Week 12 (or "Huh? This wasn't here last week!")

Early week this week! Football! Turkey! Wine! Woohoo!

And if you don't have the NFL Network (and if you have cable, you probably don't), sucks for you! The best game of the day is only on the NFL Network. And there will be Thursday night games from here on out. So get on the horn and yell at your cable provided that you want it!

Why don't the cable companies have it? Because they're greedy bastards. The NFL Network is charging X amount of dollars for companies to carry them. Which I guess is a bit higher than a "typical" channel. But, then again, they're peddling the above average produuct as well. The cable companies say if they're paying that much, then the channel will only be carried on "premium packages" so they can recover some of the cost. The NFL is like "No way. We want this on basic cable. We want to reach every household that has cable." And the cable companies are like "No way. We're not paying you THAT much and then giving the channel away for free." So that's the stand-off. It'll be interesting to see who breaks down first. My guess is the cable companies. Football is THAT big a deal that they likely have the upper hand. But I'll guess we'll see. What the cable companies SHOULD do is say "Okay, we'll put you on basic cable, but when your monopoly... errr.. I mean... "exclusive agreement" with DirectTV is up, we want a piece of that action." But they're probably not smart enough to think of that.

So in my actual money pool, after an 0-5 week, I am now tied for 63rd out of 70, just 2 games out of last place. Last place has a $300 booby prize. That's my new goal! (My dad is tied for 2nd place, just 2 games out of first. The first place prize is MUCH bigger than the last place prize.)

Samichalus has a decent week and pulls back to .500, whicl St. Ides will need a few miracles to pull even before the season ends.

Last Week
Samichlaus: 9-7
St. Ides: 6-10

Overall:
Samichlaus: 65-65
St. Ides: 57-73

LIONS +2.5 over Dolphins
As bad as the Lions have been, they're 7-5 in their last 12 Thanksgiving games. And I'll take the points at home on Thanksgiving against a hot Dolphins team that is due to cool off. Subplot - Joey Harrington returns to Detroit! Expect him to choke. Lions 23, Dolphins 17.

Bucs +10.5 over COWBOYS
Warning! Warning! Let down game alert! Cowboys are feeling good now that they're tied with the Giants for first, they knocked off the Colts, and Romo seems to be shaping up. (Could it be "The QB who replaces Bledsoe Mid-season takes the team to the Super Bowl" all over again? Doubt it.) Bucs defense looks better of late. Though that rookie QB is still a bit shaky. Cowboys 23, Bucs 16.

CHIEFS +0.5 over Broncos
Broncos suffered a back-breaking loss at home to the Chargers last week. Their "dominant" defense suddenly looks pretty mediocre. Now they go to KC, one of the toughest places to play in the league. Trent Green got some of the rust off, Tony Gonzalez should be back, and look for Jake Plummer to give way to Jay Cutler after this debacle. Chiefs 26, Broncos 10.

VIKINGS -6.5 over Cardinals
Cards got that win last week at home against the Lions, but it was close. Vikings defense is too much for them. This game actually has "Stinker of the Week" potential. Vikings 23, Cards 10.

Panthers -4.5 over REDSKINS
Panthers are finding their groove and are definitely in the hunt for the NFC title now, though personally I don't really trust their running game or Jake Delhomme. The Skins are a mess. Panthers 24, Skins 17.

FALCONS -2.5 over Saints
I've been saying for 2 weeks that the Falcons are desperate, and they've stunk up the joint. However, the Saints have come back down to earth a bit as well, especially their defense. Drew Brees threw for over 500 yards last week, and they still lost. Falcons 30, Saints 27.

RAMS -5.5 over Niners
Holy poop, the Niners are suddenly Seattle's biggest threat for the NFC West title! They're only one game back, and now hold the head-to-head tie-breaker. Marc Bulger has single-handedly killed my fantasy season by throwing ZERO TDs in the past 2 weeks. This should be a shootout, but I think the Rams should pull it out. Rams 33, Niners 24.

BILLS +2.5 over Jaguars
Who the hell can figure out the Jaguars? They lose twice to the Texans, yet destroy the Giants. It ought to be pretty cold by now in Buffalo, so I'll go with that and the points. Bills 20, Jaguars 17.

Texans +5.5 over JETS
Not sure I can trust the Jets immediately after Pennington's bad performance last week. Yes, it was the Bears. But the Bears are definitely beatable. If the Jets have any real shot of actually making the playoffs, they need to beat teames like the Texans. They could win, but might not cover. Jets 23, Texans 20.

Bengals -3.5 over BROWNS
The Bengals offense has suddenly come to life. Chad Johnson has been on fire, and maybe Carson Palmer's knee is finally feeling better. Browns suffered a crushing loss at home last week to the Steelers. Make it two in a row divisional losses at home. Ouch. Bengals 30, Browns 20.

RAVENS -2.5 over Steelers
If the Ravens are for real, they put the division away for all intents and purposes by KO'ing the Steelers in this one. Big Ben ought to get his brain rattled around a bit more in this one. And has anybody else noticed the Steelers defense isn't really stopping anyone? Joey Porter is awfully quiet when he's sucking. Ravens 27, Steelers 17.

CHARGERS -13.5 over Raiders
The past two weeks, the Raiders have stayed close enough to the Broncos and Chiefs to give them scares. And to cover the double-digit points they were getting. Not this week. Tomlinson looks frickin unstoppable. Chargers 26, Raiders 10.

PATS -3.5 over Bears
The final game of the Bears tough Giants-Jets-Pats road trip, they run outta steam for this one. I guess this will really be a good test to see what kind of shape the Pats offense and coaching staff are in. The Bears defense can be run on. The Bears offense is still led by unproven Rex Grossman. If the Patriots can't win this game, they can start reserving some tee times in Florida for late January. Patriots 23, Bears 16.

TITANS +3.5 over Giants
Eli Manning looked awful, I mean AWFUL on Monday night. I submitted my QB rankings to Samichlaus before the game, but I'd drop him a few slots after that performance. Between the injuries and Eli, I wouldn't be surprised if the Giants miss the playoffs. Titans 24, Giants 23.

COLTS -9.5 over Eagles
Is there any single player as important to their team as McNabb? The Colts haven't covered the big spreads often this year, and their defense can be run on. But I think maybe this is one they cover against an Eagles team ready to fall off the map. Colts 26, Eagles 16.

Packers +6.5 over SEAHAWKS
Seattle looked totally flat against the Niners, and their run defense was awful. Seneca Wallace went 2-2 as the starter, but he also turned the ball over 9 times (7 picks, 2 fumbles), which is more than 2 a game. Hasselbeck will be back, so that should change. Look for him and Deion Branch to work on their own chemistry and this could be a shootout. Favre's last game against Holmgren? Could be. How's that arm feeling though? I think Seattle will win this game, but might not cover. Seahawks 27, Packers 23.