Game picks coming up in just a sec, but a few quick thoughts... There's a decent chance the will be home for the playoffs ... and I don't mean at the C-Link. At 3-3, it's not as though the defending champs are in a hole too deep to dig out of, but it's worth noting the second half of their schedule is rugged. Even if we a sume wins at home against the , and , the 'Hawks will have trouble getting to double-digit wins if they can't go over .500 during a brutal six-game stretch that starts in mid-November: at Kansas City, vs. Arizona, at San Francisco (on night), at Philly, vs. SF and at Arizona. Meantime, this one in Carolina on Sunday is no gimme (nor is any other game so long as the extraordinary is on the field).By the way, shame on you if you haven't seen who Football Baby thinks will win the / game.I'm aware the got to the last year without the help of ... but this isn't the same team. The weekend before Halloween 2013, they were 7-1 and had the best defense in the league. Now they're not in the top five defensively and down Harvin and on offense. Last year, the 'Hawks were a picture of chip-on-the-shoulder happine s. This year, -- via his charming(?) Twitter comments -- has made it clear his relationship with management has turned ... unpleasant (and ensures his expiration date in Seattle will be Feb. 1, 2015, at the very latest). On the face, it makes sense for the team to abandon whatever they were doing with Harvin in favor of the more direct approach they used on the way to last year's title. "Give the ball to Beast Mode Lucas Condotta Jersey 25 times a game" is the simple solution offered by most profe sional and amateur analysts right now. Just don't be surprised if Beast Mode grows even more discontent if he feels like the team is running him into the ground because a divorce is imminent sooner rather than later. One more ma sive obstacle that the will have to contend this year: The first-place . We've given great credit here before, but give it up for defensive coordinator , too. The D was down , and before Labor Day, and Bowles still somehow has 'em at fifth in points per game against.I won't be floored if Seattle wins the . I'm just pointing out what you already knew: There are lots of ebbs and flows within any football season. For most teams in most seasons, there are a lot more ebbs. That's why it's hard to win a title ... let alone repeat.If the latest rumors about Los Angeles getting not one but two NFL teams sooner rather than later are true, I'm hoping for those teams to be the and -- and not just because the stadium designers could apply a blue and gold color scheme without feeling as though they're slighting either organization. For all the silver-and-black diehards who still populate Southern California, the have always belonged to the East Bay. When Al Davis moved 'em down to L.A. in the early '80s, it felt like he'd hooked up with a foxy young mistre s ... only to run back to the ol' ball-and-chain named Oakland when push came to shove. As for who will make the AFC playoffs, Daniel Jeremiah and I figured it all out on the Dave Dameshek Football Program earlier this week.The cat's out of the bag. The picks below aren't really mine. They're (mostly) Football Baby's. .WARNING: Do NOT continue reading if you don't want to know the scores of the Week 8 games.(1-0 this week, 9-5 last week, 66-40-1 on the season)DETROIT LIONS 26 ATLANTA FALCONS 24: 18 car, 105 yds, TD: 7 rec, 120 yds, 2 TDsSEATTLE SEAHAWKS 17 CAROLINA PANTHERS 10: 8 car, 40 yds, TD: 3 rec, 50 yds, TD BALTIMORE RAVENS 19 CINCINNATI BENGALS 23: 35-yd INT TD return: 40-yd TD rec ST. LOUIS RAMS 14 KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 21: 19-31, 260 yds, TD, 2 INTs: 4 rec, 80 yds, TD CHICAGO BEARS 20 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 28: 110 yds/scrimmage: 8 rec, 130 yds, 2 TDs BUFFALO BILLS 13 NEW YORK JETS 16 defense: 6 sacks: 3 rec, 40 yds PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 27 ARIZONA CARDINALS 23: 2 TDs: 130 yds/scrimmageMIAMI DOLPHINS 30 JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 21: 4 rec, 120 yds, TD: 22-38, 320 yds, 3 TDs, 2 INTsHOUSTON TEXANS 22 TENNESSEE TITANS 21 defense: 2 INTs, 6 sacks: 130 yds/scrimmageOAKLAND RAIDERS 19 CLEVELAND BROWNS 22: 2 INTs: GW 35-yd FG (in OT) INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 34 PITTSBURGH STEELERS 28: 4 rec, 40 yds, 2 TDs: 4 rec, 40 yds, TD MINNESOTA VIKINGS 13 TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS 24: 99-yd kick return TD: 6 rec, 100 yds, TDGREEN BAY PACKERS 33 NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 24: 5 rec, 125 yds, TD: 15 car, 90 yds, TDWASHINGTON REDSKINS 17 DALLAS COWBOYS 27: 70-yd TD rec: 20 car, 100 yds, TDEnjoy the Week 8 games! I hope your team wins (unle s it's playing my team).Follow Dave Dameshek on Twitter Jacques Lemaire Jersey