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4-1 in my top 5 gimmie games, but after that, well,
things weren't shiny, happy, and warm like Christmas
gifts are supposed to be, that's for sure. I needed
a strong Monday to lift me over the top… This is
how it worked out.
Gimmie-Games
Bengals
over the Broncos (win)
Bears over the Lions (win)
Chiefs over the Raiders (win)
Colts over the Texans (loss)
Ravens over the Steelers (win)
Thursday:
Minnesota
Vikings (+3.5) @ Green Bay Packers: (win)
Tarvaris Jackson didn't do to well, but the Vikings
played the Packers, and therefore, Jackson's poor starting
performance was just good enough to cover by a couple
points in Green Bay.
Saturday:
Kansas
City Chiefs (-6.5) @ Oakland Raiders: (win)
"Larry Johnson is running for the Chiefs who have
to win or face a sure exit from playoff hopes. Justin
Fargas is running for the Raiders, who, ah, are never
going to win again this year." LJ was great against
a good Raider defense, and the Chiefs easily covered,
winning by 11 on the road.
Sunday:
Baltimore
Ravens (+3.5) at Pittsburgh Steelers: (win)
"I know the Steelers are coming on strong of late,
but really, do wins over Tampa Bay, Cleveland, and Carolina
really count? No." The Steelers were bad once again,
as the Ravens proved the point I was trying to make,
beating sub par teams doesn't make the Steelers good.
The Ravens smoked Pittsburgh.
Carolina
Panthers at Atlanta Falcons (-6): (loss)
The Falcons are probably the most inconsistent football
team in the league. With the talent they have, scoring
3 points against the Panthers in Atlanta is just flat
out pathetic. What do the Falcons need to be winners
in the NFC? When you can't beat a Chris Weinke led team,
you're in trouble.
Chicago
Bears (-4) at Detroit Lions: (win) "Is
this some kind of sick joke?" It wasn't a joke.
The Lions hung in there until the very end, but the
Bears won by 6, making me sweat one out, but ending
the game with a smile was just fine with me.
Indianapolis
Colts (-9) @ Houston Texans: (loss) What
were the Colts up to in Houston? After slanging the
Bengals last week on MNF, the Colts just weren't ready
for Ron Dayne. Ron "freaking" Dayne for God's
sake. 3 shots of Jack D later and Mike Vanderjagt will
be calling Peyton Manning just some drunk quarterback
running his mouth.
New
England Patriots at Jacksonville Jaguars (-2.5):
(loss) It was close, and I thought the Jags were
on a comeback trail, but behind is not a thing Jacksonville
is good at coming back from, and that's why Byron Leftwich
will get his starting gig back when he's healthy. Maurice
Drew has been the best freshman running back this season.
YEAH, that's right, you herd it right. Consistent and
explosive, just like cornbread, ain't nothing wrong
with that.
New
Orleans Saints (+3) at New York Giants: (win)
"I just don't see how the Saints are underdogs
here. I don't think the Giants have a chance to make
the playoffs, so it's not as if they'll be playing with
extra umph. And Drew Brees has been shredding suspect
secondaries all season long, and the Giants certainly
have one of those. Look for Drew and the Saints to perform
well in a bounce back game." The Saints just flat
out dominated this game. New York started off hot, but
after that, Eli was Eli, the Giant defense was bad,
and the Saints smashed their running game right down
the throat of the pathetic Giants.
Tampa
Bay Buccaneers (+3) at Cleveland Browns: (win)
"With Tim Rattay getting the starting nod, I actually
believe the Buccaneers are a tough team." And what
can I say? They looked good. The Browns couldn't handle
the Buccaneer pressure, and Tim Rattay looked like a
young signal caller playing for a chance at a starting
gig. He played well.
Tennessee
Titans at Buffalo Bills (-4.5): (loss) The Bills,
like many other teams, couldn't tame the ghost of Vincent
Young. This rookie is a winner, something that's unteachable.
Mr. Young has done enough to get it done all year, but
yesterday he was more than anyone expected. An amazing
run, some pin-point passes, and a "we can't lose"
attitude took down the Bills in Buffalo.
Washington
Redskins (+2) at St. Louis Rams: (loss) Steven
Jackson was just too much. The Redskins didn't have
an answer for 1 handed catches and Reggie Bush type
open field moves for touchdowns. Oh, and how about that
power? The game went into overtime, but a game winning
touchdown run for SJ was all she wrote in St. Louis.
Arizona
Cardinals @ San Francisco 49ers (-4): (loss)
San Francisco couldn't take advantage of a Hawks loss,
as the Cardinals managed to upset a team making a run
at the playoffs. When will Arizona play as well as they
can for an entire year? Next year? Nope. It'll always
be next year, if you know what I mean.
Cincinnati
Bengals (+3) at Denver Broncos: (win) I like
Jay Culter, but he won't be able to shred the Bengals
defense like Peyton Manning did last Monday Night. And
there is no way the Bengals come out as flat as a tire
for the second straight week in a row, especially with
their playoff lives on the line. This spread is like
giving the game away. Thanks for free money, fellas.
San
Diego Chargers (-4) at Seattle Seahawks: (loss)
A late touchdown pass ousted the Hawks, while the final
score, 20-17, was just enough to make me a loser by
a point. Phillip Rivers has really struggled of late,
so if he wants to help his Chargers win, he better get
back to the confident and accurate passes he threw the
first 10 games of the season.
Philadelphia
Eagles (+7) at Dallas Cowboys: (WIN) I love
it. A- I'm the most competitive guy this side of Mike
Jordan, and I love to win while hating to lose, but
B- and more importantly, Cowboy suffering and Eagle
playoffs certainty without their star quarterback, plus
a TO tantrum that has a Randy Moss of Owens trade in
the cards, wow, this can't get any better!
Monday:
New
York Jets (+2.5) at Miami Dolphins: The Jets struggled
to a boring win in Miami, but since this game
pushes me over the top for the week, landing me at 9-7,
I'll bust out one of these… "Yippy Kye Eye
Yay!" Okay, got it out, for all those who took
bets on my winners… "Congrats!"
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