Hammering it Out: Week 12 Predictions

My most sincere apologies to the Coltzilla community for my negligence the past two weeks. No excuses. I failed to live up to my commitment. Moving forward. Minnesota Vikings at Atlanta Falcons (-9.5) The Falcons are in must-win territory facing a Vikings team playing with a rookie quarterback, a depleted secondary, and worst of all, without Adrian Peterson. On top of all this, the Falcons are playing at home and are still in contention for a playoff spot. Not only do the Falcons win this game, but I expect a great game from Matt Ryan and his skill players and not much offense from Minnesota. -Jared Jared -  Falcons win by 10 or more Travis - Falcons by 10 or more Buffalo Bills at New York Jets (-5.5) Barring C.J. Spiller going HAM in his first start as a Buffalo Bill, I fully expect the Jets to flex a little muscle against what is looking like an overrated 5-5 Buffalo team. One of the Jet running backs HAVE to get it together and whether that's Shonn Green or Joe McKnight, it's probably going to happen. With Buffalo hurting in the running game, I think the Jets clamp down on the Bill receivers and control the ball offensively. -Jared Jared - Jets win by 6 or more Travis - Bills win, tie, or lose by less than 6 Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals (-7.5) On the one hand, Cleveland's offense is struggling with injuries and/or a lack of talent. On the other hand, the Brown defense is rather stout. Literally the same can be said for Cincinnati on both sides of the ball. The difference here is that the Browns are instituting a new offense and are struggling in the air and on the ground. Cincinnati is missing A.J. Green, yes, but they still have a decent running game and Andy Dalton has better weapons available to him than Colt McCoy does. -Jared Jared - Bengals win by 8 or more Travis - Bengals win by 8 or more Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Tennessee Titans (-3.5) I don't like anything about this game. Tampa Bay is having an awful year offensively and Tennessee has lost Matt Hasselbeck, presumably for the season. All things considered, I suppose that Chris Johnson could have his way with one of the worst rushing defense in the league. Then again, I feel like I say that every week. -Jared Jared - Titans win by 4 or more Travis - Bucs win, tie, or lose by less than 4 Carolina Panthers at Indianapolis Colts (+3.5) Carolina has a capable offense and a swiss cheese defense. Cam Newton looks like the rookie of the year. The Colts are injury plagued on both sides of the ball and while they've managed to slow down opposing offenses, they haven't really stopped anyone. One has to expect that the Colts will struggle on both sides of the ball, give short fields to the Panthers, and ultimately, this game will be over at halftime. Unless this organization feels like it has something to prove. Good *LUCK with that. -Jared Jared - Panthers win by 4 or more Travis - Panthers win by 4 or more Arizona Cardinals at St. Louis Rams (-3.5) This game features a couple of the worst teams in the league playing for virtually nothing except draft order. The Cardinals won this game 3 weeks ago with Kevin Kolb under center. Oh, how things have changed. The Rams shouldn't struggle to move the ball in the air (or the ground, really) and Arizona is simply going to have to keep up to have a chance to win. -Jared Jared - Rams win 3 or less, tie, or lose Travis - Rams win by 4 or more Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars (+3.5) With the Texans losing Matt Schaub, one would expect that having to start Matt Leinart automatically equates to a loss. Jacksonville lacks capable receivers and is going to struggle to contain Ben Tate and/or Arian Foster, and should definitely struggle with the latter. Given all the running that should take place here, this game should fly by. -Jared Jared - Houston wins by 4 or more Travis - Texans win by 4 or more Chicago Bears at Oakland Raiders (-4.5) I think we've all got the memo that says Jay Cutler is out for what could be the remainder of the season and the seemingly less capable Caleb Hanie. Most people have immediately written the Bears out of playoff contention. The Raiders are coming in winners of their last two games. If Darren McFadden were playing, I could easily see the Raiders covering. -Jared Jared - Raiders win by 4 or less, tie, or lose Travis - Raiders win by 4 or more Washington Redskins at Seattle Seahawks (-4.5) I have a feeling this is going to be another ugly game. Reasonable defenses and sloppy offenses. Washington will look to go downfield often and Seattle will look to control the ball through the ground game. I'm not sure who is worse here. -Jared Jared - Seahawks win by 4 or less, tie, or lose Travis - Seahawks win by 5 or more Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers (-6.5) At this point, I'm not sure it makes much sense to bet against the Broncos and Tim Tebow. I feel like we've been waiting all year for Philip Rivers to play like he's capable. It has to happen sometime, right? -Jared Jared - Chargers win by 7 or more Travis - Charges win by 7 or more New England Patriots at Philadelphia Eagles (+4.5) At this point, it feels like the Eagle season is lost. Vick is injured, as is Asomugha. Vince Young is not Michael Vick, whatever that's worth. Simply put, the Patriots have too many offensive weapons for this game to be close. -Jared Jared - Patriots win by 5 or more Travis - Patriots win by 5 or more Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs (+10.5) There isn't much to say here. Pittsburgh is fighting for a playoff spot. Kansas City needs the draft to rebuild this team for the future. Is there any scenario in which a Chief win appears at all logical. -Jared Jared - Steelers win by 11 or more Travis - Steelers win by 11 or more New York Giants at New Orleans Saints (-6.5) There doesn't appear to be much defense to be played in this game. Frankly, I will be surprised if there's any mention of a defensive player on Monday night. If you thought Thanksgiving dinner was good, get ready for some dessert. -Jared Jared - Saints by 7 or more Travis - Giants win, tie, or lose by less than 7