ATLANTA FALCONS (7-4) at HOUSTON TEXANS (8-3)
Sunday, 1:00 P.M. ET, FOX, Direct TV (712), Sirius (Atl 134, Hou 92)

Why Watch
To see how much worst it can get for Houston. Just when the Texans thought they would win the Peyton Manning division, they lose QB Matt Schaub and his replacement, the lightly regarded Matt Leinart. Andre Johnson's return will not keep the Texans from turning themselves into a running team as they nurse QB T.J. Yates along. Yates wears jersey No. 13. Unlucky.

What To Watch
Will Houston have a passing game? Curtis Painter (Colts) and Blaine Gabbert (jaguars) struggle to win for their teams. There is little to suggest that Yates will be any more successful. Fortunately, Houston is a more complete team than Indy or Jacksonville. If they are going to win, their other strengths must come through for them. Coach Gary Kubiak must call for passes that Yates can throw and Johnson must catch any off-target ball thrown to him. The weight of the offense shifts to the legs of Arian Foster and Ben Tate. The Texans possess the No. 1 defense for yards per game and allow a mere 31 percent of third down conversions. Keep your eye on LB Brian Cushing.

The Texans have gifts to win, but the Falcons are on a roll. Atlanta won four of their last five games after finding the right balance on offense. It turns out that rookie WR Julio Jones is the icing, not the cake. QB Matt Ryan, WR Roddy White and TE Tony Gonzalez, who were on the team all along, powered the Falcons recent wins. Jones and RB Michael Turner are listed as Questionable. My fantast football experience taught me that questionable studs show up for games. Atlanta is favored by 3.

Who Will Win
The football smart people expect a close game. This contest, however, will come down to quarterback play. That's not close. Neither will this game. ATLANTA wins big.

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Don't look now, but the Tennessee Titans are quietly sticking around in the AFC wild-card race. And with 3 teams from the AFC North currently in playoff position, it's almost a certainty that one of them will stumble down the stretch, leaving room for 1 more team. The Titans just might be that team.

The Titans have been led by veteran quarterback Matt Hasselbeck who has been leading his young team to win after win. He's been aided by Tennessee's 17th ranked defense, which is a big-time improvement from last year's much maligned bunch. The Titans have enough tools to make a run; the question is, will they?

The Titans rank 4th out of 5 teams that are currently within 2 games of each other vying for the 6th seed in the AFC. The Bengals currently hold the spot, followed by the Broncos, Jets, Titans, and the Bills. The Titans will play the Bills tomorrow in a game that could effectively eliminate Buffalo from contention should they lose. After that, they play New Orleans, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, and finally Houston.

The task in front of the Titans would seem difficult considering their schedule, but they'll likely be getting some help from around the league as well. The Broncos have games against the Bears and Patriots just around the corner, the Jets will be closing out the season against the Giants and the suddenly hot Dolphins, and the Bengals are at Pittsburgh this weekend, hosting the Texans the following week before closing the season out against the Baltimore Ravens. Needless to say, the opportunity to make a run is there.

That being said, the Titans have improvements they absolutely have to work on. Chris Johnson has just 699 yards on the season, and that's including last weekend's 190 yard performance. It was Johnson's first outstanding performance of the season, and he'll need to start making such performances a habit to give his team a very real chance of making the playoffs.

The Titans' defense also has plenty of room for improvement. While their pass defense has been nothing short of brilliant at times, their rush defense needs some tweaking. They currently rank 22nd in rush defense, and they're giving up 124.1 yards per game on the ground. The number isn't to the point of being debilitating, but they'll have to be able to force teams into being one-dimensional to be able to win 4 of their final 5 games, and yes, that's the number I believe it will take.

The AFC is shaping into a mosh pit of teams all clamoring for that final playoff spot. The Steelers, who are a game in front of the Bengals, aren't yet immune to falling off the wagon. The Titans, as I mentioned earlier, probably need to win 4 of their final 5 games to snag a wild-card spot. The most likely scenario for them getting in is by beating Buffalo, dropping their only droppable game to the Saints, beating Indianapolis and Jacksonville, and they'll be hoping that Houston will have the top seed in the playoffs locked up. If that's the case, Houston may pull many of their starters in week 17, giving the Titans an easy victory.

If it pans out right, the Titans' conference record may be good enough to make gains in their tie-breaker against the Jets. They've beaten the Broncos, so they've already wrapped up that head-to-head tie-breaker, but they were beaten by the Bengals earlier in the season. There's no question that there's room for the Titans to make a playoff push. It's up to them to find a way to do it.

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The Packers continue their quest for perfection and the Giants continue to be one of the most frustrating teams in the league on a week-to-week basis. Green Bay enters the week without a single defeat on the season, and fresh off of a long week of rest after dismantling the Lions on Thanksgiving. On the other side we have the Giants, who only seem to get up to play the Patriots, and are content with coasting through the rest of the season.

So how is it that the Packers are just 7.5 point favorites? Well let's try to find out.

The Colts' on field performance really can't get much worse this season, but at least they're getting good off-field news. Peyton Manning's neck is healing, and he'll likely start to throw the football again soon. Dr. Watkins had this to say of Manning's latest check-up (from Fox 59 in Indianapolis):

"X-ray and CT examination of the surgical area shows that the fusion performed in September has achieved firm fixation," said Dr. Robert Watkins. "Peyton will now be allowed to increase the intensity and breadth of his workouts as tolerated. There remains every indication that his recovery will continue. There still is no timetable for Peyton’s return to practice, which is one of many steps in his expected return to game action."

Obviously the news isn't going to get the Colts any extra wins this season, but it should allow their likely first round draft pick, Andrew Luck, to become an understudy of Manning for a year or two before taking the reigns. That would seem to be the likely scenario, but the news raises an important question about the Colts; would they consider passing on Luck in order to try to milk another Super Bowl run or two out of the Manning era?

While only those inside the Colts organization can answer that question, they'll likely suspend judgement of the issue until they know more about Manning's injury and Andrew Luck as a player which will come in late April. Suddenly the Colts situation, while still incredibly disappointing, does seem to have a light at the end of the tunnel. It seems likely that Manning will step onto an NFL field as a player once again. If what the Jim Irsay and Bill Polian have said is true, he'll be doing so as a player for the Indianapolis Colts. There's nothing more encouraging than that if you're a Colts fan.

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It seems like years since the media was talking about the Philadelphia Eagles as the NFL's version of the Miami Heat. Speculation abounded about the possibility of the Eagles making the trek to Indianapolis for the Super Bowl. In hindsight, it would appear that we were putting the cart before the horse. There will be no Super Bowl this season for the Eagles. No celebrations. There will simply be time to reflect on where it all went wrong.

The Eagles dropped to 4-8 last night after being manhandled for 4 quarters by the Seattle Seahawks, otherwise known as an NFL powerhouse. Sarcasm. Vince Young is the easy target of criticism in the loss, throwing 4 interceptions and just a single touchdown pass. His opposing counterpart, Seahawks QB Tarvaris Jackson, had probably his best game for the Seahawks. He was a respectable 13 of 16 passing, 190 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions.

The final score as compared to the number of total yards in the game pretty much sums up the Eagles' season. The Seahawks had 347 net yards, and the Eagles had a very similar 330 net yards. While that battle was close, the final score indicates a game in which the outcome was never really in doubt after the Seahawks jumped out to a quick 17-7 first half lead.

With the Eagles floundering to stay relevant, despite one of the NFL's most talented rosters; at least that's the perception. What do we make of the situation? Someone has to take the fall in Philadelphia, and that guy is looking more and more like Andy Reid. However, I don't want to put the cart before the horse, as we've done in the past. Let's look at the decisions that have led us to this grim point.

Just a season ago, everyone was praising Reid and the Eagles for parting ways with Donovan McNabb at the exact right moment. McNabb was a free agent flop with the Redskins, and the Eagles looked great behind the legs and arm of Michael Vick. Good move right? Wrong.

Today, Vick still isn't back. Vince Young has taken the roll of our new found Rex Grossman, and the Eagles defense is awful. What has happened is very simple. The Eagles got too close, and they couldn't handle it. The Eagles took that "we're one or two guys away" approach, and it has backfired in a big way.

There are some teams that are constantly operating while they are just "one or two players away" from being in the Super Bowl. The Steelers, Patriots, and more recently, the Packers are operating, rather successfully, in that range of talent. The difference is that they don't mortgage their team's cohesiveness to obtain those players. The fact of the matter is that the Super Bowl champion almost always is the team that gets hot at the right time of the season. The Eagles took the free agent route to pushing their team over the top. That doesn't work.

Ultimately, the decisions made by Andy Reid have to fall on him. Effectively, Andy Reid has all the powers of most teams' general managers and those personnel missteps have to fall on him. So, here's what may happen. Reid won't be fired. I think most people would agree that he's had too many great years to simply part ways after one very, very disappointing season. It's far more likely that the Eagles go out and find an actual general manager, then they'll strip some of Reid's managerial powers.

Let's be real. The Eagles won't fire Reid. It simply can't happen, but they can take away some of his powers that have made him the most powerful head coach in the NFL within his own organization.

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Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers are the 3 usual suspects to be voted in for the Pro Bowl for the AFC. However this year could bring a BIG change with a name that everyone loves to chant.

As of December 1^st, according to PFT the top dogs for QB in the AFC are Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, and Ryan Fitzpatrick in 4rth place is none other than the prodigal son, Tim Tebow.

Brady and Big Ben would appear to be locks however it is important to note that the players who go to the Super Bowl don’t go to the Pro Bowl and it is very possible either Tom Terrific or Big Ben will go to the big dance, which would put Tebow in the Pro Bowl.

Another thing which has helped Tebow is that Fitzpatrick’s Bills have been sliding while Tebow’s Broncos have been surging winning games.  

In Tim Tebow’s 9 games this year he has a 45% completion rating and avg of 5.96 yards per pass and a QB rating of 80.5 not to mention has only thrown for 852 yards. Those are far from Pro Bowl numbers however Tebow also only has 1 INT this year and 455 rushing yards and 3 rushing TDs. Tebow is also 5-1 as a starter.

Personally, I am a Tim Tebow fan while I understand he has his faults as a QB, he entertains me and proves good guys don’t always have to finish last.  As coach Herm says “You play to win the game” and it seems more times than not that’s exactly what Timmy does.

It is important to note that the fan vote is not the only factor and players and coaches vote.

Rookie Andy Dalton who is behind Tebow in voting would appear to be Tim’s biggest competition.

So if you are a fan of Tebowmania, hit the polls because Timmy has a legit chance at being a Pro Bowl QB. And if the AFC ends up needing a fourth-quarter comeback, they'll have the ultimate weapon on their sidelines. 

What was just an incredibly disappointing season officially lost what sliver of hope remains,as the Philadlephia Eagles were virtually eliminated from the postseason race with a 31-14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.  Marshawn Lynch took advantage of the Eagles' porous run defense, Tarvaris Jackson played very efficiently, and Vince Young threw four interceptions in the loss.

Young's first interception came on the Eagles' first play from scrimmage on a scramble drill, when Kam Chancellor intercepted a pass with no Eagles receiver in the immediate vicinity. The Seahawks took advantage of Eagles linebacker Jamar Chaney being out of position for two first downs, then Lynch finished it off with a 15-yard run where he ran out of Chaney's bearhug.

Marshawn Lynch would then double the lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter, when after a cutback to the right he found nothing but green grass in front of him. The Eagles second level defenders abjectly failed at their jobs, and Lynch raced 40 yards for his second touchdown. The Eagles would cut the deficit in half, to 14-7, after two Vince Young passes to Riley Cooper, including a 47-yard bomb, set up a one-yard touchdown run for LeSean McCoy, who played and played well after being listed as questionable. The Seahawks would extend their lead to 17-7 right before half, on a 49-yard field goal by Stephen Hauschka.

After Vince Young's second interception of the game on the opening drive of the second half, a third-down pass that went off Riley Cooper's hands after Clay Harbor dropped a pass on second down, Tarvaris Jackson hit Golden Tate in the back of the end zone, and Tate made a nice toe-tap for an 11-yard score and a 24-7 lead.

The Eagles were still in the game, marching 80 yards in 17 plays and taking over ten minutes off the game clock in the process before LeSean McCoy's second touchdown of the game, this one on a shovel pass from Vince Young, cut the deficit to 24-14 early in the fourth quarter. The Eagles extended the Seahawks' ensuing possession with a defensive holding penalty, but eventually forced a punt and got the ball back with eight minutes to play down ten points.

It looked like the Eagles might make things interesting, as Young hit DeSean Jackson, McCoy, and Cooper for key passes, but then he made a crucial mistake. Young looked left, saw McCoy on the swing pass covered by David Hawthorne, then threw the ball anyway. A surprised Hawthorne grabbed the ball and raced 77 yards for the game-clinching touchdown.  Young threw his fourth interception of the game two plays later, and the Seahawks then ran out the clock for the 31-14 win.

Three Stars
1. Marshawn Lynch, RB, Seahawks. Twenty-two carries, 148 yards, two touchdowns rushing. Several times he ran through arms tackles and made Eagles defenders look absolutely silly. Skittles on the sideline for everybody.
2. Tarvaris Jackson, QB, Seahawks. Sacked three times, and he probably could have avoided some of them, but 13 of 16 for 190 yards and a touchdown. Lynch was the keystone of the Seahawks offense tonight, but Jackson made some plays and, just as importantly, avoided the key mistake.
3. LeSean McCoy, RB, Eagles. Seventeen carries for 84 yards and a touchdown, plus four catches for 49 yards and the other touchdown. And this by a player who looked awful gimpy in pregame warmups. In a season of disappointment for the Eagles, he's the star who's come through.

Three Duds
1. Vince Young, QB, Eagles. Yes, he's the backup. Yes, one of the interceptions wasn't his fault. The other three he does bear a lot of fault for, including particularly the idiotic game-clinching interception. He continues to struggle to throw the ball accurately in short and intermediate areas, and the Seahawks successfully confused him at times with their coverages tonight.
2. Jamar Chaney, LB, Eagles. Chaney struggled greatly earlier in the season after replacing Casey Matthews at middle linebacker, but I thought he'd improved as the year had gone on. Tonight, he looked every bit as bad as he'd been early in the season.
3. DeSean Jackson, WR, Eagles. Young's best attribute is as a deep passer. Jackson at his best is an exceptional deep threat. Tonight he was a virtual non-factor as a receiver and as a returner, with four catches for 34 yards. With Maclin out, Riley Cooper looks like the Eagles' top receiver. That should not be the case, but it is.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (4-7) at SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (4-7)
Thursday, 8:00 P.M. ET, NFL Network, Sirius 93

Why Watch
First and foremost, even if the matchup stinks, Brad Nessler and Mike Mayock might be the very best tandem working in an NFL Broadcast booth (with all apologies to Collinsworth and Michaels). Secondly, if you like train wrecks, surely you'll love it when two crazy trains go head to head, right? 

While Rome burns around him, Andy Reid is far more concerned with wrapping his thick fingers around DeSean Jackson's throat and squeezing. But with Jeremy Maclin out, DeSean will presumably be let out of the doghouse tonight. He just might bite someone. Meanwhile, if Andy Reid is hiding a mountain of crazy inside a stone-faced facade, Pete Carroll believes in letting it all out. Most of it is crazy optimism, but crazy is crazy, and it has translated into alternating series of truly inspired play and total chaos. The latter reigned in a loss to Washington last week.

What to Watch
Greg Cosell made a startling claim two weeks ago, after watching Vince Young and the Eagles stifle the Giants 17-10. He believes that Vince Young actually ran the Eagles' offense better, and more efficiently, than Mike Vick. VY followed that win with 400 yards passing in a 38-20 loss to New England, but the old gunslinger still has a dangerously live arm. However, Seattle has a fantastic pair of starting safeties in Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas, and a couple of young but ball-hungry cornerbacks in Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman. Young's patience to work the soft middle will play against his and DeSean's desire to break off big chunks of yardage at a time. 

Who Will Win
Seattle shocked the world two weeks ago by beating Baltimore at home. It may not be quite so shocking if they put down a rapidly self-destructing Philadelphia team, but it will be another big log on the "Fire Andy Reid" media bonfire.  

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Is it sad that we can be watching a football game and instantly recognize a play that will result in a fine, regardless of whether a penalty was called or not? I'll give the NFL some credit in this regard. They're getting very consistent with what types of hits they'll fine. My problem is that the fines are doing what they were intended to do; protecting players.

According to ESPN The Magazine on May 30, 2011, the NFL handed down fines for 189 offenses in 2010 that resulted in grand total of $2,726,625. Now, that doesn't sound like a lot of money, but it's money that should still belong with the people that earned it.

We've been led to believe that fines handed down by the NFL, at least for illegal hits, were intended to be seen as a deterrent for players that are routinely flagged for illegal hits, especially on defenseless receivers. Unfortunately, those types of brutal hits continue, and so do the fines.

We've all heard the interviews of players that say they won't change their style of play. Some have even joked that they just set aside a big chunk of change at the beginning of the year to pay any fines they may receive. That's all fun and games, and that's just the way this sport is. Every player that steps on the field, whether in a game or even in practice, knowingly assumes the hazards of their job. Hitting and being hit is simply part of football.

Now, we all know that fines aren't actually deterring anyone. Frankly, I don't mind fining players that deserve it for on or off the field behavior. Ndamukong Suh's suspension was warranted, and he's not being paid during that suspension. He deserved the punishment that was handed down by the league. No problem here. My problem is when defensive players are fined for hits they couldn't avoid.

Yet, the fact that the NFL continues to fine players for unavoidable hits doesn't irk me as much as the NFL's new rules on defenseless receivers. Now you're telling defensive backs and linebackers that they can't lay into a receiver once they've touched the ball? What? That's not football. Fans like big hits. Who doesn't? Now the NFL is doing everything they can to eliminate them. For example, why should the hit in the video below be a fine?

The simple fact of the matter is that it shouldn't be a fine. It shouldn't even be a penalty, but with the new rules it is. For the record, the flag on the play was correctly thrown. It's a case of a bad rule but the right call.

The idea that fines somehow eliminate injuries is ludicrous. Everyone in their right mind knows better. The NFL can try to police this issue all they want, but we're talking about hits that take fractions of a second to develop. Defenders have no time to react when a receiver lowers their head. Fines just aren't working, and they need to stop. I'm tired of turning on ESPN on Tuesday mornings to find out who was fined.

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According to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter the Minnesota Vikings have released veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb later Thursday.

McNabb was benched by Vikings coach Leslie Frazier in mid-October, and rookie Christian Ponder has been behind center ever since. McNabb has remained on the team as the backup.

"I know I have a lot of football left in me," McNabb said at the time of his benching.

When McNabb reaches waivers, the league source said Dallas (21st waiver) and Chicago (24th) could put in a claim. Houston took themselves out of the mix by signing Jake Delhomme earlier this week.

When McNabb was pulled from the lineup, the Vikings were 1-5 and coming off of a 39-10 loss at Chicago. They are 1-4 under Ponder and in last place in the NFC North.

This would continue an ugly trend for McNabb who took the Philadelphia Eagles into the playoffs seven times in his eleven years with the team. Including four consecutive NFC East division championships ,(2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004), five NFC Championship Games (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2008), and one Super Bowl.

He was let go following the 2009 season after leading the Eagles into the playoffs. After a rough and uneventful season in Washington he landed in Minnesota this past off-season.

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