by Clash Daily’s Pigskin Pundit

First of all, a heartfelt and warm salute to all our servicemen and women, past and present! Your service and sacrifice are deeply appreciated by the home folks.

Week Nine was an good indicator of where most teams have settled in to their groove.

My score for the week was 11-3. The surprises to me were Pittsburgh finding the stuff to beat the Giants on the road, but New York let them hang around too long and didn’t turn possessions into points. Manning was great again in Denver, and they are certainly a serious contender this season. Tampa found Pirates’ booty in their new running back Martin, who is going to light things up in this league. His presence makes Tavares Jackson more dangerous, which is just the multidimensional boost the Buccs need. The Colts have found success between their senior defensive bookends Freeney and Mathis and their youthful star QB, who already has a presence about him that bodes well for having to fill a very large pair of cleats in Indy.

Let’s pick this week’s winners.

Colts @ Jaguars - The Jolts have found new momentum, and Jacksonville isn’t the place they’re going to lose it. Colts Lucky again.

Raiders @ Ravens – Baltimore is 6-2, and home. I don’t see Oakland sorting themselves out enough to beat this seasoned veteran squad. Blackbirds over Black & Silver.

Broncos @ Panthers – Denver is moving along steadily towards another division crown. The Panthers are still a year or so away from possibly being a playoff contender. The Ponies should prance in this contest.

Giants @ Bengals - Last week the Jints bowed to Cincy’s rival Steelers. This week they go tiger hunting. Giants go Cruzing in Cincinatti.

Titans @ Dolphins - It’s not that I don’t think Miami can win this game. I just don’t think they will win this clash with the Titans. Titans release their inner Kraken.

Lions @ Vikings – This game should clarify who the real Lions and Vikes are. Minnesota is probably not as good as their record, and Detroit should be better than theirs. Nothing like a division rivalry game to sort things out. Norsemen over the Nubians.

Bills @ Patriots – The Old West meets the Older East. Buffalo is likely to find more than they can handle at the Razor. Pats lock the Bills in the AFC East basement.

Falcons @ Saints – 8-0 meets Uh-Oh, with predictable results. Atlanta hits 9-0.

Chargers @ Buccaneers – After last week’s shredding of the Raiders by guided missile Doug Martin, what are the Chargers going to do to stop him? Answer: not much. Tampa grounds the Boltage at home.

Jets @ Seahawks – Seattle may be a nice place to drop in for great coffee or some really fresh seafood, but pro football teams are finding it a tough city to buy a win in. Pete Carroll has his team in good shape and rising. Rex Ryan’s team are the only Jets who can’t seem to fly. I’m looking for many bird strikes to ground Gang Green.

Cowboys @ Eagles – This used to be a great rivalry. Now we have an owner that admits he should fire himself as GM, and a head coach in Philly who should probably be fired. That’s about all the fire anyone has seen out of these two teams lately, although there have been an abundance of misfires. I’m going with Dallas.

Rams @ 49ers – The Rams are a rising franchise, which is good to see again after the Marshall Faulk/Kurt Warner glory years. But they haven’t risen to San Francisco’s level. The prospectors should put this one away handily.

Texans @ Bears – Game of the Week! Two 7-1 powerhouses going at it on Soldiers Field, the way God intended. The NFC’s second best against the AFC’s top team, winner take the bragging rights. I give the Bears just the slightest edge at home, as NFC teams have been tougher overall in recent years.

Chiefs @ Steelers – Well, I predicted Romeo Crennel would get fired…I just didn’t predict by whom. This week he fired himself, which Jerry Jones should take note of. This won’t even be a contest, as the Steelers are getting more traction each week. Pittsburgh pounds the pathetic peace pipes painfully.

Enjoy the games, and hug a veteran!

-Pigskin Pundit

Image: Flickr: Tom Brady looks downfield; author Jack Newton; originally posted to Flickr.com; Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.