NFL 2008 Week 15 Picks

Observations from Week 14:

1. Cowboys fans have to remember that Tony Romo is still immature in some areas, and is going through growing pains. Let him grow. He'll be fine.

2. If I were assembling a defense, my first choice would be the Steeler's Troy Polamalu.

3. It's very conceivable that Miami could win the AFC East. What a story that would be.

4. Is it just me, or does it feel weird that Peyton Manning and the Colts aren't getting a lot of press this late in the season? They're 9-4 and have won 7 in a row.

5. If I had to pick T.O., Clinton Portis, or Chad "Ocho Cinco" Johnson to be on my team, I would pick T.O. any day of the week.

6. I think Mike Singletary will loose the "interim" label after the season and become the head coach of San Francisco.

7. John Harbaugh of Baltimore and Mike Smith of Atlanta should be the front-runners for Coach of the Year. They're rookie head coaches leading teams with rookie QB's and are currently poised to make the playoffs.

There is only one game this week that has zero playoff implications for both teams. Can you guess which one it is?

If you are craving excitement, an adrenaline rush, and/or a reason to stay home from church, then you have come to the right place. What a week!

• New Orleans Saints (7-6) at Chicago Bears (7-6): NFLN, 8:15pm EST, Thursday Night - Both teams desperately need a win to stay in the playoff hunt, and there are some great matchups in this contest: Brees vs. the Bears secondary which has 19 INT's this year, and the Bears' tackling machine vs. Reggie Bush and the Saints' athletic WR corps.

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-4) at Atlanta Falcons (8-5): FOX, 1pm EST - NFC South teams are 10-0 at home vs. divisional opponents. I believe that continues here as the Bucs will be facing the league's #2 rushing offense on the heels of getting plastered by Carolina last week.

• Washington Redskins (7-6) at Cincinnati Bengals (1-11-1): FOX, 1pm EST - This is a must-win game for the Redskins if they have a prayer playing beyond December. Their chemistry is bruised and bleeding right now which is not coming at a good time during this current swoon.

• Detroit Lions (0-13) at Indianapolis Colts (9-4): FOX, 1pm EST - Picture a steaming hot cup of water being poured on an ice cube.

• Seattle Seahawks (2-11) at St. Louis Rams (2-11): FOX, 1pm EST - Yep, you guessed it.

• San Francisco 49ers (5-8) at Miami Dolphins (8-5): FOX, 1pm EST - Winning is just too much fun, and I don't see the Niners disrupting that. Miami should be juiced in front of their home fans despite the much-improved play of the Niners lately.

• Green Bay Packers (5-8) at Jacksonville Jaguars (4-9): FOX, 1pm EST - Mathematically, the Packers are still in it, but that probably won't last long. Their running defense is horrible, they haven't played well on the road, and Jacksonville has nothing to lose.

• San Diego Chargers (5-8) at Kansas City Chiefs (2-11): CBS, 1pm EST - Both teams have just been dreadful this year, but the Chargers are hanging on by a prayer which won't be needed vs. the league's worst defense.

• Buffalo Bills (6-7) at NY Jets (8-5): CBS, 1pm EST - The Bills are in a nose dive, and the Jets are staring at a possible division title. Do the math.

• Tennessee Titans (12-1) at Houston Texans (6-7): CBS, 1pm EST - Needless to say, Houston has been eliminated from the playoffs, but they'd love to put a dent in the Titans armor. Tennessee wants home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

• Minnesota Vikings (8-5) at Arizona Cardinals (8-5): FOX, 4:05pm EST - Arizona has led the league this year with points scored per game at 28.6. You can attribute a majority of this to the fantastic year that Kurt Warner has had. This average should go up vs. the league's 20th-ranked secondary.

• Denver Broncos (8-5) at Carolina Panthers (10-3): CBS, 4:15pm EST - Denver has won 4 out of 5 games and is 3-0 vs. NFC South opponents this season. But, they are extra thin at RB, and haven't learned to stop one yet on defense.

• Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3) at Baltimore Ravens (9-4): CBS, 4:15pm EST - Both teams have ironclad defenses and effective offenses. Also, they simply hate each other and shouldn't have a problem assembling a fantastic battle. Pittsburgh wins the division with a win.

• New England Patriots (8-5) at Oakland Raiders (3-10): CBS, 4:15pm EST - There is a cloud of uncertainty at the time of this article over who will be the Patriots QB. Matt Cassel's father died this week, and if he can't go Sunday then it will be rookie Kevin O'Connell will get the nod vs. this horrendous Raiders team.

• NY Giants (11-2) at Dallas Cowboys (8-5): NBC, 8:15pm EST - Due to the crushing loss last week vs. Pitt and the fact that this is the second-to-last home game in Texas Stadium, I expect that India will be able to hear the crowd Sunday night. The Cowboys are in need of more self-discipline and heart, but I expect that they'll find what it takes to shock the world champions.

• Cleveland Browns (4-9) at Philadelphia Eagles (7-5-1): ESPN, 8:30pm EST, MNF - Romeo Crennel will probably be someone's defensive coordinator next season.

STANDINGS

Chris Mortensen: 12-4, 144-64

Mark Schlereth: 12-4, 138-70

Eddie Chinn: 12-4, 136-72

Mike Golic: 12-4, 124-83

Ron Jaworski: 11-4, 128-66