Week 13 Predictions

34 New Orleans at Atlanta 30
Wouldn't it be funny if Atlanta secures the #1 seed in the NFC and wins a playoff game even though New Orleans bested them twice during the regular season?  That's what I'm feeling here.  Saints fanatics will be able to brag about that, but not much else.  Look for the Saints to key in on stopping Rowdy Roddy White as he talked a bit too much smack after the Falcons loss in southern Louisiana.

33 Jacksonville at Buffalo 37
A Chad Henne/Ryan Fitzpatrick shoot-out in Buffalo!  A fans dream!  Ignoring my sarcastic tone for a minute, I do think both teams will put up some offense in this contest.  However, it will be due to both teams' atrocious defenses rather than juggernaut offenses.  Expect C.J Spiller to receive plenty carries in this one as Chan Gailey was criticized for the absence of a Spiller carry in the last 13 minutes of the Colts game.  Spiller had 107 rush yds on only 14 carries.  Look for Jags under the radar receiver Cecil Shorts will have a big game, as well.

14 Seattle at Chicago 23
I think the Bears get a pick 6; they haven't had a defensive score in 3 weeks (a long time for this squad).  Brandon Browner and Richard Shermon will be bouncing off the walls (see what I did there?) in disappointment in Russell Wilson's inability to move the ball against Chicago's D.  Browner and Sherman will be the corners for the Hawks this week as they appeal their 4 game suspension for taking Adderall.  Two good defenses square off, but Chicago drops Seattle to 500.

27 San Francisco at St. Louis 10
San Francisco is the better team, but the last time these two teams met, the game ended in a draw (stop looking so confused Donovan Mcnabb).  Colin Kaepernick has the "hot hand" as Jim Harbough insists, but is it a mistake to bench the veteran Alex Smith?  The niners insulted him by attempting to acquire Peyton Manning and now Smith has lost his starting job solely because Kaepernick played well when he was injured.  Alex Smith is 19-5 in the Harbough era...  and he has only thrown 10, I repeat, 10 interceptions in that span (less than 1/2 per game).  He also sports a nifty 104.1 passer rating this year.  Back to the issue at hand, Kaepernick will lead San Fran to victory only inspiring more controversy.

35 New England at Miami 17
Not much to say about this one.  The Brady Bunch will prevail.  Jet fans need to cling to the hope that the Pats will embarrass the 'Fins worse than they embarrassed the Jets.  On second thought, that is not possible.  Regardless, Miami will lose by double digits.

29 Arizona at NY Jets 13
Coming off the heels of one of the most embarrassing losses in recent memory, the Jets look to get a bounce-back home win against a reeling (7 straight losses) Arizona team.  However, I predict the Cards get off the snide with a statement win at MetLife Stadium.  The Cards' only have 1 defensive/special teams TD this year.  I foresee the Cards doubling that in this game with a Patrick Peterson punt return for a TD and a Peterson interception return for TD.  This game just has the makings of a classic Arizona D/ST explosion and the Cards haven't had one of those games yet this season.  

20 Indianapolis at Detroit 27
Matthew Stafford played a great game against the stingy Texans D last week throwing for 441 yards and 2 scores.  He's hit his stride recently and I expect the trend to continue home in the motor city against Andrew Luck and the Colts.

13 Minnesota at Green Bay 34
Aaron Rodgers apologized to Packer fans last weekend, a Tebow-esque maneuver, for the shallacking the Giants put on Green Bay.  Rodgers and the Pack will show resilience as they get a win at home vs the Vikes.  What happened to Christian Ponder?  After a pick-free first 4 games (Vikes were 3-1) he has thrown 9 interceptions in Minny's last 7 games (Vikes are 3-4).

31 Houston at Tennessee 19
Houston has played two bad games in a row (both ended in overtime victories) and now go down to Nashville to face a Titans team that just lost to the Jags.  There's definitely trap game potential here.  Houston essentially has the division locked up but they are focused on getting the #1 seed.  The Texans play at New England next week.  Could they trip up in this game because they are focused on the Pats? I say the Titans get off to an early lead but Schaub and Foster get their act together.  The Texans are too good to lose this one.

17 Carolina at Kansas City 20
I am changing this pick upon hearing the news of KC starting LB Jovan Belcher's horrific murder/suicide.  The Chiefs will be playing with a heavy heart in this one and I believe they will form together as a unit and win this game.  They will either be blown out because their heads aren't in the game or they will come together.  I am going with the latter.

24 Tampa Bay at Denver 31
The Bucs are in the running for a wild card berth in the NFC and the Broncos have all but locked up the AFC West division.  I still like Peyton to get this win at Mile High.  Tampa Bay is dead last in the NFL in passing yds given up per game and Peyton is 6th in passing yds per game.  I think Manning leads Denver to victory through the air.

11 Cleveland at Oakland 17
Two 3-8 teams square off in Oakland.  Pretty boring game; both teams are near the bottom of the AFC.  Look for Marcel Reese to be a playmaker in this one even if Darren McFadden plays.  I'm feeling a low-scoring affair with a random two point conversion for Cleveland making it 14-11 Oakland with a six minutes to go.  On the subsequent possession, Sebastian Janikowski will hit a long FG.  With 2 minutes left, Brandon Weeden will lead a drive in an attempt to win the game, but will fail miserably.  I'm trying to make this game a little bit interesting here.  

30 Cincinnati at San Diego 20
Andy Dalton's trying to get his team in the playoffs and the Chargers just continue to find ways to lose.(this converted 4th and 29 by Ray Rice last week paints the picture of San Diego's season).  This team is 25th in total offense and 20th in passing defense.  They just have no heart, no desire, no sense of urgency.  Simply, this game is important for Cincinnati but doesn't mean much for San Diego.  In classic 2012 Chargers fashion, they will crumble.

10 Pittsburgh at Baltimore 24
Charlie Batch

7 Philadelphia at Dallas 24
The Eagles are in disarray and the Cowboys need a win to stay in the playoff hunt.  It's a matter of a desperate Cowboys team opposed by a hopeless Eagles team.  I'm going to go with desperate over hopeless.

23 NY Giants at Washington 20
The last time these teams met, the G-MEN bested the 'Skins in a back-and-forth fourth quarter.  I foresee a close affair once again, picking Eli to come up clutch in crunch time just like he did in Week 7.

I would be in third place among these experts right now http://espn.go.com/nfl/picks (I subtract 1 win from each because they counted the SF/STL game as a win for all; I counted it as a tie)...

Last Week: 13-3
Season: 115-60-1

Chinese word of the day: 盖帽 (gaimao)  definition: block (as in blocking a shot in a game of basketball)
source: Yufei Zhang (Georgey Boy).  Kid's an NBA enthusiast from China.