PICKS AND PANS FOR THE SECOND MONTH OF THE MARINERS 2008 SEASON

After watching the Mainers for the first two months of the 2008 season, I now know that they will finish dead last in the American League. Any doubt they won't, is wishful thinking. I will now throw them under the nearest bus in a New York minute.

Overall performance by the team, on a scale of 1-10 is about a 4 if you take the 'potential' and compare it to what they have accomplished so far this season.

Lets start with the top of the order and work down just as it did last month. After I critique each player, I will score them on a 1-10 scale and show whether they went up or down this month compared to last month.

Ichiro Suzuki - Ichiro still hasn't gotten out of his early season slump. When I say slump I mean as compared to the previous five seasons. His OBP has risen 30 points the past month, but his BA has not gone up that much. Stolen bases has been a plus with 24, but to help this team he will have to steal more and hit for a higher average. I will lower his overall effectiveness from 7 to a 6.

Jose Lopez - Jose BA has slipped below .300 and his OBP is not good at only .307. When he is on base he doesn't seem to do much. I would like to see him steal a base of two. His fielding continues to be about average. His overall effectiveness continues at 5. Lets face it, he nothing but an average major leaguer.

Adrian Beltre - Adrian seems to be coming around in his overall game as his HR production is up and his slugging percentage is tops on the team, but his BA is down 50 points and his strikes outs are up. He seems to be trying to carry the team and it is hurting more than helping. His overall effectiveness is down from a 7 to a -6.

Raul Ibauez -  After a good start this season Raul has fallen on hard times. He still leads the team with 37 RBI's but right now he is not contributing enough at the plate. With Sexson on the bench, Raul has to pick up his game and if he doesn't, look for the Marineers to stay in the cellar. His effectiveness has gone from a 7 to a -6.

Jose Vidro - Like I said after the first month, I believe Vidro should play first base everyday and I still believe that. Jose has been playing more in the field and his BA is up 30 odd points. But his 3 HR's won't cut it at DH nor his .236 BA. Because he doesn't play everyday with the glove, his effectiveness will be rated down from a 5 to a 4.

Richie Sexson - He is at his best position right now, sitting on the bench. Stats: .200 BA, 9 HR's, 21 RBI's and 53 SO's. Sit Richie, sit. Overall effectiveness when playing is a 3 down from a 4. His effectiveness while on the bench a 9.

Kenji Johjima - After a slow start Kenji has picked up his game raising his BA from .175 to .224. Nothing to write home about but still better than a month ago. His adjustment at the plate is a step in the right direction but not good enough as 14 RBI's and 2 HR's is not contribution enough to turn the Mariners around. But I will give him a 5 for effort compared to a 3 one month ago.

Yuniesky Betencourt - In my opinion, the only thing good about Yuniesky's season is his .296 BA. Because one SB, 3 Sacrifices, 26 runs scored and 19 RBI's is not what you would look for in a major league SS. His fielding is still suspect in my opinion. He is not contributing enough to this team and a trade is in order. I lower his effectiveness rating from a 5 to a 3.

Miguel Cairo - Miguel stepped in when Sexson couldn't do the job and has done okay, not great but okay. His .208 BA, 5 RBI's are not going to get him the job full time but I like the fact we traded Sexson's 53 SO's for only 5 by Cairo. Since this is the first time I rated him I will give him a 5. Vidro would be a better first basemen in the long haul IMO.

Willie Bloomquist -  Willie is on his last chance and if he doesn't produce look for Reed to replace him full time as a part time player. Effectiveness from a 5 to a 4.

PITCHING:

Middle Relievers;

Sean Green

Brandon Marrow

Ryan Smith

Mark Lowe

This the most improved part of the Mariners team over the past month. Don't be surprised if Marrow is promoted to a starting pitching job if one of the starters falls by the way side and its looks like that might happen. Even Smith, who in the first month, was well below par has improved and has the top ERA among the middle relievers, but it is Marrow who has shown the most improvement of any pitcher on the entire staff. I will give credit where credit is deserved. Overall effectiveness improves from a miserable 3 to a 5.

Closer's

JJ Putz

Artihur Rhodes

In the first month I cut both closer's slack because both were both coming off  IR and were trying to get their footing in place. But now after the second month of the seaxon I will tell it like it is. 5.60 and 5.40 ERA is not up to major league baseball standards for a closer. 27.2 innings with 31 hits and 22 walks with only 34 SO's is not what the Mariners should be looking for in these to loser, eh closer's. They have to do better or it will be just another nail in the cellar dwelling Mariners miserable season. Their effectiveness is totally inconsistence and I lower their rating from a 4 to a 3 and well deserved.

Starting Pitchers;

Felix Hernandez - Why the inconsistences? Lazy or just not focused? He pitches fine for a couple innings and then ####, lost of concentration for an inniing or two. His 33 walks and giving up 79 hits in 82 innings will not cut it and his record shows his weakness of not having his head in the game for the full nine innings. This young man has all the potential in the world but just doesn't apply hmself 100% of the time. Last month I gave him a -7 but because he hasn't shown any improvement I will lower that to a 6.

Miguel Batista - My god, what is going on with Miguel? 38 walks, only 39 SO's, 75 hits in only 61 innings? His 5.90 ERA? He has to bear down if he wants to stay on this team. Its been all down hill this season and his days are numbered. Look for Marrow or Dickey to step into this spot in the rotation. Miguel's effectiveness goes from a 6 to a 4.

Carlos Silva - Another down spot for the last month. His ERA went from 2.79 to a whopping 6 in one month. 91 hits in only 69 innings. Another slot to be opened if Silva doesn't get his head on right, effectiveness goes from a 7 to a 4. Silva has the potential to be a first rate pitcher, but he has to be smarter than he has shown in the past month.

Jerrod Washburn - Another sore spot in the rotation. 6.54 ERA in 53 innings and has given up 68 hits, 39 runs, eight HR's, my, my........effectiveness downgraded from a 5 to a 3 and falling faster than the Mariners fall out of first place. Is Marrow or Dickey listening, One of you will have to step up.

Erik Bedard - Even as his ERA has almost doubled in the last month he is still effective as the number one starter on this below par staff. He has to improve on his walks to SO ratio, but overall he is still the best the Mariners have to offer. His effectiveness is a 7, down from a -8 a month ago.

I was sorry to see Baek go as he was a better pitcher than some of the present starters. I also think Dickey will do okay if he gets a shot at being an everyday starter. Can't do any worst.

THE COACHES:

John McLaren - In the first month's critique I said that I wasn't sure if McLaren was a major league Manager, now I know he isn't and never will be. His decision making is the worst I have ever seen and I have been a follower of the Mariners since the first pitch was thrown out in 1977. He hasn't got a clue about when to remove a pitcher or when to leave them in. Overall I rate him a 2 for his managerial skills down from a 4 last month. Look for McLaren to be gone if things don't turn around shortly. At his point I don't look for anything to turn around with the termoil that is going on with the Mariners. I just don't see any motivation by this coaching staff.

I won't rate the rest of the coaching staff. The win-lost record of the Mariners speaks for itself.

Overall I give the starting lineup a 4 after the first two months of the 2008 season.

The men on the bench I will give a 4 (only because Sexson is there)

The starting pitching I will give a -5.

Middle relief pitchers I will give a 5.

Closer's I will give a 3.

Manager I will give a 2.

The rest of the staff I will give a 4.

I've waited for the first month of the season to be over with to do my first Mariners PICKS AND PANS for the 2008 season.

After watching the Mariners closely this first month of the 2008 season, I must tell you, I'm for the most part disappointed with their progress. Not saying I will throw them under the bus quite yet, but yes, very disappointed indeed.

Lets get at it and I hope I don't offend anyone with my critique of the the players or coaches and their performance so far this season. I know its early and all opinions are mine and should not be taken personally.

Overall performance by the team, on a scale of 1-10, is about a 5 if you take 'potential' and compare it to what they have accomplished so far this season.

Lets start with the top of the order and work down, including utility players at the end of the list. After I have critiqued each player I will score them on a 1-10 scale.

Ichiro Suzuki - Another slow start with the bat is really hurting run production. .321 OB percentage is not up to Ichiro standards and I'm sure he is the first to admit to it. He seems to be taking more pitches this year and I believe that is hurting his batting average overall. I think pitchers are starting to catch up with him by pitching low outside and Ichiro needs to go to the opposite field more to compensate. I am glad to see his SB production is up and I hope that trend continues. His fielding is outsanding and his arm is one of the tops in the league. I will have to give him a 7.

Jose Lopez - .308 batting average with a .310 OB percentage. For a player batting in the second spot that is not very good. The 17 RBI's are impressive but if he needs to get on base consistently to be driven by the big bats behind. He just needs to find more ways to get on base. His fielding is about average. I will give him a 5.

Adrian Beltre - Beltre is off to an okay start with a .294 BA but his RBI production is not as hot as his bat. His fielding is down but he does make fine plays at times, at other times he should just hold the ball and not force things, he has good range and an excellence arm and plays hard and gives it 100% ever game. I will give him a 7 just on his hussle.

Raul Ibauez - Raul is having a good start and is driving in the runs when needed. If the batters ahead of him could find a way to get on base more frequently he would be in the AL top five in RBI. His fielding has been outstanding so far overall, but he needs to be more aggressive at the plate. He is probably the most consistence player the Mariners have. I will give him +7.

Jose Vidro - Jose being the DH has one of the hardest jobs on the Mariners. With that said I do believe his .202 BA would improve if he was moved to play first base full time. He is an adequate fielder when given the chance and the chance of playing in the field everyday would make him a complete ball player. I will give him a 5 at this time.

Richie Sexon - Richie has been struggling ever since he came to the Mariners with only an occasional sign of the type of player that the Mariners were looking for. He continues to struggle at the plate even when his HR power is up for the year. But his striking out at the wrong time has hurt more than his HR's have helped. Richie has a good glove and makes some hard plays look easy. Overall I will give him a 4.

Kenji Johjima - Johjima has been the biggest disappointment of the season for the Mariners. His overall game is just not major league caliber.  .175 BA and five RBI's just will not cut it and his arm is below average. Something has to be done by management to find a solution to this problem and soon. Hopefully Jeff Clement will be part of the solution. I will give Kenji a 3.

Yuniesky Betencourt - Having an okay season so far. Nothing special but nothing outstanding. His fielding has always been suspect in my opinion and his bat is to inconsistence and timid. Its either hot or its cold. He really needs to put 100% effort into what he does and in my opinion he hasn't done it yet. I will give him a 5.

Wladimir Balentien - Maybe one of the bright spots in the Mariners future. Although at this writing he has only played two games, I am impressed with his hitting. Fielding is an unknown, but he just looks comfortable out there and I hope he will be around for a long time. Anyone who  hits his first HR in the majors to the opposite field is my kind of player. I wish you all the best in the world. Welcome to the 'Bigs' Wladimir. I will give him a 5 due to too many unknowns.

Willie Bloomquist - Willie is a type of player who will never have a startiing position on the Mariners or any other team in the majors. He is and always will be a utility player. With that said he is an important part of the Mariners, filling in, in both the infield and outfield. His bat is quiet most of the time and his fielding is adequate. I will give him a 5 for what his is required to do.

The rest of the bench hasn't played enough to critique them so maybe next month I will include them.

 Middle refief Pitching:

Sean Green 

Brandon Morrow

Ryan Smith

Mark Lowe    

The opposition just loves to see this group come into the game. Up to this point of the season its usually lights out for the Mariners. Breaking them down separately would take to long so I will put them together. 35.2 innings pitched, 13 earned runs on 30 base hits and 25 walks. Bare in mind that the 13 earned runs are not counting the runners who were on base when they entered the game and scored when they gave up both hits and walks. If this is the future of the Mariners than heaven help us. I will give them all a  combined 3. I can't honesty say anymore without coming unglued. I have only one message for this group, quit walking people. 

Closers:

JJ Putz     

Arthur Rhodes                                            
                                                  

Knowing both JJ and Rhodes are coming back after injuries I will cut them a little slack. But come on, its time to produce and quit whining about every damn pitch that doesn't go your way. Throw strikes, damn it. Its no wonder that both of these pitcher have only  pitched 10+ innings with the middle relievers giving up so many runs. Not many save chances have been there for them. But when there is, for crying out loud, go out and get them. 14 hits in 10 innings will not cut it and neither will giving up 10 runs. I will give them a 4 overall.

Starting pitching:

Felix Hernamdez - Felix has had a good start in every game, but seems to run out of gas late. His 2.22 ERA is outstanding and his ability to get out of jams is uncanny, his strikes outs is right on schedule, but his walk to strikeout ratio is too high. Felix to me is too relaxed on the mound at times and doesn't seem to be able to bare down and concentrate on his job the whole game. He seem to have times where he loses concentration for about two or three hitters and it comes back to bites him. Look for greateness in years to come as soon as he learns to stay focused. I will give him a -7.

Cha Baek - Although Baek hasn't piched that much so far this season, look for him it take the place of any pitcher who begins to struggle or is injured. I do believe he will be fine with more starts to is credit. Because of that lack of innings I will give him a 5 up to this point. Look for good things in the future for Baek.

Miguel Batista - Batista has been a little inconsistence this season for one reason or the other. But overall he has done a fine job. His walks/strikeout ratio is a little too high but pitches well early and manages to keep the Marieners in the game. He sometimes fades late and struggles but overall he is doing just fine. Sometimes I think he would make a good middle reliever but with the lack of a quality starting pitcher to step in, it probably won't happen. You can blame his three loses on a combination of untimely Mariner hitting and the relievers. I will give him a 6.

Carlos Silva - Silva has lived up to his billing as a top notch pitcher in my opinion. His 2.79 ERA is outstanding this season as has been all his starts. The Mariners couldn't be happier with his acquisitiion for this season. He will be a starter for years to come, I only hope its with the Mariners. I will give him a 7.

Jerod Washburn - I don't think Jerrod is pitching as badly as many may think. Although he is the weak link in the Mariners staff, the stats don't bare out all the blame he is getting. For instance the game a couple nights ago against Cleveland he pitched 6 innings giving up only 6 hits. I will take that any day from a startinig pitcher. His problem is when and where those hits come. Overall I will give Jerrod a 5.

Erik Bedard - Bedard has one of the best ERA in the league a 2.04. He is truly a fine addition to the Mariners. I hope he will be around for a long, long time. He was a little rusty when he came back from the IR list and his walks were up to start with, but in his last start he only gave up two hits. Outstanding performance by an outstanding pitcher. I predict he will win at least 15 games this year. I will give him an -8.

The coaching staff:

John McLaren - Not sure  McLaren is a major league type manager. I think he is too mild. Even when he is tossed from a game it seems more staged than anger. Of course maybe I'm used to Lou's kicking dirt and throwing bases. But overall I don't think he gets it and is a victim of Peter's Principle, as in every person tends to rise to his level of incompetence. At least with Lou he could instill winning as opposed to McLaren's laid back attitdude. I will give McLaren a 4. If things don't improve in the next couple months look for a change.

Mel Stottlemyle - Mel has had many great years in the majors and was an outstanding pitcher and pitching coach, but, (and there is always the 'but factor') he is not doing the job in Seattle. Can I make it more plain then that. The starting staff is not improved because of Stottlemyle, its good because they have talent and kown how to pitch despite him. But the middle relivers are not very good and Mel hasn't made any head way to make them better, I will give him a -4.

The rest of the staff is to me not that important to the fans only to the players. So I will not point out anything one way or the other. From a fans point of view they are part of the game and don't pay any attention to them. However I will point out they know what they are doing and here is who they are:

Jim Riggleman

Sam Perlozzo

Lee Elia

Norm Charlton

Overall I will give the starting line up a 5 at this point of the season.

The men on the bench I will give a 5. 

The starting pitching staff I will give a 6.5.

Middle relief pitchers I will give a 3.

Closers I will give a 4.

Manager I will give a 4.

The rest of the coaching staff I will not rate at this time.

Your comments are welcome any time.

PICKS AND PANS FOR THE THIRD ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS

Well the season came to a sudden end for my Seattle Seahawks last weekend. Seattle was dismantled by the Green Bay Packers even after Seattle go off to a fast start with two quick touchdowns resulting from two fumbles by the Packers on their first two possessions. But it was all down hill after that as the Packers scored touchdowns on their next six possessions to put the game away with ease. I will have more to say on the Seattle Seahawks season in a later blog, which I will post sometime next week.

New England had little trouble disposing of the Jacksonville Jaguars as Brady and company never let up on the Jags. Maroney 122 yards rusing and Brady's 26/28 with a quarterback rating of over 141spelled the Jags doom. Seems to me that the Patriots just need to sweep a couple more teams under the rug for the championship.

The San Diego Chargers surprised the Indianapolis Colts and most experts by beating and outplaying the Manning led Colts both offensively and defensively. The Chargers over came injury after injury and come away with the surprise win.

The New York Giants continued their streak on the road by beating the Dallas Cowboys, who quite frankly didn't look very good at home in defeat. I think the Cowboys next season will have a lot to answer for as they will face three very improved teams in the Giants, Eagles and the Redskins.

Last weeks was not a good week picking the playoff scores for me as I went only 1-3. I now stand 5-3 and will try to improve with this weeks picks. For the year including the playoffs I'm now 160-84. (.655)

NEW ENGLAND -14 (50) OVER SAN DIEGO

Wow, Vegas experts are picking the New England Patriots by 14 over the San Diego Chargers. Well I guess I will have to agree to some degree, although 14 seems a bit high. Injuries to the Chargers will not help their cause one bit. In fact if Rivers and Tomlinson were not to paly or were restricted to some extent, than maybe 14 point is not out of line. Rivers played a great game against the Colts and the Chargers defense was outstanding even with so many key injuries to their secondary. But this isn't the Indianapolis Colts and this game will not be played indoors. Look for Brady and Belichick to find all the weaknesses in the Chargers revamped defense and come away with the win. At the time of this posting both Tomlinson and Rivers were listed as 'probably' and neither will practice this week making both 'game time decision', however both said they would play, how effective will they be, we will have to wait and see. But to tell you the truth, I don't think their presence would make much difference. Patriots win 35-17.

GREEN BAY -7 (44) OVER THE NEW YORK GIANTS

This is another day in the life of Brett Favre and the fans of the Green Bay Packers. Weather forecast on Sunday? A high of seven degrees and a low of minus four, hey look at the bright side, it will be sunny. The weather leading up to the game will be snow and more snow. Hey, its Green Bay Wisconsin in the middle of winter, what would anyone expect. None of this is very heart warming (pun intended) for the Giants or their fans. Look for Favre to continue to play the weather and the game in his favor and come away with the win as usual. Look for New York's long string of road wins to come to an end in cold Green Bay. The hard hitting Packers will control this game just as they controlled the game against Seattle. Green Bay runs and passes it way to the Superbowl show down against the New England Patriots. Packers will slip and slide and come away with a 24-17 victory.

PICKS AND PANS REVIEW OF THE FIRST ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS

Last week's first round of wild card playoff games went just as I predicted in all four games. The first game on Saturday was between the Seattle Seahawks and the Washington Redskins with Seattle defense shutting down the Redskins running game and avoiding the big pass play. All the Cinderalla hype of the Eastern press was put to sleep as Seattle whipped the Redskins with easy and now will move on to Green Bay. The second game on Saturday was the show down between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Pittsburgh Steelers and it was a repeat of the game earlier this year with Jacksonville winning. A last minute field goal was the different in this game. On Sunday the New York Giants had no trouble beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as Eli Manning picked apart the lack luster Bucs both on the ground and through the air. As always, resting your key players to long after wrapping up the divison had an effect on some teams and it showed up big time in Tampa Bay's play. The later Sunday game was a lot closer than most experts thought it would be as the Tennessee Titans lead the San Diego Chargers at half time, but the Chargers flexed their muscles in the second half and won going away.

I picked all four games in the first round of the playoffs correctly and for the year, including playoff games, I'm now 158 right and 81 wrong. (.662)

This weeks picks are most difficult ,as they always are during the playoffs, as the top teams are playing closer to the same level, but I will give it my best shot.

SEATTLE  -7 (401/2) OVER GREEN BAY

First let's look at why the Packers could win this game. The biggest reason is, naturally Brett Favre. The next reason is the game will be played in Green Bay where Seattle has not fared well in recent years. The weather forecast is a chance of snow and a high of 29 game day temperature. None of the above is in Seattle favor as most followers of NFL football will tell you. But remember the Bears/Packers game late this season which was played in the snow in Chicago, the Packers did not fare well, in fact they were blown out by the Bears. So the weather may not be as big a factor as some might make it. Now the reasons that Seattle might win this game. Total offensive is in Seattle favor, total defense is about even. Total pass offensive is slightly in the Packers favor but pass defense is in Seattle favor. Run offense is about even and run defense is in Green Bay's favor (Seattle most likely won't run the ball anyway). Points allowed is even with Green Bay having scored more points than Seattle by about 40. So stat wise the teams are about even. Now the reason I think Seattle will win. Playoff experience! Seattle is a veteran team with a lot of playoff games under their belts and Green Bay except for a couple players, most notable is Favre, is a very young team with a lot of good years ahead of them. But this is not their year. Here is an interesting stat, in the regular season both Hasselbeck and Favre has thrown for 28 touchdowns, but Favre has thrown three more picks than Hasselbeck. Will the Seattle defensive backs has an influence on the out come of this game. Only time will tell. Don't listen to the Eastern hype about this game. Seattle is a much better team than the Eastern press and bloggers gives them credit for. Seattle will play up the the level needed to win 24-17.

NEW ENGLAND -111/2 (51) OVER JACKSONVILLE

New England has the edge in every stat category except rusing offense and that is just slightly in favor of the Jags. Jacksonville had a tough game in Pittsburgh while New England was able to rest the troops. Looking at the stat sheet of last week's game you will notice that the Jags only had 14 first downs, 135 yards rushing and 104 passing and 58 of those rushing yards were by Garrard. Those kind of stats will not be good enough to beat the best team in the NFL who has a defense almost as good as the one the Jaguars faced this past weekend and an offense that is superior to Pittsburgh. Jacksonville is a rushing team and New England is not, so the rushing edge stat is misleading at best. Look for Tom Brady and the rested Patriots to win this game with ease. Let's say 34-17. Remember the Patriots are not as mistake prone as the Steelers, You won't see the Patiots turn the ball over four times.

INDIANAPOLIS -71/2 (471/2) OVER SAN DIEGO

Tennessee shut down LaDainian Tomlinson effectively on Sunday past and their defense almost won the game for them. If the Colts can do the same, well this game is in the bag for Indianapolis. Manning is 100% better quarterback than Rivers ever thought of being and has the stats to back it up.  Manning wll not let opportunities pass like the Titans did against San Diego. The Chargers have started off too many games sluggish and the Colts will not let them recover as easily as the Titans did. Look for Indianapolis to put plenty of pressure on Rivers all day long. With the Chargers best reciever knocked out in last week's game it will be tough for San Diego to have any deep threat. Rivers is not a very good quarterback when he is flushed out of the pocket and the Colts will do exactly that. Manning will drive the ball up and down the field all day long in a 29-14 win.

DALLAS -81/2 (581/2) OVER THE NEW YORK GIANTS

The last game of the day will pit the Cowboys against the Giants. This game, stat wise is very close, to close to have Dallas as an eight or nine point favorite and the Giants having won eight straight on the road. But the Cowboys will win anyway. The only drawback for the Cowboys is whether Owens will play. He was reported limping heavy at practice on Monday. If TO does't play it will put a hold on Dallas' over the top passing game, but I don't think Eli Manning can put three game together without committing turnovers. Look for the Giants to try to run the ball to keep pressure off of Eli. The Cowboys will take advantage of all the breaks and win this game 33-24.

This past week saw five of the eight divisional leaders and two of the wild cards go down to defeat. But I wouldn't read to much into these loses as most of the playoff bound teams rested their key players for the playoffs and none of these games meant any change in their positions in the final standings, although it changed who plays who in two games.

Washington win over Dallas was big for the Redskins as it assured them a spot against Seattle in the first round and eliminated the one dimensional Minnesota Viking who went down in overtime to a so-so Denver team who were able to controll Adrian Peterson and won in the mile high city. Baltimore win against the Steelers didn't save their coaches job as predicted in last weeks column but might have been costly to the Steelers as injuries continue to mount. Tampa Bay losing three out of their last four didn't bode well for their coach as he didn't sound to happy about their chances against the Giants in an after game interview.  Speaking of the Giants, they probably played their best game this season in losing effort to the Patriots.  The Patriots, whom I predicted would not rest their key players, fought a very determined Giants team before winning and as a result set all the records that will stand for many years to come. But the victory didn't come easily for New England and they had to rally in the second half to complete a spectacular, well deserved undefeated season. Tennessee edged the Colts and with their win got the last wild card in the AFC edging out  the Browns, inspite of Cleveland's win over the hapless 49ers. Houston finished the season winning again at home beating Jacksonville and the Atlanta Falcons overcome a very dismal season and upset the Seahawks at home. The rest of the games played on Sunday were of no consequence one way or the other, they all knew they would be watching the playoffs at home.

This last week of the regular season was, as I said in my last Picks and Pans, would be a hard week to predict the scores and it was. Most of the teams in contention did rest their players to one extent or the other and it effected some of the scores as predicted. But I did come up with a 10-6 finish. For the year I finished with 154 right and 81 wrong which comes out to about an average of 10.5 wins for each week I predicted scores.

My picks for the first round of the playoffs are:

Note: From now on I will put the Vegas line in each prediction and will update it daily if required.

ON SATURDAY

SEATTLE -3.5 (40) OVER WASHINGTON

Washington is coming off a win against the Cowboys at home, but don't look for reasons in that game that Washington is suddenly a power house team. Remember the Coweboys didn't play their front line players when the game was on the line and Washngton had to win to even be in the playoffs. Seattle is 7-1 at home and the Skins are only 4-4 on the road. Washington top quarterback is doubtful and even if he did play, how effective would he be? The quarterback position is in Seattle favor as are the wide receivers. Seattle defense has proven it can stop the run and the pass consistently and if Seattle can stop Portis effectively, they should be able to beat the  Redskins. On the other hand, Seattle running game has been showing some life and  have three backs who can and will carry the ball against the Redskins effectively. Statistically the Seahaws shoud be and are the favorite as they lead in every key statistic both offensively and defensively. Although this will be a close game the Hawks should win by lets say 24-17.

JACKSONVILLE -2 (39) OVER PITTSBURGH

Jacksonville won the previous game in Pittsburgh and will win this game as well. Willie Parker, who is one of the top running backs in the league is out and that makes the Steelers a little too much one dimensionally to be able to win this game. I'm not sure if Roethisberger or Polamalu will play, both were doubtful last week, but since the Steelers were resting their front line players, only time will tell. The Jaguars will run the ball and run run it effectively against one of the top defenses, but has been decimated by injuries late in the season. Depending on the weather this game could be low scoring and close and don't look for the Steelers to go down easily. Jacksonville to win 17-14

SUNDAY GAMES

NEW YORK GIANTS +3 EVEN (391/2) OVER TAMPA BAY

The Giants proved they can play with the best in last weeks game with the New England Patriots and will go into Tampa Bay with all the confidence in the world. Remember the Patriots played Brady and most of their offensive starters the whole game and only pulled out the game late in the fourth quarter. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have lost three out of the last four games and have seemed to have lost momentum along the way. With Galloway doubtful the Giants have the edge in both receivers and the quarterback position. The Giants are 7-1 on the road this year and will continue to play well. The Giants have the better overall defense and offense statisteic wise so look for the Giants to combine their running and passing game for the win, lets say 24-17.

SAN DIEGO -9 (40) OVER TENNESSEE

The difference in this game, LaDainian Tomlinson! Although Rivers is not that impressive or consistence at quarterback, all he has to do is hand the ball off to Tomlinson to win this game. Well almost! The Chargers have a six game winning streak and the Titans have limped into the playoffs with a sluggish win over the Colts, who rested Manning for most of the game. The Titans offense have struggled all season and have given up almost as many points on defense as they have scored. Look for LaDianian Tomlinson to score a couple times and put the Titans away 34-14.

What is Parity? In the NFL it means every team at the beginning of the season has an equal chance too win the Super Bowl.

Sounds simple doesn't it? Ya right! Tell that to the Miami Dolphins.

What is the cause of Parity, if such a beast exist? Could it be the salary cap? A lack of talent? Free agencies? Could coaching changes by good teams cause them to become mediocre after a good season? Or is it a combination of all the above, or none of the above?

I think its time we forget the notion of parity in the NFL and I will point out why.

To start out, look at New England, as of today they have a 15 game win streak, and don't forget the Miami Dolphins, who are 1-14. No parity there!  True, winning streaks out pace losing streaks by only a slim margin. There have been 28 streaks of at least four victories or four losses in 2007, 15 winning and 13 losing. But look at some of the winning streaks, the Patriots lead with 15 straight and Dallas has had streaks of five and seven games. The Colts have had streaks of seven and six games and Green Bay has had two streaks of four and six games. San Diego is finishing the season with five in a row. Long losing streaks by teams such as the Ravens (9) and San Francisco (8) should dispel any notion of parity in the win/lost category. There are just teams that win and teams that don't and overall they are the same teams year after year.

The NFL salary cap is define as the maximum amount that a team may spend on player compensation. The cap is calculated by the curent Collective Bargaining Agreement or CBA and is set to be 59.5% of the total projected league revenue. This number divided by the number of teams determines the amount of the cap, thus $102 million per team. (2006 figures)

Lets now look at the salary cap. One would have to think this would lead to parity. (remember there will be a difference between my figures and the real figures due to my figures are based on the 2006 season, but the difference overall is minor) But the salary cap doesn't cause players to move to teams who need them to fill holes, and not necessarity to teams who can afford them. Make sense? (I will explain this in depth later on when I examining the coaching staffs) Look at it this way, the 49ers picked up a couple free agents and expected great things and a winning season, didn't happen. Seattle on the other hand picked up a couple free agents to shore up their defensive back field and, well the rest is history. Seattle has one of the best pass defenses in the NFC and the reason was the addition of free agents. I could go on team by team, but you get the idea by these two examples.

The salary cap for the NFL is $102 million per team, at least was in 2006. The 2007 salary for every player is not available, (although the cap for the 2007 season is around $109 million) so all figures used here are 2006 figures. Just before the season started every team was under the cap except the Colts and the Redskins which are a few million over. In fact one of the better teams in the NFL, the Green Bay Packers are under the cap the most at $35 million, which means they have a total salary of around $67 million. Go figure! Here are some of the other good teams and the cap, Cowboys $22.6 million under and the Patriots, $16.9 million under. Some of the not so lucky teams such as Miami are under the cap by $6.3 million, which means the Dolphins have a total salary of $95.7 million, almost $30 million more paid in salary than the Packers and $10 million more than the Patriots. So much for money buying championships. The Ravens are $10.6 million under the salary cap and are in the same boat as the Dolphins. So spending money or free agents are not going to guarantee any team success on the field. That should also dispel any notion the salary cap is the cause of parity.

So what does this all show? It shows that spending money doesn't necessaily create a good team or a good record. By the way, Seattle is $17.3 million under the cap. If the talent is needed and is out there, there is plenty of money to go out and get it. I think the problem is the lack of talent available out there on the free market and ownership who are too tight to spend up to the cap level. Why would they? When teams can't sell out and are being blacked out because the fans aren't going to the games. It creates a vicious cycle that takes years and sometimes new ownership to break that cycle and the only ones to suiffer are the fans. High draft picks for bad teams don't guarantee winning seasons, Reggie Bush, Ricky Williams and Matt Leinart are a good example of that.

Well what does lead to a good record? Coaching leads to a good record. Coaches who can get the most out of a player will win the most games. Coaches such as Belichick is the best of the coaches today and John Madden of years passed are prime examples ot this. Yes I know there are other fine coaches out there, but I personally think these two are/or were the best. A top notch front office can also lead to getting the players needed to fill holes in any team, but that won't guarantee success. Team players are the answer and they are the hardest to find. One of the better pick ups was free agent Terrell Owens of the Dallas Cowboys (team player? depend if you like him or not)  but will he help Dallas win the Superbowl, time and most likely the Patriots will tell if they can.

Here is an example of coaching changes that caused teams to become stagnate after a couple good years. After the 2004-05 season which the Patroits won their 3rd Superbowl they lost both their offensive coordinator and their defensive coordinator and haven't been to the Superbowl since. The '85 Bears lost their defensive coordinator and they never make it back in spite of having Ditka, Payton and other great stars. San Diego got off to a slow start this year, and if you look at the coaching changes you may discover the reason. Offensive coach Cam Cameron, who was responsible for an offense who featured LaDainian Tomlinson is now head coach of Miami. Defensive coach Wade Phillips is now head coach of Dallas. Marty Schottenheimer getting fired after going 14-2 is unconscionable to me. But Norv Turner, in my opinion should be coach of the year for getting the Chargers a shot at the big show after having to start the season from scratch and with a completely new coaching staff to boot.

Parity in the NFL, I don't think there is such a beast, at least in the 2007-08 NFL there's not.

PICKS AND PANS FOR THE LAST WEEK OF THE SEASON

This past week the only team to lose in the NFC West was the Rams who were blown out by the Steelers big time. Seattle won easily against a rather poor Ravens team. The 49ers upset the Bucs in San Francisco, which in my opinin, isn't that big of an upset and Arizona derailed the Falcons in overtime after blowing a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter.

Last week the Green Bay Packers were humiliated by the Bears in Chicago. If you remember I almost picked the Bears to upset the Packers but changed my mind at the last minute. The Bills stayed with the Giants and lead going into the 4th quarter, but too many mistakes cost the Bill at the end. I thought the 49ers/Bucs game would be close and it was, but in favor of the 49ers. For the week I was a very respectable 12-4 and for the year I am 144-75.

My picks for week 17 are:

Note: Before I make my picks please remember most playoff teams will rest their players, some early on and some later, so this week's picks are the most difficult of the season for that reason. The two toughest weeks to pick winners are the first and the last, in fact because of that reason I skipped the first week of the season completely.

SATURDAY - NEW ENGLAND OVER THE NEW YORK GIANTS

The question here is whether the Patriots will rest their front line players or will they go for the record? I think they will play their front line players at least until the game is in hand. Maybe deep into the third quarter. Don't let the hype fool you, Belichick and all the players want all the records, Pats will win on the road 28-17 to complete an undefeated season.

SEATTLE OVER ATLANTA

This is a meaningless game for the Seahawks and knowing Holmgren 'let them off the hook' style, I dread this game with a passion. Holmgren teams play down to the the level of the bad teams and Atlanta is a bad team. But look for the Hawks to exploit the mistakes of the Falcons and squeak out a win, lets say 21-13.

GREEN BAY OVER DETROIT

Detroit was just barely able to beat a bad Kansas City team last week while the Packers were humiliated by a suspect Bears team. You may think the Packers would have the advantage playing in Green Bay with winter well set in, but last weeks lost in Chicago was also wintery weather and they still lost and lost badly. But look for home heating and home cooking to be in the Packers favor and they win 24-10.

 CINCINNATI OVER MIAMI

No, the Dolphins will not finish the season with their second win. Cincinnati willl squeak out the win in Miami 24-20.

CHICAGO OVER NEW ORLEANS

The Saints will go into cold, windy and unfriendly Chicago and leave the windy city with a bad taste and a disappointing season as the Bears will win in a low scoring battle of frozen football players and fans. Bears 17-14. The forecast? 30 degrees and snow which doesn't favor the warm weather Saints.

JACKSONVILLE OVER HOUSTON

Houston plays well at home, but the Jaguars want to go into the playoffs with momentum and will not rest any of their players until the game is well in hand. Jags 27-19.

PHILADELPHIA OVER BUFFALO

This may be the last game for McNabb in Philadelphia and again it may not. If Donovan can have an impressive game he will most likely be back. Wins have a way of shutting up critics and win the Eagles will, 24-20.

TAMPA BAY OVER CAROLINA

Here's news for you, the Vegas odds makers have the Panthers a three point favorite. TB will not rest their players for the playoffs. They are not good enough to be able to rest anyone as shown by losing two of the last three, and both loses to bottom feeders. But the Bucs are at home where they play fairly well and will win over another, well maybe not a bottom feeder, but a poor team for sure 17-14.

CLEVELAND OVER SAN FRANCISCO

The Browns are fighting for their playoff lives, and can't afford to rest their front line players against a surging 49ers. Playing at home they will win 24-17.

WASHINGTON OVER DALLAS

I think the Dallas Cowboys will rest some of their players and the Redskins will take advantage as they still have a chance for the playoffs if they win. In fact if they win they are in the playoffs. Washington wins in a mild upset at home, 21-20.

PITTSBURGH OVER BALTIMORE

Again I will combine my Pans (week 15) and Picks for week 16 due to a the game being played tonight.

The NFC West continues to struggle going into the second to the last week of the season.

Seattle was upset by the Carolina Panthers who had only won one game at home all season and quite frankly are not a very good football team without Jake Delhomme. The Seahawks blew a chance to prove they belong with the elite teams of the NFL by losing this game. Carolina's defense shut down the Hawks most of the day or was it the Hawks shut down themselves by poor play calling and/or poor execution. If you saw the game, I will let you decide.

Arizona Cardinals were no match for the Saints and went down to defeat in New Orleans. Drew Brees' 87% pass completions proved more than the Cards defense could over come. Arizona's offense continues to impress in a losing cause with the aging Curt Warner at the helm.

San Francisco upset win at home against the Cincinnati Bengals was the only win by the West this past week. The 49ers are on their 4th or 5th quarterback this season. Maybe they finally have found one they can stick with or at least until he gets hurt. The 49ers seem to have a problem protecting their quarterbacks.

The Rams were dismantled by the Green Bay Packers, although the game was close until the second half when Favre put the game away by wearing down the Rams defense.

This past week had a few of the playoff teams go down to defeat and resulted in four of my missed picks. Time to party in South Florida, Miami won for the first time this year. Pittsburgh losing to the Jaguars was not a complete surprise and the game did go down to the final quarter before it was decided. I think the two biggest upsets were the Eagles beating the Cowboys in Dallas and the Skins beating the Giants in New York.

For the week I was 10-6, which is about my average and for the year I'm 132-71.

Week 16 picks are as follows:

THURSDAY - PITTSBURGH OVER ST LOUIS

Pittsburgh will be fighting for their divisional title lives going into this game, with the Browns breathing down their necks, the Steelers will go into St Louis and win 24-17.

SATURDAY - DALLAS OVER CAROLINA

Dallas will not go into Carolina and lose to an injury ridden team like Seattle did. Romo, if his injured thumb is okay will lead the Cowboys to victory, but if some backup quarterback plays the Cowboys will still win, 31-13.

SUNDAY'S GAMES

CINCINNATI OVER CLEVELAND

I think the string has run out on the Browns title hopes and playing in Cincinnati against a team who has a better overall offense and a better overall defense, the Browns will fall to the Bengals 21-10.

DETROIT OVER KANSAS CITY

The string of loses by the Lions will end this week at home, but they better hold down their turnovers or it could go the other way. Kansas City has no running game and in fact is not much of an offensive threat even to the Lions. Detroit wins 24-14.

INDIANAPOLIS OVER HOUSTON

The Colts have had a lot of injuries this year and seem to be getting their players back at the right time. All this does is strengthen the Colts in their quest to repeat as Super champion. Whether they can derail the train, also known as the New England Patriots, will have to be seen. Houston has been playing better lately but not good enough to win on the road in Indianapolis, Colts win 33-14.

GREEN BAY OVER CHICAGO

I almost picked the Bears to upset the Packers, but the Favre factor made me decide to stick with the Packers. The bears defense has shown some consistence lately, but Green Bay has too many weapons for the Bears to handle. Packers win in Chicago but it will be close, 24-20.

BUFFALO OVER THE NEW YORK GIANTS

The least impressive team in the playoff picture at the moment, is the New York Giants. Offensively they are more down than up. Their turnovers are killing any chance they have advancing past the first round in the playoffs. The Bills continue to show improvement despite the shutout lost to the Browns in a driving snow strom. The Bills will beat the Giants at home, 21-13.

JACKSONVILLE OVER OAKLAND

Oakland continues to be a very scrappy team and will give the Jags all they can handle with their defense just as the Colts found out last week. But Jacksonville has shown a lot of offense of late and will beat the Raiders at home 31-21.

TAMPA BAY OVER SAN FRANCISCO

San Francisco may have found a qurterback, wait I think I said that three or four times already this year. San Francisco's winning streak will end at one. The Bucs and Garcia will win in SF 24-17. But look for a closer game than some of the so-called experts predict.

ARIZONA OVER ATLANTA

Atlanta continues their nose dive this week in Glanedale, Arizona. The Cardinals are a 10-point favorite in Vegas. I can't remember anytime the Cards were a 10-point favorite against anyone. But I agree with the odds makers this time and 10 points sounds about right. Arizona wins 24-14.

PHILADELPHIA OVER NEW ORLEANS

McNabb looked sharp against the Cowboys and will continue to come back from injuries to beat the Saints this week. Don't look for Brees to complete 87% of his passes against the Eagles. Philadelphia wins 24-20.

NEW ENGLAND OVER MIAMI

Wow, the Dolphins finally won a game. But don't look for the Dolphins to go into New England, who are a 22-point favorite, and improve on the 2007 winning streak of one. This isn't tropical South Florida and the Patriots will crush Miami in the cold weather with ease, 34-10.

SEATTLE OVER BALTIMORE

It scares me when Holmgrem makes the statement that Seattle will continue to run the ball. Run the ball, with whom? Seattle has no running game, zero. Holmgrem, stick with what works, pass the ball 90% of the time. Whew! The Ravens embarrassed themselves, losing to the Dolphins and will lose to the Seahawks in Seattle, 28-13.

TENNESSEE OVER THE NEW YORK JETS

The Jets defense looked good against the Patriots last week but the Jets offense continues to struggle scoring points, look for the same results in Tennessee as the Titans win 24-13.

SNF - MINNESOTA OVER WASHINGTON

Neither team look impressive this past week. Both played very sloppily and were lucky to come away with wins. But this game could be very interesting due to the fact if washington upsets the Vikings they would be tied with the Vikings and the wild card would be decided in the last week of the season. Look for the Vikings to clinch the last wild card position by winning at home in a hard fought game, 24-21.

MNF - SAN DIEGO OVER DENVER

Look for San Diego and LaDainian Tomlinson to continue to roll into the playoffs. This week it will be over the up and down Broncos. Chargers to win with ease in San Diego 28-13.

PLAYOFF TEAMS AND TEAMS THAT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS

As I watched and listened to the SNF game last night, I heard John Madden say something that made my ears perk up. He said, 'There are playoff teams and there are teams that make the playoffs.'

Wow, but this is so true! During my morning walk today I thought about John's comment and ran the teams in this year's playoffs, including some that may or may not get in, through my mind and came to the same conclusion. Here is what I think who are in fact the playoff teams and who are the teams who are just in the playoffs. Not necessarily in order of best to worst.

First of the AFC playoff teams are of course the New England Patriots, who are head and shoulders above all the rest and no one should dispute the fact the Patriots are the best of the best this year and a 14-0 record proves my point. Even if the Patriots lose a game in the next two weeks, they will still be the best team in the NFL in my opinion.

Second playoff team are the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts are a playoff team as shown week in and week out this season and winning 12 games each season for five years running proves it. Besides they must be considered a playoff team until someone dethrones them.

The third playoff team in the AFC are the Jacksonville Jaguars. Despite stumbling twice against the Colts, the Jaguars have the third best record in the AFC and with their win over the tough Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh proved they are a playoff team to contend with.

Bring up the rear of the AFC playoff teams, is the San Diego Chargers. Off to slow start this year the Chargers with their nine and five record will be a contender until one of the three the teams above beats them. The Chargers are a border line playoff team, but in my opinion has a chance to get to the big show.

Teams who made the playoffs but aren't playoff teams are Pittsburgh, Cleveland (who is tied with the Steelers for the AFC North) and Tennessee, who still has a shot at the playoffs, even if a long shot.

All the other AFC teams are also runs and can't be considered, because quite frankly they are not in the class of the playoff teams or of teams who made the playoffs.

The NFC playoff teams are lead by the Dallas Cowboys. In spite of their loss to the Eagles last night they still lead the NFC teams because of their win over the Green Bay Packers. There is some doubt whether the Cowboys are the best in the Conference of late, but until they play for the conference championship and that someone beats them, in my opinion they are the best.

Second is those Green Bay Packers lead by Brett Favre who has proven game after game this year, they belong with the other playoff teams and if some how the NFC championship game was to be played in a cold wintery Green Bay, I would give them the edge, but if the game was played today in Dallas, I will give the Cowboys the edge.

I hate to say this but Green Bay and Dallas are the only playoff teams in the NFC. The rest are teams who are just in the playoffs. Tampa Bay, Seattle, the New York Giants and the Minnesota Vikings are teams that with a bad break or two could have missed the playoffs all together. I mustn't leave out the New Orleans Saints or the Washington Redskins who still have a chance if the Minnesota Viking should stumble. But a break of two by any of the above-mentioned teams won't make any difference, even if the breaks goes in their favor, they are still teams that have just made the playoffs. To be honest with my readers, not a playoff team among them.  

The rest of the NFC teams are also runs and can't be considered because they don't deserve to be in the playoffs at all and/or aren't good enough to challenge the teams above them.

Yes John Madden is right. 'There are playoff teams and there are teams that make the playoff.'

PICKS AND PANS WEEK 15

First a short NFC West review of week 14.

Back to business as usual for the Western division of the NFC as three of the teams went down to defeat and none of the three games were even close. The San Francisco 49ers continue their downward spiral and is destined to remain in the cellar in the division for the remainder of the season. A Meaningless touchdown in the second half was all the offense the 49ers could muster and what little they did show was offset by five turnover. Defensively the 49ers became one of the few teams able to shut down Adrian Perterson, but with another quarterback biting the dust, it seemed to me the 49ers were basically just going thru the motions. I hope the New England Patriots like the high first round pick received from the 49ers. The lost of that pick will hurt the 49ers more than it will help the Patriots which doesn't really need more help.

The Seattle Seahawks ripped the Arizona Cardinals and won out right the NFC West title. The Hawks showed their dominance over the Cardinals from the first quarter on by jumping off to a 24-0 lead before Arizona scored just before half. Five picks by Seattle, three by Trufant, was the downfall of Warner and the Cardinals. Again the special teams play shows the only weakness in the Seattle game at this time.

The Rams should have won this game but couldn't sustain any drives until the third quarter when they scored their lone touchdown. The Rams could only muster 10 first downs against a suspect Bengal's team.

I missed my upset of the week when San Diego pulled out the win in Tennessee by beating the Titans in overtime. Tampa Bay losing to Houston was a mild upset and was a set back for the Bucs who were hoping to clinch their divisional title. A surprise in Philadelphia as the Giants came away with the win, and what was really surprising was no interceptions by either quarterback. For the week I was 12-4 and for the year I'm standing at 122-65.

My picks for week 15 are as follows:

THURSDAY  - HOUSTON OVER DENVER

Houston at home has played their best football as shown by last weeks upset of Tampa Bay. The Denver Broncos are a hard team to figure, up one week and down the next, but this week will be a down week as the Texans win 24-20 at home.

SATURDAY - CINCINNATI OVER SAN FRANCISCO

Cincinnati is my pick for not meeting the preseason expectation hype, but they are playing the 49ers who have lost another quarterback to injury. The 49ers just have not been able to muster an offense this season with any quarterback and it shows by their scoring only 13 points a game, lowest in the NFL. Thats 332 points less than New England. Bengal's to bounce the 49ers 31-13.

SUNDAY'S GAMES

TENNESSEE OVER KANSAS CITY

Kansas City's offensive woes continue without a running back of any caliber, 17 rushes for 16 yards as displayed in last weeks game is not going to win many games in this league. Nor is seven first downs, Tennessee's defense will stifle the Chief's for a 28-10 win.

BALTIMORE OVER MIAMI

For god's sake, it's the winless Miami Dolphins! Baltimore who is on the brink of being delegated to the cellar in the AFC North will beat the worst team in all the NFL. But it will be close, Ravens 24-20.

NEW ENGLAND OVER THE NEW YORK JETS

New England is a 24 point favorite and how can anyone disagree? I can't and won't! The best team in the NFL will humiliate one of the worst 40-14.

CLEVELAND OVER BUFFALO

Buffalo is still in the hunt for a wild card and Cleveland is one of those teams in front of them. The Bills are playing better than most people thought they could. But Cleveland still has a chance to overtake the Steelers for the divisional title. Don't look for the Browns to overlook the Bills at home and will win 27-17.

SEATTLE OVER CAROLINA

Seattle has the 12th best total offense and the 10th best defense in all of the NFL. The Panthers are 1-5 at home this season and have thrown more interceptions than touchdown passes. The Hawks will put pressure on some old guy named Testaverde and the Panthers turnovers will be their downfall. Seattle, will be out to prove they belong with the leagues elite teams , wins 28-17.

NEW ORLEANS OVER ARIZONA

I'm taking the Saints only because they are a home. The Cardinals were too mistake prone last week and the Saints were playing a hapless Falcon team. So combining these two criteria and I will pick the Saints, but only because they are at home, New Orleans 24-20.

TAMPA BAY OVER ATLANTA

Atlanta has basically folded their tent and will play out the season just like they did the last two weeks and in a lackluster fashion to boot. Tampa Bay after a disappointing lost to Houston will rebound and crush the Falcons 24-10.

GREEN BAY OVER ST LOUIS

Green Bay is on a collision course for the NFC title game with the Dallas Cowboys. Don't look for the pathetic Rams to be anymore than a bump in that road. Packers beat the Rams in St Louis with ease 34-14.

PITTSBURGH OVERE JACKSONVILLE

This is tough game to call. Jacksonville has the wild card wrapped up, but Cleveland is breathing down the Steelers necks again and a Pittsburgh lost and a Browns win would bring it down to the head and head tie breaker. Pittsburgh has more to lose than Jacksonville, so the Steelers in a dog fight and at home will win 28-27.

INDIANAPOLIS OVER OAKLAND

Oakland can be a scrappy team at times, but this won't be their time as the Colts and Peyton Manning show the west coast fans how the passing game is really played, Colts will prevail 34-17.

SAN DIEGO OVER DETROIT

The odds makers make the Chargers an eleven point favorite, but in my humble opinion that is too many by about five. Look for Tomlinson to run the ball all day and the Chargers at the end of the day will be on top 27-21.

DALLAS OVER PHILADELPHIA

Who going to quarterback the Eagles? Doesn't matter as Romo and TO will fly by the Eagles at home big, 34-17. 

SNF - NEW YORK GIANTS OVER WASHINGTON

New York has a lock on the wild card and will only start fine tuning their game against the Skins. Washington showed some hope as they beat the Bears a week ago on the Thursday Night game, but the Giants and Eli, if they can hold down the turnovers, will win this game at home 24-10.

MNF - MINNESOTA OVER CHICAGO

Chicago saw their season end a couple weeks ago up in Seattle and the Viking will just put another nail in their disappointing season. The Bears just didn't live up to their Super Bowl year hype. The Vikings on the other hand will try to maintain their lead for the wild card. Vikings over the Bears 27-17.