Week 13: Thoughts and Predictions

Welcome back to the (kind of) weekly football breakdown.  I’ve gone from one post a week to two posts to no posts, so hopefully now I’ll be able to at least get one in here.  But for now, on to the games (picks are underlined):

Packers at Bears:

The Packers may not be quite as bad as their record, but they’re surely not good enough to beat a very hot Chicago team, especially at home.  

Jags at Browns:

Losing Byron Leftwich hurts, but this Garrard kid is no slouch.  He’ll be able to show off what he’s got against the Browns.  This game could be an indicator of what to expect from the Jags as we get into the playoff races.

Vikings at Lions:

I don’t think the Vikings will make the playoffs (they’ll probably have to win four out of the last five games to get in), but they sure have made an impressive run after picking up the pieces of what could have been a disastrous season.  

Titans at Colts:

Please.  If this weren’t a division game, I’d say Tennessee could sneak up on the Colts, but that’s just not going to happen.  Look for Edgerrin James to have a huge game.

Bills at Dolphins:

Yawn.  Buffalo hasn’t won a road game all year, and this will be no exception.  The Dolphins will most likely run all over them.

Bucs at Saints:

New Orleans (Baton Rouge?  San Antonio?) never had a chance this year.  Extenuating circumstances aside, they weren’t all that good to begin with, and they need a new coach.  

Cowboys at Giants:

New York has got to have a sour taste in their mouth after last week’s “triple stomach punch” (as Bill Simmons called it) in Seattle.  The best highlight of that game for me as an Eagles fan and Giants hater was where Shockey was doing the double finger-point at the camera and grinning like a jackass right before the first attempt sailed wide, then whipping his head around and getting confused when the crowd started cheering.  Classic.  That having been said, even with the Cowboys coming off a tough loss last week, they won’t be able to stop the Giants at home.  Tiki Barber will have a big day here in a relatively close game, and then Manning will probably seal the deal midway through the fourth.

Bengals at Steelers:

For some reason, I don’t think the Steelers will be up for this one like Cincy will.  Call it a hunch.  The Steelers were thoroughly steamrolled by Indy on Monday night, while the Bengals are coming off a great four game stretch where they gave the Colts all they could handle.  I see Carson Palmer lighting it up early and going for the sidelines, away from Polamalu.  When the defense is stretched out, they’ll pound out the running game.  This is a good match for the Bengals.  Of course, the defense has got to be better than they were the last time these two teams played.  

Falcons at Panthers:

This looks to be a pretty solid division game with playoff implications.  Atlanta needs this one badly, as the rest of their schedule is not kind (Panthers twice, Bucs, Bears).  I think Carolina will pull it out with a big offensive performance.  They’re due for a big game after a couple of lackluster efforts.

Texans at Ravens:

At least the Ravens’ home fans will have something to cheer about.  Fans of the Texans, meanwhile, well…we won’t say anything about how they’re feeling.  At least they’ll get a high draft pick.  Now to find a coach…

Redskins at Rams:

This is the upset special for the week.  I’m not saying that this Harvard kid Fitzpatrick is the next Kurt Warner for the Rams or anything, but what does he really have to do other than get the ball into the hands of the Rams’ receivers?  I may be stretching here, but with the Redskins’ bad road record and St. Louis’ explosive potential, I think they’ll pull it out.

Cardinals at 49ers:

Who said Arizona would win the NFC West?  That was me?  Oh.  My bad.  

Broncos at Chiefs:

Unless the Kansas City can pull out a win against the red-hot Broncos, this week will be the beginning of the end of their playoff hopes.

Jets at Patriots:

I’m not watching this game, if only because I’m sick of hearing about Tedi Bruschi.  I can appreciate that he came back from a stroke.  I just don’t want to hear about it every ten minutes, and for me he is also the face of the team that crushed my hopes of a Super Bowl trophy last year.

Raiders at Chargers:

San Diego will need to win at least four out of their last five games to get into the playoffs.  I think they’ll do it, and they’ll start by dismantling the Raiders on Sunday night.

Seahawks at Eagles:

This is the first time I’ve actually picked against the Eagles this year, because it causes me pain to see that I actually think they won’t win.  That’s not to say they can’t win.  I just don’t think they will.  Seattle is a very good team (I’m picking them to win the conference), but if the Eagles’ defense actually plays well for the entire four quarters (can’t remember the last time that happened), they could make this one interesting.  I’ll be watching regardless.

So that’s it for this week.  I’d favor you with my updated playoff predictions, but doing it now is almost like shooting fish in a barrel.  I needed to do it a couple of weeks ago to lend my picking any credibility.  But I’ll give you the wild cards, which are still up for grabs:  NFC – Giants (Cowboys win the NFC East—and I just threw up in my mouth a little bit as I typed that), Bucs.  AFC – Chargers, Jags.