Baltimore Ravens vs Miami Dolphins Preview

The Ravens are riding the backs of their unstoppable defense. Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata has proved to be one of the best tackles in the game, while veteren linebacker Ray Lewis continues to be the ultimate intimidator. Safety Ed Reed has really come on lately, forcing tunrovers in almost all of the Ravens games down the stretch. On the other side of the ball, rookie phenom Joe Flacco has made a great turnaround from the beginning of the season, helping to lead his Ravens to the postseason. On the year, Flacco has thrown for 2,971 yards with 14 TD's, completing 60% of his passes. The run game for the Ravens has proven to be tough to stop, just ask the Cowboys. RB Le'Ron McClain has scored 10 TD's with 902 yards, along with Willis McGahee's 671 yards and 7 TD's. Derrick Mason has surpassed 1,000 yards on the season and scored 5 TD's, while Mark Clayton is averaging 17 yards a catch.

Miami went 1-15 last season, making an amazing turnaround, finishing 11-5 this season. The Dolphins can thank the Packers for where they are now. If the Packers didn't trade Brett Favre to the Jets, QB Chad Pennington never would have been a Dolphin. During his great season, Pennington has thrown for 3,653 yards and 19 TD's. He was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year, his 2nd time receiving this award. The Dolphins have introduced the Wildcat formation, with RB Ronnie Brown running for 916 yards and 10 TD's. Despite last season's defense being one of the worst, the defense this season has made a much needed improvement. Linebacker Joey Porter may be Defensive Player of the Year, making the linebacking crew better with his arrival from Pittsburgh.


Flip's Pick: Ravens, 31-17
Flip's X Factor: SS Ed Reed


Chris's Pick: Ravens, 21-17
Chris's X Factor: QB Joe Flacco

Atlanta Falcons vs Arizona Cardinals Preview

The Falcons are led by Offensive Rooke of the Year, Matt Ryan. During his rookie campaign, Ryan threw for 3,440 yards with 16 TD's. Matt Ryan has made the fans forget about Mike Vick. Their star free agent, Michael Turner, has ran for 1,699 yards and scored a career high 17 TD's. Matt Ryan has been thrilled to have Pro Bowl Wide Receiver Roddy White catching his passes. White has 88 receptions and 1,382 receiving yards with 7 TD's. Both White and Michael Jenkins are averaging more then 15 yards a reception. On the defensive side, defensive end John Abraham will look to apply pressure on Kurt Warner. Safety Lawyer Milloy has playoff experiance, and he will look to shutdown Arizona's star wideouts.

Arizona has one of the best aerial attacks in the NFL. Veteran QB Kurt Warner has throw for 4,583 yards and 30 TD's. The reason for his success lies in the hands of his star receivers. Pro Bowler Larry Fitzgerald has 1,431 yards with 12 TD's, and Pro Bowler Anquan Boldin has 1,038 yards with 11 TD's. Despite limited action, Boldin has great statistics in just 12 games played. Running the ball for the Cardinals is rookie Tim Hightower. On the season, he has rushed for 399 yards with 10 TD's. The Cardinals have allowed 221 passing yards a game, while allowing 110 yards rushing per game. Kicker Neil Rackers may be a key factor for the Cardinals, as this game may come down to the wire.

Flip's Pick: Falcons, 27-20

Flip's X Factor: RB Jerious Norwood

Chris's Pick: Falcons, 21-7

Chris's x Factor: Atlanta's Offensive Line

From Worst to First

The Chargers were 4-8 and stuck in last place, with their playoff hopes hanging by a thread. The Chargers amazingly won 3 in a row, while the Broncos lost 3 in a row. The Chargers forced a Week 17 game for the AFC West title. The Broncos held onto 1st place for 16 weeks, never in 2nd place once this season. San Diego appeared to have no chance after Week 12 to make the playoffs, but they have battled back to set up this AFC West rivalry game.

The Chargers entered the game with all the momentum. The Chargers showed why they deserve a playoff spot, blowing out Denver 52-21. The Chargers got 3 TD's from LaDanian Tomlinson, while Darren Sproles rushed for 115 and 1 TD. In addition, FB Jacob Hester scored a TD in the final minutes. San Diego totaled 2839 rushing yards, compared to Denver's 90 yards. Philip Rivers threw for over 200 yards and 2 TD passes to Brandon Manummaleuna and Darren Sproles. At 8-8, the Chargers became the first division champ with a non-winning record since the 1985 Browns. San Diego is also the first team in NFL history to make the playoffs after starting a season 4-8.

Denver suffered a heart breaking loss to San Diego. With the loss, Denver now drops to 2nd place for the first time all season. In the game, Jay Cutler threw 2 INT's and only 1 TD pass to tight end Tony Scheffler. Tatum Bell had a good game, rushing for 86 yards and finding the endzone twice. Eddie Royal caught 11 passes, while star receiver Brandon Marshall only had 55 yards. With the loss, the Broncos became the third team in NFL history to have a three-game division lead at one point and then fail to make the postseason, joining the 2003 Vikings and 1978 Packers for the honor.

The New Windy City

We all know that Chicago is the Windy City, but today, Buffalo was the Windy City. The winds were 60 mph and made field goal kicking a problem. The field goal posts were shaking, rattling and bouncing during the game. The wind was so strong, that Matt Cassel had a 57 yard punt!

How the Kickers Fared:
Gostkowski: 2-3
Lindell: 0-1

A Stunning Day In The NFL

Week 17 was the last chance for teams to earn the right to compete for the Super Bowl. The games today were crazy and heart breaking for teams. The wrap up goes like this:

The Raiders pull a huge upset over the Bucs, ending their playoff hopes.

The Texans spank the Bears, crushing their playoff chances.

The Vikings kick their way over the Giants, clinching the NFC North.

The Panthers get by the Saints, clinching the NFC South.

The Eagles demolish the Cowboys, earning the last NFC Wild Card spot.

The Ravens easily defeat the Jaguars, clinching the AFC Wild Card.

The Dolphins emerge victorious over the Jets, winning the AFC East.

The Chargers battle the Broncos tonight, which will decide the AFC West.

The Patriots win puts them at 11-5, but their season is over.

The Lions, well they lose again, and become the 1st team to finish 0-16.

NFL Week 17 Picks

St.Louis vs Atlanta: Flip-ATL Jeezy-ATL

New England vs Buffalo: Flip-NE Jeezy-NE

Kansas City vs Cincinatti: Flip-KC Jeezy-CIN

Detroit vs Green Bay: Flip-DET Jeezy-GB

Tennessee vs Indianapolis: Flip: TEN Jeezy:IND

New York Giants vs Minnesota: Flip-MIN Jeezy-NYG

Carolina vs New Orleans: Flip-NO Jeezy-CAR

Cleveland vs Pittsburgh: Flip-PIT Jeezy-PIT

Oakland vs Tampa Bay: Flip-OAK Jeezy-TB

Chicago vs Houston: Flip-HOU Jeezy-HOU

Miami vs New York Jets: Flip-NYJ Jeezy-MIA

Dallas vs Philadelphia: Flip-DAL Jeezy-PHI

Seattle vs Arizona: Flip-ARI Jeezy-ARI

Washington vs San Francisco: Flip-WAS Jeezy-WAS

Jacksonville vs Baltimore: Flip-BAL Jeezy- BAL

Denver vs San Diego: Flip-DEN Jeezy-SD

Shaun Ellis Fined For Snowball Incident

After the game, as the Jets' players headed to the tunnel, a pesky fan was shouting remarks about the Jets' team. Several fans threw snowballs at New York players and staff as they walked off the field after the Seahawks' 13-3 victory. Jets DE Shaun Ellis did not tolerate the man, picking up a snowball ( actually it was a giant chunk of snow ) and throwing it at the fan. The fan got hit by the chunk of snow as Ellis passed by. It was announced today that Shaun Ellis would be fined $10,000 for this incident.

"It was all in fun," Ellis said.

"That situation in the stadium in general was not a very safe situation for anybody involved," Mangini said. "That doesn't justify us getting involved in it on the flip side of that. He understands that. We thought that there could've been more done to prevent what was happening in terms of the safety from snowballs coming down."

Monday Night Preview

It will be a cold Monday night for the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears. They have the longest rival in football history. The Bears are 8-6 fighting to make a playoff spot. On the other hand we have the 5-9 Green Bay Packers who are out of the playoffs. The Packers had high expectations going into the season ,but Aaron Rodgers couldn't get the job done. The Packers are going to try to finish the season off by winning there next two games,and will try to knock the Bears out of the playoffs. The Bears will be relying on there defense to help them win this game. They also need Matt Forte to have a big game in order to produce points on offense. They can't make mistakes, or the Packers will take advantage of them. The Green Bay Packers need Aaron Rodgers to play well in order to win. On defense the Packers need to force turnovers. They haven't been playing well on defense so they have to play good if they want to win. The Packers are on a 4 game losing streak and have a 2-5 record on the road.

KJ Flip's Pick- Packers- 20-13

My Pick- Bears- 28-14

Players to Watch

KJ Flip- Jordy Nelson WR

My Pick- Matt Forte RB

The Playoff Picture After Week 16

Well just like the saying goes, " Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades." Today, the Eagles almost won, in fact they were 4 inches from tying. So how does the wild card picture look after the Eagles loss.

THE NFC

• The Eagles now do not hold their own fate. They need to beat Dallas next week and have the Buccaneers lose to the Raiders, and the Bears to lose either to the Packers on Monday or in their season finale.
• The Cowboys appeared to be hanging by a thread, after Sunday, they are back in the wild card. The Boys' just need to beat the Eagles next week to clinch the wild card.
• The Buccaneers now stand at 9-6, and need a Cowboys loss next week to get a wild card spot.
• The Bears have life, needing to win out and have losses by the Cowboys and Bucs.

THE AFC

• The Patriots and Dolphins both won, while the Jets lost. The Dolphins just need 1 more win to clinch the AFC East title.
• The Patriots need to win next week, and have the Ravens lose to the Jaguars to get a wild card spot. To win the AFC East, they will need to win have a Dolphins loss.
• The Chargers won big over the Bucs, and the Broncos were upset by the Bills. Next week, both teams play each other, and whoever wins will clinch the AFC West.
• The Ravens clinch the wild card with a win over Jacksonville.

Welcome To The NFL, Kenneth Darby

NFL referee lowers his shoulder for protection, but instead he completely levels the Rams' halfback. Kenneth Darby, you just got JACKED UP!

NFL Week 16 Picks

Bengals at Browns: Flip - Cle Chris - Cle

Saints at Lions: Flip - NO Chris - NO

Dolphins at Chiefs: Flip - MIA Chris - MIA

Cardinals at Patriots: Flip - NE Chris - NE

49ers at Rams: Flip - STL Chris - SF

Steelers at Titans: Flip - PIT Chris - PIT

Chargers at Buccaneers: Flip - TB Chris - TB

Bills at Broncos: Flip - BUF Chris - DEN

Texans at Raiders: Flip - HOU Chris - HOU

Jets at Seahawks: Flip - NYJ Chris - NYJ

Falcons at Vikings: Flip - MIN Chris - MIN

Eagles at Redskins: Flip - PHI Chris - PHI

Panthers at Giants: Flip - NYG Chris - NYG

Packers at Bears: Flip - GB Chris - CHI

Flip's Player of the Day: RB Brandon Jacobs, NYG
Chris's Player of the Day: RB Adrian Peterson, MIN

Ravens Close Texas Stadium With A Bang

The Ravens run right through the Cowboys defense, breaking two 77+ runs.

The Ravens started off with 3 field goals from Matt Stover, holding a 9-7 lead after a Tashard Choice TD run for Dallas. Rookie Joe Flacco found Derrick Mason, who was playing with an injury to his arm, for a 13 yard TD strike to take a 16-7 lead. Dallas came back on the next possession to get a field goal, making it 16-10.

The final 4 minutes were some of the greatest minutes of football. Dallas scored with 3:50 on the clock, on a Terrell Owens 7 yard catch. The first play of the Ravens next possession was a 77 yard TD scamper by Willis McGahee, his longest TD of his career. The Cowboys quickly drove down the field, and scored on a Jason Witten 21 yard catch. Once again, the Ravens first play was a 82 yard burst down field for a TD by Le'Ron McClain. This was the first time in NFL history that a team has had a touchdown run of 75-plus yards on consecutive plays from scrimmage.

Ravens at Cowboys Preview

Both teams need a win tonight, the Cowboys are battling for a spot in the NFC wild card, while the Ravens are fighting to hold their wild card position. The Cowboys have to put pressure on rookie QB Joe Flacco, who has thrown 12 INT's this season. Tony Romo needs to prove that he can handle big games, after a disappointing loss to the Steelers where he threw a late INT to give Pittsburgh the win. Don't forget about his bobbled snap against Seattle in the playoffs, the play is still in his mind. The Boys' defense will need Demarcus Ware and Greg Ellis to be able to hit the gaps on run plays and force the Ravens to air it out.

The Ravens are coming off a tough loss last week to Pittsburgh. The players are out for revenge today, especially the defense who let up the game winning drive last week. Joe Flacco was doing great for the Ravens, until last week against the Steelers. Flacco will need help from RB's Willis McGahee and Le'Ron McClain to force the defense to play up, allowing for passing lanes downfield. Flacco has been a road warrior this season, with a 91.1 rating and throwing for 9 TD's.

The game will be won on defense. The defense who applies the most pressure will win this game today. The Ravens and Cowboys both have top defenses, while the Cowboys have begun to find their groove on offense.

My Pick: BAL 17 - DAL 14

Player 2 Watch: Ed Reed because he has had 4 INT's in his last 4 games, and he has been everywhere on defense.

Chris's Pick: BAL 24 - DAL 20

Player 2 Watch: Derrick Mason because this has been Flacco's main man and he will need to play big today.