Week 14 is when the playoff picture starts to get real interesting and we are able to see which teams are the cream of the crop.  Below is the Playoff picture for the NFC and AFC and below that will be our predictions for playoff teams, NFC and AFC champions, and the Superbowl winner.

NFC

Division Leaders

1. GIANTS 11-1
2. BUCCANEERS 9-3
3. VIKINGS 7-5
4. CARDINALS 7-5

Wildcard

5. PANTHERS 9-3
6. FALCONS8-4

Still In it

7. COWBOYS 8-4
8. REDSKINS 7-5
9. EAGLES 6-5-1
10. BEARS 6-6

AFC

Division Leaders

1. TITANS 11-1
2. STEELERS 9-3
3. JETS 8-4
4. BRONCOS 7-5

Wild-card teams

5. COLTS 8-4
6. RAVENS 8-4

Still Alive

7. PATRIOTS 7-5
8. DOLPHINS 7-5
9. BILLS6-6

Predictions:

NFC Playoff Teams: Giants, Bucs, Vikings (Probably will tie the Bears but will have better conf record for tiebraker), Cardinals, Cowboys, Panthers

AFC Playoff Teams: Titans, Steelers, Jets (Will probably win because of tiebreaker for conference record), Broncos, Colts, Ravens

NFC Champ: Giants

AFC Champ: Colts

Superbowl: Giants over Colts by 10

Looks like we have the Manning Superbowl this year.  I think the Titans are a bit overrated and believe the Colts and/or Steelers can beat them on the road.  Kerry Collins just isn’t enough.  The Colts already proved they could beat the Steelers at home and I believe they could do it again.  As long as Bob Sanders is healthy during the playoffs they should be able to win on the road as all they have done lately is win games.  I don’t really have to say anything about the Giants.  Their one loss was a complete fluke and it probably did a great job of humbling them.  Dominating Washington on the road without Plaxico proved they don’t need him.

Even though John Madden no longer announces Thanksgiving games, I thought it would be appropriate to provide some images of him and and his Turkeys.

Picture Credit: Larry Brown Sports

For those of you who saw the good ole fashioned butt whoopin of Texas Tech by Oklahoma, you may have missed Brandon Carter’s butt Crack after tackling an OU defensive player.  Amazingly Brandon Carter struck me as Lattimer from the movie the Program.  The Videos below reveal plenty.

San Francisco @ Dallas (-10)

Joker: You’d think being 4 points off the line would deter me.  Well it won’t, like I said, Dallas gets an old fashion blow out here.  This game should be over by halftime.  I wouldn’t be surprised if SF gets some back in the second half keeps it respectable, but I can’t expect that to happen.  Dallas has a chip on their shoulder and they start coming together this week after squeaking one out last week.  Then again, the Niners are a much better team with Sean Hill running the show, but I still can’t buy it.

Cowboys -10

OZ: Agreed. I was a little closer with my 7.5 and I still think ten might be too much, but the Cowboys should be a lot better than the 49ers. The 49ers get a lot of their wins from the division, which isn’t saying much. It’s like someone saying, “I get laid all the time” and the other person responding, “yea, but with slam pigs.”

Cowboys -10

Tampa Bay @ Detroit (+8.5)

Joker: I keep finding myself behind all the favorites and sucking every week, but seriously, how is Tampa only giving 8.5?  I guess the Lions have kept it close…wow, I was expecting to find last week to be the only close loss, but they have lost by less then 9 5 of their last 6 games.  Granted they got blown out in one of the two Culpepper games, and I wouldn’t trust him to hold my ipod, but maybe we are on to something here.  They don’t win, but do they lose by less then 9?  The Bucs biggest road win of the year was by 6.  Lets go for it.

Lions +8.5

OZ: That line is amazing. Culpepper did keep the game close last week against the Panthers, but can the Lions count on him two weeks in a row? We’re talking about the Lions here. I do feel like this is a little bit of a trap game. We say “wow only 8.5, I’m taking the Bucs and collecting.” I gotta go with the idea that the oddsmakers know more than I do.

Lions +8.5

Buffalo @ Kansas City (+3)

Joker: Gotta love the 3 point lines.  KC could win, but I said that last week too.  The Bills just can’t win any more and the guy that ripped me for doubting the bills at the beginning of the season suddenly feels less sure of himself.  The problem I have with this is that all the Bills have to do is hand off the ball and Lynch should win the game with a little help from the defense, but that didn’t seem to work at home last week.  The KC offense actually looks ok this days too.  I think the Bills win the time of possession battle here, but the way they are going its hard to predict a win.  KC is improving, and Buffalo is regressing, but I think they are the better team.  Lynch is the difference here, they aren’t going to lose the rest of their games, and this is one they SHOULD win.

Bills -3

OZ: Should win is the operative term here. I’ve been betting (and mostly losing) on Kansas City, but they keep the games and gambling interesting. The Bills haven’t impressed me yet this year because they don’t beat anyone good. Edwards is overrated, Lynch may be the ugliest player in the league, and their only good defender is Pozluzny. I’m taking the points.

Kansas City +3

Chicago @ St Louis (+8.5)

Joker: Orton played last week, so I will assume he plays again this week.  Does it matter?  Shouldn’t Forte run free all game?  Can the St Louis offense that looks like crap doing anything against the Bears.  They won’t be able to run.  I now that Bulger is capable and he has capable receivers, but nothing you would expect to be good about the Rams ever seems to be good.  I don’t know, considering I thought the line would be 4.5 points higher, I have to go with it.  I’m still not sure about the Bears, but the Rams continue to prove me wrong when I think they should be better.

Bears -8.5

OZ: After the Rams hung around with the Patriots, I thought they’d be competitive, but I was wrong. They went into New York and got beat by 86 points. The Bears haven’t really been particularly impressive. Here’s my question: if Devin Hester was so good at returning punts and he kinda sucks at receiver, why not have him line up 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage and throw a pop up to him and have him work his magic?

Bears -8.5

Washington @ Seattle (+3.5)

Joker: Wow, Seattle is getting love again.  I know they have a good home field advantage, but they are 2-8 with losses of 24, 3 (SF), 38, 10, 10, 19, 2, 6.  They beat SF and St Louis.  Meanwhile, Washington has lost 3 of 5 since they were considered a top three team.  This is a must win for Washington, and they are definitely the better team.  They have to get their offense together, and this seems like the place to do so.  There is a chance that Hasselbeck finds his groove in his second game back and they get something going, but I would not count on it vs a good defense.

Redskins -3.5

OZ: I don’t get the Seattle love this year. They had a great record at home, but they were also a pretty good team. That also plays a role. It doesn’t matter where you play, if your team sucks, you’re going to lose. Washington still scares me, but I think they’re way better than the Seahawks.

Redskins -3.5

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh (-10.5)

Joker: It is convenient that tonight’s game was ranked last so that it was sitting here at the top.  What a crappy Thur night game.  This is a good line, because I like the Steelers to win by two scores, but 10 would be a lot easier.  Pitt has been dominating this series winning the last 4 and something like 13 of 15.  They are at home in a good stadium, and they are too physical for this team.  The offense has been a bit stagnant lately, they put up a ton of yards last week vs SD, but who doesn’t, and they couldn’t get into the endzone, scoring a total of 9 points with their offense.  If the defense could shut down the Chargers, though, I don’t think they will have any trouble with Cincy.  The point is, Cincy covered their last two at home and that is skewing our mind.  Before that they got blown out on the road at Houston by 28 and the week before that, Pitt beat them by 28.  All the talk is about revenge on Hines Ward, who is one of the best all around players in the NFL.  Worry about revenge and you will get burned.  Pitt rolls here.

Steelers -10.5

Good call on the worst game of the week. At the beginning of this year, it looked as if this would be competitive. It’s not. Pittsburgh is clearly better and the Bengals are one of the worst five teams in the league.

I don’t think we’ve talked about how good of an interception Troy Polomalu had last weekend. Probably one of the best I’ve ever seen. And it was an interception. Don’t try to talk me out of it. Great play. This defense is awesome. Make no doubt about it. There are probably four teams that could win the Super Bowl and the Steelers are one of them.

Steelers -10.5

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