A very solid week 14 picking winners, including the New York Giants last minute upset over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night as well as that thrilling Monday Night Football match-up (or snooze-fest) of the Seattle Seahawks over the St. Louis Rams! Some tough games to pick this week and I will pick & pan the Baltimore Ravens Sunday Night Football game at the San Diego Chargers on Sunday morning.
Cowboys over Buccaneers (Saturday Night Football): Dallas and Tampa Bay play tonight and I will go out on a huge thin shaky tightrope line and say that Tony Romo will not blow this game, although everyone knows that if it is a close one at the end he is the best in the league at "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory!"
Texans over Panthers: Houston just keeps on winning regardless of who is their quarterback and should do it again as they host Carolina and their amazing rookie QB. The Texans running game and defense should be enough to win and T.J. Yates appears to be no slouch anyway.
Bengals over Rams: Cincinnati finally gets a pretty poor team after a real rough stretch which proved they are just not ready to beat the better teams in the league. St. Louis could pull off the upset at home, but they way they've looked recently, it would be a huge surprise to everyone, including Rams fans, if it were to happen.
Bills over Dolphins: Buffalo might be able to actually win a game after starting off so good and looking so equally bad recently. Miami looks to have won just enough games to remove them from any chance to get a good QB in the 2012 NFL Draft and now is looking for a QB and a head coach.
Bears over Seahawks: A short week and a trip to Chicago is not a good sign for a Seattle victory and despite the beastly season that Marshawn Lynch is having, the Bears run defense is solid and they should get just enough out of their offense to win and stay in the Wild Card playoff race in the NFC.
Titans over Colts: Could this be the "trap game" that gets Indianapolis their first (and probably only) win of the 2011 season? Uh,...nope. While this might seem like the perfect and last chance, Tennessee still has Chris Johnson and that should single-handedly be enough to win this one and keep Indy in the hunt for the "honor" of the 1st pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.
Packers over Chiefs: Green Bay will move to 14-0 on their way to a perfect season and Kansas City will be the victim of their passing attack, although I love to hear the Chiefs announcer yell "Touchdown Kan-sus City!" each time they score.
Saints over Vikings: Minnesota's Adrian Peterson wants to return to his two-win team to help out the fantasy football players who have stuck with him all season, but once New Orleans blasts out to a big lead, the Vikings will have to throw to catch up and he will cease to be a factor, in the game and on fatasy scoreboards.
Giants over Redskins: We all know that in the topsy-turvey NFC East, New York can look good one game ad horrible the next, but with the season on the line and revenge for their week one loss at Washington, I just cannot see Eli Manning totally tanking this one, much less Rex Grossman coming up big in the Big Apple (or the Big Jersey?).
Lions over Raiders: Both teams are fighting for their playoff lives and I have seen Oakland look absolutely horrible the past two weeks and don't see that changing this weekend. Detroit's passing attack and front line should make Raiders QB Carson Palmer's decision to come out of retirement look as bad a Oakland's decision to trade two first-round picks for him looking pretty poor.
Cardinals over Browns: Don't look now but with a win, Arizona will be at 7-7, which in a "normal" NFC West season, might have them at the top of the division. Not happening now, but they are certainly good enough at home to destroy a horrible Cleveland team that can only not win, but see what the entire TV audience saw when QB Colt McCoy was in no condition to be allowed to return to the game after being de-cleated by James Harrison.
Patriots over Broncos: Man, would I love to see Denver pull off the upset and see Tim Tebow "tebowing" afterwards while New England's Bill Belichick and Tom Brady walk off the field with their heads down. However, I just can't see that happening as if the Broncos wait until the 4th quarter to try to pull off another miracle, the Patriots will be so far ahead even Touchdown Jesus won't be able to catch them!
Eagles over Jets: Surprised to see that this game is not even considered an upset as Philadelphia still gets the love from the odds-makers as they are favored to thwart New York's playoff hopes in the aptly-named (?) City of Brotherly Love.
49ers over Steelers (Monday Night Football): Right now the game is off the betting boards until the odds-makers know the exact status of Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger. If San Francisco is the underdog, then this will be my only "Upset Special Pick of the Week." I expect them to be the 'dog, as Steelers fans will flood the betting "windows" to lay down their meager earnings on their team. I like the run-stopping defense of SF, who has still not surrendered a rushing TD all season and their pass rush to hurt Big Ben even more if he runs around in the crumbling pocket. I realize the ravens shut down the 49ers, but that was at home on the east coast and this is back in the chilly confines of their home turf which makes a huge difference.
Last Week: 12-4
Season Record: 130-77