Week #11 NFL Predictions: Teams Positioning for Playoffs!

Week #11 Predictions

Buffalo Bills vs San Diego Chargers - Chargers win by 10 points because they are rested and Drew is ready! Indeed the Bills should feel good about themselves after last week's win over the Chiefs yet that win was just one win. It will not carry over to this week because the Chargers are a much better team than the Chiefs. Yes, now that J.P. Losman will get the start, he will not have the same day as he did last week. J.P. throws a great spiral and has a good arm. Yet his decision making process still has a ways to go. That's where Marty Schottenheimer will get the Chargers defense to apply big time pressure on J.P. and confuse him. As for Drew Brees, he will get back into the groove and get the ball in the hands of LaDamian and Antonio Gates. Although the secondary for the Bills is much improved with Malloy, Vincent, McGee and Clements stepping up (they will get an interception), it will not be enough against these Chargers!!

Miami Dolphins vs Cleveland Browns - Browns win by 3 points because of homefield advantage and the cold weather in Cleveland at this time of the year. Normally, I would have selected the Dolphins but because of the elements, I am changing my selection to the Cleveland Browns. Although the Dolphins have been improving each and every week particularly Zach Thomas, they are close in every game. In fact, the Dolphins almost beat the Patriots last week. Yet because of the elements, the Browns will play more of Browns football -- smash mouth and physical!! This will wear down the Dolphins front line and then they will be susceptible for the pass! Yes, the elements make a major difference in the games at this time of the year.

New Orleans Saints vs New England Patriots - Patriots win by 17 points because they are ready to explode again. It is quite obvious that the Patriots' injuries have cost them this season dearly! Yet week after week, the Patriots have attempted to fill in those gaps and play a high quality game. In most occasions in worked, in others it did not!! Last week, the Patriots played with pride and came back against those pesky Dolphins and won the game in the last few minutes. Well, this week the Patriots will come out a make a statement. That statement is -- WE ARE STILL CHAMPIONS!! Tom Brady will be throwing the ball everywhere and it looks like the Patriots discoverd a new running back. He is so new that I forgot his name! Watch for Deion Branch and with the return of Givens, the Patriots will light it up -- even in the cold elements of New England. As for the Saints and Aaron Brooks, they have called this a season. Yet watch out for their running back -- Smith -- to have a good day of running due to the fact, he was a previous Patriots player and played in the Superbowl! In any case, Bruschi and the boys will step up. As for cornerback Samuel, he still needs some serious help covering wide receivers!

New York Jets vs Denver Broncos - Broncos win by 14 points because Jake Plummer is in a groove! Yes, finally it looks like Jake Plummer has bought into Mike Shananhan's offensive game plans and is finally executing the offense. Jake is using his experience and his mobility to move the pocket right and left and then make the appropriate read to the open receiver. One of my favorite players, Rod Smith, is benefiting from Jake's adjustment as well as the running back tandem of Anderson and Bell. Additionally, the Broncos defense has stepped it up. They looked real good against the Raiders last week in which Champ Bailey (yes, he maybe a relative!!) got a nice interception Collins. As for the the Jets, Headcoach Herman Edwards is searching for a direction and unfortunately he will have a very long second half of the season. The third string quarterback does add spunk and energy to the offense yet he lacks the experience! That is the key in this game -- Experience!

Pittsburgh Steelers vs Baltimore Ravens - Steelers win by 20 points becasue the Ravens have no offense whatsoever! Whether it is Charlie Batch or Tommy Maddox, the Steelers will score points against the Ravens defense. As for the Ravens offense scoring points against the Steelers defense, that will be very hard to do due to the fact that Kyler Boller is a BUST AND HEADCOACH BRIAN BILLICK HAS RUINED THIS TEAM BY INVESTING EVERYTHING WITH THIS SUBPAR QUARTERBACK!! There will be no room for errors in this game for Kyle Boller yet he will make several!! The Steelers defense will cause Boller to be more confused and that's where it will get real ugly in this game and even those loyal fans in Ravens Stadium will boo Boller out of the stadium!!

Indianapolis Colts vs Cincinnati Bengals - Bengals win by 3 points because they are rested and ready to dethrown the Colts winning streak! Marvin Lewis has the Bengals in the right frame of mind for this game and they are hungry to prove to the league that they are in the upper tier of the league! This is the game that will propell them to that level!! With Carson Palmer maturing rapidly and making better reads, the Bengals offense will score enough points in the air and on the ground. Rudi Johnson must step up big time in this game with several long runs from the line of scrimmage. The offensive line must take care Dwight Freeney from the Colts and you know Chad Johnson will have alot to say before and after this game on how he beat the cornerback that guards him. As for the Colts, Peyton is still in a groove!! He is definitely going for AFC MVP honors and continues to find another wrinkle to their offense. Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne will get their catches but will pay dearly on a few. Guess what -- Tony Dungy and Marvin Harrison -- two coaches who would have never faced each other just a few years ago. Wow, times have changed!

Kansas City Chiefs vs Houston Texans - Chiefs win by 17 points because they will make up for last week's poor performance of only 3 points! Dick Vermeill is under tremendous pressure this week and he has responded very well to the criticism. The Chiefs will go into Reliant Houston Stadium and play some serious football and get back to the basics on offense. They need to play power football and stop placing too much pressure on Trent Green to perform! He cannot do it himself and that is obvious. The Chiefs defense will need to shut down the Texans offense completely!! This will be the game the Chiefs defense will score a couple of touchdowns and intercept David Carr at least twice!! So this is a big statement game for the Chiefs and look for them to get back on track!!

Jacksonville Jaguars vs Tennessee Titans - Jaguars win by 7 points because they are a more balanced team at this point in the season. Even though the Titans are playing at home and McNair is back in stride, it will be the Jaguars defense and quarterback Leftwich who will make the plays by the end of the game. The Jaguars are winning the games that they are supposed to win and this will be a very important win on the road. Headcoach Jack DeRio has this team stepping up and they will definitely be a major factor in the run for the playoffs!

Oakland Raiders vs Washington Redskins - Redskins win by 4 points because of their tenacious defense will put too much pressure on Kerry Collins. If this game was played in Oakland, it might have a different outcome. Yet since this is played at FedEX stadium in Washington, the Redskins will take it to the Raiders with their defense playing extra aggressive and causing confusion on the Raiders offense. As for the Redskins offense, Brunnel will be able to pick apart the below average Raiders secondary. In the end, boy-owner Daniel Snyder will have a nice treat before the holidays!

Detroit Lions vs Dallas Cowboys - Cowboys win by 10 points because the Cowboys are starting to feel the incredible magic around them. Yes, these Cowboys are winning spectacularly and this game will be no different. Headcoach Bill Parcells is going through some tough time right now (the passing of his brother) yet he remains a dedicated coach!! That's why nothing will get in the way of this Cowboys team for the rest of the season. In fact, the Cowboys are putting things together very fast and the impact of Drew Bledsoe has catapolted them into the upper level of the NFC. Bledsoe will no doubt be All-Pro as well as Terry Glenn, Roy Williams and Just Throw me the D___ Ball Keyshawn Johnson. As for the Lions, Harrington is in a bit of groove, but in this game he will pressure much more thereby causing him to throw erractically! The Big D gets a win against the Lions by the end of the day.

Phildadelphia Eagles vs New York Giants - Giants win by 17 points because McNabb is gone and the GGGGG-Men are mad! After getting totally embarrassed by the Vikings last week, the GGGGGG-Men will come out and pound the Eagles defense! Eli Manning will get it going at the beginning of the game and not let up! Tiki, Shockey and Plexico will step up and not have an average game. As for the Eagles, they are spinning out of control with all the Owens controversy and the ruling with his pending situation. Talk about a circus atmosphere with the Eagles, it gets crazier and crazier each and every week! What will happen next, only time will tell! Give this game to the Giants handsdown!!

Carolina Panthers vs Chicago Bears - Bears win by 3 points because these are the new DAAAABEARS!. Indeed, I really like what Headcoach Lovie Smith is doing with the Bears by playing a very aggressive defense along with a much more open offense with Kyle Orton!! The Bears are not playing the same old Bear football! In fact, last week they featured some cool off-orange uniforms. (Can you believe that -- not wearing the tradition black uniforms but going with the off-orange! What would Dick Butkus say about that!). Yet the Panthers are playing very well because their defense is playing exceptionally well and quarterback Delhomme is not making the silly mistakes as he did last year. Along with All-world Steve Smith, the Panthers are tough. Yet THIS IS ONE OF MY UPSET PICKS FOR THE WEEKEND. Give it up to Chicago, the cold weather, Soldier stadium and DAAAAABEARS new tradition.

Minnesota Vikings vs Green Bay Packers - Packers win by 10 points because Brett has some new help at running back -- Gato! This new running back ran for over 150 yards last week against the Falcons and he looks like the real deal! This guy was preparing for a career outside of football just a couple of weeks ago and now he is the leading rusher for the Packers. Even Brett felt inspired by this young rookie!! In fact, the Packers put a great game plan together last week against Michael Vick and won that game easily!! So this week, I think they will prepared for the much improved Vikings with Brad Johnson. Wow, Brad Johnson looks very good and he will continue his outstanding performance. Yet it will not be enough against the newly inspired Packers team playing back in Lambeau field!!

Tampa Bay Bucs vs Atlanta Falcons - Falcons win by 3 points because Vick was embarrassed last week and will need to rebound. For some reason, Michael Vick is placing more pressure on himself than needed. That's what happened to him last week. Well, this week he will try to deflect much more of the media and begin to play his own game and that's it!! Yet this will be an excellent game because Headcoach Jon Gruden will have his defensive coordinator Monte Kippen to scheme an excellent defensive gameplan against Vick!! This will be a great chest match. Yet in the end, the breaks will go the Falcons way and if they don't -- watch for it to get kinda nasty in Atlanta!

Arizona Cardinals vs St. Louis Rams - Rams win by 7 points because they are a bit more experienced but what a classic matchup. The fact that Kurt Warner is coming back to St. Louis where he won the Superbowl with these Rams will be an excellent plot line. Warner will be playing excellently and truly challenge his former team. Fortunately for Warner, he has two spectacular wide receivers -- Bolden and Fitzgerald! This will be a high scoring game on each side! Talk about a circus environment, this one will definitely be one!! Then there are the Rams with quarterback Marc Bulger with Torry Holt and Issacc Bruuuuuuce!! Yes the tandem of wide receivers that Warner threw to when he was the Rams quarterback. In the end, everyone will feel good about this game even Kurt Warner in a loss to his former team!

Seattle Seahawks vs San Francisco 49ers - Seattle wins by 17 points because they are the better team. Headcoach Mike Holmgren is using Shaun Alexander very well this year and Alexander is responding BIG TIME. Wow, this guy has completely elevated his game (of course it is a contract year) and taken over games. This game will be no different even though it is a westcoast type of game. Along with Hasselbeck and much improved Seahawk defense, the Seahawks are making the playoff run!!

NOW ENJOY THE GAMES THIS WEEKEND!! I KNOW THAT I WILL!!