No big intro this week, except to say how sorry I am to all the fans of Cleveland, Oakland and Kansas City: great football towns pining for great teams once again. This could take awhile.

Redskins at Falcons – I confidently predict that Washington will continue to score 17 or fewer points per game and will lose by at least that much to an Atlanta team that cannot afford to extend a losing streak. The Falcons are a tough and talented squad that has the misfortune of playing in a division with the most complete team in the league this season.

Not that anyone asked, but the Redskins could benefit from a quarterback trade with the 49ers. When Jim Zorn was hired to coach the team, he brought with him an offensive philosophy of the “West Coast” system that focuses on attacking defenses with short passes from sideline to sideline, and seldom to never deep. He has been attempting unsuccessfully to school a quarterback in Jason Campbell — drafted out of Auburn by previous coach Joe Gibbs — who has a skill set more suited to the vertical passing game that Coach Gibbs liked.

While I could not wish anyone onto Al Davis’ Raiders right now, the next best fit is what Mike Singletary is working on in San Francisco and Alex Smith has the skills that are best complementary to the system the late Bill Walsh turned into an NFL staple 25 years ago. Both teams could get the quarterbacks they really want, and both players would be a lot happier and more successful, so it’s a pretty good bet that it will never come to pass (and no, I do not ask you to pardon the pun).

Cardinals at Bears – There is a maddening inconsistency to both of these teams. Arizona has the better talent and has been playing well on the road while Chicago hasn’t been playing well anywhere since Week 2 and beating the likes of Detroit, Seattle and Cleveland doesn’t earn you any brownie points today. So the question is, can Arizona win outdoors in November or can Chicago beat a good passing team with that lower-echelon defense they play? My guess is Arizona, and if either team is inconsistent again I’ll just have to be mad at myself.

Ravens at Bengals – It’s been awhile since I rooted for Cincinnati, though I seldom root against them. This week I’m going to go with the feeling because Carson Palmer deserves the kind of season they are having. Already beating Baltimore on the road gives them an advantage, which they’ll need because the Ravens got their own confidence boost last week in defeating an excellent Denver team pretty handily.

Cincy has got to be ready to handle the blitz packages Baltimore will throw at them and please watch those edges. The Ravens no longer generate great pressure with their front four, so they try to overload zones, and they’ve still got plenty of talent for that. Also, it is very important to know where Ed Reed is at all times.. Just ask Knowshon Moreno what happens when you head into Big Ed’s territory unbeknownst. The next two weeks will prove whether the Bengals are in this thing for real this year or not. There are more than a few losing teams lined up for them after that.

Texans at Colts – This week, Indy closes the roof and that bright sunshine in the end zone nonsense gets taken care of. Houston is a dangerous club right now, but the loss of their tight end who was putting up all-pro numbers is a tough blow to an offense that was coming on strong. The Colts struggled against San Francisco’s defense last week, which is not hard to understand given the 49ers talent plus the fact they have a coach who was recently on the Indianapolis staff who no doubt helped the defense pick up some easy reads on Peyton Manning’s audibles. That sure won’t happen again this week. Besides, the Houston secondary is far too weak right now to handle what the Colts can throw at you or anyone you may ever know (or even not).

Chiefs at Jaguars – Jacksonville lost to a winless team and now the whole organization is on notice. No way coach Jack Del Rio allows a loss this week at home. That would be just too embarrassing. Kansas City is going to get a heavier-than-usual dose of Maurice Jones-Drew while David Garrard is counting how many lives his cool cat has left (two by my count).

Dolphins at Patriots – Second place finisher in “Game of the Day” rankings is a feature match-up of run versus pass, so naturally this game will probably come down to the defense. On that score, I give the edge to New England. However, these AFC East rivalry games always give you your money’s worth, so don’t be surprised to see Miami pull off an upset and keep their divisional winning streak intact. They can’t beat anyone else yet, but they have managed to win all their division games; an oddity, for sure, but also irrelevant because they haven’t played the Patriots.

Packers at Buccaneers – Green Bay wins this week and nobody cares because it will be against a winless team with a rookie quarterback, and the dog-gone purple nightmare just will not go away.

Panthers at Saints – Carolina finally remembered out how to run block well enough to put the game out of reach in a hostile environment against a quality opponent. Not as quality as this week’s opponent, however, so marvel one and all as the Saints just go on marching in.

Lions at Seahawks – Here are two unfortunate teams the NFL has beaten up pretty good so far this season. I’ll be taking the home team if only because I had to look up the last time Detroit won a road game (over two years ago). Don’t look now William Clay Ford, but Son of Kong is eyeing your back!

Chargers at Giants – If there was any hope San Diego could run the ball effectively, it’d be worth a shot to take them against the suddenly vulnerable blue boys. New York’s defense makes a stand, Philip Rivers tries his best to keep them in it, but Eli Manning makes more plays and uses his running backs to greater effect. It’s still too hard to trust San Diego’s defense to make the necessary plays, especially in a late afternoon start (gets dark soon) on the East Coast. They just don’t seem to see very well. If I was their GM, I’d put an optometrist on the team’s medical staff.

Titans at 49ers – San Francisco will make it a point to hit Vince Young a lot harder than Jacksonville did last week. That will probably upset him enough to be the difference. Maybe he’s developed a thicker skin than when last he was a regular starter, but in this case I require evidence before faith.

Cowboys at Eagles – First place in “Game of the Day” honors. Dallas has figured out how to maximize its offensive potential by playing what many once referred to as “Smash Mouth Football” (until Bill Curry nearly destroyed the phrase single-handedly). The Cowboys seem to respond better as underdogs and have played a more disciplined game since the bye week, but this is also their toughest opponent since then. Philly is probably due for another of its down weeks, but divisional rivalry games usually go to the home team provided talent is not one-sided, which it isn’t in this case. Tough pick, but going with the green here.

Steelers at Broncos – Excellent choice for Monday night and “Game of the Week” award winner. Even coming off a bye, you have to wonder if Pittsburgh’s banged up defensive ends are up to the task of pressuring Kyle Orton enough to force the kind of mistakes it will take to get Denver to step into the loss column for the second time in as many weeks. It’s just not a good time or place to see Pittsburgh get a win, even though they can ill afford it should Cincinnati beat Baltimore and grab a clear lead in the division. That would set up quite a show for Week 10 now, wouldn’t it? Can’t wait!

Let’s finish up with the weekly housekeeping. I went 11-2 on the predictions last week for a yearly total of 75-41, which is good for a winning percentage of .647. A little more courage to go with those convictions and it could turn out to be a very merry Christmas indeed.