The NFL Preview With The Rizz 12.22.07: Week 16 (Part 1)

Posted by Randy Isbelle on 12.22.2007

In this section, I feature the Saturday contest as well as the early Sunday games to get you ready for the weekend.

Welcome back to the Week 16 Preview

With one game down this week this is how I stand:

Straight Up: 1-0
Spread: 0-1

Week 16
12-2	Dallas Cowboys (-13)	versus	Carolina Panthers	6-8
December 22, 2007, 8:15 PM EST – Bank of America Stadium

Last Three Weeks

Dallas Cowboys: Dallas used to be head and shoulders better then anybody else in the NFC, and even though they might still be considered the best team in the conference, it is a lot closer then it has been all season. The Cowboys are facing a ton of issues, with Tony Romo's injured thumb on his throwing hand and with the possibility of T.O. exploding soon as he has been a non-factor in the last two weeks. In fact, Terrell Owens has only five receptions in their last two games, and did not score a touchdown in either game. The final two games on the Cowboys' schedule could be either considered as crucial, or throw away games as it all comes down to how important home-field advantage is to Dallas. With Tony Romo injured, you have to start thinking about letting him sit and make sure he is 100% healthy going into the playoffs.

Carolina Panthers: Last week, the Carolina Panthers stunned the Seahawks, and they try to do the same thing to another NFC Division Champion in the Dallas Cowboys. The undrafted rookie, Matt Moore, was a great story last week going 19 of 27 for 208 yards while not being sacked or throwing an interception. The story is great, but the benefits to the Panthers will be minimal, as once Carolina gets Jake Delhomme back, Moore will most likely be back on the bench and Delhomme will lead his team to victories…well he'll attempt to. Carolina has definitely missed Delhomme, as they have scored seven points or less in three of their five home games since his injury and have only thrown eight touchdown passes in the last 11 games, the same number Delhomme threw in his three games this season.

Prediction: Dallas still has a lot to play for, because a trip to Lambeau Field cannot be something that they really want this postseason. However, Dallas needs to be careful with Romo's injury, because if he goes down then the season goes with him. The Cowboys will win this game, but I think 13 points is a little much when Dallas will probably focus on the running game and getting through this game quickly and healthy.

Vs. Spread	Straight Up

Dallas Cowboys

Carolina Panthers

Green Bay

W 37-27

San Francisco

W 31-14

@ Detroit

W 28-27

@ Jacksonville

L 6-37

Philadelphia

L 6-10

Seattle

W 13-10

Team	SU	ATS	O/U
Dallas	12-2	9-5	10-4
Carolina	6-8	6-8	5-9

Dallas

Team

Carolina

30.6 (2nd)

Pts For

15.9 (27th)

20.4 (13th)

Pts Against

21.7 (17th)

378.5 (2nd)

Total Offense

285.3 (29th)

264.4 (4th)

Passing Yards

172.8 (28th)

114.1 (13th)

Rushing Yards

112.5 (15th)

310.9 (8th)

Total Defense

320.6 (12th)

212.4 (13th)

Passing Defense

217.1 (15th)

93.8 (4th)

Rushing Defense

108.3 (17th)

+4 (11th)

Turnover Diff.

+2 (13th)

Dallas Leaders					Carolina Leaders
Passing	COMP	ATT	YDS	TD	Passing	COMP	ATT	YDS	TD
Romo	300	462	3868	35	Testaverde	94	172	952	5
Rushing	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	Rushing	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD
Barber	176	871	4.9	9	Foster	232	821	3.5	3
Jones	147	556	3.8	2	Williams	114	536	4.7	2
Receiving	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	Rushing	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
Owens	76	1307	17.2	14	Smith	73	817	11.2	6
Witten	88	1068	12.1	7	Carter	35	448	12.8	4

Week 16
9-5	Cleveland Browns (-3)	versus	Cincinnati Bengals	5-9
December 23, 2007, 1:00 PM EST – Paul Brown Stadium

Last Three Weeks

Cleveland Browns: Let's do a quick recap of the Cleveland Browns season. The open the season in a 34-7 loss to Pittsburgh, and they looked like they would probably finish with the same record they did last season, 4-12. Looking at another horrible season, Cleveland decides to trade away their starting quarterback, Charlie Frye, to the Seattle Seahawks and fans feel like Cleveland has already given up. Derek Anderson was given the starting role as fans had to sit and wait for Brady Quinn to get his first start as it was now only a question of what week in 2007 would he take the reins. In week two, Cleveland wins a crazy shootout game (51-45) over the Cincinnati Bengals while Anderson goes off, completing 20 of 33 for 328 yards and five touchdowns and all of a sudden people are asking who the hell Derek Anderson is. Fast forward to this week, and the second meeting between the Browns and the Bengals, and you find Cleveland one win away from the playoffs and starting Week 16 tied for first place in the division. The Browns are unquestionably the surprise story in the AFC, if not the NFL, and in one season they have gone from trading away their starting quarterback to most likely facing an off-season with a major quarterback controversy, but at least they are going to make the playoffs. Unfortunately for the Browns, they are not built as a playoff contender, and will probably be a first round casualty.

Cincinnati Bengals: Things continue to look grim for the Cincinnati Bengals who lost last week to the lowly San Francisco 49ers. A team that is known for not having a defense lost a game because their offense could not keep up with the worst offense in the league. When that happens, you know that your team is not putting the best effort out there, and for Marvin Lewis to not even have to worry about losing his job is a joke. Yes, he brought Cincinnati to a good team after they were horrible for so many years, but they are starting to go back to that old form, and now that the team is not even giving you effort, there needs to be a change.

Prediction: Cleveland clinches a playoff berth by putting up 40+ on Cincinnati this week.

Vs. Spread	Straight Up

Cleveland Browns

Cincinnati Bengals

@ Arizona

L 21-27

@ Pittsburgh

L 10-24

@ NY Jets

W 24-18

St. Louis

W 19-10

Buffalo

W 8-0

@ San Francisco

L 13-20

Team	SU	ATS	O/U
Cleveland	9-5	11-3	10-4
Cincinnati	5-9	4-9-1	6-8

Cleveland

Team

Cincinnati

26.3 (5th)

Pts For

23.1 (13th)

25.4 (29th)

Pts Against

24.7 (26th)

348.8 (10th)

Total Offense

350.4 (7th)

234.8 (11th)

Passing Yards

255.8 (5th)

114.0 (14th)

Rushing Yards

94.6 (23rd)

378.4 (32nd)

Total Defense

347.4 (28th)

249.5 (29th)

Passing Defense

228.1 (24th)

128.9 (28th)

Rushing Defense

119.4 (24th)

0 (17th)

Turnover Diff.

+4 (10th)

Cleveland Leaders					Cincinnati Leaders
Passing	COMP	ATT	YDS	TD	Passing	COMP	ATT	YDS	TD
Anderson	258	459	3384	26	Palmer	339	522	3700	22
Rushing	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	Rushing	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD
Lewis	251	1084	4.3	9	Watson	127	564	4.4	5
Wright	57	239	4.2	1	Johnson	170	497	2.9	3
Receiving	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	Rushing	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
Edwards	69	1170	17.0	13	Johnson	85	1265	14.9	6
Winslow	71	971	13.7	5	Housh.	101	1028	10.2	11

Week 16
4-10	Kansas City Chiefs	versus	Detroit Lions (-4 1/2)	5-9
December 23, 2007, 1:00 PM EST – Ford Field

Last Three Weeks

Kansas City Chiefs: The losing streak has grown to seven, and there is no end in sight for a team that relied on one player, Larry Johnson, and when he went down you knew this was going to happen. There is a possibility that Larry Johnson could return for their game against Detroit, but why would you? You're season is over, you are playing two teams who are not playing for anything either, so you need to bench him for the rest of the season so you don't injure him worse and he has to miss a couple games next year because of it.

Detroit Lions: What happened to the early season Detroit Lions who started the season 6-2? The Lions have now lost six in a row and are out of the post-season, so much for the "guarantee" of winning 10 games this season. Even though the Lions are looking like they have hit rock bottom, let me bring something up that may change your mind on them for their final two games in 2007. Detroit ended their 6-2 start with a 44-7 rout of Denver, and looked like a threat and then everything fell apart. Now the Lions look like a bottom tier team and last week was the worst was they were embarrassed by the San Diego Chargers 51-14, as Kitna threw a career-high five interceptions and the team committed a total six turnovers that led to 27 points. Now my belief is that Detroit that they were hot stuff after their game against Denver and because of it they fell apart and went on this losing streak. Now with their blowout loss to the Chargers, they have realized that this season has really gotten away from them and they will go into the final two games with the energy and successfulness of they did in the first half of the season and finish the season 8-8. It will feel like a disappointing year for the Lions, but for Detroit to actually finish 8-8 is an accomplishment in itself.

Prediction: These two teams are on a combined 13-game losing streak, and that obviously gives you good and bad news. The good news is that somebody will finally get a win, but the bad news is that somebody will continue down this losing road that will only end with multiple changes in the off-season. Since I believe that Detroit is actually a good team, while Kansas City needs lots of help, I say Detroit ends their streak while Kansas City ends the season on a nine game losing streak and makes some headline changes in the off-season.

Vs. Spread	Straight Up

Kansas City Chiefs

Detroit Lions

San Diego

L 10-24

@ Minnesota

L 10-42

@ Denver

L 7-41

Dallas

L 27-28

Tennessee

L 17-26

@ San Diego

L 14-51

Team	SU	ATS	O/U
Kansas City	4-10	5-8-1	7-7
Detroit	6-8	6-7-1	9-5

Kansas City

Team

Detroit

14.0 (30th)

Pts For

22.0 (15th)

21.2 (15th)

Pts Against

27.9 (32nd)

271.6 (31st)

Total Offense

331.2 (15th)

190.8 (23rd)

Passing Yards

252.4 (7th)

80.9 (30th)

Rushing Yards

78.9 (31st)

324.1 (15th)

Total Defense

374.4 (31st)

198.9 (8th)

Passing Defense

257.9 (31st)

125.2 (26th)

Rushing Defense

116.5 (21st)

-11 (28th)

Turnover Diff.

0 (16th)

Kansas City Leaders					Detroit Leaders
Passing	COMP	ATT	YDS	TD	Passing	COMP	ATT	YDS	TD
Huard	182	296	1952	9	Kitna	324	497	3707	17
Rushing	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	Rushing	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD
Johnson	158	559	3.5	3	Jones	145	566	3.9	8
Smith	93	346	3.7	2	Duckett	37	204	5.5	2
Receiving	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	Rushing	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
Gonzalez	82	971	11.8	5	McDonald	72	848	11.8	5
Bowe	61	885	14.5	4	Williams	63	836	13.3	5

Week 16
7-7	Houston Texans	versus	Indianapolis Colts (-9)	12-2
December 23, 2007, 1:00 PM EST – RCA Dome

Last Three Weeks

Houston Texans: After the big off-season where the Texans ended up with Matt Schaub, who would have thought that the best quarterback on the team was Sage Rosenfels? Rosenfels improved to 3-0 as a starter this season with an impressive 31-13 win over the Denver Broncos. With one more victory, the Texans will finish without a losing record for the first time in franchise history. A key reason that the Texans have improved has been the play of last season's top overall draft pick Mario Williams, who has nine sacks (3 ½ last week against Denver) in his last five games and leads the AFC with 13 sacks this season. Williams has brought a new dynamic to the Texans' defense and in only one or two more seasons, could lead Houston on a playoff run. The only bad news for Houston is that everybody in their division are not only improving every season, but are already playoff capable as it stands right now. If Houston was in any other division, they would be a playoff contender this season, but having to play two games against each of the Colts, Jaguars and Titans have hindered their record this year.

Indianapolis Colts: As far as playoff seedings go, the final two games this season for the Colts don't matter at all. Last week, the Colts basically clinched everything as they clinched their fifth consecutive AFC South title, and also set themselves as the #2 team in the AFC behind New England and will get a first round bye. The Colts even set a new record as they have won 12 games in each of their last five seasons, the first team in NFL history to accomplish such a feat. With recent seasons behind us, you would believe that Tony Dungy would bench his starters and give them three weeks off before going into the playoffs, but not so fast. Dungy has learned from his mistakes, and seems to want his starters to play and play hard, at least for one more week. Indianapolis would like to continue their domination of AFC South teams, especially at home, as they look for their tenth straight home win against division opponents. Indianapolis is 10-1 against the Texans, winning all five home meetings by at least nine points.

Prediction: Indianapolis seems to be playing most, if not all, of their starters and with their domination of Houston throughout the Texans history, you would have to feel like this week would be no different. However, Houston is a lot different team then they have been throughout there history, and with Sage Rosenfels playing so well, and Mario Williams becoming a dominating player, Houston will keep it close, hell even Oakland kept the game close last week. Houston is a fighting team, and they will only lose by a touchdown max.

Vs. Spread	Straight Up

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

@ Tennessee

L 20-28

Jacksonville

W 28-25

Tampa Bay

W 28-14

@ Baltimore

W 44-20

Denver

W 31-13

@ Oakland

W 21-14

Team	SU	ATS	O/U
Houston	7-7	7-7	7-6-1
Indianapolis	12-2	8-6	6-8

Houston

Team

Indianapolis

23.0 (14th)

Pts For

28.7 (3rd)

22.7 (20th)

Pts Against

16.5 (3rd)

339.1 (11th)

Total Offense

363.4 (4th)

242.7 (9th)

Passing Yards

253.4 (6th)

96.4 (22nd)

Rushing Yards

110.0 (17th)

333.4 (19th)

Total Defense

272.9 (2nd)

218.5 (18th)

Passing Defense

162.4 (1st)

114.9 (20th)

Rushing Defense

110.5 (18th)

-11 (30th)

Turnover Diff.

+15 (3rd)

Houston Leaders					Indianapolis Leaders
Passing	COMP	ATT	YDS	TD	Passing	COMP	ATT	YDS	TD
Schaub	192	289	2241	9	Manning	295	464	3634	28
Rushing	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	Rushing	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD
Dayne	173	685	4.0	4	Addai	251	1019	4.1	11
Green	70	260	3.7	2	Keith	108	461	4.3	3
Receiving	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	Rushing	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
Daniels	60	739	12.3	2	Wayne	82	1280	15.6	9
Walter	61	731	12.0	2	Gonzalez	35	554	15.8	3

Week 16
12-2	Green Bay Packers (-9)	versus	Chicago Bears	5-9
December 23, 2007, 1:00 PM EST – Soldier Field

Last Three Weeks

Green Bay Packers: Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers are unquestionably the feel good story of 2007 as Favre shrugged off voices telling him to finally retire and came back to lead his team to an amazing 12-2 record. The Packers have already clinched their division and a first-round bye but with Dallas losing last week to Philadelphia, Green Bay is now tied with the Cowboys for the best record in the NFC, and if they can win out while Dallas losing one game then Green Bay will have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Packers will have earned their first first-round bye since 1997, the first and only year that Brett Favre has led the Packers to a Super Bowl win. Brett Favre continues to break all-time records as he continues to set the all-time record for consecutive starts by a quarterback as it will reach 252 games on Sunday. Favre has also set records for most wins by a quarterback when he defeated the New York Giants on September 16th and became the league's all-time leader in passing yards last week against the St. Louis Rams, and with only 95 more passing yards, he will surpass the 4,000 yard mark for the fifth time in his career.

Chicago Bears: The Chicago Bears' offense is one of the worst in the league, and you cannot blame it all on the quarterback play. Chicago's rushing attack is the worst in football, and last week it hit a season-low, only gaining 32 yards against the Minnesota Vikings. Kyle Orton made his first start since the 2005 season finale last week and really made no improvements to the Bears' offense, completing 22 of 38 passes for 184 yards, no touchdowns and one interception as the Bears only amounted to 209 yards on offense, the second-lowest total of the season. The defense continues to deteriorate and with an inept offense, the Bears will have a lot of questions to answer during the off-season if they want to be playoff contenders anytime soon.

Prediction: Brett Favre has been dominant at Soldier Field, going 13-2 when visiting Chicago, and he will continue to do just that this week. Green Bay would love to make Dallas come to Lambeau Field, and to do so they need to win this game.

Vs. Spread	Straight Up

Green Bay Packers

Chicago Bears

@ Dallas

L 27-37

NY Giants

L 16-21

Oakland

W 38-7

@ Washington

L 16-24

@ St. Louis

W 33-14

@ Minnesota

L 13-20

Team	SU	ATS	O/U
Green Bay	12-2	11-2-1	9-4-1
Chicago	5-9	5-9	7-7

Green Bay

Team

Chicago

28.1 (4th)

Pts For

19.0 (22nd)

17.4 (6th)

Pts Against

22.6 (18th)

375.9 (3rd)

Total Offense

298.4 (25th)

286.3 (2nd)

Passing Yards

219.9 (14th)

89.6 (28th)

Rushing Yards

78.4 (32th)

320.0 (11th)

Total Defense

356.3 (29th)

215.4 (14th)

Passing Defense

232.2 (26th)

104.6 (15th)

Rushing Defense

124.1 (15th)

+5 (10th)

Turnover Diff.

-3 (19th)

Green Bay Leaders					Chicago Leaders
Passing	COMP	ATT	YDS	TD	Passing	COMP	ATT	YDS	TD
Favre	330	492	3905	26	Griese	161	262	1803	10
Rushing	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	Rushing	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD
Grant	168	799	4.8	6	Benson	196	674	3.4	4
Wynn	50	203	4.1	4	Peterson	100	317	3.2	2
Receiving	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	Rushing	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
Driver	78	1016	13.0	2	Berrian	66	906	13.7	4
Jennings	50	878	17.6	12	Muhammad	37	541	14.6	3

Week 16
9-5	New York Giants (-3)	versus	Buffalo Bills	7-7
December 23, 2007, 1:00 PM EST – Ralph Wilson Stadium

Last Three Weeks

New York Giants: If the Giants want to keep the voices, talking about yet another end of the season meltdown, silenced then they must win this week's game against the Buffalo Bills. Next week, they host the undefeated New England Patriots and if their season is on the line in that contest, then you can kiss your playoff hopes good-bye because the chances of you winning a must win game against a Patriots team that just won't lose is worse then…well worse then my New York Knickerbockers winning the NBA Championship in the next five seasons. The good news for the Giants is that Buffalo was eliminated from playoff contention last week, and may not play with as much heart as they would have with a win over Cleveland last week, and the game is on the road where the Giants are 6-1 this season. That record gives them the forth best road record in the league, behind only New England, Indianapolis and Dallas, and with a win this week could actually give the Giants hope come playoff time as they will be faced with all road games come playoff time. The bad news for the Giants is the fact that they have not scored more then 21 points in seven straight games, and Buffalo thrives on those types of games. If New York lets Buffalo keep it close, look for the Giants to go into next week still looking for that one win.

Buffalo Bills: The Bills gave it a valiant effort, but came up short in their bid to make the playoffs after starting the season 0-3. The Bills will have to look back at close losses to Denver and Dallas as the reason the team will be sitting home come January, but at least they can keep their heads held high and know that they played better then anybody gave them credit for, but winning their final two games and finishing 9-7 would make this season feel that much better. In the off-season the Bills need to focus on the offensive side of the ball as they have scored 17 or fewer points in five of their last six games and just have not looked like a playoff team because of it.

Prediction: New York continues to fall apart as they drop this game to Buffalo, making next week against New England a must win.

Vs. Spread	Straight Up

New York Giants

Buffalo Bills

@ Chicago

W 21-16

@ Washington

W 17-16

@ Philadelphia

W 16-13

Miami

W 38-17

Washington

L 10-22

@ Cleveland

L 0-8

Team	SU	ATS	O/U
NY Giants	9-5	8-6	6-8
Buffalo	7-7	9-5	6-8

NY Giants

Team

Buffalo

21.4 (16th)

Pts For

15.9 (29th)

20.9 (14th)

Pts Against

21.4 (16th)

328.8 (18th)

Total Offense

279.9 (30th)

201.6 (17th)

Passing Yards

169.6 (31st)

127.1 (6th)

Rushing Yards

110.4 (16th)

303.3 (7th)

Total Defense

359.5 (30th)

203.1 (11th)

Passing Defense

242.7 (28th)

100.1 (12th)

Rushing Defense

116.8 (22nd)

-8 (25th)

Turnover Diff.

+7 (6th)

NY Giants Leaders					Buffalo Leaders
Passing	COMP	ATT	YDS	TD	Passing	COMP	ATT	YDS	TD
Manning	268	482	2974	19	Edwards	126	213	1336	5
Rushing	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	Rushing	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD
Jacobs	162	799	4.9	2	Lynch	240	940	3.9	6
Ward	125	602	4.8	3	Jackson	47	247	5.3	0
Receiving	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	Rushing	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
Burress	65	935	14.4	10	Evans	51	804	15.8	4
Toomer	50	620	12.4	3	Reed	49	543	11.1	0

Week 16
4-10	Oakland Raiders	versus	Jacksonville Jaguars (-14)	10-4
December 23, 2007, 1:00 PM EST – Municipal Stadium

Last Three Weeks

Oakland Raiders: The Oakland Raiders now have five straight double-digit loss seasons, but for once there seems to be some end in sight. Even with his injury, Justin Fargas has been a great story this year and will help the team in the following years while the defense still impresses me each and every week I watch this team. The quarterback issue is still their main issue, but with JaMarcus Russell still waiting for his first start, the Raiders need to be optimistic for next year, because they do have a solid base to work on finally, and as long as they don't blow it all up in the off-season, they could be a threat to make it to an 8-8 record next season.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The biggest robbery of the year is the fact that not one Jaguar will be at the Pro Bowl this season, well at least they were not selected. With Willie Parker's injury on Thursday, you have to believe that Fred Taylor will be his replacement, but the fact that he was not selected is complete insanity. For the Jaguars to be 10-4 and not have a single Pro Bowler is craziness and just adds to the fire and gives even more reason to why the Jaguars will be a threat in the playoffs. The offense is playing on all cylinders as they have set franchise records gaining at least 400 yards in four straight games while scoring 24 points or more in eight straight games. Jacksonville has a great formula as they have a two-headed monster in the backfield, giving the Jaguars the second best rushing attack in the league while David Garrard is doing exactly what he needs to do, give the opposing defense enough reasons to worry about the passing game to open up the running game while staying away from mistakes. Garrard has thrown 16 touchdowns this season, seven in his last three games, while only throwing two interceptions.

Prediction: Jacksonville looks like they could finish the season with a 12-4 record and get a fifth seed. Oakland is looking to next year, but they continue to play teams tough, keeping with Indianapolis until late in the 4th quarter. I think 14 points is a bit much, but that all depends on which Oakland team shows up. This could be a battle to the end or Jacksonville will win this game by 30, I'll go with the prior and take Jacksonville to win the game but not to cover.

Vs. Spread	Straight Up

Oakland Raiders

Jacksonville Jaguars

Denver

W 34-20

@ Indianapolis

L 25-28

@ Green Bay

L 7-38

Carolina

W 37-6

Indianapolis

L 14-21

@ Pittsburgh

W 29-22

Team	SU	ATS	O/U
Oakland	4-10	6-8	8-5-1
Jacksonville	10-4	10-4	10-4

Oakland

Team

Jacksonville

14.0 (30th)

Pts For

23.9 (8th)

22.8 (21st)

Pts Against

17.9 (7th)

299.0 (24th)

Total Offense

350.1 (9th)

166.6 (31st)

Passing Yards

200.5 (18th)

132.4 (5th)

Rushing Yards

149.6 (2nd)

341.1 (25th)

Total Defense

322.6 (14th)

197.4 (7th)

Passing Defense

277.9 (24th)

143.8 (31st)

Rushing Defense

94.6 (5th)

-6 (21st)

Turnover Diff.

+7/b> (8th)

Oakland Leaders					Jacksonville Leaders
Passing	COMP	ATT	YDS	TD	Passing	COMP	ATT	YDS	TD
Culpepper	108	186	1331	5	Garrard	197	307	2310	16
Rushing	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	Rushing	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD
Fargas	222	1009	4.5	4	Taylor	216	1091	5.1	4
Jordan	144	549	3.8	3	Jones-Drew	157	724	4.6	8
Receiving	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	Rushing	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
Curry	52	682	13.1	4	Northcutt	43	583	13.6	4
Porter	40	643	16.1	5	Williams	32	543	17.0	8

Week 16
6-8	Philadelphia Eagles	versus	New Orleans Saints (-3)	7-7
December 23, 2007, 1:00 PM EST – Superdome

Last Three Weeks

Philadelphia Eagles: Philadelphia just loves to play in tight games, as they have played in four straight contests where the two teams were only separated by a maximum of four points. The great thing about that stat is that all four games were against playoff bound teams, the bad thing is that the Eagles went 1-3 in those games and that stretch is what cost them a chance at the playoffs. The Eagles are no strangers to the Superdome as they traveled to New Orleans twice last season, losing both games by a score 27-24. In both of those games, the Eagles led both of those games in the 2nd half before blowing the lead and falling to the Saints. All the news in Philadelphia is surrounding about Donovan McNabb as he continues to suit up for the Eagles even though he no longer feels welcome there. I just feel that it will be better for both sides if McNabb moves on in the off-season and Philadelphia looks for a younger quarterback while McNabb looks to win a ring elsewhere.

New Orleans Saints: The Saints win my award named "The team that acts most like a bouncy ball", it is a very prestigious award and I'm sure the higher-ups will be very excited to learn that they have won this season. All kidding aside, the Saints have had a very interesting season, starting 0-4 before winning four straight to get back to .500 and then losing three of the next four and then running off two in a row. The play of Drew Brees has been the key component to these hills and valleys, when he plays well the Saints win, when he struggles the Saints usually losses, and last week against Arizona, Brees went 26 of 30 for 315 yards and two touchdowns. It was his second-straight 300-yard game, thus the two game winning streak, and in fact in the last three games he has eight touchdowns and no interceptions. The Saints hope to have Reggie Bush back after he missed the last two games, but even if Bush misses the game the running game is solid with Aaron Stecker taking most of the reps and playing solid football.

Prediction: Philadelphia loves to play tight games, and this should be no different. New Orleans struggles a bit at home, but with the playoffs in sight they need to be playing their best. I am going to go with the Saints winning the game by four and just barely covering the spread.

Vs. Spread	Straight Up

Philadelphia Eagles

New Orleans Saints

Seattle

L 24-28

Tampa Bay

L 23-27

NY Giants

L 13-16

@ Atlanta

W 34-14

@ Dallas

W 10-6

Arizona

W 31-24

Team	SU	ATS	O/U
Philadelphia	6-8	7-7	6-8
New Orleans	7-7	6-8	8-6

Philadelphia

Team

New Orleans

20.1 (19th)

Pts For

23.6 (9th)

19.1 (10th)

Pts Against

22.6 (19th)

350.2 (8th)

Total Offense

358.6 (5th)

227.3 (13th)

Passing Yards

266.4 (3rd)

122.9 (9th)

Rushing Yards

92.2 (26th)

311.8 (9th)

Total Defense

347.1 (27th)

217.1 (16th)

Passing Defense

249.6 (30th)

94.6 (5th)

Rushing Defense

97.6 (8th)

-6 (22nd)

Turnover Diff.

-7 (24th)

Philadelphia Leaders					New Orleans Leaders
Passing	COMP	ATT	YDS	TD	Passing	COMP	ATT	YDS	TD
McNabb	238	397	2716	15	Brees	378	550	3819	25
Rushing	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	Rushing	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD
Westbrook	254	1191	4.7	7	Bush	157	581	3.7	4
Buckhalter	49	258	5.3	3	Stecker	101	395	3.9	3
Receiving	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	Rushing	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
Curtis	64	970	15.2	5	Colston	87	1092	12.6	9
Westbrook	83	705	8.5	5	Patten	44	698	15.9	3

Join me tomorrow as I go through the rest of the Week 16 schedule.