RJ's NFL Picks: Week 15
Published December 15, 2004
Saturday Games
Pittsburgh (12-1) at N.Y. Giants (5-8): Eli Manning will put in a good game here, in a losing effort. STEELERS BY 6.
Washington (4-9) at San Francisco (2-11): SF is awful, but they are coming off a win and playing to save Coach Erickson's job. Washington is just awful. SF BY 3.
Carolina (6-7) at Atlanta (10-3): Carolina's five game winning streak has to end some time. And that time is now. ATLANTA BY 10.
Sunday Early Afternoon Games
Buffalo (7-6) at Cincinnati (6-7): (At the risk of being somewhat repetitive...) Buffalo's four game winning streak has to end some time. And that time is now. BENGALS BY 1.
Dallas (5-8) at Philadelphia (12-1): Philly is the best team in the NFC by far. And Dallas is far from being even a good team. EAGLES BY 16.
Denver (8-5) at Kansas City (5-8): This one will be a wild, high-scoring affair. But Denver is hungry for a playoff spot. BRONCOS BY 6.
Houston (5-8) at Chicago (5-8): Both teams are better than their records indicate. This one could go either way, but I'm guessing Houston wins a close one. HOUSTON BY 3.
Minnesota (7-6) at Detroit (5-8): The Lions (my team) must win their final three games to have any hope of earning the last Wild Card spot. Minnesota needs to get out of their slump to earn the other one. I predict a good, competitive game between two mediocre teams. LIONS BY 2.
San Diego (10-3) at Cleveland (3-10): San Diego has won seven in a row. Make that eight. SD BY 17.
Seattle (7-6) at N.Y. Jets (9-4): The Jets stumbled last week. Is this the beginning of the collapse I've been predicting for several weeks now? Sadly, no. JETS BY 8.
Sunday Late Afternoon Games
New Orleans (5-8) at Tampa Bay (5-8): Don't mess with...Louisiana? The Saints will field a fine team next season. And they haven't given up on this year yet, either. SAINTS BY 4.
St. Louis (6-7) at Arizona (4-9): Normally, I wouldn't pick a Dennis Green-coached team to win anytime after November. But the Rams will continue their fall. ARIZONA BY 3.
Jacksonville (7-6) at Green Bay (8-5): Which Brett Favre will show up in this game? Since this one is being played in Wisconsin, I suspect the future HOF quarterback will be in attendance, as opposed to the inept QB from two weeks ago. PACKERS BY 9.
Tennessee (4-9) at Oakland (4-9): This one is pointless. Neither team has won since sometime in November. Both teams are in last place in their divisions. But, give this one to the Titans. TENNESSEE BY 7.
Sunday Night Game
Baltimore (8-5) at Indianapolis (10-3): The Ravens have a potent defense. The Colts have a potent offense. In this case, offense will win. COLTS BY 16.
Monday Night Game
New England (12-1) at Miami (2-11): Another "must-see" MNF game, haha. NE BY 24.
RJ Elliott is a graduate student studying Criminal Justice at the University Of Central Florida. His likes include nature, sports, and pierced blondes. He dislikes daytime television, left-wing dictators, and lead-tainted Chinese imports. He is ambivalent about Angelina Jolie.
- RJ's NFL Picks: Week 15
- Published: December 15, 2004
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Sports
- Part of a feature: NFL Picks
- Writer: RJ Elliott
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Comments on this articleComments
My support for the Lions shall NEVER waver! Much like a Red Sox fan, my time will come, eventually. And I am a patient man...
RJ, unlike the Lions, the Red Sox are baseball's Junior Evil Empire, buying their way to the playoffs. Unless the Lions follow suit or have three tremendous drafts in a row, well, your patience will be endlessly tested. What's it been? Since '56?
I'll have to post up my own picks after I've had some time to look at the schedule.
Once a team makes the NFL playoffs, their odds of winning the Super Bowl are nearly the same as that of any other team that is still playing in the post-season (thanks to "parity").
And most sports writers seem to believe that the Lions are on their way up.
So, it could be as soon as next season.
(Or, it may never happen...)
And that's why they play the games! :)
I just wanna know why the Lions ALWAYS get to play on T'day! Seems like we could have an actual pro team playing on that day once in a while!
Andy- The Lions play on Thanksgiving because it's a tradition. Just because it's also a tradition to whup on the Lions... sorry, RJ. Counldn't resist. Here are my picks:
Steelers over Giants by 6
Redskins over 49ers by 10
Panthers over Falcons by 4
Texans over Bears by 3
Bengals over Bills by 4
Browns over Chargers by 7
Vikings over Lions by 6
Jets over Seahawks by 9
Eagles over Cowboys by 18
Chiefs over Broncos by 3
Bucs over Saints by 7
Rams over Cards by 11
Packers over Jags by 2
Titans over Raiders by 6
Colts over Ravens by 11
Patriots over Dolphins by 13
Big upset pick: Browns over Chargers. Even though NFL parity is on the wane, good teams still manage to lose games they should win. This is one such case.
I took the Rams over the Cards because they win their division games and lose everything else.
While I am amazed at the Panthers streak and know it has to end, I think that the Falcons will be relaxing a bit knowing that they are in the playoffs, while the Panthers are on the verge of making it.
Other than that, few surprises.
I'll have my picks up before today's games. got to send off last minute Christmas packages, first.
I figured out my overall totals for the weeks I've picked since Week 10 ( I skipped week 12) and its 37 and 25. I've improved every week, though so let's see how I do. For now, I'll just pick Saturday's just in case I'm out and about.
Giants - I think Eli wants to go into Christmas with his family with a win under his belt. He'll use all his young talent to do so. He's won before. Steelers wll play them tough. GIANTS, by 6.
Redskins over 49ers - the 49ers are resigned to defeat. They can beat the Cardinals because, well, I don't know but they're the only team they will beat this year. Redskins by 14.
Falcons over Panthers. My granddad's team. But other than that, the Falcons still have something to play for. Falcons by 7.
The rest later.
Looks like we're all 2-1 so far. Two great games yesterday. The Panthers made a nice 4th quarter comeback, but just couldn't keep the Falcons down.
I'm hoping for a good one tonight here in Indy. Go Colts!
Giants and Manning almost pulled it out. Manning DID do a whole lot better.
Here's the rest of my picks. Call it my non-upset week.
Buffalo at Cincinnati - Bills
Dallas at Philadelphia - Eagles
Denver at Kansas City - Chiefs
Houston at Chicago - Chicago
Minnesota at Detroit - Vikings
San Diego at Cleveland - San Diego
Seattle at N.Y. Jets - Seattle
New Orleans at Tampa Bay - Tampa Bay
St. Louis at Arizona - St.Louis
Jacksonville at Green Bay - Green Bay
Tennessee at Oakland - Oakland
Baltimore at Indianapolis - Indianapolis (but Manning will not break record)
Monday
New England at Miami - New England
RJ, you have my sympathies on those Lions. That's a rotten way to lose.
Pittsburgh (12-1) at N.Y. Giants (5-8): STEELERS BY 6.
ACTUAL OUTCOME: STEELERS BY 3!
RJ - 1-0!
Washington (4-9) at San Francisco (2-11): SF BY 3.
ACTUAL OUTCOME: WASHINGTON BY 10...
RJ - 1-1...
Carolina (6-7) at Atlanta (10-3): ATLANTA BY 10.
ACTUAL OUTCOME: ATLANTA BY 3!
RJ - 2-1!
Buffalo (7-6) at Cincinnati (6-7): BENGALS BY 1.
ACTUAL OUTCOME: BILLS BY 16...
RJ - 2-2...
Dallas (5-8) at Philadelphia (12-1): EAGLES BY 16.
ACTUAL OUTCOME: EAGLES BY 5!
RJ - 3-2!
Denver (8-5) at Kansas City (5-8): BRONCOS BY 6.
ACTUAL OUTCOME: KC BY 28...
RJ - 3-3...
Houston (5-8) at Chicago (5-8): HOUSTON BY 3.
ACTUAL OUTCOME: HOUSTON BY 19!
RJ - 4-3!
Minnesota (7-6) at Detroit (5-8): LIONS BY 2.
ACTUAL OUTCOME: MINNESOTA BY 1... (sniff)
RJ - 4-4...
San Diego (10-3) at Cleveland (3-10): SD BY 17.
ACTUAL OUTCOME: SD BY 21!
RJ - 5-4!
Seattle (7-6) at N.Y. Jets (9-4): JETS BY 8.
ACTUAL OUTCOME: JETS BY 23!
RJ - 6-4!
Pretty rough week so far, but at least I'm still over .500!
New Orleans (5-8) at Tampa Bay (5-8): SAINTS BY 4.
Actual Result: NO by 4! ;-]
RJ - 7-4!
St. Louis (6-7) at Arizona (4-9): ARIZONA BY 3.
Actual Result: Arizona by 24!
RJ - 8-4!
"RJ, you have my sympathies on those Lions. That's a rotten way to lose."
Thanks, man. What a heartbreaker...
The Lions have lost 4 games this year that they should have won. One against the Packers, one against Jacksonville (in OT), and both their games against the Vikings (including this week's nightmare scenario).
But instead of being 9-5 and leading their division, they are 5-9 and out of playoff contention.
Oh, well. There's always next year! :-/
I'm doing better at 10-5. Who'd a thunk the Cardinals would fly and the Packers would Pack it in.
Tampa Bay tossed it at the end. Damn.
And Seattle = Jeez.
So, barring a collapse, i'll be 11-5 this week. ?????
Jacksonville (7-6) at Green Bay (8-5): PACKERS BY 9.
ACTUAL RESULT: Jacksonville by 3...
RJ: 8-5...
Tennessee (4-9) at Oakland (4-9): TENNESSEE BY 7.
ACTUAL RESULT: Oakland by 5...
RJ: 8-6...
Jeez. This week was my worst on record. I may not even break .500 when it's all said and done! :-[
MK is 7-7 right now (if my math is correct).
TS is 8-6 right now (if my math is correct).
Tough week all around, guys... :-/
Manning didn't make it - as I predicted.
Classy move on the coach's part - though still there were no guarantees, they'd won the game. It would have cheapened the record tie.
I predicted:
"Baltimore (8-5) at Indianapolis (10-3): The Ravens have a potent defense. The Colts have a potent offense. In this case, offense will win. COLTS BY 16."
Actual Score: Colts 20, Ravens 10.
RJ's Week 15 record, so far: 9-6.
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(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/23281)
Your unerring support of the disfunctional Lions has cost you week after week RJ. I salute you. Those rose colored glasses look good on you.