Useless predictions: 2021 Week 14 picks

   Not too shabby a week, still I didn't realize I picked a lot of UNDERS and still hit on a lot of them, ah the NFL full of surprises. OK maybe the Texans will consistently suck from now on, finally some stability, now only need the Jets to accept it too. Congrats to the Lions for finally getting to know what is a win. The Football team refuses to be at the bottom half, they want to be considered good but are they able to achieve it? The AFC north is drunk. Belichick you old wizard you, so impressive yet so easy to hate. On to next week.

W13 Record: 4-9

Overall: 39-126 (23%)

Atlanta (+2.5) at Carolina    O41.5

   The Panthers are a Shell of they could be, they seem los without McCaffrey and that is all and good for the Falcons to pounce on their weaken rival. 

Dallas (-6.5) at Washington    U48

   The Football Team is giving everything they got as of late, I am not sure if the Cowboys can handle a hungry Team, still they have a more flashy Team that should cover. 

Seattle (-9) at Houston    U40.5

   Ok Texans, you suck now and there is no turning back, if the Seahawks cant get this done they dont deserve nice things. 

Baltimore at Cleveland (-2.5)    O44

   The Browns should feast against a banged up Ravens team that has been struggling offensively these past few games. 

New Orleans (-5.5) at NY Jets    U42

   Looks like the Jets are losing offensive weapons every game, if it wasnt for Kamara I wouldnt know who to pick. 

Las Vegas at Kansas City (-9.5)    U48

   The Real Chiefs should not have a problem beating a Raiders team missing key players on defense, its a wait and see which team takes the field. 

Jacksonville at Tennessee (-8.5)    O43.5

   The Jaguars have peaked soap opera levels of an organization, the Titans need to punch the gas early to demoralize them even more and nevel look back. 

NY Giants at LA Chargers (-9)    U43.5

   Some see this one ending in an upset but I cant take a team starting Mike Glennon seriously.

Detroit at Denver (-11. 5)    U42

   I really want to pick the Lions but their injury list looks to have no end this week, the Broncos defense should manage to tame them. 

Buffalo (+3.5) at Tampa Bay    O52.5

   Lets see if better weather can help the Bills have an all out air battle with Brady. 

San Francisco at Cincinnati  (+2)   U49

   Burrow looks to be much better with his injured finger and looks like Garoppolo will be missing some needed weapons. 

Chicago at Green Bay (-11.5)    O43

   Im not getting my hopes up. 

LA Rams at Arizona (-2.5)    O51.5

   This should be a good one, will go with the hotter team as of late but the Rams are loaded and are more than capable of winning every game they play, they just need to get it togheter. 

W13vsARI: Not weather proof

   It was the right call entering this game with low expectations, even if the loss was due to a bunch of bad luck and nothing going the Bears way, still there was too much of the same that has this team stuck in the mud and just turns your stomach to watch this offense trying to function, cant do anything but laugh at the shame of watching your team try to play profesional football.

   Andy Dalton ended this game with 4 interceptions, the one to Jakeem Grant was a bad pass, the one to Cole Kmet was thrown behind him, was it catchable? Yes, under those conditions? difficult. Next one was a tipped ball and the last one was a good defensive play where Dalton didn't see him coming and ended being a bad decision. So the weather affected his throwing no doubt and some could be considered bad luck, all of this I can understand but what I cant is the lack of deep throws and the lack of receiver using the entirety of the field, I saw easily 4 or 5 plays where receivers found open spots downfield for 20 or more yards but Dalton didn't see or didn't try to throw it to them and the reason can be obvious, Dalton isn't good throwing deep and wont even try in bad weather conditions, even so the plan was awful, there was a play that ended in a sack where they went trips formation and all three receivers went deep and left the other half of the field empty, there where other plays like this one where they didn't use the whole field and they just clumped up or guys got open deep, what for? Dalton isn't even going to try these throws. The Cardinals have a lot of agility and speed at LB and DB but honestly the defense counts on that athleticism to much and misses on assignments which the Bears didn't take advantage on, they had a chance to win this game and they sunk in turnovers and despair.

Upside players: David Montgomery was the best players in this game and still manages to frustrate me in some plays because he doesn't cut or bounce to the side, he did it once and I was like MORE!

Downside players: Dalton limited this offense and was manhandled by rain, that is sad. Cole Kmet didn't have a good game and was in on two of the turnovers, the pass he could handle and the other where he pushed the defender to Daltons throwing lane and ended on the tipped interception, just a bad day I hope.

The defense is still asked to much and on this game they were put in difficult situations all game, they made the Cardinals play hard but there isn't much to see or expect from them when the offense just gut punches you with a plethora of turnovers and bad field position. 

Upside players: Robert Quinn still manages to appear and make big plays. Roquan Smith playing hurt is impressive. Jaylon Johnson got robbed of an offensive pass interference that resulted in a TD, other than that he played solid.

Downside players: Xavier Crawford was the new victim in the secondary, missing a tackle resulting in the only TD allowed not coming after a turnover.

   Crunching the numbers for a bit and found out that the Bears can still make the playoff with a 7-10 record which is rather funny, a team reaching the postseason with a losing record is a joke and no other team would take them serious and its with good reason, only exception would be is that team is getting players back from injury which would not be the Bears case, if they really want to get in with the big boys they need  win all out which is not imposible, the Packers would be the toughest team they have left, losing this game would not automatically eliminate them but winning this game would start some momentum and boost the confidence of the team, forget the coaches they have already lost, this needs to come from the players, thank the football gods we get Justin Fields to play against the Packers on a primetime match, things could still turn ugly but I believe the possibility minimizes with Fields playing rather than with Dalton. The injury list for this game is promising with almost everyone being available, wouldn't surprise me if some of them are still hurting but cant let this one go by, it may be the last chance some of them get to give Rodgers something to remember.

Useless predictions: 2021 Week 13 picks

   Another catastrophe of a week, what the hell Eagles? I know that the Giants defense is its best attribute but really? 1 TD? I'm starting to hate the Patriots again, one bad season wasn't enough. The Texans are the worst bipolar team in the NFL just feeding on anger and shame, then there's the Broncos who are still deciding if they are going to be good or bad this season. Seattle is never going to win again are they? On to next week.

W12 Record: 1-10

Overall: 35-117 (23%)

Tampa Bay (-11) at Atlanta    U50.5

   The Bucs have everything to dominate against a somewhat depleted Falcons team, still Matt Ryan can upset a known divisional foe but it shouldn't happen though.

Minnesota (-7) at Detroit    U46.5

   The Vikings are the better team, they will miss Dalvin Cook but it shouldn't matter against a very bad Lions team, if the Vikings consider themselves a playoff contender they cant get surprised by a team like this.

Philadelphia  at NY Jets (+5)   O45

   The Eagles re a very unstable team and the Jets are a bad team with some pieces in place just not the important one, still Zach Wilson is a talented rookie capable of putting points on the board, this game might be one.

LA Chargers (+3) at Cincinnati     U50.5

   The Bengals seem like the more cohesive team as of late where the Chargers have struggled to get it together, the Bengals are a little more banged up than the Chargers so I'm taking the points.

Indianapolis (-10) at Houston    U45.5

   What are the Texans but a bet buster, I wouldn't be able to comprehend if they show being capable of competing against the Colts unless they start hurting themselves.

Arizona (-7.5) at Chicago    U43.5

   The Bears should have a shot against a Cardinals team that will probably get back Hopkins and Murray to an offense that has been winning without them meanwhile the Bears will have to play Dalton once more which is not promising.

NY Giants at Miami (-4)    U41

   The Giants are in shambles offensively but can count on their defense to some degree, the Dolphins just have to be able to score which is not a given but could succeed unlike the Eagles.

Jacksonville at LA Rams (-13)    U48

   The Rams can get back on track hanging one more win against another bad team.

Washington (+1.5) at Las Vegas    O48

   This should be close game, both teams are very like and injured on the DL, which QB wants it more?

San Francisco  at Seattle (+3)   U45.5

   Seahawks at home against a known rival who has some key injuries at offense and defense, there's an opportunity here to break the funk the Seahawks have been carrying around the past weeks..

Baltimore  at Pittsburgh (+4.5)    O44

   The Ravens CBs are really banged up, the Steelers should take advantage of this.

Denver (+9.5) at Kansas City     U47

   I'm picking the Broncos that have played the last two weeks to make this one close against a Chiefs team that still look mortal.

New England at Buffalo (-3)    O41.5

   Early playoff ,matchup, can the Patriots keep up their steady growth, which Bills team will they face? the monster or the pretender?

W12@DET: Thanks... I guess

    The Andy Dalton led Bears barely got the win against a Detroit team that is just utterly lost in all formats, a win is a win but the Bears showed little to no development that says they are getting better and can beat good teams, to be fair if the offense showed improvement under Dalton it would mean very little for the future of this team.

   Dalton did a good job coming off the bench and finished the game throwing for more than 300 yards and still left some big pass play opportunities that he didn't see or just didn't want to risk it but strangely enough the Bears still only mustered a measly 16 points against an average defense who for most of the game seemed more focused on stopping the run and had success doing it limiting David Montgomery for less than 50 yards. It wasn't that they didn't move the ball, that hasn't been the main issue this year, its once they reach midfield they self destruct, players and coaches alike, they just don't know what to do or how do it right and get in the end zone or stop themselves from getting penalties, negative yards or even worse stop giving the ball away and come off the field with points, they are not even in the scenario were the problem is converting FGs into TDs because there are a lack of FG opportunities and even when they are Cairo Santos falls short on a 53 yarder, common you gotta make that! I mean is anyone interested in scoring on this team? The Bears are at the bottom of the barrel in most if not all offensive categories but the most striking one that influences on the lack of scoring opportunities is YAC, Ryan Pace got Marquise Goodwin, Damiere Byrd and Jakeem Grant to go along Darnell Mooney who all can go really fast and this team still can not use speed to its advantage, lately Grant is being used in what seems to be Tarik Cohens type of role when placed as a receiver and that is a good idea but that's where the bus stops, other that trying reverses and bubble screens that are poorly executed, there is no showing of speed from this offense or at least not enough with 1 or 2 successful plays sprinkled here and there this season, one more failed project as of now from this coaching staff. 

Upside players: Dalton did his part backing up for Justin Fields, if I considered him the started though I wouldn't place him here for this game. Darnell Mooney is a dangerous receiver, I am not concerned with his so called drops but evidently he isn't a possession receiver that will catch everything thrown his way.

Downside players: I'm not sure anyone deserves to be placed here this time, if any I would still call out Cody Whitehair for playing just average.

   The defense is hurting but still does enough to keep the score close, although it was against a bad team. Kindle Vildor was benched for Artie Burns who was almost immediately welcomed back to the NFL allowing a big TD pass to the Lions on the first drive, there wasn't anything major after that maybe because the Bears got back Eddie Jackson but there where opportunities for Jared Goff to go deep in some occasions but he is not a good QB, what I found extreme was the team giving zero snaps to Vildor and instead choosing to put Marqui Christian at NB, maybe because he has more practice time at the position but Vildor should get a crack at it sooner rather than later. The secondary problem is real and the front seven will not be able to cover it up with Khalil Mack out and now probably without Roquan Smith down for what Matt Nagy reported today to be not IR related, which means he probably will end up on IR, which is not ideal with the star power fading on the defensive side of the ball.

Upside players: Robert Quinn remains the prime player of this defense with the lack of key player due to injury. Alec Ogletree keeps playing good football and will be counted now more than ever to fill the shoes of Smith. Angelo Blackson was a terror for the Lions OL.

Downside players: Right now it will be whoever fills the CB2 role, this game was Burns, it would be good to see him get better but he isn't the future for the team.

   The Bears are too damaged to be taken seriously and next up against the Cardinals will very probably result in disaster and to make matters worse they will most likely be counting on Kyle Murray and DeAndre Hopkins to come back from injury, perfect timing eh? Nagy reporting that Fields is still being limited at practice and Dalton is taking the first team snaps, there is just no news that makes this game interesting and even less promising for the Bears to pull out a miracle win, the only interesting item left is whether Tevon Jenkins will make his debute, still waiting for Jason Peters to break the good news because you cant even count on Nagy for that.