Week 13 Recap/Week 14 Thursday:

For The Week:
vs. W/L: (12-4)
vs. Spread: (9-7)
vs. Aggregate: (10-6)

For The Season:
Vs. W/L: (128-63-1)
Vs. Spread: (103-89)
Vs. Aggregate: (97-94-1)

Spread vs. “The CBSSportsline Experts”:

PFN: 103-89-0
Richard: 102-89-0
Judge: 100-91-0
Harmon: 97-94-0
Madden: 97-94-0
“SpiN”: 92-99-0
Prisco: 88-103-0

W/L vs. “USA Today Experts”

PFN: (128-63-1)
Nate Davis 127-64-1
Sean Leahy 126-65-1
Skip Wood 121-70-1
Jim Corbett 119-72-1
Jeff Zillgitt 119-72-1
Jarrett Bell 115-76-1
Larry Weisman 115-76-1
Tom Pedulla 111-80-1

OK, it was a pretty good week and we’re now in the top spot against the CBS and USA Today experts. Big deal, there are four more weeks remaining in the regular season and a lot of room for improvement, seeing as we whiffed badly on the Jets and Buffalo. It’s difficult to pick against the Patriots, but the outcome was worse than expected. The Steelers capitalized on numerous turnovers combined with miserable playing conditions and played a dominant second half.

The Giants caught a rough break with the “Plaxico Incident”, as they’ve played so well as a team for over a year and now find themselves at a disadvantage due to the selfish, boneheaded actions of a world-class moron. Suffice to say, he won’t be donning Big Blue next year, or any time thereafter. Naturally, the clowns at ESPN came out with a sympathetic article portraying all high-priced athletes as “victims” or “targets”. That argument can be made for Sean Taylor, who was a victim of a senseless act in the sanctity of his home. He didn’t knowingly put himself in harm’s way like Burress did or compound the problem by illegally possessing a firearm, so the numbskulls at ESPN should differentiate between who are legitimate victims and those who are careless. Since the matter is now in the hands of the criminal justice system in a city where unlawful possession of a firearm is regarded as a serious matter, we’ll leave it there. There will be no wink and nods this time as the Mayor is insisting that the defendant be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. It strains credulity to think that someone who was just rewarded with a $35MM contract would behave as alleged. When are guys like Burress (and Vick) ever going to learn that there is a price for fame and fortune? The wise man governs himself accordingly.

At San Diego -9.5 Oakland 43.5

…at least the Raiders have an excuse, they suck. Not so with the horrendously disappointing Chargers. After losing at home to Atlanta on Sunday whatever meager hopes they entertained for a Wild Card spot went down the drain. It’s hard to remember when a team so talented simply fell apart as the result of one key injury; as we mentioned last week, there’s simply no excuse. Now that the competitive phase of the season has ended they can enjoy life in Paradise and have an easy night against a pathetic excuse for a professional football team. In light of such underperformance it’s mystifying that the Vegas Boys would install San Diego has heavy favorites. Maybe they'll have a big night and blow away the Raiders, but in this "what have you done for me lately" world, 9 1/2 isn't a wise play...

Projected Final Score: San Diego 24, Oakland 16