Coin Cliff Notes

Apparently, someone got word.

Someone heard about the pop quiz.

And I’m not going to reveal who it was, but someone stole the answers to the test — and being the accomplice that I am, here I am passing out the answers. 

I’m so ashamed.

So, since you already know the answers, there’s no need to study.

There’s no need to spend countless hours upon countless hours studying…researching the net, phoning General Managers, combing the injury reports….

Nope, no need for any of that!

In fact, all you have to do is read what the Coin and I have prepared for you.  All you have to do is review these Cliff Notes…and you’ll pass the upcoming football week with flying colors.

But before we start, let’s review.  I predict the winners for  each game… and then flip a Coin to make it more interesting. 

Heads = Home team                Tails = Road team

Then we compare — and hopefully, I come out better than the Coin

You ready?

Before we hit Sunday’s games, here were the picks for the early NFL Network games that none of us actually got the pleasure of seeing (and thus, weren’t worthy enough for an early From the Bleacher’s Blog entry)…

Thursday:

Adam picked Seattle to knock off the 49ers…and unfortunately paid the price for believing Seattle was actually talented.

The Coin, believe it or not, predicted the upset and chose the ‘Niners.

On Saturday –

Adam re-deemed himself by correctly flexing his Dallas Cowboy muscle…

As did the Coin — who with his sudden brilliance behind the crystal ball, is raising metaphysical steroid accusations. 

So stay tuned…

So going into Sunday, the standings look like this:

Coin: 2-0                                    Adam: 1-1

SUNDAY!!!!!!!!

MIAMI @BUFFALO:

Both of these teams have been hard to get a feel for.  On any given week, either team can knock off an NFL elite, only to fall to the likes of my High School Junior Varsity squad the next.  So frustrating! And so is the day-in-the-life of NFL version 2006 …PARITY!  Anyhoo, logic tells me Buffalo has the advantage playing at home in frigid December.  So I’ll pick…

Adam: Dolphins 29  Bills 17

The Coin: Bills

JACKSONVILLE @ TENNESSEE

Considering the AFC wildcard race is so tight….considering one loss drops you from the popular consensus playoff bandwagon…considering a win combined with an Indy loss to the Bengals suddenly puts you in serious contention for the division title…and considering this has become one, long semi-run-on sentence — (ahem) this is a must win for Jacksonville.   Here’s betting that the Titans’ recent string of late game heroics and overall-impressive play comes to an end this week (despite the Jags poor road play this season). 

Adam:  Jaguars  20   Titans 17

The Coin: Titans

PHILADELPHIA @ NEW YORK GIANTS:

A couple of weeks ago, who would have figured this would be one of the marquee NFL match-ups of the week?  But back-up quarterback, Jeff Garcia has played remarkably, keeping the Eagles in the race.  The Giants, on the other hand, have a starter who has played like a back-up at times.  But they are slowly getting healthy again and Eli Manning looked fairly decent last week against Carolina.  A win for New York puts them in great position to make the playoffs (especially on the heels of the Falcons loss)

Adam:  NY Giants  27   Eagles 20

The Coin:  The Eagles

LUKE SKYWALKER @ DARTH VADER:

This bitter rivalry couldn’t have come at a more opportune time, with the Republic crumpling and with the Galactic playoffs on the line.   Luke has really improved with his use of the Force  in recent flicks, but still shows vulnerability to whining (which is a huge obstacle come sequel time).  The Big Black darthed-one is scary come December, especially at home where his mastery of the Force makes breathing virtually impossible for the weak of mind.  With the survival of the Universe on the line, Luke needs this one more — look for an upset with Skywalker beating his dad in the final moments.  But not without losing an arm first!

Adam:  Luke Skywalker over Darth Vader

The Coin: Luke Skywalker

KANSAS CITY @ SAN DIEGO:

KC running back Larry Johnson has religiously eaten up the best front seven in the league.  He is one of the few backs in the NFL who has had his way against the Chargers.  But look for the tide to change a little this week.  The Chargers have revenge on their mind (The Chiefs not only handed SD a loss earlier in the season, but also called the Chargers ’soft’).  While, the Chargers are battling for home field advantage throughout the playoffs, the Chiefs are battling just to make the post season.  So this game means a lot to both sides.  Look for the Chargers to triumph in front of a National TV audience.

Adam: Chargers 28  Chiefs 16

The Coin: Chargers

CINCINNATI @ INDIANAPOLIS:

The Bengals are hot! The Colts are not!   ‘Nuff said!

This game will say a lot about how each team will fare come the post season.  Should be a good one!

Adam: Bengals 34   Colts 27   

The Coin: The Colts

BEST OF THE REST: 

Adam: Bears 27   Bucs 6

The Coin: The Bears

Adam: Green Bay 21  Detroit 14

The Coin: Lions

Adam: Jets 24    Vikings 20

The Coin:  Jets

Adam: Patriots 24  Texans 6

The Coin: Texans

Adam:  Saints 31   Redskins 20

The Coin: Saints

Adam:  Steelers 21   Panthers 13

The Coin: Panthers

Adam:  Ravens 23   Browns 9

The Coin: Ravens

Adam: Broncos 24  Cardinals 19

The Coin: Cardinals

Adam: Rams 20   Raiders 13

The Coin: Raiders

Good luck on the test!  No cheating  :)