Week 16 Review/Week 17 Preview:

For the Week/Season:
v. W/L: (9-7)/(145-95)
v. ATS: (8-8)/(115-120-5)
v. Aggregate:(8-8)/(128-112)
Week 17 Preview:
It’s last call for most of the teams this week, and there’s more than a few questions as to which of these teams have already packed it in and which ones will fight until the final whistle.

At Kansas City -4 Oakland 43.5

With the Chiefs’ dominant win last week combined with the Chargers’ choke job, Kansas City punched its ticket to the tournament. It was a remarkable season for Coach Haley, Matt Cassel, Jamaal Charles and a resilient team that caught lightning in a bottle in Week 1 and never let go. They want to arrive at the dance on a high note, and the Raiders come to town to help things along. Don’t expect the Raiders to be gracious guests as these teams are long-standing rivals, regardless of the record.

Projected Final Score: Kansas City 27, Oakland 20

At New England -3 Miami 43

How many turnovers did Buffalo commit against the Patriots last week? The Bills uncharacteristically rolled over for New England last week while most folks figured they’d play a competitive brand of football. This may be Coach Sparano’s swan song with the Dolphins as they underperformed (especially at home) all year. Coach Belichick is his typically tight-lipped self regarding how much playing time Brady and the starters will get now that the Pats have clinched home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. This game may play out a lot like the final exhibition game as the Pats have nothing to gain. The Dolphins hopefully arrive in Foxboro with enough pride and concern for their jobs next year to make things meaningful.

Projected Final Score: Miami 23, New England 21

At Indianapolis -9.5 Tennessee 48

After last week’s loss to the Chiefs, there’s little doubt that the Titans quit on their coach and packed their bags some time ago. This will probably be Jeff Fisher’s last game with Tennessee in what was a lengthy and highly productive reign as HC. It’s clear that the owner backed Vince Young over Fisher in their nasty feud, and once the players realized that, Fisher lost the team. It’s little wonder that Bud Adams hasn’t won a thing since 1962. Indy is right about where they wanted to be in Week 17. Another trip to the dance is in the offing, but Manning will have to make do without Clark and Collie. It seems as if Manning could make All-Pro’s out of fourth stringers, so Indy will do just fine come January.

Projected Final Score: Indianapolis 31, Tennessee 21

Jacksonville -2.5 At Houston 49.5

The Jags (once more) snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by losing two big games coming into the final week. MJD was out of last week’s game with a bum knee and without him, their offense is mush. This week, Garrard won’t play after suffering a hand injury. Perhaps Trent Edwards can step up and defeat the defensively-challenged Texans, but the best the Jags can hope for is for Indy to lose (and that’s a highly unlikely outcome).

Projected Final Score: Houston 23, Jacksonville 21

Pittsburgh -6 At Cleveland 37.5

The best news for the Steelers is that Troy Polamalu may play on Sunday as the team rolls into the playoffs and looks to drive a stake in the Mangenius’ heart. Even though they have nothing to gain, it’s still hard to see a Coach Tomlin team resting the starters and going at any less than full tilt. If Holmgren decides to stick around (now that the ‘Niners GM chair is presently empty), chances are that he’ll be looking to install a new HC, so more heads could be rolling in Cleveland. But it looks like they’ve found their quarterback and there are a few other good players with the Browns. They’re not that far off from being a contender as all it takes is finding a few other complimentary pieces to the puzzle.

Projected Final Score: Pittsburgh 27, Cleveland 17

At Baltimore -9.5 Cincinnati 43.5

That was an inspired performance the Bengals gave last week while dominating San Diego. Too bad it was the highlight of yet another wasted season in the Queen City. There will be no T(B)O, Ochostinko, Palmer or Coach Lewis around next season, but with the tightwad owner, one can only wonder what it will take for the Bengals not to be Bungles. The Ravens are looking to clinch the #2 seed in the AFC and earn a bye with the win, so they have plenty to gain by pulling out all the stops on Sunday.

Projected Final Score: Ravens 23, Cincinnati 16

At Detroit -7 Minnesota 43

Chances are the Brett Favre Era ends with a whimper on Sunday since he’s yet to pass his post-concussion neuro-exam. But if he’s able to go, the OG (a little lighter in the wallet this week) may give it one final gasp for glory. What will ESPN do after he’s gone? The Lions are looking to wrap up the year on their longest winning streak in a decade. Sure, the progress has been slow—but there have been significant gains made under Coach Schwartz’ watch and the future is brighter than ever in Detroit.

Projected Final Score: Detroit 24, Minnesota 16

NY Giants -4 At Washington 44.5

After two crushing defeats, the G-Men simply have to win and hope the Packers lose. The Redskins took advantage of an undermanned Jacksonville team to prevail in overtime but if the Shanahans believe that Rex Grossman is the answer, then there are more questions regarding this team than originally considered. They foolishly relegated McNabb to the bench, fired Haynesworth months too late and ran the team into the ground with their arrogance.

Projected Final Score: NY Giants 24, Washington 17

At Philadelphia -12 Dallas 48

One of the worst seasons in Cowboys’ history comes to an end in Philly on Sunday, as the Eagles look to dispatch “Them Cowboys” and grab a bye on only five days’ rest. On Tuesday night, they came out flat and were humbled by the Vikings as Vick took another viscous pounding. Kevin Kolb will start in his place on Sunday. All the Eagles need to do is to play smart and escape unscathed. It was a lost season for Dallas, between the dreadful coaching of Son of Bum, injuries and poor performances from a number of key players. Initially, it was thought that Garrett would seize the coaching opportunity and make a few tweaks to the roster for next year, but after last week’s last-second loss to Arizona, there’s a question whether Jones may be looking at a full-blown rebuild.

Projected Final Score: Philadelphia 24, Dallas 17

At NY Jets -3 Buffalo 35.5

The Jets backed into a playoff spot after losing to the Bears on the road last week. This week, there’s nothing to be gained by playing Mark Sanchez, who has a bad shoulder. On Wednesday, Coach Loudmouth proclaimed that Sanchez would most likely sit this one out. People are still shaking their heads over how badly the Bills played last week, turning over the ball numerous times and gift-wrapping the game for the Patriots. They’d certainly look to play a much smarter game this week and go out on a high note.

Projected Final Score: NY Jets 23, Buffalo 17

At Atlanta -14.5 Carolina 41

The NFC’s best against the NFC’s worst: How many front-running Atlanta fans will show up for this one? It sure looked like the Falcons would pull off the win on Monday night after a couple of fourth quarter picks (one for a touchdown) but the defense gave the Saints’ offense one final chance and Brees made the Falcons pay. This week, the Falcons have a great chance to wrap up the top spot in the NFC by playing a more consistent game on offense rather than treating this game as a tune-up for the tournament.

Projected Final Score: Atlanta 27, Carolina 10

At New Orleans -8 Tampa Bay 48

The Saints’ defense played really well against the Falcons on Monday night and Brees rebounded from a couple of late turnovers to prevail at the end. This week, they can’t afford to take the Bucs lightly as Tampa Bay will be looking to finish the year with 10 wins. But it looks like half of the Bucs’ starters are on IR and the rest are pretty banged up. This is a tough spot for the Saints as they’d probably like to rest some of their starters for the playoffs but they’d also like to hit the dance at full speed. The best the Saints could hope for would be to go out to an early lead before shuttling some of the subs into the lineup.

Projected Final Score: New Orleans 27, Tampa Bay 17

St. Louis -3 At Seattle 41.5

Who would’ve thought that the marquee matchup of the day would be a showdown between the 7-8 Rams and 6-9 Seahawks? That’s how bad the NFC Worst is. Two totally unworthy teams fighting it out for the last place in the tournament—and a home playoff game to boot! There’s a very good likelihood that Hasselbeck will be out, thrusting all the pressure into the hands of journeyman Charlie Whitehurst. The Rams are coming off a big home win over the ‘Niners and are looking to springboard that win into the playoffs. Tampa Bay drubbed the ‘Hawks last week and it would be highly insulting to see a sub-.500 team make it to the playoffs.

Projected Final Score: St. Louis 24, Seattle 20

At San Francisco -6.5 Arizona 38.5

We won’t have Coach Singletary to kick around any more as he was fired after last Sunday’s loss in St. Louis. Somewhere down the line he’ll hopefully get another chance to lead a football team. Maybe he’ll have to do some time as a coordinator to further refine his schematic knowledge, as there is no question regarding his gift as a motivator. That whole scene with Troy Smith arguing with Singletary on the sideline was disgraceful. Singletary has more character in his right pinky than Smith has as a person.

The ‘Niners would like to give their coach du jour (Jim Tomsula) a nice parting gift as the owner’s kid, Richie Rich, has announced that the team will hire a new GM, who is expected to hire his own guy and staff. A big part of the 49’ers slide is the result of the ownership change several years ago. They say that “a fish stinks from the head down.” When it comes to owning a successful professional football franchise it would appear that the Yorks are clueless. The Cardinals will keep the same coach and staff intact, and they’ll be looking to build off of last week’s last-second win over the Cowboys and go out on a high note.

Projected Final Score: San Francisco 23, Arizona 20

San Diego -3.5 At Denver 47.5

Tim Tebow’s starting debut went pretty well and it now appears that Kyle Orton will be playing elsewhere next season. The Broncos scored two late touchdowns to post a 24-23 win over Houston as Tebow threw for one and ran in the other. The Chargers were unable to overcome their early season losses. By the time they got their act in gear, the Chiefs were running away with the AFC West and last week’s loss to Cincinnati sealed their fate.

Projected Final Score: San Diego 27, Denver 20