Chicago/ Atlanta

Chicago: This is easier than it seems. If you take a look at the season so far for Matt Ryan, you'll see the Falcons have a tremendous amount of success when he's protected. In their three wins he has a QB rating of 127.0. In the two losses, his QB rating drops to 44.1 Ryan's also been sacked only once in the three wins and six times in the two losses. The Bears will be relentless at creating pressure on him to force the game to go through his hands and pressure is one thing the Bears can still do on Defense.

Miami/Houston

Miami: this is a tough one to call as you wonder how much prosperity the Dolphins can handle. On the other hand, they are a well coached football team that doesn't make many mistakes, so the other team is going to have to beat them as they won’t beat themselves. I just don't see the Texans being able to do that.

Detroit/Minnesota

Minnesota: the Vikings just gained a tremendous amount of confidence with their win over the Saints. Not only did they prove they can win a game without Adrian Peterson, they overcame some horrendous special teams play. Plus it's Detroit and until they win a game you have to pick against them.

Oakland/New Orleans

New Orleans: Oakland is A ... talent deficient for the systems they run; B …. going through yet another coaching change; C …. playing on the road; and D ... one dimensional. They can run it with the best of them, but their passing game has been beyond conservative. Sure they're trying to bring JaMarcus Russell along slowly, but teams are going take the same approach they did with the Vikings when Jackson was at QB … force the game to go through the QB's hands. No amount of home cooking is going to help JaMarcus.

Cincinnati/NY Jets

NYJ: Be weary of a team coming off a bye after a big win. They could be rested or rusty, depending on the approach over the last two weeks after that 56-35 drubbing of the Cardinals. Still not sure what to think about that offense in Cincy and I'm even more concerned considering they've turned to a back that has been sitting at home for three months out of football. One would think their pass defense would keep them in the game, but looking further into it, the only reason their pass defense is any good is because people run all over them to the tune of 171 yards a game, which in turns leaves that defense on the field for an extra six minutes a game.

Carolina/Tampa Bay

Carolina: The Panthers can run it, their offensive tackles are healthy, Steve Smith is back to being unstoppable and nobody gets less for throwing it more than the Bucs. Should be a defensive battle as I don't foresee either team putting up huge offensive numbers. It will ultimately come down the QB who makes the least amount of mistakes and I'll take Jake Delhomme over the Garcia/Griese combo.

St. Louis/Washington

Washington: These are those typical trap games. Everyone has been saying how good the ‘Skins are and rightfully so. They should walk all over this team. Washington is riding the roller coaster to the top while the Rams are in a free fall. Guarding against a schedule of opponents who are a combined 1-11 the next three weeks should be the ‘Skins biggest challenge.

Jacksonville/Denver

Denver: The Jags just can't put the same formula they used last year together again. That conservative style of play continues to keep them in games as they've yet to lose by more than a touchdown, but you’re going to need more than being conservative to beat the Broncos as they score 30 a game. While the Broncos pass D is surprisingly suspect, considering they have Dre Bly and Champ Bailey on the corners, Jacksonville doesn't have the game plan or man power to take advantage of that.

Dallas/Arizona

Dallas: This, like most Dallas games this year, should be a shootout. They can score but they can't stop anyone. Unfortunately, the same can be said for the Cardinals. Only problem is Arizona’s even worse at stopping people.

Philadelphia/San Francisco

San Fran: The Eagles, and more importantly Donovan McNabb, can be embarrassed all they want. The problem is that their offense is built around two people, McNabb and Westbrook and Westbrook is banged up, with the only other threat being DeSean Jackson. Look for the Niners to take him away and force the ball elsewhere. If Westbrook can play a full game, the Eagles win. I'm going to assume that he won’t make it through the entire game.

Green Bay/Seattle

Seattle: Everyone was bubbling over with optimism on how the Brett Favre era wasn't going to be missed. Sure Rodgers has played great, but the rest of the team is struggling. Ryan Grant has yet to crack a 100 yards rushing in a game, and is averaging less than three yards a carry over the past four weeks. To make matters worse, the defense has fallen off the map over the last three games, while Seattle's struggles were due to healthy bodies, and they're getting healthy so I like the Seahawks.

New England/San Diego

NE: At the end of the day to win in this game you need your studs to perform, and to date LaDainian Tomlinson hasn't performed, be it the toe or whatever he has. To get going, this team needs him. Rivers can throw all the touchdowns he wants through the air, but if they can't run it they can't win and I assure you the Pats know this as well.

NY Giants/Cleveland

NYG: The Giants are arguably one of the top five teams in the league and the Browns are one of the bottom five at the moment. I don't see either one of those things changing this week. Might be time for the Brady Quinn experience in Cleveland as the Giants will get after Derek Anderson this week, and until he starts to perform they aren't going to win many games with that running game of theirs.