The Crystal Ball 2009 Week 16 Thursday Night Special

Welcome to a special Friday Christmas edition of The Crystal Ball Thursday night special! If the NFL Network can use such dumb and confusing nomenclatures for their various broadcasts, so can I.

Is everyone having a good Christmas? Did you get all you wanted, or did Santa find out you were naughty instead of nice?

Since Christmas is the time for hope and joy, there are more than a few fans out there wishing for their hopes of wins to provide the joy of a trip to the playoffs. I hate to be a scrooge, but bah humbug. There will be more than a few disappointed fan bases after Sunday. I won’t be one of them, I’m anticipating failure.

Regardless, I hope every fan savors this moment right here. The moment when hope still abounds, when chance and luck may collide and become opportunity realized. When all the stars align, all becomes right with their world and the dreams of a championship still burn brightly. Most of those dreams will never come to pass this season, but that moment of hopeful anticipation is a wonderful thing.

And hey, it is Christmas after all, you never know what may happen right?

On Tap Tonight

San Diego (11-3) at Tennessee (7-7)

Ok, so what do I do here? Tennessee has been on a decided tear since being humiliated in New England. With the exception of a loss to Indianapolis, which was close, the team has torn it up and Chris Johnson has been a demon on the field. On the other hand, San Diego is riding a wicked winning streak, playing dominant football and over the past several years, unstoppable in December.

I love Tennessee’s moxie, Vince Young’s resurgence and Johnson’s otherworldly ability. And I hate, HATE, the idea of backing Norv Turner on the road. But San Diego can still nab a bye week for the playoffs so they’ve got a goal in mind. Tennessee, well their playoff hopes while still flickering are dimmer than Pittsburgh’s. And we all know how faint those are. So what’s their motivation other than 9-7? Ugh, I may regret this, and probably will since I’ve already vacillated several times, but…

Chargers over Titans