By Kim J. Harmon

I KNOW it was the Giants and the Jets, but ‘round 11 am on Sunday I just couldn’t find myself getting too excited about it. And when the wife said she wanted the family to go Christmas shopping at this warehouse place (so the kids could find the presents they would give to each other), I readily agreed.

I mean, I thought the game would end 6-3 and wasn’t sure – nor did I really care – who was the six and who was the three.

But after coming out of the store and turning on the radio, finding out that the Giants were ahead 17-0, I almost blew a gasket. “WHAT THE HECK WAS GOING ON HERE?” I shouted, although I couldn’t hear myself because the kids were going at it pretty good in the back seat. “THE GIANTS DON’T HAVE ANY OFFENSE.”

Well, THEN I was in a hurry to get home but, of course, had to go to Burger King and watch the kids beat themselves up on the playground.

I couldn’t WAIT to get home and, still, I got a chance to see the Giants score 24 more points.

Wow.

Of course, those 41 points the Giants scored are probably more than they will score over the next three games, but what the heck.

Maybe I’ll go Christmas shopping again on Sunday. It might do the trick against the Bills.

Thursday

OAKLAND (+3.5) at TENNESSEE: The Titans are coming off a bad loss to the Ravens with just three days to prepare for another game. Talk about tough. Plus, the Titans’ offense isn’t – as surprising as it seems – quite as good as the Raiders’ despite the Titans being 9-3 and the Raiders being 6-6. What gives? (KH – Titans; SB – Titans)

 

Sunday

NEW YORK GIANTS (+8) at BUFFALO: I’m not crazy enough to think that the 41-point outburst the Giants had against the Jets on Sunday is a sign that things are coming together on the offense, but I do think that giving the Jints eight points is too much. Especially when the defense can slow the Bills down. (KH – Giants; SB – Giants)

 

DETROIT (+3) at TAMPA BAY: This new QB for the Bucs, Shaun King, looks pretty good, doesn’t he? He hasn’t lost a game in over a year (12-0 at Tulane and now 1-0 with Tampa as a starter) and I don’t think he’ll lose this weekend, either. (KH – Buccaneers; SB – Lions)

 

PHILADELPHIA (+9) at DALLAS: Speaking of young quarterbacks, Donovan McNabb looks like he could be one of the good ones out of this young crop of QBs that came into the league. If the Eagles could just get better people on the field, we’d probably really see something. (KH – Cowboys; SB – Eagles)

 

CAROLINA (+8) at GREEN BAY: Picking up Steve Buerlein for my Fantasy Football team has proven to be a GREAT pickup. It was astounding that he hadn’t been drafted, or signed, by any of the other owners and he was right there for me when Dan Marino went down with an injury. Now, it’s unlikely Marino will see any time on my team. Sorry, Dan. (KH – Panthers; SB – Packers)

 

BALTIMORE (+1.5) at PITTSBURGH: You would think that the Ravens, after scoring 41 points against the 9-2 Titans, would be favored by the slumping Steelers, but the home field advantage has a lot to do with this line, I suppose. Still, the Steelers just aren’t any good anymore. Maybe the Ravens are on a roll. (KH – Ravens; SB – Steelers)

 

NEW ENGLAND (+7) at INDIANAPOLIS: The Colts are the real deal, folks, and the only way I could see them not covering this line is if they were playing against a team with a strong offense. The Patriots don’t have a strong offense and should have trouble keeping up with Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and Edgerrin James. (KH – Colts; SB – Patriots)

 

ARIZONA (+5) at WASHINGTON:  This will be a fight for the upper hand in the lamest division in the National Football League. The ‘Skins lead at 7-5, with the Cardinals, the Giants and the Cowboys all tied for second at 6-6. It is not inconceivable that an 8-8 team wins the division and gets into the playoffs. Egads. (KH – Redskins; SB – Cardinals)

ST. LOUIS (-10.5) at NEW ORLEANS: One might think that the Rams could lose a little of their edge now that they have clinched the NFC Western Division title, but there still is the matter of home field advantage throughout the playoffs and two more wins should take care of that. This will be the first. (KH – Rams; SB – Saints)

 

CLEVELAND (+7.5) at CINCINNATI: The Bengals looked like world beaters scoring 44 points against the San Francisco Forty-Niners, but the Niners may even be worse than the Browns. This should be a closer game, I would think, with Couch keeping the Browns close. (KH – Browns; SB – Browns)

 

MIAMI (-3) at NEW YORK JETS: This rivalry has produced some of the all-time great games in the history of the NFL and I’d like to say I expect the same on Sunday . . . but I don’t. Although these games always are close, Dan Marino seems to be getting better and stronger. But even a weak Marino is better than a strong Ray Lucas. (KH – Dolphins; SB – Jets)

 

SAN DIEGO (-10) at SEATTLE: The Seahawks are fighting to stay on top in the AFC Western Division and should have little trouble doing that against the Chargers. (KH – Seahawks; SB – Chargers)

 

ATLANTA (-3.5) at SAN FRANCISCO: Can you believe that both the Falcons and the Forty-Niners are going into this game at 3-9? Some people probably figured, back in September, that this game would probably decide the division champion. Man, how wrong we all were. (KH – Forty-Niners; SB – Forty-Niners)

 

MINNESOTA (-2) at KANSAS CITY: The Vikings seem to have trouble against teams that have strong defenses and the Chiefs have a strong defense. Plus, Arrowhead Stadium is one of the best home field advantages in the NFL. (KH – Chiefs; SB – Chiefs)

 

Monday

DENVER (+9) at JACKSONVILLE: The Jags could be a little rusty, getting nine days off after that Thursday night win last week, but rusty or not they should beat the Broncos. However, I have a sneaky suspicion the game will be kind of close. (KH – Broncos; SB – Broncos)

 

SCOREBOARD

KIM HARMON             8-7-0                 90-91-8

STEVE BIGHAM                              6-9-0                                104-77-8