NFL Week #16
December 20th, 2006 by PerryHere are my picks for the entire Week 16 schedule, all on a hunch!
Packers over Vikings @ Green Bay
Chiefs over Raiders @ Oakland
Bucs over Browns @ Cleveland
Titans over Bills @ Buffalo
Falcons over Panthers @ Atlanta
Redskins over Rams @ Saint Louis (Campbell keeps improving as a weapon, and the defense has had a rebirth.)
Ravens over Steelers @ Pittsburgh (With or without McNair, the Ravens have an offense.)
Giants over Saints @ New York (This is a must win for the Giants over the resting Saints, and they will win with Tiki and Plaxico prevailing, and Strahan back in.)
Jags over Pats @ Jacksonville
Colts over Texans @ Houston
Bears over Lions @ Detroit
49ers over Cardinals @ San Francisco
Chargers over Seahawks @ Seattle
Broncos over Bengals @ Denver
Eagles over Cowboys @ Dallas (Dallas secondary yields to the Garcia driven momentum)
Jets over Dolphins @ Miami
December 20th, 2006 at 8:39 pm
Hmmm. The entire week, eh? Okay…
Minnesota at Green Bay: Pickers, baby. Could be Favre’s last home game.
Kansas City at Oakland: Chiefs. Oakland just plain sucks.
Baltimore at Pittsburgh: These are two teams that flat out hate each other. I love it. Makes for some hard (but legal) hitting feetbawl. Ravens.
Carolina at Atlanta: Falcons. The Panters are dead, and are just looking for a place to fall down.
Chicago at Detroit: Lovie Smith has stated that he’s not going to rest anyone, and after that defense let the Bucs back into the game last week, I wouldn’t either. DAAAAA BEARS!!!!!
Indianapolis at Houston: Colts, but it’ll be close.
New England at Jacksonville: Jags in a rout.
New Orleans at N.Y. Giants: The Saints need to bounce back, and this could very well be the time to do it. N’awlins in a squeaker.
Tampa Bay at Cleveland: Take the Bucs, ’cause Cleveland sucs. Unless the gametime temp is below 40 degrees…aw forget it! Bucs, Bucs, Bucs.
Tennessee at Buffalo: Titans.
Washington at St. Louis: I don’t know what’s up with the “greatest show on turf.” I hope the ’skins do. Washington, baby.
Arizona at San Francisco: Niners. The Cards are the most talented team in the NFL…with a losing record. Winning football is more than talented players, and I hope the Arizona ownership realizes this and cans that LOSER of a “head coach,” Dennis Green.
Cincinnati at Denver: Denver. Cincy will fold in that mile-high air.
San Diego at Seattle: How can anyone pick against LaDanian Tomlinson? Bolts in a laugher. LT gets three.
Philadelphia at Dallas: Can’t wait for this ‘un. Philly is on a roll, but Dallas is the better team. Emotion can only take you so far, and with Philly on the road, I can’t feel it. This has an air of a playoff game. My pick (sorry Perry): Dallas
N.Y. Jets at Miami: Miami.
December 20th, 2006 at 9:20 pm
Thanks for setting the table, Perry. I will follow your lead…
Vikings @ Green Bay - Favre got his record last week, but the Vikings, the better team right now, will rule the day. Take the Vikings.
Raiders @ Chiefs - Puh-LEEZ…take the Chiefs.
Bucs @ Browns - Both teams in a downward spiral (were the Browns ever up in the first place ?), I have to make a rare pick on this one and take the Browns.
Titans @ Bills - Could this be the game of the week ? Two 7-7 teams fighting for their playoff lives. If there were a foot of snow, I’d take the Bills, but the Titans are the better of these two teams. Roll on, Tites…take the Titans.
Panthers @ Atlanta - Flip a coin, same difference. Take the Falcons.
Redskins @ Rams - Two non-football teams in a non-playoff battle that would likely end in a tie, but that only happens once in a while (the Falcons and Steelers’ 2002 sister kisser was the last…I was in Ann Arbor that day). In that case, I’ll take the Rams.
Ravens @ Pittsburgh - Well said, Perry. Take the Ravens.
Saints @ Giants - The Saints were beaten by a team not better than them. It won’t happen again…take the Saints (my pick for the #2 seed in the NFC).
Pats @ Jacksonville - Jacksonville was beaten by a newly-found Titans team…plain and simple. The Patriots don’t have much to play for (other than a first-round playoff loss). Take the Jaguars.
Colts @ Houston - Indianapolis gets a bye week before the last game. Houston will be off on another rebuilding campaign (sound familiar, Cleveland Googlees ???). Take the Colts.
Bears @ Detroit - The Bears have home field, but they almost let one get away last week against the hapless Buccaneers (that’s some EXPENSIVE corn !). They can’t (and won’t) let it happen again…take the Bears.
Cardinals @ San Francisco - The 49ers…a .500 team ? Potentially…if the Seahawks lose out and the 49ers win out, the 49ers take the division ! They’re pumped. Leinart will be on, but not enough, because the 49ers can smell the playoffs…take the Niners.
Chargers @ Seattle - Even though the pressure is on the defending NFC champs because they are in danger of finishing .500 AND missing the playoffs, but the 49ers, who swept them this year, are breathing down their necks. The Chargers are the class of the AFC at this point. Look for LT to get #32 and #33…take the Chargers.
Bengals @ Denver - Cincinnati got beat by a team that couldn’t (read can’t) tackle my grandmother. And they’re playing a mile above sea level…take the Broncos.
Eagles @ Dallas - A much-overrated game. I really believe Jeff Garcia is going to show why the Browns let him go this week, as the Cowboys (who I really can’t stand) trudge on toward the playoffs. Take the Cowboys (albeit with hesitation).
Jets @ Miami - This game was preceded by many an AFC East divisional battles. Many Kenny O’Brien-Dan Marino shows, many 41-38 overtime finals, many playoff hopes dashed in this rivalry. Not this time. The better team will win. J-E-T-S…Jets, Jets, Jets. Take the Jets.
December 26th, 2006 at 9:16 am
Vikings at Packers - I took Minnesota, Green Bay won…0-1.
Raiders at Chiefs - I took KC, they won…1-1.
Bucs at Browns - I took the Browns, silly me…1-2.
Titans at Bills - I took the Titans, they won…2-2.
Panthers at Falcons - I took Atlanta, Carolina won…2-3.
Redskins at Rams - I took St. Louis, they won…3-3.
Ravens at Pittsburgh - I took the Ravens, they won…4-3.
Saints at Giants - I took Nawlins, they won…5-3.
Patriots at Jaguars - I took Jacksonville, New England won…5-4.
Colts at Texans - I (and the rest of the world) took Indy, Houston won…5-5.
Bears at Detroit - I took Chicago, they won…6-5.
Cardinals at 49ers - I took San Francisco, Arizona won…6-6.
Chargers at Seahawks - I took San Diego, they won…7-6.
Bengals at Broncos - I took Denver, they won…8-6.
Eagles at Cowboys - I took Dallas, Philly won…8-7.
Jets at Dolphins - I took New York, they won…9-7.
Not bad for a 16-game pick week !
December 26th, 2006 at 3:35 pm
Lookit here, Pat: We tied, but took different paths to get to 9-7!
Packers over Vikings @ Green Bay; Packers won: 1-0
Chiefs over Raiders @ Oakland; Chiefs won: 2-0
Bucs over Browns @ Cleveland; Bucs won: 3-0
Titans over Bills @ Buffalo; Titans won: 4-0
Falcons over Panthers @ Atlanta; Panthers won: 4-1
Redskins over Rams @ Saint; Rams won: 4-2
Ravens over Steelers @ Pittsburgh; Ravens won: 5-2
Giants over Saints @ New York; Saints won: 5-3
Jags over Pats @ Jacksonville; Pats won: 5-4
Colts over Texans @ Houston; Texans won: 5-5
Bears over Lions @ Detroit; Bears won: 6-5
49ers over Cardinals @ San Francisco; Cardinals won: 6-6
Chargers over Seahawks @ Seattle; Chargers won: 7-6
Broncos over Bengals @ Denver; Broncos won: 8-6
Eagles over Cowboys @ Dallas; Eagles won: 9-6
Jets over Dolphins @ Miami; Dolphins won: 9-7
Naturally, I was especially pleased with the Eagles, a team victory, including the coaching, in an important game which puts them in the playoffs and in line to win their division if they beat the Falcons in Philly next Sunday.
Also noteworthy were the Ravens domination of the Steelers, and likewise the Saints reawakening to dominate the Giants.
The Redskins came up short by losing the OT coin toss in a game they could have won. And the Bears, well they could well have lost to the lowly Lions but a dropped pass in the end zone saved them. Grossman is still unsteady following two decent appearances.
At this point I am thinking that the Chargers are the team to beat for the superbowl, which will go to one of the AFC teams, each one of which is superior to the NFC contenders. I actually think the Eagles are peaking, playing the best and most consistent football in the NFC; they could very well end up in the Superbowl playing the Chargers or the Ravens. Eagles vs the Ravens — wouldn’t that be a blast?
December 27th, 2006 at 6:54 pm
My picks for week 17 (I will move this to the week 17 blog when it’s out)…
N.Y. Giants at Washington – Giants are vying for a playoff spot, ‘Skins are vying to go home. Take the Giants.
Carolina at New Orleans – The Saints are about to nail down a bye week. Take the Saints.
Cleveland at Houston – Until the Texans beat the Colts, I actually believed the Browns could win this one. Take the Texans.
Detroit at Dallas – Philly wins the division…take the Lions.
Jacksonville at Kansas City – In a non-playoff battle, where neither of these teams will make it, take the Jaguars.
New England at Tennessee – Could Tennessee actually go from the depths of despair to 9-7 ? Yes…take the Titans.
Oakland at N.Y. Jets – J-E-T-S…Jets, Jets, Jets. On to the playoffs…take the Jets.
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati – Again, from the depths of despair to 8-8…not a bad recovery, but too little too late…take the Steelers.
Seattle at Tampa Bay – Bad game, bad result…take the Buccaneers (and an 8-8 division title for Seattle)
St. Louis at Minnesota – They forgot how to play football in both these towns. Take the Rams.
Arizona at San Diego – San Diego takes home field with the best record in the NFL, and on to the Super Bowl. Take the Chargers.
Atlanta at Philadelphia – Philadelphia wins the division with a win over the hapless Falcons. Take the Eagles.
Buffalo at Baltimore – A good run for Buffalo is going to end short. Take the Ravens (they get the other bye).
Miami at Indianapolis – Interesting game, but the Colts still can’t tackle my grandma. Take the Dolphins.
San Francisco at Denver – Denver solidifies their wildcard showing. Had the Niners beat Arizona, I’d take the Niners, but since they didn’t, take the
Broncos.
Green Bay at Chicago – Will Green Bay make the playoffs ? No…take the Bears.