Week 17 NFL Picks-This Is It

Ok, its that time again. Time to make predictions as to who you think is going to make the playoffs and where each team stands in the playoff bracket. The AFC is a tougher nut to crack than the NFC because it is still up for grabs. Here is my bracket predictions going into the final games of the season and a little summary of what has happened so far on a season that has gone by quickly. (I am picking Oakland and New York Giants to sneak in with Denver and Dallas dropping out.)

After starting the season strong, the Buffalo Bills haven't just faded away, they've disappeared. Well, injuries in key positions can do that to a team. Still, like a light bulb before it burns out completely, the Bills flashed brightly last Sunday against the Broncos and Tim Tebow. The Teblown Express wasn't just derailed, it was blown up, but no surprise, I knew that was going to happen. Denver came out of nowhere and that's how they will end up, nowhere. The Detroit Lions put an exclamation point on their playoff intentions with the pounding they gave San Diego. The Chargers found themselves up the Rivers without a paddle. The New York Giants seem to be the Johny-come-lately of football. At the start of the season they were winning or losing games in the last minute. Now in the last minute of regular season they are making their bid for the playoffs. Watch out Dallas.

The big matchups this Sunday are Detroit at Green Bay and Carolina at New Orleans. Win or lose it won't impact the playoff picture, much. It will be interesting to see how Cam Newton will stack up in comparison to the Saints high powered offense led by Drew Brees.

Detroit can improve their position by beating Green Bay. Win, they come in as the 5th Seed and wouldn't have to face New Orleans in the Wild Card. Lose, they would then be the 6th Seed and the path to the championships would go through New Orleans.

The Buffalo at New England game could have implications of the dire sort. If New England and Baltimore both lose and Pittsburgh with an obvious win over Cleveland, then Pittsburgh would be the 1st Seed. If New England loses and Baltimore wins it doesn't matter what Pittsburgh does, Baltimore would be the 1st Seed and New England would be the 2nd Seed. I don't even want to know what would happen if by some remote chance Cleveland should beat Pittsburgh. End of the world scenario.

SUN, JAN 1                      TIME (ET)       TV       LOCATION
Carolina at New Orleans       1:00 PM        FOX      Mercedes-Benz Superdome
Buffalo at New England        1:00 PM        CBS      Gillette Stadium
Chicago at Minnesota            1:00 PM        FOX      Mall of America Field
NY Jets at Miami                   1:00 PM        CBS      Sun Life Stadium
San Francisco at St. Louis     1:00 PM        FOX      Edward Jones Dome
Detroit at Green Bay              1:00 PM        FOX      Lambeau Field
Washington at Philadelphia   1:00 PM        FOX      Lincoln Financial Field
Indianapolis at Jacksonville   1:00 PM        CBS      EverBank Field
Tennessee at Houston            1:00 PM        CBS      Reliant Stadium
Seattle at Arizona                  4:15 PM        FOX      U of Phoenix Stadium
Kansas City at Denver           4:15 PM        CBS      Sports Authority Field at Mile High
Tampa Bay at Atlanta            4:15 PM        FOX      Georgia Dome
Baltimore at Cincinnati         4:15 PM        CBS      Paul Brown Stadium
Pittsburgh at Cleveland         4:15 PM        CBS      Cleveland Browns Stadium
San Diego at Oakland           4:15 PM        CBS      Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
Dallas at NY Giants              8:20 PM        NBC      MetLife Stadium

Browns Narrowly Escape With A Win Over The Panthers 24-23

It was delightfully cruel to send former Panther quarterback Jake Delhomme out against his previous team. Although, the delightfully almost turned into frightfully when Jake blew a decent lead and nearly threw the game away with a costly pick that went all the way for a Panther score late in the third quarter and the lead. Jake tentively recovered in the fourth to beat his former team with the help of a Dawson field goal and a Kasay last ditch effort missed field goal.

The star of the game was not Delhomme, but Peyton Hillis. Hillis turned in another strong effort scoring all three touchdowns and grinding out 192 combined yards. He was the go to guy once again and remains the top target of Brown's quarterbacks. Delhomme spread the passes around to six different receivers and threw for 245 yards. It was good to see Robiskie and Massaquoi get an increase in production as they combined for 11 catches and 102 yards.The offense threw a few surprise plays into the mix, which was good to see. One was a Hillis pass attempt that fell short of its target in the end zone. If successful, it would have been the play of the game.

Carolina played a decent game. Jonathan Stewart put in a 98 yard game. Mike Goodson ran for 55 yards and racked up another 81 yards from catches. Goodson also scored the Panthers only offensive touchdown on a 26 yard run. Clausen got beat up by the Brown's defense and still managed to make a game of it. Their defense hung in tough and had two picks. One by Captain Munnerlyn for 37 yards and a score.

The Brown's are back on the winning track. Hillis continues to be the workhorse of the offense both in running and receptions. It was good to see Mangini using some imagination in the play calling. I saw a couple of plays that could have been big ground gainers if they were successfully executed. Mangini should continue to throw in the surprises. It was also good to see the wide receivers more involved. Still, the long ball is lacking and to be a legitimate offensive threat you must have in your possession the potential for quick strick capability. Joshua Cribbs was back retrieving kicks and punts, but was missing in the overall offensive scheme where he needs to be and possibly that potential quick strike. A team will not make it to the playoffs on running alone. Miami is next on the list.