Saturday, Dec. 22, 2001

What a day for football

A few last-minute predictions on today's games

By Andy Hanacek, Associate editor

You see, we work on Sundays to put out the print edition of PFW and thus don't get to enjoy the finer points of the games on that day. So here it is, Saturday, with three very promisingly good games on. If I didn't have to wrap up my Christmas shopping, I'd watch every minute. So now, I have to pick my time to shop carefully.

Looking at today's games, I can't wait to watch most of them. You have playoff positioning on the line in just about every game, and each game promises to be good. No St. Louis-Carolina game on Saturday (thankfully).

First, we have Miami at New England, which is just starting as I'm typing this. The AFC East lead is at stake here. A win gives one of these teams
the ever-important edge in the division. New England is hoping to avenge an early-season loss to the Dolphins, their worst game of the year.

While there's all sorts of December jinx talk in New York with the Jets, the Dolphins are trying to avoid their own December hex. It should be a closer game than the 30-10 beating Miami previously put on the Patriots. First off, don't expect Lamar Smith to get close to the yardage he racked up in the first campaign. He's got a more banged-up offensive line than he did then, and he has just really, really struggled recently (except for the Colts game). On the flip side, Antowain Smith should have a solid day, as he's been on fire lately. He may not destroy the very solid Dolphins defense, but he'll be able to pace this team. I'm calling a Patriots win here.

The second game pits the Eagles and 49ers against each other. The Eagles' defense has been hot, and many people have overlooked them as Super Bowl contenders. Realistically, they're more of a dark horse because no one seems to be picking them. But they've played very well lately, and I expect them to do so today. Their defense has been very, very stout, and they just need the offense to come around and match the production of the defense for them to be very dangerous.

The 49ers are coming off a shutout over the Dolphins in which they dominated. Jeff Garcia is a game-time decision, but I personally think he'll play, since this is such a huge game. Even with Garcia, though, I think the Eagles' defense has been so good lately that the Eagles will pull out a win here.

In the night tilt, we have a matchup that should be closer than the records
indicate. After a very rough start to the season, the Titans have rebounded and become a very dangerous spoiler-type team now. Steve McNair has developed his pocket-passing skills very well this year, simply because he's been forced to. Eddie George has struggled all season long, though he's started to show signs of returning to normal in the second half of the season.

The Raiders have a very dangerous offense, but the running game has been inconsistent, and the defense has simply been unable to stop the run. The Raiders' pass defense has been very good, but the run kills it. I think that will be the difference in this game. I think George will find some holes early, exploit the defense and have his best game of the season, even if he's splitting carries with Skip Hicks, as the Titans expect to do. The Titans will pull off the upset (which isn't really an upset in terms of talent, but it sure is if you look at the records).

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2001 - 2002 Season