If this isn’t a sign of a future black and gold Super Bowl, I don’t know what is!

In Sunday’s win over the 49ers, Bob Sanders tore his biceps tendon and is now lost for the season. What a tease! Sanders missed the first five games of this season after undergoing offseason knee surgery. He returned to play against the Rams and 49ers before injuring the biceps tendon in the latest injury that will end his season.

Wait there’s more. Cornerback Kelvin Hayden is expected to miss up to a month with a knee injury. The Colts play the Texans, the Pansies- whoops I mean Patriots, and the Ravens, all teams with good quarterbacks.

Oh- you thought that was bad. Hang on. Wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez underwent arthroscopic knee surgery Thursday that will sideline him two to three weeks. Gonzalez suffered a setback in practice that led to surgery to clean out loose particles in his right knee. Pretty sure he shouldn’t have been practicing.

Ok so now to the Texans game right? No more injuries this week right? Sorry there’s more. Cornerback Marlin Jackson tore his ACL in practice Wednesday and has been placed on the season-ending injured reserve list. This is where it starts to get eerie. Jackson tore the ACL on the final play of practice and is expected to have surgery next week. The FINAL PLAY OF PRACTICE! Dude you were almost home free!

Oh I almost forgot the Colts will be without starting linebacker Tyjuan Hagler, who is out for the rest of the year with a ruptured biceps. Hagler was one of the main reasons the Colts run defense had been playing at such a high level.

Add all of those injuries together and you’ve got one depleted defense. With a 5-3 record the Houston Texans are off to their best start in franchise history. Matt Schaub leads an offense that has already matched a franchise record set last season with four 400-yard games. He has also thrown a career high 16 TDs.

Working in the Colts’ favor however is the fact that Tight end Owen Daniels, with his 40 receptions, 519 yards and a team-leading five touchdowns, will miss the rest of the season after tearing a knee ligament last week.

Also working for us…we have #18.  Coming off a lackluster performance against San Fran Manning should be fired up for a win against a divison opponent. A division opponent that he seems to own. Indianapolis is 13-1 all-time against Houston with the loss coming on a last-second field goal in 2006. Manning has been lights out against the Texans, passing for 3,859 yards with 33 TDs and only 5 INTs.  He has 17 TD passes and one pick in the last seven meetings.

It’s not time to hit the panic button yet Colts fans but I do think the scared button is getting some use in Indy this week. I think the Colts will handle the Texans as always but one more injury might signal the beginning of the end.

Here’s the bad news: The Bucs are going to lose.

I mean, ok, there is always a chance the Bucs could win. Any given Sunday, and blah blah blah. But the odds are stacked against the Buccaneers because, well, the Green Bay Packers are the much better team. The Pack has a decent QB in Aaron Rodgers, and his main weakness (holding onto the ball too long) will likely not be exploited by the Bucs’ nonexistent pass rush. Plus, tackles Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher are back from injury to protect Rodgers this week.

Speaking of QBs, it’s Bucs QB Josh Freeman’s first start as an NFL QB. The Bucs were originally planning to play Byron Leftwich at QB for the entire season to give 21-year-old Freeman some extra prep time. But he was benched. Then Josh Johnson was given the starting job as another stall tactic. That didn’t last long. So now it’s Freeman’s turn, and if you don’t think the young Roethlisberger-type (well, in build at least) is going to be blitzed early and often, then you are wronger than wrong. Let us all pray that this is not the beginning of the David Carr-ization of the young QB. And, hey, the Bucs need something, anything to push them in the right direction, so maybe Freeman’s combo of youth and size will give the Bucs the nudge they need to win a game. Or lose a close game. Or something.

One tiny ray of hope for the game is that the Packers are coming off of a gut-wrenching, QB-terrorizing game against the Favresota Vikings, so perhaps the Bucs can take advantage of their moment of weakness. Not that they’ve been able to take advantage of any opposing teams’ weaknesses thus far (and, let’s face it, the Redskins had some serious weaknesses). But where there is creamsicle, there is hope.

Or, wait, didn’t the Bucs get rid of the creamsicles because they symbolized a lack of hope?

Eh, never mind.

All I can say to that: Easier said than done.

And in terms of the Packers’ upcoming game against the yet-to-be-defeated Tampa Bay Buccaneers, I can’t lie, my heart just isn’t in it.

After a painful loss to the Vikings, sloppy mistakes by the Pack and unsatisfactory excuses by the coaching staff, it’s hard to rally my excitement behind a team that really let me down. And, no offense to Bucs fans, but this isn’t exactly a game that leaves me shaking in my boots.

Despite our performance last week, Aaron Rodgers is on a hot streak. Against Cleveland, Rodgers was 15-of-20 with 246 yards and 3 TDs. These impressive numbers earned him a passer rating of 155.4, the highest single-game rating (minimum 20 attempts) in the history of the Green Bay franchise.

Our defense is also picking up the slack for our sluggish offensive line by allowing on average 283.4 yards per contest, which makes them tied for fourth in the NFL.

With Havner making big plays in the absence of Finley, Ryan Grant getting his groove on after a season-low 10 carries against the Vikings, Batman Ahman Green working his way back into the lineup and the ever-reliable Donald Driver healthy and ready to play, our offense should have no trouble running and passing all over the Buccaneers defense.

Though this game may seem like it’s in the bag, there are some numbers that worry me: The Packers are 1-6 all-time at Raymond James Stadium. Not a statistic I’m loving, but at the same time, the 0-7 Tampa Bay record takes the edge off a bit. And my cold-weather team will have to adjust to the 80s plus weather that is expected this Sunday. As a Wisconsinite, I’m not one to complain about warm weather, but this may be only the third game the Packers have played a regular-season game with the temperature at 80 degrees or above in the tenure of Head Coach Mike McCarthy.

This game is going to be about righting the wrong path we started down last week. I’ll be watching this weekend to see if McCarthy has found a way to make the penalty problem go away. I’m hoping the head coach has reigned in the sloppiness and cavalier attitudes that some of our players have brought to the field the past few weeks.

In all honesty, I think in minds of most Packer fans, this is just not a great football team. They’re not bad. But they’re not great. Greatness is about winning the big games, and we have yet to come away with a victory when it really matters. Sure, this weekend against the Bucs shouldn’t be tough. But it’s not a big game.

Once they win one of those, then I’ll be excited.

Will the Bears beat the Cardinals on Sunday? Only if the elements align in our favor. And by ‘the elements’ I mean the weather and Kurt Warner. Kurt Warner is usually really good. And if he’s throwing well, he is going to destroy our secondary. But when Kurt Warner isn’t good, he’s beyond bad. He really knows how to order up the suckage with a side of turnovers, like last week when he threw five interceptions against the Panthers. If there is foul weather involved, sunny Arizona boy is bound to be a little off in his passing game, and our defense is gonna be all over that.

I’d like to be optimistic and say that my Bears are going to dominate, but I haven’t seen any proof of said domination ability during the first 8 weeks of the season. We’ve been totally erratic. The wins that we have gotten have been scrappy, and the losses have been brutally ugly.

For the sake of my Bears, I will bring up a few foolishly optimistic points:

1.  We play well at home.  I don’t know why, but we just do.

2.  We play well when we’re angry, and we’ve gotten plenty of anger-inducing bad press during the past two weeks

3.  We’ve already beaten one of the teams (Steelers) that was in the Superbowl last year

So there is some hope for Da Bears, but I wouldn’t get too excited.  Ultimately, Sunday’s game is going to come down a battle of the QBs.  Cutler will probably be average-ish and get knocked down a lot, and Warner will either be awesome or horrendous.  So the fate of the game lies in Kurt Warner’s hands, not Jay Cutler’s.  Let’s just hope those pretty sunshine boy hands will be dropping snaps and throwing lots of interceptions.

That’s OK, though – everyone should definitely keep focusing on all the other teams in the NFC East – even the poor benighted Redskins – because we like being the underdog. First the Giants were the best team in the NFC East. Now it’s the Cowboys. Whatever. We’ll see what y’all have to say after we spank the Cowboys on Sunday.

Who am I picking? Please. Do you even have to ask? Get ready to cry, Tony, because you know how much we love that.

Redskins/Falcons. Falcons. Duh.

Cardinals/Bears. This one is interesting. Both teams are maddeningly inconsistent this year, beating tough opponents one week (Giants for the Cards – although maybe they aren’t as tough as everyone once thought – and Steelers for the Bears – although no Troy Polamalu that week) and dropping games they should win the next (How did the Bears lose to the Packers when they still had Brian Urlacher? How did the Cards lose to the Panthers? Wait – I know this one. 5 turnovers.) I’m going to call Cardinals, but this one really could go either way.

Colts/Texans. Texans! Team of Destiny! (Really, they’re probably not going to win, but you never know.)

Ravens/Bengals. A month ago? I would definitely have called Ravens. Today? I’m calling Bengals, man. They seem to finally have their collective act together.

Chiefs/Jaguars. Jaguars. The Chiefs are terrible.

Packers/Buccaneers. The Pack will bounce back from their disappointing loss at home to the Vikings last week by KICKING THE BUCS’ ASSES. You heard it here first.

Dolphins/Patriots. I know this is crazy talk, but I’m calling the Dolphins. I just have a feeling about this one.

Panthers/Saints. The Saints have to drop a game eventually, but it’s not going to be this week. Saints.

Seahawks/Lions. Ugh. Seahawks. And whatever you do, DO NOT watch this game. Seriously. I fear for your mental health.

Titans/49ers. 49ers. Vince Young was the answer last week against the Jags, but he’s not The Answer.

Giants/Chargers. The Giants do have the advantage of being at home, but I don’t think it’s going to be enough of an advantage, particularly the way they’ve been playing lately. Chargers.

Steelers/Broncos. Hm – are you sure there’s no way BOTH teams can win? The Steelers are my Pennsylvania-homer AFC team, but the Broncos have Wolverine. It’s a tough choice, but I do think the Broncos will pull this one out.

On bye: Bills, Browns, Vikings, Jets, Raiders, Rams

It’s no secret that Chris Johnson is a beast. The sign of a truly dominant player comes when he can still turn in a great performance even though the entire defensive scheme revolves around how to stop him. San Francisco has a solid defense – proven last week when they held the Colts to 18 points – but with Nate Clements out and both Justin Smith and Takeo Spikes banged up, they may be vulnerable this week. I think C.J. can keep up his season-leading rush pace and hopefully put up enough points to keep Tennessee in the game.

After allowing Maurice Jones-Drew to run wild last week, I hope that the Titans’ defense is going through some more “Tackling 101″ courses. Frank Gore can be a scary back to face, so the secondary really needs to be ready for his scampers into the open field. San Fran’s passing attack also has the potential for big plays, especially with top draft pick-turned big baby-turned legitimate downfield threat Michael Crabtree down the sidelines. For most of the season, the Titans’ secondary has been laughable at best (and nauseating at worst). Last week, however, they got their butts in gear and held David Garrard to a modest day. I just hope that’s the defense that shows up on Sunday, because I don’t think my heart can handle another five-touchdown quarter.

Now I know I’m forgetting someone…

Oh that’s right – new starting quarterback Vince Young! Honestly, I’ll be THRILLED if he can just do what he did last week. I’m not expecting miracles. I’m not even expecting excitement. I just want another consistent, bland, error-free game out of V.Y. I get enough razzle dazzle from Johnson. Let’s just keep the ball out of the 49ers’ hands, okay Vince? Thanks

I do believe that Tennessee can turn around their season (yes, they’ll obviously miss the playoffs, but they can at least not be miserably ashamed come week 17). Momentum is one of the most powerful forces in the NFL, and right now, Tennessee wins hands down against San Francisco.

Plus, I really don’t want to go back to the loser’s circle. I thought that I’d be happy competing for the Suck Fest crown, but I’m just enjoying this whole win thing far too much!!

In games like this, it’s record-schmecord. The Panthers seem to have some sort of black cat magic when it comes to us. Jake Delhomme has never lost a game in the Superdome and he’s 8-2 against the Saints. The Panthers have also won 6 of the last 8 meetings. Oh yeah, someone’s got our number. Even though the Ragin Cajun is showing the accuracy of Stevie Wonder in the pocket this season, we have to anticipate that this is the game he’ll try to use to launch a winning streak for his team. After all, they’re fresh off a whooping against last year’s NFC Champs, the Arizona Cardinals.

It’s not just Jake who gives me the shakes. That damn Steve Smith always knows how to spoil a perfectly good Sunday afternoon. He hasn’t been getting the ball as often as he’d like this year and he’s made that known. But when he does get his hands on hit, he is dangerous and explosive. He’s just the kind of player primed to put our “Saintsational” secondary to the test. From my talks with the folks at the Panthers blog Cat Crave earlier this week, it seems obvious that they’re confident their team can win. Based on history alone, I can’t really blame them for feeling that way.

Sean Payton has done a stellar job of instilling in his team a “one game at a time” mentality. But with the media hype reaching a fever pitch, you gotta think it’s getting tougher to keep his message from getting lost in the shuffle. I mean, Jon Gruden practically proposed to Drew Brees after Monday Night’s game. We have become the team to beat. Our NFC South rival knows that all too well.

So how do we break this hold the Panthers seem to have on us? How do we escape their clammy claws unblemished? It’s quite simple, you see. We attack them not like they’re a 3-4 weakling in our division. We play them with the same intensity we brought to the Giants. We bring that “battle of the unbeatens” swagger to the dome.

Although Sunday’s matchup has “trap game” written all over it, no one denies that that Saints are by far the better team. This will be a mental exercise for them more than anything and the Saints have proven this season that they are resilient, aggressive and hungry. This isn’t about the quest for the perfect regular season. Perfect regular seasons don’t win Super Bowls. Ain’t that right Tom Brady? This is about mental toughness, about not drinking your own Kool-Aid and getting lulled into a high fructose corn syrupy coma.

When we chant “Who Dat” this season, we’re not so much saying we can’t be beaten. We’re saying that we have what it takes to not beat ourselves. That’s how championship caliber teams operate. The Saints will prove they’re in that number come Sunday.

Sorry Jake, but your Cajun voodoo won’t outshine our Drew-Doo. Not this time around.

Saints 31
Panthers 20

Pass this along to your fellow “Who Dats” as a special fan tribute from chicksinthehuddle.com!

There’s essentially no point in doing game recaps because it’s always the same old story. Here’s how it usually goes:

-Dick Jauron thinks it’s a good idea to use Marshawn Lynch and run him up the middle. Cue loss of yards and three and out…and no reaction from Jauron himself.

-Terrell is double/triple teamed, drops a few balls and maybe makes a play or two that the offense doesn’t produce on anyway. This week, however, he made the one and only touchdown. There’s his $6.3million hard at work!…

-The defense plays like a beast, makes numerous interceptions and then marches right back on the field because the offense can’t capitalize on those turnovers. By the end of the third quarter the D is exhausted, we have more injured players and the Bills end the game in true Bills fashion–when they self destruct, they do it in a big way.

-Freddy J gets us  great field position on punt returns but that rarely ends in even a field goal, much less a touchdown.

This week we’re not bothering with “Quit its” because I don’t have time to write a novel. Instead, I say “Hit it!” Jairus Byrd. You are a beastly rookie, which is probably why you were named Defensive Rookie of the Month and lead the NFL in interceptions. I apologize for the fact that all your hard work is for naught.

This week is a bye week. That means far less stress, heartbreak and perhaps the offensive lineman will learn how to protect and Jauron will learn how to coach.

GO BILLS!!!