NFL WEEK TWELVE

Are you ready for some foo'bowl?



Well, it ent celebrated over here on the otherside of the pond scum but happy Thanksgiving to all yea readers celebrating the harvest festival, remembering the Pilgrims and the Indians (Pilgrims allegedly from around here, the East Midlands...) and getting ready for the slaughtering of great turkey meals with stuffing and cranberries and mashed potatoes, and lots of bread rolls, corn, and pumpkin pies and mince pies, yum yum and of course, overdose of football.

It appears from our scheduling that this year the NFL is getting bigger than ever with an unprecedented THREE games in one day, as if anyone will be staying awake to watch them after eating all that food!

Over here, we'll be staying up all night watching The Ashes where at the minute, it's tea time in Brisbane.

*****

Quote Du Jour San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson should change that "LT" moniker to "LTD." -Don Pierson, Chicago Trib, soon to be former owners of the Cubs - why else would they be spending so freely?


TANXGIBBING

Miami (-2.5) At Detroit - Former Lions first-round draft choice Joey Harrington returns to face the club he quarterbacked into oblivion from 2002-2005. With a change of venue he's suddenly looking as if he belongs. Pick: Miami

At Dallas (-11) Tampa Bay - Bucs rookie Bruce Gradkowski versus the latest fad in Quarterback gadgets, the Cowboys four-year vet Tony Romo. What we say here is that the Boys are on an emotional let down after knocking off the Colts and plus they didn't even look so great doing it, the Colts just looked really bad. Pick: Tampa Bay

Denver (-1) At Kansas City - The Chiefs have won five of the past seven second meetings between the clubs. Pick: Chiefs

SUNDAY

Jacksonville (-3.5) At Buffalo - You could go by the logic that the Jags can't beat (twice) the Houston Texans and the Bills just beat the Texans in Houston (once) thus the Bills should be heavy favourites but not much has been logical about this season to date and the Jags defence looks occasionally brill. Pick: Jacksonville

At NY Jets (-5.5) Houston - The Jets are a team who has beaten the likes of the New England Patriots in New England but have been shut out twice already this season. Chad Pennington, one rotten display after another, will be auditioning for his job again soon but Texas, this ent Jacksonville. Pick: Jets

At Baltimore (-3) Pittsburgh - In six of eight games against Pittsburgh, Ravens RB Jamal Lewis has been held to below 70 yards. And the Steelers have not allowed a 100-yard rusher since last Thanksgiving weekend. That means Steve McNair has to do it on his own. Pick: Pittsburgh.

Cincinnati (-3) At Cleveland - In Sunday's 24-20 loss to Pittsburgh, the Browns twice moved the ball inside the Steelers 20-yard line, but failed to score a touchdown both times, settling for field goals by Phil Dawson. A week earlier, the Browns were 1-of-6 in the red zone at San Diego as Dawson kicked six field goals in a 32-25 loss. Pick: Bengals

At Minnesota (-6.5) Arizona - This is the first meeting between Arizona and Minnesota since 2003, when the Cardinals won 18-17 after scoring two touchdowns in the final two minutes, including the final six points as time expired. That loss ended the Vikings' four-game winning streak in the series. The Cardinals haven't won at in Minneapolis since 1977, when they were known as the St. Louis Cardinals. Pick: Minnesota

At St. Louis (-6) San Francisco - Loser of five in a row against winner of three in a row...Since falling behind 41-0 in the first half against the Bears on Oct. 29, the 49ers' defense has allowed only three touchdowns in the last 14 quarters. Pick: San Francisco

At Atlanta (-3) New Orleans - Wheels are coming off both of these teams' bandwagons and fast. Harmony beats acrimony. Let's keep the Falcons out of the playoffs! Pick: Saints.

Carolina (-4.5) At Washington - Might it be the easy thing in the world to just pick against the Redskins the rest of the season whilst Joe Gibbs and his Jesus Machine go slowly slinking off into the night? Pick: Carolina.

At New England (-3) Chicago - How many weeks in a row can the Bears win on the road against quality teams? How many times will the Patriots blow it at home this season, negating the homefield advantage? Pick: Patriots.

At Indianapolis (-12.5) Philadelphia - I'd pick the Colts because they're going to have something to prove and the Iggles have just been decapitated (and amputated) but the Colts stink at home and the Iggles might pull together, misery loves company. Pick: Eagles.

NY Giants (-3.5) At Tennessee - Tiki Barber, playing the logic man to Tom Coughlin's mindless discipline man, said Wednesday the coaches abandoned the running game after he was limited to season lows of 10 carries and 27 yards rushing. It marked his fewest yards since Nov. 30, 2003, when he was held to 20 against Buffalo. "We got away from it early and never got back to it because we felt like we weren't executing or finding any type of rhythm, but we never got back to it," said Barber, who entered last weekend as the NFL's leading rusher. "I felt insignificant for the first time in my career - I should say this season - and it was frustrating."
Pick: Giants

At San Diego (-10.5) Oakland - On its face this looks like the turkey killing of the week. The Chargers are now famed for their comebacks and massive offence. The Raiders are well...have scored only seven offensive touchdowns and were shut out in the second half last week for the fourth time this season.
Pick Chargers

Monday Night Football

At Seattle (-7) Green Bay - Oh, isn't this a great saga, the Brett Favre 251st miraculous comeback from injury. He doesn't have much of a choice this week as the backup Aaron Rodgers went down with an even worse injury, a broken foot. Four of the five previous times Favre has not been able to finish a game because of injury, he has come back to win the following week, in some cases playing lights out. Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren was around for the most memorable of them - a five-touchdown performance against the Chicago Bears on Nov. 12, 1995, when Favre had his sprained ankle taped so tightly it looked like he was wearing a cast. Through the years, Favre has consistently answered the bell and then rung it with authority following an injury. In the five ``game-afters,'' he has completed a cumulative 61.4 percent of his passes for 1,244 yards with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions, good for a passer rating of 97.5. Pick: Packers.

Last week: 10-6
Season to date: 76-79-4