October 10, 2008
Jason and Rob Thompson

Welcome back to another exciting, and hopefully 100% accurate, edition of the Madden NFL 09 and NFL Head Coach 09 predictions.  This week there are 14 games on the schedule for us to breakdown.  As always, here in the article we have all of the results for you, but if you want a deeper breakdown, listen to our podcast where we get a chance to agree or disagree with what the big EA SPORTS computers are telling us.

The BYE teams for this week are: Buffalo, Tennessee, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh.

Last week we were average going 7-7 with our overall still a respectable 40-33.

Let's get started!

PREDICTION:  Chicago 23  Atlanta 20

Why did we predict (accurately) last week that Atlanta would beat Green Bay at Lambeau Field and will lose this week at home to Chicago?  I have no clue.  Is Matt Ryan the best QB in Falcons history?  Maybe one day.  Today he is better than Chris Miller but less than Chris Chandler. Is Matt Forte the rookie of the year?  If he stays healthy... yes.  Okay.  That's enough.  No more questions.




PREDICTION:  Baltimore 16  Indianapolis 34

If you know why these two teams have a shared history, you over the age of eighteen.  Speaking of old guys, How 'bout them Colts!  Two late-game comebacks so far this season for Peyton Manning has me thinking the Colts maybe this year's team of destiny.  I also believe that this sim is correct... the Colts are twice as good as the Ravens.




PREDICTION:  Detroit 10  Minnesota 21

This from NFL.com: "Though his team has been thoroughly overmatched this season, wide receiver Roy Williams still thinks the Detroit Lions have a shot at reaching the playoffs." That Roy Williams is hilarious.  I have a question: How many drugs would you have to do to believe that the Detroit Lions have a shot at the playoffs this year? 




PREDICTION:  Oakland 10  New Orleans 16

THE Tom Cable is now the head coach of the Raiders which is insanely impressive if you know who Tom Cable is... which I do not.  Go Saints!




PREDICTION:  Cincinnati 6  NY Jets 44

The NY Jets had a bye-week last week so will be rested.  They get their second consecutive bye this week.  Speaking of the Cincinnati Bye-Weeks, unless Marvin Lewis was hired to park the franchise in the sewer I am guessing he will be fired.  If he was hired for that reason, he deserves a huge raise.




PREDICTION:  Carolina 14  Tampa Bay 24

The Panthers have not allowed a touchdown in their last nine quarters of play leading me to believe that this sim may be a little off.  And by a "little off" I mean that the predicted score and the winner are wrong.  Jeff Garcia will probably get the start because Brian Griese has a hurt elbow (and also because Garcia is today, will be Sunday, and has always been significantly better than Griese). 



PREDICTION:  St. Louis 14  Washington 29

New Rams Head Coach Jim Haslett has decided to re-insert Marc Bulger as the starter sending Trent Green to the bench.  In responce to the news Green said "What?  Who?  What's my name?  Are you the nurse?  I like ice cream."  I do not know Jim Haslett but I do want to say, on behalf of all of us here at EASportsworld, thank you for protecting Trent Green from near certain death.




PREDICTION:  Miami 24  Houston 19

Last year's worst team meet this year's worst team.  That may be a little harsh to the Texans but at 0-5 there is little to be excited about.  The play of rookie RB Steve Slaton makes this game close.




PREDICTION:  Jacksonville 35  Denver 28

One day our sim team will listen to me when I tell them "Never pick against Denver at home."  They tell me they are not "predicting" they are plugging in more than a million variables for every game based on actual game-play and game-film for each player.  They think they are so cool with their fancy 'puters and internets blogg-type thingies.  I only need to plug in two variables:  Is Denver playing?  Are they at home?




PREDICTION:  Dallas 21  Arizona 16

This is a great game for both the Dallas Cowboy fans and the Arizona Cowboy fans.  Something tells me, given the offenses and injured players in the secondaries, the total score will be over 60 and not the 37 predicted. 




PREDICTION:  Philadelphia 23  San Francisco 13

No Brian Westbrook means the 49ers may have a chance here.  On Monday one of these teams will be 3-3 which will be a huge success for one team, or a huge failure for the other. 




PREDICTION:  Green Bay 20  Seattle 3

You say you have a losing record despite playing pretty good football.  You say you need just one win to get some momentum.  Well Packs fans, have I got some medicine for you.  It's called Seahawk.  Drink Up!




PREDICTION:  New England 27  San Diego 31

Last year's AFC Championship match-up seems to have lost a little luster here.  The Patriots 3-1 record is a fiction.  Brace yourself for the 6-8 game losing streak Pats fan.  It begins this week.  The Chargers are significantly better than the Patriots.




PREDICTION:  NY Giants 23  Cleveland 7

Is it me or have the Monday Night games been just sort of average this year.  Here is another yawner.  The Giants can name their score in this one.  I will probably watch to get a glimpse of that Notre Dame QB that loves him some work-out drinks.

There you have it.  Week 6 of the NFL season as predicted by the Madden NFL 09 and NFL Head Coach 09 teams here at EA SPORTS.  Have a great weekend and we'll be watching with you!

Have you checked out the EA SPORTS Top 25 rankings yet? They are giving you their version of the list each week. You can find this week's here. There's also an archive page of our podcasts that you can find, CLICK HERE.

Jason and Rob