***SWAMPER MUCK 5, WEEK 13...ALL BOUT DAT BASS***

Alright, alright, alriiiighttt.....it was a successful Turkey Day in the Swamp hitting 2 out of 3 of the rivalry games that were served up for us to feast on. I thought DA BEARZ would keep the game close and it looked promising when they came out strong going up 14-0 but quickly crumbled soon after that showing us they just might be THAT bad. The Birds on the other hand both impressively whooped up on their rivals as Philly steamrolled Dallas and the Hawks crushed the Niners. Impressive performances indeed, especially being on the road. Today we have some really good matchups in store with playoff implications on the line, what better than that eh?! The Swamper loves this time of the year, when teams are scratching and clawing to claim a playoff spot. AHHH Mmmmm, smells like WAR. The Swamper has a good read on these and the week 13 Muck 5 goes as follows:

***TAMPA BAY BUCS +6***

I have been watching this line closely all week. It screams fishsticks and has forced me to pay attention and question why? It was as low as Cincinatti -3.5 which although on the road, I thought was low considering they have seemed to of gotten their groove back a bit especially with the return of AJ Green. Then I noticed that it is their third road game in a row and they have big bad Pittsburgh up next week and this could be a potential classic look-ahead spot for them. Tampa hasn't won a game at home yet I don't believe and you can bet Lovie has his team ready to get one for the fans today against a team that is technically "better" than they are. Especially considering the TERRIBLE division that they come from, they are still technically in the playoff race believe it or not. If the Falcons, Sains, and Panthers continue to lose, which is highly probable, the Bucs can be right back in this thing. It doesn't seem right that one of those teams will get a home playoff game but that is a whole other can of worms so, whatever. The Bucs have been playing harder as of late eventhough they have not had much luck, I think the final score of last week's game against Chicago is misleading and if not for a few key turnovers by Tampa late in the game causing them to unravel, they get a win there. Rookie WR Mike Evans has been nothing short of outstanding for Tampa thus far and has really developed a nice chemistry with QB McCown. Bottom line is I don't trust the Red Rifle AKA Andy Dalton one bit and could see him under pressure today from Gerald McCoy and Co. forcing a couple turnovers to keep this one close. I was toying with the idea of staying away from this one today, but once the line shot up and is offering a little more cushion....I decided I'll bite. Pirates and the points!

***SAN DIEGO CHARGERS +6.5***

I know the Bolts have been off lately but this team was one of the clear best in the NFL during the beginning of the season and they are finally getting pretty healthy for the most part, at least on defense. QB Rivers is banged up but the man is a warrior and will never say die and I love that about him personally. I admire the fire he brings to each and every game and I think he has some success against the injured Baltimore secondary today. I know it is a west coast team going east for an early game, in the cold weather but this Chargers team is tough. RB Ryan Matthews is back and I think runs hard today along with backup Oliver to help open up the passing game for SD. Baltimore in my opinion is another one of the best teams in the NFL and they looked very strong on Monday Night in New Orleans however I think the Saints are a lot worse than we perceive and also made the Birds look better than they are. The Chargers will bring it today and this one will be close either way. Their defense will give Flacco and the running game a hard time and I don't see him throwing all over them either with stud safety Eric Weddle leading the charge for the Bolt secondary and keeping everyone in check playing mistake free football. Bolts and the points!

***PITTSBURGH STEELERS -3***

This Saints team is in a world of trouble. Their defense is absolutely horrendous against both the pass and the run, and Pitt has what it takes to exploit either of them, and most likely both. Big Ben and the boys are off of a bye week and will be hosting the battered and embarassed Saints squad who are notoriously not so good on the road, especially as weather starts to get a bit cold. The house-cats, I mean Saints are really struggling right now because they can't put together a win at home in their Litter Box as of late either. Luckily for them as I mentioned above. their division is horrendous and they are still very much in the playoff picture. However, I don't think their luck turns today as they face a Steelers team that has the potential to put up major points and can control a game with their up and coming RB LeVeon Bell and you can expect Big Ben to have a field day airing the rock out to his favorite weapon WR Antonio Brown. Then if you throw in the other weapons at his disposal with WRs Wheaton and Bryant and TE Miller, the Saints are in trouble trying to stop them. I think the injury to Saints rookie standout WR Brandin Cooks really hurt them more than they realize and left a hole in their offense. They are back to being one dimensional with TE Jimmy Graham which is sometimes more than enough but not today, too many points for Pitt. Steelers get the dubb at home and set up for a big game in Cincy next week.

***ATLANTA FALCONS +2***

The Dirty Birds are at home today hosting one of the best defenses in the league, the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals just received a straight up butt-whooping in Seattle last weekend against their division rival. Today they take on a lowly but dangerous Falcons squad. I think these are two teams that could be headed in two different directions. The Cards are good, but I am not sold on their QB Drew Stanton. The guy is a decent backup, but will never be a great starter. I think he throws a lot of balls up for grabs and makes bad decisions in the pocket causing turnovers. I know ATL's defense is terrible but they have some life in them with these miraculous playoff hopes that are still alive and will come to play today. They can be very tough at home and that place will be rocking today. We all got a taste of how Stanton performs in hostile enviornments last week. I really like Arizona's defense and I have all year, their CB tandem is one of my favorite ones in the league consisting of Patrick Peterson and Antonio Cromartie. However, if their is one thing the Falcons have offensively it is their number 1 and 2 WRs. I foresee a battle between these WRs and CBs and I think the Zona CBs struggle a bit to slow down Falcon's WR Julio Jones. I believe this man will be on a mission today and dominate as ATL QB Matty Ice will look to him as his saftey blanket and will feed him often. Simply put, the Falcons will put up more points than the Cards today. ATL in the Bird Bowl!

***GREEN BAY PACKERS -2.5***

Last but not least, my favorite play of the day in the biggest game of the day! The Packers host the Patriots today in Lambo Field as we get a real treat watching a true battle of the Titans. Both of these teams in the league surging at the moment. The Patriots have not looked back since getting embarassed many Monday Night Footballs ago in Kansas City and have been on a tear ever since destroying everyone in their way. Last week they stifled a very good Detroit Lions team in Foxborough and dominated them from start to finish. Now they go on the road to take on a Packers team who's QB Aaron Rodgers has also been playing lights out. The Packers struggled a bit last week in Minnesota and only won by a small margin however I believe this was because they were looking ahead to this game a bit and only did what they had to do in order to beat the lowly Vikings so they can keep their tricks in their bag saved up for the Pats when they will need 'em. Also keep in mind that the game last week definitely served as a Super Bowl for the Vikings and the Packers received their best effort and still were able to overcome them on the road and playing what I believe wasn't full throttle for them. The Patriots have really come together and are finally healthy with their freak TE Gronkowski beasting every game as well as thorn in the side WR Juian Edelman ripping up the short passing game Patriot Wes Welker style. You also never know what is coming from the Pats as far as their run game as Belicheck always keeps everyone and I think including his RBs guessing as to who will get the nod. Their CB tandem of Revis and Browner is absolutely shutdown city but with a QB as accurate as Aaron Rodgers, they can be beaten. Despite all the New Englad factors that one should be afraid of I will (with confidence) pick the Green Bay Packers at home to serve the Pats some humble pie today. I see GB RB Eddie Lacy having a big day running over defenders as he does so well and Rodgers not being phased by the talent in the New England secondary and still finding success through the air as well as utilizing his legs when need be. On defense I love how they are moving LB Clay Matthews around and have him playing inside LB a bit. I think this helps others like veteran DE Julius Peppers and today they get to Brady early and often which will rattle him, as we all know he doesn't like to get hit. The Green Bay secondary is also highly underated and are ball hawks, they will pick some passes off today, I guarantee it. Packers with a big win here -2.5!