Tag: eagles

Week 17 Preview

We are coming up on the last weekend of regular season football this week, and there are a few great matchups to look forward to headed by the Giants vs Cowboys. So here we go:

Cowboys at Giants (-3)   WIN

I am going to take the Giants in this one. Romo is banged up and word on the street is Osi Uminyora might be back in action. I think Romo is going to crumble under the pressure from the Giants D-line and the G-Men will move on to the playoffs winning this one 24-10. Pick- New York – 3

Washington at Philadelphia (-8.5)   WIN

Philly has been hot as of late, but neither team has anything to play for. Some could say the Eagles are playing for their head coach Andy Reid who is on the hot seat and may not have a job after this season. I am going to look for the Eagles to play a strong inspired game for their coach, as they did last week against the Cowboys after finding out their season had ended. Pick- Philadelphia -8.5

Tampa Bay at Atlanta (-11.5)   LOSS

Tampa has played horrible lately, but with Atlanta’s fate pretty much determined you might see some guys coming off the field after the first half or early in the 3rd. I like the Bucs to cover this week and hey, maybe even win straight up. Pick- Tampa Bay + 11.5   

San Francisco (-10.5) at St. Louis   LOSS

San Francisco is playing for a first round bye, so this game is huge for them. Look for them to come out of the gates hot and to a big early lead, against a St. Louis team that has packed it in and look to go on a strong 7 game losing streak to end the season. Some teams like to play spoiler but I don’t see it. Take the Niners to win big. Pick- San Francisco- 10.5

Chicago at Minnesota (-1.5)    LOSS

Wow, Minnesota is a favorite for probably the first time all year. How big of a turn has Chicago’s season taken after the loss of Cutler and Forte? This game could go either way, Peterson is out for the season but Toby Gerhart has stepped in well before so I am going to give the edge to the Vikings. Da Bears just have no offense and their defense hasn’t looked too good lately either. Go with the Vikes. Pick- Minnesota -1.5

Detroit (-3.5) at Green Bay   LOSS

Detroit is giving 3.5 to Green Bay this weekend because it doesn’t look like a lot of the starters will be playing much for Green Bay as they have home field locked up and no perfect season to play for. Detroit can still be caught by the Falcons for a higher seed but other than that they don’t have much to play for. For teams that will be playing the next week, however, it is important for them to play good so they can feed off that win in the next game. I like the Cowardly Lions to cover this week. Pick- Detroit -3.5

Carolina at New Orleans (-8)  LOSS

New Orleans has been on a roll lately, and can pick up a bye this week with a win so they will be coming out for blood. However, I have liked the way the Panthers have played this year. They have played teams close for the most part, and I like Cam Newton to end the year on a strong note. I like the Saints to pull out the win but I am taking the Panthers to cover. Pick- Carolina +8

Tennessee (-3) at Houston   WIN

Houston is locked into their playoff spot at 10-4, and will most likely be resting some guys. However, Houston always plays well at home and I was never sold on Tennessee at any point in the season so I am going with Houston to cover the spread and win. Pick- Houston +3

Baltimore (-2) at Cincinnati   WIN

Cincinnati has been the surprise team of the year behind rookies Andy Dalton and A.J. Green. They have a great shot at making the playoffs, but beating the Ravens will not be an easy task as they are fighting for the last bye in the AFC. The Ravens are very used to playing must win games on the road, as Joe Flacco has yet to play a playoff game at home in his first years as a starting quarterback. Cincinnati is a good team but I like the seasoned Ravens in this one. Pick- Baltimore -2.

Pittsburgh (-7) at Cleveland   LOSS

This is a pretty easy game in my opinion. Pittsburgh might be without Big Ben but they are playing for a bye and Cleveland is terrible so take the Steelers to win by a touchdown. Pick- Pittsburgh -7

Indianapolis at Jacksonville (-3.5)    LOSS

This is the NFL’s version of the Sacko bowl. I honestly don’t even know who to pick here but I am going to jump on the Dan Orlovsky bandwagon and say the Colts will win this game. Just a gut feeling, or maybe that’s the burrito I just ate…Pick- Indianapolis +3.5

New York Jets at Miami (-2.5)   WIN

This is a very tricky matchup. The Jets can play very well when backed against a wall or play god awful. I am thinking they go out and win this game just so they can say they didn’t make the playoffs because other teams didn’t do what they needed to. Always putting the blame on someone else. Pick- Jets +2.5

Buffalo at New England (-10.5)    WIN

Buffalo won their season Super Bowl this year against the Patriots, and I think they Patriots will be out for revenge. I can see the Pats going out to an earl 21-0 lead before Buffalo can blink. Pick- New England -10.5

San Diego at Oakland (-3)   WIN

San Diego is mathematically out of it and Oakland needs to win to get in plus some help. However, San Diego will probably be looking to end the season on a positive note and I don’t trust Carson Palmer and the Oakland D. I am going to go with another upset here. Pick- San Diego +3

Kansas City at Denver (-3)  LOSS

Here is Kyle Orton’s Super Bowl against his former team. He is playing with a personal vendetta but I don’t see the Chiefs being able to overcome the Denver D. Denver wins and gets in. Pick- Denver -3

Seattle at Arizona (-3)   PUSH

This one is very surprising. Seattle has shown to be a good, solid team. Arizona has played well lately but I am looking for Marshawn Lynch to continue his strong year and for Seattle to win. Pick- Seattle +3

Record: 7-8-1

NFC East Debacle

So going in to the final two weeks of the NFL, the most intriguing division race is the NFC East. The Cowboys, Giants and Eagles all have a shot at winning the division, and they all play each other within the next two weeks. First we will talk about my Eagles. The Eagles have the toughest route to winning the East, but to their credit they are the hottest team going in to the final 2 weeks. They face off against the Dallas Cowboys in Dallas this Saturday in a must win game. The Eagles handled the Cowboys pretty easily earlier this season, and I am looking for the same thing on Saturday. The Cowboys looked good last Saturday night, but that was against the Bucs who might have packed it in after a very disappointing season. Now, in order for the Eagles to win the division, they need to beat the Cowboys and then beat the Washington Redskins in Philadelphia in week 17, along with the Jets beating the Giants this week and the Giants beating the Cowboys in week 17. That’s a lot of “ifs” but it is very possible.

The Giants are playing the Jets in a battle of New York this week, and as bad as the Jets looked last week I am picking them to beat the Giants. Both teams have played dismal as of late, but the Jets have found a way to win late in the season the past few years, and they are now in a much tighter race for the AFC Wild Card. When the Cowboys and Giants face off in the Dirty Jerz in the final week of the season, the Giants will be looking to play spoiler. The Giants and Cowboys have a true hate for each other, and while the Giants hate the Eagles as well, there is no better way to end the season by ending someone elses season. Tony Romo always finds a way to lose the big games, and this will be the biggest game of his season. They have a shaky run game without DeMarco Murray and DeMarcus Ware has had a nagging injury that has kept him from playing a full game. In week 17, Eli leads his G-Men past the Cowboys and opens the doors for the Eagles to win the division with an 8-8 record.