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(Saturday, December 31st)
There’s one more week
to go before the real NFL season begins. Pro
football’s final week has often been a
mine field for bettors and oddsmakers. Some
teams play for pride, some teams will be playing
for the postseason, some individuals will be
playing for jobs, while some couldn’t
care less and are more interested in getting
their vacation started.
The Saints are a team that has packed it in
and they have to travel to the Bucs for the
finale. Tampa Bay is not likely to be in a “let
down” situation even though they are coming
off a thrilling OT win over Atlanta, which eliminated
the Falcons. A win on Sunday over New Orleans
will give the Bucs the NFC South title and a
first-round home playoff game.
The NFL Coach of the Year award will not be
going to Falcons coach Jim Mora. His team not
only failed to make the playoffs, but he was
involved in one of the more bizarre scenes of
the year. Mora was on a cell phone with team
officials during the overtime period against
Tampa Bay,
trying to decipher how a tie would affect his
team's playoff status! How about concentrating
on trying to WIN the game? Mora also suffered
a bit of a meltdown during his postgame radio
segment. Asked why he punted on fourth-and-2
in overtime, with the Falcons' postseason aspirations
hanging in the balance, Mora abruptly ended
the interview. All of which means for Tampa
Bay: win and they’re in! It shouldn’t
be too hard against the 'Aints.
Hopes aren’t gone yet for the Kansas
City Chiefs, who squashed the Chargers' dreams
with an impressive 20-7 win, one week after
San Diego won at Indy. However, the Chiefs understand
their playoff chances are almost nonexistent.
For the Chiefs to make the playoffs, they need
to win, and they need a San Diego loss to the
Broncos, AND for the Detroit Lions to beat the
Pittsburgh Steelers in Pittsburgh. Such is the
case for several teams this time of year –
they need to win AND also get help.
If the Cowboys are able to slip into the playoffs,
perhaps fate will look back on a crazy play
Saturday to keep their hopes alive. Julius Peppers
was called for roughing the kicker, giving the
Dallas Cowboys a second chance. They rallied
and came through with a 24-20 win at Carolina
on a TD with 24 seconds left. The Cowboys (9-6)
must win in the season finale against the St.
Louis Rams on Jan. 1 at Texas Stadium and hope
for some help. The simplest way for the Cowboys
to reach the postseason is with a win and a
loss by either Washington (9-6) or Carolina
(10-5) AND a loss by Minnesota (8-6) or a win
by Chicago. Simply put, the Cowboys are fighting
for the last playoff spot with Washington and
Minnesota.
In the AFC, while the Colts and Broncos have
locked up the top two spots, a very real question
to ask now is: Who wants to play the Steelers
or Patriots? Both teams trudged through 10 defeats
this season after combining for just 4 last
season (and two of those were against each other!)
However, they’ve gotten much healthier
and are playing great defense right now. The
Steelers won at Minnesota the previous week,
then shut out the Browns on the road, 41-0.
The Pats shut out playoff bound Tampa last week,
28-0.
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QB Ben Roethlisberger's much-celebrated right
thumb injury now appears to be a non-issue.
Roethlisberger has gone three consecutive games
without throwing an interception. Roethlisberger
finished Saturday’s game 13 of 20 for
226 yards and a rating of 120.0. He was also
involved in a comic moment. Against the Browns,
Roethlisberger lined up in the shotgun and kicked
his foot four times at the line of scrimmage,
trying to get running back Jerome Bettis to
go in motion. "Finally, I turned and yelled
at him, 'Go in motion!' " Roethlisberger
said, laughing.
Finally, some NFL trivia:
The Colts lost their shot at a perfect season
last week, and lost again at the Seahawks with
a depleted lineup. That still leaves the 1972
Miami Dolphins as the only team to not lose
a single game during the regular and postseason.
How many playoff teams did the ’72 Dolphins
beat during their 14-0 regular season? Answer:
zero. Good luck, as always...Al McMordie.
Big Al McMordie is a documented member of The
Professional Handicappers League.
Read more of his articles and get his premium
plays here.
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