RJ's NFL Picks - Week Fourteen
Published December 06, 2006
I went 7-9 last week. That puts me at 114-78 for the season, which is an overall winning percentage of approximately 59%. (For a comparison, check out the "experts" over at ESPN.)
The following are my picks for the NFL's Week Fourteen:
Thursday, Dec. 7
Cleveland 4-8 at Pittsburgh 5-7 - 8:00 p.m.
Both teams won last week. The Steelers are 4-2 at home; the Browns are 2-3 on the road. For the season, the Steelers have scored 58 more points than the Browns and have given up nine fewer.
RJ's Pick - Pittsburgh by 6
Sunday, Dec. 10
Atlanta 6-6 at Tampa Bay 3-9 - 1:00 p.m.
The Falcons finally snapped their losing streak last week by beating the Redskins in Washington. They are the perfect .500 team: 6-6 overall, 3-3 on the road, 4-4 against the NFC, and 2-2 against their own division. Tampa Bay is 3-3 at home, but is 0-5 against divisional opponents, so this week is their last chance to score a win against an NFC South rival.
RJ's Pick - Tampa Bay by 2
Baltimore 9-3 at Kansas City 7-5 - 1:00 p.m.
Both teams lost last week. The Chiefs are 5-1 at home this season, but are 0-4 against AFC teams not in their division. The Ravens are 4-2 on the road and have given up the fewest points in the AFC.
RJ's Pick - Baltimore by 3
Indianapolis 10-2 at Jacksonville 7-5 - 1:00 p.m.
The Colts beat the Jaguars 21-14 back in Week 3. Jacksonville has the third best defense (based upon points allowed) in the AFC, and they are 5-1 at home. The Colts have the second highest-scoring offense in the AFC, and are 4-2 on the road. This should be a great matchup.
RJ's Pick - Jacksonville by 1
Minnesota 5-7 at Detroit 2-10 - 1:00 p.m.
Although essentially eliminated from any chance of making the playoffs, the Lions are still in the hunt for the coveted #2 slot in the NFC North.
RJ's Pick - Detroit by 19
New England 9-3 at Miami 5-7 - 1:00 p.m.
The Dolphins had their winning streak snapped last week, and they are now officially out of playoff contention. The Patriots have won three in a row and are 5-0 on the road.
RJ's Pick - New England by 8
N.Y. Giants 6-6 at Carolina 6-6 - 1:00 p.m.
The Giants have now lost four in a row, and have fallen two games out of first place in the NFC East. Carolina has lost two straight, and is also two games out of first in their division, the NFC South. This is a huge game for both teams. I think you have to give the advantage to the home team in a situation like this.
RJ's Pick - Carolina by 4
Oakland 2-10 at Cincinnati 7-5 - 1:00 p.m.
The Raiders have lost five in a row, the longest current losing streak in the NFL. They have scored the fewest points of any AFC team, and are 0-6 on the road. The Bengals have won three in a row.
RJ's Pick - Cincinnati by 10
Philadelphia 6-6 at Washington 4-8 - 1:00 p.m.
The Eagles managed a come-from-behind win last week against Carolina. That means they are still in the playoff hunt, but three of their last four games are on the road, where they are only 2-3 so far this season. Washington is 3-3 at home. They have lost three of their last four, including a 27-3 drubbing at the hands of the Eagles back in Week 10.
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 Fourteen
- Published: December 06, 2006
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Sports
- Filed Under: Sports: Football (American)
- Part of a feature: NFL Picks
- Writer: RJ Elliott
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Cleveland 4-8 at Pittsburgh 5-7... Pittsburgh. Unless Pitts' improbable win last time put a fire under Cleveland's bush. But even so... Pittsburgh.
Sunday, Dec. 10
Atlanta 6-6 at Tampa Bay 3-9... Atlanta must be feeling after their win last week... though to be honest, you're in dire straights if you're feeling pretty good about beating Washington. However, I think that Atlanta should be Tampa Bay pretty handily, too.
Baltimore 9-3 at Kansas City 7-5... Baltimore.
Indianapolis 10-2 at Jacksonville 7-5... A good matchup. Indy had a horrible loss last week. But I think they rebound here on the road.
Minnesota 5-7 at Detroit 2-10... Minnesota
New England 9-3 at Miami 5-7... New England.
N.Y. Giants 6-6 at Carolina 6-6... The Giants just have not played well at all. Carolina.
Oakland 2-10 at Cincinnati 7-5... Cincinnati.
Philadelphia 6-6 at Washington 4-8... I was happy to see the Eagles win on Monday. I doubt if they can keep that same momentum the rest of the year, but I see them taking care of Washington.
Tennessee 5-7 at Houston 4-8... Tennessee. Vince Young has seemed invincible lately.
Green Bay 4-8 at San Francisco 5-7... This is the kind of game San Francisco needs to win. However, if they suffer from some mental flubs they could very well lose it. If I hadn't picked SanFran last week (and got burned) I would go whole heartedly into picking them. This time it is more of a trepiditiously tread. I guess San Francisco.
Seattle 8-4 at Arizona 3-9... Seattle.
Buffalo 5-7 at N.Y. Jets 7-5... NYJ
Denver 7-5 at San Diego 10-2... I don't think Denver has a chance at winning this game. San Diego has just been too dominant.
New Orleans 8-4 at Dallas 8-4... Drew Brees is my pick for MVP. Dallas is my pick for this game.
Chicago 10-2 at St. Louis 5-7... Chicago.
Pittsburgh by 8
Tampa coming off BB road games... Atlanta plays dallas next week.. Tampa by 2
Baltimore by 1
Jets by 2
Indy by 4
Detroit by 5
Pats by 9
Dallas by 10
N.Y.G by 5
Cincy by 13
Philly by 3
Tenn by 5
SF by 2
Sea by 4
SD by 2
Chicago by 6
Thursday
Cleveland 4-8 at Pittsburgh 5-7
My Pick: Pittsburgh
Sunday
Atlanta 6-6 at Tampa Bay 3-9
My Pick: Atlanta
Baltimore 9-3 at Kansas City 7-5
My Pick: Baltimore
Indianapolis 10-2 at Jacksonville 7-5
My Pick: Indianapolis
Minnesota 5-7 at Detroit 2-10
My Pick: Detroit
New England 9-3 at Miami 5-7
My Pick: New Emgland
N.Y. Giants 6-6 at Carolina 6-6
My Pick: Carolina
Oakland 2-10 at Cincinnati 7-5
My Pick: Cincinnati
Philadelphia 6-6 at Washington 4-8
My Pick: Philidelphia
Tennessee 5-7 at Houston 4-8
My Pick: Tennessee
Green Bay 4-8 at San Francisco 5-7
My Pick: San Francisco
Seattle 8-4 at Arizona 3-9
My Pick: Upset Game: Arizona
Buffalo 5-7 at N.Y. Jets 7-5
My Pick: N.Y. Jets
Denver 7-5 at San Diego 10-2
My Pick: San Diego
New Orleans 8-4 at Dallas 8-4
My Pick: Dallas
Monday Night Footbal
Chicago 10-2 at St. Louis 5-7
My Pick: Chicago 31-14
Final Score:
Steelers 27, Browns 7 - RJ 1-0
How about that Willie Parker?
Anyone up for picking the other 15 games?
Suss? MCH? Jet?
Um, Steelers by 20. Willie Parker will run for at least 200 in this one.
RJ, you're working your way closer to the bottom. Hoge is now within one win.
Through most of 3 quarters, the Lions have a total of -3 yards rushing... :-/
The Lions are 2-10 with Kitna as their quarterback. I'm saying, the Lions are 2-10 with Kitna as their quarterback.
Final Score:
Vikings 30, Lions 20 - RJ 1-1
Bengals 27, Raiders 10 - 2-1
Philly 21, Redskins 19 - RJ 3-1
Falcons 17, TB 6 - RJ 3-2
Baltimore 20, KC 10 - RJ 4-2
Final Score:
Dolphins 21, NE 0 - RJ 4-3
Jags 44, Colts 17 - RJ 5-3
Tennessee 26, Houston 20 (OT) - 6-3
ESPN's NFL "experts" -
Theismann 8-2
Salisbury 4-6
Hoge 6-4
Jaworski 5-5
Schlereth 7-3
Allen 6-4
Mortensen 6-4
Golic 7-3
Accuscore 7-3
Final Scores:
GB 30, SF 19 - RJ 6-5
Arizona 27, Seattle 21 - RJ 7-5
Final Scores:
SD 48, Denver 20 (!) - RJ 7-6
Buffalo 31, Jets 13 - RJ 7-7
ESPN's NFL "experts" -
Theismann 9-5
Salisbury 6-8
Hoge 7-7
Jaworski 6-8
Schlereth 8-6
Allen 8-6
Mortensen 8-6
Golic 8-6
Accuscore 8-6
I'm one game up on 2, tied with 1, one game down to 5, and two games down to 1. Not good.
ESPN's NFL "experts" -
Theismann 10-5
Salisbury 6-9
Hoge 7-8
Jaworski 6-9
Schlereth 8-7
Allen 9-6
Mortensen 8-7
Golic 9-6
Accuscore 8-7
I'm fuckin' horrible.
I started off the day really good... but those later games were murder.
I'm 8-7 now... so all hinges on Chicago tonight.
rj: "I'm fuckin' horrible."
but if you ever start betting against detroit, you'd be a lot better.
especially against minnesota... i mean, jeez, that game was done by the middle of the second. -3 rushing yards. woof. gotta hurt.
ESPN's NFL "experts" -
Theismann 10-5
Salisbury 7-9
Hoge 8-8
Jaworski 7-9
Schlereth 9-7
Allen 10-6
Mortensen 9-7
Golic 10-6
Accuscore 9-7
Just in case my "Week 15 NFL Picks" don't get published in time:
Thursday, Dec. 14
San Francisco (5-8) at Seattle (8-5) @ 8:00 p.m.
Seattle sits atop the NFC West pretty much by default. The other three teams in the division (San Francisco, Arizona, and St. Louis) have a combined 14-25 record. The Seahawks would be a second-place team in six of the seven other divisions, and only tied for first place in the other one. However, in the pathetic NFC West they hold an almost-insurmountable three-game lead over the second place 49ers and Rams. They would have clinched the division already, but they managed to lose to hapless Arizona last week.
San Francisco has lost three straight after they had started to turn some heads as a 5-5 team back in late November. The 49ers won the first matchup between these two rivals back in Week 11, but that was at home where they tend to play much better (they are 4-3 at Candlestick Park, but only 1-5 on the road). This one will be played at Qwest Field, where the Seahawks are 5-1 this season.
RJ's Pick - SEATTLE BY 6
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Week 14 NFL Picks are up!