Honest Wagner NFL pick-em: week 8

VIS SPRD HME SCOOP BONES ROWDY
nyg 06.5 MIN ..MIN .MIN* ..nyg
bal 07.5 PHL ..PHL ..PHL .bal*
gnb -2.5 WAS ..WAS ..gnb ..WAS
jax 01.5 HOU ..HOU ..jax ..jax
arz 03.5 BUF ..BUF ..arz .BUF*
det 02.5 DAL ..det .det* ..DAL
cin 02.5 TEN .TEN* ..TEN .TEN*
ind -1.5 KSC .ind* ..ind ..ind
atl 06.5 DEN ..atl ..atl .atl*
car 07.5 SEA ..car ..car ..SEA
nwe -2.5 PIT ..nwe .PIT* ..PIT
oak 05.5 SND ..SND ..SND ..SND
snf 02.5 CHI ..snf .CHI* ..snf
mia 06.5 NYJ .NYJ* ..NYJ .mia*

Asterisks indicate best bets.

Season to date:
Scoop 61-41 .598
Bones 58-44 .567
Rowdy 52-50 .510

Best bets
Bones 17-14 .548
Rowdy 20-19 .513
Scoop 09-09 .500

Comments:

Scoop Jackson: My heart says pit, but the stillers haven't quite shown they belong in the nfl elite. I think things will go much like they went for the jets last weekend -- a good showing with some positives to take away, but I'll take borderline-arnsparger's-syndrome belichick's pats by a touchdown.

Dr. Bones has nothing to say.

Mister Rowdy: The play of the NFL generally reflects the mood of the country. With the election a day or two away, I expect the games, like the crowds, to be on edge. Everything's unsettled. So I'll take the rising team as a home dog against the "elite" squad that's overdue for a breakdown. The Steelers are good enough that they can exploit a clutch mental lapse or two.

Here's a specific question: with Hoke replacing Hampton, how good will Foote look? How good will Kendrell Bell look, if he can get in there and play this weekend? We all know that running backs are overrated and that their success depends, in large part, on the quality of the offensive line. The same is true with the defense. Hampton has been making the guys behind him look good. The measure of Hoke's performance on Sunday will also be seen in the effectiveness of the linebackers.