Playoff Atmosphere

It's that time of year where many games take on a 'playoff feel'. Many teams are jockeying for seeds and homefield advantage while others are grasping to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. Let me attempt to set the field for you. If the playoffs began today (one of the most overused and meaningless cliches in all of sports - of course the playoffs don't begin today) some very good teams would be sitting at home watching the action on TV. The Chargers, Chiefs, Falcons and Vikings would all come up short. A couple of teams that are still numerically in the hunt, the Dolphins and Redskins need a lot of things to happen to stay alive beyond their own control. Not to mention that only the Colts and Seahawks have won their divisions, leaving 6 of the 8 division races still being contested. Almost every game has deep playoff implications.

It's also that time of year where the teams that have been in decline tend to speed their descent. Three teams fit that description to a tee: the Saints, Raiders and Bills. The Saints benched starting QB Aaron Brooks in favor of Todd Bauman this week. Brooks play had been ineffective, but one has to wonder whether his oft-spoken, off field criticism of the team's coaching staff and administration has helped pave the way to his demotion. With the Raiders, put a fork in Coach Norv Turner - he's done. Last week he benched starting QB Kerry Collins for Marcus Tuiososopo. That experiment went so well that this week he's going back to Collins. Coach, Joe Montana couldn't save your job. And with the Bills, they go back to Kelly Holcomb at QB thanks to a slight injury to J.P. Losman. The Guru has said it before, had they stuck with Holcomb all year Coach Mike Mularky's job wouldn't be in jeopardy.

I know the 'Cheers & Jeers' section of my football musings is usually included Tuesdays, but I have to add a couple in as things have developed this past week. Cheers to Eagles QB Donovan McNabb for being a class act amid the circus that has enveloped the Eagles this year. Jeers to J. Whyatt Mondeshire, the head of Philadephia's branch office of the NAACP, who this week took aim at McNabb, accusing him of 'selling out his race' for not scrambling as much this year as in past years and for not deciding to give some of his signing bonus money to Terrell Owens to help make him happy. What???? If a white person said those same comments it would be called racism (just ask Rush Limbaugh). McNabb's reply: "I thought the NAACP existed to support African Americans."

Enough of this, let's get to the picks in an all important, playoff atmosphere, weekend. One pearl of wisdom from the Guru as you look into the playoff crystal ball: teams that are real playoff contenders win big games on the road in December. Keep that in mind.
Here are my 'with-friends-like-this-who-needs-enemies?, ratchet-down-the-playoff-scenario-hatches' picks for week 15: Bucs over Patriots; Chiefs over Giants; Broncos over Bills; Cardinals over Texans; Panthers over Saints; Dolphins over Jets; Rams over Eagles; Steelers over Vikings; Colts over Chargers; Seahawks over Titans; Jaguars over 49ers; Bengals over Lions; Browns over Raiders; Cowboys over Native Americans; Bears over Falcons; Packers over Ravens