NFL Week 11

Its week 11 in the NFL and many teams go into it banged up at the quarterback position.  Four teams have quarterbacks out with injuries, three concussions and at least three of them will go into this week with back-ups.  Most of these teams with injured quarterbacks are in the thick of the playoff race, now the playoff picture may be built at least partially by the second string QB.  Michael Vick was heading down the road towards a possible benching in Philadelphia we'll now see what Nick Foles can do with Vick out.  Jason Campbell will start for the Bears in Chicago, in place of Jay Cutler this week.  Ben Roethlisberger is not a concussion but he might be out longer then the others with a broken rib, Byron Leftwich will star for Pittsburgh in the meantime.  Alex Smith is the one who may be cleared to play in the 49ers monday night game vs. the Bears and their back-up.  Concussions are a tricky injury in which symptoms can show up at any time and you don't want to rush your comeback due to the fact that you may be more susceptible to a second one if you come back to soon.  Whenever you go out of a game with a concussion you have to be cleared by an independent neurologist before you can com back.  we are almost three quarters of the way through the season and in a league predicated on how teams deal with injuries, the playoff picture (we can start looking at playoff seeding next week) might be defined by back-up quarterbacks.  how long will guys be out with injuries, how will others step up, this will be fun.
Week 11 picks:
1)  The Arizona Cardinals play has suffered of late with inconsistent line play, while the Atlanta Falcons are in the top 5 teams in the league and weren't handed their first loss until last week they have playmakers on both sides of the ball.  I'll take the Atlanta Falcons (-9.5) at home over the Arizona Cardinals.   Atlanta Falcons -9.5
2) The Jacksonville Jaguars are a bad team who can't get it going this season, while the Houston Texans are arguably the best team in the NFL (that could change from week to week) right now with only 1 loss, they are a team that can probably go anywhere and beat any one.  This week the Texans are home, I'll take the Houston Texans (-15) at home over the Jacksonville Jaguars.  Houston Texans -15 
3)  The Cleveland Browns are a young team with an old rookie quarterback, while the Dallas Cowboys have run into some bad luck and some injuries.  I'll go with the Dallas Cowboys (-7.5) to win over the Cleveland Browns at home and keep themselves in the playoff hunt.  Dallas Cowboys -7.5 
4) The New York Jets are in denial about their team, since they think they still have a chance at salvaging this year.  They clearly undermined their quarterback by singing Tim Tebow, who's media circus they've kept down and their defense despite some injuries isn't very good, and their 3-6.  This week the hapless NY Jets who need something positive to go their way are on the road to face a listless St. Louis Ram team which is not very good but quite frankly the Jets might not be better.  I'll go with the NY Jets (+3.5) on the road in St. Louis because if you can't beat the Rams who can you beat.  NY Jets +3.5 
The New York Giants have the bye to rest up, (played 11 straight games give or take the preseason) get Eli right, and find their pass rush. They'll be all right, every year including last year, they got off to a fast start then their season dipped in the second half and they went on to win the Super Bowl.