Nfl greek insider week 14

**jimmythegreek** · 12-12-10, 10:42 AM

Green Bay -6.5 over Detroit (bought half):
The Packers (8-4) are one-game back of North-leading Chicago, but find themselves trailing New Orleans and the New York Giants in the NFC wild-card standings. The Giants own the tiebreaker over the Packers because of a better conference record, which makes every remaining NFC game critical for Green Bay. Green Bay looks to win a franchise-record 11th straight over the Lions on Sunday at Ford Field. Beating the Lions (2-10), losers of an NFL-record 19 straight within the division, hasn't been much of a problem for Green Bay lately. The Packers have won 10 straight over the Lions since a 17-3 loss in Detroit on Sept. 11, 2005, and 18 of the last 20 meetings. Green Bay also had a 10-game winning streak in the series from 1940-45, but has never won 11 in a row in the series.

Aaron Rodgers has appeared in five games against Detroit, completing 70.4 percent of his passes for 1,523 yards with 14 touchdowns to three interceptions. He has a quarterback rating of 121.0 in those games, with the Packers averaging 33.4 points. In the first meeting of the season at Lambeau Field on Oct. 3, Green Bay led the Lions 28-14 in the third quarter, but had a tough time putting them away. Detroit finished the scoring with four Jason Hanson field goals and the Packers held on for a 28-26 victory. The PAckers have won five of six, outscoring their opponents by an average of 19.4 points in those five victories with their lone loss coming by three points at NFC South-leading Atlanta. Rodgers is coming off another stellar performance, completing 21 of 30 for 298 yards with three touchdowns and no picks. He hasn't thrown an interception in the last five games, and is averaging 308.0 yards with 11 touchdowns and a 131.3 QB rating in his last four. He'll be facing a Detroit defense that hasn't picked off a pass in five games and has yielded eight throwing TDs in the last three.

Detroit has been hit hard by injuries, and third-string quarterback Drew Stanton is set to start a second straight game and for just the third time since his 2007 rookie season. Stanton played relatively well Sunday against Chicago, completing 16 of 24 for 178 yards with a TD and running score that gave Detroit its first of four leads. The Lions were ahead 17-14 at halftime but gained just 49 yards in the second half and went on to lose 24-20. Detroit has now lost six games by five or fewer points. Stanton and the offense could again have some trouble moving the ball against a Green Bay defense that has allowed an NFL-best 180.5 passing yards in four games since Week 9. The Packers also lead in the league in scoring defense at 15.2 points.

The Packers remain just a game behind da Bears for the NFC North, and know there's a lot at stake here. With each win they can put the pressure on Chicago in quest for at worst a #2 seed while Detroit looks to play the role of spoiler in an improved yet otherwise decimated season due to injuries. The cheese should stand alone this afternoon in toasty Ford Field.

**jimmythegreek** · 12-12-10, 10:42 AM

Pittsburgh -8.5 over Cincinnati:
Pittsburgh (9-3) beat Baltimore 13-10 on Sunday to take over sole possession of first place in the division while moving closer to a potential first-round bye in the playoffs. As expected, it was another defensive battle. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 253 yards and passed for the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter after Pittsburgh got the ball back following a fumble caused by Troy Polamalu. The Steelers have returned to their trademark defense during a three-game win streak, giving up 29 points while allowing opponents to average 260 total yards. They gave up 80 points in their previous three games - a stretch that included losses to New Orleans and New England.

Sunday's victory over the Ravens didn't come without more injuries. Roethlisberger broke his nose on Pittsburgh's first series, although he still put together another solid performance. He underwent surgery Monday and despite also dealing with a sprained right foot, is expected to start Sunday. Roethlisberger is 9-4 as a starter against the Bengals, throwing for 163 yards and one touchdown in a 27-21 victory Nov. 8. He is just 3-3 at home against Cincinnati, including last season's 18-12 loss. While the Steelers are gearing up for a run at the playoffs after missing the postseason last year, the Bengals (2-10), AFC North champions in 2009, are trying to end a nine-game losing streak.

The latest loss, a 34-30 defeat to New Orleans on Sunday, came in especially agonizing fashion. Trailing by three with 34 seconds left, the Saints had a 4th-and-2 at the Cincinnati 7 when Pat Sims was drawn offsides, giving New Orleans a first down. On the next play, the Saints scored on a 3-yard touchdown pass. Frustration seems to be mounting in Cincinnati. After the touchdown, the Bengals returned the kickoff to the 49 with 22 seconds to go and Palmer completed a 14-yard pass on the next play. But coach Marvin Lewis decided to let the clock run instead of using a timeout as Cincinnati struggled to get into formation, leading a visibly irritated Palmer to signal with 8 seconds left.

Because of the wasted time, the Bengals now only had a chance for one long throw to the end zone but Palmer was sacked on the final play. Terrell Owens, who had six catches in the loss, also vented this week, frustrated by the play calling. "Everybody's frustrated, but I feel like I can be part of the solution as well," he told the Bengals' official website. "Go back and watch the film. I can play this game. There ain't nobody I feel can stop me when I'm out there. That's just confidence, it's not arrogance." Owens leads the team with 71 catches and is 39 yards shy of reaching 1,000 receiving for the 10th time.

Pittsburgh had trouble stopping Cincinnati's passing attack in their first meeting Nov. 8 when the Bengals scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and came within one play of upsetting the Steelers. Carson Palmer had 248 yards and two TDs. They will play more nickel and dime defenses Sunday. On offense, the Steelers believe they can run and throw on the Bengals but hope to take some pressure off their injured quarterback by running effectively early in the game, getting a lead and staying with it. Expect a more dominating performance at the ketchup bottle this afternoon, as Pittsburgh looks to keep their lead in the AFC North with hopes of a #2 seed.

**jimmythegreek** · 12-12-10, 10:42 AM

Philadelphia/Dallas over 51.5:
Philadelphia (8-4) lost by four at home to Dallas in 2009, but was blown out in its first two visits to the new Cowboys Stadium. A 24-0 rout Jan. 3 ensured that Dallas would host the teams' NFC wild-card meeting the following week, when the Cowboys ended the Eagles' season with a 34-14 victory. Dallas (4-8) entered this season considered one of the favorites to play in Super Bowl XLV - inside its own state-of-the-art facility - but the Eagles are the only team in this matchup with a realistic shot at playing inside Cowboys Stadium on Feb. 6. Four wins in five games since getting Vick back - the latest a 34-24 over Houston on Thursday night last week - have Philadelphia tied with the New York Giants atop the East.

While Dallas started out the season a disastrous 1-7 that led to the firing of former head coach Wade Phillips, Dallas has since looked like a new team, particularly offensively, under Garrett. It's averaged 33.3 points the past four weeks, and is a late Roy Williams fumble in a 30-27 loss to New Orleans on Thanksgiving away from being 4-0. Much of Dallas' improvement has been in the running game, which has picked up 595 yards over the past four weeks - 10 fewer than it gained in its first eight games. Little-used Tashard Choice had 19 carries for 100 yards against the Colts as the Cowboys racked up a season-high 217 yards on the ground. The productive rushing has benefited Jon Kitna, who has posted a 107.9 passer rating in his last four games.

Philadelphia is certainly no stranger to speed on the edge, with big-play threats Maclin and DeSean Jackson on pace to become the first teammates in Eagles history to have 1,000 receiving yards in the same season. Success shouldn't be hard to come by against the Dallas secondary. The Cowboys have allowed an NFL-worst 306.6 passing yards per game since Oct. 25. Facing Vick isn't likely to help those numbers. After heading into this season with a career completion percentage of 53.7, Vick has completed 63.8 percent of his passes in 2010. His NFC-best 105.7 passer rating is exactly 30 points higher than what he put up in his last full season as a starter in 2006. Here rover, I got plentiful points for you, and the first to 30 on Sunday night wins.

Best of luck to SBR on all NFL plays on Sunday.

**obamaismyuncle** · 12-12-10, 10:42 AM

atl yes, gb no......gl