Week 13 Review/Week 14 Preview:

For The Week/Season:
vs W/L: (11-5)/(135-57)
vs. ATS: (7-9)/(106-86)
vs. Aggregate: (8-8)/(89-103)

ATS vs. "CBS Sportsline Experts"

PFN: 106-86
Richard 105-87-0
Judge 100-92-0
Harmon 95-97-0
Prisco 95-97-0
Urbano 89-103-0
Madden 82-110-0

W/L vs. “USA Today Experts”

PFN: 135-57
Sean Leahy 132-60
Pete O'Brien 130-62
Nate Davis 129-63
Tom Pedulla 126-66
Jarrett Bell 125-67
Gary Mihoces 127-65
Jim Corbett 121-71
Skip Wood 115-77

So much for “unleashing hell in December”, eh Coach Tomlin? Pittsburgh is toast for this year. Even though Week 13 was only our second losing week ATS, we maintain our slim lead against the experts. This week again presents challenges of its own, so let’s buckle up the old chin straps and give it a go.

At Indianapolis -6.5 Denver 44.5

How many home games does Indy get, anyhow? 12? It seems like they’re at home every week. The question is how motivated Indy will be this week? The division is already in the bag and barring a December collapse, so isn’t the top seed in the conference. Denver is still very much in the Wild Card hunt and would love nothing more than to knock off an undefeated team on the road. But Indy will break the undefeated streak this week in a close game.

Projected Final Score: Indianapolis 24, Denver 21

At Minnesota -6.5 Cincinnati 43.5

Speaking of motivation, how do you think the Vikes are feeling this week after having been hammered last week in Arizona? Not so good, huh? This ought to be another tough test for Chilly’s crew. It also needs to be asked whether Favre is having another late season swoon like happened last year. At this point of the season, the Vikes have already locked up the #2 seed and the Bengals will pound the rock with Benson and keep it close.

Projected Final Score: Minnesota 24, Cincinnati 20

NY Jets -3.5 At Tampa Bay 37

Sanchez suffered a slight knee injury last Thursday in Toronto, so it’s uncertain whether he’ll get the call against the Bucs this week. The Jets still harbor hopes at a Wild Card, or potentially the division, so they’ll be ready to go for this one. Tampa Bay laid a serious egg last week in Carolina, so it’s hard to say whether they’ll be up for the game or looking for a scrimmage under the sunny Florida skies.

Projected Final Score: NY Jets 23, Tampa Bay 16

At Kansas City PK Buffalo 37.5

This is the sort of game that anyone with an ounce of common sense should avoid like a dog turd on the sidewalk or radioactive waste. Seriously, is there anything enlightening that could be offered about either team after 13 weeks? My goodness, these are two awful football teams that can’t wait for the season to come to a merciful end. But somebody has to win and on the “suckitude index” the Bills are ever-so slightly ahead.

Projected Final Score: Buffalo 23, Kansas City 20

Green Bay -2.5 At Chicago 43

It may not be Lombardi v. Halas this time around, but anytime the NFL’s most ancient rivals hook up it always counts. Yes, there are certain legitimate rivalries that still exist in professional sports and Packers-Bears is one of the few. The Pack are coming off a big home win against the Ravens and are in the driver’s seat for one of the Wild Card seeds. The Bears did beat the horrible Rams, but they’re just another team that’s playing out the string in December. The Pack “win one for the Old Man”.

Projected Final Score: Green Bay 27, Chicago 14

New Orleans -9.5 At Atlanta 51

The Saints somehow managed to keep their unbeaten string alive last week, thanks to Suisham’s blown field goal attempt. This week, they travel to the Peach Dome for a date with the fading Falcons, who were totally bowled over by Philly last week. It’s hard to see that the Falcons will bring a lot of heart to this one. Perhaps an injured Matt Ryan is better than a healthy Chris Redman, but it really won’t make much of a difference because the Saints really want to run the table. The expectations in Atlanta were so high this year for such a young team and maybe the injuries and defeats may have taken their toll for this year.

Projected Final Score: New Orleans 37, Atlanta 20

At Ravens -12.5 Detroit 42.5

As long as Ray Lewis continues to captain the Ravens’ defense, there should be a sufficient measure of pride despite the team’s mediocre performance this year. Luckily for them, the woeful Lions roll into town. Perhaps they’ll take the suggestion offered here a couple of weeks ago that it’s time to sit Matt Stafford for the remainder of the season before his non-throwing shoulder is irreparably harmed. He’s no longer healthy and the team is going nowhere. Stafford had a decent rookie season playing for a terrible team, so they should work on getting him healthy for next year while continuing to rebuild around him. The 12 ½ is simply too rich for such a pedestrian offense.

Projected Final Score: Ravens 24, Detroit 17

At Jacksonville -2.5 Miami 44

You’d have to think that if the Jags can’t sell out a game against a down state rival that the survivability of this franchise is in serious jeopardy. They’re maybe the most boring team in the NFL with their pedestrian smash mouth style, yet they’re very much alive for a Wild Card shot. For the Jags to win, Jones-Drew has to get a lot of touches as Miami’s pass D can easily take that part of Garrard’s game away. Don’t look now, but here come the Dolphins, looking for a big December run after taking down the hugely disappointing Patriots last week. OK, one can argue that the Patriots beat themselves (again) last week, but a win is a win anyway you slice it. Everything went right for Miami last week, but the Jags are always a tough opponent when their backs are to the wall.

Projected Final Score: Jacksonville 23, Miami 20

At New England -13.5 Carolina 44

Carolina comes to Foxboro after a pretty easy home win over the Bucs, and Coach Fox’s boys know that this will be one very tough test. Meanwhile, in New England there are more questions than answers. Last week in Miami there were two opportunities in the red zone where the team failed to pick up any points and ended up losing 22-21. This was not like rolling the dice a few weeks ago in Indy. All they needed to do was kick a couple of chip shots early on and they would’ve won. It was an inexcusable loss. Sending home four players who were late arriving to practice due to a snow storm earlier in the week may not be one of Belichick’s smartest moves. There are already rumblings of discontent with the coach from certain players (Adalius Thomas in particular) that have never been heard before during Belichick’s tenure with the team. Maybe the yahoos around here thought that core players can be easily replaced, but the loss of Bruschi, Vrabel, Seymour and Harrison (guys who bought into the “Patriot Way” of doing business) is being felt more in terms of leadership than performance. A team cannot sustain that degree of loss in core leadership and talent and continue rolling along by plugging in rookies and free agents. What is presently occurring with the Patriots represents Belichick’s biggest challenge as there is a serious void of leadership on the defensive side of the ball. The only thing that helps New England here is that a really bad football team is coming to town.

Projected Final Score: New England 31, Carolina 17

At Houston -5.5 Seattle 44.5

This is yet another troubling game, better suited to be played during the overnight infomercial hours than on Sunday afternoon. The ‘Hawks squeaked out a home win last week but did anyone really care? They’re in the market for a new GM and the team appears to be in full-blown rebuilding mode. The Texans fizzled on the road last week and without Slaton, who knows what sort of offense they’ll bring to the table on Sunday.

Projected Final Score: Houston 23, Seattle 16

At Tennessee -12.5 St. Louis 41.5

The Titans have a legitimate shot to get to .500 before all is said and done, and that would be a tremendous accomplishment for Coach Fisher since the team started off 0-6. They’ve only lost once since the Coach pulled the #18 jersey stunt. Since they started winning, no one is talking about that now. Fortunately for the Titans, the putrid Rams roll into Nashville playing the role of “cannon fodder” for Vince Young and the Titans offense. Can anyone out there ever recall a season where there has been so many bad teams in the NFL? Now that Atogwe is done for the year, the Rams have a minor league secondary that they’re putting out on the field. Other than Steven Jackson on offense, who else is there? An eight-year old could’ve assembled a better team than this.

Projected Final Score: Tennessee 27, St. Louis 14

Washington -1 At Oakland 37.5

Believe it or not, there is some excitement out there in the Black Hole after the Raiders highly improbable win in Pittsburgh last week. For a moment it was just like the glory days of the “Pride & Poise Boys”. So you’d have to think that the Raiders are looking to finish out the year with a bang. Why not, as the Redskins come to town minus Portis and Cooley and it’s anyone’s guess what sort of game they’ll get out of Jason Campbell this week. Last week the ‘Skins played their hearts out losing to the Saints in overtime and it’s hard to see that they’ll bring that level of spirit to the West Coast after such a crushing defeat. The Raiders already manhandled Philly at home a few weeks ago and have to figure that they’ll be motivated to better another NFC East team this week.

Projected Final Score: Oakland 17, Washington 14

At Dallas -2.5 San Diego 48.5

Could this be the blip in the Chargers’ dash to the AFC West crown? San Diego toyed with the Brownies last week before calling off the dogs and allowing a couple of garbage time scores while the Cowboys went up to the Meadowlands and began their traditional December tumble from grace. In the Romo Era, Dallas is simply an underachieving team. If they slipped for a year or two in December, it could be written off as an anomaly, but every year with Romo, they’re unable to seal the deal. After last week, why should anyone consider things differently this time around? San Diego generally plays its best in December.

Projected Final Score: San Diego 27, Dallas 24

At NY Giants -1.5 Philadelphia 44.5

Now this is football. Two great rivals with something to play for; it doesn’t get much better than this in December. The Eagles are coming off a big win in Atlanta, and (in terms of distance) this really isn’t much of a road game. The G-Men are coming off their biggest win of the year, and will try to springboard back into contention in the NFC East. The stakes couldn’t be higher as the winner probably gets a playoff shot and the loser “a one-way ticket to palookaville”. Realistically, there are three teams fighting for two slots and any miscues here could doom the loser’s playoff hopes. Philly is the better team and has no fear going into the Meadowlands and coming away with the victory.

Projected Final Score: Philadelphia 28, NY Giants 23