Week 16 Preview & Predictions

San Diego +3 at Tennessee

Two of the hottest teams in the AFC will battle on Christmas.  Not such a bad gift for those of us that like to watch football.  The Chargers need one more win to clinch the second seed in the AFC, while the Titans need to win their last two games and then get some help to get in as a wildcard.  If not for the season’s Peyton Manning and Drew Brees are having, Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers name would be right up there in MVP consideration.  Another MVP candidate could be Titans running back Chris Johnson who does it all.  He can take it to the house via the run or the pass.  He may even be the number one pick next year in fantasy drafts.

Fantasy Impact:  Not that you would anyway, but the Titans suffered a couple of injuries on the defensive side of the ball last week; I’d start all my Chargers with confidence.

Prediction:  San Diego

 

Buffalo +9 at Atlanta

Brian Brohm is set to start at quarterback for the Bills on Sunday.  Ouch, that should be enough to keep wide receivers Terrell Owens and Lee Evans on the bench, even against a depleted Atlanta secondary.  Look for the Bills to give the ball to running backs Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch as much as they can.  Matt Ryan returned at QB last week for the Falcons and led Atlanta to an unimpressive win over the Jets.  Buffalo owns a strong pass defense, but can be run on all day long.

Fantasy Impact: Falcons running back Michael Turner only had one rush last week before re-injuring his ankle.  Even if he does play on Sunday I wouldn’t take my chances with him, I’d bench him.

Prediction:  Atlanta

 

Kansas City +14 at Cincinnati

It’s hard to believe this but Jamaal Charles is a must start each and every week.  What took Chiefs head coach Todd Haley so long to make Charles the starter?  The return of wide receiver Dwayne Bowe from suspension last week should also open up the running lanes for Charles.  A win on Sunday or a Baltimore loss clinches the AFC North for the Bengals.  They could certainly use some good news and an extra week to rest up for the playoffs certainly wouldn’t hurt any either.

Fantasy Impact: Will Bengals running back Larry Johnson have any extra motivation in this game against his former team.

Prediction:  Kansas City

 

Oakland +3 at Cleveland

The battle of ineptitude.  Even though he led the Raiders to a last second victory over Denver last week, quarterback JaMarcus Russell still won’t get the start in this game.  Charlie Frye will instead.  Tells you a lot about his chances of being in Oakland next season, now doesn’t it.  Cleveland has QB issues of their own as Brady Quinn is out for the remainder of the season with a foot injury.  Derek Anderson gets another shot for the Browns.

Fantasy Impact: Assuming Browns head coach Eric Mangini hasn’t gone bonkers one has to think running back James Harrison is a solid play here.

Prediction:  Cleveland

 

Seattle +14 at Green Bay

The Seahawks put up a pathetic performance at home last week against the Buccaneers.  Not much reason to think this game will get any better against a playoff bound Packer team needing a win to clinch a playoff berth.  The Packers are sure to come into this game being a little angry after their last second loss to the Steelers in Week 15.  The offense was outstanding although they did give up on the run game a bit early.  Look for running back Ryan Grant and the rest of the Packers to re-establish the ground game this week.

Fantasy Impact: Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselback looked awful last week, turning the ball over five times.  Injuries have certainly caught up with him and he is certainly nowhere near a top NFL QB anymore.

Prediction:  Seattle

 

Houston +3 at Miami

The winner of this game will have something to play for next week, the loser, not so much.  There is a scene in the movie “Airplane” where Leslie Nielsen’s character is talking and his nose is growing because he’s lying, that what I think of every time Texans head coach Gary Kubiak speaks.  How many fantasy owners bought his line about running back Arian Foster getting a majority of the carries last week?  Same thing earlier this season in regards to Steve Slaton, Ryan Moats, and Chris Brown also.  The Dolphins have come a long way this season and are living and dying on the mistakes of quarterback Chad Henne.  Henne has played well at times but still, he is essentially a rookie QB and he has cost the Dolphins a game or two with ill timed interceptions including one last week in overtime against the Titans.

Fantasy Impact: The Dolphins weakness is in their secondary, Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson could be in for a big game.

Prediction:  Houston

 

Jacksonville +8 at New England

One has to wonder how much the Jaguars have left in their tank after a tough loss to the Colts last week.  The Patriots can be beaten through the air so this bodes well for David Garrard and Mike Sims-Walker.  That being said they won’t want to forget about the running game and Maurice Jones-Drew.  Patriots quarterback Tom Brady only passed for a little over 100 yards last week in Buffalo.  The Pats still won the game but you would have to think that Brady and the Patriots would like to see a strong passing performance this week to get things back on track.

Fantasy Impact:  New England running back Laurence Maroney is actually becoming a must play week in and week out, not so much for the yards gained, but for the touchdowns scored.

Prediction:  New England

 

Tampa Bay +14 at New Orleans

Good for the Buccos as they went to Seattle last week and beat up on the Seahawks.  Quarterback Josh Freeman finally got back on track and stopped throwing interceptions in the red zone which was killing Tampa the past few weeks.  The Saints had their chance at an undefeated season stopped by the Cowboys in Week 15 and that may be the best thing for them.  They now know what it feels like to lose and can get that hunger back.  Coach Sean Peyton has already stated that his starters will play so there is no reason to worry about that.  Could be a big blowout here as New Orleans will look to clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Fantasy Impact: Couple of injuries for New Orleans, running back Reggie Bush has a hamstring injury and wide receiver Lance Moore re-injured his ankle last week against Dallas. 

Prediction:  New Orleans

 

Carolina +7 at Giants

The Panthers pulled off an upset last Sunday night and defeated the Vikings.  They did so by putting a ton of pressure on quarterback Brett Favre.  So much pressure in fact that the Vikings wanted to pull him out of the game before he got hurt.  It’s amazing what defensive end Julius Peppers can do when he puts his mind on playing.  The Giants blew the Redskins out of the building on Monday night thus keeping their playoff hopes alive.  They will look to do the same here.  This is a good matchup for the Giants, they have played the run extremely well of late but have had problems against the pass, and the Panthers are not much of a threat throwing the ball but can certainly run it.

Fantasy Impact: Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams will be questionable for the game after re-injuring his ankle early in the game versus Minnesota.

Prediction:  Giants

 

Baltimore +3 at Pittsburgh

Somehow you just knew this rematch would be of mega importance.  The Ravens won the first game in overtime, but remember, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger missed the game with a concussion.  This game should be a hard hitting physical affair although neither team is as good defensively as they once were.  The Ravens will look to control the clock with running back Ray Rice while the Steelers are sure to trust the right arm of Roethlisberger, especially after he posted a 500 yard passing game versus Green Bay last week.

Fantasy Impact: At this point it doesn’t look like safety Troy Polamalu or Ed Reed will play for their respective teams.  Perhaps the loss of these two are the reason why neither teams boasts the defense they once did.

Prediction:  Pittsburgh

 

St. Louis +14 at Arizona

I don’t care who’s starting for St. Louis at quarterback, the only player that matters to fantasy owners is running back Steven Jackson and there is still an injury concern with his back although Jackson states that he wants to finish out the season.  The Cardinals have clinched the NFC West, but not their seeding so all of their starter will play in what looks like a cake matchup.  Hard not to see quarterback Kurt Warner and company lighting up the scoreboard in this one.

Fantasy Impact:  After last week’s game versus Detroit I believe Chris Wells has finally announced that he has arrived.

Prediction:  Arizona

 

Detroit +12 at San Francisco

The Lions are a walking MASH unit.  Quarterback Matthew Stafford will not start this game and the Lions haven’t announced whether Daunte Culpepper or Drew Stanton will get the nod.  Doesn’t matter, neither is a start here.  49ers QB Alex Smith layed an egg last week in Philadelphia.  After playing well when first handed the starting job, Smith has regressed a bit the past few games.  The 49ers brass would like to see him finish the season strong before they hand him the starting job next season. 

Fantasy Impact:  Hard not to start your 49ers here.  Harder to start any Lions.

Prediction:  San Francisco

 

Jets +6 at Indianapolis

The Jets need to win their last two games to have any chance at making the playoffs.  Hard to see them giving the Colts their first loss of the season, but then again we don’t know if and how long the Colts may play their starters.  Jets QB Mark Sanchez has been an interception machine for most of the season including last week’s devastating loss to the Falcons so look for them to keep the ball on the ground with Tomas Jones.  As for the Colts, keep an eye on the news.  If the Colts announce that their starters will play a full game then go with them, but assuming they don’t announce their plans, then it will be a gamble. 

Fantasy Impact:  Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis will probably be on Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne in this game might want to sit Reggie either way.

Prediction:  Indianapolis

 

Denver +7 at Philadelphia

After a 6-0 start to the season, Denver has the look of a team that is slowly dying.  The 16 game schedule can be an awfully long one and getting off to a fast start is nice, but it’s best to be consistent over the long haul.  The Broncos are a small team and the wear and tear may finally be catching up with them.  A loss here would put them at 8-7 and tied with quite a few other teams.  The Eagles still have a shot at the second seed and a first round bye so you know they will be coming out flying in this one.  Look for cornerback Assante Samuel to be all over Broncos wide receiver Brendon Marshall, forcing someone else to beat them.

Fantasy Impact:  Eagles running back Brian Westbrook should make his return from a concussion in this one.  Question is how much will he play.

Prediction:  Philadelphia

 

Dallas -7 at Washington

Did the Cowboys put their December swoon behind them with that win in New Orleans on Saturday?  For their sake let’s hope so.  Quarterback Tony Romo has looked great in his last half dozen games or so and is a must start even against a strong Washington defense, and let’s face it, Washington looked like it mailed in the rest of their season with that performance against the Giants Monday night.  Dallas is sure to try and pressure Jason Campbell after watching the Giants plant him in the turf after every pass attempt on Monday.

Fantasy Impact:  Dallas finally wised up and released kicker Nick Folk signing Shaun Suisham.

Prediction:  Washington

 

Minnesota -7 at Chicago

Good to see quarterback Brett Favre and head coach Brad Childress ironed out their differences on Wednesday.  It seemed that Childress was unhappy with Favre constantly audibling out of play calls and wanted to pull him from the game on Sunday and Favre refused to come out.  When you signed Favre out of retirement, you signed the whole package, and that includes dealing with Favre’s personality and the fact that he may be bigger than the head coach.  Bad timing for the Vikings as the season is coming to an end and playoff time is upon us, and that’s the time of season they want Favre at his best.  Chicago has a completely different quarterback problem as Jay Cutler has lost all confidence.  The off-season had better be a dedication to figuring out how to get the best out of Cutler.

Fantasy Impact:  Before decided whether or not to start Favre on Monday night, I’d check the weather conditions as Favre does not perform in colder conditions like he once used to.

Prediction:  Minnesota

 LAST WEEK: 5-10-1

OVERALL: 120-101-3

This post was written by George Kurtz