Week 17
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Every NFL team gets a bye week during the season so we’re following suit. With the holidays in full swing, we’ve given our Hall of Famers the week off as the regular season wraps up.
We’d like to thank the following enshrinees for taking time to write this blog during the season: James Lofton, Dave Wilcox, Carl Eller, Art Monk, Paul Krause, Joe Greene, Warren Moon, Joe DeLamielleure, Lem Barney, Tony Dorsett, Charley Taylor, Ted Hendricks, Jan Stenerud, John Riggins, Don Shula, and Kellen Winslow.
But, let’s see how you can do. Pick the winners of Week 17 by posting your selections as comments to this blog!
Colts at Bills
Giants at Vikings
Falcons at Buccaneers
49ers at Rams
Steelers at Dolphins
Saints at Panthers
Bears at Lions
Patriots at Texans
Jaguars at Browns
Eagles at Cowboys
Titans at Seahawks
Redskins at Chargers
Ravens at Raiders
Chiefs at Broncos
Packers at Cardinals
Bengals at Jets
Comment (2)
THIS WEEK’S HALL OF FAMER: Kellen Winslow, Class of 1995
Kellen Winslow was one of the most dominating tight ends ever to play in the National Football League during his career with the San Diego Chargers that spanned from 1979 to 1987. The pinnacle of his playing days came in the early ‘80s when he had an 89-catch season in 1980 and caught 88 passes in 1981 and again in 1983. In all, Winslow had 541 career receptions and was voted to five Pro Bowls.
Today, Winslow is the Director of Athletics at Central State University in Wilberforce, OH. He continues to be an ardent fan of the NFL. A sampling of who he watched at local sports bar last weekend – Chargers, Browns, and Buccaneers – gives you an idea of who he follows.
Kellen’s picks for Week 16
Alright, here’s who I think is going to win around the NFL this weekend.
Bronzed Bust
Oakland at Cleveland. This is a matchup of two franchises still trying to find themselves. It’ll be an interesting game to watch. Cleveland is coming off that thrilling win over Kansas City. The Chiefs are very similar to Oakland right now. But, the Raiders are starting to get things going and I’ll go with them over the Browns on Sunday.
Gold Jacket
New York Jets at Indianapolis. There’s so much talk about whether Indianapolis will play their players or start resting them for the playoffs. To me, you play football! That’s what the Colts will do; they’re going to play football. I think Jim Caldwell will obviously adjust based on how the game is going. But, they’re going to play some football and I look for them to go to 15-0.
Hall of Fame Ring
Kansas City at Cincinnati – This should be a good one simply because of the Bengals. It’s interesting to see how teams try to respond after a tragedy. Cincy played a good a game last week against the Chargers but narrowly lost. We’ll see how they come back with heavy hearts and respond. I anticipate they will come together. Look for them to get a win at home this weekend.
And, here is who I think is going to get wins in Week 16.
The Chargers will win on Christmas night against the Titans
Tampa Bay over the Saints
Falcons at home will beat Buffalo
Dolphins over Houston
Green Bay will beat Seattle
Giants will get by Carolina
Patriots at home versus the Jaguars
Steelers over the Ravens
Cardinals will beat the Rams
San Francisco over Detroit
Always tough to play in Philly, I’m going with Eagles over the Broncos
Dallas will beat Washington
Vikings win on Monday night in Chicago
Here’s wishing everyone a wonderful and safe holiday season!
Winslow, Kellen
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THIS WEEK’S HALL OF FAMER: Don Shula, Class of 1997
Coach Don Shula is the National Football League's winningest coach in history. He sports an overall record of 347-173-6. In 1963 he became the head coach of the Baltimore Colts at the age of 33. He led the Colts to seven straight winning seasons and an appearance in Super Bowl III.
In 1970 he joined the Miami Dolphins where in 26 seasons, he experienced only two seasons below .500. He coached the Dolphins to wins in Super Bowls VII and VIII and in 1972 he completed the only 17-0 perfect season in NFL history.
Today, Coach Shula resides in South Florida and is heavily involved with his chain of self-branded steak houses, hotels and golf courses.
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I look for the Dolphins defense to remain tough against the Titans.
I don’t think that any other games will be as big as the match-ups with the two undefeated teams. A perfect season is something very difficult to attain. I am very proud to have been a part of the 1972 Dolphins when we went 17-0 and won Super Bowl VII. The Colts are squaring up against Jacksonville and the Saints have a tough one against the Cowboys. Both of the unbeaten squads have great quarterbacks – Manning in Indy and Brees in New Orleans. They are the leaders of those squads, but the pressure to stay perfect grows immensely as the weeks progress. It cannot get more interesting than this. I am, however, going to predicts upsets. I like the Jaguars and the Cowboys.
Hall of Fame Ring
Miami has seemed to turn their season around. This week they are playing Tennessee who has been playing really well as of late. The Titans and running back Chris Johnson will be a big test for them. I look for my former team to prevail in this one.
As for the rest of the games in Week 15, here’s who else I like:
Baltimore on top of Chicago
New England will win at Buffalo
Arizona will rebound against Detroit
I like Cleveland over Kansas City
The Jets over Atlanta
Philadelphia will continue to roll over San Francisco
Green Bay will win at Pittsburgh
Houston over St. Louis
Denver wins at Oakland
San Diego over Cincinnati
I like Seattle vs. Tampa Bay
Minnesota will win at Carolina
New York Giants win at Washington
Shula, Don,
Miami Dolphins
Comment (0)
THIS WEEK’S HALL OF FAMER: John Riggins, Class of 1992
Fullback John Riggins was one of the most punishing runners in National Football League history during his career with the New York Jets and Washington Redskins. The MVP of Super Bowl XVII, Riggins rushed for more than 11,000 yards and scored 104 rushing TDs during his Hall of Fame career.
Today, after spending the last 15-20 years in broadcasting, Riggins lives in Maryland where he recently has gotten involved in the world of social media. In his own words, “I may be an old dog but I can still learn new tricks. I understand this technology and I am having a great deal of fun with it.”
You can follow John at Twitter.com/Riggo44. However, you should know that he does a great deal of his tweeting during Redskins games and commenting about his old team. So, don’t look for any commentary about his recent trip to the department store!
John’s picks for Week 14
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The Bengals defense has some serious business to take care of this weekend and I look for them to come through.
Philadelphia at New York Giants - The Eagles-Giants game is a big one. I think both teams are sensing another December collapse by the Dallas Cowboys and now have an opportunity to capture the NFC East Division. Philadelphia is a streaky team and can be very dangerous, but this game is in New York and I think the Giants fans, who will be totally charged, will give New York the advantage they need. I’m going with the Giants.
Gold Jacket
Cincinnati at Minnesota - I am not surprised that Minnesota lost to the Arizona Cardinals last week. Although I think that Minnesota is one of the best teams in the National Football League, when a defense gets after Favre and pressures him, he makes mistakes. I am sure that Cincinnati was watching this. Look for the Bengals to do the same thing to Favre this weekend. But the Bengals do have to be mindful of Adrian Peterson. They do not want him to get going or it will spell certain doom. Cincinnati must get ahead in this game early if they are going to win. I’m taking Cincy.
Hall of Fame Ring
New Orleans at Atlanta is an interesting game. The Saints have been thrust into the national spotlight with a great deal of pressure to finish undefeated. I think they have a chance to do this with Drew Brees as their quarterback. In my opinion, he is this year’s MVP. Atlanta, however, is still dangerous and they are desperate to win this game. To do this, they must get after Brees. New Orleans was lucky to get out of Washington with a win last week and they are banged up on defense. It is hard not to root for a city like New Orleans with everything that community has gone through the last few years. I look forward to the Saints flexing their muscle again this weekend.
And here are the rest of my picks for the week.
Steelers will win in Cleveland
The Texans, at home, will beat Seattle
Kansas City gets a win over Buffalo
Packers over the Bears
Jets will win in Tampa
Dolphins win at Jacksonville
The Ravens over Detroit
New England will beat Carolina
Raiders over the Redskins
Colts run it to 13-0 with a win over Denver
The Titans will take care of the Rams
San Diego will down Dallas
Cardinals win over San Fran
Riggins, John
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