Week 17, Where fantasy football is left to wait until next season, meaningless games abound, and the NFL attempts to stack every conceivable game into one day so as to ensure that even more of them do not become superfluous activities before kickoff.
GREEN BAY (+4.5):
What would the line have been on this game if both teams had legitimate
interest in its outcome? My guess would
be that the Pack would be laying roughly ten points. Granted, Matt Flynn is a substantial drop
from this season’s prohibitive favorite for MVP, Aaron Rodgers. However, there will be plenty of talent on
both sides of the ball for the Pack, and something tells me that the Lions
might consider this outcome a foregone conclusion.
Detroit 24, Green Bay 23
ST. LOUIS (+10.5):
San Francisco does have some motivation to perform in this game. That said, laying 10+ on a road team that
generally scores around 20 points seems to be the type of vote of confidence in
a defense usually reserved for the steel curtain or the 1985 Bears. Let’s assume that some modicum of offense
from the Rams will be sufficient…even if the Rams are still in play for Mr.
Luck…
San Francisco 20, St. Louis 13
New York Jets (+3):
Both of these teams are playing horribly. The difference lies in the fact that the Jets’
recent ineptitude notwithstanding, they are still harboring hopes of the
playoffs. Divisional games are always
close, so I’ll gladly take three points and the team with viable remaining
motivation, especially with Reggie Bush sitting on the sideline. (Yes, that Reggie Bush)
New York Jets 20, Miami 17
Chicago (+1.5):
The Bears were actually discussed in terms of superbowl aspirations
before the Cutler injury. The Vikings,
conversely, were struggling to sustain mediocrity before losing their
quarterback and their all-world running back.
The Bears will, if only for pride, show up.
Chicago 20, Minnesota 16
NEW ENGLAND (-10.5):
The Patriots, with a win, secure home-field advantage throughout the
playoffs. The Bills, despite some
offensive weapons, are tremendously outclassed by the Patriots. Apart from last week, against Tebow at his
worst, the Bills had not held a team below 20 points in two months. I think Brady and company will be able to
name their score.
New England 34, Buffalo 20
Carolina (+7.5):
With Drew Brees having already broken Marino’s record, if the 49ers take
a commanding lead against the Rams (which is reasonably likely), the Saints may
protect Brees via conservative play-calling or a seat on the bench. Meanwhile, Cam Newton, a.k.a “captain cover,”
should probably produce enough offense to keep this reasonably close.
New Orleans 31, Carolina 27
PHILADELPHIA (-9):
Now the Eagles play well…when the playoffs are long-gone, the opposition
is mediocre, and the only achievement from victory is stats-padding and damage
to a would-be draft position. Thus,
against a hapless Redskins team with minimal motivation themselves and with the
desire to somehow wipe clean the stink of underachievement via a .500 finish to
the season, the Eagles will seem dominant.
To what end, I have no clue.
Philadelphia 31, Washington 17
Indianapolis (+3.5):
How fitting will it be, when a team that began its season 0-13, thinking
only of avoiding the futility of a winless season, wins its final three games
to lose out on the most highly touted quarterback prospect in two decades? Perhaps Peyton Manning will be pleased to
realize that his replacement will not find himself standing in an adjacent
locker, poised to overtake him…but no one else will be.
Indianapolis 17, Jacksonville 16
HOUSTON (+1):
I recognize that the Texans are assured of the #3 seed in the AFC
playoffs and thus, will be starting the immortal Jake Delhomme. However, they’ve been competitive starting
their 5th round draft pick and 3rd stringer by allowing
their formidable offensive and defensive lines to dominate their
opponents. Their backup running back is
probably as talented as their starter and their depth has been showcased all
season long. They’ll end their season on
a high note.
Houston 23, Tennessee 20
Tampa Bay (+10):
It is quite likely that the Falcons will have no remaining motivation by
the time kickoff rolls around.
Furthermore, the Buccaneers, given their collapse, might attempt to spare
the job of their coach. Alternatively,
if they truly want Raheem Morris gone, losing this game by 30 against an
indifferent opponent might be an effective method of achieving that goal!
Atlanta 24, Tampa Bay 23
CINCINNATI (+1):
If the Patriots have won by now (which is almost a certainty), the #1
seed is out of the question for the Ravens.
If the Steelers are losing, the Ravens might take their foot off the
gas. Additionally, the Ravens are 3-4 on
the road with two of those wins against St. Louis and Cleveland. I just see too many ways for the Ravens to
either lose legitimately or otherwise seem disinterested.
Cincinnati 20, Baltimore 17
CLEVELAND (+6.5):
First off, as established in previous weeks, the Browns can play
legitimate defense, even if their Seneca-Wallace-led offense stinks. Second, there is a very real chance that Big
Ben plays sparingly or not-at-all.
Thirdly, if the Ravens begin to dominate the game above, the Steelers
might sit Ben, Polomalu, and others.
Fourthly, by losing, as pointed out by Bill Simmons and others, the Steelers
would travel to face the Raiders or the Broncos, neither of which would seem
daunting.
Pittsburgh 17, Cleveland 16
Kansas City (+3):
The shine is off the apple. Tim
Tebow looked like a poor man’s Rex Grossman last week. The Chiefs will play for their new coach, for
pride, and because their probably as fatigued with Tebow-mania as the rest of
the country. Let’s presume their defense
is adequate – apparently Romeo Crennell is all the rage at the moment. Even if Denver does win, it will probably be a
Tebow-style last-second field goal anyway.
Kansas City 17, Denver 14
San Diego (+3):
To quote myself (how ego-centric and arrogant) from last week: “ Let’s review. It’s December. The Chargers were highly disappointing for
the majority of this season. The pundits
called for the head of Norv Turner.” Despite last week’s loss, I’m sticking with
it. Now, the Raiders have extraordinary
motivation, and should squander it as their fans have come to expect.
San Diego 27, Oakland 24
Seattle (+3):
Meaningless game. I am struggling
to find anything worth discussing regarding this game, besides John Skelton’s
demonstrating that perhaps the signing of Kevin Kolb was ill-advised. The fact that it took me two or three seconds
to recall that Kolb was a major off-season acquisition of these Cardinals
conveys everything necessary.
Seattle 20, Arizona 17
Dallas (+3):
The game of the week. Lest we
forget, the Cowboys held a 12-point lead with very little time remaining in the
fourth quarter against these same Giants a couple weeks ago. Though their defense collapsed in spectacular
fashion, I see no reason for the Cowboys to move the ball any less
effectively. Oddly, this game will
demand the violation of one of two storylines.
Either Giants will win, thereby avoiding the annual late-season collapse
(after all, they did start 6-2) or the Cowboys will demonstrate that they can,
in fact, win in December behind Tony Romo.
When in doubt, take points.
Dallas 27, New York 24
No comments:
Post a Comment