Blanco breaks through for a great Week 8

After a scary couple of weeks in the sporting world, some of the things that enthusiasts term as the norm have returned to make things all nice and cozy again. The New England Patriots were proven to be mortal, Brett Favre and the Packers look like a good team again, and Rich Brooks once again had the lowest number of correct picks—ah, sweet relief.

In keeping with the ever changing trend of the National Football League, several teams showed why the games are not decided by the match ups on paper. Take the Kansas City Chiefs for example. After floundering through the first few weeks of the season, the team with the most prolific running attack in the 2003-04 season has finally returned to send chills down the spines of opposing defensive coordinators.

A week after lambasting the Atlanta Falcons with eight rushing touchdowns, the Chiefs returned in corral the Indianapolis Colts in a 45-35 victory. What is with this team? All year they have played about as poorly as can be, only to score more points in the last two weeks than the Dolphins, Redskins, and Panthers have all season.

The Chiefs were not the only team to upset the competition, but their win came in the friendly confines of Arrowhead Stadium. The N.Y, football Giants marched into the Metrodome and took a “W” away from Daunte Culpepper, Randy Moss, and Ontario Smith. The Falcons flew into Mile High to down Denver, and the San Francisco 49ers took to the Bears in the windy city.

All of those games had football experts wondering how in the heck such things were able to happen, with the exception of the Niner’s game—nobody really cared what these two bottom feeders had to offer on Sunday night. I read somewhere that the ESPN announcers left in the third quarter to get some coffee and nobody noticed.

While the pro’s don’t have all of the answers, our local prognosticators William Hunter, John Blanco, Richard Brooks, Jennifer Lee, and Jimmy “Big Tuna” Sablan have returned to explain the world of football-Dr. Phil style.

The current overall leader made it to the top spot by going out on a limb by picking three games differently from the rest of the pack. By picking Arizona, Kansas City, and Houston, Jennifer Lee went 2-of-3 to edge ahead of former leader Will Hunter with a 9-5 week. Lee is 64-36 on the season, while Hunter is right behind at 63-37, and they have a little bit of breathing room at the top. Last weeks most successful NFL guru was John Blanco, at 10-4. The former CFL Predator made it to the high ground by improving his overall record to 59-41—good enough for a third place tie with the Big Tuna. Brooks is still in the cellar, but half way through the season, his picks aren’t half-bad. Actually, they are exactly half-bad at 50-50.

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Will- My pick of the week has to go to Indianapolis. Although the Colt’s secondary is suspect to Culpepper and his air attack, I believe that Peyton Manning will rack up enough air miles to bring them a win.

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John-My pick of the week is the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nothing is more annoying then watching a multi-million dollar player cry about not getting the respect he “deserves” in the League. A prime example is Terrell Owens. His whine sessions have become legendary. It’s time someone shut him up. I believe Pittsburgh is the team that will do it. Go Steelers!

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Rich- My “Big Daddy” sure-shot of the week is that Washington will skin the Lions. They’re going have a sale on Lion-skin rugs in D.C. on Monday—maybe “The Donald” can stop on down to get a new piece of dead animal to put on his head. I guess the upset of the week would have to be New England—what a run of wins they had. As the saying goes—all things must come to an end. Though they took one on the chin against the Steelers, they will repeat in the “BIG GAME” this year.

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Jenn- My best bet is Indianapolis. Minnesota will suffer another defeat as Peyton Manning looks to air it out all game. The Indy offense will be running on all cylinders. Look for Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne to score early and often on the weak Minnesota defense. Minnesota, always hot at the beginning of the season, starts its traditional fall from the elites of the league as Minnesota falls apart with Randy Moss sitting on the sideline with his hamstring injury.

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Tuna- My guarantee is that the Steelers will knock off the last of the undefeateds. They brought the patriots winning streak to a shrieking halt, and therefore, I look forward to the Steelers taming and plucking the eagles this weekend on their steely turf.