“Well..I’m sittin’ in a la-la, waitin’ for my Ya-Ya, uh-uh…”
--Lee Dorsey

Week 15 Preview:

We started off Week 15 fortuitously, thanks to the flip of a coin as the Bears prevailed in OT. Now it’s onto the Sunday games where the outcomes will have a direct bearing on who’ll be playing January Football. As the weeks “dwindle down to a precious few”, so too do the number of teams who remain in the hunt. The winnowing down this week will eliminate even more.

Green Bay -1.5 At Jacksonville 45

Ordinarily, the Jags at home are tough, but this year it’s apparent that the coach and the team are not working from the same script. They were only able to put up 10 points in Chicago and were pretty much DOA at Soldier Field. Taylor’s out for the season so they have every reason to mail in another. The Pack lost at home on a field goal at the buzzer, so the last three weeks are simply a time to give Rodgers and the offense more seasoning…

Projected Final Score: Green Bay 24, Jacksonville 21

At Indianapolis -16.5 Detroit 45

Ugh. The soon-to-be 0-14 Lions trek to Indy playing the “cannon fodder” role for Manning & Co. Coach Marinelli will be down to the 12th stringer at quarterback as Culpepper is out with a shoulder injury. The Coach will put up a brave front but the outcome may resemble what happened to General Custer and his troops at Little Big Horn. For Coach Dungy’s crew, it’s a perfect December tuneup…in our three seasons of forecasting games, we wouldn’t touch 16 ½ with a 20-foot pole. However, there are always exceptions to the rule…and this Lions team is historically bad.

Projected Final Score: Indianapolis 31, Detroit 16

Washington -6.5 At Cincinnati 36.5

Hopefully the little tiff between Coach Genius and his star runner has been smoothed over because this game won’t be a pushover. You could say, “Well, it’s only the Bungles…”, but they’d like to catch a team napping that has been inconsistent all season. Neither team exactly covered themselves in glory last week…maybe this week the Bungles rise to the challenge.

Projected Final Score: Washington 24, Cincinnati 21

At Atlanta -2.5 Tampa Bay 44.5

This game ought to be something to watch, as the Bucs will be itching to rebound from the ass-whuppin’ they took in Charlotte and the Falcons will be looking to bounce back from a tough loss to the Saints. The Bucs are now a game back of Carolina with three to play, and there’s a world of difference between having a bye and hosting a Wild Card game in January, but the Falcons have shown that they’re capable of beating every team in the NFC South…

Projected Final Score: Atlanta 23, Tampa Bay 20

At Miami -6.5 San Francisco 42

Coach Singletary has done a respectable job lifting the ‘Niners out of the pit, but it would take a tremendous effort traveling east to knock off the Dolphins, who are coming off of a nice road win against the Bills. Miami has been one of the NFL’s biggest surprises of the year, still tied for first and fighting for their playoff lives.

Projected Final Score: Miami 24, San Francisco 17

Seattle -2.5 At St. Louis 43.5

The Seahawks gave New England quite the fight last week before bowing out at the end while the Rams took yet another severe thrashing at the hands of Arizona. If Hasselbeck plays, Seattle wins, if Seneca plays then all bets are off. There really isn’t a lot to dwell on here…

Projected Final Score: St. Louis 24, Seattle 23

At NY Jets -6.5 Buffalo 41

In recent weeks, the Jets have been flat. For awhile it appeared as if they would run away with the AFC East but consecutive losses have the football world reconsidering such lofty aspirations. This is a game that they need to win convincingly to right the ship. For the Bills, it’s wait ‘til next year. Once Edwards went down with a concussion (then a groin pull) any hopes for the post season went with him. It’s a division rivalry and the Bills always play tough and with pride, but this year thety simply don’t have the horses to compete…

Projected Final Score: NY Jets 27, Buffalo 17

Tennessee -2.5 At Houston 44

The Texans’ last second win at Lambeau made their season, and they’d love nothing better than to knock off the 12-1 Titans at home. However, now’s the time when championship-caliber football teams begin to kick things into high gear for the playoffs. Schaub is back and Slaton is developing into a noteworthy running back. They’re slowly developing into a competitive team that will one day challenge in the AFC South…but this is a momentum game for the f/k/a Oilers.

Projected Final Score: Tennessee 24, Houston 21

At Ravens -1.5 Pittsburgh 34.5

This is Week 15’s marquee matchup, with two of the League’s top defenses coming to the fore. The Steelers had a terrific come from behind win last week against Dallas and want to nail things shut on the AFC North this week, but the Ravens have played awfully well of late and will come into this one sky high. On the “mean and nasty” scale these teams are evenly matched. The only clear advantage belongs to the Steelers’ quarterback, as opposed to the Ravens’ rookie.

Projected Final Score: Pittsburgh 20, Ravens 17

At Carolina -6.5 Denver 47

Trying to pick a winner here is like sticking your hand into a pit of vipers. It’s 50/50 as to one or both teams will play well or poorly. Just when you think you have Denver figured out, boom! While they will walk away with the AFC West, they engender zero confidence. Now they travel east to face a team that’s trying to seal the division in the final weeks. Don’t be fooled by the 10-4 record, the Panthers are a good-but not great-team. They have a terrific running back duo with Stewart and Williams, and a top notch receiver in Smith, but Delhomme’s inconsistent play is always worrisome…

Projected Final Score: Carolina 27, Denver 24

San Diego -4.5 At Kansas City 46.5

The Chargers started playing reasonably well about eight weeks too late, and they’ll be catching the playoffs from their couches this year. For San Diego’s offense it’ll simply be an afternoon to pad the numbers. It’s been another long year in Kansas City for Coach Herm and the Chiefs, so they’ll play out the string in another chapter of old AFL West rivals…

Projected Final Score: San Diego 27, Kansas City 20

At Arizona -2.5 Minnesota 49

Tarvaris Jackson, Act II: Vikings’ fans shudder at the thought of this latest development. The Vikes were fortunate to learn that the Williams’ Boys injunction will continue and they won’t be going anywhere for awhile. That—and AP—are about the only things going in their favor as they descend upon the Valley of The Sun this weekend. AP’s going to have to tote it 30+ times for the Vikes to have a chance to win. Meanwhile, Warner needs to connect early and often because they’ll have a tough time running the ball. At home the Cardinals are formidable, so we’ll go with the home team.

Projected Final Score: Arizona 24, Minnesota 20

New England -6.5 At Oakland 39.5

The Patriots remain in a first-place tie after 14 weeks at 8-5. To have accomplished that without Brady and half of the defense is a tremendous feat no matter what happens going forward. Last week, they won another tough game and lost another starter on defense (Bruschi). This week, they face a team that is more often than not very bad, but has shown the ability to beat good teams on rare occasions. The Raiders have three additional days to prepare after having been routed by San Diego. When last we saw JaMarcus Russell, he was carted of the field after having suffered an ankle injury. This week, the Raiders will be doing a lot of running with McFadden and Fargas no matter who lines up under center. The Patriots will do as they’ve always done with the players who are available: execute to the best of their ability.

Projected Final Score: New England 23, Oakland 16

At Dallas -2.5 NY Giants 44.5

For those of you who believed that TO had finally become a “team guy”, you lose! After last year’s tear-filled press conference where he expressed his undying love and devotion to “my quarterback”, it now appears that TO has reverted to his “me-first” ways, bitching and moaning because the tight end is getting more touches than him. There’s an old Sicilian proverb that states, “a leopard doesn’t change its spots.” It’s simply a shame that he and that loathsome owner in Dallas couldn’t be put in a locked room together for about a month as they deserve each other. The whole routine has simply become too tiresome to contemplate. This could’ve been a big week for the Cowboys, as the G-Men come into town having played as if there’s not much gas left in the tank and ripe for the taking. They were completely shut down at every turn in Philly last week. Whether it was a case of dealing with the well-publicized off-field problems or a team that has already peaked is the issue. There’s something unsettling about the Giants of late; it appears as if they’ve lost their invincible edge at the worst possible time. Dallas did play well in Pittsburgh last week—for about 55 minutes before everything unraveled. So, they’re capable of coming out and playing well against the Giants, but if they lose on Sunday night the door to the playoffs may be slammed shut. Romo simply needs to keep the turnovers to a minimum and TO needs to keep his mouth shut—and run his routes the way they were designed instead of doggin’ it and pointing fingers.

Projected Final Score: Dallas 24, NY Giants 21