Burning Questions For Week 10

Will the Seahawks be able to deliver the knockout punch on Sunday?

I saw an article on NFL.com by Vic Carucci that was based around four big questions heading into Week 10 of the NFL season and his answers. These questions, unlike other questions in many other articles that I have read in the past 24 hours seemed quite interesting, so I thought I would give my own input on them.

Will the Cincinnati Bengals take a major step toward turning their season around and enhancing their chances for a playoff berth by beating the San Diego Chargers, who are in the thick of the race in the highly competitive AFC West?

No.

Its funny because this was suppose to be one of the best divisions in the AFC -- heck, even the NFL. Between the defending super bowl champions, the revamped Ravens, and the Bengals who had been known for their unstoppable offense, it seemed as if it was going to be one of hell of a fight to see who the division champion would be. But, it has not turned out that way. The Steelers are in one hell of a mess and the Bengals have way to many issues. They are now .500 and are forced to face a red hot San Diego Charger team that is without their star linebacker, but still a team to fear with the best running back and tight end in the league on the offense.

The Bengals' offensive line is very shaken up and you can tell because of the hard hits that are being put on Carson Palmer, who I am still convinced is not 100% healthy. Rudi Johnson is not the same running back as he was last year either. And as for the wide recievers, well, between Chad Johnson still complaining, T.J. Houshmandzadeh throwing tantrums on the field, and Chris Henry probably due for an arrest tommorow morning before the game, this offense is in a total mess.

Can the New York Jets, who put a major scare into the New England Patriots in Week 2, close the deal in the rematch?

Yes.

The New York Jets have been preparing for this game for two weeks now and on top of that, Tom Brady is coming off of one of his worst games of his career committing more turnovers in his last game verse a defense that one would never think of being dominant than verse anyone else in his entire career. Eric Mangini, Head Coach of the Jets and former Defensive Coordinator for the Patriots, had this offense figured out in the second half of their first matchup in Week 2. I would be very surprised if the Patriots came out this week dominating the Jets the same way they did in that game. Also, what has to be taken into consideration is that the Jets ahd absolutely no running game stablished at that point in the season. What also has to be taken into consideration is that the Jets were not able to stop the run at that point in the season, but they are still not able to stop the run. So, will the Jets be able to take the win verse the Patriots in Week 10? As I said before, yes.

Will the Seattle Seahawks deliver what effectively could be the knockout punch to the St. Louis Rams, their only real challenger for the NFC West crown?

No.

The Seattle Sehawks will be without their pro bowl running back and quarterback again this week verse the St. Louis Rams. The Rams will not be without their star running back and quarterback, which will be why they will take this game. The Rams did have a heartbreaking loss to the Chiefs last Sunday, but that was verse arguably the best running back in the game, Larry Johnson. We all know that the Rams have no defense whatsoever, but Maurice Morris is far from Larry Johnson. And Seneca Wallace is a nice backup, but that is all he is -- A nice backup. The Seahawks wide recievers are fearsome, Jackson and Branch and if Hasselback was starting the game, I would say Yes to this question, but that is not the case. The Rams will take this one and stay in the hunt for the AFC West title.

Are the Chicago Bears going to rebound from their stunning loss to Miami by knocking off the New York Giants, another NFC heavyweight?

No.

Both teams were hit this past week with the injuries, but the Giants were way more than the Bears, which is why this was a hard question to answer. But, the Giants can still bring pressure towards Rex Grossman. The thing about Rex Grossman is that when he has time to throw the ball, he is an all-pro quarterback. And last week, the Dolphins took care of that and the Giants will do the same. Even with their injuries, they will still be able to send the pressure forcing Grossman to make key mistakes and they will take advatange on the offensive side of the ball. Watch out for Tiki Barber, the league's leading rusher to have a huge game and carry this team to victory. Also, Plaxico Burress is expected to play and if he does, it will be big because of the loss of Amani Toomer. I am not saying that the Giants are going to blow the Bears out of the water, but I would be surprised if the Bears are the number 1 seed in the NFC after tommorow.