Eye on the Enemy: Week 14

Hard to believe this season is almost over, at least in some ways.  In others, the end of the year can't come soon enough.  Time flies, whether you're having fun or not.

This weekend, with the Bengals visiting the Steelers, I will have only two games to pick.  I have to say, however, that I hope Mojokong calls for another blowout loss for us, because if so we might actually have a chance to win.

Last weekend, however, I didn't do too well.  Who ever would have expected Jake the Snake to switch uniforms and play for the Dolphins instead?  I sure didn't.  But instead of Delhomme being the one throwing interceptions right and left it was Henne instead.  And then when Head-and-Shoulders stole the ball from unibrow I was not happy, because I'd rather a UFL team win the division rather than the Steelers.  Oh well.

This drops my record back to .500 again at 12-12.  Will I get my head back above water or will I sink away, nevermore to be found?  Hit the jump and find out.

Cleveland Browns @ Buffalo Bills

Last year these teams played one of the worst snoozefests in modern memory.  With a putrid score of merely 6-3, caused not by great defense or even bad weather but merely by truly and horrifically inept offenses, the Browns and the Bills were the laughingstock of the league.

Now they are both still pretty weak teams with little or no shot at the playoffs, but the Bills can at least put points on the board and the Browns are actually becoming fairly competitive.  A large part of this is due to two men, both rejects in their previous stops, who have found a way to help their teams become much better.  Those two men are Mike Holmgren and Ryan Fitzpatrick.  The first wasn't too surprising, no matter how bad his last year in Seattle, everybody knew Mike was a decent guy who just had a bad year.  One or two good drafts and pretty much everybody expected the Browns to at least show some improvement.  But nobody really knew if Ryan had anything in the tank at all.  Now, unfortunately, we know his problems were far more Bratworst than himself, but its too late for that info to help our team.

Still it's a tough game to predict.  I saw Jake Delhomme and his meltdown in Carolina and I have no confidence in his ability to put together two solid games back-to-back.  But I also have to wonder if "The Joker" can actually catch the ball when the game-winning TD pass is practically laid in his hands.  And then the question remains whether Peyton Hillis can take over the game or not.  Considering bad weather may be a factor in this game, I'd say odds are good that whomever has the better running game will win.  The Bills defense is pretty atrocious, so I guess I'll see if the Browns can escape with another win and possibly even save the Mangenius' job after all.  Browns 24, Bills 21.

Baltimore Ravens @ Houston Texans

Yet another game between two teams that have disappointed at times this year.  This time the Ravens, fresh off an embarrassing loss where they had victory within their grasp and they fumbled it away, face a Texans secondary that only Rusty Smith is incapable of shredding.  Still, the Texans have at least made some of their games semi-interesting, and I figure they'll probably hang around and try to make it so again.  But the Ravens are clearly the better teams and unless they shoot both their feet off they have no excuse for losing this game, even on the road.  Ravens 31, Texans 27.