Last-Minute Remarks on SNF Week 13 Picks

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Week 13 (December 2):

  • Tentative game: NY Giants @ Washington
  • Prospects: 4-6 v. 3-7. The name value and NFC East tire fire helps, but these are the worse two teams in the division.
  • Protected games: Broncos-Chiefs (CBS) and Bears-Vikings (FOX).
  • Other possible games mentioned on last week’s Watch and their records: Cardinals (6-4)-Eagles (6-5), Titans (4-6)-Colts (7-3), Dolphins (5-5)-Jets (5-5), Bengals (7-4)-Chargers (4-6).
  • Impact of Monday Night Football: None.
  • Analysis: Cardinals-Eagles is the only real contender left, with a definite leg up on second-place Dolphins-Jets. If you got rid of the team names and just looked at records, you would think the game between two six-win teams would be a shoo-in to be flexed in over a game between two six-loss teams, even with the tentative game bias. But the Cardinals are a massive weak link that basically no one knows about, and even the Eagles, especially with Michael Vick out and potentially losing his starting job, aren’t really as attractive as their NFC East brethren and Eli Manning v. RGIII. If one of the teams in the tentative game were the Cowboys, this game keeping its spot would be just as much a shoo-in as Cardinals-Eagles being flexed in would be if records were all that mattered. As it stands, even though I would be far from surprised to see Cardinals-Eagles flexed in and think this is pretty close to a toss-up, I still have to say…
  • Final prediction: New York Giants @ Washington RG3’s (no change).

6 thoughts on “Last-Minute Remarks on SNF Week 13 Picks”

  1. For week 15 the tentative schedule for the sunday night game is the Bengals(7-4) at Steelers(4-6). How do you feel about the Seahawks(10-1) at Giants (4-6) sliding into that Sunday night primetime slot??? Fox did not protect this game & it would put the best team from the NFC against the Giants who are on a four game winning streak & who next play the Cowboys(5-5), Washington(3-7), & Chargers(4-6). With the way the Giants are playing right now it’s possible the Giants may be (7-6) heading into that matchup with the Seahawks…

  2. The reports were Cardinals-Eagles was going to be moved to prime time, except it would have created a big problem for FOX since Giants-Redskins could not be moved to 1:00 PM not because of Dolphins-Jets already being there (NFL has had the Jets and Giants both at 1:00 in the past), but I believe because of stadium situations in moving a game at FedEx Field (any Redskins game previously moved out of SNF in Washington has been played in the 4:00-ish time slot) that would have prevented that game being moved to 1:00 PM from 8:30. In addition, doing so would have meant the CBS-Owned station in Washington would have been unable to air Broncos-Chiefs in the 4:25 slot there because of Giants-Redskins being at 4:05 PM on FOX.

    The bigger problem was FOX would only have had two games at 1:00, and both (Bears-Vikings and Bucs-Panthers) involve teams that are currently 2-8, and the “singleheader” network is restricted as to how much of the country can get games that begins at 4:05 (to protect the doubleheader network). FOX would have been fine if they could have moved Falcons-Bills from 4:05 to 1:00 PM, but as that game is being played in Toronto, the NFL’s contract with Canadian television requires Falcons-Bills to be at 4:05 due to that game airing nationally in Canada. The fact that game has to be at 4:05 is apparently why the Giants-Redskins game is staying in prime time.

  3. @David: If the Jets win their next two games and are 7-5 (and guaranteed to be leading the AFC Wild Card race by one game no matter what) when the decision has to be made for Week 15, we are almost certainly looking at Jets-Panthers being flexed as I’m sure NBC would love to get Rex Ryan in a game that potentially has playoff implications in both conferences.

    In face, you may be looking at the Panthers being flexed into SNF three straight weeks (Weeks 14-16) since that Jets game is sandwiched in between two games with the Saints that could both easily be flexed into SNF.

  4. @Walt thats also a possibilty but don’t you think that if the Giants are at least in a tie for first place in their division by the time a decision needs to be made for Week 15, their game with the Seahawks will precede a 7-5 Jets team that has a habitual ability to win-one-lose-one on their schedule? I know that Rex Ryan brings that media frenzy to the game that fans just eat up but at the end of the day its about winning & who’s hot & well quite frankly with the way the Seahawks & Giants are playing right now I think that game has as good a shot as any to fill that Sunday Night slot.

  5. The NFL really needs to schedule things so that it is actually possible for them to flex in and out of games. I don’t want to hear “but no one could have possibly imagined flexing out of this game!” Bullcrap. The NFL should have learned their lesson two years ago, when Patriots-Colts, the Manning-Brady bowl Cris Collinsworth called the game everyone immediately looks for when the schedule comes out, had to be flexed out EARLY because the Colts were that sucky without Manning. You NEVER know in the NFL. ANY game in Week 11 or later should be able to be flexed out of. Yes, the flexing between CBS and Fox in the new contract will help, but it should not be impossible to flex out of a Fox game – to another Fox game, no less – because of elements of Fox’s schedule.

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