A crazy last week in the NFL had me going 7-9. That finishes me just a game under .500 for the regular season. With a playoff push dancing in the streets, I’ll do my damnedest to hop over to the winning side of Humpty’s wall.

Gimmie-Games

Jaguars over the Chiefs (loss)
Bears over the Packers (loss)
Saints over the Panthers (loss)
Rams over the Vikings (win)
Seahawks over the Buccaneers (win)

Saturday:

New York Giants @ Washington Redskins (+3): (loss)

The Giants did their best to lose this game, despite Tiki Barber’s amazing performance in his last home game in the NFL. The Redskins fought back, and had a chance, but as it turned out Tiki was just too much. For the first time in quite a while, I started my week with a pre-Sunday loss.

Sunday:

Atlanta Falcons (+9.5) at Philadelphia Eagles: (win)

The Falcons couldn’t pull out a win against the AJ Feeley led Eagles, but they did walk away with a win against the spread. And if you follow, that means I got a big win as well.

Buffalo Bills (+10.5) at Baltimore Ravens: (loss)

The Bills played the Ravens tough, but fell a point and a half short of covering the spread in Baltimore. The Ravens defense played well in the last game of the year, and won themselves a first round bye.

Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints (+3): (loss)

The Saints played like a team that didn’t have much to play for, and finally, Carolina came out looking like a team that everyone expected them to be all season. What can we expect from Carolina next season?

Cleveland Browns at Houston Texans (-4.5): (win)

The Texans got a big defensive touchdown early in the 4th quarter, and that was just what they needed to cover at home against the Brownies.

Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys (-12.5) (loss)

Not only did the Cowgirls fail to cover against the lowly Lions, they pulled out of a home game against the 2nd worst team in the NFL with a big L, and a first round playoff match-up with the Seahawks in Seattle.

Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears (-3): (loss)

The Packers dominated a Bears team that walks into the playoffs limping at quarterback, and it’s not because of injuries. Rex Grossman played for about a half, and Brian Greise the same, and both had a couple turnovers. As for the Pack, well, them might have seen the last of QB stability, as Brett Favre may have played his last game. All this, and a loss for Lucky Lester.

Jacksonville (+3) at Kansas City: (loss)

David Garrard threw a bad interception and then got pulled, while Byron Leftwich watched from the sidelines. A Jaguar loss has me wondering what happened to all that “Byron won’t start in Jacksonville next year” talk went. The Chiefs won by 5, and I lost another close one.

Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts (-9): (loss)

The Colts walked away with a win, but they can’t be comfortable with how they’ve played in the second half of the season, as Miami almost pulled one out via Chris Lemon and a Dolphins rushing attack that struggled all season long. Indy’s 5 point win wasn’t god enough to make me a winner.

New England Patriots (+3) at Tennessee Titans: (win)

When Vincent Young sprinted to a 28 yard touchdown near the end of the 3rd quarter, I thought I was going to be done in by the Magic Man once again, but as it turned out, Vince Young couldn’t corral this W, making me a big winner.

Oakland Raiders (+13) at N.Y. Jets: (loss)

The Raiders didn’t cover against New York, as the Jets came out and smacked Oakland in the teeth. Do the Raiders have any more teeth? Apparently not, as even their normally stout defense fell short of expectations in this one, sending the Jets right into the playoffs.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals (-6): (loss)

The Bengals needed a win to be playoff eligible, but couldn’t even do that as the Steelers stomped into Cincinnati and ended any hopes of a Bengal victory. I was sure Cinci would come out strong in this one, apparently sure doesn’t mean jack in Week 17.

Seattle Seahawks (+3.5) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: (win)

I was really surprised the Hawks were underdogs in this one. An easy win (though a couple secondary injuries might kill the Hawks in the playoffs) was just what the Hawks needed, as they’ll host the Cowboys next Saturday.

St. Louis Rams (-2.5) at Minnesota Vikings: (win)

The Rams easily walked over the Vikings in Minnesota. Steven Jackson showed why he was recognized as a pro-bowler and Marc Bulger did what he needed to do to get the Rams to .500 on the season.

Arizona Cardinals (+15) at San Diego Chargers: (win)

The Cardinals couldn’t pull out a win, Dennis Green couldn’t pull out his job, and the LT couldn’t pull out another touchdown. But I did pull out a much needed win as the Cards covered in San Diego behind Kurt freaking Warner.

San Francisco 49ers (+11) at Denver Broncos: (win)

The 49ers brought the game into overtime and took down the Broncos in Denver to kick Mike Shanahan and his beloved Broncos right out of the playoff picture, and Larry Johnson sent Frank Gore a new car. The last one was a guess, but the win to get me to 7-9 was just what the Lester ordered.

4-1 in my top 5 gimmie games, but after that, well, things weren’t shiny, happy, and warm like Christmas gifts are supposed to be, that’s for sure. I needed a strong Monday to lift me over the top… This is how it worked out.

Gimmie-Games

Bengals over the Broncos (win)
Bears over the Lions (win)
Chiefs over the Raiders (win)
Colts over the Texans (loss)
Ravens over the Steelers (win)

Thursday:

Minnesota Vikings (+3.5) @ Green Bay Packers: (win) Tarvaris Jackson didn’t do to well, but the Vikings played the Packers, and therefore, Jackson’s poor starting performance was just good enough to cover by a couple points in Green Bay.

Saturday:

Kansas City Chiefs (-6.5) @ Oakland Raiders: (win) “Larry Johnson is running for the Chiefs who have to win or face a sure exit from playoff hopes. Justin Fargas is running for the Raiders, who, ah, are never going to win again this year.” LJ was great against a good Raider defense, and the Chiefs easily covered, winning by 11 on the road.

Sunday:

Baltimore Ravens (+3.5) at Pittsburgh Steelers: (win) “I know the Steelers are coming on strong of late, but really, do wins over Tampa Bay, Cleveland, and Carolina really count? No.” The Steelers were bad once again, as the Ravens proved the point I was trying to make, beating sub par teams doesn’t make the Steelers good. The Ravens smoked Pittsburgh.

Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons (-6): (loss) The Falcons are probably the most inconsistent football team in the league. With the talent they have, scoring 3 points against the Panthers in Atlanta is just flat out pathetic. What do the Falcons need to be winners in the NFC? When you can’t beat a Chris Weinke led team, you’re in trouble.

Chicago Bears (-4) at Detroit Lions: (win) “Is this some kind of sick joke?” It wasn’t a joke. The Lions hung in there until the very end, but the Bears won by 6, making me sweat one out, but ending the game with a smile was just fine with me.

Indianapolis Colts (-9) @ Houston Texans: (loss) What were the Colts up to in Houston? After slanging the Bengals last week on MNF, the Colts just weren’t ready for Ron Dayne. Ron “freaking” Dayne for God’s sake. 3 shots of Jack D later and Mike Vanderjagt will be calling Peyton Manning just some drunk quarterback running his mouth.

New England Patriots at Jacksonville Jaguars (-2.5): (loss) It was close, and I thought the Jags were on a comeback trail, but behind is not a thing Jacksonville is good at coming back from, and that’s why Byron Leftwich will get his starting gig back when he’s healthy. Maurice Drew has been the best freshman running back this season. YEAH, that’s right, you herd it right. Consistent and explosive, just like cornbread, ain’t nothing wrong with that.

New Orleans Saints (+3) at New York Giants: (win) “I just don’t see how the Saints are underdogs here. I don’t think the Giants have a chance to make the playoffs, so it’s not as if they’ll be playing with extra umph. And Drew Brees has been shredding suspect secondaries all season long, and the Giants certainly have one of those. Look for Drew and the Saints to perform well in a bounce back game.” The Saints just flat out dominated this game. New York started off hot, but after that, Eli was Eli, the Giant defense was bad, and the Saints smashed their running game right down the throat of the pathetic Giants.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+3) at Cleveland Browns: (win) “With Tim Rattay getting the starting nod, I actually believe the Buccaneers are a tough team.” And what can I say? They looked good. The Browns couldn’t handle the Buccaneer pressure, and Tim Rattay looked like a young signal caller playing for a chance at a starting gig. He played well.

Tennessee Titans at Buffalo Bills (-4.5): (loss) The Bills, like many other teams, couldn’t tame the ghost of Vincent Young. This rookie is a winner, something that’s unteachable. Mr. Young has done enough to get it done all year, but yesterday he was more than anyone expected. An amazing run, some pin-point passes, and a “we can’t lose” attitude took down the Bills in Buffalo.

Washington Redskins (+2) at St. Louis Rams: (loss) Steven Jackson was just too much. The Redskins didn’t have an answer for 1 handed catches and Reggie Bush type open field moves for touchdowns. Oh, and how about that power? The game went into overtime, but a game winning touchdown run for SJ was all she wrote in St. Louis.

Arizona Cardinals @ San Francisco 49ers (-4): (loss) San Francisco couldn’t take advantage of a Hawks loss, as the Cardinals managed to upset a team making a run at the playoffs. When will Arizona play as well as they can for an entire year? Next year? Nope. It’ll always be next year, if you know what I mean.

Cincinnati Bengals (+3) at Denver Broncos: (win) I like Jay Culter, but he won’t be able to shred the Bengals defense like Peyton Manning did last Monday Night. And there is no way the Bengals come out as flat as a tire for the second straight week in a row, especially with their playoff lives on the line. This spread is like giving the game away. Thanks for free money, fellas.

San Diego Chargers (-4) at Seattle Seahawks: (loss) A late touchdown pass ousted the Hawks, while the final score, 20-17, was just enough to make me a loser by a point. Phillip Rivers has really struggled of late, so if he wants to help his Chargers win, he better get back to the confident and accurate passes he threw the first 10 games of the season.

Philadelphia Eagles (+7) at Dallas Cowboys: (WIN) I love it. A- I’m the most competitive guy this side of Mike Jordan, and I love to win while hating to lose, but B- and more importantly, Cowboy suffering and Eagle playoffs certainty without their star quarterback, plus a TO tantrum that has a Randy Moss of Owens trade in the cards, wow, this can’t get any better!

Monday:

New York Jets (+2.5) at Miami Dolphins: The Jets struggled to a boring win in Miami, but since this game pushes me over the top for the week, landing me at 9-7, I’ll bust out one of these… “Yippy Kye Eye Yay!” Okay, got it out, for all those who took bets on my winners… “Congrats!”

I felt a big week, and hit 11 wins, which feels just nice. How did I do my damage? Kind of like this….

Gimmie-Games

Rams over the Raiders (win)
Jaguars over the Titans (loss)
Broncos over the Cardinals (win)
Cowboys over the Falcons (win)
Bengals over the Colts (loss)

Thursday:

San Francisco 49ers (+11) @ Seattle Seahawks: (WIN) As predicted, Frank Gore led the 49ers offense down the field more than a couple times in the 2nd half, and the Niners got me my first victory of the week. Too bad I didn’t get a chance to see the game, being on NFL Network and all.

Saturday:

Dallas Cowboys (-3) @ Atlanta Falcons: (win) Mike Vick came with his A game, but it wasn’t enough to upset the new-look Cowboys. Dallas got past Vicks 4 touchdown passes with solid performances from Tony Romo and Marion Barber, and a couple nice catches by TO. And some spit in the face. Someone needs to kick this guys’ ass.

Sunday:

Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens (-10.5): (loss) The Ravens won by 10. Carry the 1, yep, I lost by a single point. No, no, I lost by a half point. The bottom line is, Derek Anderson was better than I imagined, and he got me fair and square. My first loss came by a half point.
Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers (-4.5): (win) The Packers got a sub par performance by Brett Favre, but a solid defense and some timely and hard runs by Vernand Morency got the Packers an 8 point win at home. I win again.

Jacksonville Jaguars (-3) at Tennessee Titans: (loss) If you look at the numbers, this game went just as I had imagined it would have. 24 first downs to 4, three times as many yards by the Jags, and just a flat out dominant number performance. Key word, numbers. Special teams killed the Jags, as Pacman Jones had a 1st round pick type day, and the Titans managed to sneak one out.

Houston Texans at New England Patriots (-11): (win) The Patriots destroyed the Texans, as this one wasn’t close from the moment the game began. After the last couple weeks, you had to see this coming from the Patriots.

New York Jets at Minnesota Vikings (-3): (loss) “Honestly, if I didn’t pick every stinking game, I’d stay away from this one.” I can’t say I didn’t warn you in this one. Now the Jets have the upper hand on the wild card in the AFC, amazing.

Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills (even): (win) The Bills just keep finding a way to win. Once again, they came out, and got the W. You’ve got to love the Bills finding a place in playoff talk.

Pittsburgh Steelers (-2) at Carolina Panthers: (win) It doesn’t surprise me one bit that the Steelers banged one out on the road in Carolina. Chris Weinke just flat out doesn’t win games, and the Panthers probably didn’t have a chance with Jake Delhomme in there either. This was easy.

Washington Redskins (+10.5) at New Orleans Saints: (win) “It’s tough to jump off the Saints’ big win over Dallas last week, but a let down against a sub par Redskin team is on the Horizon. I just feel it.” Jason Campbell made a couple big plays that Mark Brunell could only dream about, and Ladell Betts came with it, giving the Redskins a huge upset win over the Saints.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Chicago Bears (-13): (loss) “I really don’t like the Bears (-13) against anyone,” Tim freaking Rattay broke down Chicago’s D late, and gave the Bucs a chance, put the game into overtime, but the Bears do what the Bears do, and get the W anyway.

Denver Broncos (-1) at Arizona Cardinals: (win) “I know things haven’t been great for the Broncos, and Arizona beat the Seahawks last week, but this game shouldn’t be close to even. With Cutler struggling, the Broncos are still a touchdown better than Arizona, just wait and see.” Not only were they a touchdown better than the Cards, they were 17 points better. Champ Bailey is really good.

Philadelphia Eagles (+6) at New York Giants: (win) “Like I said last week, I have a funny feeling, that even without Donovan McNabb, the Eagles might just sneak their way into the playoffs.” When it comes might down to it, the Eagles in the playoffs can become a reality quick. They took a huge step this week in New York.

St. Louis Rams (+2) at Oakland Raiders: (win) “How in God’s good name did some bunch of know-nothings come up with this spread? I often hate betting with the public, or at least it makes me worry, but I’d like to slap the mental munchkins that make up the 20% of the betting population that took Oakland. Steven Jackson and the Rams’ receiving corps will obliterate any Raider hope for victory. Sure, lightening strikes, but it sure as hell never makes an appearance in Oakland.” 20-0, what else is there to say?

Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers (-8): (win) “The common consensus seems to be that San Diego doesn’t really need this game, and if you look at it in a comparison fashion, yes, the Chiefs need this win more than San Diego. But the Chargers have Shawn Merriman back, and that’s that.” Trent Green played horribly, yet Damon Huard remained on the bench. I know this is a good old boys league, but you can bet your ass that Bill Bellichick would have replaced Trent, or stayed with Huard all along, That’s what separates Herm Edwards from the best coaches in the league. I win again.

Monday:

Cincinnati Bengals (+3.5) at Indianapolis Colts: (loss) I missed this one, no doubt about it. The Bengals came out flat like a model, and never looked good throughout, even when the game was tied at 10, I was worried. With good reason, as the Colts brought all they had and sunk the Bengals.

11-5-1… Not too shabby!

9-7, not too shabby, especially with some tough games I picked thinking starting Quarterbacks’s would play, dang. Anyhow, those are the breaks, this is how I came out on top in Week 14. I also won 3 out of my top 4 gimmie games, I’ll take it.

Gimmie-Games

Falcons over the Bucs (win)
Seahawks over the Cardinals (loss)
Saints over the Cowboys (win)
Ravens over the Chiefs (win)
Patriots over the Dolphins (loss)

Thursday:

Cleveland (+9) at Pittsburgh: LOSS! “Name the last time the Steelers dominated in back to back games?” Ugh… the week before last, and last week Thursday Night against Cleveland. Looks like that whole, “follow the trend” BS came back to bite me in the rear, eh. To be honest, I thought Charlie Frye would play, but I’m not sure how much he would have helped.

Sunday:

Atlanta (-2) at Tampa Bay: WIN! It was a closer game than I thought it would be, but I guess when your top two running backs fail to finish the game because of injury, things like that will happen. But Atlanta still covered easily.

Baltimore (+3) at Kansas City: WIN! The safest bet panned out, making me victorious once again. Steve McNair broke a touchdownless game with a deep toss to Mark Clayton, as the Ravens did just enough to sink the Chiefs.

Buffalo at N.Y. Jets (-3.5): LOSS! The Jets struggled a ton when it counted most. Buffalo brought the beat down stick, smacking the playoff searching Jets right in the chops. Pennington didn’t do much, and the Jet running game did even less as Buffalo worked New York all over the field.

Indianapolis at Jacksonville (+2): WIN! Am I the only one that thinks this is good for Indianapolis? Usually they get into this little slump the last couple games of the season, and into the playoffs. This little streak of crappy play should end soon, getting them primed for a couple wins in the post season. Say it ain’t so Peyton.

Minnesota (+3) at Detroit: WIN! Brad Johnson played for the Vikings, to my dismay, but it was an old Lion, Artose Pinner, who came to the Vikings rescue, rushing for 125 yards and 3 touchdowns against his old team. He, alone, and Jon Kitna’s 3 interceptions, assured me yet another win.

New England (-3) at Miami: LOSS! Shut out by Miami in the 2nd half of the season isn’t as bad as it would have been in the first 8 games, but the effort by the Patriots can’t get too many people in New England excited for the playoff push.

New Orleans (+7.5) at Dallas: WIN! “I just think the Saints are flat out better than the Cowboys. Dallas is riding high off of their 4th straight win, a 23-30 nailbiter against a struggling Giants squad. But they are ready to take a step backwards, I can feel it. Plus, New Orleans loves to play ball as the underdog, losing only once as a dog all season. When will the cappers come to love the Saints? Dallas is hot right now, so I’d stay away from betting on them.” What can I say, when you feel it, you just feel it. It doesn’t hurt that the Saints are just flat out good.

N.Y. Giants at Carolina (-3): LOSS! To my credit, or at least defense, I thought Jake Delhomme was going to play. On the other hand, I also thought the Panthers’ coaching staff was smart enough to hand the ball off to DeAngelo Williams and DeShaun Foster at least half as many times as (I figured more than) Chris Weinke threw the ball. I was wrong, about many things, but mostly about the Panthers as a collective whole.

Oakland at Cincinnati (-11): WIN! The Raiders continued down their path to the first overall pick, and after watching a little bit of the game, I hope it’s a lineman. Yikes. Their O-Line is terrible. No offense to the big strong guys blocking for the Raiders, but it’s not looking so hot. Anyway, this game was closer than I expected, but an easy 6 point cover happened anyway.

Philadelphia (+1.5) at Washington: WIN! “The Eagles are still better than the Redskins.” What can a guy do? When the better team is getting points, you wonder, why is the better team getting points? As a money maker, you have to take advantage of situations like this and roll the dice on the better team. This time, I win again!

Tennessee at Houston (even): LOSS! “Vince Young has been for real, and he is playing in Texas this weekend. But I still have to go with the Texans.” What was a guy thinking? Obviously Vince loves to explode in front of his home fans, so how didn’t I know that he’d roll the Texans in overtime? Well, this game was just about as ‘even’ as it gets.

Green Bay at San Francisco (-4): LOSS! The Niners struggled down the stretch, leading to another San Fran loss, and a win for Big Brett and the locally owned Green Bay Packers? Did I mention a loss for Lucky Lester? Ah yes, right at the top there. LOSS!

Seattle (-3) at Arizona: LOSS! “The Cardinals aren’t good, don’t be confused by last weeks win over the Rams. The Hawks aren’t nearly as bad as they looked in that 3 point win over Denver on Sunday Night.” Well I was right about one thing, the Cardinals, they aren’t good. But I was definitely wrong about the other thing, the Hawks aren’t “nearly” as bad as they played against Denver last week, they’re twice as bad. Freaking Hawks. How do you get better at every position other than Offensive Guard, and look this much worse? I just don’t get it.

Denver at San Diego (-7): “With Jay Cutler running things, the Broncos have a chance in this one. But LT, running against a Bronco team that struggles defending marquee players (Peyton – 345yds 3 TD, LJ – 157yds TD, and LT 105yds 4TD) only makes me have to go with the Chargers, especially in San Diego. And the last time the Broncos hosted San Diego, Shawn Merriman wasn’t even on the field. Welcome to Shawn’s world Jay.” Jay didn’t give them a chance, but LT sure did set the touchdown record, with 3 scores (2 late that absolutely ended the Broncos) and Shawne Merriman made his presence felt, assisting on one of LT’s touchdown by causing and recovering a fumble on the Bronc’s 6 yard line.

Monday:

Chicago (-6) at St. Louis: Thanks to a decent game by Rex, and a dominating (remember Donte Hall a couple years back – just like that) performance by return man extraordinaire Devin Hester, the Bears covered easily, even thought the Rams put up an offensive fight late.

Apparently my Detroit/New England game didn’t get printed, and just to let you guys know, I picked the Lions at 14.5 point underdogs in that one. (Those of you who know how I usually bet the Patriots probably know that) But, it didn’t get printed, so I’m not taking credit in my record book for that one. As far as the rest of the week, finally I got some things to roll my way. This is how the box unfolded… 9-5-1, 4-1 in my top 5 picks!

Gimmie-Games

Falcons over the Redskins (win)
Jaguars over the Dolphins (win)
Jets over the Packers (win)
Texans over the Raiders (win)
Panthers over the Eagles (loss)

Thursday:

Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals (-2.5): WIN! Everyone wondered why the Bengals were favored in this game. Even some professional cappers were asking me why in the world Cinci was giving points. It’s all about need. Who needed it more? This is why the Bengals were favored.

Sunday:

Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears (-10): PUSH! If Rex Grossman threw for more than 3 first downs in yardage, the Bears probably would have beaten the Vikes by 20. But, the way it worked out, Grossman had one of the worst days a starting quarterback ever had, and he did it against the 31st ranked pass defense in the league. Anyway, all that and I still pushed. I’ll take that!

Atlanta Falcons (+2) at Washington Redskins: WIN! Yeah. Easy one. The Falcons and Mike Vick were due. The question is, what will they do next week?

Arizona Cardinals at St. Louis Rams (-6.5): LOSS! The Cardinals came out and took it to the Rams. The Cards held the Rams to a field goal in the first half, and then kept it even in the 2nd, winning easily, 34-10. Edge had his best day as a Cardinal, doing what Arizona always does, gets fans excited for “next” season.

Kansas City Chiefs (-5) at Cleveland Browns: LOSS! The Chiefs just couldn’t get it done. I knew I had to have a breakaway Larry Johnson run to win it for me in overtime. But it was the backup in Cleveland driving the Browns to victory over Kansas City. It’s losses like this that ruin playoff hopes in KC.

Jacksonville Jaguars (+1.5) at Miami Dolphins: WIN! The Jags as underdogs in this one was hilarious. It’s not like they were really on the road, and Jacksonville is the much better team. That showed when the Jags busted the Dolphins in the mouth with a 24-10 win in Miami.

San Diego Chargers (-6) at Buffalo Bills: LOSS! The Bills scored 21 second half points, and the Chargers obviously weren’t trying to cover for me, so I lost this one late. It was a heart breaker, I had already written it down as a W. That’ll teach me.

San Francisco 49ers @ New Orleans Saints (-7): WIN! The Saints set some guidelines early, and the Niners followed suit. New Orleans, with 136 yards from Deuce, and 4 touchdowns from Reggie Bush, smashed the 49ers 34-10. Reggie’s big game was pretty, except for when he dropped the ball out of bounds all alone. Ridiculous.

Tennessee Titans @ Indianapolis Colts (-7.5): LOSS! Not only did the Titans cover, they blew up the Colts with a 60 yard field goal. Vince Young is for real, but I’d love to see the guy that picked the Titans to upset Indy at home.

New York Jets (-1) at Green Bay Packers: WIN! The Jets straight dominated the Packers from the word go. I couldn’t believe this line when I saw it, and unlike the Panther game, I was right on the money with this one.

Houston Texans (+3)at Oakland Raiders: WIN! The Texans win wasn’t pretty, but 16 unanswered points in the 2nd half propelled the Texans to a victory over a Raider team that really knows how to lose a game.

Dallas Cowboys (-2.5) at New York Giants: WIN! The Boys took down the Giants in New York, and I came out victorious. Close, but I’ll take it!

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Pittsburgh Steelers (-7): WIN! The Steelers handled the Buccaneers with ease. I saw that coming, that’s for sure. Nobody seems to be able to run against Pittsburgh, and without a running game, the Bucs are nothing. Hence they have had a terrible season.

Seattle Seahawks (+3.5) @ Denver Broncos: WIN! I would have taken the Hawks as 3 point favorites in this one, but luckily that wasn’t the spread, because I hate pushes. Anyhow, the Hawks fought off terrible play from themselves all night, and Josh Brown saved the day with a right down the shot field goal to win the game in Denver.

Monday:

Carolina Panthers (-3) at Philadelphia Eagles: LOSS! Once again, the Panthers did me good, and lost to a Jeff Garcia led Philadelphia Eagles team in front of a staggeringly small Monday Night Football audience. It still amazes me, the outcome of this game, I guess the Panthers just flat out aren’t who I thought they were.

Even Steven. 8-8. This is how it came about!

Miami Dolphins (-2.5) at Detroit Lions: WIN! “The Lions without Kevin Jones will be a gong show against the recently revitalized Dolphins defense, so don’t even take a chance on the Lions.” What can I say, Thanks Giving has always been a great day for me. Turkey, gravy, potatoes, and a 3-0 record.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Dallas Cowboys (-10.5): WIN! This game basically went as planned. Joey Galloway looked great at times, but his QB is too inexperienced to get him the ball enough. Caddy was decent, but didn’t have enough opportunities with Dallas getting out to a lead, and the Cowboys handled the Bucs with ease, 38-10.

Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs (even): WIN! In what was likely to be Jake Plummer’s last start in a Broncos’ uniform, Denver couldn’t stop Larry Johnson, and couldn’t capitalize against the Chiefs. Personally, Jake didn’t have that bad of a stat line, but he just couldn’t make a play when it needed to be made. Denver lost, and Jake’s season is over.

Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings (-6): LOSS! But only because the Vikings really, really, suck. They had a big lead on the Cardinals, but then tried bery hard to blow it, only to realize that the Cardinals suck even more than they do, so they won, but only by 4, so I lost!

Carolina Panthers (-4) at Washington Redskins: LOSS! My safest pick went right to the shitter when Carolina decided to suck again. Talk about the toughest team to predict in the NFL. I’ve had it with the Panthers, which pretty much means, bet on them the rest of the year.

Chicago Bears (+3) at New England Patriots: LOSS! Rex Grossman was bad, and Tom Brady was better than his stat line, which was decent anyway. The Patriots won by 4, just enough to make me a loser by a point. Chicago didn’t have an offensive answer, or when they did, they’d just turn the ball over and ruin any chance they got. The game ended with another Rex Grossman interceptions, and chants of Brian Griese rang through the streets of Chicago.

Cincinnati Bengals (-2.5) at Cleveland Browns: WIN! 30-0 Bengals. Cinci’s defense has stepped it up lately, and if they continue on that path, a Steeler like run is in the cards. And I’m not talking this years’ Steelers. “Last week the Browns put up a good fight against the Steelers, but faded in the 4th allowing Pittsburgh to pull out with a lucky win. Well, all that does is crush an already struggling team.” (ME) Did I call this one or what?

Houston Texans (+6) at N.Y. Jets: LOSS! David Carr threw for over 300 yards, but the Jets stopped the Texans’ rushing attack dead in their tracks, ending this game early in the 3rd quarter. A late touchdown gave the Texans 11 points, but this game was a lost cause to me early.

Jacksonville Jaguars (-2.5) at Buffalo Bills: LOSS! The Bills came back late and stunned the Jaguars with a 4th quarter field goal to win the game. JP Losman might be a ball player after all. I was almost sure I would take this game in overtime, with a nice -2.5, the Jaguars would surely hold off the Bills in OT. Well, Rian Lindell made sure OT wasn’t an option, and I got another loss on Sunday.

New Orleans Saints (+3) at Atlanta Falcons: WIN! How about them Saints. I knew it was a good idea to give Brees another chance after him and his Saints broke my heart last week. Mike Vick had another terrible game, though he did rush for 166 yards, he just barely completed better than 35% of his passes. Brees had another brilliant game, as he seems destined to start in the Pro Bowl, and lead the league in passing.

N.Y. Giants (-3) at Tennessee Titans: Loss! With 10 minutes left in the 4th I was thinking how brilliant I was for picking the Giants in a Titanic beat-down. And then there was Vince. Yeah, I love this kid’s game. His confidence, his accuracy, his physicality, these are things Mike Vick has one of, which is why Vince will be one of the best running quarterbacks of all time. Led his team in rushing with 69 yards on 10 carries, and passed for 2 touchdowns on24/35 passing and 2 scores without an interception. Vince single handily stomped the Giants into submission, as he led his squad to 24 straight points an a late game winning field goal to destroy New York. How can you call a game like this?

Philadelphia Eagles at Indianapolis Colts (-8.5): WIN! “I like Brian Westbrook as a fantasy star this weekend, but I still think the Colts will pull out of Week 12 with a double digit win over the Eagles.” (Me) Just like I figured, the Colts handled the Eagles, and Brian Westbrook had one hell of a day, with 170 combined yards and a touchdown. But he was overshadowed by another back, Joseph Addai, who rushed for 171 yards with 37 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens (-2.5): WIN! The Ravens just walked all over the Steelers. If Steve can play well in the playoffs, the Ravens have the defense to be a favorite to win the whole thing. I needed a win, and they delivered.

San Francisco 49ers at St. Louis Rams (-5): LOSS! By two whole points. You can tell it’s a good week when you have a winning record and the games you lost, a majority of them, were just barely losses. This one, the 49ers led late, but Marc Bulger finally woke up and drove his Rams down for the winning touchdown. I was expecting St. Louis, and Marc, to figure it out earlier, but unfortunately for me, they didn’t.

Oakland Raiders (+14.5) at San Diego Chargers: WIN! “Everyone has a down week. The Chargers, yes, even the Chargers, after two huge comeback wins, might just be too tired to dominate the lowly Raiders. Bad teams only have a few chances to get up and rowdy for a game, seeing a chance to stop the “All Mighty” Chargers and the leagues’ best player (LT) should get them ready to go. No crazy outcome here, just a closer game than expected.” (Me) What can I say? The one guy who picked this game…. That was me.

Green Bay Packers (+9.5) at Seattle Seahawks: LOSS! Aaa…. A half of a point. It was a tough one for me, especially considering the Packers played exactly how I thought they would, and Matt struggled – just like I thought he would. So I lost by a point, because Brett was trying too hard to get his team back in the end zone. It’s tough to call a game like this one, obviously, but Shaun played a lot better than I imagined, so I’ll take the loss with respect.

Another flopper has me down in the dumps, but a Monday night prediction has me riding the ship right back into my old winning ways. This is where I went terribly wrong in Week 11.

Atlanta Falcons at Baltimore Ravens (-4): WIN! Thank goodness for the Ravens, and the poor, suck in the 2nd half of the season Falcons. I needed an early couple wins to get me off to a good start. But unfortunately, a good start didn’t mean much in terms of overall record.

Buffalo Bills (+2.5) at Houston Texans: WIN! David Carr is questionable, but I don’t know if that helps or hurts the Texans? What I do know is Buffalo can play tough, and even with McGahee out, the Bill rushing attack is worth something. Houston at home has never impressed me. Expect a big play from Lee Evans that dumps the non-Cowboy club in Texas.

Chicago Bears (-7) at N.Y. Jets: WIN! Chicago won’t have problems with the Jets. Thomas Jones will give them the old Wham Bam Thank You Mam, surprise, and New York won’t have a swinging chance in this showdown. Rexxy Grossman is inconsistent, but this looks like a good match up for the young gun slinger.

Cincinnati Bengals at New Orleans Saints (-3): LOSS! It’s not like me to pick the Saints, but at home, and with a winner like Drew Brees, it’s time for even me to turn the corner. Against the Bengals, we might be watching Reggie Bush’s first dominate performance of his career. We also are going to see a point scoring fiesta in New Orleans, so get ready to Tivo this one, it’s going to be the Ultimate Highlight!

Indianapolis Colts (-1) at Dallas Cowboys: LOSS! The Colts are better than the Cowboys, even with Drew Bledsoe stuck on clipboard duty. Dallas’ defense struggles to defend the pass, Peyton Manning is the ultimate passer. 1 and 1 makes 2 right? Peyton kills Dallas all game long and the Colts win number 10. 10 straight wins is tough to come by, but a loss against the Cowboys just won’t happen.

Minnesota Vikings at Miami Dolphins (-3): WIN! Miami has turn the corner? I wouldn’t go that far, but the Vikings sure have. Soon to be passed up by the freaking Packers, Minnesota needs to hurry up and make a Quarterback change before Brad Johnson dies on the field of old age. Okay, seriously, I don’t know how either of these teams is as bad as they are, but Miami has shown they are a second half team, while Minnesota hasn’t shown me jack lately. Dolphins at home in this one.

New England Patriots (-5.5) at Green Bay Packers: WIN! How about them Packers? About 4 games ago, this would have been a 10 point spread, but the Pats have really struggled, and the Packers have found a couple victories. I love how that works out. Look for Tom Brady to get his “Top Quarterback” game show down, and terrorize the Packers pass defense that struggles against veteran QBs. Patriots on the road in a laugher.

Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs (-9): LOSS! The Chiefs are a decent squad, and if they get back to giving Larry Johnson the ball every other offensive play, they’ll down the Raiders, even if Aaron Brooks plays quarterback. Hell, if Payton Manning played QB in Oakland, the Chiefs would still win, and the Raiders would still suck.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns (+3.5): LOSS! A half point. The Steelers stayed in the playoff race (numbers wise, they aren’t technically eliminated yet, but God forbid they make it) and won by just enough to announce another loss for Lucky. Good Luck? Where has it gone?

St. Louis Rams (+7.5) at Carolina Panthers: LOSS! Lightening strikes twice as the Panthers cover for the 2nd week in a row. The Rams couldn’t do dick and I paid the hefty price.

Tennessee Titans at Philadelphia Eagles (-13): LOSS! I take no responsibility for this one, McNabb is out for the year, it happened relatively early, the Eagles would have come back, no doubt in my mind.

Washington Redskins at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-3): PUSH! The Redskins scored a meaningless touchdown, aha, meaningless in the game, but not meaningless to me. It made a win a push, never something that can be appreciated.

Detroit Lions (+2.5) at Arizona Cardinals: LOSS! Can’t say much about this one. Both of these teams are an enigma to me. The Lions can’t win when they should, and the Cardinals can’t win. However, this time around can’t didn’t mean much to the Cards, as they took it to the Lions and won a yucky one.

Seattle Seahawks (-3.5) at San Francisco 49ers: LOSS! The Hawks can look like a very bad team from time to time. How can I justify this? Take a look at the first 3 quarters of Sunday’s game against the Niners. Yeah, the Hawks were horrible in just about every facet of the game. Then they pretended to be good for most of the 4th quarter, getting right back in it. And yet again, they seemed to turn it over every other play in the last 5 minutes to guarantee a loss for each of us. Nice job guys.

San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos (-1): “The world thinks pretty highly of the Chargers, let me tell you what.” Ah, yeah, sometimes the world is right on. This is one of those times. I got straight LT’d in this one. That guy is unreal. Alexander ought to like this eh? A year after he set the all time record, LT is going to beat it in Week 13. I lost another.

N.Y. Giants at Jacksonville Jaguars (-3): WIN! “I saw the Jaguars get smacked around last week by the Texans, and their real starting quarterback is probably going out for the year, but David Garrard is a gamer, and his receivers will step up for Monday Night Football. That being said, the Giants are physically hurting on both sides of the ball, especially defensive line, and Jacksonville has plans to run all over the Giants at home.” I still have it guys, Monday Night’s prediction will get me right back on track. Check out next week’s picks.