NFL Pro Football 2007 Week 17 Picks early games

NFL Pro Football 2007 Week 17 Picks

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Fearless Rick's NFL Week 17 Picks - Early Games

Rick Gagliano | Dec. 29-30

All times Eastern - Click here for late Sunday and Monday night games.

Saturday, Dec. 29

New England (-14 1/2, 44) at N.Y. Giants 8:15 pm - The NFL finally caved to the pressure and allowed this game to be broadcast nationally on both NBC and CBS, so instead of the game being virtually blacked out by the NFL network, it will be overkill in most markets.

The Patriots can complete the first-ever perfect 16-game season with only the Giants (who have promised to play all of their starters) standing in the way. New England has only covered one of their last five outings (Pittsburgh) and their offense has slowed in recent weeks as well. All of that bodes well for the downtrodden Giants, who qualified for the playoffs with a somewhat sloppily-played 38-21 win at Buffalo last week.

There's little confidence in the Giants' ability to short-circuit the Pats' quest for destiny, though the defense does actually stack up pretty well. It's the G-Men's offense which causes concern. Eli Manning can be inconsistent, and their rushing corps are pretty banged up. Also, TE Jeremy Shockey is gone for the season. New England will make history though the Giants won't fold easily.

Prediction: Patriots 28 Giants 17

Sunday, Dec. 30

Buffalo at Philadelphia (-7 1/2, 36 1/2) 1:00 pm - Both teams are 7-8, though the Eagles are probably a notch better at this point of the season. After losing by 3 to New England, 4 to Seattle and 3 to the Giants, the Eagles have won two straight, over Dallas and New Orleans. Buffalo, meanwhile, has lost their last two, to Cleveland and the Giants. The Bills have recently shown some weaknesses, especially offensively, including dropped passes, lack of a productive tight end and inability to run the ball when needed. Philly should exploit those deficiencies and finish 8-8.

Prediction: Eagles 27 Bills 14

Carolina (-3, 36) at Tampa Bay 1:00 pm - Here's the first of many weird lines this week, based upon playoff teams resting starters in their season finales. Apparently, the Bucs are not going to play many starters and will be evaluating other players. Despite second-stringers going for Tampa, Carolina still doesn't offer much appeal, and their players may not have much motivation. The Bucs may throw in enough wrinkles to win going away.

Prediction: Buccaneers 24 Panthers 10

Cincinnati (-3, 45 1/2) at Miami 1:00 pm - If there is any team that could lose to Miami, it's the Bengals. Even after beating Cleveland in an emotional rivalry game, Cincy should suffer yet another setback, allowing the Dolphins to win their second game in three weeks.

Prediction: Dolphins 26 Bengals 13

Detroit at Green Bay (-3 1/2, 38 1/2) 1:00 pm - Apparently, Brett Favre will start, but probably won't finish for the Packers. That means Aaron Rogers will get the bulk of the second half snaps and will be throwing the ball around quite a bit. That's a problem for the Lions, who are last in the league in points allowed (410) and pass defense (263.6 ypg).

Prediction: Packers 30 Lions 17

Jacksonville at Houston (-6 1/2, 41) 1:00 pm - The Jags' starters are apparently going to get plenty of rest here, otherwise, they'd be 7 to 10 point favorites. Despite the hugely deceptive line, Jacksonville's second stringers are probably nearly as good Houston's starters, and who knows what the Texans will do... they may give some lesser players more field time as well. It's a meaningless game, as are many this week. The points look very tempting.

Prediction: Jaguars 21 Texans 16

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New Orleans (-2, 40) at Chicago 1:00 pm - New Orleans needs to win this game to give themselves any chance at the post-season, but the Bears can play spoiler at home. Chicago's offense is usually cited as the reason for their failures, and it no doubt has contributed to the downfall of a once-proud defense. Problem is, as bad as Chicago's defense has become, the one New Orleans puts on the field is worse. The Saints may get Reggie Bush back for this one, and he could provide just enough spark in this must-win situation.

Prediction: Saints 20 Bears 13

Seattle at Atlanta (-3, 38) 1:00 pm - Wow?! Seattle must be starting all special teams players. They've locked up the #3 seed in the NFC, but coach Holmgren has already said he won't make wholesale changes. Apparently, the Vegas oddsmakers don't believe him. This is a must-avoid game, but the Falcons may actually notch a win here.

Prediction: Falcons 17 Seahawks 10

San Francisco at Cleveland (-10, 40) 1:00 pm - The Browns could have clinched a playoff spot last week, but they lost at Cincy while the Tennessee Titans were winning against the Jets. Now, Cleveland needs the Titans to tie or lose at Indy later in the day, and are playing what amounts to a meaningless game. Despite that, it would be hard to convince Cleveland's players that this game doesn't matter. They will be compelled to play hard and win, which they will, and wait until late Sunday night for their fate to be determined.

Prediction: Browns 38 49ers 21

All times Eastern - Click here for late Sunday and Monday night games

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