Football Thoughts

Sunday November 30^th 1:00

Indianapolis Colts (7-4) @ Cleveland Browns (4-7)**     LOCK OF THE WEEK
- These two teams are going in opposite directions. The Browns seemed to be heading toward a positive second half of the year after Brady Quinn entered the lineup and led them to two straight victories, but an awful performance against the Texans, and losing Quinn for the year with an injury has put a halt to that. The Colts can’t be beat right now, and are looking like the dominate team they were just three years ago. Not only do the Browns not have the offensive power at the moment to put up points, but they won’t be able to stop the hot Peyton Manning even at home. While Indianapolis is fighting hard for a playoff spot, the Browns are just looking for a miracle. Well I’ll be the first to say- don’t expect a miracle in the Dawg Pound Sunday.
Colts: 34 Browns: 17

San Francisco 49ers (3-8) @ Buffalo Bills (6-5)**
- Finally! The Buffalo Bills finally woke up after a month’s rest, but it may be a little too late. In fact, they can probably only afford to lose only one more game this season if they hope to have any playoff spot in their mind. A warm up against the Chiefs was a good start, and now a more dangerous opponent heads to their palace. Well- maybe they’re not all that dangerous. Still, with Shaun Hill at the helm, the 49ers are a much better football team. With Mike Singletary coaching, this team will fight to the very end and play with a ton of heart. Unfortunately for them though, the Bills have too much riding on this game. If they can pull out a victory against the 49ers, them knowing they have a two game win streak will stack a ton of confidence on this young team. I expect them to keep this momentum on Sunday.
49ers: 20 Bills: 26

New York Giants (10-1) @ Washington Redskins (7-4)****1/2  GAME OF THE WEEK
- We saw these two teams battle it out in the first game of the season, and the Giants defense made Jason Campbell and the Redskins offense look like a High School team. Things have changed for the better for both teams since then. Campbell looks like a much better quarterback, but unfortunately for him the Giants defense looks even more powerful since then. The Giants have beaten five straight teams with a winning record; something that has never been done in the NFL. Historically, the Giants have struggled in Washington, but obviously this is a new and improved Giants team. Quarterback Eli Manning isn’t threatened by any environment, and should be able to do anything possible to get past a Redskins team desperate for a playoff spot. No team has figured out how to stop Earth, wind, and fire yet, and until somebody does I’m convinced it’s impossible. I’m not going to stop picking the Giants until they have a pitiful performance to prove me wrong. Also, it has just come to my attention that wide receiver Plaxico Burress has shot himself in the leg? No matter how stupid that is, it doesn't change the outcome of my prediction.
Giants: 30 Redskins: 18

New Orleans Saints (6-5) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-3)****
- Everyone is so quick to name this Saints team elite after an impressive performance on Monday Night Football, but what did you really expect? That was their first game in New Orleans in over 40 days, so the crowd made sure there was no let down. Plus, the Packers defense isn’t really that good, and the Saints were in need of top notch production from their offense to stay in the playoff hunt. The Buccaneers defense though, is much more talented, and will have the home field advantage on their side. I said for the Falcons Panthers game last week that every NFC South team at home against another NFC South opponent plays at a high level and that will probably be the case in this one. New Orleans is a much different team on the road, and it would be impossible for them to match the intensity from Monday Night. Tampa Bay should be able to run the ball down the throat of a defense still very below average of the NFL level, and keep the strangle hold on the NFC South.
Saints: 20 Buccaneers: 34

Baltimore Ravens (7-4) @ Cincinnati Bengals (1-9-1)*1/2
- The story of the year for the Ravens has obviously been the high production they have gotten out of Joe Flacco. He has been impressive this season, but nothing has impressed me more than his ability to come off a loss, and his calm attitude bouncing back after a bad play in general. A big reason why this Ravens team has seven wins is due to them winning the game they’re supposed to. Four of their losses have come against the Steelers, Titans, Colts, and Giants- all elite teams in this league. John Harbaugh has this team focused and have them taking care of business. A Bengals team coming off a loss with only one true win this season has little chance of catching the Ravens off guard, and that should lead to yet another long day for quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. The wins will continue to pile up for Baltimore as long as they’re handed easy teams like the Bengals.
Ravens: 27 Bengals: 9

Miami Dolphins (6-5) @ St. Louis Rams (2-9)**
- I said it before and I’ll say it again- how did the Rams manage to win two games this season? Honestly, this team is VERY bad. The sad thing is they aren’t even the worst team in the league. There is pretty much no way I’d chose them to win a game for the rest of the year, even if it was against the Lions. Tony Sparano will unleash the Wildcat offense on them all day and not look back. On defense, Joey Porter should have a Thanksgiving feast on Marc Bulger, Trent Green, or whoever gets the job by default. Injuries, lack of execution, play calling, and just plain lack of talent are going to hold this team back for quite some time. Any sort of pride they’d be expected to play for is pretty much a laughable cause at this point. I know I’m being rough, but I just feel they’re that bad of a squad. Miami will win big.
Dolphins: 33 Rams: 12

Carolina Panthers (8-3) @ Green Bay Packers (5-6)***     UPSET OF THE WEEK
- I bet people will look at the Monday Night football performance by Green Bay last week, then look at the Panthers record and expect a loss for the Pack Attack. Luckily, I know more than they do! Almost 90% of the time, a team coming off a bad road loss returning home, especially still in the playoff hunt for that matter, will play much better. Truth is Carolina isn’t that great of a team. After their bye week, the Panthers have put up lack luster games against the Lions and Raiders, and then gave up 45 points to the Falcons last week. When are they going to get out of this funk? Until they do, I’m losing faith. I expect the Packers to bounce back in a big way and still stay in the division race with a victory over a Panthers team still trying to get out of this downwards spiral.
Panthers: 17 Packers: 29

Sunday November 30^th 1:00

Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3) @ New England Patriots (7-4)****1/2
- There is nobody in the league performing at a higher level than Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel right now. He has thrown for over 400 yards in each of his past two games; something that has only been done five different times in NFL history. Who will be able to stop this phenomenal production? If there is anyone, it would defiantly be the Pittsburgh Steelers. Last season, the Steelers were embarrassed in New England, so you know they’d love to get their revenge in the sweetest way. It won’t come easy though. The Patriots are doing all the right things, and are finally starting to believe they can actually win the Super Bowl even without their MVP quarterback at the helm. Obviously, this will be one of Cassel’s toughest opponents to date, but I don’t see any reason why he can’t rise above it and lead the Patriots to victory.
Steelers: 19 Patriots: 23

Atlanta Falcons (7-4) @ San Diego Chargers (4-7)***
- They may not want to think about it, but the San Diego Chargers could easily be 7-4 instead of 4-7. This is exactly why though they aren’t that great of a team; good teams manage to finish games. The Falcons though DO know how to finish games. Also, unlike the Chargers they can actually play some defense. San Diego will have their hands full when Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, and Roddy White come to town. Atlanta is lights out in the Georgia Dome, and they even play terrific outside of it. After all the Mike Vick and Bobby Petrino debacles, the Falcons must really feel it’s their destiny to make the post-season. If the Chargers haven’t been able to stop anyone, what makes you think they’ll ruin this amazing run by the Falcons? It won’t happen.
Falcons: 34 Chargers: 24

Kansas City Chiefs (1-10) @ Oakland Raiders (3-8)*     DOG OF THE WEEK
- Well I’ll tell you what, I’ll be the first to admit I was completely wrong with my analysis on the Raiders game last week against the Broncos. I didn’t see such an offensive explosion coming from them. It was very impressive on their part. They’ll be returning home to play a team they have already beaten this season, the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs are coming off an awful performance- giving up 54 points to the Buffalo Bills at home. Just like the Lions, the Chiefs have lost 19 of their past 20 games. Why should I have any hope of them pulling out a victory on the road against a team who had such a huge moral boost last week? Tyler Thigpen has been playing solid this season, but he’d be crazy to throw anything near Nnamdi Asomugha. The Raiders game plan will be simple; shut down Larry Johnson (who is on the down side of his career as it is), and let Asomugha do the rest. I expect the Raiders to win their second straight game.
Chiefs: 13 Raiders: 23

Denver Broncos (6-5) @ New York Jets (8-3)***1/2
- This game may get ugly for the Broncos if they aren’t able to recover from that beating last week from the Raiders. The Jets have the mindset that they can beat anyone right now, and that’s because that’s the truth. They just ruined the perfect season for the Titans, and have all the talent to make a run to the Super Bowl. The Broncos offense has a lot of talent, but they’re too inconsistent. The run game (if you can call it that), will be eliminated by the best run defense in the league, and there is no way on this planet Jay Cutler will be able to match the number of points the New York offense will put on Denver. If they let JaMarcus Russell put up 31 on them, Favre has the potential to go over 50. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington should carve them up, while Favre should destroy them on play action and such. You may see a lot of points, but most of them will be coming from the Jets.
Broncos: 21 Jets: 45

Sunday November 30^th 8:30

Chicago Bears (6-5) @ Minnesota Vikings (6-5)****
- This is no doubt the biggest game of the year thus far for both teams. The winner takes full control of the NFC North, and a 1.5 game lead on the other. The home field for this game will be the Metro Dome, and that will be a huge advantage for the Vikings. There are a couple of reasons why I’m choosing the Minnesota. Number one, the defensive line is much superior to the Bears offensive line, and will be stuffing rookie running back Matt Forte all day, which happens to be Chicago’s biggest weapon. Number two, Brad Childress will be pretty much playing for his job. If he loses with this much talent, he will probably be fired at the end of the season. Number three is a major reason, and that’s Adrian Peterson. Pretty much no one has been able to stop the man this year, and in the national spotlight he will be on his game. Number four was already stated, and that’s home field advantage. The Metro Dome will be rocking on Sunday Night trying to get in the head of their division rival. It’s amazing the Vikings are even in position to be here with the quarterback play they had earlier in the year, but that just goes to show how dominate the defense and run game has been.
Bears: 16 Vikings: 24

Sunday November 31^st 8:30

Jacksonville Jaguars (4-7) @ Houston Texans (4-7)**
- Both teams have obviously been disappointments this season, but anything can happen on Monday Night Football! We may still be able to see some great plays from Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew and Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson. What really works in favor for the Texans is the fact that the Jaguars are on a two game losing streak, and losing confidence fast. It also helps that the Texans are coming off an impressive win in Cleveland gaining a ton of confidence, and how they historically play the Jacksonville Jaguars very well. Both teams will be playing for pride, but the Texans quarterback Sage Rosenfels will most likely be playing for his job, and a big game on Monday Night Football would sure go a long way in impressing coach Gary Kubiak.
Jaguars: 28 Texans: 35

* = Game Rating
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Last Week: 10-6

All Time: 91-70

Lock of the Week: 7-5

Upset of the Week: 4-8