Week 12- Early Edition

Had to make an early edition this week, due to the Thanksgiving games. Obviously, the playoff races were all shaken up this past weekend by a number of injuries, especially to Donovan McNabb. For some reason, I just don’t see Jeff Garcia regaining his Pro Bowl form of 5 years ago.

Manwich Matchup of the Week
Chicago at New England – This one’s a doozy. The Bears are one of the more fickle teams and while they continually win, they don’t necessarily play well. It’s anyone’s guess as to what will happen, though I say Bill Belichick will find some ways to exploit and embarrass Mr. Rex Grossman, and I’m not talking about pie-in-the-face embarrassment, I’m talking 3 turnover embarrassment. Pick: New England

Upset of the Week
Pittsburgh at Baltimore – 2 of my most hated teams. Sgt. Slaughter vs. Cobra Commander. It’s actually the 1st time they’ve met this season. The Ravens are incredibly lucky, in every way, shape, and form. If anyone is going to break this luckiness, it’s the Steelers, who’ve gone through hell to reach 4-6, and are trying to win out the season and make the playoffs. Pick: Pittsburgh

Miami at Detroit – Joey Harrington revenge game! Now, when the Detroit fans boo, it can work for both the home team and the visiting team. Pick: Miami

Tampa Bay at Dallas – Dallas really has the momentum now that the Eagles are doomed. Pick: Dallas

Denver at Kansas City – This is a tough one, but I’ve gotta go with Jake Plummer on the bounce back game. No, seriously... Pick: Denver

Arizona at Minnesota – Well, early indications are that no one in the NFC other than the top teams are capable of a winning streak. So, by that backwards logic… Pick: Minnesota

Carolina at Washington – The CAR is just getting warmed up. Pick: CAR

Cincinnati at Cleveland – I was watching last week’s Browns-Steelers game, and even with a double-digit lead, I was confident in the Browns blowing it. I’m not proud of this, but I should still be able to laugh about it. Pick: Cincy

Houston at N.Y. Jets – You see, Houston really can’t beat anyone other than Jacksonville. No one ever said the NFL had to make sense. Pick: NY Jets

Jacksonville at Buffalo – Jacksonville has been like Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, only this time the trigger has been losing twice to Houston. Pick: Jack

New Orleans at Atlanta – 2 Teams slip sliding away from contention. Vick had 2 phenomenal weeks followed by 3 atrocicious weeks. It’s anyone’s guess as to who gets the win. Pick: New Orleans

N.Y. Giants at Tennessee – Go Tiki. Pick: NY Giants

Philadelphia at Indianapolis – If only McNabb was playing, this game would be a lot more interesting. Though I did see that Philly signed QB Omar Jacobs to the practice squad. Apparently, Pittsburgh already had dumped him earlier this year. I hope he plays instead of QB Jeff Garcia. Pick: Indy

San Francisco at St. Louis – The 49ers are a 5-5 team. How is this not a major headline??? They are only 1 game back of the Seahawks! Maybe there still is time for the Super Bowl Curse to stop the Seahawks from making the playoffs! Pick: San Fran

Oakland at San Diego- I hope someone else saw the end of the Broncos-Chargers game last Sunday. Marty Schottenheimer almost let the game get tied. The Chargers were up 8, and the Broncos had the ball with less than a minute to play, and almost the entire field to cover. Marty starts playing “prevent” defense, the very same “prevent” defense that burned Marty in the 1986 AFC Championship game against the Broncos! Only thing is, this time, the Chargers sacked the Bronco QB, and ensured that time would run out. This is why I’m picking against Marty come playoff-time. Pick: SD

GB @ Seattle- I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Coach Holmgren actually isn’t fat, its just that he’s wearing a big Packers sweatshirt underneath his clothes. Pick: Seattle

Last Week: 11-5
Season: 96-64
Manwich: 7-5 (Marty Schottenheimer almost blew it)
Upset of the Week: 3-8 (Jacksonville is so angry right now.)