FanNation - The Republic of Sport

     Even great football teams are fragile animals. Witness the Indianapolis Colts.

     Two weeks ago, we could've been talking about the Colts going 16-0. Even with Marvin Harrison on the shelf, they were less than 10 minutes away from knocking off New England, But things went bad that day, and they went to worse last Sunday when Dallas Clark was a gametime scratch and Dwight Freeney went down for the season with a foot injury, and they lost to a Chargers team that will make the playoffs only by default. God save them if Peyton Manning gets hurt.

     Meanwhile, the Patriots have avoided the injury jinx, and have only gotten more reinforcements as the season's progressed (Rodney Harrison, Richard Seymour, and as if the receiving corps needed another boost, Chad Jackson and possibly Troy Brown). But what happens if Tom Brady gets hurt? Or Randy Moss is no longer available to haul in cheap touchdowns? Or the injury bug befalls the linebacking corps, as was the case last season?

     Without Bret Favre, the Packers would not be playing Dallas in two weeks for NFC home field advantage. They're not a playoff team.

     No Marshawn Lynch, no Bills upset possibility when the Pats come to Buffalo Sunday night.

     Not to mention what happens if a left offensive tackle goes down. It puts the quarterback in danger, and there goes your house of cards.

    Just when we thought we had the playoff picture figured out, injuries will shake it further - that's my only guarantee.

     On to the picks: an astounding 10-10 last week, 125-75 overall.

     PATRIOTS 30, BILLS 13: Refire the engines, full speed ahead.

     JAGUARS 20, CHARGERS 16: Rope-a-dope will not work two straight weeks, Bolts.

     COLTS 28, CHIEFS 10: Ah, the theraputic powers of a Kansas City squad in freefall.

     BENGALS 21, CARDINALS 20: Arizona never takes advantage of opportunities to put together a streak.

     BROWNS 27, RAVENS 16: In a losing cause at Pittsburgh, the Brownies proved they're a legitimate wildcard threat.

     BUCCANEERS 23, FALCONS 12: Because somebody's gotta take control of the NFC South sometime.

     TEXANS 24, SAINTS 23: Aints, if you can't beat a winless team at home, to paraphrase the great philosopher Sheena Easton, you don't deserve a hot playoff date.

     PACKERS 27, PANTHERS 14: Hey, Steve Sabol, a title for the '07 Green Bay highlight film: "From Stale Limburger to Fresh Canambert."

     VIKINGS 17, RAIDERS 13: The Purple Gang gets the right opponent for a tough week. Be thankful it wasn't Adrian Peterson's ACL, folks.

     EAGLES 31, DOLPHINS 14: John Beck gets his first NFL start. I was wondering where he disappeared to after playing James Caan's teammate in "Rollerball."

     LIONS 21, GIANTS 17: The final Tom Coughlin meltdown begins. The Giants warm up the pointer fingers. Just hope the NBC camera doesn't catch Tiki Barber laughing.

     STEELERS 24, JETS 6: Pittsburgh's not a great road team, but the Jets have been laying more eggs than I do after all-you-can-eat BBQ.

     COWBOYS 33, REDSKINS 15: How did Washington ever get over .500?

     49ers 13, RAMS 10: The spirit of Dick Nolan guides San Francisco in the WGAF Game of the Week.

     SEAHAWKS 23, BEARS 20: From a great playoff matchup to two teams playing a death match just to return.

     TITANS 14, BRONCOS 10: You never know which Denver team will show up.

     And in college:

     MICHIGAN 20, OHIO STATE 15: The Wolverines sandbagged it at Wisconsin and sat some key guys who were banged up, but will bag the Roses. The Buckeyes had no such excuse - you don't soon recover from having an unranked team run the ball down your throats at home for the final 8:04.

     GEORGIA 34, KENTUCKY 26: The Dawgs are hunkerin' down to the smell of an SEC title date with LSU.

     WEST VIRGINIA 30, CINCINNATI 29: Knowing what the Bearcats did to South Florida and Connecticut, this is the sleeper game of the day. The Mountaineers better bring it.

     CLEMSON 30, BOSTON COLLEGE 20: Tigers shooting up; Eagles plummeting. Given how BC traditionally gets screwed at bowl time, the Gator and Chick-Fil-A bowls (let along the ACC title game or BCS bid) are slipping away.