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Oh dear god… that was terrible.

Join us on Wednesday when we hope to redeem ourselves with the divisional match predictions.

Image Credit: tool92ogt

So a disappointing season has limped to and end. Back in my First Look articles, from last August, I saw us finishing last but was hoping we’d make a fight of it. It wasn’t really to be.

The likable, but perhaps out of his depth Jim Zorn has gone, in a move that is in no way surprising – he’d probably been emptying his office steadily over the last few months – and Mike Shanahan is in. Not just as Coach, but in an Final Say role that he likes and that the team needs. But there’s a lot to fix, let’s take a look at some of the problems he’s inherited.

The Offensive Line
Make no mistake, this was a terrible unit this year. Whether it was injuries or just bad play it all starts with these guys and a lot of the other issues are direct results of these guys. When passing, there is never any confidence that when Campbell drops back he is going to have any time or space, that the pocket will hold as long as it needs to.

When Running, there’s little confidence that they’ll clear the way or win the battles that they need to The ‘Skins were 27th in rushing yards, with a paltry 94.4 yards per game. That’s something to be addressed. Which leads me onto… … More

A surprising three of these four games are repeats of week 17, so we’ll see if the momentum from last week carries over. However, all four remain very tricky games to call that could go either way.

New York Jets @ Cincinnati Bengals
A – It’s hard to read too much into last week’s 37 point shutout by the Jets: they had everything to play for and the Bengals had nothing of consequence. However, they’ve been giving up rushing yards at an alarming rate and seemed to have lost the ‘spark’ that saw them sweep their division.
The Jets will look to their running game and strong defensive unit, and as much as I like the Bengals I think they’ll probably have enough here… despite the flak I’ve given them recently.

C – Last week was total domination from the Jets, and to be honest i’m expecting the same again. The Bengals just couldn’t muster anything from anywhere. Palmer looked like he’d never played the game before in his life. If the Jets defence keeps up its performance and the running game keeps hitting hard then i can see the Jets getting to the divisional final. Jets win.

G – I am going to start off by going against the grain now. All of these games could go either way so they are tricky picks. Who knows what the plan was at the weekend, but I can’t see Bengals taking it again. I am going with a Bengals win here.

Official MAC Prediction:

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So that’s it, it’s all in the books. 20 teams are heading home, and the eleven best and the Jets are on their way to the post-season.

But never mind that, who won the season’s predictions and how did we do overall?

What We Got Right

Indianapolis Colts @ Buffalo Bills

A – The Colts are sure to rest players as they literally have nothing to play for.
C – Bills are at home too, and will be looking to finish strong so i’m going for a home win.
G – The Bills will be looking for a win here as Fewell looks for a good ending for his impressive stint as head coach.

As expected, the Colts fielded a good second side but the Bills were good enough to take advantage.

New Orleans Saints @ Carolina Panthers

A – The Panthers have been showing us all what a good team they can be, and I think I fancy them to continue that here.
C – I’m going for a Panthers win this week.
G – I think the Saints will look to steady the ship with a win here.

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It’s round about this time of year when us folk of the UK begin to get REAL excited about the NFL. Why you ask? No, not the play-offs… It’s only a few weeks before we get the e-mail about Wembley tickets going on sale for the International series, that’s why!

Although we don’t know what teams will be heading over, the chance to see a live NFL game isn’t something that comes around every day (only once a year I’m afraid, kind of like Christmas except there’s no fat dude wearing red – unless the Cardinals turn up). The buzz is amazing, and considering the Patriots v Buccaneers game sold out in 72 hours, I’m expecting the same thing to happen this year. Luckily I got my interest registered early on. Now Christmas rarely comes twice a year, so pinch me because I must be dreaming, but the talk is that we’re getting two games this year!

You can guarantee that at one, if not both of the games us guys at MAC will be meeting up for a few beers and a bit of banter which makes the game all the better. As the old joke goes… A Redskins fan, Miami fan, and Ravens fan walk into a pub. You’ll probably get to see the outcome later!

Anyway, enough ranting from me. What games would you guys want to see at Wembley this year?

Week 17 is always a difficult week to predict, as many teams will be resting starters and preparing for the playoffs and others have little to play for, meaning it’s hard to judge who’ll really be ‘up’ for a game.

The six playoff bound NFC teams are all decided, though there are seedings to play for. The top 4 AFC teams are set, and the Jets and Ravens are set to ‘win and in’ but have a bunch of teams chasing them.

So… predict we must, as that’s what we’re here to do! Here we go…

Indianapolis Colts @ Buffalo Bills
A – The Colts are sure to rest players as they literally have nothing to play for. Don’t be surprised to see Painter in the first half, and all but the Line on the side. The Bills too, have nothing to play for in real terms but will want to end the season strongly. I can see them taking this one.
C – As the guys have said, the Colts will surely be resting people and i’d think that the Bills team are better than the Colts secondary. Bills are at home too, and will be looking to finish strong so i’m going for a home win.
G – The Bills will be looking for a win here as Fewell looks for a good ending for his impressive stint as head coach. I am not sure if it will be enough, but it looks like the safer pick here.

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It’s Christmas!

Not too much from us this week, but the table reflects our picks even though we’ve not given our thoughts.

(Craig’s picks will be up soon… give him a break, it’s Christmas Day! – Sorry for the delay fellas, been a hectic Xmas so far. I’ve used italic to highlight my pics this week, i’m still a noob at the whole HTML thing so i couldn’t figure out how to get the picture in the table!!)

Sunday December 27th

Tampa Bay Bucaneers @ New Orleans Saints
Buffalo Bills @ Atlanta Falcons
Houston Texans @ Miami Dolphins
Seattle Seahawks @ Green Bay Packers
Carolina Panthers @ New York Giants
Oakland Raiders @ Cleveland Browns
Jacksonville Jaguars @ New England Patriots
Kansas City Chiefs @ Cincinnati Bengals
Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers
St. Loius Rams @ Arizona Cardinals
Detroit Lions @ San Francisco 49ers
Denver Broncos @ Philadelphia Eagles
New York Jets @ Indianapolis Colts
Dallas Cowboys @ Washington Redskins
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The Christmas day game! It’s great that there is sports to watch at the end of Christmas.

San Diego Chargers @ Tennessee Titans
A – Mathematically, the Titans are competing for a playoff spot. That’s one heck of an achievement after starting 0-6. The Chargers have quietly and efficiently gone about their business of wrapping up the AFC West on the back of a 9 game winning streak and I fancy them to make it 10 here (and 11 next week )

C – A tough call indeed. Both teams can win this game, and i like the way both teams have gone about the season (bar the Titans start to the season >_>). I think it will be a good game. A close game, but good non-the less. I’m going to stump for the Chargers though. Sorry Titans fans.

G – The Titans have everything to play for going into this game. There is no doubt that they have really turned it around this season. The Chargers are not an easy team to face though which could make this a great Christmas game. A tough pick, but I am backing the Chargers.

So there we are, Mac’s official prediction is the San Diego Chargers.

Join us later for the rest of week 16′s picks.

Image Credit: Brent and MariLynn

So not too bad all things considered. 10-6 for me and Graham is respectable in a tricky week and 12-4 for Craig who is again in the lead. A surprisingly good week for games though with many remaining close going deep into the 4th quarter.

What We Got Right

Indianapolis Colts @ Jacksonville Jaguars

A – “The Colts have a new record for consecutive wins… I can’t look past them.”
C – “For this week I have to go for Indianapolis to go 14-0.”
G – “I would love to back the Jags, but the Colts are just too good”

The Colts are steaming along nicely.

New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills

A – “I’m looking to see a strong Patriots team play into January – Pats to win.”
C – “I think the Pats will slowly grind away and come home with the win though.”
G – “However, I feel strongly enough to give the pick to the Bills. Pats win.”

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After getting last night’s game right (just). Let’s see how we’re gonna fare this weekend.

Saturday 19th December

Dallas Cowboys @ New Orleans Saints
A – The Saints and the Colts are both just three games from 16-0. The Saints have the Bucs and the Panthers after this and must surely fancy their chances. As we’ve said before: when they’re not good they’ve been lucky, and that’s a winning combination.
The Cowboys are chasing a wild-card spot in a time that has proved difficult for them recently. I can see them giving the Saints a close game, but think New Orleans will be one game closer to being unbeaten.

C – I want the Saints to go 16-0, so for that reason alone i am picking them to win this week! If the Saints D can shut down the Cowboys running game and put a bit of pressure on Romo then the game is there for the taking.

G -I really want to Siants to go unbeaten now. In fact if they went on to win the Superbowl that would make them the second recent London visitors to be touched by the magic
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