Week 17 NFL Picks-Will A losing Record Go To The Playoffs

Garrard was looking like a winner after he scampered 20 yds into the end zone taking the game into overtime, but alittle over a minute into the extra quarter he threw an inexcusable lame duck right into the hands of washington's Kevin Barnes that ended up on the Jag's 14, loser. I wrote that Peyton Manning should run with the ball and sure enough he did. It was the strangest thing to watch. What was even stranger? The fact that he slid to the ground just two yards from a score. Go figure. With the Jags loss the Colts are division winners. The Jets, having long used up their nine lives, suffered another loss at the hands of the Bears in a shoot out, but are still barely breathing thanks to the Jags. Baltimore whipped the Browns and can only hope the Browns can whip the Steelers this week. Chuckle, chuckle. Drew Brees over came two early interceptions and out lasted the Falcons in Atlanta. Michael Vick showed he was human afterall as the Vikings lashed the Eagles.

The final week of regular season has arrived. The playoff picture is much more clearer. New England has peaked at the right time and look strong going into the playoffs with home field advantage. Miami this Sunday will only be a warm up for the Patriots, but it is crucial they maintain their edge with a bye the first week of playoffs. Atlanta, barring any unforeseen occurrence, should have no problem with Carolina. New Orleans is hosting Tampa Bay, which favors the Saints if Brees can stay away from making the crucial mistakes that nearly did him in against the Falcons, but was able to overcome, fortunately. Tennessee is weak against the pass, which plays into the Colts strength, the Peyton Manning led offense. It was fun seeing Peyton run with the ball, something entirely unexpected, certainly by his opponents. Chicago at Green Bay should prove to be a bruising divisional game with nothing on the line except pride. Aaron Rodgers stuff will be tested against the Bears defense and vica versa.

There are four divisions undecided going into this week. Two of them are the AFC North and the big one, the NFC West, battle of the losing records. Pittsburgh at Cleveland, Cincinnati at Baltimore, and St. Louis at Seattle are the games of the week and winner will take all. Pittsburgh's Troy Polamalu is listed as unlikely to play and with him out the Steelers are a different team. Colt McCoy was very shacky against Baltimore's defense and Hillis took some hits that left him ineffective. The Browns need to get Joshua Cribbs back into the game to increase their chances of pulling off a surprise at home, no matter how remote that appears to be at present. Sunday's weather doesn't look to be a factor other than cold. If the Browns can control the run and break up the Roethlisberger to Wallace combination their chances will increase. Good luck with that Cleveland.

Baltimore needs to be on their toes with Cincinnati, a lesson learned by the flatfooted Chargers. The Ravens defense can hold the Bengals offense in check, but their offense behind Flacco will have to excercise ball control to keep it out of Palmer's hands. That is where Ray Rice comes in. If Rice has a good game it will balance out Flacco, who is more than capable of moving his team through the air. The "Old cleveland Browns" will be pulling for a "New Cleveland Browns" victory over the Steelers. It's a strange world we live in.

Everyone will be watching St. Louis take on Seattle. If Seattle wins they will take the division with a losing record. If St. Louis wins they will have an 8-8 record going into the playoffs. Matt Hasselbeck is injured and is unlikely to start, which means Charlie Whitehurst is in, but Hasselbeck says not to count him out yet. The Seahawks have been clobbered the past three games. The Rams advantage is Steven Jackson. Sam Bradford is a mover and the Seahawks defense gives up alot of points. Bradford needs to stay away from mistakes and it will be a wrap. Anyways, neither team looks to go far in the playoffs.

 

SUN, JAN 2 TIME (ET)

Carolina 15 at 24 Atlanta 1:00 PM FOX W

Georgia Dome

Pittsburgh 28 at Cleveland 21 1:00 PM CBS W

Cleveland Browns Stadium

Minnesota 24 at Detroit 25 1:00 PM FOX W

Ford Field

Oakland 23 at Kansas City 21 1:00 PM CBS  W

Arrowhead Stadium

Miami 18 at New England 34 1:00 PM CBS W

Gillette Stadium

Tampa Bay 20 at New Orleans 30 1:00 PM FOX L

Superdome

Buffalo 27 at NY Jets 28 1:00 PM CBS W

New Meadowlands Stadium

Cincinnati 20 at Baltimore 24 1:00 PM CBS W

M&T Bank Stadium

Jacksonville 23 at Houston 20 4:15 PM CBS L

Reliant Stadium

NY Giants 27 at Washington 18 4:15 PM FOX W

FedEx Field

Dallas 23 at Philadelphia 30 4:15 PM FOX L

Lincoln Financial Field

Arizona 21 at San Francisco 20 4:15 PM FOX L

Candlestick Park

Chicago 24 at Green Bay 27 4:15 PM FOX W

Lambeau Field

Tennessee 17 at Indianapolis 36 4:15 PM CBS W

Lucas Oil Stadium

San Diego 27 at Denver 20 4:15 PM CBS W

Invesco Field at Mile High

St. Louis 23 at Seattle 24 8:20 PM NBC W

Qwest F

No Offense, No Surprise-Browns Get Trashed By Ravens 20-10

This season is looking all to familiar once again as the Browns continue their losing ways in a sad but not surprising loss to Baltimore. The trash talking Ravens pretty much had their own way on both sides of the ball. The final statistics verify that final and concise summary. Delhomme or McCoy, the outcome is all the same. The illusion of capable passing or running was not discernable. The unexplainable case of the disappearing Joshua Cribbs from the offense still remains unsolved. Man-Hougini dug down deep into his nearly empty bag of tricks for a brief moment to dazzle the home town fans one final time with a Massaquoi to Robiskie touchdown surprise. A precursor to his up coming concluding curtain call and escape.

Colt Mccoy showed up with no bullets in his gun and threw three interceptions. He accumilated only 149 yds from 15 completions out of 29 attempts. It all added up to a rating of 27.0. Definately not something you would write home about. Peyton Hillis didn't fair much better. He only had 35 yds on 12 carries. Hillis was used sparingly, touching the ball a total of 12 times running and only one reception. A far cry from previous games where he was the go to guy. All-in-all it added up to very little offense when considering possession time was almost split evenly between both teams.

Obviously Baltimore made better use of its time. The Ravens pounded out the majority of its offensive yards on the ground. Ray Rice ran for 92 yds on 25 carries. McGahee, Mclain, and Flacco added another 69 yds for a total of 161. Joe Flacco threw two touchdowns on a scant 102 yds of passing, but the glory goes to the trash talking defense led by Ray Lewis. In the days leading up to the game they taunted the Browns and scoffed that Hillis would not repeat his 144-yard performance against them in Week 3. The Browns failed at proving their taunts to be nothing but hot air. Ed Reed burned McCoy twice and delivered some of the games hardest hits.

It doesn't get any easier as the Browns close out their season against Pittsburgh, another defensively hard hitting team. What almost looked like a promising year turned out to be no different than all the rest. More than likely the Browns will finish 5-11. Joshua Cribbs remains a mystery. Man-Hougini continues to leave him out of the offensive scheme. Hopefully Man-Hougini will go out swinging with everything he's got. A win against the Steelers would give the fans some gratification and 6-10 looks better than 5-11. A parting gift perhaps before he makes his escape from the shackles of mediocrity called the Cleveland Browns. Next year things will be different. It will be a breakout year for the Browns, and there's this property along the the shores of Lake Erie near the Cuyahoga River I would like to sell you. A fantastic deal you cannot pass up.

Week 16 NFL Picks-The Field Is Narrowing Down

Poor execution at critical moments was the predominant theme in Week 15. The Giants squandered a substantial lead by letting Michael Vick out of his cage and with 14 seconds left watched the game literally slip through their fingers. DeSean Jackson took an errant Dodge punt 65 yards straight up the middle of the Giants special teams for a touchdown. Tom Coughlin went bananas on the field. Too bad because Eli Manning had such a good game. Jacksonville had another "what the heck happened" game. The contest still winnable despite being behind late in the fourth, Jacksonville's Scobee attemted an onside kick with 1:54 that went straight to Hagler of the Colts who scooped up the ball and blew past everyone 41 yards for a touchdown. Finally, we come to the Patriots-Packers game. How do you let an offensive lineman take a kickoff 71 yards? The Packers coaches were probably asking that very question after their loss to the Patriots. Dan Connolly's blazing speed caught the Packers off guard. It's that simple, or is it?

Some Divisions are still up for grabs and Week 16 may clarify who may come out on top. The AFC North is still undecided. Pittsburgh plays Carolina and Baltimore plays Cleveland. The Steelers should have no problem with the Panthers, if they confine Jonathan Stewart. The Browns could put a wooden stake into the hearts of the Ravens and possess the capability, which would put Pittsburgh back in the driver's seat. That's a huge maybe. Where's Joshua Cribbs? Tennessee pulled off a shocker against Houston. The Titan defense plagued Schuab and both Chris Johnson and Kerry Collins had good games. If the Titans repeat, Kansas City will be in a fight for their life. Favre is in, Favre is out. Philadelphia is going to put the hammer to Minnesota. Seattle and St. Louis are neck and neck. Between the two, St. Louis has the better odds of winning this week. San Diego is playing Cicinnati and is in a must win situation. Should be no problem for the Chargers, you would think. The Chargers have played us for fools before.

The games of the week are Indianapolis at Oakland, NY Giants at Green Bay, New Orleans at Atlanta, NY Jets at Chicago. Peyton Manning is still a beat off with making big throws. If he gets back in sinc this week, look out Oakland. Unfortunately, Manning will have to do it without Austin Collie, but he has other weapons. One thing Oakland has that Indy doesn't is a running game, and Indy's defense is weak against the run. Oakland's defense is 5th against the pass, but 26th against the run. Maybe Peyton should fool everyone and run a few times. The Giants are coming off a heart breaker as well as the Packers. Aaron Rodgers is back, which is bad news for the Giants. For the Giants to win, Eli Manning is going to have to hold his own against a good pass defense. The Giants defense is up to the challenge, if they don't fall asleep again.

Atlanta has won eight in a row and is scoring touchdowns. They are solid at every position. New Orleans only hope for a playoff is a wildcard spot because Atlanta has already wrapped up the division. Atlanta has a chance to take the Saints out for good. Drew Brees will have to put out his best to survive. The NY Jets against Chicago is huge. The Jets have spent their nine lives. They have won in dramatic fashion games that could have easily went to the loss column. Sanchez to Holmes has been a winning combination at pivotal moments and against the Bear's defense nothing short of spectacular will do. They are playing in Cold-Chago, windy Cold-Chago, Bear country. Chicago exerted their domination in Week 15 against collasped Vikings. If Cutler continues to avoid the costly mistake, it will be an easy win.

Can a team win their division with a losing record? St. Louis and Seattle just might. Either team will have to win their next two games to avoid that honorable distinction. It has happened before. The Browns and Lions both entered the 1982 playoffs with 4-5 records because of a strike shortened season. Too bad the Browns weren't in the NFC West this year.

 

THU, DEC 23 TIME (ET)

Carolina 15 at Pittsburgh 27 8:20 PM NFL W

Heinz Field

SAT, DEC 25 TIME (ET)

Dallas 23 at Arizona 18 7:30 PM NFL L 

U of Phoenix Stadium

SUN, DEC 26 TIME (ET)

Washington 20 at Jacksonville 24 1:00 PM FOX L 

EverBank Field

Detroit 23 at Miami 24 1:00 PM FOX L

Sun Life Stadium

San Francisco 18 at St. Louis 25 1:00 PM FOX W

Edward Jones Dome

Tennessee 24 at Kansas City 21 1:00 PM CBS L 

Arrowhead Stadium

NY Jets 20 at Chicago 26 1:00 PM CBS W

Soldier Field

New England 30 at Buffalo 20 1:00 PM CBS W 

Ralph Wilson Stadium

Baltimore 24 at Cleveland 23 1:00 PM CBS W

Cleveland Browns Stadium

Houston 24 at Denver 18 4:05 PM CBS L 

Invesco Field at Mile High

San Diego 28 at Cincinnati 21 4:05 PM CBS L 

Paul Brown Stadium

Indianapolis 34 at Oakland 24 4:05 PM CBS W 

Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

NY Giants 20 at Green Bay 27 4:15 PM FOX W 

Lambeau Field

Seattle 23 at Tampa Bay 27 4:15 PM FOX W

Raymond James Stadium

Minnesota 18 at Philadelphia 32 8:20 PM NBC L 

Lincoln Financial Field

MON, DEC 27 TIME (ET)

New Orleans 27 at Atlanta 28 8:30 PM L

Georgia Dome

Browns Run Short On Time And Lose To Bengals 19-17

Colt McCoy took the snaps, but the results were the same, another disappointing loss. Peyton Hillis was pretty much a non-factor running and totally missing from the passing game, which was a change from previous outings. The Bobbling Bengals, who looked terrible on defense, pelted the Browns with field goals. Cedric Benson went on a rampage while Carson Palmer sputtered. There were no turnovers by either team. The difference was the Browns total inability to convert 3rd down attempts and maintain possession. The Bengals controlled the clock with over 38 minutes of possession time.

Colt McCoy ended the game with a rating of 132.6. He completed 19 out of 25 passes and threw two touchdowns. The first touchdown started with one of the strangest looking line formations ever seen, which was probably why the Bengals defense was so baffled, they didn't know what to make of it. It would have been an opportune time to blitz McCoy with only three line men to protect him, but they didn't. The Bengals spread themselves out and McCoy put in the air to Robert Royal, who made a great catch in the end zone. The second was to Brian Robiskie late in the game, but too little too late. Phil Dawson added the other 5 points with only one field goal. Ben Watson was the go-to-guy with 7 receptions for 92 yards.

The big scorer for Cincinnati was Clint Stitser. He completed four field goals. Cedric Benson compiled 150 yards on the ground and scored the Bengals only touchdown. Palmer was so-so with 209 yards on 14 completions out of 23 attempts. No-Show-Cinco didn't have an impact and No-show-Wens left the game limping. Despite all of this, the Bengals controlled the clock and the game for the win.

The Browns were showing so much promise after beating the Saints and the Patriots. The hometown fans finally had something to cheer about. There was even talk of a possible playoff spot. The Browns then lost two tough games against the Jets and the Jaguars, won two more against the Panthers and the Dophins. Well, you know the history, no sense in repeating it. Through all of this, Joshua Cribbs remains a mystery. Is it his injury that has limited him or is it Mangini? The long ball had been missing and finally emerged in today's game a couple of times, if you can call the Royal and Robiskie catchs a long pass. The final games against the Ravens and the Steelers will be the toughest games of the year. Browns, make us believers again.

Week 15 NFL Picks-It's Beginning To Look Alot Like The NFL

Is there some deep cosmic connection between the Metrodome roof collapsing and Brett Favre's consecutive game streak at 297 coming to an end? Remind's me of the scene from "Back to the Future" when the clocktower was struck by lightning sending Fox back to the future. If not, it certainly was a fitting graphic representation of the Vikings season that began with such high expectations. It has been a Bizzaro World in the NFL this year. As I analyze the season up to this point, I have to say the Cleveland Browns have played a significant role in shaping its destiny. Since suffering embarrasing losses to the Browns, New Orleans and New England have been on fire and look unstoppable, particuliarly the Patriots whose leader is the greatly despised ex-Browns coach Bill Belichick. Thank you cards are in order. Going into the stretch, the Browns can have a signicant impact on their own division, playing their final games against the Ravens and the Steelers. Win or lose, they're in a position to make or break either team. How's that for irony.

I was 11-5 in Week 14, not bad considering what happened to Minnesota and Green Bay. Without Favre, the Vikings didn't score a touchdown and without Rodgers, the Packers are offenseless. The Packers are playing New England, who have been destroying their opponents as of lately. Aaron Rodgers is iffy and if he does play could take a beating at the hands of the Patriots, and if he doesn't the team will take a beating. They can't afford to lose another one with Chicago a game up. It's a dilemma. Minnesota is playing Chicago. Tough luck Green Bay, it's not looking fortuitous. Washington plays Dallas. This will be the battle for not being at the bottom. Both teams are coming off stinging losses. This will be a good game, two division rivals going at it. Dallas is much improved and anything can happen with McNabb. Washington doesn't have a defense and Dallas is weak against the pass. The perfect scenario. San Diego plays Thursday against San Francisco. A must win for the Chargers.

The games of the week are Philadelphia at NY Giants, New Orleans at Baltimore, and NY Jets at Pittsburgh. They say Michael Vick's weakness is when he is forced to the right, but I saw something different in the game against Chicago. When the play was designed to go right, Vick was deadly accurate. The Giants defense is tough on the pass and quarterbacks. It will be interesting to see how they handle Vick. Both teams are even in the run department. The Giants offense has sputtered all season, but Philadelphia's defense hasn't handled the run well. New Orleans has scored over 30 points in each of their last five games. Both New Orleans and Baltimore are up against the wall in their divisions. It's going to be the Saints offense against the Ravens defense, winner take all. Takeaways or the lack of them will decide the game for Baltimore. Which brings us to the Jets and Pittsburgh. The Jets have used up their nine lives, its do or die. The Steelers have an ace-in-the-hole called Polamalu. The Jets are going to have to dip into their trip bag of tricks to survive this one.

THU, DEC 16 TIME (ET)

San Francisco 15 at San Diego 34 8:20 PM NFL W 

Qualcomm Stadium

SUN, DEC 19 TIME (ET)

Cleveland 21 at Cincinnati 27 1:00 PM CBS W

Paul Brown Stadium

Washington 23 at Dallas 27 1:00 PM FOX W

Cowboys Stadium

Houston 27 at Tennessee 17 1:00 PM CBS L

LP Field

Jacksonville 24 at Indianapolis 30 1:00 PM CBS W 

Lucas Oil Stadium

Kansas City 27 at St. Louis 24 1:00 PM CBS W

Edward Jones Dome

Buffalo 23 at Miami 26 1:00 PM CBS L

Sun Life Stadium

Detroit 23 at Tampa Bay 24 1:00 PM FOX L

Raymond James Stadium

Arizona 23 at Carolina 14 1:00 PM FOX L

Bank of America Stadium

New Orleans 27 at Baltimore 24 1:00 PM FOX L 

M&T Bank Stadium

Philadelphia 28 at NY Giants 24 1:00 PM FOX W

New Meadowlands Stadium

Atlanta 30 at Seattle 21 4:05 PM FOX W

Qwest Field

NY Jets 20 at Pittsburgh 27 4:15 PM CBS L 

Heinz Field

Denver at Oakland 4:15 PM CBS W

Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

Green Bay 15 at New England 34 8:20 PM NBC W

Gillette Stadium

MON, DEC 20 TIME (ET)

Chicago 24 at Minnesota 18 8:30 PM W 

Mall of America Field

The Curious Case Of An Inept Cleveland Browns-Lose to Buffalo 13-6

The weather wasn't as bad as expected, but the Browns were worse. Still in the hunt for a playoff spot, although remote, Cleveland played their most disappointing game of the season. They were riddled with inept ball handling and presented a subpar second half offense. The game was never for the Browns out of reach of winning, but the goal line was out of reach, not even scoring one time. Late in the fourth quarter Mohamed Massaquoi was wide open going down the right side, but a break down in the protection of Delhomme caused his pass to fall short and it was intercepted, thus thwarting what could have tied the game. End of game, end of story.

Peyton Hillis figured to be dominant in this game. Hillis did have a hundred yard effort running for 108 yards. His efforts were overshadowed by three fumbles, one of which occurred at a key moment shortly after Buffalo turned over the ball with a mistake of their own on their end of the field in the first quarter. Jake Delhomme only had a total of 86 yards of passing and threw one interception with no touchdowns. Hillis seemed to be his primary target again and Watson only caught one pass through the whole game. Jake only averaged a little over 4 yards per completion and compiled only two first downs passing. That pretty much sums it up as to what went wrong, no offense. Defensively the Browns hung in there and provided a gift for the offense, a gift they squandered. The gift was a Fiztpatrick fumble caused by a Chris Gocong sack that put the ball on the 25 yard line of the Bills. Hillis returned the gift on the very next play. Thanks but no thanks.

The Bills offense could only muster up one touchdown, but that is all they needed. Fred jackson had a good day running with 112 yards. Ryan Fitzpatrick spread 142 yards between 7 receivers. David Nelson caught an 11 yarder for the only score for the Bills. Ryan Lindell kicked two field goals to account for the other 6 points. The Bills were happy to get this win when considering all the close games that haven't gone their way all season long.

Joshua Cribbs was again unexplainably missing from the offensive scheme, not even used to return kickoffs. He was thrown to only once and ran the ball once, which almost ended disastrously. The Browns have been sidelining a key element in Joshua Cribbs. The Browns are lacking the long ball threat where Cribbs could be used and have abandoned something that worked quite well last year, the wildcat offense. I am not saying Mangini should rely on the wildcat, but he should be incorporating it at key moments. I am not saying Mangini should be going long all the time, but at least do something the opponents aren't expecting because judging by past performances, they certainly don't expect the Browns to go vertical. Mangini needs to unleash the offense or maybe he lacks confidence in his own offenses capabilities. You have to do what you have to do to win, or has he given up on this season?

Week 14 NFL Picks-Things Are Beginning To Take Shape

The Patriots dominated and handed the Jets, who were playing on borrowed time, a reality check. Ben Roethlisberger showed some nifty moves and sent the Ravens packin' after a brutal divisional confrontation. Dallas continued their revival defeating the Colts, while Peyton Manning imploded again. Oakland Raiders ravaged the inconsistent Chargers with a relentless running attack. Minnesota is a different team with Sidney Rice back on the field as demonstrated in the Vikings butt-kicken on the Bills. Chicago survived a scare from the continue-to-find-ways-to-lose Lions.

I was 12-4 for Week 13, my best week yet. As I looked the schedule over for Week 14 there could be some surprises on hand, especially in this bizzaro season of the NFL. Green Bay is playing Detroit and shouldn't take it lightly because sometime, some game everything will fall in place for the Lions, for once. Aaron Rodgers continues with the hot hand and Donald Driver showed he still plays with the enthusiasm of a young bull. Brady looks comfortable behind his offensive line and has a potent arsenol to draw on, add to that the running of Green-Ellis and the addition of Woodhead. The Patriots will be tested by the Chicago defense and if they prevail, there will be no stopping them. Baltimore will be breathing fire after their loss to the Steelers, so watch out Houston, there is hell to pay. Opportunity knocks for the Colts this weekend. They are playing the discombobulated Tennessee Titans. Totally frustrated Peyton Manning will be looking for redemption after 8 interceptions in two weeks.

Games of interest this week are Miami at NY Jets, NY Giants at Minnesota, Oakland at Jacksonville, and Cleveland at Buffalo. Miami is coming off a horrendous loss to Cleveland. Both Henne and Sanchez made some bad decisions in their previous outings, but that can happen to the best of them. Miami needs to go back to the wildcat or use Ricky Williams more. The winner of this game will be decided by the run and defense. The Giants offense has been plagued by mistakes, but somehow finds a way to win through their pass rushing defense. The Giants and Vikings are matched in the running game. It has not yet been decided whether Favre will be playing. If he does play they may be carrying the Iron Man out on a stretcher this time, maybe. Protection will be key for both quarterbacks. Jacksonville is now in control of the AFC South. Maurice Jones-Drew continues to steamroll opponents, which is Oakland's weak spot on defense. Oakland has a running attack of its own, but the edge goes to Jacksonville at quarterback and defensive takeaways.

Heavy snow has hit the Buffalo area this week and the weather for Sunday looks like a mix of rain and snow. Good ole football weather, got to love it, wouldn't have it any other way. The Bills and the Browns are teams that play in the elements, always have. The Bills have lost some tough games. Their record is not the true reflection of  their efforts. Buffalo is weak on the run, so that fact and the weather may play into the Browns strength, Peyton Hillis and Ben Watson. The Browns have been living off the short game with Jake Delhomme and it seems to work. The Browns defense has been opportunistic in crucial moments with picks, but will need to pay attention to Fred Jackson.

Mangini, get Joshua Cribbs more involved any way you can. Go for the long ball a few times, an aspect sorely missing. A winning team must be able to go vertical. You may catch Buffalo off guard since they will be loooking for the run or the quick hit. It's the perfect set up and the Bills won't be expecting it.
 
THU, DEC 9 TIME (ET)
Indianapolis 34 at Tennessee 15 8:20 PM NFL W
LP Field
SUN, DEC 12 TIME (ET) TV
Cleveland 24 at Buffalo 20 1:00 PM CBS L
Ralph Wilson Stadium
Cincinnati 23 at Pittsburgh 27 1:00 PM CBS W
Heinz Field
Green Bay 26 at Detroit 24 1:00 PM FOX L 
Ford Field
NY Giants 23 at Minnesota 24 1:00 PM FOX L
Mall of America Field
Tampa Bay 20 at Washington 23 1:00 PM FOX L
FedEx Field
Atlanta 30 at Carolina 17 1:00 PM FOX W
Bank of America Stadium
Oakland 22 at Jacksonville 24 1:00 PM CBS W
EverBank Field
Seattle 20 at San Francisco 17 4:05 PM FOX L
Candlestick Park
St. Louis 20 at New Orleans 28 4:05 PM FOX W
Superdome
Miami 23 at NY Jets 21 4:15 PM CBS W
New Meadowlands Stadium
Denver 18 at Arizona 24 4:15 PM CBS W
TU of Phoenix Stadium
Kansas City 24 at San Diego 27 4:15 PM CBS W
Qualcomm Stadium
New England 30 at Chicago 23 4:15 PM CBS W
Soldier Field
Philadelphia 28 at Dallas 20 8:20 PM NBC W
Cowboys Stadium
MON, DEC 13 TIME (ET)
Baltimore 20 at Houston 13 8:30 PM W
Reliant Stadium

Miami Singing The Blues After Cleveland Browns Last Minute Takeaway 13-10

The Browns struggled their way to a victory in the closing minute of the game against mistake riddled Miami. All the mistakes for Miami came from Chad Henne throwing three interceptions. You would like to say it was great defense on the part of the Browns, but the truth of the matter was the Dolphins inept offense led by Henne. Still, the opportunities presented themselves and the Browns accepted the gifts courtesy Henne. The last one caught by Browns' Mike Adams led to Dawson's winning kick.

Peyton Hillis pounded out 57 yards on the ground and caught 7 passes for 22 yards, not his usual output. Jake Delhomme managed to avoid the usual mistake and threw for 217 yards and 1 touchdown. Ben Watson was the offensive standout with 10 receptions for 100 yards and the recipient of the Delhomme touchdown pass. Mohamed Massaquoi pulled in 4 passes for 81 yards, a decent showing. The offense got the job done even though their third down efficiency was terrible at 2-14.

The Browns' defense only had one sack through the whole game and 2 hits. Adams, Elam, and Haden each had a pick. Aside from that, there was alot of punting from both sides, which gives you the idea that offense was lacking, especially when it came to 3rd down conversions. Miami's only bright spot, if you want to call it that, was their running game, and that wasn't enough to eliminate the Miami fans disgust, which they vocalized frequently through the game.

The Browns have won two in a row and four of their last six games. They are now 5-7. They can realistically win their next two games, but the final two of the season will be against Baltimore and then Pittsburgh. Those games will be nasty to say the least. Baltimore and Pittsburgh both have punishing defenses. Will Jake be ready for that conflagration? He could be, with the help of Peyton Hillis and Ben Watson.

It may be time for Mangini to call out the wildcat offense or think about airing it out once in awhile, something that has been lacking in the offense. Also, Joshua Cribbs is still missing from the offensive scheme and that is somewhat perplexing. Is it because of his injury or is it because Mangini just isn't playing him? If Mangini wants to beat the Ravens and Steelers, Cribbs would be a key ingredient. Wouldn't that be something, to win their final four games and end with a record of 9-7? Enough to be in the playoffs in some divisions. Mangini, if you make that happen, that would be a Super Bowl season in my books.

Week 13 NFL Picks-The Best Is Yet To Come

What a week in NFL football. One player should have kept on running into the stadium tunnel and out the gates and one official should have lost himself in the crowd. The player was Buffalo Bills wide receiver Steve Johnson verses the Steelers. A perfectly executed pass in overtime landed right into his hands in the end zone and he dropped it. One of those defining moments when a thin line separates you from being a  hero or a goat. As quickly as the ball slipped through his hands so to the game for the Bills. An official missed an obvious pass interference on Reggie Wayne that ended up with Wayne on the ground and Eric Weddle of the Chargers running 41 yards with a pick into the end zone. Mistakes like that by officials definately impact the final outcome of a game. Alright, you could argue Indy was being manhandled by the Chargers, but at that juncture in the game it was still only 19-14 and who knows what could have happened with the proper call and the Colts having a fresh set of downs at midfield.

Week 12 is now in the books and I was 9-7. New Orleans is at Cincinnati and an easy call, unless the Bengals finally play to the potential that was expected of them. Roll on Big O's, Cincinnati's stars of Follywood. Chicago is firing on all cylinders. Detroits spark plugs are a bit fouled causing them to stall out at crucial moments. Still, the Bears can't allow themselves to get caught napping at the wheel because the Lions could suddenly surge unexpectedly. Buffalo is visiting Minnesota. The Bills are the hard luck team of the season. The dropped pass in the end against the Steelers in overtime epitomized that foregone conclusion. I give the edge to the Vikings only because it is a home game.

There are quite a few games of interest this week. Washington is at NY Giants. The Giants need a win to stay in contention with Philadelphia. The Giants defense is up to the challenge, but their offense needs to avoid making the game altering mistakes it has been prone to commit. Dallas is at Indianapolis. Dallas has vastly improved themselves and Indianapolis has been trying to overcome critical injuries in their running and passing attack. The frustration is written all over Manning's face. It's a must win for the Colts. Pittsburgh is at Baltimore. The Steelers showed their vulnerability against Buffalo. This game will be a fierce battle for the number one spot in the AFC North. The NY Jets at New England game will be a fight for dominance in the AFC East. The Jets have been fortunate for a good part of the season. They will need a heavy dose of fortunate against the Patriots because they are outmatched by the Brady machine. The Patriots defense will need to keep Ladanian Tomlinson in check and cover Santonio Holmes like a blanket in the final minutes.

Finally, Cleveland travels to Miami. Jake Delhomme will start for the Browns. Delhomme looked steady in the first half against the Panthers last week and then briefly lost it at the start of the second. Jake does not have a pass with alot of zip. He needs to stay away from trying to slip passes into close coverage or lofting it towards the sidelines. Peyton Hillis should get the ball often giving Cleveland a balanced attack and opening up opportunities for Jake to take advantage of. Miami is not the Panthers and are a formidable foe. The Jets strong spot, pass defense, will be matched against the Browns weak spot, pass offense. The Jets key to victory will be controlling Hillis. Good luck with that one Miami and hope to see more of Joshua Cribbs.

 

THU, DEC 2 TIME (ET)

Houston 20 at Philadelphia 28 8:20 PM NFL W 

Lincoln Financial Field

SUN, DEC 5 TIME (ET)

New Orleans 27 at Cincinnati 18 1:00 PM FOX W

Paul Brown Stadium

Chicago 24 at Detroit 23 1:00 PM FOX W 

Ford Field

San Francisco 17 at Green Bay 24 1:00 PM FOX W 

Travel Lambeau Field

Jacksonville 23 at Tennessee 15 1:00 PM CBS W

LP Field

Denver 20 at Kansas City 23 1:00 PM CBS W

Arrowhead Stadium

Cleveland 27 at Miami 24 1:00 PM CBS W 

Sun Life Stadium

Buffalo 20 at Minnesota 21 1:00 PM CBS W

Travel Mall of America Field

Washington 24 at NY Giants 27 1:00 PM FOX W

New Meadowlands Stadium

Oakland 21 at San Diego 28 4:05 PM CBS L 

Qualcomm Stadium

Carolina 18 at Seattle 24 4:15 PM FOX W 

Qwest Field

Atlanta 24 at Tampa Bay 20 4:15 PM FOX W 

Raymond James Stadium

St. Louis 20 at Arizona 23 4:15 PM FOX L

U of Phoenix Stadium

Dallas 20 at Indianapolis 34 4:15 PM FOX L

Lucas Oil Stadium

Pittsburgh 23 at Baltimore 24 8:20 PM NBC L 

M&T Bank Stadium

MON, DEC 6 TIME (ET)

NY Jets 20 at New England 33 8:30 PM W 

Gillette Stadium