Week 16 Recap/Week 17 Preview:

For The Week:
vs. W/L: (8-8)
vs. Spread (6-10)
vs. Aggregate: (10-6)

For The Season:
Vs. W/L: (147-75-1)
Vs. Spread: (125-115)
Vs. Aggregate: (121-117-2)

Spread vs. “The CBSSportsline Experts”:

Richard: 131-108-0
Judge: 128-111-0
PFN: 125-115-0
Madden: 120-119-0
Harmon: 121-118-0
“SpiN”: 116-123-0
Prisco: 109-130-0

W/L vs. “USA Today Experts”

PFN: (147-92-1)
Jarrett Bell 147-92-1 (.615)
Jim Corbett 150-89-1 (.627)
Nate Davis 158-81-1 (.660)
Sean Leahy 158-81-1 (.660)
Tom Pedulla 139-100-1 (.581)
Larry Weisman 146-93-1 (.610)
Skip Wood 153-86-1 (.640)
Jeff Zillgitt 151-88-1 (.631)


It was a lousy week against the spread, so this week we'll lie low and keep the commentary to a minimum.

At Green Bay -9.5 Detroit 43

The eyes of the football world will turn toward Lambeau Field to see if the Detroit Lions will complete their noble quest to become the first 0-16 team in League history. What a shame, there’s nothing more to say. The Pack came oh-so-close last week in Chicago before bowing out in overtime. There is sufficient motivation to close things out on a high note. In the end, the picture fades to black for Detroit.

Projected Final Score: Green Bay 24, Detroit 13

At Tampa Bay -12.5 Oakland 39

This is a terrible match up as Chucky goes against his old team with nothing to win or lose. They were blown out at home last week and while the Bucs should win, there’s not a lot of confidence that they’ll cover. The Raiders had a nice win at home last week and would like to end the year on a high note, but the trip East may be too much.

Projected Final Score: Tampa Bay 23, Oakland 13

At Philadelphia -1.5 Dallas 43

Two inconsistent teams that lost last week now enter the final week barely alive for a Wild Card shot. The Cowboys’ loss to the Ravens last Thursday was particularly disturbing as the Ravens’ backs ran roughshod over the defense in the second half. The Eagles fell about a yard short at the end last week and it would take a wild scenario for them to get in, but anything can happen. Should the Eagles fail to win, the Donovan McNabb Era may be over in Philly.

Projected Final Score: Philadelphia 23, Dallas 21

At Minnesota -6.5 NY Giants 42

Tarvaris Jackson fell to Earth last week and now the Vikings absolutely need to win to enter the tournament. After playing sluggishly for most of the game, the G-Men regained their mojo in the second half and ran over the Panthers in a big, big win. Coach Coughlin won’t allow his charges to back into the tournament with a mediocre outing. The Vikings won’t have a chance if the Giants are serious in their execution.

Projected Final Score: NY Giants 24, Minnesota 20

At Houston -1.5 Chicago 46.5

The Bears find themselves in a “must win” spot while the Texans want to rebound from a sub-par outing in Oakland and finish on a high note. Last Monday, the Bears outlasted the Pack on a bitterly cold night in Chicago and will benefit from the favorable weather. The problem is the offense’s frustrating knack of turning over the ball. The Texans can play well at home and are probably motivated to close out the year with a big game. The Bears’ fate is in their hands. How bad do they want it?

Projected Final Score: Chicago 23, Houston 20

Carolina -2.5 At New Orleans 52

The Panthers started off like a house on fire last week before the Giants’ running game wore down the defense. This week, they have a chance to prepare for the tournament by playing a consistent 60 minutes. Brees will give Carolina’s pass defense a good test, though in the end, the Panthers prevail.

Projected Final Score: Carolina 27, New Orleans 23

At Atlanta -14.5 St. Louis 44.5

The housecleaning has already started in the Rams’ front office, and for the team, they’re 60 minutes away from next year. Atlanta was in a similar spot last year and are now on the doorstep of the playoffs thanks to a great rookie coach and great rookie quarterback. The Rams lost a heartbreaker at home last week, so they haven’t thrown in the towel just yet, Matt Ryan will light up the dome on Sunday and the Falcons will have a big afternoon.

Projected Final Score: Atlanta 27, St. Louis 13

At Cincinnati -2.5 Kansas City 38.5

Two wins in a row, get outta town you Bungles! They’d love to close up shop with a win, but the Chiefs may have other ideas. Taylor Thigpen had a big day in last week’s loss to Miami; it was KC’s woeful defense that cost the team a victory. Cincinnati’s D pitched a shutout against Cleveland last week, but they may be hard pressed to put forth a similar effort against a young gun who’s looking to build his reputation.

Projected Final Score: Kansas City 24, Cincinnati 20

At Ravens -11.5 Jacksonville 36

A Wild Card opportunity lies 60 minutes away for the Ravens. There is no way, no how that this chance slips through their fingers.

Projected Final Score: Ravens 24, Jacksonville 13

Tennessee -2.5 At Indianapolis 38

Last week, the Titans had a magnificent outing in their win over Pittsburgh, taking home field advantage through the Conference playoffs in the process. Whatever Tennessee needed to prove was addressed last week, though some of their players behaved like classless fools by stomping on the “terrible towel” after the game. This game means nothing other than a chance to keep the starters loose heading into the bye and getting out without any injuries. Indy comes in with an additional three days to prepare and would like to move into their Wild Card game with a more consistent effort than last week, especially on defense.

Projected Final Score: Indianapolis 24, Tennessee 21

At Pittsburgh -10.5 Cleveland 32

The Steelers got a reality slap in Nashville last week, and now they head into the bye looking to wash the nasty taste of defeat from their mouths. The perfect antiseptic comes to town as the Romeo Crennel Era comes to an end in disappointing fashion. The Steelers won’t come into this one looking to coast, but looking to croak the Browns. They need to play well coming into the tournament and Coach Tomlin will accept nothing less than a full 60 minutes from his players.

Projected Final Score: Pittsburgh 21, Cleveland 10

At NY Jets -2.5 Miami 42

This may be Brett Favre’s finale as the fired up Dolphins head for the Meadowlands looking to win the AFC East led by Chad Pennington, who would love nothing better than to take out the team that unceremoniously threw him overboard in favor of “The Big Name”. Pennington simply responded by leading his team into playoff contention. The Dolphins transformation from a 1-15 team last year to contenders this year is a tremendous accomplishment. The Jets failed to get the job done last week in Seattle and Favre had a poor outing. This week, things could get very ugly for the Green & White if the Jets fail to win.

Projected Final Score: Miami 24, NY Jets 20

New England -6.5 At Buffalo 41

No matter if the Patriots make it to the playoffs, their ability to succeed without Tom Brady and half of the defense ranks as one of Coach Belichick’s best accomplishments to date. They made no excuses but simply developed a young quarterback from an afterthought into a fine prospect with tremendous potential. Week 17 brings the team to Buffalo where they close out the year against one of their Great AFL rivals. The Bills are coming off a big win in Denver and are looking to extend Coach Jauron’s tenure with the team. A victory here would solidify things. Marshawn Lynch is hurting and his availability may affect the outcome but Trent Edwards will be behind center and he’s a difference maker when healthy. Seymour’s probably a no-go so the patchwork defense will have to suck it up against an offense that will come out hungry. Anything can happen when these teams get together.

Projected Final Score: New England 24, Buffalo 20

At Arizona -5.5 Seattle 45.5

The Jekyll/Hyde Cardinals return home after another total ass-whipping back east to face the dreadful Seahawks, who gave their coach a warm and fuzzy sendoff last week. This week, things ought to revert to form. At home, the Cardinals are a juggernaut on offense which bodes ill for Seattle.

Projected Final Score: Arizona 28, Seattle 17

San Francisco -2.5 Washington 37.5

The decision to retain Coach Singletary ought to be the first order of business for the 49’ers heading into next year. Despite a few rookie miscues, he has turned around the culture in the locker room and this team will more closely resemble his intensity and work ethic in 2009. The Redskins have been enigmatic this year, wavering between awful and awesome. They’ve shown enough progress that Richie Rich won’t fire Coach Zorn, who did all right considering he stepped into the shoes of a Hall-of-Famer. The theme of this game will be “lasting impressions”; players on both teams want to leave good ones as the staffs will be looking to rebuild with guys who want to be there next year.

Projected Final Score: San Francisco 21, Washington 17

At San Diego -8.5 Denver 50.5

The AFC West is up for grabs on Sunday night as two maddeningly inconsistent teams vie for a trip to the tournament. By all rights, the Broncos should’ve had the division wrapped up a couple of weeks ago but blew a golden opportunity last week. San Diego doesn’t deserve a lot of credit here, either. They were picked to run away with things in the West and would be lucky to win by default in the final week. Nevertheless, here they are. Rivers and Tomlinson ought to have great games and the Broncos will find themselves “crushed”.

Projected Final Score: San Diego 31, Denver 17