Some say it was Lucky… They’re right. It was Lucky who picked 16 games correctly. It was Lucky who followed up his 12-4 Week 12 with a 16-0 week 13. It was Lucky who went to the local “club” and celebrated with friends (Bubbles, Jazmine, Nikki, Tracy, and CJ). I was a football pick’em god last week. This week there shall only be more of the same. Perfection finds only a few, Jessica Beil, Jessica Alba, the 1972 Dolphins, and me. How will I follow my perfect week? you ask. I’m going for the gusto. follow along as I sing my song.Tampa Bay @ Carolina (-5.5) – The last four weeks the Bucs have played average teams and ended up 3-1. In those wins, they’ve just barely won, taking three games by a combined 11 points. This week the Carolina Panthers invite the Buccaneers to town, and they aren’t as friendly as the Redskins, Saints, and Falcons. Carolina’s defense is something Chris Simms won’t get used to. He’ll get harassed often, finishing the game with multiple turnovers. Deshaun Foster is the all around running back Carolina needed to become on of the NFC’s best teams, he’ll be the deciding force in a Panther win on Sunday.
Game Date: 12/11/05 13:00 ET
New England (-4) @ Buffalo – The Buffalo Bills showed me they can’t win football games when they lost to the Dolphins last week. They’ll still be sick from the last second loss that removed them from any hopes of playoff contention. JP Losman won’t find all the open spaces in the New England secondary, he just doesn’t have it yet. If Eric Moulds is indeed suspended, as reports have published, Belichick will find it easy to key in on Lee Evans. Look for the Patriots to blitz Losman early and often on their way to a Sunday victory.
Game Date: 12/11/05 13:00 ET
St. Louis @ Minnesota (-7) – The Vi-Kings are inching closer and closer to a spot in the playoffs. Are you kidding me? If you would have told me that 6 weeks ago, I would have pooped in your soup. Now, I’m on the train, or ship if you will. Reports out of Minnesota are that ex-panther bathroom loving cheerleaders are welcome to find business in Minnesota. The weather isn’t as nice, but boats are better than bathroom stalls in bars. Koren Robinson showed last week that he can be a number one receiver. Now if he can just “Say nope to dope” everything would be grand. Look for Brad Johnson to take full advantage of a spotty Ram secondary. The Viking defense will play well again. Game Date: 12/11/05 13:00 ET
Chicago (+6) @ Pittsburgh – I’m not sure who will win this big game, but I’d bet it’s not by more than 3 points. The Bears have one of the greatest defense the league has seen in some time. That is the great spread equalizer. Six points is hard to come-by when finding enough yardage to get into field goal range is like pulling impacted wisdom teeth (which sucks). Kyle Orton isn’t allowed to make many mistakes, which means the tough Steeler defense will get a healthy dose of Thomas Jones and company. Don’t count out Big Ben though, even with the injury, he’s in his third game back, expect him to play mistake free. Take the points! Game Date: 12/11/05 13:00 ET
Oakland (-3) @ NY Jets – The Raiders are horrendous. Kerry Collins sucks, and anyone who thinks it’s all Norv Turner’s fault is probably as drunk as Kerry looks on a daily basis. Does anyone else in football look like they’ve battled the booze more than Kerry? Randy Moss looks as sedated running routes as he does after an off-season run in with the Magic Dragon, and Lamont Jordan doesn’t get the opportunity to get out of the backfield. And that’s only the offense. Yikes. Luckily for the Raiders and their fans, they play the Jets this weekend. The T-e-r-r-i-b-l-e Jets. New York doesn’t have a quarterback that is ready to play on Sunday, and the rest of their team isn’t good enough to make up for that fact. This isn’t a game I’d like to see, but I’m as sure as shit the Jets will lose their 8th consecutive game.
Game Date: 12/11/05 13:00 ET
Indianapolis (-8) @ Jacksonville – The Colts are lucky they don’t have to go into Jacksonville and face the Jaguars with Byron Leftwich at the helm. This is a huge game for David Garrard, but I’m not sure he can handle all the pressure. The Colts don’t overlook teams, that’s why they’re so great. Jacksonville usually plays the Colts tough, and I think they’ll do exactly that, but to expect the Jags to get within 10 points of the best team in football without their starting quarterback is too much. The Jaguars will play a tight first half, but in the end, a 2 touchdown victory taking the Colts to 13-0 is fully expected. Next weeks game against the Chargers will be the Colts’ first loss of the season. Game Date: 12/11/05 13:00 ET
Houston @ Tennessee (-6.5) – The Texans aren’t as terrible as 1-11, they’re more like a 3-8 team with enough luck to lose their way into the #1 draft spot. Lucky! Either way, 1 win, 3 wins, they still suck. The Titans play well against the garbage of the league, and they’ll do it again on Sunday. Steve McNair practiced on Wednesday, and he’ll most likely start on Sunday. Chris Brown should be around 100% and Drew Bennett is dying for a breakout game. Look for Houston to continue down the Reggie Bush path.
Game Date: 12/11/05 13:00 ET
Cleveland @ Cincinnati (-12) -When the Browns play an opponent with a winning record they are 1-3. IN those 3 losses they’ve never lost by less than 12 points. In Week 1 the Bengals took the Browns apart in Cleveland, 27-13. Expect a bigger lashing this week in Cinci. Carson Palmer has been as accurate as ever, and the players around him seem to thrive with him on the field. Chad Johnson hasn’t blown up in any of the past few games, so expect him to pick on Cleveland on Sunday. Charlie Frye will start his second professional game, but don’t expect him to go another game without a turnover. The Bengals have a knack for forcing turnovers, leading the league in takeaway / giveaway ratio. Take the Bengals in an easy one.
Game Date: 12/11/05 13:00 ET
Washington (-3.5) @ Cardinals – The Redskins aren’t a dominant football team, but they’re much better than the Cardinals. Washington’s defense has struggled of late, but expect them to blitz Kurt Warner until he cries mercy. The Cards don’t have the offensive line to stop the Skins’ blitzing linebackers. Kurt Warner will have another week where his picks outnumber his touchdowns, and Clinton Portis will have his second strong week in a row. Chris Cooley and Santana Moss will have big games with Mark Brunell finding plenty of time to let it fly. Game Date: 12/11/05 16:05 ET
NY Giants (-8.5) @ Philadelphia – If the Eagles didn’t show the world how bad it’s gotten in Philly, they’ll be issuing a repeat performance on Sunday against the Giants. With Brian Westbrook down and out, the Eagles have seemingly lost all hope, if any was left after Donovan’s injury. Andy Reid is inline to pick up a game changing receiver in the draft. These loses might be more of a blessing than the Eagles originally expected. The Giants aren’t quite as good as the Seahawks, but Eli Manning should do enough to finish off the Eagles by the end of the 3rd quarter. Look for the Eagles to continue their downward tumble. Game Date: 12/11/05 16:05 ET
San Francisco @ Seattle (-16) – Seattle doesn’t have time to waste too much energy on the 49ers. Instead of allowing the inferior Niners to hang around all game long like they did a few weeks ago, they’ll come out with a mission to have the starters out at half-time. Look for Shaun Alexander to get his two touchdowns, and Matt Hasselbeck will try to get back on line with returning star wide receiver Darrell Jackson. The Seattle Defense will forcefully slam Alex Smith into multiple turnovers like they did to Mike McMahon last week in Philadelphia. Game Date: 12/11/05 16:05 ET
Miami @ San Diego (-13) – The Dolphins did two things last week. They showed me how absolutely terrible they can be and they showed their resilience. Don’t be confused, they never once showed that they were good. The Chargers are quite possibly the second best team in football. They won’t allow the Dolphins to play with them, just because their resilient. Ladainian Tomlinson was held without a touchdown last week against Oakland. That won’t happen again. With Zach Thomas out of the lineup, LT will take full advantage of Miami’s youth in their linebacking corps. This is San Diego’s easiest game left on the schedule. It’s a must win. Game Date: 12/11/05 16:15 ET
Baltimore @ Denver (-14) – The Ravens are a bad team. Kyle Boller hasn’t grown into an NFL quarterback. The Raven linemen and running backs seem to be digressing. And probably most surprisingly, Baltimore’s defense has been anything but great this year. I don’t hide the fact that Denver isn’t one of my favorite teams, but they’re at least two touchdowns better than the Ravens, especially in Mile High. Jake Plummer made snakelike mistakes last week, and it cost Denver the game. He won’t make the same mistakes this week. Handoffs will be a larger part of the Bronco offensive game plan. Look for Tatum Bell to breakout with his first big game in the last few weeks.
Game Date: 12/11/05 16:15 ET
Kansas City (+3) @ Dallas – The Chiefs are the better team here. I said it. Dallas hasn’t played well in must-win games, (see last weeks debacle). This is a must-win for both teams, but especially the Chiefs. If Dallas loses, they fall to 7-6 with 3 very winnable games to go, Washington, Carolina (whom might have their spot wrapped up by then), and St. Louis. If the Chiefs lose, the consequences could be much worse. Kansas City finishes the season against New York, San Diego, and Cincinnati. Ouch. And in the AFC 10 wins might not get you into the post-season. Take the better team with more to lose to upset the Cowgirls in Dallas. Game Date: 12/11/05 16:15 ET
Detroit @ Green Bay (-6) – The Lions are tumbling into the Jets’ realm of extinction. Stay tuned to Sunday Night Football if you want to watch the trend continue with a loss to the pathetic Packers. Brett Favre has played sub-Brett, he lost his top receiver to start the season, he’s handing the ball off to his 3rd sting running back, and his offensive line is sieved-like at best. The Packer defense has been surprisingly stingy, but they can’t do it alone. You’d think all of this would add up to a loss. The you realize they’re playing the Lions. I know they’re led by none other than Jeff Garcia, and they have loads of talent on both sides of the ball, but they are horrendous. Everything’s bad about Detroit these days. Watch Brett bounce back from a couple bad weeks in a row, to have one of his best of the season. Don’t expect jack from the Lions.
Game Date: 12/11/05 20:35 ET
New Orleans @ Atlanta (-10) – This is a real powerful Monday Night showdown. New Orleans hasn’t won since Clinton was in office, and Atlanta is methodically dropping out of the playoff picture as they find themselves last in their division, having lost 3 of their last 4, including a tumble to Green Bay in Atlanta. Fortunately the Falcons play the Saints. Mike Vick always plays well against his cousin’s team, and Aaron Brooks hasn’t played well all year. This doesn’t bode well for New Orleans, and it really doesn’t bode well for those of you hoping for a decent Monday Night game. Look for New Orleans to die while Atlanta breaks out the defibrillator pads in attempt to jump start their season. Gubernational! Game Date: 12/12/04 21:10 ET
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