Week 17 Picks

The possibility exists that I am not going to do anything in celebration of New Year's eve this year, which would make only the first time that I've ever not really celebrated. I'm not sure exactly the reasons behind it - Lord knows I still have enough friends around here to do something. It's just that...well, I'm not sure I want to. New Year's Eve in St. Louis the last two years has been in the 40s and 50s, and I'm not sure that I really want much to do with a New Year that starts out on such a hot note. If this were Tahiti, I'd understand, but I live in the midwest. You'd think that the land of fluctuating temperatures would have its temperatures actually fluctuate.

Anyway, this week is also the last week of the NFL (the first time the NFL has finished its season before the first weekend of January in recent memory). So here, for the last time this year, are my picks.

Side note: If I gambled, I would be significantly richer today than I was at the start of the season.

Denver at San Diego: The Chargers are one of the big disappointments this season. Their roster should have been 15-1 this season, not 9-6 (or 9-7 after this game). Broncos
New York Giants at Oakland: Even with Eli Manning's recent inconsistency, the Giants have a chance to clinch the NFC East with a win this week. Oakland has a chance to continue to suck. Giants
Arizona at Indianapolis: The Cardinals will most definitely re-sign Kurt Warner next season, and maybe they'll give him an offensive line to play behind, and a running back to hand off to. This, by the way, is your last chance to see Josh McCown in a Cardinals uniform. Colts
Baltimore at Cleveland: Don't look now, but Kyle Boller has just figured out the NFL. Ravens
Buffalo at New York Jets: This is a tough call, but I'll say that since the Bills beat the Bengals last week, they're a better team, whereas the Jets are not. Bills
Carolina at Atlanta: For the last few weeks, I've been saying, "If the Falcons beat [team x] they'll get their first back-to-back winning seasons in team history." Now they're 8-7, and and have to play the Panthers. Well, better luck next year. Panthers
Cincinnati at Kansas City: The Chargers are one of the big disappointments this season. Their roster should have been 15-1 this season, not 9-6 (or 9-7 after this game). Wait, I meant the Chiefs. Bengals
Detroit at Pittsburgh: Two weeks ago, fans of the Lions held a march, an "Orange-out," and protests at sporting events around the country to get Matt Millen fired. Today will be one of the days when ownership wishes they'd listened. Steelers
Miami at New England: Nobody thought the Dolphis would be as good this year as they are, and coach Saban has done a fine job with them. But the Patriots...well, they're still the Patriots. Patriots
New Orleans at Tampa Bay: If New Orleans loses, they'll be first in the 5-team sweepstakes (Green Bay, Houston, San Fran, Detroit are the others) for Matt Leinart or Reggie Bush, or the package of picks that would come from trading one of those two. I'd like to see how that works out. Buccaneers
Seattle at Green Bay: How bad is life for the Packers? They're on their sixth starting running back this season. Seahawks
Houston at San Francisco: The Texans are actually going to take themselves out of the Bush sweepstakes. Texans
Tennessee at Jacksonville: I stand by my statement last week that McNair should be the league's MVP. The quarterback is the leader on the field, and every week the Titans play hard. They just do it badly. Jaguars
Chicago at Minnesota: I don't think that Rex Grossman is the reason the Bears have been playing better these last few weeks. I think that his team thinks he's the reason, and that placebo effect is what's going to win them a few more games before it's all through. Bears
Washington at Philadelphia: A win here captures the first NFC playoff berth for the Redskins since Dan Snyder bought the team. His meddling paid off! Redskins
Saint Louis at Dallas: Whoever gets the position at head coach for the Rams next year is going to have to find himself a new defensive coordinator - the Rams defense has been atrocious all year. Cowboys

Well, that's it. I'm like 6 games down to Chris on the season, so my only hope of winning will be him to start picking really, really poorly this week (hint, hint).

And happy new year!