If you didn’t play Faith the Prediction Cat’s picks last week, then you were the biggest turkey on Thanksgiving. Faith went a purr-fect 6-0 last week, 3-0 in teasers, to raise our season totals to a strong 36-13-1 overall, 12-8-1 in teasers.
It also means that Faith has tied the single season record for a cat in this column. Her 16-3-1 in relief of Ernesto the Prediction Iguana equals the Barstow the Cat’s sparkling total from last year.
Ernesto returns from vacation next week, so Faith makes her final picks of the year this week: her chance for Internet Prognostication immortality, your chance to make a few extra bucks for Christmas presents. As always we do 2-team teasers here, so we can move the line six points either way. We use the lines from www.vegasinsider.com, HOME TEAM IN CAPS.
GREEN LIGHT
broncos + 1.5 at JAGUARS
giants +11.5 at STEELERS
Who made up these lines and can we have some of the egg nog they’re drinking? The Broncos are stronger than the Jags on both sides of the ball and on special teams. They’ll force turnovers, they’ll move at will, and they’ll put up what could potentially be their highest total offensively of the season. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh has too many problems on defense to stop Odell Beckham, and 11.5 is far too bloated a total to have to make up on a decent Giants defense.
POSSIBLE SUPERBOWL REMATCH?
SEAHAWKS -1/2 vs panthers
PATRIOTS -6 vs. rams
The Patriots look to clean their claws and lick their paws against the hapless Rams. In fact, New England may waltz their way to the AFC title with nary a glove laid on them the rest of the way. Whether it’s St. Louis or L.A., it’s the same result – the Rams are playing out the string for the entirety of December once again. The Seahawks have righted the ship after early season hiccups, while the Panthers never found last year’s mojo. Maybe Ron Rivera isn’t the genius everyone thought.
RED ALERT
eagles +5 at BENGALS
SAINTS-lions OVER 47.5
Some people say that without head coach Marv Lewis, the Bengals would be 4-12 every year. We say that if a more disciplined coach got in there and turned the me first attitude of the locker room around, they might have gone to a Super Bowl by now. With a talented team sinking to a dismal 3-7-1, it’s time for a painstaking reappraisal. The Lions have become the darlings of the league, outright stealing that game from Minnesota on Thanksgiving. The Saints can always be counted to do their part to light up the scoreboard, and with the Lions’ offense resurgent, take the OVER.
