So, here’s the deal. Next week, I start a cross country drive that will end in a small, up-and-coming town in Southern Nevada known as Las Vegas. Maybe you’ve heard of it? Anyway, I accepted a job there (surprisingly, not gambling-related…) and will be moving next Friday morning. Meaning, these last two weeks of the NFL regular season might be the last time I get to post for awhile. Let’s hope I can juice the numbers and go out with a bang…

Disclaimer: Gambling on sports is illegal unless you are in Las Vegas or Atlantic City. Also, if I’m horribly incorrect with these picks – as I have occasionally been in the past – I’m sorry in advance. If you can’t afford to lose, don’t play. John Anthony – “The Million Dollar Man with the Billion Dollar Plan” – is not a real person. If you’re playing against me in the Pigskin Pick’Em Pool, don’t expect all my picks to match these – different lines could mean different picks. All lines from Bodog and accurate as of the time this was typed – 3pm Wednesday. Home teams in CAPS. That about covers it.)

I’ll be taking a four-day drive from the greater Boston area through New Jersey, Knoxville, Oklahoma City and Albuquerque before ending up in Vegas. Always wanted to see the country from a height of less than 35,000 feet, and now I get the chance to do it. I’ll be taking photos and living on Facebook to update my progress, and perhaps even posting a comment or three on here from my cell phone while staying in random Holiday Inns across the country. Good times.

Now that we’ve got the personal stuff out of the way, let’s jump into the picks. I had a sub-par round in Week 15, going 7-8-1 to drop my numbers to a 103-112-7 record. Going +9-games over the final two weeks is going to be unbelievably tough, so I’m officially expecting to have my first ever sub-.500 season picking against the spread. Thankfully, this is also the first season that I only actually bet on a handful of games during the year, so at least the financial affects weren’t all that bad. Onto the picks…

Colts (-7) over JAGUARS: (Thursday Game) The Colts and the Steelers are the two hottest teams in the NFL right now, and if we’re lucky they won’t actually meet in the first round of the playoffs. Best case scenario, Indy & Tennessee could finish with identical 12-4 records, both going 4-2 in the division but with Indy having the better conference record by two games. I still can’t figure out how Tennessee has already clinched the division with that scenario, especially since the Colts host the Titans next week…

COWBOYS (-4) over Ravens: (Saturday Game) One team just won an emotional division game on National TV to salvage their season and keep their slight playoff hopes alive, hosting the final regular season game in their iconic stadium. The other got hosed on semi-National TV by a lousy referees call in the last thirty seconds of the game (gee, does that sound familiar this season?), possibly costing them valuable playoff position and dropping them into a three-way tie for the final Wild Card spot, one game behind Indy. I’ll take the hotter team, even if their chemistry might be reaching the boiling point.

Steelers (-2) over TITANS: No Haynesworth, no Vanden Bosch, playing the second hottest team in the AFC with home field advantage on the line between them. I know we’ve been saying all season long that Kerry Collins has stepped up every time the Titans have needed him to, but after watching the entire Titans team lay an egg in Houston last week I’m starting to wonder just how much farther he can carry them.

Dolphins (-4) over CHIEFS: Until the last 90 seconds of the Chiefs/Chargers game in Week 15, I would have picked KC to cover and maybe even win outright at home in this game. KC is one of the toughest places to play in the NFL, and I firmly believe that if the fans had stayed to the end last week even with an 11-point lead in the final 90 seconds, the Chargers would not have come back to win. I say KC gets blown away in their final two games, leading to the end of the Herm Edwards era.

PATRIOTS (-8) over Cardinals: A domed, warm weather team with nothing to play for coming to Foxboro in a snowstorm to play against a Patriots team with their backs against the wall fighting for a playoff spot, that just hung almost 50 on the road (albeit against the Raiders). Oh, plus if I remember correctly, the Patriots have proven that they can shut down Kurt Warner and the Greatest Show on Turf. And remember the 56 points and 6 passing TDs the Jets hung on Arizona in Week 4… now just imagine Randy Moss against that secondary.

Bengals (+3.5) over BROWNS: (Line from ESPN.com) Didn’t’ think I’d even take the Bengals to cover any spreads again in 2008. But then they shut down the Redskins while the Browns rolled over to the Eagles. By the way – anybody watch the end of that Philly/Cleveland game? Tony Kornheiser had an absolute gem that led to six solid seconds of complete silence at the end of the game – when Tirico announced that Cleveland would be hosting Cincy this week, Tony responded with “Wow, I’ll bet that game pulls great rating numbers…”. I’m not sure if everyone else was surprised at the statement itself or the fact that Kornheiser had something relevant to add to the commentary.

49ers (-5.5) over RAMS: Speaking of pulling great ratings numbers… There’s this battle of NFC West powerhouses. San Fran could actually end up with a 7-9 record this year, not bad considering how awful they were earlier this season. That oughtta be enough to keep Mike Singletary in the big chair for a three-year extension.

Saints (-7) over LIONS: I was completely shocked that the Lions weren’t blown off the field by halftime last week. I’d be even more shocked if they had any answer for Drew Brees, or if the Saints had any way to stop Calvin Johnson this week.

BUCS (-3.5) over Chargers: (Line from ESPN.com) How the hell are the Chargers still getting this much respect from the betting public? They had to comeback against one of the worse teams in football last week in the final 90 seconds! And yet, somehow, with the “quality” of the AFC West, they’re not eliminated from the playoffs yet.

SEAHAWKS (+5) over Jets: The Jets have lost in Oakland, San Francisco and San Diego so far this year. Let’s just say that it seems like West Coast trips don’t agree with this team. I’ll take the points.

Texans (-7) over RAIDERS: I’ve got a serious dilemma. I only made on fantasy football finals this year, and I’ve got to choose between Aaron Rodgers in Chicago, Donovan McNabb in Washington and Matt Schaub in Oakland. Obviously Rodgers is out, but even with as hot as Schaub has been I don’t know how much I can trust him with the playoffs on the line. Anybody got thoughts?

BRONCOS (-6.5) over Bills: (Line from ESPN.com) Buffalo is in seriously bad shape right now. A 6-10 finish is better than I expected, but still a regression from last season’s 7-9. Denver needs one more win to lock up the division and cement themselves as the lock to get destroyed in the first round of the AFC playoffs.

Eagles (-4.5) over REDSKINS: Washington didn’t do themselves any favors with the loss to Cincy last week, not that they had much of a shot at postseason play anyway. Philly still needs to win out and get some help, but at least they’ve got something to play for.

Falcons (+3) over VIKINGS: I know, the Vikings are currently staring square at a #3 seed in the postseason while Atlanta is on the outside looking in. I just really like Atlanta’s offense in this game, specifically Michael Turner, especially with Pat Williams on the sidelines.

Panthers (+3) over GIANTS: Like Sparty said, this is not the same New York Giants team that was the best in the business a month ago. Brandon Jacobs’ loss has hurt them in many ways – teams aren’t afraid to load up the box and take down a runningback. And without the reliable big play receiver to shoot down the field, more and more teams are realizing they can blitz at will and get to Eli Manning. Plax ain’t coming back this year, but Jacobs needs to be back on the field ASAP.

BEARS (-4) over Packers: Yet another matchup of teams where only one team still has something to play for. Chicago still has a legitimate chance at making the playoffs as a Wild Card, and they’ve had ten days to recover from the near choke job to the Saints. Green Bay has all but rolled over and started looking ahead to 2009.

RECAP: Colts / COWBOYS / Steelers / Dolphins / PATRIOTS / Bengals / 49ers / Saints / BUCS / SEAHAWKS / Texans / BRONCOS / Eagles / Falcons / Panthers / BEARS

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