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| New Yorkers are guaranteed that one of their teams will win this weekend. (AP) |
We want to wish a Merry Christmas to all our readers and a Happy Hanukkah to Cougar, Fisch and any other animal named fraternity brothers we might be forgetting. Travel safe, be merry and watch football!
Stally (Eight-Point Pick) - @Pittsburgh over St. Louis
Stally: Big Ben not starting kind of hurts the aura of the Steelers, but, let's be real, Charlie Batch won three of four for Pittsburgh as a sub last season. Plus, the Rams are terrible. Oh yeah, and the Steelers are at home. I'm still confident with this pick.
Austen: The Rams are bad enough that Charlie Batch would not have to do much in order to find a way to win this one, although the Rams did beat the Saints so who really know what might happen. Steelers should still win big though.
Austen (Eight-Point Pick) - @Baltimore over Cleveland
Austen: The Browns are a total mess on both sides of the ball right now and the Ravens really want to win the division this year. They should be motivated enough to at least beat an awful Browns team at home.
Stally: If the Ravens really wanted to win the division, they shouldn't have lost 34-14 to San Diego last week. These divisional games are always weird, especially in the AFC North, but I do agree that Baltimore is a clear favorite.
Stally (Seven-Point Pick) - @Green Bay over Chicago
Stally: As I said, divisional games can be weird, but not when Caleb Hanie goes on the road to the 13-1 Packers. They might have suffered an ugly loss to the Chiefs, but it's much harder to see Green Bay losing this one than it was at Kansas City last week.
Austen: The Bears are starting Josh McCown at quarterback, which is not a good sign for their offense. I do not think the Bears have much of a shot in this one unless Devin Hester can score multiple touchdowns.
Austen (Seven-Point Pick) - @New England over Miami
Austen: The Dolphins are improved, but not improved enough to finish off the Patriots. They might keep it closer than people think, but Tom Brady will be back to his old ways and play like a god at home to make sure they win this one and keep chasing home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Stally: I agree that it will be a frustrating game for me to watch, as I'd like to see us blow Miami out by about 30. I also agree that just because it might remain close for much of the game, doesn't mean that there's reason to think the Pats won't pull it out by the tend.
Stally (Six-Point Pick) - @Carolina over Tampa Bay
Stally: I couldn't believe I took the Panthers this high! Am I high or are the Bucs just this bad? Well, it's not the former, I'd say that the Bucs are just one of the worst teams in the league. As I said in my Goal Line Stand last week, Tampa Bay is awful right now and Carolina should breeze to this home win.
Austen: The Bucs' offense turns the ball over more often than they score points and all of their best defensive players are injured. Cam Newton should have a field day in this one.
Austen (Six-Point Pick) - Denver over @Buffalo
Austen: The Bills are back to being one of the worst teams in the NFL, where they belong. This will be the coldest game Tim Tebow has ever played, but the Bills run defense is bad enough that he should be able to steamroll them. This one could be a blowout.
Stally: One thing I love about Jets fans is that no matter how bad it gets, they still look at Buffalo and say, "at least we're not as bad as the Bills." As a New England fan, I agree completely. Other than the Big, Bad Patriots, the AFC East is weak and Buffalo only brings it down. Cold weather isn't known to hurt a run game, and Denver should win this one by at least a few scores.
Stally (Five-Point Pick) - @Tennessee over Jacksoville
Stally: What happened to Tennessee last week? Well, they're an inconsistent team with an inconsistent star player in Chris Johnson and we knew that going in to Indy. I think they'll regain some swagger at home against a Jags team that neither of us respect.
Austen: Chris Johnson is banged up and Matt Hasselbeck has been slowed by injuries. I really would not want to touch the Titans in a matchup like this one, but Blaine Gabbert is so bad it is really hard not to bet against the Jags.
Austen (Five-Point Pick) - Houston over @Indianapolis
Austen: Well I already lost this one, but let me at least defend myself. I really did not think the Colts had enough in them to win two games in a row after losing 13 straight. I thought Arian Foster would be able to control this game (he did rush for 158 yards and a touchdown) and I thought the Texans defense would be able to stay strong throughout the game (the Colts' only touchdown came with one second left in the game), so I was pretty close. This is a disappointing loss for the Texans who are still fighting for a first-round bye, but have most likely lost that opportunity with this loss. This game could really come back to bite them in the first round of the playoffs.
Stally: First off, you don't really need to defend yourself for picking a 10-4 team over a 1-13 one, but I did go opposite way. I thought that the Texans threw away that first-round bye with a home loss to Carolina. I also thought that once they got out of the slump, the Colts would play some mediocre football. I took the home team Colts in this one, and my Yahoo! picks will attest to that. I still don't think they're great, but I'm just not jumping on the T.J. Yates bandwagon in Houston.
Stally (Four-Point Pick) - @New Orleans over Atlanta
Stally: This Saints team is dynamite at home. Atlanta is strong in a dome, since they play in one, and definitely have the familiarity to stick with the Saints. However, I need to go with the better team when it's playing at home in front of a great crowd, where it's 6-0 this year.
Austen: Drew Brees has been an absolute monster this season and he has played all of his best games at home. Matt Ryan is going to have to play a perfect game for the Falcons to have a chance in this one.
Austen (Four-Point Pick) - @Washington over Minnesota
Austen: I feel disgusting picking the Redskins this high since I could totally see them following up a dominant win over the Giants with a just awful performance. Still, the Vikings have not been able to do anything on offense as of late and their pass defense is atrocious. I see "good Rex Grossman" making enough plays to help them win this game.
Stally: I'm going to go with the Vikings for two reasons. The first being that I think your fear of an awful Redskins performance will be realized. The second being that I just don't think this Vikings team is as bad as their 2-12 record suggests and this is the kind of winnable game that could support that notion.
Stally (Three-Point Pick) - San Diego over @Detroit
Stally: I think that the Chargers waited just a little too long this season to turn on the late season electricity. However, I do feel like the Lions are about in cruise control with a playoff berth looming and that the Chargers are (finally) playing as one of the better teams in football.
Austen: Both of these teams are so inconsistent and explosive on offense, you really don't know what could happen in this one. This might come down to whoever scores last.
Austen (Three-Point Pick) - @New York-J over New York-G
Austen: I really do not know what to think about this game, but I could say the same about the rest of these games as well. It was too tempting to side with my Jets, who should be able to beat the Giants in a close matchup. The Giants defense has been awful recently and the Giants' receivers have not been able to catch the ball. Revis can catch the ball and Eli Manning might complete more passes to him than any Giants' receiver not named Victor Cruz. This is about the time of year the Jets play well and the Giants fall apart. It just happens to be against each other this time.
Stally: I'm betting everything I own on New York winning this one, but if you're pressing me for an answer, I'm going with the Giants. They blew that game against the Redskins with a series of mental errors, such as a Hakeem Nicks dropped touchdown pass early in the game (another botched one later) and three interceptions from not-so-Eli-te Manning. I just feel like if both these teams play their best games, the Giants are the better team. Considering it's on a neutral field, I'll take the G-Men.
Stally (Two-Point Pick) - @Cincinnati over Arizona
Stally: At this point in the year, I think these two teams are about even. However, it's December, so a cold, road game for a desert dweller used to playing indoors isn't a favorable matchup. I'm taking the home team Bengals in this one, especially since they have a playoff berth still in the works.
Austen: The Bengals have to win this game to keep their playoff hopes alive, and that is exactly why I think they will lose this game. They seem to always drop these types of matchups.
Austen (Two-Point Pick) - @Kansas City over Oakland
Austen: Kyle Orton showed a lot of composure stepping into the starting role for the Chiefs and leading them to a win over the Packers last week. I will side with them at home in one of the loudest stadiums in the country against a Raiders team that is on pace to break the single season record for most penalty yards. Not a great stat for the Raiders.
Stally: I'm still trying to cling on to the Raider bandwagon I missed. I think that the Chiefs got an incredible high off beating the Packers, but I think they could easily let down. Oakland is still in that playoff hunt and I think they have a little bit more talent and will get it done.
Stally (One-Point Pick) - Philadelphia over @Dallas
Stally: Like the Chargers, the Eagles are taking flight too late. They're finally proving why we all thought they could be a great team and possibly might be saving Andy Reid his job. Do they have a realistic shot at the postseason? No, I don't think so, but I do think they'll win this one.
Austen: I agree with Stally that I think the Eagles will sweep the Cowboys. They blew them out the last time these two teams played and they were playing much worse than they are now. This should be a fun game to watch.
Austen (One-Point Pick) - @Seattle over San Francisco
Austen: After a lot of consideration, I had to side with the Seahawks at home over a 49ers team that looks to sit their banged up defensive captain, Patrick Willis. Marshawn Lynch has been in beast-mode for most of this season and I think he will put enough points on the board for the Seahawks for them to come away with a win in a very low scoring game. Could actually be a good game to watch (I can't believe I am saying that).
Stally: We both let this one fall all the way through under the assumption that the other guy would sooner or later bite on a better 49ers team. Neither of us did. It seems like a game that Seattle would steal. They're familiar with San Fran and play very well at home, plus they haven't looked half bad in general. I also will be taking the Seahawks with the upset.
Pick 'Em
Houston @ Indianapolis - Thurs
Stally: Indianapolis
Austen: Houston
Denver @ Buffalo - Sat, 1 p.m.
Stally: Denver
Austen: Denver
Arizona @ Cincinnati - Sat, 1 p.m.
Stally: Cincinnati
Austen: Arizona
Jacksonville @ Tennessee - Sat, 1 p.m.
Stally: Tennessee
Austen: Tennessee
Oakland @ Kansas City - Sat, 1 p.m.
Stally: Oakland
Austen: Kansas City
Miami @ New England - Sat, 1 p.m.
Stally: New England
Austen: New England
New York-G @ New York-J - Sat, 1 p.m.
Stally: New York-G
Austen: New York-J
St. Louis @ Pittsburgh - Sat, 1 p.m.
Stally: Pittsburgh
Austen: Pittsburgh
Minnesota @ Washington - Sat, 1 p.m.
Stally: Minnesota
Austen: Washington
Tampa Bay @ Carolina - Sat, 1 p.m.
Stally: Carolina
Austen: Carolina
Cleveland @ Baltimore - Sat, 1 p.m.
Stally: Baltimore
Austen: Baltimore
San Diego @ Detroit - Sat, 4:05 p.m.
Stally: San Diego
Austen: San Diego
Philadelphia @ Dallas - Sat, 4:15 p.m.
Stally: Philadelphia
Austen: Philadelphia
San Francisco @ Seattle - Sat, 4:15 p.m.
Stally: Seattle
Austen: Seattle
Chicago @ Green Bay - SUN, 8:20 p.m.
Stally: Green Bay
Austen: Green Bay
Atlanta @ New Orleans - Mon, 8:30 p.m.
Stally: New Orleans
Austen: New Orleans
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