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KodiakJag · 12-02-2019, 04:19 AM

I'm filling in for Bullseye while health issues prevent him from posting. Bullseye, we all miss you and hope your situation improves.

I'd like to take the liberty of saying that I hope everyone had a safe, warm and relaxing Thanksgiving. This year was the 2nd consecutive year my family had a smoked turkey instead of an oven-baked turkey. It was less messy, but I think I want to go the oven route again next year. I followed the football games and then watched a movie with my family. The movie was called "For Sama" and was a documentary about the battle of Aleppo. Needless to say, after watching that movie we all agreed that we had a lot to be thankful for. I was also thankful for going 2-1 on my picks. Huge props to Wolfie who went 3-0 and seems to have a knack for picking upsets. Also, a little credit to Anonymous who was the only other poster to give the Texans a chance.

Tennessee @ [font=Arial]Indianapolis [/font]- Recap

With 5 minutes left in the game, Colts fans could be excused for being cautiously optimistic. Having marched 62 yards down the field and with the score tied 17-17 & lined up for the go-ahead field goal, there wasn't serious cause for apprehension. They had all their timeouts, which would ensure they would most likely get at least one more offensive drive in no matter what the Titans did on their ensuing possession.
Sometimes fans have to deal with terrible heartbreak, however, and this was one of those times. In a wild ending to the game, the Colts would see their field goal attempt blocked AND returned for a touchdown. Two plays into their next drive, Jacoby Brissett is picked off and that results in another Titan touchdown after a 3rd down pass from Tannehill to Kalif Raymond goes 40 yards for the score.

This loss had dire consequences for Indianapolis, who now have to go on the road for 3 of their last 4 games and do battle with Tampa Bay, New Orleans, Carolina, and Jacksonville. A full sweep might be required to qualify for the postseason. As for Tennessee, they have two home games and 2 road games left, and have to play Oakland, New Orleans, and Houston (twice). This is also a tough finish, but it will make for some interesting and meaningful football in December.

Tampa Bay @ Jacksonville - Recap

Turnovers, turnovers. Nick Foles once again struggled, giving up an interception and 2 fumbles due to sacks...one of those fumbles being a fumble-6. He would be benched at halftime, but by the time Gardner Minshew II took over at quarterback for the Jags the score was 25-0 in favor of the Buccaneers. GM15 would bring a spark to the offense before the night was through and would navigate the Jags to 11 points, almost adding another touchdown pass if Westbrook had been able to catch & retain it. Credit to the Bucs for coming prepared and ready to play even though they are mostly playing for pride.

New England @ [font=Arial]Houston[/font] - Recap

The end score was not an accurate depiction of how this game went. The Texans manhandled the Patriots, period. In probably their best game of the year, Houston did what I love to see..they got up 14-3 early on New England and did not play to simply protect the lead. On the contrary, they stayed aggressive and aired it out the entire game, increasing their lead to 28-9 with 10 minutes left in the 4th quarter. That is how you beat the Patriots. Deshaun Watson's performance was excellent, and included 3 passing touchdowns and another touchdown he ran in on a trick play. Was it just me, or did Brady seem to look more old & slow that he has before? Regardless, by New England dropping that game they now have ceded the coveted "Home Field Throughout" lead to Baltimore.

Now for the picks:

Game 1 (Denver @ [font=Arial]Houston[/font])

Last week, Denver (4-8) pulled out a close win at home against the Chargers (4-8) as Gus Bradley's defense gave up a 37 yard pass interference penalty with 3 seconds left in the game. This allowed a 53 yard field goal attempt, which was good. Don't expect similar heroics in this game. If this game isn't over by the start of the 4th quarter, then I'll be very surprised.

[font=Arial][font=Arial]Texans[/font][/font] 33
[font=Arial][font=Arial]Broncos[/font][/font] 10

Game 2 ([font=Arial]Indianapolis[/font] @ [font=Arial][font=Arial]Tampa Bay[/font][/font])

How good are the Colts, really? Back-to-back losses against divisional rivals have taken their toll, and the Colts (6-6) find themselves on the outside and looking in as far as playoffs are concerned. The Buccaneers (5-7) have managed to look competent the last few weeks, but they have only won 1 game out of 5 at home this year. I think Indy's push for a 10-6 record and possible playoff berth gets off on the right foot this week.

[font=Arial][font=Arial][font=Arial][font=Arial]Colts[/font][/font][/font][/font] 27
[font=Arial][font=Arial][font=Arial][font=Arial][font=Arial]Buccaneers[/font][/font][/font][/font][/font] 23

Game 3 (San Diego @ Jacksonville)

The Chargers travel to Duval this Sunday to most likely face a Gardner Minshew II variation of the Jaguars offense. The Chargers' (4-8) season parallels the Jaguars' (4-8) season a little. Both teams have 4-8 records and both teams recently suffered back-to-back-to-back losses to divisional rivals that put the lid on their postseason aspirations. I wanted to preface this by saying I'm not a GM15 groupie or anything and I'm certainly not the homer type, but I like our Jaguars' chances in this matchup. Why? I'll give you 4 reasons:

1) The Chargers are a team that plays to the level of their competition, which gives anyone a shot against them.
2) Our Jaguars (4-8) as a whole seemed to respond well to the quarterback change last week. The defense seemed to tighten up, and the offense resembled a functional unit again.
3) Philip Rivers has been sacked 26 times this year, and I expect that number to go over 30 after this game.
4) Gus Bradley has always, always had a hard time winning in Jacksonville.

That's enough for me to spend a pick on the Jags this week.

[font=Arial][font=Arial][font=Arial][font=Arial]Jaguars[/font][/font][/font][/font] 26
[font=Arial][font=Arial][font=Arial]Chargers[/font][/font][/font] 21

Game 4 (Tennessee @ [font=Arial]Oakland[/font])

The Titans (7-5) travel to RingCentral Coliseum to take on the Raiders (6-6) in a 4pm matchup. Tennessee has everything working right now: competent QB play, good running game, a tough defense and a special teams unit that is very opportunistic. On the other hand, Oakland is very inconsistent and has a tendency to let the game get away when the dominos start falling. This leads to blowouts, and Oakland is no stranger to those. They also haven't really beaten a good team yet, unless you count the Colts in week 4. Compared to the rest of the Titan's schedule, this is a gimme win. I expect them to take full advantage of it.

[font=Arial][font=Arial][font=Arial][font=Arial][font=Arial]Titans[/font][/font][/font][/font][/font] 28
[font=Arial][font=Arial][font=Arial][font=Arial][font=Arial]Raiders[/font][/font][/font][/font][/font] 14

Last Week 2-1

Overall 27-12

Pete Prisco last week 2-1
Pete Prisco overall 21-18

"We believe in victory!" - Gus Bradley
"I don't want to believe. I want to know." - Carl Sagan