NFL Week 16 Saturday Sunday Monday Edition

Season Record to date:

Week 10: 9-7

Week 11: 9-5

Week 12: 13-3

Week 13: 10-6

Week 14: 12-4

Week 15: 11-5

Raiders (7-7) at Chiefs (6-8): It is always exciting when we get to see this epic rivalry played out before our eyes. Oakland lost a heart breaker last week because they couldn’t play defense down the stretch, allowing a long drive from Detroit to lose the game 28-27. 27 seems to be the maximum amount of points Carson Palmer is capable of putting up in a game if we look at his performances so far this season. The first time these two teams met resulted in a 28-0 win by the Chiefs but that was a game where Kyle Boller started and Carson Palmer came in to replace him being completely unprepared to play, in his 1^st game in a Raider uniform. Kansas City shocked the world last week, or at least most North American sports fans by toppling the previously undefeated, defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers, 19-14. This was a victory obtained in large part by their defense getting after Aaron Rodgers and disrupting the timing of that lethal passing attack. Also it cannot be ignored that Kyle Orton is a reasonable NFL quarterback which makes their offense more multidimensional. I predict a continuation of this improved trend for the Chiefs this Saturday. (Go with the Chiefs)

Jaguars (4-10) at Titans (7-7): Jacksonville got trounced by the Falcons last week as expected. Their defense was decimated by a high octane Atlanta Offense and they couldn’t get much going on offense despite another strong performance from Maurice Jones-Drew. Tennessee has the embarrassing achievement of handing Indianapolis their first win of the season. A very poor performance from Matt Hasselbeck and by the time they replaced him with Jake Locker it was too late to come back. I’ve been saying for a few weeks now that I think Jake Locker is ready to take the helm but the Titans coaching staff blew it and now they no longer hold their playoff destiny in their own hands. I fully expect Jake Locker to start and for Tennessee to bounce back this week. (Go with the Titans)

Dolphins (5-9) at Patriots (11-3): The Patriots are public enemy # one after putting an end to the ever popular Tebow magic last week. All jokes aside they are a dominant team despite whatever you want to say about their defense. Tom Brady is a master out there on the field and he proves it week in week out. Miami has been a very good team over the second half of the season and Reggie Bush is proving himself as a # one back for the first time in his career, with 203 yards rushing against Buffalo. New England just has too much fire power and will once again display it in this game. (Go with the Patriots)

Cardinals (7-7) at Bengals (8-6): The Arizona Cardinals just keep winning and John Skelton keeps improving with 313 passing yards last week. The Bengals have only won two of their last six games and will be in tough against Arizona. Arizona will continue to roll. (Go with the Cardinals)

Broncos (8-6) at Bills (5-9): Tim Tebow came back down to earth against a great passing attack in the Patriots same as he had against a great passing attack in the Lions. It comes as no surprise that he probably won’t be able to keep up in shootouts, therefore unless his defense shuts the door he’s toast. I love the way he plays the game with such passion and intensity and the way he runs the ball like a full back. I hope he spends the entire off season improving his throwing capabilities so that he can come back next year and be a more complete quarterback. As for the Bills the story isn’t as rosy. They gave Ryan Fitzpatrick a big fat contract early in the season, only to their investment subsequently fall apart along with the entire team. The loss of Fred Jackson to injury didn’t help, but they were heading downhill well before that took place. I will stick with my prediction that Buffalo won’t win again this season and vote for the return of some Tebow mania on Saturday. (Go with the Broncos)

Rams (2-12) at Steelers (10-4): This game is laughable and sad. Nobody feels like watching this game except Steelers fans and Rams fans obviously. St-Louis are looking to next season and just trying to get out of these final two games alive. Sam Bradford doesn’t feel like taking any more hits but he will against the Steelers. Pittsburgh is hurting to a certain extent after their loss at Candlestick but this a team that always fights back and is made for the playoffs. They will punch the Rams in the mouth this weekend. (Go with the Steelers)

Giants (7-7) at Jets (8-6): You never know what you’re going to get from this Giants team this season. How could they have come out so flat in a game they needed so badly last week? The battle for the hearts and minds of New Yorkers is always exciting and there’s no chance either team comes out anything other than pumped up for this game. The Jets also lost last week and they really got hammered by The Eagles. I’m still not sold on Mark Sanchez and may never be, time will tell. I believe in the New York Football Giants despite their inability to run the ball because I think Eli Manning is one of the best in the business. (Go with the Giants)

Vikings (2-12) at Redskins (5-9): Minnesota has not won a game in many weeks but they’ve competed in some games. Give this Christian Ponder kid another off season to get better coupled with a fully healthy Adrian Peterson next season and I think you’ll find a team that wins plenty of football games, dare I say a playoff team. I’d like to see Rex Grossman back in Washington next season and for them to really stick with him and not pull him as soon as things start looking a little sour. We can’t predict what may have happened this season if they had not temporarily given up on him. This will be another game for him to prove his worth. (Go with the Redskins)

Buccaneers (4-10) at Panthers (5-9): Tampa Bay has not won a football game since week 6 and they won’t win another until next season at the earliest. Their defense has clearly packed it in, giving up over 30 points in many of these losses. The offense is also averaging fewer points per game during this woeful stretch. I’m not 100% sure what has happened to cause this but I do know that they lack a certain amount of talent all around. Carolina is a flashy, exciting team to watch and Cam Newton is already a very special player. As I’ve said before, I think they will be a playoff team next season. It was nice to see what Deangelo Williams can still do when he is fully healthy which has not been often over the past two years. Also how exciting this must be for Steve Smith to be able to play his last few seasons with a top notch quarterback. This will be a battle between a team on the rise and one on the fall. (Go with the Panthers)

Browns (4-10) at Ravens (10-4): Peyton Hillis has found his stride and is running well for the Browns. Seneca Wallace has come in to replace the concussed Colt McCoy and Cleveland is going nowhere fast. For the most part they play pretty tough defense against the pass; ranking 3^rd but they counter balance that with a rank of 31^st against the run. I think this is an organization that needs to draft better and it will take some time to rebuild. Baltimore has things well in hand this season despite being up ended by the surging Chargers last week. They are en route to a 12-4 season and 1^st place in the AFC south but we need to take a look at what happened against the Chargers. As we look at the stats of this game it becomes evident that their defense got run over and passed over by a very talented offense. Also Joe Flacco threw two interceptions and he needs to limit those mistakes if they are to make any noise in the playoffs. This game should be a good confidence booster for Baltimore. (Go with the Ravens)

Chargers (7-7) at Lions (9-5): Matthew Stafford was a beast last week with his 391 passing yards and 4 touchdown passes. We aren’t sure if the Lions are for real but we know Stafford is legit. That final drive starting from their own 2 yard line, going 98 yards and culminating in a 6 yard touchdown pass to Calvin Johnson to win the game was nothing short of spectacular. That’s the kind of stuff that makes legends of men. I would love to see Detroit win a playoff game this year and they will need tremendous play from Matthew Stafford to achieve that. San Diego comes into Detroit on a mission to keep their slim playoff hopes alive and they are just playing great lately with three straight wins and that offense looks unstoppable. I am seriously frightened for what might happen to the Lions defense this weekend. (Go with the Chargers)

Eagles (6-8) at Cowboys (8-6): Watch out Cowboys because the Eagles are soaring and they arrive in Dallas wanting nothing more than to play the role of spoiler. Michael Vick looks so sharp and he is playing to save his coaches job. This is a team that if properly prepared will have the record next year that they were supposed to have this year. Right now they are giving us a taste of their potential and it’s impressive. Dallas had a bounce back game in Tampa Bay but what does that really prove? I guess we’ll find that out on Saturday and I predict a high scoring pass happy game that Philly will pull out in the clutch thanks to athletic plays from Michael Vick. (Go with the Eagles)

49ers (11-3) at Seahawks (7-7): I want to say this will be an easy game for the high powered 49ers, coming off their first win of serious significance this season, but the truth is this will be a very challenging game against a very worthy opponent. Seattle has won 3 straight and have put up 30 + points in each of those games. Tavaris Jackson has transformed himself into not only a capable NFL quarterback but lately a somewhat dominant one. The Seahawks defense are no slouches themselves, accounting for 5 takeaways in the victory over Chicago. I do enjoy the 49ers story this season as their rise back to prominence has been a long time coming. I was a young teenager when Steve Young was battling it out with Brett Favre in the playoffs. This is why I was so happy to see them defeat Pittsburgh and finally win against a top tier team this season. How they follow up on that performance this week in Seattle will give us more insight on what they might be able to accomplish in the post season. Their defence should be plenty good enough to limit Marshawn Lynch and henceforth make life hell for Tavaris Jackson and that Seattle passing game. (Go with the 49ers)

Bears (7-7) at Packers (13-1): Unfortunately for Chicago, the injuries to Jay Cutler and Matt Forte will cost them a playoff berth. They are simply not a potent offense without their two best players, no surprise. This reality obviously has a negative psychological effect on their defense as we’ve seen in their performances as well. Green Bay fell off their perch at Arrowhead stadium but it doesn’t have to be a big deal, it all depends how they spin it in their minds. The main goal was and still is to win the Super Bowl. The negative impact could come in when you lose that aura of invincibility in the eyes of your opponents which is why it is of the utmost importance that they put this idea to bed by pouncing all over the Bears Sunday Night. To this the offensive line will have to protect Aaron Rodgers better as we he was sacked 4 times in Kansas City. (Go with the packers)

Falcons (9-5) at Saints (11-3): The last meeting between these two teams this season ended in a 26-23 overtime victory by New Orleans so we know this game has the capability of being very electric. Both offenses are playing better than they were in week 10 and Drew Brees is once again being considered perhaps the best quarterback in football today. The Saints have not lost since week 8 and they put up 42 points on the Vikings last week as they continue to be the # 1 ranked passing attack in the NFL. The Falcons are also clicking on all cylinders right now but I don’t believe they have what it takes to beat the Saints in New Orleans on Monday Night. (Go with the Saints)