The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page D02

D2 www.philly.com Bird THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Wednesday, November 25, 2009 philly com Thinking out loud on the Eagles, the NFL and anything else Fox on the NFL: Tuesdays at noon. Gonzo on Fantasy Football: Wednesdays at 1 p.m. ASHLEY Thankful for money to bet Ray of sunshine strikes in Birdland Thanksgiving is slightly different when the country is in the grips of a nagging economic downturn (if by "nagging" you mean "nightmarish and without an obvious end Unlike boom years, you're probably not thankful for your giant retirement fund full of skyrocketing shares of KittyLitter.com or that garage full of rocket-fueled Maseratis you bought for the kids. But you do still have the means to read The Philadelphia Inquirer, which means any number of things for which you can be thankful. You still have your eyesight, which is excellent.

You have either an Internet hookup that works or the six bits it takes to buy the hard copy of the paper also good. And you have time to read and ponder nonbinding predictions about what will happen in the NFL this weekend. Time is money, and you have some! Give thanks! T1 BILL WOLFF except Tampa Bay isn't nearly good enough to do anything with them. Falcons 30, Bucs 11. It's not that Tampa Bay, St.

Louis, Cleveland, Detroit, Oakland, Kansas City, and Buffalo are worse than the worst team in any given year. It's that there are so many of them. Panthers at Jets (-3) With the playoffs nicely blown and Mark Sanchez a safe distance from any rookie of the year consideration, it's time for Gang Green to turn it on a bit, just to give its faithful false hope that next year is the year. Jets 19, Panthers 13. It's not a cycle of misery if it doesn't repeat, and it is a cycle of misery.

Jaguars (3) at 49ers Name three differences (besides uniform color) between these teams. They're not even bad enough to be a curiosity. Jags 17, 49ers 17. Not a misprint. Chiefs at Chargers (-lS1) Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I said that 14 points were too many to give in a division game, but that was before.

Now? The Chargers are going to wax the Chiefs. Chargers 31, Chiefs 12. Cycles of misery come in all shapes and sizes (and occasionally in powder-blue throwback uniforms). Redskins (92) at Eagles Here's my problem with the Eagles. Among my best pals is a sick, devoted, religious, angry, frustrated expert Eagles fan.

He knows more about them (and every other team in the NFC East) than is good for his interpersonal relationships. And every year, he has good reason to think that the Eagles are on the cusp of greatness. That's why I always think they're going to be good. But even he this utter maniac who breaks things when they don't convert on third down early in any game admitted to me during the Chicago game that Philly is too banged up to be really good. Alas, the Eagles will beat the crummy Redskins, but it won't be pretty or easy.

Eagles 24, Redskins 20. And it's not McNabb's fault. Patriots at Saints (-3) An actual game with two good teams. What is this, the 1970s? I haven't seen any ads for the Dry Look lately, so it can't be. It's the late two-thousandsies, and the fact is that New England's defense is hit-or-miss.

The Patriots don't rush the passer consistently, and they are younger than young in the defensive backfield. That is all bad news against the new Greatest Show on Turf. I still don't believe New Orleans goes all the way; these are the Saints, for Pete's sake. But they'll win here just to make their ultimate demise more disappointing. Saints 35, Patriots 27.

Better pay my cable bill before Monday. Happy Thanksgiving, prognosti-nation! Happier still if you save your money and hug your kids! Could they? Yes. Will they? Doubt it. And that's no disrespect to either team. There's no question Indianapolis and New Orleans are the class of the league.

Their offenses are creative, impossible to stop, and play error-free football. But there's a reason only one team since the Dolphins has gone undefeated in the regular season. It's really difficult to do. Soon, every move each team makes will be scrutinized. Every game will carry that added pressure of continuing the streak.

The Colts have been through it before, and couldn't pull it off. The Saints never have. And New Orleans might not even be in the discussion this time next week. Ashley, Ashley, Ashley it must be Tuesday. Gotta love these Philly fans one week they are ready to run McNabb out of town, the next week they are debating whether he should be in the Hall of Fame.

Get a grip people. Who is the best interview on the Eagles? The most honest? The funniest? The most insightful? Mike My two favorite players to talk to are Sheldon Brown and Quintin Mikell. They're thoughtful, insightful, truthful and unafraid to speak their mind, particularly Sheldon. And when Sheldon talks, he makes the funniest facial expressions, like when he thinks a question is silly or when he thinks you already know the answer. He's just so real.

It's refreshing. Mikell used to be a little timid saying what he thinks, but he really has blossomed into another truth-teller, not unlike Brian Dawkins. The funniest players, to me, are DeSean Jackson and Asante Samuel, because they are divas and take their diva status seriously. Todd Herremans has a dry wit and self-deprecating way about him that's pretty funny. Trent Cole is capable of saying anything, which makes talking to him a thrill ride.

It's a holiday week, or maybe fans were just happy that the Eagles are still in the hunt. The tone of yesterday's online chat was much more upbeat than it's been in weeks. Not too many insults directed at Andy Reid. Not too many slights of Donovan McNabb. That's rare these days.

Here are a couple of questions from the discussion: In your eyes, is Donovan McNabb a Hall of Famer, or does he still need to win the big one to qualify? Carl I don't know whether McNabb has to win a Super Bowl to get there, but he at least needs to get to another one. His stats are very, very good, but he's going to be judged against his peers at the position Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees, and others. Manning and Brady are locks, Roethlisberger probably will get in, and Brees is building quite a resume and might get his this year. At the end of the day, McNabb has put up consistently good numbers, with the exception of this one: 1-4 in NFC championship games. Quarterbacks have gotten into the Hall without winning a Super Bowl Dan Marino and Warren Moon among others but if I were voting on McNabb's achievements to date, I wouldn't vote him in.

Not yet. What do you make of the Eagles re-signing Winston Justice? John It was a classic Eagles move, locking up a young player before he was able to get on the free-agent market. Good for Justice, too. He could've let his first NFL moment define him, and instead, he worked very hard at getting better. He's a humble guy, quiet and determined, and you haven't heard his name much this season because he's been doing a good job at his job.

Obviously, the Eagles recognized that. Could the Colts or Saints run the table and make it to the Super Bowl? Jay RICK HAVNER Associated Press Miami's Wildcat offense now belongs to Ricky Williams, here against Carolina. The Dolphins visit the Bills on Sunday. Giants 28, Broncos 24. This just in: The Giants can't really stop anybody.

Browns 14) at Bengals It's too many points to give in a division game. Except it's the Browns, who stink. Except they scored some points on Detroit. Except Detroit stinks, too. Except Cincy just got beat by the Raiders, and nobody does that anymore.

Except that they're mad now, and they're going to take it out on Cleveland. Except that it's too many points to give in a division game. Bengals 27, Browns 14. This is no way to live. Bears at Vikings (-101 2) You just watched how bad the Bears are.

The Eagles are no great shakes, but they beat Chicago in a must-win game at Chicago. And the troubling news is that the one upper-Midwestern team misguided enough to play in a dome is by far the best upper-Midwestern team. Vikings 35, Bears 10. I am already sick of the media overload about Brett Favre's miracle run to the Super Bowl, and it hasn't actually started. Dolphins (-3) at Bills Come on, you sea-dwelling mammals with your Wildcat offense run by ever-suspended super-mellow Ricky Williams.

In a league of sameness, you are different. Dolphins 26, Bills 13. All that pleading is unnecessary, because the Bills always find a way to blow it in the end. Ask Jacksonville. Seahawks (-3) at Rams Those pesky Rams wouldn't be utterly annihilated by Arizona, choosing instead to lose by plenty.

Seattle is vexing because it hasn't shown many signs of being totally inept. However, it's good enough to whip St. Louis going away. Seahawks 35, Rams 20. Not anticipating a lot of walk-up ticket sales for this one.

Buccaneers at Falcons (-12) Twelve points are too many to give, To keep it that way, to leave yourself something for which to be thankful, may I suggest making honorary bets, gentlemen's bets if you prefer, rather than the cash bets or bartering you might prefer. I suggest this because, as we speak, professional football has become officially nonsensical. Are the Jacksonville Jaguars any good? How 'bout the Denver Broncos? If you claim to know, give thanks that anyone takes anything you say seriously. That said, I can't help myself, either. Football is there for the gambling, and, like the sports editor eyeing that fifth piece of pumpkin pie, I can't resist this thing that is bad for me.

Let's gamble (in moderation). Packers (-lO1) at Lions. The fitting end to the best game ever between the two worst teams is that Matthew Stafford wrecked his shoulder against Cleveland and won't go against Green Bay. As if that really matters. Packers 30, Lions 6.

If your family lets you watch this one, they really love you (Or you have them fooled. Shame on Raiders 13lk) at Cowboys Wait, so the Cowboys stink it all the way up against Green Bay, then they stink it right up again against Washington, and they're going to hang a whupping on the Bruce Gradkowski-led silver-and-black? With the country in the throes of Gradkowski fever? Methinks the line doth give too much. Cowboys 20, Raiders 13. Fortunately, you will have to interrupt this one to sit down for dinner. Giants at Broncos (62) Herein lie several of the NFL's problems.

Problem No. 1: Neither team is very good, and, yet, this is the premier matchup of the day. Problem No. 2: It's on a network nobody gets. Bill Wolff is vice president of prime-time programming at MSNBC and executive producer of the Rachel Maddow Show.

Dishonesty, gambling and NBA referees Ashley Fox John Gonzalez Bob Ford Contact staff writer Ashley Fox at 215-854-5064 or afoxphillynews.com. You To philly com Online Sports Poll Which player would you rather have as a Phillie? 1. Juan Castro. 2. Eric Bruntlett.

3. Neither. 4. No to Bruntlett. Who's Castro? From: Gonzalez, John To: Ford, Bob; Fox, Ashley Subject: Bet on it In an HBO Real Sports interview last night, a gambler named Jimmy Battista said he talked to former NBA ref ward of the federal prison system TimDonaghy before every game Donaghy officiated.

"We bet every game," Battista said. He added that the NBA never contacted him to discuss the Donaghy situation. The book Donaghy wrote suggests that NBA refs were making side bets with each other on almost anything, and that those bets were tied to the actual game (who would call the most fouls, who would call the first foul, Is it possible that the NBA doesn't want to dig into this any further because it's afraid of what it will find? From: Ford, Bob To: Gonzalez, John; Fox, Ashley Subject: Bet on it When I was on the would be a great NBA ref. What I love about those guys is that they think they're bigger than the athletes or the game and they have huge chips on their shoulders. It's just like Page 2.

From: Ford, Bob To: Gonzalez, John; Fox, Ashley Subject: Bet on it Officials, and I hesitate to go down this road, are somewhat like cops. Some of that same peacekeeping mentality. Maybe that's a bad analogy. Maybe they're more like tiny, little bouncers. From: Fox, Ashley To: Gonzalez, John; Ford, Bob Subject: Bet on it Sorry, I've been live chatting with the people.

And look at the fun I missed here. Part of me thinks I should put on the stripes and officiate you two, but the other part of me thinks I should treat this like the night before a holiday and let you duke it out. For the record, my money would be on Bobby. From: Gonzalez, John To: Ford, Bob; Fox, Ashley Subject: Bet on it Kinda makes me want to be an NBA ref. Sounds like fun.

From: Ford, Bob To: Gonzalez, John; Fox, Ashley Subject: Bet on it I think you'd be very good at it, John. You don't have to be accurate and you don't have to be nice. You just have to sell your version of the truth with a great deal of bluster and noise. It's right up your alley. From: Gonzalez, John To: Ford, Bob; Fox, Ashley Subject: Bet on it So true.

Gonzoimmoral (beat you to it, Buttons) NBA beat, I was on the road just before a holiday and had a cross-country red-eye flight after the game. One of the refs was on the same flight and I said to him before the game, "Yeah, we should make it, as long as there's no overtime or anything." He said, "I wouldn't worry too much about that." The game was mayhem. They might not have called five fouls all night. The clock never stopped. Guys were killing each other.

And, that's right, no overtime. That story has nothing to do with your subject, except for the fact that referees are human. I believe everything. Results of yesterday's Philly.com sports poll: Does Donovan McNabb belong in the Hall of Fame? Out of 2,909 responses: Yes, he's a Hall of Famer right now. (804 votes) Maybe, but he needs to win a Super Bowl first.

(1,189 votes) No, he's just not good enough. (916 votes) 6 Only two Minnesota Vikings, Alan Page (1971) and Fran Tarkenton (1975), have won the league's MVP award. Will Favre be the third? IThe Giants are at Denver in just their third Thanksgiving Day game since 1938. They lost, 30-3, at Dallas in 1992, and won at Detroit, 13-6, in 1982. 3 Seattle's 35-9 loss in Minnesota on Sunday was the Seahawks' sixth consecutive road defeat by double digits.

The 'Hawks are 7-19 since 2007. 2 Twelve games last week were decided by eight or fewer points, tying a league record that has been matched seven times the last time in 2006. 4 The Titans' Matt Bironas, who kicked the game-winner at Houston on Monday night, set an NFL record with eight field goals at Houston in 2007. 5 Brett Favre leads the NFL in passer rating (112.1) and interception percentage (1.0). His 69.7 percent completion rate is second to Peyton Manning's 69.8.

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