Week 15 and Playoff Picks

Last week:
Cleveland (+10) over Pittsburgh--> RIGHT
Cincinnati (+6.5) over Minnesota--> WRONG
Miami (+3) over Jacksonville--> RIGHT
Oakland (+1) over Washington--> WRONG

This Week:
New Orleans (-7) over Dallas- The 'Boys beat who they're supposed to beat, going 7-0 vs. teams currently under .500. The flip side of that coin is they get beat when they are supposed to, with just a 1-5 record vs. winning teams this year. Last I checked NO hasn't lost since Cliff Lee was on the Indians, so look for them to win big here and tempt Jerry Jones to pull the 'FIRE WADE' trigger.

Green Bay (pk) over Pittsburgh- Pelle's going to hate this if he still reads MITM, but I haven't seen anything lately that would make me pick the Steelers here. What happened to the Heinz Field advantage? The only good team they've beaten at home this year is Minnesota.

Minnesota (-7) over Carolina- Minny proved that they may not be on the Indy/NO echelon, but there is a step between themselves and the next tier of good teams by taking it to Who Dey in the dome.

Cincinnati @ San Diego (over 44)- San Diego has put up 30+ five times on this seven-game winning streak they are currently embroiled on and I trust Cinci to get at least two or three scores to make the over.

Playoffs:
Back in September, I picked these 12 teams to continue playing in January: Pittsburgh, New England, San Diego, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Miami...Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Arizona, New York, Green Bay. If the season were to end today, I'd have weak six teams in, but at least Miami, Baltimore and New York are in the conversation, so I could get up to nine.

With NO, Minny, 'Zona, Indy and San Diego all virtual (or actual) locks to make it, I'll revise me last couple of spots and see how I do with just three weeks to predict instead of 17.


A few links:
Cinci hoping for a case of Deja Vu?
And I'll leave you with an awesome Christmas decoration.

-Jesse