NFL Underdogs: Week 8

**raiders72001** · 10-28-2005 06:27 AM

NFL Underdogs: Week 8

By Ryan Stetson
Thu, Oct 27, 2005

When I was a kid, for some crazy reason I thought I wanted to be a dentist when I grew up.

Luckily, I pulled myself together, outgrew that first notion of employment, and ended up where I am now. Worked out just fine.

So I was listening to some NFL talk radio last night and it got me wondering how many of these coaches had always really wanted these sorts of jobs. A few reporter/radio personalities were yammering on about whether there was a correlation between NFL coaches and health problems.

This, of course, came up in the wake of the Rams? announcement that Mike Martz won?t return to the helm this year due to heart problems ? and likely, ineffectiveness, but we won?t go down that road.

To me, it was a moot point. Of course NFL coaching jobs pose health concerns.

I?m no doctor, but long hours, little sleep, and high stress is a recipe for disaster. But I don?t think there?s much anyone can do about it. Coaches know what they?re getting into with these positions and as sad as it may be, I can?t see them making any big changes to their schedules. They live for this stuff.

And can you blame them? It`s a tough road, but when all their hard work pays off and they pull out a big comeback win, it has to be a buzz like nothing else.

That`s where the word of the week comes in: momentum.

Whatever you do, don`t discount teams riding the upswing.

Speaking of moving in the right direction, last week I was sweating bullets with picks in one hand, while crushing the remote with the other. In the end, I was only an early Thursday push away from a perfect week. Didn`t even get any hate mail for a change.

No promises this time out, but I plan to ride this wave with a few other teams that have put the good foot forward and hope for the best.

Minnesota +8 at Carolina

When everyone was talking about how great the Vikings would be after trading Randy Moss and bringing in a bunch of spare parts for a terrible defense, I smirked, scoffed, and blatantly questioned their sanity. And you don`t want to know what I said behind their back.

The Vikes just aren`t a very good football team and haven?t been since camp opened this summer. Pull them into a taping of Dr. Phil and they`d mix like the Captain and Coca-Cola. They have some good players, but that?s something all together different from being a good team. Mike Tice is finding that out the hard way.

So why take them this week, after all of the shenanigans they?ve been through this year? Because if they don?t show up this week, they?re not showing up at all.

Just a day after the Vikes crawled back from a 17-0 halftime deficit to drop the Packers with Paul Edinger?s mile-long field goal in the dying seconds, Tice was already reading his club the riot act about this week?s game at Carolina. The players wanted a ?Victory Monday? ? the traditional day off after a win. No such luck, fellas.

?I don`t think right now we deserve a `Victory Monday,`? Tice said. ?So we`re going to go to work.?

?We`ve got to find a way to win on the road,? Tice added. ?And that`s the bottom line. Otherwise, that victory yesterday means really nothing.?

Right on, Mike. They have the talent to keep it close in Carolina, it?s just a matter of whether they?ll show up or not.

Philadelphia +3 ½ at Denver

Momentum, you say?

"I think it definitely can provide you with a little boost, coming off a bye week, to win a game like that," Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb said after sneaking by the Chargers. "That shows a lot about this team - resiliency. I think we continue to fight.?

Sure, it?s just talk, but the Eagles can take some positives from last week?s game. Firstly, McNabb made it out alive again and they stuffed LaDainian Tomlinson silly. That?s a huge confidence builder heading up against Denver?s ground game.

As good as Denver`s rushing game is, I don?t think they`ll be able to run all over Philly like they did against New York. That?s the kiss of death for Shanahan`s boys - Jake Plummer trying to carry the team with his right arm.

Chicago +3 at Detroit

There`s good vibes grooving in both locker rooms here, but let me get this straight: The Detroit Lions are 3-point faves at home to the Bears?

The same Bears club that has only improved since blowing out Detroit by 32 points in Week 2? Meanwhile the Lions continue to bank on a still-gimpy 36-year-old quarterback and a bunch of fill-ins-turned-starters all over the field?

I?m confused.

I know a lot has to be said about the implications of this game in the NFC North standings and that Detroit is really going to want to redeem itself after the debacle in Chicago. But the Lions` offense really has their work cut out for them.

Chicago stuffed Anthony Wright, a scrambling quarterback not unlike Jeff Garcia, and his very desperate Ravens last week. Baltimore may not be what it once was, but a solid win over the Ravens still means more to me than Detroit`s scrappy victory over Cleveland. If the Bears were ever rolling, it`s now.

Plus, they held Detroit to just 22 yards on the ground in Week 2. I don?t think having Garcia taking the snaps is going to make too much difference this time. His arm doesn?t scare the Chicago secondary, and he?ll need a big effort from Kevin Jones to open anything up downfield. Can`t see that happening, either. I`m grabbing the points and expecting a tight one.

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