JC's Take: Stars, Goats and Notes From Week 10 of the NFL

Team of the Week: New Orleans Saints
-The Saints struggled mightily for the first month of the season. The offense put up points, but the defense had problems shutting teams down. But in the last two weeks, the Saints defense stepped up and helped them win games. Last week, the Saints defense held the Philadelphia Eagles to 13 points. This week against the Saints they came up with a huge 4th down stop inside their own 10 yard line with under 2 minutes left. Then they stopped the Falcons at the end of the game and handed the Falcons their first loss of the season. The Saints are now 4-5 and are in no way out of the NFC Playoff picture yet. If the Saints defense can show up and have a consistently strong performance every week, then they will be right back in the thick of things. Drew Brees and the offense can put up 30+ points like its nothing. If the Saints can hold teams to under 30 points every week, then they can win just about any game.

NFL Week 9 Picks

I showed some signs of improvement last week. Hopefully things get fully better this week.

Last Week: 9-5
Year to Date: 73-44

Kansas City Chiefs vs San Diego Chargers
Things just aren't right in San Diego. They put together a woeful performance last week against Cleveland. Philip Rivers had a terrible game, Ryan Matthews fumbled again, and the Chargers offense failed to put together a meaningful drive. Now there are people in San Diego questioning what has gone wrong with this  Chargers team the last few years. Norv Turner has had so much talent and has yet to put together a Super Bowl team in San Diego. The Chargers run defense faces another challenge this week in Jamaal Charles. Charles may be the only real threat that the Chiefs have on their team. They are forced to start Matt Cassel after Brady Quinn was hurt last year. At this point, the Chiefs may wish they had the QB situation Maryland has, starting a linebacker at QB. Kansas City had high hopes this year but the season may be one of their worst in recent memory. Kansas City may not win another game this year. Even with San Diego's recent struggles, they should still win here.

San Diego 21  Kansas City 13

NFL Off-Season Preview: AFC North Edition

We are less than two months away from the start of the NFL season. Less than a month away from the start of training camp. The NFL season is slowly creeping up on us. Its my favorite sport, and now that I no longer have any type of schooling to go to, its my favorite time of year as well. Summer is fun, but fall means football, and you can't top that.

Much like I did with my off-season previews, I will break down each of my Season Previews into eight parts, looking at each division individually. I'm going to try and churn one of these out every week leading up to the start of the season. There shouldn't be any major roster moves between now and the start of the season. There will be the typical injury or two during the pre-season, but everything is set enough now that I feel confident starting these previews.

NFL Off-Season Preview: AFC North Edition

These are coming at a quicker pace with Free Agency coming soon. Today we look at the AFC North, which might have been the best division in all of football last year. They put three teams in the Playoffs last year. The Ravens and Steelers have been a model of consistency in recent years. They also have the best rivalry in all of football. Every time these two teams get together, you can expect a hard-hitting, smash mouth game of football. Both teams are getting up there in age, however, and may be on a slight decline. I still think both are Playoff teams, but they may not be as infallible as they once worth. The Bengals shocked everyone last year by finishing 10-6 and securing a Wild Card berth. They will only get better. And then there is the Cleveland Browns. Unless they trade up for Robert Griffin, they will be basement dwellers without a doubt. Hell, they probably will still be basement dwellers even with Griffin.