Papas Picks: Week 17 NFL Underdogs Bets

Well I was only 2-3 last week as the Raiders, Jaguars, and Redskins all let me down with stinkers that basically exemplify everything I hate about those three franchises. The Redskins never know what they have, so how the hell can you? The Jaguars can play awesome football against good teams, put themselves in a nice position to succeed, then come out and crap all over themselves like this guy Samson that hangs out down past 31st and Douglas. And the Raiders, well, Al Davis made a deal with the Devil, and when the Devil came to collect, Al Davis promised he wouldn’t kill him if he didn’t kill him… got that? Hate. So this week I’ll leave those three pathetic crumbs off my list of dogs, and we’ll go with some teams with gumption. Believe it!

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Green Bay Packers (+3) @ Arizona Cardinals: They say that the Packers don’t have anything to play for, and while that may be true, neither will the damn Cardinals. That’s right, they will get a home game in Week 1 of the playoffs, and that’s about it. By the time this game gets going, Minnesota will have already won and Arizona will be once again, playing for nothing. The Packers brass claim their guys will be treating this like a regular week – and that’s enough for me, I’m in. Plus I think Green Bay is flat out better.

Atlanta Falcons @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+2): The Bucs have won two straight, and I’m just as stunned as anyone. This will be 3 straight. Atlanta is a playoff caliber team, suiting up in Week 17 with no chance at the post-season. That right there is enough to count them out.

New Orleans (+7) @ Carolina Panthers: The Panthers have a decent running game, and Drew Brees is out, and I assume other Saints will be resting as well – but they are still playing the Panthers, and betting against the Panthers when they are a touchdown favorite seems like a great bet.

Indianapolis Colts (+10) @ Buffalo Bills: Really? +10? I mean, I know the Colts will be sitting lots of guys, but these are the Bills we’re talking about, and it’s not like the Colts have been terrible when using back-ups all season long. You forget, this defense just plugs in players and succeeds. I’m not guaranteeing a win, but the Colts should cover a dime spot.

Philadelphia Eagles (+3) @ Dallas Cowboys: This is an interesting game, for the NFC East Championship and a possible first round bye if the Eagles win. Dallas won last time, in Philly, and I think the Eagles return the favor.

NFL Week 17 Predictions: Jacksonville Jaguars vs Cleveland Browns

NFL Week 17 Predictions: Jacksonville Jaguars vs Cleveland Browns: With the Jaguars still in the playoff hunt (though their shot is longer than that pass Mike Vick threw in that Gatorade commercial before “the incident”) and a meager Cleveland Browns team between them and a shot at a possible post-season appearance, I just can’t see them blowing it again. I know it’s kind of their bag, but at some point it has to change, and while I don’t expect a win to actually get them into the show, losing to the Browns in what is essentially an elimination game for the Jags seems too much like Jacksonville for it actually to happen. That’s probably not a good enough reason, but it’s something.

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Then you have Jacksonville being just flat out better than Cleveland. And any team can play well for a few weeks, shoot, even the Bucs are on the verge of a three game winning streak, but that doesn’t make them a good team. The same can be said for Cleveland, obviously they’ve been bad all year for a reason, and that reason is that they are bad. The Jaguars will put 9 guys in the box if they have to, and Derek Anderson hasn’t, in the last couple years, shown me that he can hit a barn from the hay stack. Advantage Jacksonville.

Then you have this guy named Maurice Jones Drew, one of the best players in football, and a guy that absolutely wants the game resting on his back. Well, despite failing to involve him enough all season long, the Jaguars have no choice but to feed him 30 touches in this game. And without an elite pass-rush, or even a solid one, the Browns will give up too many chunks of yards to Garrard in the passing game. Those things add right up to a Jaguars win in Cleveland. In fact, I don’t know how this game has the line it has.

Jacksonville Jaguars (+3) @ Cleveland Browns.