NFL's Week 11 Pick'em

By Derek Lofland.

A new feature I am going to add to my NFL picks as the season winds down is categorizing which teams are sure bets for the playoffs, which are sitting good, which are on the bubble, which are on life support and which are eliminated from serious consideration.  

This week features seven games where both teams have playoff aspirations, so it figures to be an interesting week. My record for the season is 92-52.

Sure Bets:  Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Minnesota, New Orleans.

Good Position:  Arizona, Dallas, Denver, New England, Pittsburgh, San Diego.

Bubble: Atlanta, Baltimore, Green Bay, Houston, Jacksonville, New York Giants, Philadelphia. 

Life Support: Carolina, Chicago, New York Jets, Miami, San Francisco.

Eliminated:  Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City, Oakland, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Tennessee, Washington.

1) San Francisco 49ers (4-5) at Green Bay Packers (5-4) – I think if the 49ers lose this game they move to the eliminated column, unless the St. Louis Rams do the unthinkable and beat the Arizona Cardinals. If the Packers lose this game, they move to life support. The 49ers are 4-2 in the conference and 3-0 in their division; they set up very well for tiebreakers, provided they can win this game. Green Bay cannot afford to drop to 4-4 in the conference with two losses in the division.

I honestly do not know whom to pick in this game. Does the Packer team that played the Cowboys show up or does the team that played the Buccaneers show up? The 49ers have a very tough defense, but I just do not think they have enough weapons to pose problems for the Packers defense. The only way they win is if RB Frank Gore and TE Vernon Davis have huge days, as they are the two main offensive weapons that could pose problems for the Packers 3-4 defense. Look for the Packers to win a low scoring game, provided they can keep QB Aaron Rodgers upright, which is always a huge question mark. Involving RB Ryan Grant in the offense will help their chances. Winner: Green Bay

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