I might jinx the Patriots by saying this and Tomlinson might run for 200 yards and have 10 catches, but I have to say it; Tomlinson is overrated. In the past few months I’ve heard people call him the Michael Jordan of football and compared him to Walter Payton. He has never rushed for 2000 yards. He has never won a Super Bowl. His 31 touchdowns this year have a good shot at being a statistical aberration. Will he be easy to stop? Hell no. But the Patriots will contain him. The Patriots front 3 of Seymour, Wilfork, and Warren will stop him on the inside and while he will have some big gains on outside runs, he will be contained by the veteran Pats linebacker core that will stay in their lanes and push him toward the inside to make up for their lack of speed. I fear Gates will be the bigger problem for the Patriots today because the Pats do not have anyone who can match his speed and size. The Key for the Patriots victory will be to score and to score early to force Rivers to put the ball up more and possibly make a mistake. Despite their talented D led by Merriman, the Patriots will put up a lot of points against the Chargers. They are going to screen the hell of them with every possible type of screen. RB, TE, WR, FB, and Hell they might even get Vrabel in on one. They will augment the screens with delayed draws up the middle, the occasional 5 wide formations, and a reverse to Chad Jackson which will go for a lot of yards. I also see Marty being Marty but in reverse. Instead of being overly conservative like in the past, he will try too many trick plays and ideas to go against his image and it will lead to the Chargers downfall when a Tomlinson pass is intercepted by Ellis Hobbs. Also don’t forget that Belichick does not have to give his deposition in that New Jersey divorce case which might prove to be embarrassing for him until after the Pats season is over so he has extra motivation to keep the Pats season going.

Final Score Prediction: Patriots 34 Chargers 27

As for the other game, I want the Seahawks to lose so the Patriots are assured a better draft pick, but I see Grossman and Griese after him being historically bad. Final Score Prediction: Seahawks 17 Bears 10.