Week 17 NFL Recap

Here’s a quick recap of last week’s picks:

My Pick: PHILADELPHIA (-8.5) over Washington; Reality: Redskins 10 – Eagles 34; Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan believes his team will be the 2012 NFC East Champions. I would say that happening would be the surest sign possible of 2012 being the year the world ends.

My Pick: ATLANTA (-12) over Tampa Bay; Reality: Bucs 24 – Falcons 45; One last time: I TOLD YOU SO

My Pick: San Francisco (-10.5) over ST. LOUIS; Reality: 49ers 34 – Rams 27; Meh

My Pick: Chicago (-1) over MINNESOTA; Reality: Bears 17 – Vikings 13; Slightly less derpy than I imagined only because Jared Allen made a serious run at Michael Strahan’s all time sack record. Fun fact: I was at the game where Strahan set the record, it was cold as balls.

My Pick: Detroit (-3.5) over GREEN BAY; Reality: Lions 41 – Packers 45; Because MVP voters are incredibly stupid, Matt Flynn likely just cost Aaron Rodgers his trophy.

My Pick: NEW ORLEANS (-8) over Carolina; Reality: Panthers 17 – Saints 45; The Packers are definitely thrilled that they won’t have to travel to the Superdome during the playoffs.

My Pick: Tennessee (-3) over HOUSTON; Reality: Titans 23 – Texans 22; One underrated story line this season has been what a good job Matt Hasselbeck did in building a bridge to the Jake Locker era in Nashville. Whichever team drafts RGIII or Landry Jones would be wise to pick up Hasselbeck as a veteran tutor/bridge. It would be a great late career reinvention for Hasselbeck, who has had one of the most fascinating career paths of any starting NFL QB: beginning as one of Brett Favre’s backups in Green Bay, before splitting time in Seattle with Trent Dilfer and eventually becoming a pro bowler, to his final incarnation as veteran mentor.

My Pick: CINCINNATI (+2.5) over Baltimore; Reality: Ravens 24 – Bengals 16; Go ahead and tell me you picked the Bengals to make the playoffs pre-season.

My Pick: Kansas City (+3.5) over DENVER; Reality: Chiefs 7 – Broncos 3; The KYLE ORTON REVENGE GAME was just as predictably uninspiring as everyone expected. Good job backing in to the playoffs Denver!

My Pick: NY Jets (+2.5) over MIAMI; Reality Jets 17 – Dolphins 19; Hooray for barely covering!

My Pick: San Diego (-3) over OAKLAND; Reality: Chargers 38 – Raiders 26; My theory that God hates Chargers fans has been definitively proven by Norv Turner keeping his job.

My Pick: Pittsburgh (-7) over CLEVELAND; Reality: Steelers 13 – Browns 9; Double meh

My Pick: Indianapolis (+3) over JACKSONVILLE; Reality: Colts 13 – Jaguars 19; The Jaguars should have lost this game to keep Andrew Luck from the Colts. Enjoy your decade of futility Jacksonville.

My Pick: NEW ENGLAND (-11) over Buffalo; Reality: Bills 21 – Pats 49; The Patriots are pretty good at scoring points

My Pick: Seattle (+3) over ARIZONA; Reality: Seahawks 20 – Cardinals 23; Seattle is going to be really good when they get Peyton Manning or Matt Flynn next year.

My Pick: NY GIANTS (-3) over Dallas; Reality: Cowboys 14 – Giants 31; YES!

Programming Note

Howdy folks and Happy 2012. I’ve been remiss to post here this week, but I’m swamped with work for my real job that pays me money. That said, you can expect your Weekly NFL Recap tomorrow, along with the traditional Gregg Easterbrook takedown. Regular posting Thursday and Friday, but I may be sporadic early next week as well. Sorry, but also deal with it.