Out on a Limb
Fantasy Football Predictions

Bye, Bye Love

The predictions made here each week do not represent the views of everyone on FIC and should not be used for gambling purposes.

Some try blind guesses by having their pets pick the games each week based on which treat they decide to choose. Others make themselves out to have bizarre psychic nicknames. Still more throw darts at a board and pick whoever it lands on. And, yes... there are a few actual experts, but I'm not one of them.

Bye, Bye Love

For a while last weekend, it seemed that upsets were abound. After the Falcons went into Lambeau last Saturday night and did the unthinkable, both of the road dogs had double digit second half leads on Sunday, but the home teams, much like they often do in the playoffs, came through with two of the better comebacks in playoff history. Can the Jets, Steelers, Falcons, and 49ers use last week's victories as a springboard when they take to the road themselves against four well-rested opponents? Or will the week off leave the home favorites fresh enough to reach the Conference Championship games?

Pittsburgh at Tennessee
The Titans and Steelers met in Tennessee just two months ago, with the Titans notching their fifth straight win 31-23 over the Steelers. When they meet this weekend, the Titans will be seeking a sixth straight win, running over from the regular season. On the other hand, the Steelers will be seeking their fifth straight since a 24-6 loss to Houston in Week 14. When the two teams met earlier in the season, the Titans nearly ended Tommy Maddox's season prematurely. For the Titans to beat the Steelers again, they'll need to be firing on all cylinders and hitting with ferocity.

The Titans are as red hot as any team in the league, with 10 wins in their last 11 games, and have been murder on teams that come to Nashville. Despite the fact that Eddie George doesn't look like the same back he was two years ago, he remains one thing.... durable. George will continue to pound the line with 25+ touches, opening up the passing (and scrambling) lanes for Air McNair against a Steelers defense that's still prone to getting beaten through the air. Derrick Mason will need a little help from Frank Wycheck and the rest of the banged-up receiving corps. McNair should continue to be efficient at getting the ball to his wideouts and keeping the ball away from opposing corners, though he may not remember how to play now that he's finally healthy.

Tommy Maddox will again be forced to play from behind, and Tennessee's defense bent a lot through the air this season, finishing 25th in the league. The problem area here might be that Tennessee plays a style which allows them to play keepaway a lot better than the Browns did last week. While many claim that his counterpart, Eddie George, is over the hill, Jerome Bettis appears to have little left in the tank. Amos Zereoue provides a fantastic third-down type of back. While Zereoue will likely see the majority of the carries again this week, he's not the type of back that can really handle a batterring line like the Titans have. Tennessee limited him to just 16 yards on 9 carries when they played in November. Without a healthy Bettis, Tommy Maddox will struggle to find enough time to hit Plaxico Burress and Hines Ward. Titans 27, Steelers 17

Atlanta at Philadelphia
Much could be made about how the Eagles haven't had to face a guy like Vick all season long, but they've seen plenty of McNabb. Speaking of McNabb, he'll return this week, which should be a boost to the NFC's best team.

It's almost unfair to ask Mike Vick to try and take down Lambeau Field one week and have to head to freezing cold Philadelphia the next, only to play on one of the worst-kept fields in the league. The job that Vick and the Falcons did last weekend in beating the best quarterback of the last decade was admirable, but Green Bay didn't do a whole lot to help themselves in that game. The Packers Special Teams were awful, leading to two scores. Ahman Green looked completely out of sync, and nowhere near 100%. Even the defense looked clueless. When they head to Philly this week, Vick will get a feeling of deja vu. Why?

Even though the Eagles haven't faced a QB like Vick all year, Vick has faced a defense like Philly's... twice. In those two games, Vick accounted for a total of 10 rushing yards and 162 passing yards with one touchdown and an interception in two blowout losses against Tampa Bay.

The Eagles defense may not [i]quite[/i] be the Bucs defense, but it's the only one that's even worthy of being placed in the same league. Three out of the four members of Philly's secondary are headed to the Pro Bowl, and the defensive line loves to pound away on backs. Hugh Douglas remains one of the more brutal linebackers in the league, and Vick will soon learn that he'll suffer a nasty hit every time he tries to tuck the ball away (or, actually, to hold the ball out) and run against this defense. Removing Vick's scrambling from the equation, Atlanta suddenly becomes very one-dimensional, and should have trouble generating much of anything.

While McNabb won't run as much as he usually does (if at all), he showed the league that he [i]can[/i] win games as a pocket passer. In fact, the last time he was on the field, he threw for four touchdowns and 255 yards on a broken ankle. McNabb is the QB that Vick aspires to become. He's a great scrambler, a heads-up, smart all-around player, and a quality passer. McNabb, along with a solid two man backfield led by Duce Staley and Dorsey Levens, should have little trouble generating enough offense to put down the upstart Falcons this week. While Vick beat the best QB of the last decade last week, he won't be able to beat the best QB in the league [b]right now[/b] this week. Eagles 30, Falcons 13

San Francisco at Tampa Bay
The Niners seem to have a big problem. They don't play offensively with any urgency until they're down two touchdowns and their backs are against the wall. They did it last weekend against the Giants, and moved on, largely thanks to a blown call by the officials as the Giants lined up for a game-winning field goal. Can they use this temporary reprieve the way that Tom Brady (I'm [b]not[/b] saying it was a blown call last year against the Raiders, but it was controversial) and the Pats used the tuck rule to step their game up all the way to a championship?

The Niners have finally managed to win a playoff game under Mooch, and now must head into Tampa to face the most daunting defense the league has seen over the past decade. For an offense that plays pretty lackluster until their backs are against the wall (they also did this against the Seahawks [twice], the Cardinals, and the Cowboys this season) to have to face a squad like that could just be asking too much. However, the Bucs offense is just mediocre enough itself that it will allow the Niners to stay in the game, and that could spell trouble.

A threat like Terrell Owens is capable of beating anyone at any given time, and if the Bucs offense plays poorly enough so that the Niners stay in this one, Garcia will find him late in the fourth quarter for the game-winning score. Jon Gruden stuck with this team's strengths, and he'll stick with their weaknesses. The Bucs just aren't ready to move through the playoffs until they completely revamp their offense. Niners 20, Bucs 17

New York Jets at Oakland
This one should be the biggest shootout of the playoffs by far. With Charles Woodson playing hurt, Chad Pennington will find ways to get the ball to his talented receivers, and should keep the scoreboard rolling. Rich Gannon has a little gunslinging experience of his own, though. The two teams met on a Monday night earlier in the season, with Oakland pulling out a hard fought 26-20 victory.

The Jets defense did a phenomenal job shutting down Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, and the Colts last weekend, but will have to double their effort to pull anything similar against the most experienced and potent offense in the AFC. Rich Gannon will continue to fire passes to Tim Brown, Jerry Porter, and Jerry Rice in this one, and Charlie Garner should get a lot of solid touches himself.

The key to this game will likely be (of all things) the running game. Curtis Martin and Lamont Jordan have to continue to be effective out of the backfield, which in turn will give Pennington plenty of time to look downfield when he drops back. Garner has been fantastic out of the backfield when he gets a carry, but is more valuable in the flat as a receiver. With Martin and Jordan chewing up clock, they should be able to help the Jets hold onto the ball when they get it last, and the last team to have the ball may very well win this one. Jets 37, Raiders 34

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