It’s been a long time since I’ve strained my voice like that. The next door neighbors, who I suspect are up to nefarious things by the way (another story for another day), probably heard my joyful noise. I suffered a nearly dislocated nose when my son ran full speed into my face to tackle me for a hug after Billy Cundiff’s game-tying field goal attempt from 32-yards sailed wide left.

It was worth it.

I’m here to tell you that if you said things like “we didn’t win that, they lost it,” or “I don’t feel like the Patriots deserved to win that one” that you need to check yourself.

The Pats won. There are no style points when it comes to professional football. Teams win or they lose, period. The scoreboard is used to account for the points, not how well a team played.

And for that matter the Patriots defense did play well. In my preview I said that they’d need to hold Ray Rice in check. He had 68 yards and never busted one for more than 12-yards. Vince Wilfork may have had his best game ever as a pro. The man was a beast, especially on that key fourth-and-six play in the fourth quarter that forced a turnover on downs. Sterling Moore made two of the best plays of his life when it mattered most, after getting burnt for that third quarter touchdown.

The only Patriot that stood out for not playing well was the one that you expected would be The Man, because he usually is, Tom Brady. Tommy had a bad day at the office, finishing with a QB rating that looked a lot like what Gronk’s Spanish scores probably were in high school (around 57). He still scored a clutch touchdown, going all Walter Payton over the top to put the Pats ahead for good in the fourth.

Sure, it could have been a lot easier if Brady had hit Gronkowski over the middle in the first quarter for TD, or hadn’t thrown 2 picks (that last one on the bomb after Spikes’ INT was especially infuriating). But the Patriots found a way to win the game, and that’s the bottom line.

If you’re seriously going to spend the next 2 weeks worrying about whether or not the Patriots “deserve” to be in the Super Bowl I feel sorry for you. At least it will help you pass the time while we wait out the rematch of Super Bowl 42.

I’ll be working on a full bag of cough drops, trying to get this beautiful voice primed up for February 5.

I’d like to offer a big “settle down” to everyone that wants to keep reminding fans that the Ravens beat up on the Patriots in the playoffs in 2009. We know, we remember, it happened.

It’s also hardly relevant to this weekend’s game.

As I recall the Patriots were without Wes Welker for that one. He blew out his knee in a week 17 game against Houston and watched from the owner’s box with Mr. Kraft as the Ravens scored a 21-0 lead in a heartbeat and destroyed the Pats. Ray Rice had a huge game and the Pats never had a chance.

That game was only about 700 days ago. A lot has changed. For one, Welker is back and better than ever. The Patriots have received a ton of coverage about how they’ve revolutionized the passing game with Gronkowski and Hernandez (we’ll get to them more later). That may be true, but Welker has been a huge weapon for Tom Brady this year as well. WW had 122 catches — one shy of his career high — and over 1,500 yards and 9 TDs. He may be little, but he’s a huge weapon. To me he’s the X-factor in this one. The Ravens are going to try to do everything they can to slow down the Boston TE Party, which will open things up for Welker in the slot, not to mention Deion Branch (51 rec, 701y, 5 TD), who knows how to rise to the moment.

Those tight ends are the ones getting all of the attention, and deservedly so. Rob Gronkowski (90 rec, 1,327 yards, 17 TD) had maybe the best season any TE has ever had. Hernandez would be the No. 1 guy for every other team in the league, except maybe New Orleans and San Diego. He pulled down 79 catches for 910 yards and 7 TDs, and we found out that he can run the ball too. When they’re on the field, Brady is deadly. According to ESPN Stats Tom Brady threw 25 TDs and just 3 INTs when both tight ends were on the field. I think they’ll be on the field quite a bit against the Ravens.

But Rich, the Ravens are a great defense. They’ll pressure Brady and force him to make mistakes.

My counter is that if you blitz Brady, you’d better get to him. If you don’t he finds open receivers and makes plays down the field.

The Ravens were fourth against the pass and third against the run this year, they can ball on D. However, let’s keep in mind they had 2 games against Cleveland to pad those stats, beat up on Cincy twice (who was not nearly as good as their record), not to mention games against St. Louis and Indy.

They haven’t faced any of the top passing teams in the league, except Pittsburgh, who they torched early in the season and then lost a close one. San Diego passed all over the Ravens late in the season and blew them away.

It comes down to the New England offensive line’s ability to protect Brady and give him time to throw the ball. If they do, the Pats win. I don’t expect New England to put up 45 this weekend, but I don’t think they need to. If the Patriots get to 28 they win because I don’t think Joe Flacco is good enough to win this game.

Flacco has been mediocre at best over the last two months of the season. Since November 10 he’s not thrown for more than 227 yards in a single game, and that was against Indy. He has not throw a ton of picks (4) during that stretch, but he’s hardly lighting it up either. Coach Harbaugh does not let Flacco win games for them, he just doesn’t let him lose them.

Rice has been the one solid standout on offense for Baltimore. He’s tough to tackle and he makes big plays. He had over 1,300 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, plus another 704 yards receiving and 3 TDs. He’s a weapon, no doubt.

While the Patriots defense is hardly a reincarnation of the 86 Bears, they’re not as bad as people think. Last week they looked fantastic against the Broncos, but that was an easy game plan to put together. Historically, though, Bill Belichick lies to take what you do best and take it away and make you beat them another way. The Patriots will look to take Rice out of the equation as much as possible and make Flacco beat them down the field.

That is a recipe for a high-scoring game. The Pats will make some mistakes on defense. The Ravens will have their share of big plays that go for 25-plus yards, but the Pats are also one of the best teams in the league at creating turnovers. New England created 34 takeaways this season, which is better than 2 per game. Certainly they give up yards, but they also steal the football.

NE will try to borrow from the Houston game plan of last week, the team that the Pats would be facing if they had a reliable quarterback (TJ Yates threw 3 INTs, including a horrible one in the final minute). The Texans allowed Rice just 60 yards on the ground, a 2.9 yards per carry average and he did not have a run that went for more than 10 yards. Houston has superior defensive talent than the Patriots overall, but if New England can keep Rice to around 100 or fewer yards they’ll be in great shape. Remember Houston wanted to play at a slow pace and slug it out with the Ravens, the Patriots will look to do the opposite. They’ll break out the no-huddle and try to run the long-in-the-tooth Ravens defense ragged.

My pick: Patriots 31, Ravens 20.

In the other game we’ve got a team of destiny against a team of destiny. Something’s got to give.

I won’t get into the detail I did with the previous game, but here are my quick thoughts on 49ers-Giants.

Everyone under the sun is picking the Giants. They keep saying how great it is that they can pressure the passer without blitzing and that the defense is rock solid. That’s great against teams like New Orleans and Green Bay, and they deserve a ton of credit for going to Lambeau and winning last weekend, but I’m not so sure it’s that big a deal against the 49ers.

San Francisco is one of the most balanced defensive teams in the league. This is hardly the old days of Montana-to-Rice. They’re smash mouth football players that don’t mind settling for field goals and will hit you square in the jaw on every play. The big question mark with the 49ers has been quarterback Alex Smith, but I’d say he answered a lot of questions with two of the gutsiest drives of the season of the year inside the last 3 minutes of last week’s game against the Saints. The dude came through in a big, big way.

This Giants team has been a Jeckyl and Hyde crew all season. Let’s not forget that they were just 9-7 and needed to win a showdown against Dallas on the final night of the season just to get into the tournament. They’ve already played 2 playoff games, blowing out Atlanta and then Green Bay. New York has been too inconsistent this year, winning 3 straight games just once.

These two teams played earlier this season, in San Fran, and the 49ers hung on for a 27-20 win that day. I really love the way San Francisco is playing and I think they do it again. I know that the Patriots fans are pining for a rematch of Super Bowl 42, but I don’t see it happening. We’ll have to settle for stories about how Tom Brady loved the 49ers as a kid for 2 weeks.

My Pick: 49ers 30, Giants 24

To set the tone for the weekend, here’s one of the best football movie speeches ever, Al Pacino’s “Inches” speech. Don’t click if you don’t mind a couple of bad words. If they don’t bother you, enjoy …

This season I completely backed the Tim Tebow experience and I stand by it. I was rooting for Tommy and not Timmy on Saturday night, though, because blood is thicker than water — even the kind that Tebow can supposedly walk on — and the Pats are like family.

During the game I was ecstatic to see the Pats defense lay to waste the Denver “attack.” New England’s dominance just magnified the disaster that was the Pittsburgh game plan a week earlier. I still can’t figure out why Mike Tomlin and Dick Lebeau decided to dare Tebow to beat them with the long ball. Did they not have any confidence at all in their linebackers? Sure New England’s defensive line was a lot more healthy than Pittsburgh’s was, but the Steelers could have won that game if they had played their safeties deeper and made Tebow throw over the middle and hit the mid-distance routes. In the end, though, I’m glad that they were so dumb because the Pats were allowed a cakewalk in the divisional round, which bodes well going into the AFC title game on Sunday afternoon.

I will get more into the Ravens on Friday afternoon. I watched most of their game against Houston, but I’m saving my thoughts on them for the breakdown.

As for the NFC, it was a wow weekend. I was in the press box at Falmouth Ice Arena watching the FHS girls’ hockey team battle Hingham (what a game that was, by the way. FHS tied the No. 4 team in the state, 2-2) when I checked ESPN and saw that the game was going to the wire and in doubt. Thankfully I know of a couple of nefarious web sites that Homeland Security does not like that streams games online. I found the 49ers-Saints feed, via the United Kingdom, and enjoyed the last 3 minutes of craziness that ensued. That game is an NFL Films masterpiece of the future. The only thing that could have made it better was if Gus Johnson were calling the action, and he might have had an aneurysm, so it’s probably for the best that he wasn’t.

The other NFC game can best be summed up by this great YouTube video.

Obviously it’s all Megan’s fault that the Packers lost, and I’d like to thank her. The lesson learned, as always, is never to put sparkles on your nails before a big game … and maybe not to drop the ball so much.

I remember waking up one Christmas morning before the roosters and sprinting down the stairs at mom and dad’s house. I may have actually touched 3 stairs on the way down before making a hard left to the living room.
There it was, what I can only describe as a sea of presents. Santa Claus had not only come to town, but he’d seemingly left all of 02536’s presents under our tree. Every package said “To: Richie” or “To: Danny.” It was awesome.
I shook my little brother awake, and then repeated the Superman jump downstairs with him. He was groggy-headed until he saw the pile, it woke him up instantly. It turns out children don’t need coffee, they just need a visit from the North Pole to wake them up.
Then came the worst part, the wait.
You see we had made an agreement with mom and dad that they would be allowed to sleep until 8:30 AM. We had argued for 7, they wanted 10, we found a middle ground. In hindsight I feel guilty for having made them wake up that early because they probably hadn’t gotten to bed until after 2 AM. But, when you’re 10, taking the well-being of others into account is hardly at the top of your priority list, especially when the big guy in the red suit is on his way to town.
Vegas would not have given odds at whether or not we’d be actually able to wait until 8:30 AM, remember that’s 180-minutes of waiting for two kids that were staring the mother lode in the eye, with permission only to empty our stockings, which were packed full of chocolate coins. We were bouncing off the walls to begin with, throw in a sugar rush and it’s a miracle that we weren’t using our parents’ bed as a trampoline. Only having received several Star Wars figures and GI Joes, with the Kung Fu grip, in our stockings satiated our need to tear through wrapping paper like a Honey Badger through a cobra.
Ironically all I really remember about our haul from that Christmas was the amount of presents. I can’t recall what the “big present” was that year, or whether or not I was actually 9-, 10- or 11-years old. It was one of the formative years that’s for sure.
Seconds after writing that last paragraph my cell phone rang, and wouldn’t you know it, it was my mommy. I told her about this column, and she laughed. She said that the big present was probably “a bike, or a boom box or a stereo…and there were plenty of Star Wars figure, probably the Millennium Falcon.”
Yes, I was and still am a huge Star Wars fan. I’m hoping to get the Blu Rays of the movies for Christmas, and I don’t even have a Blu Ray player yet (maybe that will be under the tree too, or picked up on December 26).
“It’s too bad you don’t still have all of that stuff, it’s probably worth a ton,” Mom said.
Actually I do have one of those old figures at my desk at The Enterprise, an original 1978 Chewbacca action figure. It’s missing the gun and is hardly in pristine condition. According to Ebay it’s worth about $10.
But for me it’s worth a whole lot more. It’s a trip on that Millennium Falcon back to my childhood every time I turn my head to the right while I’m pounding on these keys. Maybe something you get, or give, on Sunday will do the same for someone in 2031. I hope so.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of our readers. God bless us, every one.

Okay, it’s crunch time as me, my best friend (despite his lack of social skills and taste) and my son, who picked this week solely on overall record, make the mad dash for the finish line in our picks contest. We’re heading into the home stretch of the NFL season, with Thursday games (we all had Atlanta by the way), Saturday games, and then a slew of Sundays. Fantasy football leagues are headed down to the wire. It’s fun, and it’s maddening.

Eagle One and I had an interesting conversation last night about fantasy football. We both admitted to hating it, and loving it. I said “everyone hates it in December when they’re not in the playoffs, but when it’s August you can’t wait for it to start. It’s a sickness.”

And on top of it all we have one of the most intriguing match-ups of the year this weekend with the Patriots and Broncos battling it out in the Mile High. Can the Pats stop Tebow? Can the Broncos defense slow down Tom Brady? Can the announcers stop gushing? We’ll get to that, but before we do, check out this

Onto the picks, this week EO decided to chime in with some thoughts as well, so this read might be a bit big. His thoughts are in italics, as well as idiotic and half-true.

Dallas at Tampa Bay: Life in the NFL is truly a year-to-year experience. During the 2010 season the Bucs were the darlings and Raheem Morris was the hottest young coach going. Now the Bucs are foundering and Morris is on the chopping block. The Cowboys need this one on Saturday night and Tampa is in freefall, so give me the Cowboys in a rout.

I hate the Cowboys but Tampa is bad so I have to take Dallas.

• Rich Picks: Cowboys
• Matt Picks: Cowboys
• Rye Picks: Cowboys

Miami at Buffalo: Ugly game here. Miami had been rolling, lost one and then they fired Sparono, which I think was a mistake. It seemed like they were figuring it out with the gangsta Head Coach. Now they’ve got an interim and they’re heading to Buffalo on a cold weekend. Miami in the cold is never a good thing, so give me the Bills.

the battle of the Who Cares bowl.  I’ll take Buffalo in the cold windy confines of Ralph Wilson Stadium

• Rich Picks: Bills
• Matt Picks: Bills
• Rye Picks: Bills

Seattle at Chicago: Somehow, someway the Seahawks are still in the mix for a playoff spot, and so are the Bears. Both teams need this one, but the Bears quarterback situation is horrible. I like the way that Seattle is playing right now — and I can’t believe i just typed that — so I’m going with Tavaris and company.

Chicago is in rapid free fall with no parachute.  Marshawn Lynch is becoming a beast again.  Seattle in a mild upset.

• Rich Picks: Seahawks
• Matt Picks: Seahawks
• Rye Picks: Bears

Tennessee at Indianapolis: We could really have a 16-0 and an 0-16 team in the same season. The Colts will do there part in keeping that alive here as the Titans run all over them.

Indy may not score in this one.  Titans crush ‘em.

• Rich Picks: Titans
• Matt Picks: Titans
• Rye Picks: Titans

Green Bay at Kansas City: Slam dunk for the Packers here, but going forward potentially losing Greg Jennings for the playoffs (they are saying 2-3 weeks, but we’ll see on that) could be very, very big. Something to keep an eye on.

Green Bay may score 70 points in this one.  GB without a doubt.

• Rich Picks: Packers
• Matt Picks: Packers
• Rye Picks: Packers

Cincinnati at St. Louis: Man, those Rams are horrid. Cincy needs it to keep hope alive and wins by a lot.

The Bungals come back from a tough loss and beat a St Louis team that will fire it’s entire coaching staff after the season.

• Rich Picks: Bengals
• Matt Picks: Bengals
• Rye Picks: Bengals

New Orleans at Minnesota: The Saints are fun to watch and they’ll put up Madden-like numbers in that game. The may hit the over number by themselves.

The Saints go marching in to Minny and beat them silly.  The Vikings are horrible.

• Rich Picks: Saints
• Matt Picks:  Saints
• Rye Picks: Saints

Washington at New York Giants: The G-Men are the Jason Voorhees of the NFL. You think they’re dead and then they go into Dallas and pull off an impressive comeback win. It pains me to admit it, but Eli gets it done at crunch time. This week he won’t have to worry about crunch time because they’ll have the game in hand by then.

I hate to say it, but Eli Manning is becoming a damn fine QB…Giants roll.

• Rich Picks: Giants
• Matt Picks: Giants
• Rye Picks: Giants

Carolina at Houston: TJ Yates, who knew? Yates came through huge last week and somehow, someway the Texans could be your No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs. It all seems a little 2001 Patriots-esque down there doesn’t it. Texans romp.

The Texans pulled out a miracle last week.  The Panthers are tough.  I’m taking Cam Newton and Carolina in a huge upset.  Texans clinched their playoff spot and will have a let down.

• Rich Picks: Texans
• Matt Picks: Panthers
• Rye Picks: Texans

Detroit at Oakland: Again a team that needs to win against a team that is struggling. Megatron hasn’t been heard from much in a while, I have a feeling he will be this weekend in a big Lions win.

NDonkeykong Suh may rip someone’s head off this week.  I like Detroit to go into Oakland and squeak one out.

• Rich Picks: Lions
• Matt Picks: Lions
• Rye Picks: Lions

New England at Denver: Even Eagle One is coming around on the Tebow Experience. It’s hard for me to root against the guy, but I will this weekend because my loyalty to the Patriots comes first. I have to run to Boston early on Sunday for an errand, but I’m making sure to do so to get back in time for kickoff. I haven’t looked this forward to a regular season game in a while, it’s like a Christmas present come early. Speaking of which, we had our annual early Christmas at mom and dad’s last week. I hit on 2 of the 4 scratch tix they got me, pocketed $125, not bad huh. Oh, Pats win a fun game.

Pats put an end to Tebow-mania and “crucify” the Broncos.

• Rich Picks: Patriots
• Matt Picks: Patrios
• Rye Picks: Patriots

Cleveland at Arizona: Don’t look now, but the Arizona Cardinals aren’t all that bad. John Skelton looks — gulp — pretty good behind center. Cleveland is maybe my least favorite team to watch, they’re about as exciting as their uniforms. The Cards are tough at home and will get the W.

Cards have been playing great football and nothing will change this week against the Turds…I mean Browns.

• Rich Picks: Cardinals
• Matt Picks: Cardinals
• Rye Picks: Cardinals

Baltimore at San Diego: I want to pick Baltimore because they’re better, but I have that funny feeling that this might be one of those games that they don’t show up for. The Ravens lay eggs about once a month, and this could be a prime spot, on the road, going to the west coast. San Diego is still alive in the west, and very well could have gained some ground already if the Pats beat Denver earlier. If I’m going to come back on Mattie I need to pick up a game or two along the way, so I’m gambling and going with the Bolts.

Phillip Rivers has killed me this year in Fantasy Football – why should this week be different against the top defense in football.  Ravens win.

• Rich Picks: Chargers
• Matt Picks: Ravens
• Rye Picks: Ravens

Pittsburgh at San Francisco: Man, another game that’s tough to call. In a bubble, or vacuum, or piece of paper, I’d say that the Steelers are the better team and the ones to pick. However, Ben’s got a bum foot and the 49ers can make a statement in this one. With a nod to my boy Easy E out in Cali, who’s a new daddy (congrats buddy, can’t wait to meet you offspring) I’m going with the 49ers.

gonna be low scoring with two really good defenses and some banged up offenses, but I think San Fran gets it done with home field advantage.

• Rich Picks: 49ers
• Matt Picks: 49ers
• Rye Picks: Steelers

It’s not only Christmastime, but it’s all cold and flu time. I felt okay this morning, but it got worse and worse as the day progressed, probably spending 2.5 hours inside a moving tube — the Amtrak Christmas Train — wasn’t the best of ideas. It was a great time for the kids, but having to hear 3 dozen kids, including my own, take over the PA to sing 1 of 3 Christmas songs that each and every kid knows started to get old pretty quick.

Seriously, are there any songs other than “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” “Rudolph” or “Jingle Bells.” I was also upset that not one of the kids went the wise guy route and broke out the “Batman smells/Robin laid an egg” verse for Jingle Bells. I thought my daughter might do it, but apparently she was more focused on winning Amtrak Idol.

Right now our Picks Idol is Eagle One, he gained a game on me last week and now he’s up 2 for the shortened season. I’ve got 3 weeks to make up the ground … and I plan on doing it. Rye’s a little bit further behind, but still has a chance.

Houston at Cincinnati: The battle of the rookie quarterbacks with tons on the line. I want to take the Texans so badly, but can’t do it because a rookie making his first start, on the road against a team that’s pretty good and has to win is not a good recipe for success. Gimme the Bengals in a fun game.

• Rich Picks: Bengals
• Matt Picks: Bengals
• Rye Picks: Texans

Minnesota at Detroit: The Lions are still in the hunt for a playoff spot, but they can ill afford to screw up. I think they’ll gain some traction here as long as Nate Burleson isn’t called for another 3 offensive pass interference penalties. Seriously, when was the last time anyone was called for more than 1 in a game. I saw Burleson get flagged for 3 in 2 drives. He’ll bounce back from that and the Lions win big.

• Rich Picks: Lions
• Matt Picks: Lions
• Rye Picks: Lions

New Orleans at Tennessee: New Orleans looked awesome the other night, but they were at home. Here it’s going to be a real struggle for them. Tennessee will keep it close, but can’t score enough points to beat the Saints, who are closing in on the 2 seed.

• Rich Picks: Saints
• Matt Picks: Saints
• Rye Picks: Saints

Kansas City at New York Jets: The Jets are keeping hope alive. Welcoming Tyler Palko to town has to feel good, as long as NY defends the Hail Mary well I think they roll.

• Rich Picks: NY Jets
• Matt Picks: NY Jets
• Rye Picks: NY Jets

Philadelphia at Miami: The big question is this, have the Dolphins bounced back enough to save Tony Sporano’s job? Over the last month they’re one of the best 5 or 6 teams in the league. The Iggles have been my kryptonite all year, so they’ll probably win this one, but I’m taking Miami.

• Rich Picks: Dolphins
• Matt Picks: Eagles
• Rye Picks: Eagles

New England at Washington: Yes the Patriots looked very sloppy in the 4th quarter last week, but they still won. Don’t think for a second that Belichick isn’t loving that his team has fallen asleep with big leads so he has something to yell about. He’s at his best when he’s grouchy. Pats win again.

• Rich Picks: Patriots
• Matt Picks: Patriots
• Rye Picks: Patriots

Atlanta at Carolina: The Falcons do nothing for me, but they win every week. The Panthers are exciting, but they find ways to lose. Falcons win, we all yawn.

• Rich Picks: Falcons
• Matt Picks: Falcons
• Rye Picks: Falcons

Tampa Bay at Jacksonville: I cry for my buddy Ando every week when his Jags find a way to break his heart in a new way. This week it’ll be the old fashioned one, they’ll just get run over. Bucs win.

• Rich Picks: Buccaneers
• Matt Picks: Buccaneers
• Rye Picks: Buccaneers

Indy at Baltimore: Duh, Ravens.

• Rich Picks: Ravens
• Matt Picks: Ravens
• Rye Picks: Ravens

Chicago at Denver: Tebow Time! Tebow Time! Timmy T will once again lead a comeback in the 4th quarter to defeat the Bears in an ugly one at Mile High. Devin Hester will probably do something big this week for the Bears, but he’s really the only weapon they have, so Denver will get by.

• Rich Picks: Broncos
• Matt Picks: Broncos
• Rye Picks: Broncos

San Fran at Arizona: The Cardinals pulled off a big upset at home last week, can they do it again? I wish I could say yes, but they don’t have the weapons to put up enough points. The 49ers will kick 6 field goals again and win 20 (with a safety) to 7.

• Rich Picks: 49ers
• Matt Picks: 49ers
• Rye Picks: 49ers

Oakland at Green Bay: A month ago I thought this would be interesting, then the Raiders reverted to the old Raiders, a stupid group of moronic players that find ways to shoot themselves in the foot and threaten to shoot people off the field. Packers go to 13-0.

• Rich Picks: Packers
• Matt Picks: Packers
• Rye Picks: Packers

Buffalo at San Diego: San Diego, technically speaking, still has a heartbeat for the playoffs. The beat up Bills don’t, so I’ll take the team that they haven’t already made funeral arrangements for. Chargers by a field goal, 27-24.

• Rich Picks: Chargers
• Matt Picks: Chargers
• Rye Picks: Bills

NY Giants at Dallas: I’m going with my gut, and it tells me that the Giants are going to win. They played really well last week against the Pack and came close, this week I think they further jumble the NFC East race. Giants in a good one.

• Rich Picks: Giants
• Matt Picks: Giants
• Rye Picks: Cowboys

St. Louis at Seattle: With the exception of the people that have Marshawn Lynch determining a big fantasy game, who is going to cut out 3.5 hours to watch this one on Monday night? I’ll watch the highlights of the Seahawks win on Tuesday morning.

• Rich Picks: Seahawks
• Matt Picks: Seahawks
• Rye Picks: Seahawks

For the picks contest we’ve all got Pittsburgh over Cleveland tonight. Big surprise.

*** Albert Pujols signed today for ludicrous money, $250M over 10 years. He’ll make more than me this year on the first day of his contract. I’m in the wrong business.

It makes sense to break the bank for him if you’re the Angels, but it’s going to be hard to write those checks towards the latter years of that contract. He will be 32 years old (in Dominican years) on Opening Day this year.

Through the first 10 years of his career he’s put up unreal numbers. He’s swatted 445 homers and could make a legitimate run at Bonds* record if he stays healthy. If anyone was going to land A-Rod money again it was Albert. He’s got a .328 career average and a ridiculous career OPS of 1.037. No one’s worth that kind of dough, but if any baseball player ever came close it would be him.

*** The MIAA sent out a press release yesterday about the Cathedral team having a touchdown taken away because the player scoring the TD “taunted” by raising his arm in celebration before crossing the goal line, which is technically a violation and a flag-able offense.

I talked to a prominent local Head Coach about the ruling yesterday. He said that the ref made the right call and that the player turns his head and is talking trash while on his way to the end zone. Personally I did not like the ruling. If you’re scoring a TD in the biggest game of your life and you raise your arm in celebration you’re just human. You’re happy in that moment and you’re giving a genuine reaction. I think the ref ruled correctly on the letter of the law, just not its’ spirit.

<iframe width=”420″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/bP_mCEP-1z0″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

The Philadephia Eagles are like an abusive girlfriend. Eagle One, Rhino and myself would like nothing more than to completely separate from the so-called “Dream Team” and just be done with it. Yet, somehow, someway we keep coming back to them when it is time to put in the picks. The three of us all called for a Philly win on Thursday night, and we all took it on the chin. I tweeted out our picks, at @Capenews_Rich (you really should be following me), with this “For our picks contest, me, Eagle One and Rhino all are taking the Iggles tonight. I have a bad feeling about that.”

My inner Han Solo was dead on. I knew Seattle was the play, but couldn’t get past what should be, and deal with what really is.

Of course we all got this one wrong just a few hours after EO said that we’ll have to pick against the spread next year because this is just too easy picking winners. I swear, sometimes you know what’s going to happen before it does. I fully expect that EO’s on his way to a 5-11 week (let’s hope at least), he’s already 0-1.

Standings: Matt: 39-8; Rich: 38-9; Rye: 32-13.

Tennessee at Buffalo: The Bills circled the wagons, minus the unfathomable Fred Jackson, last week and played their little hearts out before a couple of un-clutch drops by Stevie Johnson late in the game cost them a chance to stay alive in the AFC East. The Titans, on the other hand, seem to have convinced Chris Johnson that he should play hard after getting his money and that they still have a chance, which they do. Since Tennessee needs it more, I’m going with the Titans. If they go 4-1 from this point they could make the playoffs.

Rich Picks: Titans

Matt Picks: Titans

Rye Picks: Bills

Kansas City at Chicago: Can’t you hear the promos now “Palko … Hanie … it’s the Chiefs and the Bears, on CBS.” Both teams can be passed on, but each has pitiful QBs. Both teams stop the run, and these are run-based offenses. This is the early leader for ugliest game of the week, and I think the Bears will find a way to kick one more field goal in a 9-6 final.

Rich Picks: Bears

Matt Picks: Bears

Rye Picks: Bears

Atlanta at Houston: You have to feel for the Houston Texans’ fans. Since the team moved to town it’s never made the playoffs. This year it seemed that the Texans had finally put it all together and were one of the AFC favorites, until the owner of the Houston Voodoo doll decided to wreak havoc on the QB situation and take down Schaub and Leinart. Now it’s on to some kid named Yates who had never played before last week. The Hawks, on the other hand, hardly seem impressive, but are piling up wins week after week. They’ll add another one this week and we’re all going to be saying “how the heck is Atlanta 8-4?”

Rich Picks: Falcons

Matt Picks: Falcons

Rye Picks: Texans

Oakland at Miami: This week’s strangest stat I found is this. The Miami Dolphins are 3-8 for the season, yet have scored more points (212) than they have allowed (206). Say what? The Dolphins are showing a feisty side we didn’t think they had. Oakland is in the driver’s seat in the AFC West and even though Miami will hang tough, I’m going with the Raiders.

Rich Picks: Raiders

Matt Picks: Raiders

Rye Picks: Raiders

Denver at Minnesota: You would not believe the argument I got into over Tim Tebow the other night. My friend Ronaldo believes “Tebow sucks,” I of course am pro-Tebow. We went back and forth with this heated discussion for about 45 minutes. I claimed he was in the top half of the league’s QB’s, he said he was one of the worst.

Since it’s a forgone conclusion I’m taking Denver, here’s the list of starting quarterbacks that are worse, in my opinion than TT: Vince Young, Caleb Hanie, Christian Ponder, Josh Freeman, Tavaris Jackson, John Skelton, Sam Bradford, Matt Moore, Colt McCoy, TJ Yates, Blaine Gabbert, Whoever is starting for Indy this week, Tyler Palko and, wait for it, Phil Rivers (the way he’s playing now).

That would make Tebow QB No. 16 o 32, right in the middle of the league. I realize he throws an ugly ball, when they allow him to huck it, but right now he’s winning games and making good decisions. That’s a recipe for starting in this league, and keeping your job.

Rich Picks: Broncos

Matt Picks: Broncos

Rye Picks: Broncos

Indy at New England: Vegas opened the line on this one at 21 points. If I were putting money down I’d have no problem giving up 3 TDs to Indy this weekend. Would you?

Rich Picks: Patriots

Matt Picks: Patriots

Rye Picks: Patriots

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh: The Red Rocket, Andy Dalton, has been fun to watch this year and gives Cincy fans reason to be pretty pumped about the future. Still, the Bengals are not ready to go on the road and win at Pittsburgh. With 5 games left, they’ve got a schedule that says 3-2, with losses to Pitt and Baltimore. That would put them at 10-6, and make them a wild card team that no one will want to play.

Rich Picks: Steelers

Matt Picks: Steelers

Rye Picks: Steelers

Carolina at Tampa Bay: Wow, this is a tough one. My first thought was to say TB, but then I thought that SuperCam might find a way. I’m going with my initial thought because Tampa is 3-3 at home, and Carolina is just 1-4 on the road. It’ll be ugly, but the Bucs get it done, 24-23.

Rich Picks: Buccaneers

Matt Picks: Panthers

Rye Picks: Buccaneers

NY Jets at Washington: The Redskins just befuddle me. I thought they were dead in the water, and then they go into Seattle and play awesome. The Jets need this one, but if we know anything at all, it’s that the Jets never make things easy on themselves. Washington will make it a game, but somehow keep their playoff hopes alive.

Rich Picks: NY Jets

Matt Picks: NY Jets

Rye Picks: NY Jets

Baltimore at Cleveland: Come on. There’s no way that the Browns beat Baltimore. Right?

Rich Picks: Ravens

Matt Picks: Ravens

Rye Picks: Ravens

Dallas at Arizona: For some reason the Cards always seem to give Dallas a good game. Dallas finds itself in the driver’s seat for the NFC East, and I think they’ll get over this speed bump.

Rich Picks: Cowboys

Matt Picks: Cowboys

Rye Picks: Cowboys

Green Bay at NY Giants: The G-Men are sinking fast. Their schedule has been really tough, and since beating the Patriots on the road they’ve gone south in a big way. Maybe they are the team that finds a way to end the Packers’ perfect season, but I think not. Green Bay has responded to every challenge and I see them putting a hurting on the Giants, who are coming off a short week.

Rich Picks: Packers

Matt Picks: Packers

Rye Picks: Packers

St. Louis at San Francisco: If I picked the Rams I think my bro Elias would jump on a cross-country flight just to slap me across the face. With a newborn at home I will keep him in place and go with his superb 49ers team, who have had 10 days to prepare for the hapless Rams.

Rich Picks: 49ers

Matt Picks: 49ers

Rye Picks: 49ers

Detroit at New Orleans: If you’re a fan of defense this is not your game. New Orleans is ramping up right now and they looked downright awesome against New York. With Suh not in the lineup for the suddenly reeling Lions, the Saints keep it going.

Rich Picks: Saints

Matt Picks: Saints

Rye Picks: Saints

San Diego at Jacksonville: Both of these teams are pretty horrible right now. With a new Head Coach trying to figure things out, I don’t like the Jags’ chances. San Diego is better, but they’re not good.

Rich Picks: Chargers

Matt Picks: Chargers

Rye Picks: Chargers

You know I love going to someone else’s house for the holidays because it is so stress-free. You bring a side, or dessert, and then gorge yourself. We host Christmas at our house every year, and let me tell you, it’s more stressful than waiting in line on Black Friday for 1 of 5 $199 42-inch 1080 flat screens in the days leading up to it.

The only downside is that this year I am absolutely and completely leftover free. No turkey sandwiches, or Tetrazini or soup. No green bean casserole, no stuffing. That part stinks.

For the record, we did pick the Thanksgiving Day games, I just couldn’t get them up online in time, so you’ll have to take my word for it. Matt and myself both picked the 3 winners, and Rye went 2-1, he liked San Francisco.

With a tremendous 12-1 week last week, Eagle One nudged ahead of me by a single game. He’s now 25-6 overall, I’m 24-7 and Rye is a respectable 22-9.

This week’s picks …

Vikings at Falcons: Normally this is a slam dunk, but with Adrian Peterson out of action for this one, I just don’t see how it’s even competitive. The Falcons roll.

• Rich Picks: Falcons
• Matt Picks:Falcons
• Rye Picks: Falcons

Browns at Bengals: Cleveland has a way of keeping games close, partly because they make teams play ugly, almost as ugly as they play. It won’t matter, the Bengals bounce back and keep pace for a wild card spot.

• Rich Picks: Bengals
• Matt Picks: Bengals
• Rye Picks: Bengals

Buccaneers at Titans: Tampa has underperformed and been spastic all season long. The Titans are still in the hunt, and are a decent home team. Some how, some way, Titans win a close one.

• Rich Picks: Titans
• Matt Picks: Titans
• Rye Picks: Titans

Panthers at Colts: If ever there were a game that the Colts were going to win, this would be the one, right? Naah. SuperCam will have fun in this one.

• Rich Picks: Panthers
• Matt Picks: Panthers
• Rye Picks: Panthers

Cardinals at Rams: Having to sit through this one would be punishment. These two teams are just a mess. Arizona is 1-5 on the road, and the Rams are 1-4 at home. I’m going to go with the Rams, and regret it.

• Rich Picks: Rams
• Matt Picks: Cardinals
• Rye Picks: Rams

Buffalo at NY Jets: The Bills are officially done. It was fun while it lasted, but now with their best player, Fred Jackson, done for the year, it’s going to get ugly. Jets need to win, and the will.

• Rich Picks: NY Jets
• Matt Picks: NY Jets
• Rye Picks: NY Jets

Houston at Jacksonville: Under normal circumstances this is a slam dunk, but having to play Matt Leinart at QB is hardly normal for Houston. With Andre Johnson coming back, and Arian Foster still in the fold, the Texans still have enough.

• Rich Picks: Houston
• Matt Picks: Houston
• Rye Picks: Houston

Chicago at Oakland: Thank God that the NFL didn’t got to 18 games, we’d be watching UFL players by the playoffs. Another starting QB went down, in Jay Cutler, and with it the hopes of the Bears to have a chance to be a major player in the playoffs.

• Rich Picks: Oakland
• Matt Picks: Oakland
• Rye Picks: Bears

Redskins at Seahawks: I just haven’t a clue. The Seahawks have a great home field, and you never know which Washington team is going to show up. They’re going coast-to-coast, so give me the Seahawks.

• Rich Picks: Seahawks
• Matt Picks: Seahawks
• Rye Picks: Seahawks

Patriots at Eagles: The Pats’ defense has been getting better, and they’re facing Vince Young. I’ll take that.

• Rich Picks: Patriots
• Matt Picks: Patriots
• Rye Picks: Patriots

Broncos at Chargers: It might cost me the contest, but I’m riding this Tebow thing for all it’s worth. The Chargers are heading south quickly, and the Broncos find ways to win.

• Rich Picks: Broncos
• Matt Picks: Chargers
• Rye Picks: Chargers

Steelers at Chiefs: We all saw what the Palko era is all about for the Chiefs, and it ain’t close to good.

• Rich Picks: Steelers
• Matt Picks: Steelers
• Rye Picks: Steelers

NY Giants at New Orleans Saints: The Saints in night games are almost automatic. The city is alive and the team feeds off it, and they say that alcohol is a depressant. New Orleans will win a track meet.

• Rich Picks: New Orleans
• Matt Picks: New Orleans
• Rye Picks: New Orleans

So as we head to the big part of Week 11, Rich holds a slight lead over Matt and Rye for first place, but it’s way early to worry about that. So far I have gone 11-4 (Thank you Tim Tebow and the Miracles) while both Rye and Matt are 10-5.

Speaking of Eagle One, our fearless public servant had himself quite the night this week. While patrolling Route 3 late at night he was called to the scene of an accident, a common occurrence in his line of work unfortunately. He believed that there was a fatality when he arrived on the scene, but thankfully not of the human persuasion.

A motorist had struck a deer. After attending tot he person behind the wheel, shaken but otherwise okay, he went to the road to check on the animal, which showed no signs of life. Now had my brother been there, he probably would have been thinking about how to strap that buck to front of his truck to get it home to make some jerky. Eagle One, though, wanted to clear the highway.

He circled it quickly, and then briefly looked away. All of a sudden Bambi opened its eyes and kicked him lightly. Needless to say EO was caught off guard. According to him he nearly had to call in a “code brown” over the radio. I’ll leave it to your imagination to figure that one out.

Since Matt had such a scary week, I’m letting him do the analysis.

• Rich Takes:Packers
• Matt Takes: Packers
• Rye Takes: Packers

• Rich Takes: Lions
• Matt Takes: Lions
• Rye Takes: Panthers

• Rich Takes: Jaguars
• Matt Takes: Browns
• Rye Takes: Jaguars

• Rich Takes: Raiders
• Matt Takes: Raiders
• Rye Takes: Vikings

• Rich Takes: Bills
• Matt Takes: Dolphins
• Rye Takes: Dolphins

• Rich Takes: Dallas
• Matt Takes: Dallas
• Rye Takes: Dallas

• Rich Takes: Ravens
• Matt Takes: Ravens
• Rye Takes: Ravens

• Rich Takes: 49ers
• Matt Takes: 49ers
• Rye Takes: 49ers

• Rich Takes: Rams
• Matt Takes: Rams
• Rye Takes: Seahawks

• Rich Takes: Hawks
• Matt Takes: Hawks
• Rye Takes: Hawks

• Rich Takes: Bears
• Matt Takes: Bears
• Rye Takes: Bears

• Rich Takes: NY Giants
• Matt Takes: NY Giants
• Rye Takes: NY Giants

Kansas City at New England: Do you have to ask?  A rookie coming into Foxboro for his first start.  Pats D will look good for second straight week.

• Rich Takes: Patriots
• Matt Takes Patriots
• Rye Takes: Patriots