Pay Him!

A friend sent me a link to the video above. The outcome of two games of this new season can be directly attributable to Kam Chancellor: the opening loss to the Rams when Kam's replacement Dion Bailey fell down and the Rams scored a TD in the final quarter to tie the game; then Monday night when Kam single-handedly saved the win over Detroit. Like Michael Bennett says "Pay him! Paul Allen is the 17th richest man in the world. Pay him!"

NFL Week 18: Wild Card Playoff Round

My biggest disappointment going into the weekend is that I will not be able to watch the Cardinals-Panthers game. Why? I don't have cable; I use digital rabbit ears. So if it is not on broadcast TV, I don't see it. Unless I go out to a bar. I did that once for one game of the 1998 World Cup, and I regretted it. I sat at the bar on a Saturday morning and tried to watch Italy vs. Norway while on either side drunks pestered me. They were like noisy children competing for attention, criticizing my interest in soccer as un-American.

Since the National Football League receives an antitrust exemption from the federal government, the principal advantage of which is that it allows team owners to bargain collectively with the television networks, a proviso should be added to the exemption that mandates all playoff games must appear on broadcast television.

This is the first NFL playoff game to appear exclusively on a cable channel. My fear is that this move means that the NFL will go the way of the NBA and Major League Baseball, leagues where most of the playoff games appear only on cable. I have written my Congressman.

As for the games of the wildcard round, here are my picks:

Cardinals at Panthers: Vegas has lost confidence in the miracle workings of Bruce Arians. Carolina is a six-and-a-half-point favorite at home, equal to the margin granted to Cowboys over the Lions. I am not a Cam Newton fan, but his play has improved as the Panthers have gone on an end-of-season tear. He has thrown only one interception in the last three games. I have yet to see the rejuvenated Panthers play. The last full game I saw is when Seattle beat them in week 8, and then Carolina was a team in free fall. I have seen the Cardinals play recently. And with Ryan Lindley at the helm, they are a team in free fall. Take the Panthers.

Ravens at Steelers: This is a tough one. The Vegas line is Steelers by 3. It is hard to go against Pittsburgh at home, but Le'Veon Bell is out. The Ravens get Haloti Ngata back from his Adderall suspension. Plus, I like Justin Forsett. Possibly Roethlisberger could win this game with his arm. Look what Philip Rivers did to Baltimore. Nonetheless, take the Ravens.

Bengals at Colts: The Vegas line is Colts by three-and-a-half points. Even though A.J. Green is out and the Bengals don't win in postseason, I'm going out on a limb here to say Cincinnati will triumph. I like the Bengals defense and their running game with Jeremy Hill; also, Andy Dalton running the read-option. The Colts have not impressed me this season.

Lions at Cowboys: Dallas could be playing the best football in the league right now. The Cowboys are an offensive juggernaut. Everyone is peaking: Romo, Witten, Murray, Bryant, Beasley. There is a possibility for an upset here though. Detroit's fearsome defensive line could knock Romo out of the game. Dallas will counter by running the ball with Murray or going with the quick dump off pass to Lance Dunbar and Cole Beasley. On defense, the Cowboys will devote all their attention to Golden Tate and Calvin Johnson, daring the Lions to beat them with Joique Bell. I would like to see Detroit win this game, but I don't see that happening on Sunday. Take Dallas.

NFL Week 10 + NFL Week 11: Run to the Super Bowl Begins Now

We have arrived at that point of the NFL season, NFL Week 11, where the match-ups assume a measure of urgency absent in prior weeks. A team that can start a run now can ride it all the way to the Super Bowl.

So NFL Week 10 was a dividing line of sorts. Parity is the watchword. The one team, the Arizona Cardinals, that, based on won-loss record stands atop the heap, was brought back to the scrum with Carson Palmer's season-ending knee injury.

This Sunday we'll get to test the viability of the Cardinals as a force in the playoffs when backup Drew Stanton takes on the Lions. I've seen two Detroit games in the last three weeks: the NFL Week 8 last-second squeaker in London against the Falcons and last week's last-second squeaker against the Dolphins. Both wins the Lions came from behind.

Needless to say Detroit is a team that lives by the pass. Matthew Stafford to Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate is powerful medicine. But the Lions also have a virile ground game. And I'm not talking here of Reggie Bush. Bush seems to be entering that phase of his career where he is constantly sidelined with injuries. I'm speaking here of Joique Bell. At times in the game against Miami I thought I was looking at Marshawn Lynch. Bell doesn't have the moves, the glide or the tenacity of Beast Mode but he has power.

Detroit has a defensive line that is truly formidable. Couple that with an improved secondary and an overall professional deportment brought along with Jim Caldwell when he replaced the buffoonish Jim Schwartz, and I don't think the Lions can be ruled out as top dog in the NFC. First, let's see if they can beat the Cardinals in the desert.

Before all is said and done though I think we might have to start acknowledging Green Bay as the best team in the NFC (meaning that Peter King might have been on the money after all when he selected the Pack to go all the way). Their Sunday night humiliation of Chicago showed the nation not only how bad the Bears are but also how good the Aaron Rodgers-led Green Bay offense is.

In the end it is going to come down to the Packers D. Chris Collinsworth, the NBC analyst, could not stop raving about the move of Clay Matthews to inside linebacker. He played well. It is an excellent defense. Julius Peppers, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Sam Shields are all topnotch.

The Eagles should be an interesting match-up. Mark Sanchez can't throw deep like Nick Foles, but LeSean McCoy is showing some of his league-leading moves from last year.

But before we sign off, a word about the defending champion Seahawks. Brandon Mebane's loss for the season is enormous. Kam Chancellor continues to struggle with his hip injury. Bobby Wagner is still out with turf toe. The entire defense seems as if it is banged up. Brock Coyle, Malcolm Smith. We'll see how they hold up in Kansas City. Judging by what the Chiefs did to the Patriots at Arrowhead, things are not looking good for Seattle. The Vegas line began the week with the Seahawks as a one-point favorite. I think Kansas City should be the favorite.

The only way that Seattle wins this game is if Russell Wilson is hot and Marshawn Lynch, who has been nursing a calf, is productive. The Chiefs have been playing well; their beat-down on the Chargers several weeks ago sent San Diego into a tailspin.

We'll see Sunday. I just hope Darrell Bevell keeps the read-option as the mainstay of the offense.

Thanksgiving NFL Games

For many years, after I had given up on living with a woman but I still maintained a girlfriend, I rigorously defended my right to spend Thanksgiving alone. I refused all offers from friends, family, girlfriend and girlfriend's family to share their table and give thanks collectively in favor of spending the day alone in my studio watching the Thanksgiving Day National Football League telecasts.

I have fond memories of these Thanksgivings. The apartment building would be quiet, deserted; the other tenants, gone elsewhere to celebrate the holiday. I would go out for run in the morning, and then spend the rest of the day cooking, eating a meal and watching the games. A small slice of nirvana.

This Thursday the games on tap are less than ideal. The first Thanksgiving game is always hosted by Detroit. This year it features the wounded Packers with high-priced castoff Matt Flynn almost certainly to start. The Lions have difficulty with Green Bay; lately Detroit has been playing unfocused football, losing to Pittsburgh and Tampa. The line has the Lions three-and-a-half point favorites, and they're at home. But I consider the game a toss-up. It's Flynn for Stafford. I've got to go with Stafford. Take the Lions.

The next game, which is now the second game since a night game has been added to the Thanksgiving schedule, is always hosted by big D. The Raiders -- perpetually wounded, perpetually suffering -- arrive in Arlington six-and-a-half point underdogs. The Cowboys looked decent against the Giants (giving me my only loss in games that I have picked so far this year). New York was not able to exploit the absence of middle linebacker and defensive signal-caller Sean Lee. Bruce Carter played well. Romo was solid. But Dallas has a nasty habit of playing poorly when the team is a favorite at home. While I'd love to see Oakland win, I think it would be a huge upset if they did. Take the Cowboys.

Finally, the Thanksgiving evening game on NBC features two perennial powerhouses each now staggering in Week 13 at 5-6. Pittsburgh deserves credit for scratching its way back into contention. Baltimore appears to be a shadow of the team that last year put together one of the most remarkable playoff runs in NFL history. This is another toss-up. Ray Rice appears to be running better in the last couple of games, but Dennis Pitta is still on injured reserve. The Steelers receivers are coming into their own. Pittsburgh is on a three-game win streak, but the Ravens are at home. I'm sitting this game out. May the best team win.

A word on Week 12. I threw in the towel on the Sunday night game at halftime. I figured that the Patriots were cooked. Twenty-four to zero with no evidence that Brady could thrown in the wind and the Broncos running backs racking up big yardage on the ground, the game, for all intents and purposes, was over. I felt shameful for having picked New England at home. But in the end, plaudits for Belichik's Patriots, a team I loathe, for hanging tough and coming back to win in OT against a formidable Denver team. It's a kind of win that could loom large for New England come the playoffs.