Before we get to my week 13 picks, I have a confession. I'm writing these well in advance, cause I have a long drive on saturday. So if you don't agree, I blame it on the drive. I won't write here till I get to Indianapolis on Saturday night.
One quick pick.: The Missouri will defeat Oklahoma.
Here we go, our week 13 picks. Of course, I don't have to tell you that these aren't really my "best guesses as to who will win", but they are my "this is what should happen, if the whole world revolved around me", picks. You see, like most fans, I have weird bias toward teams, coaches, owners, and other superfluous reasons for liking or not liking team. This is my chance to talk about them, as well as go on the record.
That said, let's get to the picks: the Point Spread is next to the Underdog, if you're into that sort of thing.
Atlanta Falcons(+3.5) vs. St. Louis Rams: I don't know about you, but I'd rather have this as my NBC Sunday Night "Flex-Game", rather than Bengals/Steelers. I'm shaking with anticipation at seeing Gus Ferotte and Joey Harrington on the same field. You don't see that type of offensive prowess every day. There's a good chance the total number of interceptions is at least double the number of touchdown passes. No quirky rules or bias here, just a little sympathy for my fellow Missouri brothers in St. Louis. Thank god for college football, otherwise it'd be a pretty terrible year for football in the "Show me" state.
The Pick: St Louis.
Buffalo Bills(+6) vs. Washington Redskins:* Last week I explained that I don't like the Redskins because of their owner. This week, I completely hope the Redskins dominate and destroy the Bills for Sean Taylor. If you'd like to do something for Sean's daughter, please see the fund information over at Hogs Haven. Sunday, we're all Redskins fans...
The Pick: Sean Taylor
Detroit Lions(+4) vs. Minnesota Vikings:* The NFC North has to be the most bizarre division in football. Both of these times have at least an outside shot at a wild card spot, both teams have talented rookies coming back from injuries, and both teams have very strange coaches (Childress /Offensive "mastermind" Martz). I don't like to shamelessly root for something good to happen in my Fantasy Football league, but I'd really like a huge day out of Adrian Peterson. So, sadly, I'm taking the low and shallow route in my pick.
The Pick: Minnesota
Houston Texans(+4) vs. Tennessee Titans: Uh oh. I don't like this at all. I hate having to pick in division on division games. Especially when it's two teams that have consistently broken the Jaguars heart. That said, I'm really enjoying the free fall of the Titans. A loss here should effectively put the Titans out of the playoff hunt, which is a shame considering how strong they looked early on this season. Not that I'll shed any tears for em...
The Pick: Houston...barely.
New York Jets (+1) vs. Miami Dolphins: There's only one real choice here..
The Pick: Miami
San Diego Chargers vs. Kansas City Chiefs (+6.5) : In terms of the playoffs, and assuming the Jaguars take the wild card, I'd be very OK with going to San Diego and playing the Chargers again. A win here keeps the Chargers toward the top of an absolutely terrible AFC West. I find it amazing that the Jaguars, with a win at home against oakland in a few weeks, will have swept the whole division.
The Pick: San Diego
Seattle Seahawks (+3) vs. Philadelphia Eagles:* I have very little to say about this game, other than that I'd really like to see AJ Feeley usurp McNabb. I'm also curious to see what team spends way too much money to get McNabb in the off-season. So my pick for this game is a little different.
The Pick: AJ Feeley
San Francisco 49ers (+3) vs. Carolina Panthers: The Team with no offense versus the team who can't win at home. You'd think that if the Panthers are gonna get one for the local crowd, it'd be this one. Also, how bad must it be to be Steve Smith right now. He's gone from the playmaker to the non-factor as the David Carr era ruins a franchise, a coach, and a team. That said, I'm still chafed after saying all off-season that this would be the 49ers year, thinking that the combination of Alex Smith and Frank gore would actually do something for the team. I'm officially a moron.
The Pick: Carolina, or John Fox's head will roll.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+3.5) vs. *New Orleans Saints: The "Jon Gruden" rule comes into effect. Gotta roll with the Saints.
The Pick: New Orleans
Cleveland Browns vs *Arizona Cardinals (+1) : It's funny, but I'm keeping a very defensive posture toward the AFC Wild Card race. I want every team to be as far away from Jacksonville as possible. With that clear, a Cleveland loss reinforces Pittsburgh as the division leader and keeps the Browns just a little further away from Jacksonville. I'm amazed to be thinking about the Browns and the playoffs in week 13. That's absolutely unreal.
Denver Broncos vs. Oakland Raiders (+3.5) : I once had a friend that was obsessed with the Denver Broncos. We'd involve him in our Fantasy Football leagues and he'd draft all Denver players. It was fun, cause one year he took Jerry Rice, right before he retired. With a 3rd round pick. He really burnt me out on the Broncos.
The Pick: Oakland.
New York Giants vs. [Chicago Bears:(+2) : Tom Coughlin is too good of a coach to suffer so badly in December. I'd like to think he gets Eli Manning in line, but the kid plays football like he's forced to take the field. You just can't win with a situation like that. But I'll still keep on hoping that Coughlin puts it together, call it an old loyalty...
The Pick: New York
[Cincinnati Bengals (+7) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: I hope to god that they got that field fixed over in Steel Town, that was terrible. The highlight of that game was the punt that stuck in the ground like an arrow. No bounce, no nothing, it just went splat. A Steelers win should lock them in for the division, and I like the Jaguars chances against them in the future, so that decides it...
The Pick: Pittsburgh
I'm not going to acknowledge the existence of a Monday Night Football game. I'm sick of seeing New England in prime time.