Patriots over the Lions. I'll be on the road when this game is going on and I'm kind of glad about that. I'd be tempted to watch and frankly it's always hard for me to stomach the Patriots when they are winning. They should continue their success against Detroit but since I won't see it I'll still have my appetite when we hit the in-laws for Thanksgiving dinner. New England is amazing at finding very good offensive players that other teams either don't see the value in or can't take advantage of their talents. Welker, Woodhead, Branch, are examples. I still buy into the theory that they are better offensively without Moss. They won't score like they did a couple of years but they will score when it counts. Brady had another good game this past week with Indy. It's true the Pats lucked out a bit with the Colts when Manning threw that killer interception in the final minute but Brady is still the best QB in the league and most of the time they won't need luck.
Saints over the Cowboys. You know, I suppose the Cowboys could take the good vibe that's going on in Big "D" right now and win one for Jerry Jones on Turkey Day. But really, who wants that besides the good folks in Texas and all those "America's Team" diehards around the nation. I'm taking the Saints in this holiday battle.
Jets over the Bengals. Another close victory for the Jets last week. That can't be good for Rex Ryan's heart can it? Perhaps this is insensitive but they really need a couple of blowouts because Rex is a heart attack waiting to happen. I caught the last couple of minutes of the Jets/Texans game and I have to admit Sanchez was brilliant in the final minute when he threw two fantastic passes to win it. This week the battle between the Jet's corners (Revis & Cromartie) and Ochocinco and Owens brings some intrigue to a game that otherwise isn't all that interesting to me.
Falcons over the Packers. A lot of people might go with the Pack in this one. I'm tempted because they are awesome right now. Atlanta has been pretty decent too and they are tough at home. I actually think Rodgers is better than Matt Ryan but I think the Falcons will help out their QB this week. They are motivated to prove they are as good as their record.
Steelers over the Bills. The Bills are scrappy so you can't sleep on them. QB Ryan Fitzpatrick has some mobility and some guts ....that's right, Harvard guys have guts too!.....and receiver Steve Johnson looks like a breakout start this season (over 700 yards). Still, when it comes right down to it the Steelers are just better.
Browns over the Panthers. It's risky taking the Browns with Jake Delhomme back under center this week but they play harder than the Panthers do. With Stanford QB Andrew Luck looking pretty damn good this year it seems that the Bills and Panthers are playing for his draft pick. Right now Carolina looks like it might get a crack at him. If you are a fan of a crappy franchise, do you root for your team to lose just so you can get a chance at a possible franchise QB? Speaking as a Ram fan who likes Sam Bradford a lot...........Yes...Yes you do.
Giants over the Jags. The Giants defensive front is relentless. Justin Tuck and company should harass David Garrard all day. Can he file a lawsuit if that happens?
Vikings over the Redskins. What the hell. They shouldn't win this. But maybe they have a "Chili" rebound. Brad Childress was a bad coach but the Vikings are just not that good this year and number 4 is one of the main reasons why. He has below a 70 passer rating. Maybe Tavaris Jackson would be better but they are into Favre for 20 mil. and you can't have that pile of cash sitting on the bench.
Texans over the Titans. So Vince Young goes mental again and will need to salvage his career next year. Young clearly does not have the mentality to be a starting QB in the NFL. I'm not saying he isn't intelligent (how do you measure that anyway?) but he certainly is lazy and immature. Receivers might be able to get away with that at times but the QB can't. Still I don't think Fisher is blameless in the Titan's problems. He's a strong personality and his teams always play hard but truthfully most of the years Fisher has been coaching his teams have been mediocre. In 16 full seasons he has coached the Oiler/Texan franchise he has 6 winning seasons. 6 out of 16. Is that surprising? It is too me. He is talked about as a great coach. The record doesn't support that. This week Fisher gets the equally frustrating and mediocre Texans. Houston should send everything they have at the inexperienced Tennessee QB that will be filling in the for the foreseeable future. What's his name again? Rusty Smith? Maybe Rusty will provide a spark. Maybe he'll get manhandled. I'm betting (figuratively speaking) on the latter.
Chiefs over the Seahawks. I know the Hawks are tough at home but the Chiefs have a more talented team. They need to win this to show they are legit.
Raiders over the Dolphins. Richard Seymour was stupid to punch Roethlisberger last week. The Steeler QB bumped him and no doubt said something douchey...... but he's a QB for hell's sake. You can't do what he did and not pay the piper. Maybe the Raiders won't need him though. Brandon Marshall may be out, and Henne or Thigpen haven't shown much this year. The Raiders should startGradkowski and hand the ball to McFadden.
Broncos over the Rams. I'm just not sure all the pieces are there yet for any consistency with the Rams. I think Bradford as QB means St. Louis is competes is not an automatic loss anymore. But they aren't legit winners yet either. Denver is going to throw a lot and the Ram defense needs to play much better than they did last week.
Bears over the Eagles. They'll be in Chicago and the Bears seem to be better than I've been giving them credit for. Vick is playing well but I agree with those that say he is taking too many hits. How is he going to survive the rest of the season? He better look out for Urlacher who is making up for a couple of lost years.
Ravens over the Bucs. If Tampa really wants to prove they are for real they need to beat Baltimore. Every win they have this year is against a team that currently has a losing record. The three quality teams they've played (Falcons, Steelers, & Saints) have beaten them and 2 of those contests weren't even close. I like the Bucs but there is a good chance they'll go 3-3 to end the season (ending up at 10-6) and they possibly won't beat a good team the entire way.
Colts over the Chargers. I'm already thinking I might be wrong about this. The game is in Indy but the Colts have that grind it out offense this year and Manning has to do more than ever to win games. Speaking of doing it all, Rivers has been fantastic so far. That weird arm motion of his makes me think the ball can't possibly get where it's intended to go but somehow it does. A loss would be a real setback for either team so I hope the Colts can pull it out.
49ers over the Cardinals. Disappointing teams with QB issues. Not an unusual thing in the NFL. The NFC West sucks donkeys....... so amazing as it sounds, both of these clubs still have a a shot of winning the division. By the way they each have 3 victories. Could we have a sub .500 division winner this year? And if that happens could we get any traction on at least the idea of giving playoff home games to teams with better records?
Last Week: 11-5
Overall: 87-72
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