I
can’t say things are going amazingly well for me. I’m now 5-games
off of Mike’s pace, and have Gus and Molly closing in, along with
Terry. Most importantly, I’m staring directly at the possibility
of falling below even on the season… which is always my biggest
desire of the year. I may not be able to stop Terry from having
a great season… which she did her first time playing, while setting
the highest Backpack score for wins against the spread ever. I
may not finish better than Mike… he knows what I know, and a few
breaks or chances for either of us can be the separation. What
I can do is try to win more than I lose… and there are 48 games
left to go.
The
work is steady though, the holidays festive, and the pace of the
world so far is better today than yesterday… I can’t complain
too much.
So
many stupid, stupid picks though… especially recently. I feel
all alone and isolated when I look at some of these games. So
this week we’re going to try and keep it simple. No thinking too
much. And we’ll use Cast Away as the movie.
San
Francisco at San Diego (9)
– “First thing it’s two minutes,
then four, then six, then the next thing you know, we’re the U.S.
mail.” I’m just not of a mind to pick too many
big spreads this week. Well… that’s not true. I’ll be picking
New England. My point instead rests on two ideas. First, I don’t
trust the San Diego head coach. Second, I wonder exactly how good
San Diego is. There is a very realistic chance they don’t play
in the postseason this year. A bit more depth of research might
be deserved for this game, because, well… did I mention I don’t
trust the coach? I’m going to take the 49ers, but realistically
and primarily, my biggest concern is Frank Gore. See… the Chargers
are showing they can run the ball. Rivers is playing very well.
9-points isn’t too much. But I likely should be a bit more careful
here and recognize that the 49ers have not shown that they can
doing anything on offense other than hand the ball or throw the
ball to Gore.
Bob: San Francisco
Terry: San Francisco
Mike: San Diego
Molly: San Francisco
Gus: San Diego
Sam: San Diego
Philadelphia
at New York (Giants) (3)
– “We live and we die by time. And
we must not commit the sin of losing our track on time.”
Big game… and there are a few this weekend. The winner takes a
one-game lead in the division with two to play. Eagles are playing
better on offense… Giants better on defense. Both have played
just about equally well at home and on the road. About the only
difference comes from November… where Philly won the first contest
between these clubs. In short… a win for the Eagles all but locks
up the NFC East for them, as it gives them a one-game advantage
and also the tie-breaker. The thing is… the Giants are on another
streak. They lost to Dallas and Philly, then took care of Jacksonville
to get back to winning, and in recent weeks simply dominated Minnesota
and Washington. I like the home team here.
Bob: New York
Terry: New York
Mike: Philadelphia
Mike Jr: New York
Molly: Philadelphia
Gus: Philadelphia
Sam: New York
Washington
at Dallas (6)
– “You wouldn’t have a match by
any chance, would you?” There is so much crap
happening in Washington… now it involves benching the quarterback…
I don’t see how to make any type of case for selecting them to
make this game much of a contest.
Bob: Dallas
Terry: Dallas
Mike: Dallas
Mike Jr: Dallas
Molly: Washington
Gus: Washington
Sam: Washington
Jacksonville
at Indianapolis (5)
– “Hello! Anybody?”
I can honestly say the Colts concern me. I wouldn’t want to play
them, but they just don’t have that definitive edge that you plan
to see from them… which I suppose happens when winning 12 games
each season, year after year, is suddenly replaced by a season
where winning out gets them to 11 victories and a division title
they didn’t have in hand back in October. In turn, the Jaguars
are playing some solid football. Not great football… but to my
eyes much better than when I was making fun of them week after
week for finding a way to win enough games to stay in the race
while routinely being destroyed. Make no mistake… other than Manning,
there is nothing taking the field in this game that scares any
other AFC playoff team. But I don’t expect the Colts to win in
a laugher. This one should be close, or a Jaguar victory.
Bob: Jacksonville
Terry: Jacksonville
Mike: Jacksonville
Mike Jr: Jacksonville
Molly: Jacksonville
Gus: Jacksonville
Sam: Indianapolis
Detroit
at Tampa Bay (6)
– “Hey, you want to hear something
funny? My dentist’s name is James Spalding.” I
admit it. I want to pick Detroit. I want to recognize them for
playing tough games this season. But let’s run off some facts.
(1) Detroit is 0-6 on the road. (2) This is the first Detroit
road game since November 21st. (3) With Philly or New York likely
losing and not finishing with a tie, and Green Bay headed to New
England, there is a good chance with a win here that the Bucs
will be tied with the second-place NFC East team for the final
wild card spot.
Bob: Tampa Bay
Terry: Tampa Bay
Mike: Tampa Bay
Mike Jr: Tampa Bay
Molly: Detroit
Gus: Detroit
Sam: Detroit
Kansas
City at St. Louis (3)
– “We buried you. There was a coffin,
a gravestone. The whole thing.” “I had a coffin? Well, what was
in it?” I want to pick the Chiefs in this game…
and definitely would love to see the Chiefs take the AFC West.
That said… let’s be realistic… Kansas City on the road has been
tough to watch in 2010. St. Louis has a shot at winning their
division, and really needs this game to position themselves for
the final two weeks. I like the home team here… pure and simple.
Bob: St. Louis
Terry: St. Louis
Mike: Kansas City
Mike Jr: Kansas City
Molly: Kansas City
Gus: Kansas City
Sam: Kansas City
New
Orleans at Baltimore (1½)
– “Do… do you have to keep bringing
that up? Huh? Ok, so it was a good thing we did a test because
it wasn’t going to be just a quick snap.” I got
nothing insightful to say. I just think the Saints are the better
team. Should be a great game.
Bob: New Orleans
Terry: Baltimore
Mike: New Orleans
Mike Jr: New Orleans
Molly: Baltimore
Gus: New Orleans
Sam: Baltimore
Arizona
at Carolina (2½)
– “I should’ve never gotten on that
plane. I should’ve never gotten out of the car.”
Wow. That quote is what alot of people will be saying if they
attend this travesty. Ok… umm… every one of Carolina’s victories
has been at home this year. Go ahead. Look it up. They won a game.
That was a home game. Arizona doesn’t do much of anything particularly
well right now, and travel is one of the things they do particularly
poorly.
Bob: Carolina
Terry: Arizona
Mike: Carolina
Mike Jr: Arizona
Molly: Carolina
Gus: Carolina
Sam: Arizona
Atlanta
(6½) at Seattle
– “Gotta love crab. In the nick
of time too. I couldn’t take much more of those coconuts.”
I’m just taking the better team here. No magic tricks. No deep
research. Seattle can be beaten at home, and they do give up points.
Works for me.
Bob: Atlanta
Terry: Seattle
Mike: Atlanta
Mike Jr: Atlanta
Molly: Seattle
Gus: Seattle
Sam: Seattle
Houston
at Tennessee (1)
– “So, let me get one thing straight
here. We have a pro football team now, but they’re in Nashville?”
This could go against me in so many ways, I’m scared to talk about
it. Do the Titans have any fight left in them? If so, the Texans
are toast. And, I suppose you could ask if the Texans have anything
left. But Tennessee has been awful at home this year and has managed
to look very bad since obtaining that wide receiver (name slips
my mind right now) and having troubles with a quarterback (again,
I think that happened, I don’t recall any names). In other words…
nothing memorable going on here at all. So let’s take the Texans
based on nothing other than I’m so tired of picking them and watching
them fall flat that I know I shouldn’t pick them here, which means
when I don’t pick them they’ll do just fine, so I should pick
them. How’s that? No… really… that’s the best I’ve got. Houston
looked so ridiculously bad ending the game against Baltimore I
wanted to pick against them in every game for the next five years.
And that’s exactly the type of finish that makes me act emotionally,
pick against them, and then get ticked off because they show up
the next week.
Bob: Houston
Terry: Houston
Mike: Houston
Mike Jr: Houston
Molly: Tennessee
Gus: Tennessee
Sam: Tennessee
New
York (Jets) at Pittsburgh (6½)
– “This could work! This could work!”
There is nothing… and I mean nothing… impressive about the Jets
right now.
Bob: Pittsburgh
Terry: New York
Mike: Pittsburgh
Mike Jr: Pittsburgh
Molly: New York
Gus: Pittsburgh
Sam: Pittsburgh
Cleveland
at Cincinnati (1½)
– “Wilson!” Great…
crap playing inept. Only hold on… McCoy is back.
Bob: Cleveland
Terry: Cleveland
Mike: Cleveland
Mike Jr: Cleveland
Molly: Cleveland
Gus: Cleveland
Sam: Cincinnati
Denver
at Oakland (6½)
– “You look lost.” “I do?” “Where’re
you headed?” “Well, I was just about to figure that out.” “Well,
that’s 83 South. And this road here will hook you up with I-40
East. If you turn right, that’ll take you to Amarillo, Flagstaff,
California. And if you head back that direction, you’ll find a
whole lot of nothing all the way to Canada.” “I got it.” “All
right, then. Good luck, cowboy.” It’s just too
many points. Isn’t it? I mean, the Broncos suck. The offense is
bad. The defense is worse. They don’t travel well. They haven’t
played other teams in the division well. By a touchdown? When
Oakland has basically scored as much as they’ve given up this
season? Truth be told… no, it’s not too much. The Raiders defeated
San Diego on the road and made it close against Jacksonville.
And after the tremendous showing last week, there is zero reason
to believe Denver is capable of doing much here.
Bob: Oakland
Terry: Oakland
Mike: Oakland
Mike Jr: Oakland
Molly: Oakland
Gus: Oakland
Sam: Oakland
Buffalo
at Miami (6)
– “Aha. Look what I’ve created.
I have made fire.” Normally I’d pick
the Dolphins here and not think twice… but the Bills could score
enough points to make this interesting. I think the Dolphins struggle.
Which is a shame… because running the table could earn them a
tie with the Jets for the last playoff spot.
Bob: Buffalo
Terry: Miami
Mike: Buffalo
Mike Jr: Buffalo
Molly: Miami
Gus: Miami
Sam: Miami
Green
Bay at New England (9)
– “Don’t worry Wilson, I’ll do all
the paddling. You just hang on.” Yeah… anyone
that wants to make a case for Green Bay is invited to e-mail me.
Otherwise, we move along.
Bob: New England
Terry: New England
Mike: New England
Mike Jr: New England
Molly: New England
Gus: Green Bay
Sam: Green Bay
Chicago
at Minnesota (1½)
– “That’s a search area of 500,000
square miles. That’s twice the size of Texas. They may never find
us.” Have you heard what Minnesota is going through
just to find a quarterback for this game? Have you? If so, then
you don’t expect them to even compete… forget win.
Bob: Chicago
Terry: Chicago
Mike: Chicago
Mike Jr: Chicago
Molly: Minnesota
Gus: Minnesota
Sam: Minnesota
~ ~
~ ~ ~
Mike:
Last week 7-8-1, currently 106-92-10
Bob: Last week 6-9-1, currently 101-97-10
Gus: Last week 8-7-1, currently 97-101-10
Molly: Last week 7-8-1, currently 95-103-10
Terry: Last week 9-6-1, currently 95-103-10
Mike Jr: Last week 8-7-1, currently 89-95-10
Sam: Last week 11-4-1, currently 84-114-10