
Strength of victory 24-36 (.400)
wins against winning teams: 1

SF 49ers
6-2
25-26 (.490)
wins against winning teams: 2

New York Giants
6-3
20-23 (.465)
wins against winning teams: 0

Green Bay Packers
6-3*
24-24 (.500)
wins against winning teams: 2 (both teams currently 7-1)

So the Packers still need to catch the Bears and the 49ers. They beat the Bears once already and lost to the 49ers. The packers remaining 7 games will be tough as 6 of their final 7 games are against teams that are currently .500 or better, and 4 of the 7 games are on the road.