Pros Preview – December 15, 2013

A Look at the NFL Match-Ups 

1. Let me say that the Denver-San Diego game shocked me.  I really thought things would turn out better for Manning and crew.  Yergh.
2. Washington and Atlanta play in a pointless game in Georgia.  Now that Coach Shanahan has benched Robert Griffin, III, we’ll see how Mr. Cousins fares against the Dirty Birds.  Atlanta wins.
3. Chicago, fresh off their win over the Cowboys, head to Cleveland to square off against the Browns.  It’s B&B time, folks!  Jake Cutler is to start for the first time in weeks; if he manages to shake the rust, then he and the Bears will reign supreme.  If not, then the Browns notch up another W in a hopeless season of disappointment.
4. The Texans dare to show their faces in Indianapolis.  Andrew will live up to his last name and destroy the Texans who now have Wade Phillips as their interim coach.
5. Poor Miami hosts the New England Patriots who have a nasty habit of falling behind only to crush your hopes for a win in the end with another Brady comeback. The Pats won’t ever trail the Fins unless something wretched happens. Even with Gronk out, the Pats will win in a big way.
6. Philadelphia plays Minnesota at the Mall of America Field.  The Vikings had better go shopping for the holidays instead of facing an Eagles team led by the indomitable Nick Foles.
7. Seattle heads back east to demolish the NY Giants.  No contest whatsoever.  I don’t think being drafted by the Rangers will even distract Russell Wilson.  Marshawn Lynch steamrolls the defenseless G-Men defense.
8. Battle of the Bay Cities:  San Francisco comes to town to play Tampa Bay.  Tsk.  As Darth Vader once remarked, “All too easy.”  The Niners obliterate the Bucs.
9. Pointless Game of the Week, part deux: Buffalo at Jacksonville.  The Jags will make the Bills play on their level.  The Bills will win in a painful to watch game. It will be painful because it will be so bad.
10. Kansas City has big plans for the Oakland Raiders. They will make them wish they weren’t on the schedule this week.  Chiefs dominate the Raiders just because they can.
11. The NY Yets want to play patty-cake with the Panthers who are licking their wounds after a nasty pasting from the Saints in NOLA.  Don’t even get on the plane.  Panthers crush the Yets.  Sorry, Geno!
12. Green Bay at Dallas means the appearance of the league’s worst defense against a back-up quarterback. Aaron Rodgers still isn’t supposed to start.  They need him to be whole when he returns. Matt Flynn will look like a genius with the beleaguered defense trying and failing to catch him in the back field.  Dallas’ offense will be okay if the receivers continue to do their primary job of catching and holding on to the ball.  Cowboys edge the Packers by a field goal.
13. Arizona heads north to Tennessee to showcase the fabulous Larry Fitzgerald.  The Cardinals want in on the playoffs, and they don’t mind going to Tennessee to get the job done.  Cardinals win big time.
14. New Orleans plays indoors in St. Louis which is a good thing for New Orleans.  The St. Louis Rams want to finish strongly, but they just don’t have the moxie this time.  Saints go marching in and nab a victory.
15. The Cincinnati Bengals want a third consecutive play berth and are making a stop in Pittsburgh.  Andy Dalton and AJ Green ought to hook up for at least one hundred receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns against the paper Steelers defense.  I still love Troy Polomalu, but he cannot be everywhere at once.  Even though Pittsburgh leads the head-to-head match-up, this team is not the Bungles of days gone by.  They mean business.  Watch out, Big Ben.  They are coming for you.
16. Baltimore plans to cruise out of Detroit with a win since they’ve started to show a little bit of what made them World Champions in February. If the Lions are consistent with ball control in a good way, then look for Matthew Stafford and Megatron to make the Ravens’ lives miserable. The Ravens have been terrible on the road. The Lions improve to 8-6 and have a better home record than before.

NBA – Just a select few games today, folks.

1. Brooklyn at Detroit – I don’t see the Nets repeating their previous win against the Pistons, but miracles happen.  Pistons win at home.
2. LA Lakers at OKC- Kevin Durant and company make sure that Kobe Bryant looks rusty with their vim and vigor on the hardwood.  Thunder rolls.
3. Chicago at Milwaukee – The Bulls want to end their current losing streak of three.  Noah is back in the line-up.  Bulls win away from home and return to ChiTown happy.
4. Philadelphia at Toronto – can the East get any worse?  Someone else described the Raptors as sluggish.  You aren’t kidding, friend.  The 76ers need to watch the turnovers, and the Raptors hope some fresh blood will improve things for them. We’ll see how it goes.  Yawn.
5. Minnesota travels to the Spurs to get a thumping despite their back-to-back wins in recent days.  Too bad, so sad.  Spurs win.
6. Sacramento at Phoenix – The fans are hoping to see some good action with Rudy Gay in the mix for the Kings against a Suns team with a three-game winning streak.  Suns win this one.
7. New York at Boston – So the Knicks are punch-drunk and headed to the Garden.  This is not going to be pretty, folks.  The Celtics will beat the Knicks, again and at home. 

Lady Grid out.