NFL Week 15

[CanadianChris 0]

THURSDAY NIGHT GAME NO ONE CAN WATCH

New Orleans at Chicago

 

EARLY

Tampa Bay at Atlanta

Washington at Cincinnati

Tennessee at Houston

Detroit at Indianapolis

Green Bay at Jacksonville

San Diego at Kansas City

San Francisco at Miami

Buffalo at N.Y. Jets

Seattle at St. Louis

 

LATE

Minnesota at Arizona

New England at Oakland

Pittsburgh at Baltimore

Denver at Carolina

 

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

N.Y. Giants at Dallas

 

FOOTBALL ON MONDAY NIGHT

Cleveland at Philadelphia

[JaMarcus Russell's #1 Caucasian Fan 0]

THURSDAY NIGHT GAME NO ONE CAN WATCH

New Orleans at Chicago- The Saints cant stop anybody on defense and plus it's going to be freezing so I like da Bears here.

 

EARLY

Tampa Bay at Atlanta- Huge game for wild card positioning. Tampa Bay pulls this one out.

Washington at Cincinnati- Washington's season is over with their tackles out, but I think they can beat the hapless Bengals.

Tennessee at Houston- I think this will be close, but the Titans pull it out.

Detroit at Indianapolis- the road the 0-16 continues for the Lions. Poor Lions.

Green Bay at Jacksonville- Tale of two disappointing teams, I like the the Packers for some reason

San Diego at Kansas City- San Diego wins again, as they keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

San Francisco at Miami- the 49ers are improved with Singletary at the helm, but the Dolphins want to make to get to Week 17 tied with the Jets.

Buffalo at N.Y. Jets- The Jets get a needed win over the reeling Bills.

Seattle at St. Louis- The Toliet Bowl. Seattle I guess.

 

LATE

Minnesota at Arizona- Arizona gets the home win here.

New England at Oakland- Poor Raiders, having to face Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco and now Randy Moss? Randy is going to him get some, Pats by a lot.

Pittsburgh at Baltimore- Baltimore avenges the early season loss here.

Denver at Carolina- Denver won't be able to stop Carolina's running game.

 

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

N.Y. Giants at Dallas- The Cowboys stay alive for another week.

 

FOOTBALL ON MONDAY NIGHT

Cleveland at Philadelphia- Philly for the win.

[cabbageboy 0]

Predictions~!

 

THURSDAY NIGHT GAME NO ONE CAN WATCH

New Orleans at Chicago: This is a really tough call and the loser here is likely done. Both teams are 7-6 and flawed, so when in doubt go with the home team. The Bears can still maybe win the division. Chicago by 6.

 

EARLY

Tampa Bay at Atlanta: A few weeks ago I had Tampa pegged as taking 2 more losses, at Carolina and at Atlanta. Falcons are basically in a must win situation here. Atlanta by 7.

Washington at Cincinnati: The Redskins have fallen back to earth really hard but still this is the Bengals here and they'll figure out some way to scratch out a win. Redskins by 4.

Tennessee at Houston: Houston is playing really well right now but they have yet to truly knock off a major team. It'll be closer than the first game, but the Titans can't afford a loss here with the Steelers and Colts looming. Titans by 7.

Detroit at Indianapolis: The Colts have a real shot at finishing 11-5, if not 12-4. Who knows if they will simply squash the hapless Lions or whether it will be another tight win. Colts by 10.

Green Bay at Jacksonville: Here's a battle of two disappointing teams. The Jags just look DOA at this point and the Packers are at least competing in their losses, so I'll take Green Bay by 3.

San Diego at Kansas City: The Chiefs constantly lose tough games, but yet the Chargers are the epitome of a team that can't win a close one this year. Still, SD is barely alive for the division. Chargers by 8.

San Francisco at Miami: The Dolpins are actually in the driver's seat for the division but they still don't strike me as being worth a crap. Niners are playing well right now so I'll reluctantly take the upset. SF by 4.

Buffalo at N.Y. Jets: The Bills are reeling right now and the Jets desperately need to get back on track after two bad losses. Jets by 9.

Seattle at St. Louis: What did the world do to deserve this? I'll stand by the opinion that the Rams are the single worst team in the league, since they don't even compete most of the times. Seattle by 6.

 

LATE

Minnesota at Arizona: Hmm....this is tricky. The Cardinals clinched the division so will they just pack it in and gear up for later, or will they go all out to have a potential tiebreaker over the Vikings for playoff positioning? I'll say Cardinals by 7.

New England at Oakland: Yes, the Pats struggled to barely win at Seattle last week but that's still a tough place to play. The Raiders are just flat out bad. Patriots survive again by 10.

Pittsburgh at Baltimore: Oh yeah! Forget Cowboys/Giants, this is the game of the week. If you want physical, vicious football, this is the game. The NFL should harness the testosterone in this game and bottle it for mass consumption. Ravens by 3.

Denver at Carolina: This is a seemingly easy pick with Denver traveling cross country and the Panthers being unbeaten at home. So why is it I am feeling a Panthers letdown here vs. a puzzling Broncos team? I'll take Denver in the shocker of the week by 1.

 

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL

N.Y. Giants at Dallas: Honestly, I have no idea what to think of this. Giants are in the playoffs either way and have clinched the division, and can actually afford to lose here and still get home field. Dallas if they have any manhood left will find a way to win here. Cowboys by 3.

 

FOOTBALL ON MONDAY NIGHT

Cleveland at Philadelphia: Who on earth put the Browns in all these national games? Eagles are now back on track and rolling, and the Browns are down to Ken Dorsey at QB. Eagles by 21.

 

[Guest Vitamin X]

Please Green Bay, just don't lose in the last 2 minutes again and I'll be happy.

 

This is only the 3rd time in the past 17 years the Packers might have a losing record, so I'm not used to them being out of playoff contention. Scary that snuffy predicted back in Week 5 or 6 I think it was, that this team had a 2005 feel to it (shitty run defense, weird playcalling at times, can't make the big play at the end to win). Anyways, it's that time of year when you might start hoping they lose some games to get a better draft pick!

 

In other news.. Recession hits NFL, about 150 people to be laid off.

[CanadianChris 0]

Cleveland at Philadelphia: Who on earth put the Browns in all these national games? Eagles are now back on track and rolling, and the Browns are down to Ken Dorsey at QB. Eagles by 21.

Well, they were 10-6 last year, and everyone swore up and down they'd be competitive this year.

[The Niggardly King 0]

Perfect segue into my question...

 

Which team that has turned it around this year has the most potential to be like Cleveland next year... Arizona, Atlanta, or Miami? Or is there another team that I'm forgetting?

[Guest Vitamin X]

Arizona. For some reason, I think the rest of that division is going to be much better and the Cardinals, while definitely a playoff team, would be just fighting for a wildcard if they played in any other division. If the rest of the NFC West improves- and San Fran looks like they might finally be turning the corner with Singletary and St. Louis has shown flashes of being competitive this year- the Cards will probably fail hard. Atlanta and Miami have good chances to fall too, because of the divisions they play in.

[Zetterberg is God 0]

If Edwards can't go I really want Hamdan to play, just to see what he can do. The season is lost and I can't take Losman's incompetence anymore.

[JaMarcus Russell's #1 Caucasian Fan 0]

Perfect segue into my question...

 

Which team that has turned it around this year has the most potential to be like Cleveland next year... Arizona, Atlanta, or Miami? Or is there another team that I'm forgetting?

 

Miami, they had an extremely weak schedule this year, they'll have a tougher one next year playing the NFC and AFC South and playing an AFC West team (most likely San Diego) and an AFC North team (most likely the Ravens).

 

[CanadianChris 0]

I'd put the Jets on the list as well.

[Psycho Penguin 0]

Jets were expected to be moderately good because they added some guy at QB.

 

Atlanta will be fine, so it comes down to Miami and Arizona. Hard to tell, Arizona has a much weaker division and just needs a running game, so I'll go with Miami.

[cabbageboy 0]

As long as Kurt Warner is still healthy and can go the Cardinals should be fine next year. The Niners are somewhat better but I would wonder if Singletary will burn them out at some point. Seattle's days of contending are over for now, and the Rams are horrid.

 

Atlanta is the future of the NFC South with Matt Ryan and Michael Turner. Tampa is built on old talent (Garcia, various guys on D) that will eventually decline, the Saints could be okay or could be a constantly frustrating team, Panthers are solid.

 

I already mentioned in the predictions that Miami seems like a fraud this year. Sure, 8-5 is a good record but a +9 differential? The Dolphins have beaten garbage teams like Oakland and Seattle by 2 points (at home no less) and barely survived the Rams by 4. Miami is a very mediocre team and I am bewildered that so many people seem to think they will win the division. Given their close calls already would it shock anyone if they dropped one to the surging Niners this weekend? Or lost next week to the hard luck Chiefs on the road? And even if they win those two they still have to finish in the frigid NYC area against the Jets.

 

When it comes to the AFC East I'm inclined to say the Pats will still somehow win the division. They have no tiebreakers over anyone but they won't need it if they go 11-5 and the others are 10-6. Miami is likely to drop one more to finish 10-6 (still a great improvement though over 1-15) and the Jets are dubious on the west coast and have that scary trip to Seattle left. The Pats meanwhile? Should beat the hideous Raiders, the Cardinals next week have little to play for since they've clinched and suck on the east coast anyway, and then the fading Bills to close the year.

[CanadianChris 0]

Jets were expected to be moderately good because they added some guy at QB.

They were still bad last year and turned it around. And I expect them to tank next year against a much tougher schedule.

[Psycho Penguin 0]

Shit, the way their season is going, they might finish 3rd place in the division.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Jets were expected to be moderately good because they added some guy at QB.

 

The improvement the Jets have gotten from having Favre over Pennington at QB has been fairly marginal, actually. The rest of that team is what's gotten a lot better, especially in the trenches. Explained:

 

Jets QBs last year threw 15 TD's and 19 interceptions together- Pennington with 10 TDs and 9 INTs, and Kellen Clemens with the rest. Together they threw for 3,330 yards. At this point, with three games left in the season, Favre's thrown for 2,871 yards, 20 TDs and 15 INTs. While he's definitely provided the stability at the position and lack of injury that his predecessors have, Favre is on pace to throw as many (and knowing him, probably more) interceptions than last year's Jets QBs, about as many yards, with the obvious improvement being in touchdowns thrown, which is a big benefit.

 

Also the defensive improvements can't be ignored. The Jets last year were 29th against the run (23rd in TDs) and 9th against the pass (6th in pass TDs allowed). This year, those numbers are pretty much flipped- they're 4th against the run (7th in rush TDs scored) and 31st against the pass (22nd in TDs). What's important to recognize here is that, statistically speaking, having a great run defense and a not-so-great pass defense usually means that your defense is getting it done in close games, and the pass defense numbers are brought down by the fact that since you're winning, other teams are throwing more. Also, Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are also having much better years this season compared to last year. Although the threat of Favre in the passing game has probably helped them, the difference is substantial- 20 total TDs scored between them so far this year, while last year they had 5 all season.

[Guest Vitamin X]

In other news, Clinton Portis unleashes on Redskins coach Jim Zorn..

 

"Either you feel like you need to sever ties with me -- split ties with me -- but don't sit here and throw me out like I don't pay attention, like I don't know what's going on, like I'm making mistakes, like I'm the problem," Portis said. "It is what it is, bro."

...

"Jason on his [BUTT] all game long, you try to stay in and help, then it's 'Aw, you should have gone out.' ... If he's over there and can't breathe and unconscious where he done got the wind knocked out of him from being sacked, then it's 'Aw you got to help out, you've got to chip,'" Portis said. "So I don't think they know what they want me to do."

...

"Outside of Jim Zorn and the coaches on that team and maybe the quarterbacks, I guarantee you I know our system better than anybody else," Portis said. "I guarantee you when we go into blitz pickup, I don't miss my man. So I don't know what it is. If anybody's got a problem with me, they need to talk to me. I don't know what's going on."

 

Portis was almost derisive when asked if teams have figured out how to defend Zorn's offense after the team's hot start.

 

"We got a genius for a head coach, I don't know, so I'm sure he's on top of things," Portis said. "He's got everything figured out. All I can do is when he calls the plays is to try and execute to the best of my ability."

...

"We got 25 protections, so maybe that's why the O-line's sometime confused," Portis said. "Maybe that's why I don't understand what's going on -- since I don't understand what's going on."

 

Zorn appeared on the radio station later in the day and responded to some of Portis' remarks.

 

"He's a big part of our offense, and he's sitting on the bench," Zorn said. "He's going to feel like he's benched. I don't blame him for that. ... He's an every-down back, that's the way he sees himself and that's the way we see him. He needs to be on the field. I felt the same way when I played."

 

Zorn said he anticipated Portis practicing this week and playing as an every-down back in the upcoming game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

 

That was about the only point on which he and his disgruntled player agreed.

 

"I'm totally healthy after not playing against Baltimore," Portis said. "The thing about it, I'll be at practice tomorrow."

 

This is probably pretty bad news for the Redskins, especially for after this season's over. Letting a 27, 28 year old running back who still has a lot of good years in him get pissed at the HC. Who needs a good running back entering his prime next year? Anyone?

[Kinetic 0]

Tampa is built on old talent (Garcia, various guys on D) that will eventually decline

 

Untrue, and if anything the older talent--with the exception Garcia, Dunn, and maybe Derrick Brooks--are liabilities on the field right now. The only guys over 30 who started for this team on a regular basis this year are Garcia, Ronde, Brooks, Hovan, and Dunn. Every other guy is in his 20s.

[Psycho Penguin 0]

Jets were expected to be moderately good because they added some guy at QB.

 

The improvement the Jets have gotten from having Favre over Pennington at QB has been fairly marginal, actually. The rest of that team is what's gotten a lot better, especially in the trenches. Explained:

 

Jets QBs last year threw 15 TD's and 19 interceptions together- Pennington with 10 TDs and 9 INTs, and Kellen Clemens with the rest. Together they threw for 3,330 yards. At this point, with three games left in the season, Favre's thrown for 2,871 yards, 20 TDs and 15 INTs. While he's definitely provided the stability at the position and lack of injury that his predecessors have, Favre is on pace to throw as many (and knowing him, probably more) interceptions than last year's Jets QBs, about as many yards, with the obvious improvement being in touchdowns thrown, which is a big benefit.

 

Also the defensive improvements can't be ignored. The Jets last year were 29th against the run (23rd in TDs) and 9th against the pass (6th in pass TDs allowed). This year, those numbers are pretty much flipped- they're 4th against the run (7th in rush TDs scored) and 31st against the pass (22nd in TDs). What's important to recognize here is that, statistically speaking, having a great run defense and a not-so-great pass defense usually means that your defense is getting it done in close games, and the pass defense numbers are brought down by the fact that since you're winning, other teams are throwing more. Also, Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are also having much better years this season compared to last year. Although the threat of Favre in the passing game has probably helped them, the difference is substantial- 20 total TDs scored between them so far this year, while last year they had 5 all season.

 

TELL IT TO TONY KORNHEISER. lol

 

You're right, I think the defense has been underlooked and is the biggest reason for the team being 8-5. They showed especially what they can do against the Titans. However, I meant the reason they were expected to be good is because of Favre. He is, of course, a small piece of the reason they actually HAVE improved. I just hope they have a plan for when he "retires" in a few months or a year.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

You're right, I think the defense has been underlooked and is the biggest reason for the team being 8-5.

 

While I agree, we shouldn't ignore the schedule either. All four teams in the AFC East have inflated win totals by virtue of getting both the NFC & AFC West, two of the worst divisions in the history of the NFL. Even with the Jets lousy west coast road record.

[Just John 0]

Oddly, though, 4 of the Jets' 5 losses came from AFC/NFC West opponents.

[Psycho Penguin 0]

Yeah, and they beat the Titans, Cardinals, and Patriots. Who knows about that schedule thing. Maybe if they played good teams every week, they'd have 10 wins right now.

[Kinetic 0]

With the news that Pacman Jones's neck injury might be career-ending, I'm starting to wonder why so much was ever made of someone who accomplished so little. The guy basically had one good year.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

With the news that Pacman Jones's neck injury might be career-ending, I'm starting to wonder why so much was ever made of someone who accomplished so little. The guy basically had one good year.

Couldn't have happened to a better guy.

[Kinetic 0]

Given that he was at the very least indirectly responsible for that bouncer becoming paralyzed in his infamous "make it rain" moment in Vegas, I'd have to agree with that. If his career actually is over, I bet the guy joins Maurice Clarett and Ron Mexico in jail before 2009's out.

[sfaJack 0]

And I'll go one further and say that he'll be dead within 5 years, prison or not.

[Darthtiki 0]

So with Matt Cassel out (Family Issue), who will get the start for the Pats in Oakland? O'Connell the rookie or Gutierrez, who has been on the practice squad for god knows how long.

 

[Matt Young 0]

I figured this wasn't worth starting a thread, but the AFL is canceling the 2009 season:

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/extra/afl/news/story?id=3759813

 

Back to the NFL, I'm halfway glad we have only gotten about 6 Packers game on TV here (counting the 2 Monday night and 1 Sunday night games). This season has featured so many heartbreaking losses by 4 points or less.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Wow, that might turn out to be a pretty awful game, even worse than first advertised. Why? Because the Raiders supposedly are taking most of the week off from practice (4 days to be exact).

[The Niggardly King 0]

Given that he was at the very least indirectly responsible for that bouncer becoming paralyzed in his infamous "make it rain" moment in Vegas, I'd have to agree with that. If his career actually is over, I bet the guy joins Maurice Clarett and Ron Mexico in jail before 2009's out.

 

Nah, he'll buy himself a strip club and end up getting shot dead during a robbery in his mid 30s

[jimmy no nose 0]

With the news that Pacman Jones's neck injury might be career-ending, I'm starting to wonder why so much was ever made of someone who accomplished so little. The guy basically had one good year.

When did he suffer the injury? Was it on that first punt return where he just got thrown out of the pile? He was down for a while then, but he was back playing not long after.