NFLFan's Journal: NFL Week 15

The Fan's Six Pack:
1.) I know a lot of people are thinking that perhaps the Texans threw that game. We will never know if it was intentional but that kicker Kris Brown has been known to get wild. Brown was a head-case by the time he left the Steelers. The draft is such an unsure thing that the Texans should be ashamed of themselves if they did not give it their all last Sunday.

2.) From early Sunday morning until the start of the early games, I think I saw the Jaguars talking about how they would beat the Colts every-time I saw a television. It seems after the game that some Jaguar players were still running their mouths saying the Colts did not get their best effort! Maybe the Jaguars were too busy thinking what to say in interviews but they already had 2 chances at the Colts. Someone please shut-up the Jaguars.

3.) Chad Johnson's Bengals barely beat the Cleveland Browns and for the second consecutive week Johnson was kept out of the end-zone and only has 76 yards receiving during that span. Guess we all blinked again. Chad Johnson is a good player and I think he mostly acts like he does because it is hard to get national PR in Cincinnati but he really should tone it down some.

4.) I was going to project the AFC and NFC playoff seeds but my projections pretty much agree with how things stand right now. No surprise, the NFC is a mess. In the AFC, I think the big winners are the Patriots-- the Patriots are likely to get Jacksonville in the first-round, who in my opinion will be the softest AFC team.

5.) I just do not get Philly fans. What is up with that NAACP going after McNabb like that? The past few years, I have seen too interviews/stories with McNabb that concern him being burdened with the black running quarterback image and how he wants just be considered a quarterback. I have even wondered if his determination to throw the football hurt the Eagles sometimes but that NAACP guy took it so much further and was just wrong to do so.

6.) I was going to write about Matt Leinart being a class act and voting for Reggie Bush and Vince Young before himself here but it seems his trip to New York was not totally classy. I can't blame the guy, probably 9 out of 10 people in the same position would do the same thing.

My Picks:
Last week, what some people have started to call "Black Sunday", I went 11-5. Overall, I am 138-70 (.663).

Saturday, Dec. 17
Tampa Bay at New England 1:30 p.m.
I like the Buccaneers. Tom Brady has thrown 6 interceptions in the past 3 games and Rhonde Barber has 4 interceptions in the past two games. Tampa Bay's defense is WAY better than New England's right. The only thing that concerns me about the Bucs are their tendency to lie down in cold weather.

Kansas City at N.Y. Giants 5:00 p.m.
I like the Chiefs. The Giants are beat up a little too much and they seem to have a knack for making games interesting. The Chiefs keep the AFC interesting for another week.

Denver at Buffalo 8:30 p.m.
I like the Broncos. The Bills look decent one week and look horrible the next. Rumor is that GM Tom Donahoe is likely to lose his job at seasons end. The Broncos are said to be struggling on offense and they are known to slip as the season winds down but I just cannot pick the Bills right now.

Sunday, Dec. 18
Arizona at Houston 1:00 p.m.
I like the Cardinals. I just cannot pick the Texans.

Carolina at New Orleans (Baton Rouge, LA) 1:00 p.m.
I like the Panthers. This just in, the Saints have benched Aaron Brooks! How many seasons too late? Seems some people think that Steve McNair might be quarterbacking the Saints next year, weird.

N.Y. Jets at Miami 1:00 p.m.
I like the Dolphins. The Dolphins are looking good again. The Jets looked pretty good last week also but that was against the Raiders.

Philadelphia at St. Louis 1:00 p.m.
I like the Rams. I picked the Rams because they are at home, I have no other reason.

Pittsburgh at Minnesota 1:00 p.m.
I like the Steelers. The Steelers end another NFC North team's winning streak this Sunday.

San Diego at Indianapolis 1:00 p.m.
I like the Colts. This would probably be a good game to pick against the Colts. The Colts are starting to have some minor injury issues and the Chargers are a lot more desperate than the Colts.

Seattle at Tennessee 1:00 p.m.
I like the Seahawks. The Titans almost lost to the Texans. Enough said.

San Francisco at Jacksonville 1:00 p.m.
I like the Jaguars. The 49ers are playing so well that there is some story about Alex Smith having small hands. Keep him away from Austin Powers I guess.

Cincinnati at Detroit 4:05 p.m.
I like the Bengals. Carson Palmer rebounds from his bad week and roll over the Lions.

Cleveland at Oakland 4:05 p.m.
I like the Raiders. The Browns showed a lot of heart against the Bengals but they can't consistently play that way. Game in Oakland, game goes to the Raiders.

Dallas at Washington 4:15 p.m.
I like the Cowboys. Washington got lucky and won the first game. Now it is time for the Cowboys to collect their win.

Atlanta at Chicago 8:30 p.m.
I like the Bears. I do not think the Falcons have played well against a good team yet this year.

Monday, Dec. 19
Green Bay at Baltimore 9:00 p.m.
I like the Packers. Kyle Boller or Brett Favre? Neither one plays mistake free football but at least Favre is more likely to throw a few touchdown passes to make up for his mistakes.

Bad News

[Shadow Wrought]

I like the Rams. I picked the Rams because they are at home, I have no other reason.

While I wasn't able to play a full game against the Iggles on GC Madden NFL 2003, I did do the two minute drill against them a bunch of times. Their blitzes spanked me. I got two touchdowns in about a dozen attempts:-( Looks like the Rams juggernaut is at full speed- stuck in reverse...

thoughts on Grossman starting?

[Em Emalb]

I figure he's a lock now, after the way the offense responded when he got on the field.

I think Muhammed loves Grossman throwing to him. He seems much more poised and agile in the pocket than Orton.

I figure if the offense can get it going with Grossman, then you gotta leave him in.

Apparently a sports talk show in Chicago has stated Grossman will get the start next week.

Should be fun. Loved the way the Bears handled Vick and that potent running game.

Keep it up, NFLfan.

Re:thoughts on Grossman starting?

[NFLFan]

I did not watch much of that Atlanta at Chicago game. I just watch some of the second quarter and determined that the Bears were handling Vick. It was impressive how the Bears were able to completely shut down the Falcons offense, I thought the Falcons would have be able to throw or run some just not both.

From a far it is sort of sad to see Orton lose the job after he got the Bears this far and it is hard to like how Grossman has been positioning himself as the starter. But the biggest flaw with the Bear