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

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

Week Nine NFL Picks-Tampa Bay Leaping To Victory

The Cowboys tipped the ball and the game to the Jaquars as they continue to self destruct their season. The Vikings are hopelessly sinking into a quagmire and Favre continues to get brutalized. Green Bay didn't score a single touchdown in their confrontation with the Jets, but neither did the Jets, not even a field goal. Tampa Bay leaped over Arizona in a close one and the beginning of the year prophecy is looking believable. Oakland and St Louis are looking like the new threat on the block. The Detroit Lions finally got their just reward, a victory. Indianapolis is looking like, Indianapolis. The Bazzaro World of NFL 2010 is getting freakier with every passing weekend. There is a cold wind of change blowing through the the corridors and tunnels of the National Football Leagues stadiums.



We are at the half way point of the season. Week Eight was predictable, but at the same time unpredictable. My picks were 8-5. If Carolina beats the Saints and Seattle beats the Giants this coming Sunday I will not shave for the rest of the season, unless the Browns beat New England and Detroit beats the Jets to keep things in balance, then the deal is off. Come on Mangini, let's see Joshua Cribbs in the wild "Dawg" formation. What can you lose, the game? Or how about a few shots down field to Cribbs, air it out. Think big. Use your imagination. Bill Belichick is coming to town and he now has a running attack to compliment his passing assault.

Putting Ochocinco and Owens on the same team is asking for trouble and that is what the Bengals are in, a heap of trouble. Cincinnati has lost four in a row and in the cellar of the AFC North. Pittsburgh is their next opponent and prime time Monday Night Football is the venue. Will TV celebrities Ocho and Owens, the big O's, shine in the spotlight or will the Steeler defense steal the show? Pittsburgh is coming off a stinging loss and will be looking for redemption. Polamalu verses Palmer, and the winner is Polamalu by a knockout.

Dallas is going to Green Bay. Although the Packers have not been impressive, the Cowboys are less impressive, to put it mildly. The truth of the matter is they have been embarrassing themselves to the extent Cowboy fans are wearing paper bags over their heads. The Cowboys are befuddled, bewildered, and beaten. Sometimes it looks like players have quit on the season and that's where the Cowboys are at. That having been said, Kitna is going to put it together this Sunday, if his receivers don't sabotage his efforts, but will still fall short of victory in the Packers house.

SUN, NOV 7 TIME (ET)

Tampa Bay 21 at Atlanta 20 1:00 PM FOX L

Georgia Dome

Chicago 23 at Buffalo 21 1:00 PM FOX W

Rogers Centre

New England 24 at Cleveland 23 1:00 PM CBS L 

Cleveland Browns Stadium

NY Jets 27 at Detroit 24 1:00 PM CBS W

Ford Field

New Orleans 30 at Carolina 18 1:00 PM FOX W 

Travel Bank of America Stadium

Miami 17 at Baltimore 24 1:00 PM CBS W

M&T Bank Stadium

San Diego 28 at Houston 25 1:00 PM CBS W

Reliant Stadium

Arizona 20 at Minnesota 23 1:00 PM FOX W 

Metrodome

NY Giants 34 at Seattle 15 4:05 PM FOX W

Qwest Field

Indianapolis 31 at Philadelphia 23 4:15 PM CBS L 

Lincoln Financial Field

Kansas City 14 at Oakland 27 4:15 PM CBS W 

Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

Dallas 24 at Green Bay 27 8:20 PM NBC W 

Lambeau Field

MON, NOV 8 TIME (ET)  

Pittsburgh 28 at Cincinnati 20 8:30 PM

Paul Brown Stadium

Week Six NFL Picks-Big Ben Returns

Cincinnati, Green Bay, Houston, New Orleans, and San Diego all lost this past week. What a crazy season. No undefeated teams remain and the way things are going you might see the Lions and Buccaneers in the playoffs. Oh the hell with it, let's add the Browns as a possible. I know you probably are thinking this guy has gotten out of touch with reality. But this coming Sunday if the Browns beat the Steelers, the Lions beat the Giants, and the Buccaneers beat the Saints you will be apologizing for even slightly entertaining such a thought. It's a Bizzaro World in NFL 2010.

I was 7-7 last week. Time to get out the darts, close my eyes, and let it fly. I am pretty confident about The Chargers winning over the Rams this week, that is if the Chargers use super glue in the huddle before every offensive play. The Steelers are an easy bet over the Browns with Roethlisberger returning. As it stands right now Cleveland is sending in rookie Colt McCoy. Good luck with that one. A snow storm would even the playing field in this one, but that is unlikely. The Tampa Bay and New Orleans game is a toss up. The Saints have been in Jello Land since the beginning of the season and Tampa Bay's defense has been on a tear and acting like division contenders. All the rest of the games, anything can happen. Peyton Manning didn't have a single passing touchdown against the Chiefs. This week he will be compromising the goal line frequently. He will have to because Donavan McNabb will be putting the pressure on the Colts secondary with an aerial attack of his own.

The contests to watch this week will be Baltimore at New England and Tennessee at Jacksonville games. It will be interesting to see what the Patriots will do without Moss. They have picked up Branch and said they were glad to have him back to help them win some games, hopefully more than "some". Baltimore has the strong running attack and Flacco is looking decent. It will be a tough, close game, but I am taking the Patriots for the win. Wes Welker will be the deal breaker. Tennessee and Jacksonville are always a good matchup. Jacksonville is tough at home. Both teams have a good running attack. The difference will be decided by the quarterbacks. Whatever quarterback will make the least mistakes will come out the winner for his team in this one. Between the quarterbacks Vince Young has the least amount of interceptions but Garrard has more touchdowns. Jacksonville will come off victorious.
 
SUN, OCT 17 TIME (ET)
Seattle 15 at Chicago 22 1:00 PM FOX L
Soldier Field
Miami 23 at Green Bay 28 1:00 PM CBS L
Lambeau Field
San Diego 32 at St. Louis 17 1:00 PM CBS L 
Edward Jones Dome
Baltimore 20 at New England 211:00 PM CBS W 
Gillette Stadium
New Orleans 30 at Tampa Bay 24 1:00 PM FOX W
Raymond James Stadium
Detroit 17 at NY Giants 28 1:00 PM FOX W 
New Meadowlands Stadium
Atlanta 21 at Philadelphia 20 1:00 PM FOX L 
Lincoln Financial Field
Cleveland 18 at Pittsburgh 27 1:00 PM CBS W 
Heinz Field
Kansas City 17 at Houston 23 1:00 PM CBS W
Reliant Stadium
Oakland 24 at San Francisco 18 4:05 PM CBS L
Candlestick Park
NY Jets 21 at Denver 20 4:05 PM CBS W
Invesco Field at Mile High
Dallas 24 at Minnesota 27 4:15 PM FOX W
Metrodome
Indianapolis 34 at Washington 27 8:20 PM NBC W
FedEx Field
MON, OCT 18 TIME (ET)
Tennessee 20 at Jacksonville 23 8:30 PM
EverBank Field

Week Four NFL Picks-Will This Be The Week Browns?

I for one can't wait until Jake Delhomme is back out on the field calling the shots. Seneca Wallace has not impressed me. Although he had 18 completions in the Baltimore game, 7 of them were to Hillis, which means he is throwing short. Unless the Browns threaten the secondary of their opponents with shots down the field the outcome is going to be the same every week. They are not like the Steelers who can win on just running. Hillis had a good game running with 144 yards, but face it, that will not happen consistently.

The Bengals are coming to town and this Sunday is a must win or it's going to be a long and frustrating season for the Dawgs and the fans. Mohamed Massaquoi says in reference to the passing game 'it's early', but the dark clouds are amassing on the horizon quickly and everybody knows what that means in Northeast Ohio, a long and cold winter.

I was 7-9 in Week Three of my picks. I am going to have to think out of the box more if I am going to improve on my picks. The Saints lost in a shocker. Although, as I said last week New Orleans has not been impressive and Atlanta could surprise them and guess what, they did. Minnesota and Dallas finally got their first wins, Cowboys against the redhot Texans and the Vikings against the not so redhot Lions. They both have a bye this Sunday.

St. Louis and Seattle both got first wins and they did on the road against teams you thought they would have lost to. This week they play each other. Rams' Jackson is improving from an injury but still out of practice and iffy. Seattle beat San Diego despite Rivers throwing for 455 yards and Tobet running for 73. What happen? The Seahawks were ball hawking and forced 5 turnovers. St Louis doesn't stand a chance against Seattle. Neither does Detroit against Green Bay with the Packers breathing fire from their loss to Chicago.

Three games to watch are Baltimore at Pittsburgh, Washington at Philadelphia, and Chicago at NY Giants. Flacco is coming off an impressive showing with his three touchdown passses against hapless Cleveland. He will be facing a much more staunch defense in the ever aggressive Steeler secondary with Polamalu roaming wild. Got to give the edge to the Steelers. Vick is back in form for the Eagles and will prove to be to much for Washington. Chicago is flying high after stunning the Packers in the final seconds of a hotly contested game. True, the Packers shot themselves in the foot with all those penalties and losing a fumble in the final minutes courtesy of Urlacher. That's what it is all about and that's what wins games. Watch out New York, the Bears are coming to town with an attitude.

That's my take this week and these are my picks. Thinking out of the box. Oh, Cincinnati coming to Cleveland. What does the box say? Mangini, get Joshua Cribbs to go long a few times and let's see what happens, or Massaquoi, or somebody. Take a chance, you may be surprised at what happens. You couldn't do any worse.

 

SUN, OCT 3 TIME (ET)

San Francisco 18 at Atlanta 24 1:00 PM FOX Tickets W
Georgia Dome
Cincinnati 23 at Cleveland 24 1:00 PM CBS Tickets W
Cleveland Browns Stadium
NY Jets 30 at Buffalo 20 1:00 PM CBS Tickets W
Ralph Wilson Stadium
Seattle 20 at St. Louis 17 1:00 PM FOX Tickets L
Edward Jones Dome
Denver 21 at Tennessee 28 1:00 PM CBS Tickets L
LP Field
Detroit 15 at Green Bay 34 1:00 PM FOX Tickets W
Lambeau Field
Baltimore 23 at Pittsburgh 27 1:00 PM CBS Tickets L
Heinz Field
Carolina 17 at New Orleans 37 1:00 PM FOX Tickets W
Superdome
Indianapolis 34 at Jacksonville 13 4:05 PM CBS Tickets L
EverBank Field
Houston 25 at Oakland 20 4:05 PM CBS Tickets W
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
Washington 18 at Philadelphia 27 4:15 PM FOX Tickets L
Lincoln Financial Field

Arizona 17 at San Diego 28 4:15 PM FOX Tickets W

Qualcomm Stadium

Chicago 24 at NY Giants 27 8:20 PM NBC Tickets W

New Meadowlands Stadium

MON, OCT 4 TIME (ET)

New England 32 at Miami 20 8:30 PM Tickets

Sun Life Stadium

Week Three NFL Picks-Put Them On Ice.

Iced- 1. to put in ice. 2. covered with ice. 3. to freeze a field goal attempt by means of a time-out. Washington's Gano had a chill run up his spin after he found out his field goal attempt that passed through the uprights for the potential win was iced. His next attempt went wide right and the Redskins went from elation to cold hard reality in a matter of seconds, a stunning loss to Houston. Timing is everything. Another case in point. Troy Polamalu launched himself over the Titan's offensive line and landed on the Titan's quarterback all made possible by perfect timing of the count and snap. Steelers beat the Titans 19-11 and Week Two of the 2010 season is now history.

I improved my picks to 9-7 for the week. Week Three, anything can happen. Minnesta is 0-2 and desparately in need of a victory. Fortunately they are facing Detroit at home, but don't count Detroit out so easily. Brett Favre needs to chill and not press the panic button. Run, screen, run Brett. Minnesota should win. Dallas is 0-2 also. They need to press the panic button. Houston is hitting on all cylinders. Watch out if Houston's running and passing game merge. I give this one to the Texans.

Philadelphia's Andy Reid has been playing the roulette wheel in his quarterback decision concerning who he is going with, but it seems the ball has landed on Vick's number, for now. Vick had a great game against Detroit. The jury is still out on this one because that was Detroit, Jacksonville is next and after them is Washington. The Jaguars are tough at home. Garrard had a melt down with four interceptions against the Chargers. If the Jaguars establish a solid running attack they will be in it.

The Cleveland Browns play the Ravens in Baltimore. If I were to go by statistics the Ravens would be my choice. The Browns need to win or its going to be a repeat of 2009. Joshua Cribbs is going to be the difference in this one, if Mangini gets his head out of the clouds and manages the talent. Here we go Brownies, here we go. The Patriots, Colts, and San Diego should win. New Orleans has not looked impressive and Altanta could surprise them. The game to watch will be the Jets and Dolphins. It will be Miami hot and both teams will be doing some heavy sweating. Maybe they will get cooled off by an iced field goal attempt. As to who, take your pick.
 
SUN, SEP 26 TIME (ET)
Tennessee 23 at NY Giants 24 1:00 PM CBS Tickets L
New Meadowlands Stadium
Pittsburgh 18 at Tampa Bay 17 1:00 PM CBS Tickets W
Raymond James Stadium
Cincinnati 24 at Carolina 18 1:00 PM CBS Tickets W
Bank of America Stadium
Cleveland 20 at  18 Baltimore 1:00 PM CBS Tickets L
M&T Bank Stadium
Dallas 20 at Houston 28 1:00 PM FOX Tickets L
Reliant Stadium
San Francisco 23 at Kansas City 21 1:00 PM FOX Tickets L
Arrowhead Stadium
Detroit 15 at Minnesota 27 1:00 PM FOX Tickets W
Metrodome
Buffalo 17 at New England 28 1:00 PM CBS Tickets W
Gillette Stadium
Atlanta 23 at New Orleans 24 1:00 PM FOX Tickets W
Superdome
Washington 20 at St. Louis 10 4:05 PM FOX Tickets L
Edward Jones Dome
Philadelphia 27 at Jacksonville 24 4:05 PM FOX Tickets W
EverBank Field
Oakland 23 at Arizona 18 4:15 PM CBS Tickets L

U of Phoenix Stadium

San Diego 30 at Seattle 12 4:15 PM CBS Tickets L

Qwest Field

Indianapolis 34 at Denver 20 4:15 PM CBS Tickets W

Invesco Field at Mile High

NY Jets 20 at Miami 21 8:20 PM NBC Tickets L

Sun Life Stadium

MON, SEP 27 TIME (ET) 

Green Bay 27 at Chicago 24 8:30 PM Tickets L

Soldier Field

Week Two NFL Picks-Should Be Another Wild Week

Week one is in the books. Pittsburgh ran away with the ball in overtime against Atlanta. New Orleans Brees-ed passed Minnesota, but not impressively. Cincinnati's top two receivers left the house while New England brought down the house. Cleveland dropped the ball as Tampa Bay plucked it from thin air. The Colts aired it out and got drunk on Fosters. Tennessee won con-Vince-ingly over a Young Oakland. If week one is a precursor of things to come then we are in for a wild ride.

I was 7-9 for week one. What happen? Anything that can happen will happen on any given Sunday or Thursday or Monday. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Vince Young and the Titans are for real and they will have a chance to prove it again against the Steeler defense this week. Brett Favre is in flux with his receivers and should rely on the screen to Peterson as a backup until he finds his sweet spot. Cleveland is going to have to get imaginitive with their game plan against an opportunistic Kansas City if they want to start their new win streak. San Diego shouldn't play in the rain, but should be alright at home in sunny San Diego, maybe. Jacksonville's quarterback finished his first game with a rating of 138.9 and three touchdowns. Garrard could prove to be a handful for the Chargers. New Orleans at San Francisco, a no brainer. Should be a breeze for the Saints.

The one game I will have my spy eye on will be the Giants at the Colts game. Manning against Manning. It can't get much better than that. Ely had tree touchdown passes against Carolina, but also had three picks. A somewhat shacky start. But that doesn't always tell the true story, tipped balls and all. Peyton is coming off one of his most productive yardage games with 433 yards. He also threw for three touchdowns and still came up short in the points column. The Colts were in the red zone only three times with all that yardage and were 4-12 in third down efficiency. That may explain why they lost to Houston, aside from the fact that Foster ran all over their defense. Will it prove to be a shoot out or a run off? Stay tuned.

Just an added thought-I saw somewhere on the internet T.O. has an IQ of 134. They always did say there is a fine line between genius and insanity. Well, maybe genius is a stretch.

SUN, SEP 19 TIME (ET) 
Pittsburgh 18 at Tennessee 23 1:00 PM CBS Tickets L
LP Field
Miami 20 at Minnesota 24 1:00 PM CBS Tickets L
Metrodome
Arizona 17 at Atlanta 23 1:00 PM FOX Tickets W
Georgia Dome
Baltimore 17 at Cincinnati 27 1:00 PM CBS Tickets W
Paul Brown Stadium
Kansas City 20 at Cleveland 21 1:00 PM CBS Tickets L
Cleveland Browns Stadium
Chicago 14 at Dallas 24 1:00 PM FOX Tickets L
Cowboys Stadium
Philadelphia 30 at Detroit 20 1:00 PM FOX Tickets W
Ford Field
Buffalo 15 at Green Bay 28 1:00 PM CBS Tickets W
Lambeau Field
Tampa Bay 17 at Carolina 21 1:00 PM FOX Tickets L
Bank of America Stadium
Seattle 22 at Denver 20 4:05 PM FOX Tickets L
Invesco Field at Mile High
St. Louis 12 at Oakland 23 4:05 PM FOX Tickets W
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
Houston 28 at Washington 24 4:15 PM CBS Tickets W
FedEx Field
New England 34 at NY Jets 18 4:15 PM CBS Tickets L
New Meadowlands Stadium
Jacksonville 23 at San Diego 30 4:15 PM CBS Tickets W
Qualcomm Stadium
NY Giants 28 at Indianapolis 35 8:20 PM NBC Tickets W
Lucas Oil Stadium

MON, SEP 20 TIME (ET)

New Orleans 37 at San Francisco 13 8:30 PM Tickets W
Candlestick Park