NFL: Week Sixteen predictions

Ok. So, this is what I can say for sure about the NFC playoffs. The San Francisco 49ers are definitely out of the picture. Now on to the picks.

Nick	136-71-0
Izzy	134-73-0
Pratik	145-78-0
Mike	97-63-0

Friday December 24, 2004
Green Bay at Minnesota – 3:00 p.m. (Minnesota -3)

Izzy's Pick	Pratik's Pick	Mike's Pick	Nick's Pick
-	Minnesota	-	-

Pratik says: Minnesota will win this game because they have to win to get a playoff spot. The Packers are already in, so they probably won't try as hard. Also, this is being played in Minnesota's dome, not in the icy conditions at Lambeau where the Packers would have had a huge advantage.

Saturday December 25, 2004

Oakland at Kansas City – 5:00 p.m. (Kansas City -8)

Izzy's Pick	Pratik's Pick	Mike's Pick	Nick's Pick
-	Kansas City	-	-

Pratik says: Kansas City has been on a tear recently, too bad it doesn't count…What with Kansas City's great run and the Raiders playing horridly, expect an easy Chiefs win.

Sunday December 26, 2004

Atlanta at New Orleans – 1:00 p.m. (New Orleans –4.5)

Izzy's Pick	Pratik's Pick	Mike's Pick	Nick's Pick
-	Atlanta	-	-

Pratik says: Atlanta will probably rest Michael Vick for today's game, but the Falcons defense will be more than enough to shut down the lowly Saints.

Baltimore at Pittsburgh – 1:00 p.m. (Pittsburgh –5.5)

Izzy's Pick	Pratik's Pick	Mike's Pick	Nick's Pick
-	Pittsburgh	-	-

Pratik says: Baltimore needs to win this game. They are in a really tight race with Jacksonville for a wild card spot and they have to beat the Steelers. The Steelers one loss came against the Ravens, but that was with Tommy Maddox at the Helm, not Big Ben. Pittsburgh is just too good all-around for the Ravens to beat them. The Steelers have a great defense, offense and pretty good special teams. At this point, especially with T.O. injured, they are the most complete team in the NFL.

Chicago at Detroit – 1:00 p.m. (Detroit -6)

Izzy's Pick	Pratik's Pick	Mike's Pick	Nick's Pick
-	Detroit	-	-

Pratik says: This is a very bad game. Detroit just can't seem to get away from the aura of losing that they have developed over the years. Last week, they scored a touchdown late against the Vikings to seemingly force overtime, but the snap on the extra point was low, and the rest, as they say, is history. Chicago has had a full roster on the injured list at times this season and they've been crippled by the injury bug. Expect Detroit to win in a lackluster game that may get a Nielsen rating of 1.

Houston at Jacksonville – 1:00 p.m. (Jacksonville -7)

Izzy's Pick	Pratik's Pick	Mike's Pick	Nick's Pick
-	Houston	-	-

Pratik says: Jacksonville went into Green Bay and beat the packers by a field goal. Houston, after playing close with Chicago early on, crushed them 24-5. I really do think that Houston is going to beat the Jaguars, but I can't say why. Call it a gut feeling…

New York Giants at Cincinnati – 1:00 p.m. (Cincinnati -6)

Izzy's Pick	Pratik's Pick	Mike's Pick	Nick's Pick
-	Cincinnati	-	-

Pratik says: Cincinnati because of Johnson and Johnson (as in Chad and Rudi) and because the Giants are going nowhere fast.

San Diego at Indianapolis– 1:00 p.m. (Indianapolis -7)

Izzy's Pick	Pratik's Pick	Mike's Pick	Nick's Pick
-	Indianapolis	-	-

Pratik says: Wow. What a great game! I'm tingling in anticipation. If CBS doesn't show this game at my house, I will go crazy. The storylines are so intriguing. Indy's offense vs. the Chargers offense. Peyton Manning vs. the ghost of Dan Marino. Drew Brees and his weird situation in San Diego ahead of Phillip Rivers vs. Peyton Manning, who is set to play out his career in Indy. Why will Indy win? If manning can lead his team to a good offensive showing against the Ravens, what will he do to the Chargers?

Buffalo at San Francisco – 4:05 p.m. (Buffalo -11)

Izzy's Pick	Pratik's Pick	Mike's Pick	Nick's Pick
-	Buffalo	-	-

Pratik says: Buffalo. By a lot.

New England at New York Jets – 4:05 p.m. (New England –2.5)

Izzy's Pick	Pratik's Pick	Mike's Pick	Nick's Pick
-	New England	-	-

Pratik says: So New England lost to the Dolphins, it's not the end of the world, guys. Ok, maybe it is, but even so, I think this is helpful to the Patriots. Now, Belichick can go into practices ranting about how a 3-11 team crushed the defending Super Bowl champs (he will use crushed because he probably expected the score to be 100 – 10 Patriots, with the ten points coming off a Wes Welker return and a field goal that he would have kicked). Using, the loss as a coaching tool, Belichick will ensure that the Patriots do not lose to the Jets, who happened to crush Seattle last week.

Arizona at Seattle – 4:15 p.m. (Seattle -7 )

Izzy's Pick	Pratik's Pick	Mike's Pick	Nick's Pick
-	Arizona	-	-

Pratik says: Arizona can win the NFC West at 7-9 if they beat the Seahawks. No team has gone into the playoffs at 7-9 much less won a division! The NFC is like the NBA's Eastern Conference. They are just awful. Atrocious. This reminds of Danny Wuerffel, who's last name was a combination of worst and awful. And woeful. Anyway…I'm picking Arizona just because I would love it if a 7-9 team won their division and Izzy's Ravens failed to get into the playoffs at 10-6.

Carolina at Tampa Bay - 4:15 p.m. (Tampa Bay -3)

Izzy's Pick	Pratik's Pick	Mike's Pick	Nick's Pick
-	Carolina	-	-

Pratik says: My heart pleads for Tampa Bay to win, so that the Redskins can make the playoffs. My brain says…actually, my brain is on vacation for winter break. But I can guess that it would say that the Panthers will win, because they are the better team. How? They have a better quarterback and most surprisingly, the Panthers have a better defense. It may not be reflected statistically, but that's only because the defense has really turned it on the last few weeks during the Panthers 5-1 run. Jake Delhomme may not be the best quarterback statistically, but he wins games. And really, that's all anyone should really care about.

Washington at Dallas - 4:15 p.m. (Washington -2)

Izzy's Pick	Pratik's Pick	Mike's Pick	Nick's Pick
-	Washington	-	-

Pratik says: Washington better win this game or their playoff hopes go down the drain. You could say that for the Cowboys as well, but I really don't think that they're going to win. The Redskins are an interesting team now with Ramsey at the helm. They can actually do something on the offensive side of the football and other teams are actually intimidated by them now. The Cowboys are reeling with Parcells pulling a Spurrier and playing the quarterback merry-go-round. One week its Drew Henson, the other its Testaverde. Round and round they go, where they'll stop, no one knows! Expect the Redskins, who are the more stable team in this legendary matchup for once, to win by a touchdown.

Cleveland at Miami – 8:30 p.m. (Miami –7.5)

Izzy's Pick	Pratik's Pick	Mike's Pick	Nick's Pick
-	Miami	-	-

Pratik says: Look at the line for this game. Miami, by more than a touchdown! Are you kidding me? This is after, of course, the 3-11 Dolphins just handed the reigning champions, the New England Patriots, only their second loss of the whole season. Things really are crazy down there… Anyway, this game is so boring that I would rather go and watch reruns of the Arizona/Seattle game (which is going to be almost as horrendous). Expect the Dolphins to get their fourth win of the season.

Monday December 27, 2004

Philadelphia at St. Louis - 9 p.m. (St. Louis -3)

Izzy's Pick	Pratik's Pick	Mike's Pick	Nick's Pick
-	Philadelphia	-	-

Pratik says: This is the first game that we will see the Eagles in action without their star receiver, Terrell Owens. He is, by far, the most important non-quarterback player in the league in terms of value to his team. He singlehandedly caused numerous defensive coordinators to go many a sleepless night trying to figure out how to stop him. Now, it seems as if he will be back, at the earliest, when and if the Eagles get to the Super Bowl. But Eagles fans need not despair (too much) because they still have a pretty good team. Okay, so the receivers are pretty much junk, I mean, Todd Pinkston and Freddie Mitchell don't incite too much fear among defenses around the league (except for the Packers…), but they are serviceable players. Furthermore, the one trump card that the Eagles still hold is Donovan McNabb. He has the ability to extend a play so long that the defense simply gives up. And when that happens, a big play is soon to follow. Don't forget that the Eagles also have Brian Westbrook, who you would have heard a lot more about if only he hadn't been injured in the middle of the season. Westbrook is a tougher runner than Duce Staley and he has the agility to jiggle his way out of a jam. And besides, they are playing the Bulger-less Rams…