PHILLY (4-7) -3 OER SEATTLE ()4-7) (43.5) – Well, I was all over Philly from a pure “gut” standpoint for this game for weeks, then the Eagles are imploding looking like a pretty lousy defense with their 2nd string QB who is one hammy away from being Kafka. Macklin is out. Vick is out. Rodgers-Cromartie is out. They could win tonight, but like they say “I wouldn’t bet on it!” so I’m not. I’m going to pass on this game and hope that the Seahawks deliver another blow to an NFC East team. I really don’t want the Cowboys to win the East, but it’s looking more and more like it’s going to happen thanks to the Giants lack of defense all of a sudden. Like I tweeted everywhere in the country the other night…THE NFC EAST SUCKS. PASS.

BUFFALO (5-6) -1.5 OVER TENNESSEE (6-5) (43) – This game is a must game for both teams obviously, but these two teams are going in opposite directions at this point in the season. Bills RB Fred Jackson is out for the year with a broken leg. Injuries have decimated their offensive line. Their defense can not stop the run. Tennessee, on the other hand, since getting crushed by Houston 6 weeks ago, have played well. All pro RB Chris Johnson is looking like he’s back into form. Last week he rushed for 190 yards and caught passes for another 100. Even though this game is in Buffalo, Tennessee stands a good chance of controlling the clock and moving the football enough to outscore QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and the struggling Bills offense. Since shutting out the Redskins in Toronto 5 weeks ago, The Bills have lost 5 games in a row, two of them to the Jets. I’M GOING TO PASS ONTHIS GAME BUT I DO LIKE THE TITANS RUNNING THEIR RECORD TO 7-5 AND STAYING ALIVE HERE.

CHICAGO (7-4) -7 OVER KANSAS CITY (4-7) (37.5) – The Bears are without starting QB Jay Cutler for a while and there’s even talk of picking up Donovan McNabb off waivers to fill in while he rehabs his broken thumb. However, backup QB Caleb Hanie is probably in much better shape to lead the Bears throught he next couple of weeks even though last week he struggled in Oakland with the picks. Coming home to Soldier Field against a weak Chiefs team will probably produce a much better result this week. Star RB Matt Forte seems to be slowing down a bit after carrying most of the offensive load this season. Marion Barber III should be able to step in and take some carries with his power running game. There’s also a chance that former Bears QB Kyle Orton, picked up last week from Denver, will come into the game if he doesn’t start and Tyler Palko struggles. After winning 4 games in a row, the Chiefs have now LOST 4 games in a row and are pretty much out of any chance of making the playoffs. The last 4 weeks cumulative score is 95-25. Not good. The Bears are still playing for a wild card spot in the playoffs and have a good chance to win 10 games. I’M GOING TO TAKE THE BEARS MINUS THE POINTS FOR 3 STARS HERE.

BALTIMORE (8-3) -6 ½ OVER CLEVELAND (4-7) (38) – I have the Ravens rated as a GOOD team. I have the Browns barely rated as an OK- team, even though they are at home for this contest. The Ravens are coming off a big Thanksgiving day win against the 49ers and had 9 sacks. They have had a long week of preparation with some important rest for certain injured players. LB Ray Lewis probably won’t play this week but don’t count him out. He didn’t play against the 49ers and I made the statement that he’d be just as good being a coach on the sidelines as he would in the game. He was. QB Joe Flacco is 6-0 lifetime with a 106 QB rating lifetime against the Browns. The Browns seem to be better at home and the Ravens seem to better at home also. Ray Rice should get plenty of carries against this weak defensive front 7 of the Browns. Starting LB Scott Fujita was put in the season ending IR this week. Cleveland RB Peyton Hillis finally got some real touches last week and looked good. He gives the Browns a physical presence at RB they don’t get with anyone else. Colt McCoy will be under pressure the entire game when he throws the ball. I’M GOING TO PASS ON THE GAME BECAUSE I’M STILL NOT COMPLETELY SOLD ON THE RAVENS ON THE ROAD. THIS GAME HAS A LOT OF HISTORY.

ATLANTA (7-4) – 2 ½ OVER HOUSTON (8-3) (39.5) – The Falcons have played well since their opening day debacle against the Bears. They have won 5 out of their last 6 games with their only loss being an overtime loss against the Saints. Their last three wins have come against Indy, Tennessee, and Minnesota, teams with a combined record of 8-25. The Texans are a GOOD football team and I have them rated so. The Falcons are an OK + team and even though they are starting their 3rd string QB in rookie T.J. Yates from UNC (their first QB in the NFL EVER), I don’t see how the Falcons can be favored against them. The Houston defense is number 1 in the league. Their offense has a great running attack to go along with throwing to receivers like Andre Johnson. Personally, I don’t think Atlanta is Green Bay, if you know what I mean. I don’t see ANYONE being ranked over the Texans no matter who the QB is except the Packers. The Texans have rushed for 1,669 yards so far this season with Arian Foster and Ben Tate doing most of the damage. I look for the Falcons to stack the box and make the Texans throw the ball to beat them. I look for the Falcons to mix it up but to get their star RB Michael Turner off early so it will open up Matty Ice’s passing game to Roddy White, Tonny G and company. This game is a toss up. If Atlanta can go into Houston and dominate this Texans team, then they’re much better than I thought. Also, this isn’t a dome. They’ll have the roof open and it will be loud. The Falcons DO NEED THIS GAME WORSE THAN THE TEXANS DO, SO I’M GOING TO PASS ON THIS GAME. The Texans will win the South easily. The Falcons are playing for a wild card and may need 11 wins, not 10. A win here gets them 11.

MIAMI (3-8) -3 OVER OAKLAND (7-4) (38) – You don’t usually see too many 3-8 teams favored over a 7-4 team, but I got to agree with the linesmakers in Vegas on this one. The Dolphins ARE probably as good as the Raiders. The 3 points for some reason is the home field advantage, which usually means NOTHING when you’re talking about Miami. Until the last two games, the Dolphins hadn’t won a home game in two years. Now, however, they look like a team that’s coming together. The Raiders could be without LB Rolando McClain, their leading tackler who is in some severe trouble back in Alabama and is injured anyway. The last game he didn’t play in, the opposing team had 299 yards on the ground. If Miami can run the ball it will open up Matt Moore’s passing lanes to his RB’s and WR’s. Brandon Marshall is starting to make a big difference in the Dolphins offense, having caught 59 passes for 850 yards already. The Dolphins defense is rushing the QB well and stopping the run. The longest run they’ve given up all year is 21 yards. They also get back their start PK Carpenter this week. Since losing to the Jets 7 weeks ago, Miami has outscored their opponents 144-71. That is a completely different team than started the season 0-7. Oakland is leading the AFC West with their 7-4 record. Tim Tebow and Denver is chasing them and the rest of the division is imploding. The Raiders defense gives up a league worst 5.3 yards per carry. This should help the Dolphins establish their run game to open up their passing game. It would be easy to pass on this game, BUT I’M GOING TO TAKE THE DOLPHINS MINUS THE POINTS FOR 3 STARS.

NEW ORLEANS (8-3) -9 OVER DETROIT (7-4) (53.5) – The Saints crushed my dreams of the Giants actually covering on the road this past week (which they usually do) and looked PHENOMENAL doing it. I can’t really tell how much of that was the Giants sucking or the Saints doing great, but it was probably somewhere in the middle. The Lions took off to a 5-0 record then lost Javid Best for the season and everything seemed to change. QB Matthew Stafford inured his finger and has been good and bad the last few week. Their schedule is BRUTAL. Besides having their division opponents Chicago and Green Bay to deal with, they have also played Dallas, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Denver. Now they go into the French Quarter to play New Orleans who is ON FIRE at home, and still have two road games against Green Bay and Oakland. DAMN, GLAD THAT’S NOT MY SCHEDULE! The one thing that the Lions need to be able to do is to keep from getting any more banged up than they already are. I doubt the Lions think they are going to win this game, but I can’t see them backing off much. Their starting FS Louis Delmas is out with an injury. That is a HUGE loss. CB’s Chris Houston and Brandon McDonald may BOTH be out for the game. Ndamnukung Suh had an Albert Haynesworth moment last week and is out for 2 games but has appealed. I’m pretty sure he won’t be playing this weekend anyway. This would be a good one to miss. He doesn’t play the run all that well anyway. RB Kevin Smith may also be out this week. All Drew Brees is doing is setting NFL records. He has some great receivers to work with and NOBODY has figured out how to stop TE Jimmy Graham in press or zone coverage. Darren Sproles and Maurice Colston have been super also. RB’s Kevin Ingram, Pierre Thomas, and Darren Sproles all have just over 400 yards rushing. The Saints offense is a MACHINE!!! YOU MIGHT THINK THE OVER IS A GOOD PLAY HERE THIS WEEK AND I AGREE. I ALSO LIKE THE SAINTS MINUST THE POINTS FOR 4 STARS. THE OVER IS FOR 3.

PITTSBURGH (8-3) -6 ½ OVER CINCINNATI (7-4) (42.5) – This AFC North rival game features two of the best run defenses in the league. Ben Roethlisberger is still struggling a bit with a broken finger. The Steelers struggled to beat the Tyler Palko led Chiefs 13-9 this past week. Now they have to get ready for a good (I have them rated OK+) Bengals team led by rookie Andy Dalton. The Bengals came back against the suddenly stubborn Cleveland Browns last week to win 23-20. WR A.J. Green’s knee seems to be healthy so he’s a force to deal with. TE Jermaine Gresham is proving to be a solid choice in the check downs and in the red zone. Cedric Benson is solid at RB and has 740 yards for the season. PK Mike Nugent has only missed one field goal all season long. The Bengals are going to need 3 more wins minimum to have a chance for the playoffs. The Steelers with 8 wins already, with a win this weekend will have two games coming up with the weak Browns, a game at home against the Rams, and a trip to San Francisco to lock up the playoffs. The Steelers are going to struggle running the ball against the Bengals. Therefore they’ll be looking to open up their passing game with crossing routes and stretching the field with speedster WR’s Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown. They should be able to handle that. FS Troy Palomulu may be out with a concussion and will be a game day decision. That will definitely hurt the Steelers defense especially in blitz packages. I’M GOING TO PASS ON THIS GAME. TOO CLOSE TO CALL. I KIND OF LIKE THE UNDER THOUGH. I COULD SEE NEITHER TEAM SCORING OVER 20 POINTS.

TAMPA BAY (4-7) -3 OVER CAROLINA (3-8)(47) – Two teams going nowhere this year but with some talent square off to see who can actually win a ball game. The Panthers held on to beat the winless Colts last week after losing three games in a row. After winning 4 of 5 early in the season, they’ve lost 5 in a row. The Bucs have a decent running attack featuring RB LeGarette Blount. The Bucs receivers don’t offer much of a chance for QB Josh Freeman, a kid with a lot of talent. Defensively, the Bucs are just as bad. They’ve given up a 92.4 QB rating and opposing QB’s have thrown 19 TD’s. Their defensive front 7 is giving up 4.8 yards per carry and 13 TD’s. Their schedule has been tough but is getting ready starting this week to get much easier. They finish with Carolina, at Jacksonville, Dallas, at Carolina, and a schedule ending game with the Falcons which may be needed or not needed by Atlanta. The Carolina Panthers, led by outstanding rookie Cam Newton have struggled as of late. Newton’s QB rating has dropped to 81.1. He’s not the slam dunk for ROY that everyone thought he was earlier this season. Their corps of running backs does a good job and averages 5.1 yards per carry. Newton has 10 RUSHING TD’S HIMSELF! All pro WR Steve Smith continues to dominate opposing CB’s with 59 catches and 1,060 yards for the season. He’s caught 5 TD’s. I’M GOING TO PASS ONTHIS GAME BECAUSE THESE TWO TEAMS ARE TOO CLOSE TO CALL FOR ME. NOT WITH JUST 3 POINTS.

WASHINGTON (4-7) +3 OVER JETS (6-5)(39.5) – I may be at this game just because I’d love to say hi to Rex (Ryan not Grossman) and see just how bad they are. I have a feeling that this might be the last season we see Jet’s QB Mark Sanchez leading the Jets offense. This guy isn’t very good and lacks the arm to throw the ball downfield. Having said that, he’s having a better year than he’s had so far in his career and if Rex likes him, he’ll probably stick around. The Jets came back last week to beat a floundering Buffalo team 28-24 at home. After losing 6 in a row, the Skins flew cross country to play the Seahawks in the rain and beat them 23-17. The Seahawks looked MUCH better last night in defeating the Eagles. Rookie RB Roy Helu ran for 103 yards on 23 carries last week for the Skins. With just 356 yards total for the season, Helu is the Skins’ leading rusher. They got Santana Moss back after an injury last week and that helped the entire offense stretch the field. TE Fred Davis is STILL the Skins’ leading receiver Jabaar Gaffney has done a good job and is quickly becoming one of Grossman’s favorite targets. This is a MUST game for the Jets for sure. Supposedly, LaDanian Tomlinson is back this week and could make a big difference especially on 3rd down. Shonn Greene is the Jets’ leading rusher with 651 yards. They are a far cry from the team they’ve been in the past. I’M GOING TO PASS ON THIS GAME BUT MIGHT CHANGE MY MIND IF I GET SOME INFORMATION I’M WAITING ON. THIS GAME COULD GO EITHER WAY. THE JETS AREN’T THAT GOOD AND NEITHER ARE THE REDSKINS.

NEW ENGLAND (8-3) -20 OVER INDY (0-11)(48.5) – My first guy instinct was this would be the biggest line I ever saw out of Vegas. I was right. However, in my opinion, the line isn’t large enough. This IS a team that lost to New Orleans 62-7 earlier this season. My instinct tells me that New England won’t do much to slow down the game when they can throw the ball at will on a Colts defense that is HORRIBLE consistently. The Colts will try to run the ball against a constantly changing defense of New England but I’ve noticed lately that Belichick’s defense is improving. I don’t see Indy scoring more than 21-24 points. If they’re going to be competitive with the Pats, they’ll need to score over 35 points in my opinion. I don’t see that happening. I see the final score, even if the Pats take their foot off the accelerator and pull Brady after 2 ½ or 3 quarters, scoring about 45 points. The final of this game will be 45-17 or worse. Law Firm has rushed for 585 yards and scored 7 TD’s. Wes Welker has 82 receptions and already has amassed 1143 yards and 8 TD’s. Rob Gronkowski has 11 TD’s and 864 yards. I don’t see Jim Caldwell losing his job like his defensive coordinator just did, before the end of the season, but anything can happen here. There’s no doubt in my mind that the Colts are going 0-16 this season. I’M GOING TO TAKE THE PATS MINUS THE 20 FOR 5 STARS. TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.

MINNESOTA (2-9) -1 ½ OVER DENVER (6-5)(45.5) – The Vikings have lost 3 in a row but those 3 losses are to three very good teams, Green Bay, Oakland, and Atlanta. Now they take on Denver and Tim Tebow at home. Former Florida State QB Christian Ponder used to play against Tim Tebow in college when Tim was at the University of Florida. He was drafted earlier in the draft than Tebow but none of that means anything when the two meet this weekend in Minnesota. Adrian Peterson is probably out for the game on Sunday. Toby Gerhart played in his place this past Sunday. Minnesota’s Percy Harvin has been doing more for the Vikings than usual. He has caught 51 passes for a 10.9 average AND has rushed 33 times for 235 yards. The Vikings have virtually NO pass defense, but the Broncos are a running team with Tebow at the helm. What will they do? I really don’t care what they do, but I’m sure that Tebow and the Broncos will continue their winning ways and cover this point spread. Two weeks ago the Vikings lost to the Raiders at home. This Denver team is every bit as good if not better. I’M GOING TO PLAY DENVER FOR 3 STARS PLUS THE POINTS.

DALLAS (7-4) -4 ½ OVER ARIZONA (4-7) (45.5) – The Cowboys are coming off 4 wins in a row and if they get their 5th consecutive win this weekend, it would be their first since 2007. I like Arizona here and have for some time as they’ve played well with John Skelton at QB. They’ve won 3 out of their last 4 games. But a couple of things are bothering me. Forget that I have Dallas rated as an OK + team. They are, but they’re also in the NFC East, a weak division this year. Kevin Kolb is supposed to get the start this weekend for Arizona. He hasn’t done that well in the past so far this year but he’s probably better than Skelton. Cowboys RB DeMarco Murray has been awesome so far at RB. Tony Romo has a 19-2 record in November and a 7-10 record in December. The Cowboys also have an extra three days of rest after playing on Thanksgiving Day. I’d love to see the Cardinals beat the Cowboys but this one is too close to call. I’M GOING TO PASS ON THE GAME.

GREEN BAY (11-0) -6 ½ AT GIANTS (6-5)(52) – In my opinion, the Packers are going to go undefeated this year. Traveling to New York to play the Giants after beating Detroit on Thanksgiving Day shouldn’t pose much of a problem. The Giants lost this past week 49-24 in New Orleans and looked like they HAD NO DEFENSE. I don’t expect them to fare any better against a Packer team with better weapons than Drew Brees had. The Giants running game has all but gone away. Since Ahmad Bradshaw was injured, the Giants have moved the ball almost exclusively through the air. Now with some of his receivers injured, Eli Manning is doing all he can, but it’s not enough. The Packers have gone 11-0 for the first time in franchise history. With the additional rest the Packers got after playing on Thanksgiving Day, they should be healed up on the offensive line and running back. The Giants are playing on a short week after their Monday night game. Tom Coughlin is 4-3 after playing a Monday night game. I’M GOING TO TAKE THE PACKERS MINUST THE POINTS AND THE OVER FOR 4 STARS.

SAN FRANCISCO (9-2) -13 ½ OVER ST. LOUIS (2-9)(38 ½) – This game absolutely looks like a trap to me. Coming off a big loss in Baltimore to his brother, Jim Harbaugh needs to get his team back to its winning ways and score some points in the process. I really don’t see how the Rams have any chance against a much tougher team like the 49ers but 13 ½ points is a lot of points. The 49ers still haven’t given up a rushing touchdown all season long and the Rams only have 4 rushing touchdowns themselves. They Rams give up a HUGE 5.1 yards per carry and the 49er rushing attack cold have a big day. The offensive line for the Rams has been reshuffled to the point of having guys playing places they’ve never played before. Steve Spagnuolo is in his 3rd season in the league and his record so far is 10-33, not exactly what the owners are looking for. Even though I think it’s a great spot for the 49ers with the extra rest, I’m going to PASS ON THIS GAME AT THIS TIME.

JACKSONVILLE (3-8) +3 OVER SAN DIEGO (4-7)(39) – This past week Head Coach Jack Del Rio was fired in Jacksonville and if the Chargers lose this game, Norv Turner may follow suit. This may be one of the WORST Monday night games of the season. Both teams are struggling. Both teams are going nowhere. I’m going to pass on the game right now because I could really care less who wins this game and both teams are so bad at times, I really don’t think I have an opinion that would be accurate. PASS ON THIS STUPID MONDAY NIGHT GAME.