Arizona Cardinals (+2.5) over Atlanta Falcons

Yes, Arizona has a horrific defense and they lost four out of their last six games. They look terrible and Kurt Warner is fifty-six years old. There’s probably ten teams in the NFC that are better than them. They only beat one other NFC team that was not in their division. Guess who? Yes, the Dallas Cowboys. Remember that blocked punt on October 12th? Of course, we all do. We all love watching Dallas implode. But this isn’t about Dallas. This is about Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons’ defense traveling to Arizona to play the Cardinals. This game is all about who can stop who and as horrific as the Cardinals defense is, Atlanta’s is not that much better. The Cardinals are in the middle of the pack at stopping the run and if they can keep Michael Turner in check, which is something many NFL teams have had a tough time doing, then they will win the game. I see this Arizona Cardinals offense running on all cylinders Saturday afternoon. Look for Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald to hook up many times, and not in a gay way, but in a watch-how-many-touchdowns-we-can-score kinda way. Final score Arizona 31 Atlanta 24 (for the record, they will get destroyed next round, completely destroyed).

Indianapolis Colts (-1) over San Diego Chargers

Revenge game. Peyton Manning is the MVP of the NFL. San Diego is not a good football team. They aren’t. They play in a horrible division and they aren’t ‘coming on strong.’ Look who they played in their last four games. The Oakland Raiders who suck. The Kansas City Chiefs who suck. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers who suck. And the Denver Broncos who suck. Their previous three games before that were against playoff teams (Steelers, Colts, and Falcons) and they lost all three of those games. I love the Colts in this game. I truly believe they are the best team in the NFL right now with the best player (Peyton Manning). I will be completely dumbfounded if the Chargers win this game. Final Score Indianapolis 30 San Diego 20

Baltimore Ravens (-3) over Miami Dolphins

I was up the street last night grabbing dinner when my buddy asked me ‘who plays quarterback for that purple team?’ I said, ‘Tarvaris Jackson?’ He said, ‘no.’ I said ‘Joe Flacco?’ and that turned out to be the correct answer. The fat guy with no chin sitting next to my buddy said, ‘he was my neighbor.’ For the sake of not butchering anymore punctuation I will continue this story without any ‘he said, she said’ crap. The fat guy with no chin (let’s just call him Fat No Chin, FNC for short) grew up with him during the summers in Ocean City, New Jersey. FNC told me he threw a wicked long ball on the beach. So right now I picture Joe Flacco tearing up the scene in Miami Beach throwing wicked long balls which will carryover till Sunday in a very nice rookie, playoff victory. Oh, and Ed Reed might have something to say about this game, too. Speaking of Ed Reed, would you rather have him or Troy Polamalu? Food for thought. Final Score Baltimore 20 Miami 17

Philadelphia Eagles (-3) over Minnesota Vikings

There’s around 15,000 seats still available for this game and it’s subject to blackout in the Minneapolis area. How pathetic is that? Do you know what else is pathetic? Tarvaris Jackson. This is me breaking down this game. What the Eagles really need to do is establish the run and…..the Vikings quarterback is Tarvaris Jackson. If the Eagles can stop the run…..the Vikings quarterback is Tarvaris Jackson. The Eagles need to win the battle of field position…..the Vikings quarterback is Tarvaris Jackson. In conclusion, if the Eagles defense can put pressure on Tarvaris Jackson…..the Vikings quarterback is Tarvaris Jackson. You get my point? Final Score Philadelphia 34 Minnesota 17

The first Falcons rookie quarterback to start a season opener since Steve Bartkowski in 1975, Matt Ryan was named Offensive Rookie of the Year today after throwing for 3,440 yards, 16 TD’s and 11 INT’s. Edging out Baltimore’s Joe Flacco, Ryan also led his Falcons (11-5) to an improbable playoff berth despite extremely low expectations.

“It’s pretty exciting” Ryan said. “It’s a great honor and to tell you the truth, I’m pretty humbled by it.”

Ryan was drafted #3 overall out of Boston College this past April, but wasn’t expected to play so well so early.

“I’m very proud of Matt’s accomplishments, accelerated maturity and very evident leadership skills while at the helm in his first year as a professional quarterback” Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said.

The Falcons travel to Arizona to face the Cardinals at 4:30 PM EDT on Saturday, January 3rd for Wild Card Weekend.

According to a USDA report released on Friday, Michael Vick placed family pet dogs into the ring with his trained pit bulls and laughed as the dogs “caused major injury” to the pets at Bad Newz Kennels.

The report provides new insight into the sadistic and vicious happenings at 1915 Moonlight Rd., where Vick operated the kennel along with his friends Tony Taylor, Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips.

According to the report, “Vick, Peace and Phillips thought it was funny to watch the pit bull dogs belonging to Bad Newz Kennels injure or kill the other dogs.”

The report states that in mid-April of 2007, Vick, Peace and Phillips hung approximately three dogs who did poorly in a “rolling session,” which lets you know if a dog is ready to be in combat. According to the report, the three men hung the dogs “by placing a nylon cord over a 2 X 4 that was nailed to two trees located next to the big shed. They also drowned approximately three dogs by putting the dogs’ heads in a five gallon bucket of water.”

I would love to know why there is even speculation that this man could receive the pleasure and privilege of playing in the National Football League again. Please, someone tell me, and don’t give me this “everyone gets a second chance” crap.

He funded and ran an illegal dog-fighting operation. I’m no PETA person, but that is reprehensible. He killed dogs that couldn’t fight and derived extreme pleasure in watching dogs get injured and/or killed. This isn’t a “mistake.” This isn’t something you say “sorry” for. You say you are sorry when you bump into someone, not when you exhibit a pattern of behavior like this.

He did all these things, and on top of it, he lied to Roger Goodell’s face about it. Michael Vick should never set foot on an NFL football field again. Period.

Is he sorry? Of course he is. He’s sorry he thoroughly pissed away the high life. He didn’t all of a sudden see why torturing animals is despicable. You don’t really believe that, do you? He’ll say and do all the right things to try to get his life back, but in the end, he’ll always be the same scum bag.

Oh, and in a few days, he’s going to plead guilty to two more charges relating to dog fighting on the state level, but won’t do any more time due to the terms of his plea deal. Explain that one to me.