Fearless Dilettante Football Predictions - Big Mouth Pundit Edition

Making picks? Mais oui. But not just that; we're telling it like it is.

Green Bay Packers 27, New York Football Giants 14. The Giants are a better team now than they were in Week 2, when my beloved Packers manhandled them 35-13 in lovely East Rutherford, New Jersey. The rematch is in Green Bay. The weather forecast calls for temperatures to be right around zero at game time, which has been delayed to the evening so that Fox can score mongo television ratings. But what's going to happen? Here's how I see it. The key is that the Giants are running very low on defensive backs right now. Aaron Ross, their rookie nickel back, is going to try to play with a separated shoulder. If he can't go, they have to use a guy from their practice squad. R.W. McQuarters has never been much more than a turnstile during his career - he didn't scare me as a 49er or a Bear and he doesn't scare me as a Giant. Figure that the Packers will slant the Giants to death, especially given their penchant for leaving the middle of the field open, which Tony Romo saw but was inexplicably unable to exploit last week. Favre will be cautious and pick his spots. He'll find them. And then it's on to Internet College Field in Glendale, Arizona for the much-anticipated matchup against the Evil Empire, about which more directly below.

ACTUAL RESULT: NEW YORK GIANTS 23, GREEN BAY PACKERS 20. Pretty simple. The better team won. The Giants dictated the pace of the game and they deserved to win. A great season for my Packers; too bad they couldn't get it done tonight. But give the credit to the Giants, who played a beautiful game.

New England Evil Empire 41, San Diego Attrition 17. Give the Chargers credit for getting this far; their win in Indy last week was very impressive, especially given that LaDanian Tomlinson and Phillip Rivers were spectators. Unfortunately, the Patriots are healthy and ruthless. And Randy Moss getting gigged during the week just means that he's going to be even more motivated. I'd say there's a 50/50 chance he'll come out with a 'fro going like he used to in Minnesota when he was looking to dominate. Brady always finds him. And I don't think Quentin Jammer is going to stop him. The only way the Chargers win this is if they get off to a quick start and can control the ball on offense with long, time-consuming drives. That's always been the formula for beating the Patriots, but no one has been able to do it yet. And I can't see it happening on Sunday.

ACTUAL RESULT: EVIL EMPIRE 21, BOLTS 12. A really good game and give the Chargers a lot of credit for a wonderful effort. But the Patriots are the best team this year. But they will have another challenge in the Giants.