NFL Underdog Pick for Week 14
December 10th 2010 - Special K            

Oakland Raiders (+4.5) at Jacksonville Jaguars

This is the biggest Raiders game since Jon Gruden left to go coach the Buccaneers. When you hear conversations from the "experts" about which team is going to win the AFC West, you only hear the Chargers and Chiefs mentioned. You never hear the Raiders talked about. Meanwhile, the Oakland Raiders could sneak up and only be a  game out of first with a win against the Jaguars and loss by the Chiefs at San Diego. The Raiders also hold the all important tiebreaker since they are 4-0 in their division. The Raiders play the Chiefs in week 17 and that game could determine who is going to the postseason.

So you look at this Raiders matchup against the Jaguars and ask how are the Raiders going to stop Maurice Jones Drew and the Jaguars rushing attack that has averaged 200 yards per game over the last 3 weeks? I'll leave that for Tom Cable to figure out  but at least he has the advantage of knowing what the Jaguars are game planning to do. All I know is that former Jaguar John Henderson is all fired for this game. "I want them to run all day," Henderson said without cracking a smile. "Run the power, run the weak, run all that to me when I'm in the game. Please, run it. I'm telling him this, right now: Run it." (source: San Jose Mercury News). You have to love the game within the game. Khalif Barnes and Quentin Groves are also former Jaguars while Jags linebacker Kirk Morrison is a former Raider. I expect this game to be a low scoring hard fought contest.

Take the Raiders +4.5 points this week