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The Harmon Football Forecast is one of the most highly regarded and widely read sports features in the country, published in over 200 newspapers.
| Harmon Stat Pack | |
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Wk 13: 15 picks
Right: 13 Wrong: 2 Pct: .866 |
YTD: 188 picks
Right: 116 Wrong: 72 Pct: .617 |
| Harmon's archive | |
It all began when Bob Harmon began predicting college and NFL games in 1957. He devised a mathematical formula that picked winners correctly between 72 and 78 percent of the time; most seasons getting almost 75 percent of his picks right.
Today, Jim Harmon and his staff are the only forecasters who predict exact scores and chart every college and pro team.
Saturday's games (12/15/2001):
| *N.Y. Giants 24, Arizona 16 |
| The Giants struggled past the Cardinals five weeks ago, 17-10, their seventh win in their last nine battles with Arizona. The Cards' passing game -- N.Y.'s defensive weakness -- should keep it close. |
| Oakland 28, *San Diego 17 |
| Some guy named Jerry Rice caught three of Rich Gannon's four TD passes in the Raiders' 34-24 Week 10 win over the Chargers. Can Oakland shut Doug Flutie down again? It's a tougher task in S.D. |
Sunday's games (12/16/2001):
| Atlanta 20, *Indianapolis 19 |
| There's no starker contrast between stellar offense and awful defense than the Colts -- so this outcome depends on the Falcons' defense. Atlanta beat Indy for the first time in 11 tries in 1998. |
| *Chicago 21, Tampa Bay 13 |
| QB Jim Miller and WR Marty Booker hooked up on three scoring passes as the Bears got by the Buccaneers last month, 27-24. If Chicago's pass defense doesn't come to life, this pick will be wrong. |
| *Cleveland 19, Jacksonville 15 |
| In September the Browns knocked Jaguars QB Mark Brunell out of the game and beat Jacksonville for the first time, 23-14. Cleveland somehow manages to win with the NFL's least-productive offense. |
| Denver 23, *Kansas City 19 |
| Sparked by cornerback Deltha O'Neal's four interceptions, the Broncos shut the Chiefs down 10 weeks ago, 20-6. K.C. somehow keeps losing with an offense ranked in the top quarter of the league. |
| Green Bay 29, *Tennessee 13 |
| At their offensive best through the air, the Packers should punish the Titans, who just can't stop the pass. G.B. has taken four of seven games in this series, most recently three years ago. |
| Minnesota 17, *Detroit 16 |
| Daunte Culpepper ran for two TDs and threw for another as the Vikings built a 31-6 lead over the Lions in Week 5 -- and then all but collapsed, winning 31-26. This is our tossup of the week. |
| New England 19, *Buffalo 14 |
| The Patriots will sweep the Bills for the first time since '97, and this may be just as ugly as N.E.'s 21-11 win last month, which had 12 sacks, three interceptions, four fumbles and 16 flags. |
| *N.Y. Jets 28, Cincinnati 9 |
| With the Bengals' second-best running attack in the NFL a distant memory (of last year), they're no threat to the Jets, who are among the league's worst against the run. N.Y. won last, in '97. |
| Pittsburgh 21, *Baltimore 19 |
| Steelers kicker Kris Brown's four missed field-goal tries handed the Ravens a 13-10 upset in November, just as we predicted. A strange trend continues: These teams beat each other on the road. |
| *San Francisco 28, Miami 23 |
| The game of the week? The 49ers have a superb offense, but the Dolphins are capable of slowing, if not stopping, it. S.F. has won the last four in the series, but they haven't met in six years. |
| *Seattle 16, Dallas 12 |
| A battle of one-dimensional offenses; neither the Seahawks nor the Cowboys can move the ball any way but on the ground. Seattle is looking for only its second win over Dallas in seven matchups. |
| *Washington 20, Philadelphia 18 |
| Three weeks ago the Redskins made NFL history against the Eagles, taking their fifth consecutive game, 13-3, after losing their first five. Can Washington keep winning while struggling on offense? |
Monday Night (12/17/2001):
| St. Louis 27, *New Orleans 21 |
| This year it was the Saints' turn to put Dolphins alums at ease, coming from 18 points down in Week Seven to hand the Rams their first loss, 34-31. St. Louis's defense won't let it happen again. |
Open date: Carolina
* Denotes Home Team
* Note: Picks are straight up.
Broadway Joe