Week 15 NFL Picks

If I had money to throw away, these are the teams I'd bet on. This week's matchups are another tough call. There are a lot of games that were predicted to be between playoff contenders earlier in the year but they never materialized. Now we're stuck with games like Baltimore at Miami and Cincinnati at San Fran. There are some key matchups that will have big implications for the playoffs, specifically in the NFC where Arizona is at New Orleans and Washington is at the Giants. The season is on the line for many of those teams. Last week I was 10-6. Winning team is in CAPS.

Thursday, Dec. 13
Denver at HOUSTON
I guess I'm going with Houston here and I have no idea why. Both teams are lousy and are fighting just for a chance to be considered for a wild card spot. This one could be ugly.

Satruday, Dec. 15
CINCINNATI at San Francisco
This is a tough one to call. I believe that Carson Palmer is just awful but I also said that I wasn't going to pick San Francisco because the Patriots have their first round pick in next year's draft. I'll stick with Cincy.

Sunday, Dec. 16
JACKSONVILLE at Pittsburgh
I think that the Steelers will have the same problem that most teams who play the Patriots. They demoralize you so badly that it's hard to regroup and play the following week. Look for the Steelers defense to have some major gaps for Fred Taylor to get some big yardage plays.

Atlanta at TAMPA BAY
You know your team sucks when your coach quits on you after 13 games. Any NFL player who wears a Free Mike Vick shirt during this game should be suspended until Vick is released from prison. That's just plain stupid.

Seattle at CAROLINA
I still don't trust Seattle, especially on the road. Although, Carolina is pretty awful and I'm not even sure if they still have a quarterback.

GREEN BAY at St. Louis
Congratulations to Brett Favre for being SI's Sportsman of the Year. I guess that's what passing for 3,678 yards, throwing 24 TDs with 11 INTs and having a QB rating of 98.7 will get you. Brady, by comparison, has thrown for 4,095 yards, has 45 TDs to his 5 INTs and a QB rating of 123.5. It's nice to see Favre get another individual award while Brady's got his eyes set on another Lombardi Trophy.

BALTIMORE at Miami
This could turn into one of the worst games of the year and possibly the only chance that Miami has of actually winning a game this year. Baltimore's offense is pathetic. Luckily, so is the Miami defense.

NY Jets at NEW ENGLAND
I'm thinking 49-13. More to come tomorrow.

Arizona at NEW ORLEANS
Arizona was completely dominated last week by the Seahawks. Look for Drew Brees and New Orleans to expose those same weaknesses, which were pretty much everything.

BUFFALO at Cleveland
I'm really starting to like the Bills. They play a very sound game on both sides of the ball, they don't make a lot of foolish penalties and I like the way Trent Edwards has people believing in him. I hope the Bills can make the playoffs this year and that a competitive Patriots-Bills rivalry is brewing for years to come because I don't see the Jets or Dolphins being competitive any time soon.

Tennessee at KANSAS CITY
I think that San Diego's comeback against Tennessee last week will leave the Titans in a free fall.

INDIANAPOLOIS at Oakland
Look for Jim Sorgi to be playing by the end of the third quarter, if not before.

Detroit at SAN DIEGO
I only watched the last few minutes of the game against the cowgirls but I was amazed to see that the Lions receivers were trying to run out of bounds to stop the clock while they were still up 27-21 with only a few minutes to go. Good football teams don't do that. Although, good football teams also don't have five game losing streaks. You can make that a six game losing streak after Sunday.

Philadelphia at DALLAS
Dallas was fortunate to get out of Dodge with a W last week against the Lions but good teams somehow find a way to win those games. Tony Romo has his cowgirls playing good football and, even better, they believe that he can take them all the way. If not for the Patriots' perfection, Dallas would be getting a lot more attention this year.

Washington at NY GIANTS
I have no faith in Eli Manning to win a tough divisional game but I also don't know who the quarterback of the 'Skins is going to be. Maybe not having a QB is better than having Eli. We'll find out Sunday.

Monday, December 17
Chicago at MINNESOTA
Minnesota is starting to look like a very formidable playoff opponent while the Bears are looking towards next year by starting Kyle Orton. Is anyone outside of Minnesota or Chicago going to bother watching this game?