My Interpretation Of Week 14 Of The NFL

Bills 38 beat Miami 17 - See what a difference Trent Edwards is over J.P. Losman! It's like a brand new team. The Bills keep their playoff hopes alive while Miami continues towards the inevitable.

Cincinnati 19 beat St. Louis 10 - Rain pelted Brock Berlin's face as he settled in for his first regular-season snap in the NFL for the St. Louis Rams. He called signals in misty breaths, then got decked when he let go of a pass. Palmer and Berlin both played terrible, this was a meaningless game, and thats everything you need to know.

Dallas 28 beat Detroit 27 - Kitna's promise for 10 wins was a curse that may come back to haunt them. They could actually lose 10 games! Tony Romo played amazing again and connected with Witten and Barber enough times to climb back into the lead after trailing most of the game. I have nothing but awe and amazement for the way the Cowboys play and fight hard. The Patriots await them.

Green Bay 38 beat Oakland 7 - Favre started and with this win, the Packers clinched their division. Grant and the special teams helped Farve win this one. I'd like to say something supportive of Oakland, but that's impossible.

San Diego 23 Tennessee 17 - This was a nail biter to the end. After a frustratingly slow start, the Chargers were able to tie the game to send it to overtime. Tomlinson's overtime touchdown capped the Chargers comeback. Vince Young had a terrible game, but in his defense, he was hurt. Still, this knocks the Titans out of the Wild Card.

New York Giants 16 beat Philadelphia 13 - What happened here? I never expected this. The Giants survived a last minute drive to slip by the Eagles. With this win, the Giants solidified their Wild Card spot and ruined any chance the Eagles had for a second Wild Card. This win actually convinces me the Giants are at least a decent team now....but they'll still get slammed if they play the Packers or Cowboys.

Jacksonville 37 beat Carolina 6 - Blowout. Blowout. Blowout. The Jaguars solidified their spot for a Wild Card. Their defense dominated this game and Fred Taylor did an excellent job running the ball. The Panthers, however, were awful and I blame it on Testaverde. The Panthers need a future quarterback desperately.

Houston 28 beat Tampa Bay 14 - Sage Rosenfels threw for three touchdowns to lead the Texans (6-7) to an upset victory over the Tampa Bay Buccanners. He has won both games he's started in place of the injured Matt Schaub. I really underestimated Rosenfels and I think the Bucs did too. Garcia didn't start and that's why their 2 touchdowns came from their running game. The Bucs can afford to lose one anyway; that division provides less than a challenge. The Texans are still fighting for a Wild Card.

Minnesota 27 beat San Fransisco 7 - This is why the Vikings are such a dangerous team. The 49ers stopped Peterson. That's great....but Taylor ran all over them. They have 2 amazing threats in the backfield. The Vikings keep their winning streak alive and move into a deserving 6th place in the NFC.

Seattle 42 beat Arizona 21 - Hasselbeck's four touchdown passes helped the Seahawks clinch the NFC west title. This team's aerial attack continues to amaze me. Kurt Warner put up some great passing yards and touchdowns, but 5 interceptions is just too many mistakes for any aerial attack to survive. Everyone can't pull a Tony Romo.

Denver 41 beat Kansas City 7 - Jay Cutler must have read all the harsh, negative comments I said about him in a previous post and really wanted to prove me wrong. Cutler tossed a career high four touchdowns as the Broncos destroyed the Chiefs. So Cutler finally had a great game. Good for him.....now do that for 3 more games. I still don't believe in him or the Broncos.

Cleveland 24 beat New York Jets 18 - You have to hand it to the Jets. This poor team has nothing to play for except pride and they tried so very hard to beat the mighty Browns....and they almost did too. Fortunately for the Browns, Joe Jurevicius recovered 2 late onside kicks to stop the rallying Jets. However, the Browns were annoying me this game because I was finally able to watch this high-powered offense on tv....and they didn't play well.

New England 34 beat Pittsburgh 13 - ...and the conspiracy (oops I mean "perfect season") continues....

Indianapolis 37 is beating Baltimore 7 - This game has gone to the half. Boy was I wrong. Shame on me to go against my favorite team. I thought the Ravens were going to come out fired up after last week's controversial loss. Instead, the Ravens look as if they need Prozac. Their offense and defense is barely trying. I guess I would enter into a deep state of depression too after that loss last week. Manning and the Colts' defense is shredding them apart so badly its not even worth watching. This solidifies my point about when the Patriots games aren't nationally televised (like this week's game), they blow teams out. However, when they are televised, the games are kept close to keep them exciting in order to draw an audience in. The NFL loves the Patriots as a money making tool.

For Monday

New Orleans At Atlanta - What a boring Monday night game. Take the Saints and then go to bed.

Injury News Around The NFL

We have some more fallen soldiers...

Rams quarterback Marc Bulger will not play this weekend after suffering a setback in his recovery from a concussion, the St. Louis Rams announced Saturday morning. The team also announced that Brock Berlin, who has never attempted a pass in a regular-season game, would start Sunday at Cincinnati.....and I picked the Rams to win? Cross that out now. Then again, probably one of the best defenses to try out a new QB on would be the Bengals defense.

New Orleans Saints tailback Reggie Bush will not require surgery to repair a partially torn ligament in his left knee, but the second-year veteran almost certainly will not play Monday night at Atlanta, and the former Heisman Trophy winner is likely to miss the rest of the season.

The Houston Texans placed Ahman Green on injured reserve Friday, ending the season for the player signed to be their featured running back. Green missed Houston's last three games with a left knee injury that's bothered him for months. He rushed for 260 yards on 70 carries this season, less than what the Texans expected when he signed a four-year, $23 million contract in March. What a bust.

Starting quarterback Jason Campbell sustained a potential season-ending knee injury in the second quarter of the Washington Redskins' game against the Chicago Bears on Thursday night, as the third-year veteran dislocated his left patella.

Jets wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery was listed as doubtful Friday -- but not out -- for New York's game against Cleveland with an injured right index finger that kept him on the sideline last week. Cotchery, who reportedly broke the finger in practice last Monday, hasn't been seen in the locker room or on the practice field during media availability since. The Jets' injury report listed Cotchery as limited in practice Friday after he didn't participate the previous two days.

Free safety Gibril Wilson will miss his second straight game and Pro Bowl linebacker Antonio Pierce will be a game-time decision for the New York Giants on Sunday against the Eagles in Philadelphia. Rookie Michael Johnson will replace Wilson, who has been sidelined with a knee injury. Pierce sprained an ankle against Minnesota two weeks ago. He played last week against Chicago but the injury limited him in practice this week. Chase Blackburn would start if Pierce cannot play.

Despite quarterback Jeff Garcia's contention that he is sufficiently recovered from a back injury to return to the lineup, Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden remains uncertain about who will start when his team meets the Houston Texans on Sunday in a game that could secure the NFC South title for the Buccaneers. Garcia practiced on a limited basis most of the week, then skipped the Friday walk-through session, muddying the quarterback picture a bit. The expectation of most players is that Garcia, who missed last week's victory at New Orleans, will start. But Gruden has adopted an uncharacteristically cautious stance on his quarterback, and insisted he won't make a decision between Garcia and Luke McCown until Sunday morning.w Orleans Saints, Reggie Bush, Houston Texans, Ahman Green, Washington Redskins, Jason Campbell, Jerricho Cotchery, New York Jets, New York Giants, Gibril Wilson, Jeff Garcia, Tampa Bay

Football Predictions For Week 14 Of The NFL

I want everyone to be aware of a few things going into this week: Though the New England Patriots will most likely go undefeated for the regular season after that come from behind win last week, there is still tons of drama for the Wild Card teams and anything can happen in the playoffs.

Thursday

Chicago At Washington - This is a game of literally two evenly matched teams at 5-7 who are both coming off tough losses. Though this is a coin toss game of 2 teams pursuing the Wild Card, Portis and Betts will run over the Bears' defense and the Redskins will get the win.

Sunday

Miami At Buffalo - After last week's loss to the Jets, I am never picking Miami until they give me a reason to.

St. Louis At Cincinnati - This is theoretically supposed to be a match of two extremely high powered offenses, but I haven't seen much offense from either team. St. Louis will win, however, because at least they have a somewhat consistent defense when compared to the Bengals. Also, the decision to start Bulger is leaning more and more towards a yes.

Dallas At Detroit - The Cowboys are the Lions' next rough game in what could be the hardest schedule in the NFL. This should theoretically be another high scoring game and I can see that happening with Dallas coming out on top.

Oakland At Green Bay - The Packers loss last week against the Cowboys was only a warm-up for the playoffs and a minor set back. They will trounce the Raiders even though Favre is still questionable to start.

San Diego At Tennessee - Interesting how these two teams both have identical records (7-5), but the Chargers own their division while the Titans are staying alive for a Wild Card. I just think the Chargers have finally come alive and LT is returning to meet the high expectations the media had for him. Therefore, Chargers win.

New York Giants At Philadelphia - This is a great division rivalry game with serious playoff implications. I would actually label this a coin toss game because Eli is streaky as usual which could cost the Giants the game, but the Eagles have also been streaky. However, the Eagles need this win badly and their defense will bring the pressure on Eli, forcing him to make stupid mistakes and lose the game. Also, McNabb thinks he's ready to play, not that he's much of a difference at this point from Feeley.

Carolina At Jacksonville - The Panthers stopped a five-game losing skid in Week 13 against the 49ers while the Jaguars lost a tough one at Indianapolis. I just can not find any reasons why the Panthers could win this game.

Tampa Bay At Houston - I can see the Texans upsetting the Bucs, but because Matt Schaub is still questionable, I'm going to have to take the Bucs in this one.

Minnesota At San Francisco - I think the question with the Vikings at this point is not whether they will win, but how many yards will Adrian Peterson have against the 49ers' horrible defense.

Arizona At Seattle - This is a huge game in the NFC West divisional race as we start the final quarter of the regular season. The Seahawks will be looking to get some revenge for their Week 2 loss in Arizona. Can the Cardinals match up with their injured secondary against the Seahawks' spread receiver packages? The Seahawks and Shaun Alexander just look so much more comfortable that I have to take them.

Kansas City At Denver - These teams have been doing so bad lately even the Bills have a better record than both of them. This is a divisional matchup between two rivals that know each other very well and don't like each other. The Broncos can't afford to lose another game if they have any ideas about making the playoffs. Both teams want to stop losing streaks; Denver has lost two straight, while the Chiefs have lost their last five. I don't understand why analysts scrutinize young quarterbacks like Rivers, Young, and Eli Manning so much, but I never hear them say bad things about Cutler. He's as streaky as Eli. I'm picking the Chiefs for a minor upset.

Cleveland At New York Jets - This may be closer than one would expect. Remember, the Browns don't have a great defense and the Jets can put points on the board. However, they would need to score a lot and that isn't going to happen. Browns will roll on them.

Pittsburgh At New England - I REALLY want to say Steelers, but the NFL and their referees prohibit me from doing so.

Indianapolis At Baltimore - How lovely of the NFL to put the Colts back on a night game. I thought it would be the Patriots every Sunday or Monday night. Unfortunately, I have bad news for the Colts. Since the Patriots are better than the Colts this year, and the Ravens played their hearts out to beat the Patriots but lost for whatever reason (fair or unfair).....Wouldn't you think they are going to play just as hard against the Colts to avenge that lost since they are extremely angry and fired up? If the Colts were playing any other team except the Patriots, I would pick them, but because they happen to be playing the Ravens at this particular time, I'm going to go against my favorite team and pick the Ravens (especially their defense) to win in the upset of the week. Also, the Ravens are at home...that's always a boost.

Monday

New Orleans At Atlanta - Atlanta doesn't give me any reason why I should pick them. I think they are ranked 29th in the power rankings. Just go with the Saints.