nfl weekly predictions: week fourteen [14]

chicago at washington

analysis : it seems as though the odds are stacked against the redskins for this game. they are tired both physically and emotionally after traveling to and from miami for sean taylor's funeral. to compound matters, the schedule has not been forgiving as they face they bears on a short week. with that in mind, i do think the redskins are the better team overall.

the pick : washington

carolina at jacksonville

analysis : in the battle of the 1995 expansion franchises, the jaguars will show the panthers it's better to have a starting quarterback that isn't vinny testeverde. david garrard did not begin the 2007 preseason as the starter, but has been a reliable option at quarterback. the jaguars are a team that knows its identity, while the panthers seem so disorganized, they start a 44 year old man at quarterback [i can't stress this enough]. since the season is already lost for the panthers, i wonder why they are starting testeverde over david carr or some other young quarterback. they aren't planning on bringing him back to compete for the starting job next year, or are they?

the pick : jacksonville

ny giants at philadelphia

the analysis : for the giants, we can always expect two things to happen to them in the second half: the team quits on head coach tom coughlin, and eli manning plays poorly. and yet, the giants have made the playoffs despite such adversity.¹ the eagles plan on starting donovan mcnabb, which could [and most likely] get ugly for him.

the pick : ny giants

st louis at cincinnati

analysis : even though the rams have started to regain some of their offensive production, they still don't have a very good team. the bengals seem to have their defensive struggles behind them, but that isn't to say that are any good on defense. it just means that they aren't historically bad.

the pick : cincinnati

tampa bay at houston

analysis : the buccaneers are playing well enough to make the nfc playoffs, but that really isn't saying much. their defense is much improved, and luke mccown didn't look that bad at quarterback. that being said, they need jeff garcia to play as soon as possible. as for earnest graham, who knew that he would be able to run the ball this well. i guess that's what happens when the fear of getting demoted to the practice squad is your main motivator.

the pick : tampa bay

miami at buffalo

analysis : the dolphins might have missed their best chance to win a game this season last week. now, they have to go to buffalo to try to win their first game, where the weather will be the bigger obstacle than their actual opponents. if the dolphins do happen to win, i wonder if the players will give head coach cam cameron a gatorade shower [both for his first victory and as a huge sigh of relief]. i hope this happens, although i think this could give him walking pneumonia.

the pick : buffalo

oakland at green bay

analysis : i'm still not convinced that the packers are that good of a team. if they played in the afc, i'm not sure if they would have a better record than the jaguars [read: the jaguars are better than the packers]. they may have some trouble with the raiders, although the weather and the overall whiteness of the crowd will give the packers more than enough to win.

the pick : green bay

dallas at detroit

analysis : the lions have lost 4 in a row after being at 6-2. unfortunately for them, the losing doesn't stop here. the most intriguing storyline will be if the kitna-newman feud will live up to any of its hype.

the pick : dallas

san diego at tennessee

analysis : the chargers may be playing well at the moment, but the titans are a team that has what it takes to defeat them [namely good linebackers who can contain tomlinson and a ball control offense]. vince young has been able to break the 100 yards barrier in passing the last few games, which can only mean good things for the titans, but bad things for purists who prefer the game to played without the option of the forward pass.

the pick : tennessee

minnesota at san francisco

analysis : adrian peterson will take advantage of the 49ers' defense like boise state took advantage of oklahoma's over-pursuit in last year's fiesta bowl. game over.

the pick : minnesota

arizona at seattle

analysis : with a win, the seahawks all but clinch a playoff berth. with a loss, the cardinals confirm that it is indeed sunday.

the pick : seattle

cleveland at ny jets

analysis : the browns are playing at a high level, although there are no signs that any part of it is due to coaching. they shouldn't have a difficult time with the jets, who do not have enough talent on defense to stop the browns [i never thought i would be saying that ever in my lifetime].

the pick : cleveland

pittsburgh at new england

analysis : after two weeks of looking beatable, the patriots have the steelers right where they want them. the steelers look overconfident heading into this game, which is never a good sign. the patriots may have trouble with the steelers in the past, but they will have no problem against them this week.

the pick : new england

kansas city at denver

analysis : i am shocked that travis henry won his appeal and will not be suspended. apparently his positive drug test was the result of secondhand marijuana smoke, and not the actual use of it. all of which is great news for the broncos, but my main question is how concentrated was the marijuana fumes around him that he tested positive for a drug test? i mean, was he trapped in the equivalent of a marijuana sauna? i really need to know the circumstances around this.

the pick : denver

indianapolis at baltimore

analysis : i must commend the ravens for playing with as much heart and emotion as they did last week against the patriots, but at the same time i wonder where that passion was the rest of the season. hopefully the ravens take something positive from that game instead of dwelling on the negative as they have been doing this past week.

the pick : indianapolis

new orleans at atlanta

analysis : i'm sure this was the marquee matchup that espn was expecting when they paid approximately $1.1 billion for this year's monday night games. even if this is a competitive game, not very many people will care.

the pick : new orleans

¹ not diversity