NFL Picks week 15

For crying out loud! Loren and I split again, so I'm still 5 back.

Philadelphia at NY Giants
Derek - Philadelphia. I don't see the Giants putting too many points on the board. The Eagles continue to score in bunches and hold on late.
Loren – Philadelphia. With Steve Smith done for the year, Manning has even fewer offensive options. Meanwhile the Eagles continue to roll along. I don’t think the Giants can match the Eagles’ speed for the duration of the game.

New Orleans at Baltimore
Derek - New Orleans. The Saints have a better offense and won't get behind like the Texans did agasinst the Ravens. The Ravens D looked tired at the end and seeing all the stats about games given up in the last quarter makes me think the Saints will win a big game on the road.
Loren – Baltimore. After seeing the way the Texans came back again the Ravens last week, I had to think twice about this one. However, Ray Rice is a wrecking machine to complement the bulldozers on the Raven’s D. I think they’ll wear the Saints down with the help of the home crowd.

Houston at Tennessee
Derek - Houston. Collins hasn't be able to open up jack this year for CJ. The Texans will stick with throwing it to Johnson and running it with Foster, that'll be enought to beat the Titans.
Loren – Tennessee. I never thought I would say this, but now that 65 year old Kerry Collins is under center, I think the Titans have a much better chance to win. He knows how to manage games and should be able to open the field back up for CJ.

Jacksonville at Indianapolis
Derek - Indianapolis. Last year Miami lost to the Colts even though the Fins held the ball for 45:07 and ran for 239 yards. Those stats mean little to the Colts. Every week Manning feels more and more comfotable with his WR.
Loren – Jacksonville. The Colts are giving up 141 rushing yards/game. Jags are second in the league in yards gained on the ground. Unfortunately for them, the roles are almost exactly reversed for the Colts passing vs the Jags secondary. I’m counting on the Jaguars being able to control the clock and keep Manning off the field just enough.

NY Jets at Pittsburgh
Derek - Pittsburgh. This is a classic case of one team playing well and the other ramming their heads to the ground, or is it knees. Plus I can jump back on my early season the J E T S sucks bandwagon.
Loren – Pittsburgh. With all the alternating hype and drama surrounding the Jets, it’s masked the fact that they at a couple of bad plays/bad calls/missed tackles from a 6-8 record. Without a last minute INT against Denver or their OT wins against Detroit and Cleveland, we could be talking about how far out of the playoff picture they are. All that to say I like the Steelers’ chances at home.

Green Bay at New England
Derek - New England. The Pats are good.
Loren – New England. See my comments about the Jets above. Plus, the Pats are taking no prisoners and you couldn’t get me to bet against Brady right now.