Week 15 Review/Week 16 Preview:

For the Week/Season:
v. W/L: (8-8)/(136-88)
v. ATS: (8-8)/(107-112-5)
v. Aggregate:(5-11)/(120-104)

Week 16 Saturday/Sunday Preview:

Dallas -6.5 At Arizona 45

Dallas travels to the desert on Christmas night for a date with the woeful Cardinals, who lost on the road in Charlotte last week. The Cowboys thought that they had last week’s game against the ‘Skins in the bag before having to scramble late to prevail by a field goal. Although the Cowboys will get no closer to the playoffs than from their living room couches, the Coach still has a lot to prove by having his team well-prepared to play well in the final two games.

Projected Final Score: Dallas 28, Arizona 16

At Miami -3.5 Detroit 41.5

The Lions travel down to Miami on the second leg of the Florida trip, looking for the sweep after downing the Bucs in OT last week. This week, Stanton looks to take a seat on the bench and Hill returns. And what is up with the Dolphins at home, anyhow? They’re 1-6 at home and this is their last chance to play well before the home crowd. If the Fins lose here, you’d have to wonder whether Coach Sparano’s fate hangs in the balance. Look for Miami and Henne to close out the home schedule in high style.

Projected Final Score: Miami 24, Detroit 20

At Philadelphia -14 Minnesota Off

A tremendous amount of credit belongs to the Vikings’ organization and to all who were responsible for staging Monday night’s game at the Gophers’ home stadium on such short notice. Despite the Vikings getting blown out by the Bears, there was nothing sub-par about the conditions of the field nor did the cold and snow diminish the boisterous spirit of the crowd. At least the organization honored their All-Time team and coach in a fitting venue and in the type of weather that made the Vikings legendary.

As many suspected, the OG started on Monday night looking to go out in a blaze of glory. The Bears had other ideas and after slamming Favre’s head into the concrete “turf” in the second quarter, the dazed OG shuffled off to the sidelines for what surely has to be the final time. For a third-stringer, Joe Webb acquitted himself well in relief but the Bears had too many horses for the Vikes to compete against.

People are calling last week’s Eagles win over the Giants the “Miracle of the New Meadowlands”. Did you see Coughlin screaming at his punter Dodge? His head turned one shade of beet red short of spontaneous combustion. The Giants had what, a 28-3 lead? And they lost? The fact is that the Eagles played dead from the neck down for most of the game before the Giants handed them a win on a silver platter. After the initial euphoria faded, Coach Reid and his staff probably eviscerated the team after reviewing the game film. This week, the Coach will demand a full 60 minutes worth of effort.

Projected Final Score: Philadelphia 34, Minnesota 17

At Jacksonville -7 Washington 46

Do you really, truly believe that the Redskins are a dysfunctional lot? First, they demote McNabb to third-string and then send him out as a captain for the coin toss. Seriously? Now fans can buy Haynesworth and McNabb jerseys in a 2-for the price of-1 sale. As long as Wonder Boy sitting in the owner’s chair has any role managing this franchise beyond signing the checks, it will be more of the same nonsense. First it was Shanahan-Haynesworth. Then it was Son of Shanahan and McNabb. What an infernal mess. Underneath all of this, the common denominator is Blunder Boy.

The Jags still have a shot at the AFC South title. They could’ve salted it away last week but couldn’t get the job done against Manning and Indy. If they can’t get it done at home this week, they really don’t deserve a shot at the tournament.

Projected Final Score: Jacksonville 24, Washington 20

At St. Louis -2 San Francisco 39.5

Who will quarterback the ‘Niners this week? Will it be Smith, or will it be Smith? In Week 16, does it matter which Smith gets the call? The Rams lost the Battle of Mizzou last week, which wasn’t unexpected considering Cassel’s return to full time duty. This week they can go a long way toward a tournament bid with a win, something that most pundits would’ve found practically inconceivable at the beginning of the year.

Projected Final Score: St. Louis 23, San Francisco 20

At Tampa Bay -6 Seattle 43.5

The Bucs continued their troubling trend of playing to the level of the competition. They’ve done well against contending teams and have played poorly against poor teams. A contributing factor is youth, but if they’re going to be taken seriously, they need to step up against a bad team like Seattle and kick some ass. The Seahawks were blitzed at home by Atlanta, which was no surprise. Despite the injuries on defense, the Bucs still have the horses to get the job done.

Projected Final Score: Tampa Bay 27, Seattle 20

New England -8 At Buffalo 44

The Patriots were indeed fortunate to escape last Sunday night’s game with a win, and now have a really tough test up in Western New York with the Bills, who simply refuse to quit despite several heartbreaking defeats this year. If the Patriots can pull off the win, they’ll seal the top seed in the AFC (some thing that few, if any, of the so-called experts predicted). The Bills will fight down to the wire.

Projected Final Score: New England 27, Buffalo 24

At Chicago -1 NY Jets 36

With Monday night’s win over the Vikings, the Bears captured their first NFC North Crown in three years, so they may not be terribly hungry coming into this game. After two crushing defeats, the Jets rebounded last week with a statement game against the Steelers and now Coach Loudmouth is proclaiming that the team’s swagger is back.

But now the Loudmouth has heaped ridicule and shame on himself and the team after alleged videos of him and the missus surfaced on the internet earlier this week and caused a media sensation. They were not “pornographic” in any sense but a tad creepy nonetheless. (If that’s his thing, whatever). How a public figure could be so STUPID as to make public the intimate aspects of his (and his wife’s) private life is mind-boggling. And how do they explain this to their children? It seems difficult enough to be the child of a famous parent. Now their kids will be subjected to ridicule from their peers. A fiction writer couldn’t dream up a scenario such as this.

We’ll repeat the mantra from earlier this year about Brandon Spikes. As long as no one’s getting physically or emotionally abused or coerced or exploited, what consenting adults choose to do in their private lives is none of anyone else’s business. We respect privacy whether or not we may personally regard certain activities as creepy and/or disgusting. (It’s a crazy world out there). When very public people make their personal preferences known to the public (via uploading videos to various “relationship sites”), such revelations cause a general level of discomfort with the general public, because we really don’t want to know and certain preferences may be offensive to those with tender sensibilities. Please, just keep it to yourself.

The Jets play best when their backs are to the wall and everyone doubts they can pull off another run. Sanchez has a bum shoulder and his injury will really limit what the Jets can do on Sunday.

Projected Final Score: Chicago 24, NY Jets 21

Ravens -3 At Cleveland 39

The Old Browns return to the old home for a date with the New Browns, who are playing out the string for yet another year. The Ravens are coming off a big home win over the Saints and are rounding into top form at precisely the right time. The Browns lost their big rivalry game with the Bungles last week and will have a rough time moving the ball on the ground against the Ravens’ rock-tough D.

Projected Final Score: Ravens 24, Cleveland 20

At Kansas City -5 Tennessee 42

All the Chiefs need to do is win and they’re in, though they shouldn’t expect the Titans to roll over for their benefit. The Titans are fresh off a big win over Houston and while they’ll be packing it in after next week, hopefully enough pride remains to see through the remainder of the season with some dignity and pride.

Projected Final Score: Kansas City 27, Tennessee 21

Indianapolis -3 At Oakland 47

Both teams are coming off emphatic wins but the Raiders would love nothing more this year than playing spoiler to Peyton Manning and Indy. The Raiders had a pretty easy time of it with the woeful Broncos while (with their backs to the wall), Manning led his team to a big win over Jacksonville. Once more, Manning will be without Austin Collie after he suffered another concussion and will hopefully be put on the shelf for his own good.

Projected Final Score: Indianapolis 28, Oakland 24

Houston -3 At Denver 48

And the winner of this game gets what? Tim Tebow lost in his first start, but didn’t do all that badly. He ran for and threw a touchdown and will start the next two games while Kyle Orton recovers from an alleged “rib injury”. The team should be honest enough to state that they want to see how their first-round pick survives in a no-pressure environment against a terrible and battered defense. The Texans can put points on the board and should no problem against the Broncos hapless defensive unit.

Projected Final Score: Houston 24, Denver 20

At Green Bay -2.5 NY Giants Off

Matt Flynn acquitted himself quite well in his first start in Foxboro, but the Pack are definitely looking for Aaron Rodgers to return this week in a must-win situation against the visiting G-Men. As previously mentioned, the Giants suffered a catastrophic defeat at home last week, and it will be hard to determine just how they’ll respond this week. Maybe they come out with passion and renewed purpose. Or maybe they throw in the towel.

Projected Final Score: Green Bay 23, NY Giants 20

San Diego -7.5 At Cincinnati 44

The Bungles won’t have TO to kick around any longer as he’s done for the year with a knee injury. The Bungles did win last week, but they’ve been “done for” since October. The Chargers are in the unenviable spot of having to rely on a loss by the Chiefs to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Projected Final Score: San Diego 27, Cincinnati 24