Game of the Week 1

New England (6-4) at Miami (6-4)

Fish LB Joey Porter -- the new Mouth of the South -- was a trash-talking disappointment. "We don't like them -- they don't like us," was all he could muster. But it was Fish QB Chad Pennington who surprisingly spoke up about himself, saying: "I'm like a tornado inside." Really? Somehow it's hard imagining anyone naming a tornado "Chad." But names aside, this is a vital game to both sides, although a little more important to the Patriots after they looked like Patsies in that 38-13 beat-down by the Miami Wildcats in Week 3.

LINE: Fish by 1.

JERRY: Pats by 3.

Tampa Bay (7-3) at Detroit (0-10)

Got to love the Bucs taking RB Cadillac Williams to Detroit, but let's hope no more factories fold while he's there. And here's Lions interim Coach Rod Marinelli: "Am I discouraged? No way. I'm not." OK, Rod, then how about delusional?

LINE: Bucs by 8.

JERRY: Bucs by 10.

Minnesota (5-5) at Jacksonville (4-6)

How is Jags interim Coach Jack Del Rio feeling? Jack: "It's absolutely as dismal an outlook as you can have and not be out." And? Jack: "We're going to focus on execution." As John McKay once said about his team's execution: "I'm all for it."

LINE: Jags by 2 1/2.

JERRY: Vikes by 5.

Buffalo (5-5) at Kansas City (1-9)

Odd Chiefs believe in themselves more than the Bills. Said interim Bills Coach Dick Jauron: "We just have to make this thing work -- and it's a combination of a lot of moving parts." Hey, Dick, are you talking about a team or a camel?

LINE: Bills by 3.

JERRY: Chiefs by 1.

Philadelphia (5-4-1) at Baltimore (6-4)

The Eagles had a players-only meeting after the infamous tie, but CB Sheldon Brown said they needed everyone: "Everybody -- upstairs, downstairs, people cooking in the cafeteria." He's got a point. A winning team needs a great Salisbury steak special.

LINE: Ravens by 1 1/2.

JERRY: Ravens by 4.

Houston (3-7) at Cleveland (4-6)

No wonder the Browns GM is named Phil Savage. He had to apologize for using a classical expletive in an e-mail reply to a heckling Browns fan. Hey, calling the guy a Browns fan is insulting enough. But props to Savage for actually replying.

LINE: Browns by 3.

JERRY: Browns by 6.

San Francisco (3-7) at Dallas (6-4)

We have this week's "Swagger Sighting." It's from Cowboys LB Zach Thomas: "I felt us getting the swagger back. We haven't had that swagger for a while." Amazing stuff -- swagger. You lose it, then get it back -- especially against 49ers.

LINE: Cowboys by 10.

JERRY: 'Boys by 8.

E.R. Giants (9-1) at Arizona (7-3)

Today's Fun Fact: The Cardinals' version of the Wildcat is called "The Pahokee" after WR Anquan Boldin's hometown in Florida. Sounds like a dance craze to me -- Do the Pahokee! Meanwhile, could this be the NFC title-game preview?

LINE: Giants by 3.

JERRY: Cards by 1.

Game of the Week 2 E.R. Jets (7-3) at Tennessee (10-0)

AFC title-game preview -- or just an AARP picnic for Jets' Brett Favre and Titans' Kerry Collins? They faced off in the NFC title game -- in 1996. Favre, of course, is getting the attention. Said Titans Coach Jeff Fisher: "You can get up by 45 and he'll come back and beat you by 7." He quickly added: "Not that I'm saying we're going to get up by 45." And Favre is already being asked if he'll play next year but says he doesn't know. Hey, Brett, just use this year's plan -- retire in March and then think about it. That worked, didn't it?

LINE: Titans by 5 1/2.

JERRY: Titans by 11.

Chicago (5-5) at St. Louis (2-8)

How do you console the Bears after they were whipped 37-3 in Green Bay? That's easy. You let them play the Rams, who have been outscored the last three weeks 99-10 -- in the first half. QB Kyle Orton and RB Matt Forte will be fighting for the ball.

LINE: Bears by 7 1/2.

JERRY: Bears by 12.

Oakland (2-8) at Denver (6-4)

Baffling how bad a pro team can be. Take the Raiders -- please. They are averaging 12.8 points per game. But the players are not fools. Listen to RB Justin Fargas: "You can't have an offense that doesn't score points." Brilliant! Make him coach.

LINE: Broncos by 9.

JERRY: Broncos by 7.

Carolina (8-2) at Atlanta (6-4)

Meet Falcons OT Todd McClure -- The Clich? King. Says Todd: "We still control our own destiny. We play them one at a time. We've just got to make it happen and let the chips fall where they may." Todd makes sense at the end of the day.

LINE: Falcons by 1.

JERRY: Falcons by 4.

Washington (6-4) at Seattle (2-8)

Washington Coach Jim Zorn was Seattle's first starting QB in 1976. They could use him now. And Seaturkeys interim Coach Mike Holmgren says, "Our goals have changed." New goals: Better handwriting, good posture and a clean locker room.

LINE: 'Skins by 3.

JERRY: 'Skins by 5.

Indianapolis (6-4) at San Diego (4-6)

Talk about a match-up that's lost its swagger. Put their records together and get 10-10, which makes this the Mediocre Bowl. But the Colts have won the last 3 and are beginning to look like, well, the Colts. But the Chargers look, well, mediocre.

LINE: Chargers by 2 1/2.

JERRY: Colts by 6.

Green Bay (5-5) at New Orleans (5-5)

Monday Night

Wait! This must be the Mediocre Bowl. What's happened to prime time anyway? The 'Aints have a home-field advantage, but the Cheeseheads have 7 defensive TDs that will go up to 8 or 9 against the mistake-prone 'Aints. Punch eyeholes in the bags.

LINE: 'Aints by 2 1/2.

JERRY: Pack by 8.

Last week

Recently read an entertaining novel with the title Soon I Will Be Invincible. I know the feeling. After 12-2 the week before, last week I came right back with 12-3-1 straight up (99-60-1 for season). Bang-bang! Yes, I was just 7-9 against the spread (78-77-5 for season), but what happened in Pittsburgh proved that it's futile to try beating Vegas, right? Once again, my bragging is short-lived because you can brag even more.

Beat Jerry

After 14 of you set an all-time "Beat Jerry" record with perfect scores in Week 10, you came back in Week 11 with 9 entries of 14-1 (as the contest simply threw out the tie game because our computers didn't understand what a tie meant any more than the Eagles' quarterback did). And of the Nifty Nine, Michael Akins of Orlando was the "Beat Jerry" champ based on his tie-breaker answers. Well done, Mike, and I hope to see you looking resplendent in your "Beat Jerry" T-shirt.

The fun never stops and there's still time to join our 2,285 competitors. Just go to OrlandoSentinel.sportsballot.com -- register and make your entries. Every correct answer earns a raffle ticket and the chance to win other cool prizes. Rock on!