NFL Picks Week 14

These Thursday night games make the turnaround so quick. It is great that we only have to wait two days to get the next week started, but now that college football is done I would prefer a Saturday night game this week instead of Thursday. Last week I went 10-6, running my season ATS record to 108-82.

Pit -10
Cle

I am not sure how much Pitt has left in the tank. They should get a win here but this team looks worn out. I think Tomlin is a very good coach, but there is only so many speeches and ultimatums you can give your team. Their secondary is bad and the team is hurt. The team has been without Aaron Smith and Troy Palumula for the majority of the season, even Pittsburgh cannot lose great players and make the playoffs.

NO -10
ATL

At some point the Saints will lose. If the Falcons have Matt Ryan back they should be able to make this a game.

Det
Bal -13.5

This is a lot of points but this is a playoff game for Baltimore. I love it when announcers say a game is a must win, okay, what happens now that Baltimore lost their must-win game against Green Bay. Do they quit? Announcers should not be allowed to say "Must Win" unless a team is actually eliminated from a playoff race or a playoff series. This should be an official rule.

GB -3
Chi

Every time I start to trust Green Bay they disappoint me. I have just now gotten over that second Minnesota loss. I really thought Green Bay would win that game. Among my reasons was the fact that Minnesota was coming off Baltimore/Pittsburgh back-to-back, that usually spells loss. Another big reason was that I thought the sports gods would intervene and lessen some of the Packer fan pain. You can feel any way you want about how the Packers management has handled the entire Favre saga, either way the fans have been through hell. To see Favre lighting it up and being the best teammate he has been in over a decade has been downright sickening. Favre his getting his glory, all I ask is that us Packer fans get some also. If Green Bay can get another shot at Minnesota, the football gods will hopefully be much nicer. If the Packers realize they need to continue to grind out games, this should be an easy win. If the first offensive possession is penalty-filled and/or the defense/special teams give up a big play, the Packers will be in trouble. They need to go in and step on the Bears throat.

Sea
Hou -5

Who cares? Seattle and Houston are so dis-interesting. And that is saying something considering Houston has two legitimate superstars in Mario Williams and Andre Johnson. After the way they choked away the Indy game I am giving up on this team until they actually make the playoffs some year. I promise I will never go anywhere near this bandwagon until they not only win one big game, but enough of them to actually qualify for the playoffs.

Den
Ind -7

I have no idea here, seven points sounds like too many but then you are taking Kyle Orton over Peyton Manning and that seems downright silly. Also, Denver is always one play away from having Chris Simms in at QB. I'll take the Colts.

Mia
Jax -2.5

Jacksonville has an interesting team, I think the league needs to get them to LA as soon as possible while they still have Jones-Drew in his prime. I am really serious with that, if the Jags are still in Jax next year watch for them to actually take Tebow early. That is a big, big, big mistake. There is no way Tebow can be a NFL QB, none, none, none. He can come in and be a Shotgun goal-line situation QB, that is it. He has horrible accuracy and touch, he is not a NFL QB. Get the Jags out of Jax so they can draft a player that makes sense.

Buf
KC
Good god who cares.

Cin
Min -7

I think the Vikings will bounce back here. I still think the Vikes have a lot of issues for a big-time contender, among them:
1. If you slow down the Allen pass-rush, the Viking pass defense is poor.
2. EJ Henderson is a big part of that great run defense. He will be missed.
3. All of a sudden the Vikings are a passing team.
4. I heard that McKinnie is tipping off runs/passes with his stance. If that is true it will continue to be a problem. McKinnie is not known for his smarts so even if this is coached out of him it could re-appear at an inopportune time.
With all that being said I think the Bengals will really struggle to come back if the Vikings get a couple big plays, and the Vikings will get a couple of big plays.

Car
NE -10

I do not trust New England, but their biggest weakness is pass defense and the opponent is Carolina.

NYJ -3
TB

I am shocked this is only 3 points.

STL
Ten -13

Not much to say other than STL hasn't quit.

Was -1
Oak

Oakland is a goofily built football team that can be a pain because they can do one thing great, cover WRs. They have more speed in their secondary than most divisions and this allows them to shadow WRs all over the field.

SD
Dal -3

San Diego is a tough matchup for people, especially Indy. Dallas matches up much better than most due to the size of some of their defensive players. Dallas needs this game and I think they get it.

Phi
NYG -1

Philly owns the Giants when they do not have Plax. I think they get after Eli in this one.

Ari -3
SF

Arizona is feeling really good about themselves after last week. SF gets the win.