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It's difficult to see Detroit dominating Atlanta sufficiently to get a result here. Megatron is at his freakish best and will severely test a Falcons' secondary that is down some personnel and looks vulnerable, but Stafford will have to have a perfect game and he's been inconsistent lately and prone to throwing picks, or missing his passes. Mikel Leshoure and Joique Bell have some punch out of the backfield, but even though the Atlanta run D is workmanlike at best, Detroit may well be playing from behind. The Falcons can clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a victory and with Nick Fairley and Jacob Lacey out and Louis Delmas injured, the Lions are looking thin on defense. Matt Ryan torched the pathetic Giants last week and while I don't expect such a gutless performance from the home...

I'm looking forward to what could be an ill-tempered shoot out in the Georgia Dome. There's the must-win Saints against the avenging Falcons - and just for a little added piquancy, the Saints' bus was egged by staff at the Atlanta airport! Atlanta have a fearsome passing offense and that can't be good news for a Saints defense that ranks 30th against the pass. New Orleans also struggle against the run, but the Falcons have failed to get their ground game going; this could be the opportunity though, for Jacquizz Rodgers to finally wrest the lead back mantle from the cumbersome Michael Turner - although Turner still gets the ball close in, if you're looking at the TD market. Rodgers has begun to catch out of the backfield too, but while all this might suggest there's a significant Atlanta...

Those of you sitting in your second homes and ski lodges, financed by my baseball and football picks, will scarcely need reminding that I rarely make a losing selection, and even if I do, I'm not one of those people who curses his luck or trots out some lame excuse ... but the Eagles really stank it up against the Saints last week and should've won! My view of the Saints' defensive side of the ball is the same: they're awful. If Vick and his O line hadn't completely collapsed (Andy Reid sucked too, incidentally) New Orleans' season would be done. As it is, they won't be able to get to Matt Ryan with such ease today (he has better protection and a sharper release) and Julio Jones, Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez should make hay. The Falcons can change it up with Michael Turner who is putting...