…. And I feel fine.
We’re a family that sings in the car. I didn’t say we sing well, but we belt out the tunes, mostly classic rock with some modern stuff thrown into the mix. My kids know most of the staples in my iPod, Pearl Jam, U2, Green Day, Foo Fighters, along with some old 80s Hair Metal and the such. I’m a child of the 90s.
Maybe the most fun song to sing, though, is “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It.” Leanna and Rye love trying to figure out what the heck Michael Stipe is saying and will chime in when they know what’s coming, “blah blah blah BERNSTEIN blah blah blah HURRICANE.” I knew a kid that knew all the words in college, I’m sure that helped him out in the long run. I know all the words to the “Humpty Dance.”
So as December 21 comes and goes, and we’re still here, I’ll be sure to crank up that song at some point and laugh. God said we wouldn’t know the date of the end of the world, or his reappearance, so I’m good with that.
We are, however, coming to the end of the football season. With two weeks left, my lead on ol’ Eagle One is comfortable. It isn’t insurmountable, but I just don’t see him beating me this year. We both had standout weeks late week, I went 12-4, Matty went 14-2, his best week of the year. Still, I’ve got a nice lead, and I’m going to put him away. That’s all there is to it.
Rich: 153-69-1 (.688)
Matt: 144-78-1 (.648)
Atlanta at Detroit: The Falcons are playing really well, and can basically guarantee the No. 1 seed for the playoffs here, which I think they will. The more interesting storyline is how many yards Calvin “Megatron” Johnson will get. He’s closing in on Jerry Rice’s record and could get it here in Week 16 with a big night. With the record in sight, I think Matthew Stafford is going to lock in on Megatron and throw to him over and over and over, you know, pretty much like every week. Since Megatron’s been carrying my fantasy team, and this is championship weekend, this is best case scenario for me. Falcons win, but Megatron has a Megaday.
- Rich’s Pick: Falcons
- Matt’s Pick: Falcons
Oakland at Carolina: If only the Panthers had played like this all season long. I’m praying that they’re figuring it out and things will be better next year because I really want SuperCam to come out and be good again next year as enter a new Golden Age of quarterbacks. Plus, who doesn’t love his NFL Play 60 commercial? I love that little kid.
- Rich’s Pick: Panthers
- Matt’s Pick: Panthers
New Orleans at Dallas: The Cowboys are dialing in a playoff spot. With the Giants falling apart, they’ve got a pretty good shot and I think they’ll find a way to beat the Saints. They have to win, and I think that they will.
- Rich’s Pick: Cowboys
- Matt’s Pick: Saints
Tennessee at Green Bay: Mr. Discount Doublecheck will do what Mark Sanchez couldn’t, throw all over the Titans defense. It’s been very snowy in Green Bay this week, I think that’s a good thing for the Packers.
- Rich’s Pick: Packers
- Matt’s Pick: Packers
Minnesota at Houston: Speaking of guys going for records, Adrian Peterson is knocking on history’s door as well. It’s going to take AP both weeks to get to Eric Dickerson though. The Texans defense is good against the run, and I can’t see them giving up close to 300-yards at home. They’ll be hellbent on making sure that the record isn’t set against them, and it won’t be. But next weekend it’s totally in play.
- Rich’s Pick: Texans
- Matt’s Pick: Texans
New England at Jacksonville: I don’t know if my old college roommate Ando reads this, but I hope he does. Andrew J Lyons is a serious newsman down in Charleston, South Carolina, a man that enjoys imbibing fine beverages, a dude that is way too in love with Bruce Springsteen and one of the only Jaguars fans left. He used to live in Florida. He’s originally from Delaware, I think we need to have an intervention and get him an RG3 jersey or something.
- Rich’s Pick: Patriots
- Matt’s Pick: Patriots
Indianapolis At Kansas City: Andrew Luck, welcome to the 2012 NFL playoffs.
- Rich’s Pick: Colts
- Matt’s Pick: Colts
Buffalo at Miami: I like to think that at some point Ryan Fitzpatrick will look around at all of the palm trees, and the sunshine, and think to himself “I’m a Harvard educated man. Why, oh why, didn’t I opt for free agency instead of signing the big deal to stay in Buffalo? We played a home game in Toronto last weekend for goodness sake.”
- Rich’s Pick: Dolphins
- Matt’s Pick: Dolphins
San Diego at New York Jets: After wondering all year what it would finally take for the Jets to divorce Mark Sanchez I finally got an answer: four interceptions against a mediocre defense and a lost fumble with a chance to win the game in the final minute. Seeing the Jets announce McElroy as their starter this weekend was like seeing a girl who’d finally had enough of her scummy boyfriend. The metro area just can’t put up with it any more Mark, it’s not them, it’s you. I think the team will have some fire this weekend, and playing a crappy San Diego club doesn’t hurt.
- Rich’s Pick: Jets
- Matt’s Pick: Chargers
Washington at Philadelphia: RG3 is back. The Eagles are horrid. Let the track meet commence. Washington needs a win for their playoff hopes (they’re actually leading the division now). I think they come to Philly with something to prove.
- Rich’s Pick: Redskins
- Matt’s Pick: Redskins
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh: Nothing better than a must-win game for both teams, and here’s one of those. Ask yourself which quarterback you trust more in a big spot, Opie or the guy with the sordid past? Me too, Big Ben and the Steelers it is.
- Rich’s Pick: Steelers
- Matt’s Pick: Bengals
St. Louis at Tampa Bay: Oh Tampa, you were rolling along, playing well, and then you just stepped in it. Josh Freeman went from potential Comeback Player of the Year to, well …. Josh Freeman v.2012 pretty quickly.
- Rich’s Pick: Rams
- Matt’s Pick: Bucs
Cleveland at Denver: My son asked me who the Broncos were playing this weekend (because he knows the Pats are chasing them). I told him it was Cleveland. He laughed, and said, “well, that’s not good for the Pats.” The 10-year old knows.
- Rich’s Pick: Broncos
- Matt’s Pick: Broncos
Chicago at Arizona: The funny thing is that the Bears are the perfect team for the Cardinals to play at home. Jay Cutler makes bad throws and forces the ball to one receiver. The Cardinals can defend the pass well enough and aren’t horrid on defense. They could keep it close, they really could. I still don’t think that they can win, though. Not two in a row, not Arizona.
- Rich’s Pick: Bears
- Matt’s Pick: Bears
NY Giants at Baltimore: Next weekend will be a lot more fun if the NFC East playoff picture is a complete mess, and for that to happen we need the G-Men to win. On top of that, the Ravens are frauds. I’ve been saying it all season, but they’re just not that good. I’m guessing that Good Eli shows up for this one. All I know for sure is that Aku and Namesh are going to be throwing Big Gulps at the windows if the Giants lay an egg this weekend. If they lose, I’m heading straight to 7-11 in downtown Falmouth to watch the show.
- Rich’s Pick: Giants
- Matt’s Pick: Ravens
San Francisco at Seattle: Eagle One will tell you, I’ve always been a fan of the Seahawks. Those of us old enough to remember when the Patriots were horrible will also remember that many of their home games were blacked out, and they threw other AFC games at us on NBC back in the day. I fell in love with the Seattle uniforms and loved Curt Warner (the running back), Steve Largent and Kenny Easley. And let’s not forget the cup of coffee that The Boz had with the Seahawks. I’m a Patriots guy first, but I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for the Seahawks. That team is for real, and I really like their chances against the 49ers this week. San Fran is coming in off a huge high, having won in New England, and is due for a little letdown. Throw in the fact that the Seahawks defense is excellent, and that they have the best home field advantage in all of football, and I’m going with the land of Pearl Jam, Jimi Hendrix and really good coffee.
- Rich’s Pick: Seahawks
- Matt’s Pick: Seahawks
The views and opinions in the Enterprise blogs are those of the author and are not neccessarily shared by Falmouth Publishing.
