NFL Week 9 – Game To Watch Green Bay vs Tennessee

Green Bay Packers (4-3) at Tennessee Titans (7-0)

GAME INFO
November 2, 2008
Location: LP Field, Nashville, Tennessee
Time: 1:00 P.M. EST
TV: FOX

SPREAD
Tennessee @ home giving (-4.0). The Under/Over is 40.5
Odds come from Las Vegas Mirage a/o 11/2 6:00 a.m. EST

Green Bay is 4-3 against the spread (ATS) (2-1 as Visitors) while Tennessee is 7-0 (ATS) (4-0 at Home)
Green Bay is 5-1-1 ATS Over/Under (ATS O/U) while Tennessee is 4-3 (ATS O/U)

HOT ODDS TRENDS
Green Bay Packers
9-1 ATS in their last 10 games after allowing less than 15 points in their previous game.
4-1 ATS in their last 5 games in November.

Tennessee
7-0 ATS in their last 7 games on grass.
7-0 ATS in their last 7 games following a S.U. win.
7-0 ATS in their last 7 games overall.
4-0 ATS in their last 4 home games.
6-0 ATS in their last 6 games following a ATS win.
5-1 ATS in their last 6 games after accumulating less than 90 yards rushing in their previous game.

TEAM STANDINGS
The Green Bay Packers (4-3) are tied for first place with the Chicago Bears (4-3)in the NFC North. They are followed by the Minnesota Vikings (3-4) and the lowly Detroit Lions (0-7). They are coming off there BYE week.
The Packers are averaging 25 points a game while giving up 22.

The Tennessee Titans is the only undefeated team left in the NFL. They are 7-0. 4-0 at home and only 1-0 against the NFC. The three teams behind them in the AFC South, the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts and the Jacksonville Jaguars are all 3-4. The Titans kept their undefeated season alive by defeating the disappointing Indianapolis Colts @ home by a score of 31-21
The Titans are averaging 25 points a game while giving up only 12.

MOMENTUM
Kerry Collins has been asked to pass frequently in prior matchups with the Green Bay Packers. He isn’t likely to have to carry that much of a burden this time.

The Titans, who continue to get efficient play from Collins, look to remain the NFL’s last unbeaten team when they face the Packers on Sunday.

Tennessee (7-0) has been winning with dominating defense, a strong running game and sound decision-making from Collins. The veteran is averaging 28.0 passes in his six starts, completing 58.2 percent of them with three touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s gone five straight games without being sacked, and has been sacked once in 170 attempts on the season.

Collins, though, was asked to throw the ball more than usual Monday night against AFC rival Indianapolis, and went 24-for-37 with 193 yards and no interceptions in a 31-21 Titans win. He needed to put the ball in the air with the Colts using four linebackers to slow a Tennessee ground game that set a franchise record with 332 yards rushing against Kansas City the previous week.

“We can’t be happy,” Collins said. “We’ve got to put this game behind us and focus on the next game. I think that’s what allowed us to put this streak together is the fact that regardless of what happened the week before, we are able to put it behind us and move on to the next opponent.”

That performance, however, was still a far cry from what was required from Collins in his last two games against Green Bay (4-3). He set a career high with 59 pass attempts – which he has since matched – for the New York Giants in a 34-25 loss Jan. 6, 2002, and put the ball in the air 53 times for Carolina in a 37-30 defeat Sept. 27, 1998.

Those were two of the three highest pass-attempt totals of Collins’ career, but he might not come close to approaching that in this contest with the Packers struggling to stop the run.

Green Bay is allowing 141.9 yards per game on the ground. The Titans, meanwhile, have averaged 145.0 rushing yards a contest.

The running back combination of Chris Johnson (626 yards, four touchdowns) and LenDale White (327 yards, 10 TDs) has helped Tennessee score 30 or more points in four of its last five games, its best stretch since scoring at least 30 in five straight early in 2003.

The outstanding rushing attack has complemented the NFL’s best scoring defense. Tennessee has allowed 87 points, 23 fewer than Pittsburgh and Baltimore (110).

“Each week every team gets an opportunity to go out and play. We’ve had seven opportunities and won each of our games,” Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck said. “No one expects us to have an undefeated season, and that’s great, but we know every time we step on that field we have a shot to beat anyone we play.”

The Titans, though, will be facing a Packers team that has averaged 27.7 points per game, and quarterback Aaron Rodgers is healthier after a bye week. Rodgers got a chance to rest after gutting out three straight games with a sprained right shoulder.

Rodgers did manage to play well during that span, completing 70.5 percent of his passes for 707 yards and six TDs with one INT. He completed 75.0 percent (21-for-28) of his attempts for 186 yards and a TD in a 34-14 victory over the Colts on Oct. 19, as Green Bay moved into a tie with Chicago atop the NFC North.

The bye also gave the Packers defense a chance to get healthier. Cornerback Al Harris (spleen) and safety Atari Bigby (hamstring) appear ready to return from injuries.

Harris, coming off his first Pro Bowl last season, was injured in the Packers’ Sept. 21 loss to Dallas, and initially there was concern that he might be out for the season.

Bigby’s hamstring injury has been overshadowed by Harris’ absence, but the safety’s physical presence was an important part of the Packers’ success last season. Bigby has missed five games.

“Obviously I think every team in the league has to deal with injuries,” Green Bay defensive end Aaron Kampman said. “How you weather that, in a lot of ways, factors into the success of your season. Now, we obviously had a little skid there. Didn’t handle it the way we would have liked to. There’s a number of variables for that. But that’s in the past. We’ve got a two-game winning streak here, and we want to make it three.”

This will be first meeting between the Packers and Titans since Oct. 11, 2004, when Tennessee won 48-27 at Green Bay.
The Dallas Cowboys started the season strong, winning their first 3 games. Since then, they are 2-3.

KEY INJURIES (a/o 11/2)
Green Bay Packers
DOUBTFUL:
Linebacker Desmon Bishop (hamstring)
QUESTIONABLE:
Wide Receiver JOrdy Nelson (Ankle)
Tack Chad Clifton (knees), Defensive End Jason Hunter (hamstring), Linebacker
PROBABLE:
Danny Lansanah (hamstring), Quarterback Aaron Rodgers (right shoulder) and Cornerback Charles Woodson

Tennessee Titans
OUT:
Linebacker Colin Alfred (groin)
QUESTIONABLE:
Cornerback Chris Carr (back), Defensive End Kyle Vanden Bosch (groin)
PROBABLE:
Defensive End Dave Ball (concussion), Running Back Quinton Ganther (concussion)

KEYS TO THE GAME:
Packers QB Aaron Rodgers faces a Titans defense that kept the Colts’ big gains to a minimum and essentially took away Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison. Titans RB Chris Johnson could have success against a Packers defense that ranks toward the bottom of the league in giving up an average of 141.9 rushing yards per game.

PICK PREDICTION: Packers 21 Titans 20
The Titans hadn’t played a worthy opponent until last week against the Colts. And if it weren’t for some key interceptions of Peyton Manning, things would have been completely different. The Packers are coming off a BYE week and are well rested.

TEAMS
Dallas Cowboys (5-3) at New York Giants (6-1)

GAME INFO
November 2, 2008
Time: 4:15
TV: Fox
Surface: Field Turf – Giants Stadium
Weather: More sun than clouds. Cool. 55° F. 6mph wind

SPREAD
N.T Giants (-9)  Under/Over 41 Points

TEAM STANDINGS
The Dallas Cowboys are in jeopardy of falling out of the NFC East playoff race with half the season to go. They trail the New York Giants (6-1) and Washington Redskins (6-2). The Philadelphia Eagles are right behind them at 4-3.

The New York Giants, on the other hand, have reeled off two consecutive wins and are in first place in the NFC East.

MOMENTUM
The Dallas Cowboys started the season strong, winning their first 3 games. Since then, they are 2-3. The Cowboys are 2-2 on the road and 3-3 against NFC teams. They beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Home last week by a score of 13-9. The Cowboys are averaging a little over 25 points a game while giving up, on average, 24 points a game.

The New York Giants are 4-0 at home and 4-0 against NFC teams. They have won 2 straight going into Sunday’s game.  They have won two in a row, are 4-0 at home, and 1-2 on the road.  They are averaging 27 points a game while giving up only 16.  In the fourth quarter of last Sunday’s game they held the Pittsburgh Steelers to -18 yards total offense – just an outstanding feat, considering the Steelers offense is led by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

KEY INJURIES
Cowboys: OG Kyle Kosier (foot sprain), RB Felix Jones (hamstring), CB Terence Newman (sports hernia) and QB Tony Romo (broken right pinkie) are out; TE Jason Witten (broken rib) said he wants to find a way to play if possible. Giants: OLB Gerris Wilkinson (knee) is out.

KEYS TO THE GAME
According to NFl.com, QB Brad Johnson will start, but if he struggles early the Cowboys won’t hesitate to turn to Brooks Bollinger, who took practice snaps with the first team this week. The 40-year-old Johnson lacks arm strength and mobility, making it difficult for him to get out of the way of the Giants’ ferocious pass rush or hurt New York vertically. Either quarterback will need a massive game from RB Marion Barber to alleviate the pressure. … If CB Anthony Henry isn’t ready to play, the Cowboys will start a pair of rookies in Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick. Even when healthy, Dallas would have a difficult time matching up with all of the Giants’ options downfield, so the Cowboys desperately need an effective pass rush. Giants QB Eli Manning is still prone to critical errors when forced to unload the ball before he wants to.

SERIES HISTORY
This is the 92nd regular-season meeting between the two. The Cowboys lead the series 54-35-2. The Cowboys won the two regular-season games last year, but the Giants beat the Cowboys in the playoffs en route to winning the Super Bowl title. A Cowboys win would be their fourth straight regular-season win against the Giants.

PICK PREDICTION

Giants 27-13
Take the Giants even though they are giving nine points to the ‘Boys.

• The Giants defense is just too good
• Brad Johnson lack of mobility
• Giants are playing at home
• The weather will not hamper Eli Manning