Answers to Week 9 NFL Questions

...Clement filling in for Pay answering questions this week...

1. In his disdain towards humanity, will Bill Belichick employ a 'vanilla' offensive gameplan to save plays for a possible rematch in January?
Belicheat and the Patriots obviously didn't hold back in their playcalling. However, you can't accuse the Patriots or Colts of throwing up everything in their potential arsenals. I wonder if CBS was foolish not to fully consider the success Marvin Harrison has had against the Patriots since Ty Law left. Joseph Addai was a man yesterday; nevertheless, the Colts 4th quarter execution, or lack thereof, did them in against the NFL's best team.

2. Can the hot Drew Brees penetrate the stout Jacksonville defense that has given up only five passing TDs all season?
Pay, and myself (in predictions), both wisely sensed that Drew Brees, Sean Payton and the New Orleans Saints were ready to return to 2006’s winning ways. Brees had a banner day (35-49, 445 yards, 3 TDs) in the air and was only sacked once by a typically suffocating Jags interior front line. New Orleans’ reward? First-place (almost) in the NFC South.

3. Will 'Dre Bly pick up right where he left off in overtime on Monday night and get smoked in his return to Detroit?
It didn’t matter what name was on the back of your jersey on Sunday, the Denver Broncos left Detroit 44-7 losers. What’s most stunning is that even with such a lopsided number, the Lions didn’t have a 100-yard receiver or running back. Ironically enough though, Packers wideout Greg Jennings burned the KC secondary for another game-sealing touchdown toss from Brett Favre.

4. This week includes many litmus tests. Which team(s) amongst KC, Denver, Arizona, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Seattle, Baltimore and Cleveland passes that test?
Let’s be brutally honest. Tampa won in ugly fashion beating Arizona. Carolina looked awful against the Titans without any semblance of a legit QB. Seattle blew leads the entire game agains a resurgent Cleveland team, and Baltimore was pathetic on Monday Night. As for Denver, well….they lost 44-7 at Detroit. Enough said.

5. Can LT break the century mark against the Vikings run defense?
In a word…NO. The motto the Chargers seem to live by (except “We never win playoff games at home”) has been: “we run the ball effectively and we effectively stop the run”. Outside of a 1-yard LT score, the reigning MVP only managed 40 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, Rookie of the Year phenom (and viable MVP candidate) Adrian Peterson rushed for an NFL-record 296 yards on 31 carries with 3 TDs. Quite the flip-flop in some fantasy owners expectations this weekend.