It was nice to get back in the win column for the Survivor Pool. The NFL has been ridiculous this season, but it returned back to form a bit in week 7.
And I was so happy with the performance in week 7, I’m keeping the same strategy for week 8. Here’s the week 8 Survivor Pool picks.
Best Pick
Minnesota Vikings
I’m going to stick with the anti-Browns strategy for another week. Tennessee needed some extra time to keep Cleveland winless. In the end, though, the Titans made a lot of people happy in the Survivor Pool.
There’s no reason to back away this week from going against the Browns.
Minnesota has been solid this season, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Teams can’t run against Minnesota, allowing the Vikings to institute a relentless pass rush that has the sixth-most sacks this season in the NFL. That doesn’t bode well for the Browns, which can’t move the ball against anybody this season.
The Browns average 4.7 yards per play, the fourth-worst mark in the NFL. The team also is minus-11 in the turnover department.
There are some measures to suggest this could be closer than some believe, especially with the Browns rush defense against Minnesota’s rush offense. However, I can’t back a Browns team that can’t move the ball offensively, while the Vikings will employ one of the league’s best defenses.
Don’t think too much this week. Go with the Vikings.
Sleeper Pick
Cincinnati Bengals
If you’ve already hammered Philadelphia and don’t trust that New Orleans defense, then the Bengals aren’t a bad pick based on the matchup.
Cincinnati didn’t look great after the bye week in week 7, but Pittsburgh looks to finally be coming into form. Now, the Bengals get a home matchup against possibly the worst all-around team in the NFL. The Colts are terrible on defense, giving up the second-most yards per game at 425.
And in that ever-popular yards per play statistic on offense, the Colts average 4.7 yards per play. Both sides of the ball aren’t getting the job done for the Colts.
Meanwhile, the Bengals are playing better. The offense is better than what we witnessed at the beginning of the season, and the defense ranks in the top-five in the NFL.
This is a major mismatch and the Bengals should roll.
Be Careful
New Orleans Saints
The Saints are on fire. I can’t say I’m surprised since I was still holding out hope in the early season when they were struggling. The defense has better personnel than previous years and the offense still has enough to win shootouts.
But do you really trust New Orleans? Doesn’t this game against Chicago just seem like one of those let-down New Orleans games?
If the offense gets away from the running game, which has happened in the past, the Saints could become too one-dimensional against a pass defense that ranks in the top-10 in the NFL.
And while I believe in that Saints defense, we’re only two weeks removed from the Lions lighting up the scoreboard in the second half in a high-scoring affair. I’m going to need to see more out of the Saints to completely trust they don’t lose one of those gimme games.
