NFL Week 15 Picks

                I ran my record to 8-8 last week, bringing my overall to 125-83. How can these games be getting harder to pick? What kind of sense does that make? Let’s see if we can find out this week.

     SF vs. SD  

                                 Don’t be fooled by how well the 49ers played last week against the Seahawks; they aren’t going to be able to compete with the Chargers, who have five of their last six games. How typical for the Chargers; making a late season run to try and make the playoffs.

                NO vs. BAL 

                                 In spite of the way the Ravens have played during the Monday Night game, they still won and, appropriately, they won on a defensive play. Oddly enough I think that is what this game is going to come down to, defensive play. As odd as it is to think about, the Saints are playing defense even better now than they did when they won the Super Bowl last year. They no longer rely on the big defensive turnover and are instead actually stopping opponents, as well as making them pay for turning the ball over. While they haven’t been as good at stopping the run as they have the pass, the Ravens haven’t exactly been cramming thee ball down their opponent’s throats, they can run the ball when they need to. It’s a tough call, but I’m going to give it to the Saints, because of their more consistently healthy secondary.

               

                ARI vs. CAR

               

                                 You know what’s worse than trying to predict a game between two good teams? Trying to pick a game between two horrible teams. At least in a game between two good teams, you can nitpick and find weaknesses on either side. But with two bad teams, you’re just trying to find a justification to pick one team over the other and even then you have no clue what could happen. In this case, I actually think Carolina will be the winners, because as badly as their offense has played, their defense has actually played fairly well. I think that consistent play will allow them to win.

                CLE vs. CIN

                                 In spite of both teams losing last week, it’s clear that both of these teams are headed in different directions. The Bengals are just trying to not lose this game (which would bring their losing streak to 11) while the Browns have shown consistent improvement as the season has progressed. I don’t expect to see Cleveland struggle to hang onto the ball the way they did against the Bills. Cleveland should win this game.

                WAS vs. DAL

                                 Don’t think that just because neither of these teams is going to make the playoffs this year that they are going to treat this game like a throwaway. The owners of these teams are going to make sure that their coaches are aware that this is a rivalry game, and that fact matters to them. Dallas has gotten hot in recent weeks and should be able to overcome whatever resistance the Redskins might be able to muster.

                JAC vs. IND

                                 This game comes down to one simple question: Which defense can steps up first, the Colts run defense or the Jags pass defense? Given the multitude of injuries that have ravaged the Colts, I’m giving that win to the Jaguars.

                BUF vs. MIA

                                 While Buffalo still isn’t winning a lot of games, fans of the Bills can take the fact that their players aren’t going quietly into the offseason to heart. It’s the first sign that a team is ready to become a consistent contender. They shouldn’t win this game, since Miami is pushing for a playoff berth and needs every win they can get. Plus I think that Cameron Wake is going to wreak havoc on the inexperienced Bills offensive line. Miami wins.

                PHI vs. NYG*Game of the Week*

                                 This battle between the two best teams in the NFC East comes down to this single question. Will Eli Manning throw the game away? In this game, I don’t think so. While he has thrown a lot of picks this season, he also knows when it’s ok to make mistakes and when not to make mistakes. It also helps that the Eagles can’t keep their defense healthy. The most balanced team in the NFC (Giants) should win this game.

                KC vs. STL

                                 This game is difficult to pin down. As well as the Rams have been playing this season, they haven’t been spectacular at any aspect of the game. Kansas City on the other hand has run the ball well and played good defense, at least up until last week. I’m not willing to say that last week as the beginning of a trend, but let’s see how the Chiefs rebound from that tough loss. I think the Chiefs win.

                DET vs. TB 

                                 Well these two teams have certainly picked themselves up after being the second and third worst teams in the NFL last season. Now you have the Lions playing better than some playoff teams and the Bucs are actually making a playoff push. However, the Bucs have suffered injury after injury in the past three weeks and their defense is down at least four starters. They aren’t going to keep winning with that many starters hurt. I’m giving Detroit the win because of that.

                         

                      

                HOU vs. TEN

                                 *Ding* *Ding* Round Two. In this corner from Samford University, weighing in at 188 pounds, cornerback for the Tennessee Titans, Cortland Finnegan. And in this corner, from Miami (Fl.) University, weighing in at 225 pounds, wide receiver for the Houston Texans, Andre Johnson. Fight.

                                Well, now that I have thoroughly smashed the joke into the ground, let’s talk about the actual game. Sadly there isn’t that much to talk about beyond that joke. The Titans offense doesn’t have much going for it past Chris Johnson and that has everything to do with the fact that Kerry Collins is their starting quarterback. As good as he can be in spot starts, he’s just not someone I would trust going down the stretch, even against bad passing defense like the one the Texans have. Houston wins.

                ATL vs. SEA

                                 This is probably going to be Atlanta’s hardest test before heading into the playoffs. No, I don’t think that has anything to do with how good the Seahawks are, but it has everything to do with where they play. Even in bad years, Qwest Field is one of the toughest stadiums to play in for road teams. Even if the Seahawks are just mediocre like they are this season, the fans in that stadium make it incredibly difficult to play in. Given how much success Atlanta has had at home, this will be a good test to see how they handle a hostile environment on the road. I’m still picking Atlanta to win, but how they perform in this game will tell us a lot about how prepped they’ll be for the playoffs.

                DEN vs. OAK

                                Oakland is making it very hard to write them off, even if they don’t make the playoffs. Denver on the other hand extremely easy to write off. Oakland wins.

                NYJ vs. PIT

                                 Jets fans shouldn’t be so surprised that this is happening. Mark Sanchez came into the NFL with minimal experience as a starter; you had to expect it would take quite a while to get the necessary experience to succeed in the NFL. As the season wares on, his mistakes become more pronounced and more obvious. So in this game against a Steelers defense that has been dominant and is catching its stride, I think it’d be pretty dumb to pick against them. Steelers win.

                GB vs. NE

                                 I don’t care if Aaron Rodgers plays in this game or not, the Packers offense is going to be extremely limited. Concussions ruin quarterbacks, just look at Trent Green. The Patriots are going to win, just as simple as that.

                CHI vs. MIN

                                 I’ll say this much, it’ll be interesting to see how the Vikings adjust to playing outside for the first time in a long time. That is, if they can clean up the field at the University of Minnesota in time. Either way, I still think the Bears should be able to handle the Vikings, unless they have a meltdown of epic proportions.