NFL Week 14: Only One Quarter of the Season Left

Ladies and gentle, we are, as they like to say, into the home stretch. Three-fourths of the season is now behind us, and most of us are wondering how it passed by so fast. The 49ers, Jets, Browns, and Jaguars have been eliminated from playoff contention.  Other than the Niners, did anybody really give those other three teams a real shot? They are fighting for draft position now.

Did you see the Chiefs game in Atlanta?  I did, and man was it a nail-biter! Eric Berry and Tyreek Hill put on a clinic in the ATL, but boy was I nervous when the Falcons lined up for that two-point conversion. Thank goodness for Eric Berry who already had a pick-six and snatched another from Matt Ryan taking the Chiefs from a one point loss to a one point victory. Then, they turned around and played the Raiders at Arrowhead stadium.  The Raiders came in to the game in first place in the AFC West and left the game in second. Like Sunday's game, it wasn't a beautiful win, although Tyreek Hill was a highlight again, as was Travis Kelce who tied Tony Gonzalez's 4 game streak of 100 yards in a game, and did a wonderful impression of Raiders' punter Marquette King who retaliated with a tweet mocking Kelce's reality show.  The Chiefs lost LB Derrick Johnson to a ruptured Achilles. He was clearly missed in the second half of the game, and let's not even start on the turnovers and the lack of scoring by the offense in the second half.  Mad props though to the Chiefs Defense who also held the Raiders to only 13 points. The Chiefs may have played and ugly game, but a win is a win and now the Chiefs hold the tiebreaker in the AFC West and are in first place.

As it stands in the AFC, New England is the one seed, Kansas City is the two seed, followed by Baltimore at three and Houston at two. Currently, the two wildcard teams are both form the AFC West, Denver and Oakland.  That said, the Dolphins, Steelers, Colts, Bills, Titans, Chargers, and Bengals still have a chance.

On the NFC side, Dallas has already clinched a playoff berth and are pretty secure with the one seed, while Seattle is two, Detroit three, and Atlanta four.  The two teams hold the wildcards right now are New York and Tampa Bay.  Still in the running, the Redskins, Vikings, Packers, Cardinals, Saints, Eagles, Panthers, Rams, and Bears. 

The races are tight, and there are going to be some really good rivalry games ahead, including the Chiefs and Broncos rematch on Christmas night.  Congratulations are in order for Larry Fitzgerald who is now securely in third place on the NFL all-time receptions list.  He is behind Tony Gonzalez (number 2) and Jerry Rice (number 1).  Speaking of Tony G., Antonio Gates is closing in on his record for most touchdowns by a tight end. He is two touchdowns from catching him and three from passing.

Sorry about leaving out the Buccaneers/Chargers game last week, my bad, and I apologize, because I have no idea why I picked Jacksonville either. Even with those errors, I still had a pretty good week with a 10-4 record bringing my season total to 121-69.  Fantasy players: the bye weeks are over and for some of you the playoffs are beginning. Good luck!!! My Lucille Swings team slipped up last week, but held on to the 1st place position.  Lochte and Loaded finally ended their losing streak and the 4th place position.  

Sunday, December 11, 2016
San Diego Chargers vs. Carolina Panthers:  Carolina
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Buffalo Bills:  Pittsburgh
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Cleveland Browns:  Cincinnati
Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions:  Detroit
Denver Broncos vs. Tennessee Titans:  Denver
Houston Texans vs. Indianapolis Colts:  Indianapolis
Arizona Cardinals vs. Miami Dolphins:  Arizona
Washington Redskins vs. Philadelphia Eagles:  Washington
Minnesota Vikings vs. Jacksonville Jaguars:  Minnesota
New York Jets vs. San Francisco 49ers:  San Francisco (but really, it's a coin toss)
Atlanta Falcons vs. Los Angeles Rams:  Atlanta
New Orleans Saints vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers:  Tampa Bay
Seattle Seahawks vs. Green Bay Packers:  Green Bay
Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants:  Dallas

Monday, December 12, 2016
Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots:  New England (although I would love an upset here.)

Thursday, December 15, 2016
Los Angeles Rams vs. Seattle Seahawks:  Seattle

Saturday, December 17, 2016
Miami Dolphins vs. New York Jets:  New York

Congratulations to Louisville quarterbakck Lamar Jackson on his Heisman trophy victory! That's it guys!! Until next week, "At its best, life is completely unpredictable."-Christopher Walken

NFL Week 14: Into the Home Stretch

Hey guys, very short post this week. The real job is also into the home stretch which means...EXAMS!

Last week, I had a 10-6 record thanks to slip-ups by New England, San Diego, Washington, and Atlanta. Atlanta and the New York Giants find inventive ways to tick me off every week. Oh, and GO CHIEFS! The record on the season is now 109-69.

Sunday, December 13, 2015
Seattle Seahawks at Baltimore Ravens: Seattle
Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers: Carolina
Washington Redskins at Chicago Bears: Chicago
San Francisco 49ers at Cleveland Browns: San Francisco
New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Tampa Bay
Detroit Lions at St. Louis Rams: Detroit
Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals: Cincinnati
Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars: Indianapolis
San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs: Kansas City
Tennessee Titans at New York Jets: New York
Buffalo Bills at Philadelphia Eagles: Buffalo
Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos: Denver
Dallas Cowboys at Green Bay Packers: Green Bay
New England Patriots at Houston Texans: New England

Monday, December 14, 2015
New York Giants at Miami Dolphins: Miami

Thursday, December 17, 2015
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at St. Louis Rams: Tampa Bay

Saturday, December 19, 2015
New York Jets at Dallas Cowboys: New York

Good luck this week to those of you who have fantasy playoffs this week. Until next week, "When the world says, "Give up," Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."-Author Unknown

NFL Week 14 Picks

Week 14 is upon us, ladies and gentlemen, and the NFL season is winding down, and the playoff picture is starting to develop.  Four teams have been officially eliminated, Washington, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and Houston are on the clock to see who will win the 1st pick in next year's draft.  So far, only the Seattle Seahawks have punched their tickets to 2013 playoffs, and they appear to have a strangle hold on home field advantage.  The Chiefs lost to Denver which has Denver currently in the driver's seat for the #1 seed in the AFC, but the New England Patriots are nipping at their heels in the #2.  Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Kansas City, and Baltimore are rounding out the playoff teams, but Miami, Tennessee, Pittsburgh, San Diego, and the New York Jets are still very much in the running for those two wildcard spots.

 

The NFC has New Orleans, Detroit, Dallas, Carolina, and San Francisco in the playoffs (if it ended today. However, Philadelphia, Chicago, Arizona, and Green Bay all still have a slight pulse.  Anything can happen.

 

Gary Kubiak was the first victim of the NFL chopping block.  Even his mini-stroke couldn't provide a spark to this team who is circling the bowl with an 11 game losing streak.

My Chiefs are headed to D.C. this week to take on the Washington Redskins in the politically incorrect bowl, while the Falcons and Tony Gonzalez (y'all know he's the only reason I even care about this team) head to Lambeau Field to take on the Packers minus Aaron Rodgers.  Tony G only has four more games left in his illustrious career.  FYI, Tony is only 79 yards away from hitting 15,000 career yards, which would make him the first Tight End to do so, and will make him 5th all time passing Tim Brown.  For the record, there are only 4 receivers in history with 15,000+ yards-Jerry Rice (22,895), Terrell Owens (15,934), Randy Moss (15,292), and Isaac Bruce (15,208).

Last week, I broke even with a 7-7 record bring my year to 107-82. Meh. (where did the Jacksonville Jaguars come from?)  I can do better (I hope)...

Sunday, December 8
Minnesota Vikings at Baltimore Ravens: Baltimore
Atlanta Falcons at Green Bay Packers:  Atlanta (why not)
Detroit Lions at Philadelphia Eagles: Philadelphia
Indianapolis Colts at Cincinnati Bengals:  Indianapolis
Cleveland Browns at New England Patriots:  New England
Oakland Raiders at New York Jets: New York Jets (who cares really, right?)
Miami Dolphins at Pittsburgh Steelers:  Pittsburgh
Buffalo Bills at Tampa Bay Buccaneers:  Buffalo
Kansas City Chiefs at Washington Redskins:  Kansas City (I won't be watching. I fully believe, albeit irrationally so, that I am the reason [along with the wide receivers] that the Chiefs have lost 3 in a row.)
Tennessee Titans at Denver Broncos:  Denver
St. Louis Rams at Arizona Cardinals:  St. Louis
New York Giants at San Diego Chargers:  New York
Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers:  San Francisco
Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints:  New Orleans

Monday, December 9
Dallas Cowboys at Chicago Bears:  Dallas

Thursday, December 12
San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos:  Denver

That's all folks! Until next week:  “Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”― Nelson Mandela, rest in peace...

NFL Week 14 Picks...

Welcome back, everybody!!! I am finally at a good place in my real life. Grad School is out until January, work is about to go on break, and the Chiefs are in the playoffs...okay, that last part is not true, but hey, like Meat Loaf said, two outta three ain't bad.

The Good Old Days