Hilton Super Contest Week 16 selections Chargers +3
Raiders + 3.5
Ravens +2.5
Rams +14
Redskins +7
Chargers: still need a win to secure # 2 seed, and a home game or two. Has beaten Tenn outside in nasty weather before, will do so again. VY questionable, and if he does play, will be gimpy. SD O will move the ball both air and ground. Tenn beat one team w/ wining record - ARZ w/ Leinart as QB, and that miracle drive that took 17 or so plays, w/ 3 4th down lucky-arsed conversions to win that game( but did not cover the 3.5!!!). SD has beaten EVERYBODY in their path the past 9 weeks, home, road, whoever and whatever. SD under the radar until recently. Everyone talks about Colts, Pats, Cowboys, Aints, Vikes, even Bengals a bit, but only a few talks about SD until just in recent passing.
Projected score: SD 27, Tenn 17.
Raiders: OAK QB Frye the best chance they have to win. Can bring in Russell if needed, and Russell did not look too bad last week, right? Cle QB Anderson might only complete 2 passes again like he did when they beat Buf @ Buf for the Browns 1st win this year. OAK has momentum. Cle has momentum too, but OAK is not gonna let KOR/PR Cribbs score twice( or was it three times) in this game like KC did. KC fell behind, then took a BIG lead into 4th Q only to lose by 7. OAK is not going to do this. Yes, the CLE team is auditioning for new GM Holmgren, and if this new microscope has any jittery/negative affects on the CLE players, this will cost them on about 5 plays - thus the straws of balance OAK needs to win this game. OAK has no new microscope - OAK has the same garbage on them week after week, and probably don't care anyway. OAK seems a little more aligned than CLE. Coach Cable certainly has taken the heat and seems to shrug ( not slug) it off well. This trait trickles down to the players.
Projected score: OAK 31, CLE 27
Ravens: BAL has finally awakened from their stupor of Edgar-Allen-Poe-esque drunken play-calling that does not involve their beasts of burden at the RB positions. When BAL gets the rock rumbling on the ground via Rice/McClain/Magahee they are nearly unstoppable, especially late in the season. Ask the Cowboys who hosted them in almost this same spot last year and lost at home when DAL needed the win far more than BAL did( BAL was already in post-season, DAL was not and did not get there, and that game contributed to that outcome). This rock attack from those BAL RB monsters is bad news for PITT D that has underperformed this year. People keep blasting my handicapping this game here for that close call in BAL earlier, won by BAL in OT, and yes Pitt should have won that game, BUT BUT BUT:
BAL was still drinking the alcoholic kool-aid with that bad Offensive play-calling. They probably had some faulty reasoning with PITT QB Dixon being a rookie and all, that BAL had some luxury of burning up some O plays and could still win that game. Little did they know that they would need a crucial 4th down conversion on their final drive in regulation to score to tie that game late, and won it in OT.
PITT still w/out FS Polamalu( imo the BEST FS at his position), and they just seem to get gassed out physically late in games. Not just last week, either. Almost EVERY game PITT has been soundly whipped/outscored in the 4th Q. They had GB beaten soundly, but then fell behind and the Coach Tomlin is showing his lack of experience w/that failed OS Kick that could have( should have) cost them the game. Tomlin made a similar call last year when they could have kicked a FG to go up on CLE by 10, but elects to run for a yard on 4th. They made the run, but after a favorable spot and CLE had no more timeouts/challenges to stop that rape. Not that CLE was going to go 80-85 yards and score, but Tomlin's decisions are questionable at best. Tomlin's naysayers are going to be right soon. As for Big Ben? He won't be able to do to the BAL D as he did to the GB D; BAL D knows Ben better and has a better pass rush. GB had the supposed # 1 D, but they have not played the teams BAL has played. Ben won't hang 500 yards passing on them.
But BAL is going to rush for at least 225, and that is bad news for the 'Burgh.
Projected Score: BAL 37, PITT 23.
Rams: Just a play on ARZ Coach benching starters. Division rivalry of sorts. Pure points play. Look for Rams cover backdoor late.
Projected Score: Cardinals 35, Rams 31.
Redskins: Looked real bad last week vs. G men. DAL looked like world beaters by their humbling of the Aints. Now DAL is in perfect letdown spot, and WAS in perfect bounce-back spot. Division rivalry, w/ home Dog getting 7 points. The last time these guys played, it was DAL 7, WAS 6. WAS vs. DAL is one of the most hard-fought rivalries in all of sports, and WAS can get up for this game, just to spoil DAL's chances of post-season play. This game could be WAS's superbowl. WAS players auditioning, while DAL players situation has not had any added variables for their microscopes. Zorn is gone, and I am sure he knows it. But Zorn wants to finish strong for his case to be picked up somewhere else, maybe as a O coor in CLE under whoever Holmgren lets coach that team( Mangini is 50/50 currently to stay I am told).
Projected Score: Cowboys 16, Was 14.
Hope you fellow handicappers enjoy this segment.
Iron Man/Subby
