It’s week 12 and the NFL has some pretty good games on tap with some interesting story lines within.

The Aerys Offsides crew discusses what they are looking forward to and we definitely want to know what you are looking forward to with this weekend’s matchups, so please comment below!

Just as a bonus, we are looking forward to all the Discount Double Check jokes we will hear on SNF! YAY!

Here we go…

Miranda

* Packers vs. the Giants on Sunday Night Football. Aaron Rodgers against Eli Manning is always a good match-up. This game can also have quite the impact on postseason seeding. The Packers are 7-3, and the Giants are 6-4. See what I mean? The Packers beat the Lions last week by a three point margin. The Giants are coming off a bye week. So the Giants have the rested up factor. Get yourself a plate of leftover Thanksgiving treats … or it might be time to get a pizza if you’re sick of turkey … and enjoy this game.

* Niners vs. Saints. Do you think Colin Kaepernick will get another start? Do ya? Do ya? Do ya?! Well, he certainly earned himself a shot with his Monday Night Football performance against the Bears. I predict Jim Harbaugh will probably not make his decision, depending on how Alex Smith is feeling this days, until the last minute. That’s all part of his intrigue. OH! And Drew Brees and the Saints are playing in this game too. Remember, they had a horrible start to this season and have turned this around and are 5-5.

* Steelers vs. Browns. Oooooh!! This should be a good one! Will Big Ben be available to play? Is Charlie Batch going to get a shot? Speaking of shots, the Steelers have Plaxico Burress now! … Yeah, yeah! Like you wouldn’t make that joke! All of these Steelers things to watch for and then you have to remember, Brandon Weeden! The rookie quarterback, despite the Brown’s 2-8 record, is having a really amazing season. Think if he was on a team with a good defense. Goodness!

Jamie

* Panthers vs Eagles: What will Cam Newton and Michael Vick have in store for us? This should be an interesting QB match up considering they’re both failing to live up to their hype and both are kinda cranky about it. They really have a lot of this to put on themselves and seem to, but what are they doing about it? I think this might be a make it or break it game for both QBs, and possibly Andy Reid. I guess we’ll have to wait and see how Monday night plays out. Grab some popcorn, because this is gonna be a long game.

* Buccaneers vs Falcons. Matty Ice (Matt Ryan) is going to be looking for some MAJOR redemption from his performance last week (5 interceptions and more importantly [for me] only 2 ESPN fantasy points). He hopefully spent the week reflecting on his performance and spent some time getting on the same page with Tony Gonzalez so they can bring back some of their fantastic early season numbers which helped the Falcons stay undefeated through Week 9.

Why yes! Yes we are looking forward to the Niners-Saints game. Just like this bango-er! Thank you SBNation!

* On a more serious note, all the recent QB injuries, and what will come of it. Week 10 there was a rash of QB injuries and the Monday Night game between the Bears and 49ers showed what a difference one player makes. The way the 49ers played under Colin Kaepernick was vastly different then the Bears under Jason Campbell. It really showed the weakness of the Bears O-line and the confidence the 49ers have in Kaepernick. Lets hope EVERY team learned from that example and protects their QB’s better. Less injuries makes for better, more interesting, and less frustrating games to watch.

Kristine

*Bucs – Falcons: The super hot Bucs need to keep things rolling with a win over their divisional opponents from Atlanta if they want to make the playoffs. Can Greg Schiano’s young squad upset the Falcons? I think the Falcons hold on here but it could be a nail biter.

*Who will Niners head coach Jim Harbaugh start at quarterback against the Saints? A report that surfaced earlier in the week alleged Harbaugh had informed Alex Smith that he would be going with Colin Kaepernick under center, while another report suggested that Harbaugh had only made his decision about who would take first-team reps in practice and had not yet named a starter. On Friday, 49ers safety Donte Whitner told the Dan Patrick show that Kaepernick will start at quarterback on Sunday, which is pretty close to a confirmation in my mind. (However, no official decision has been announced). And really, how do you sit Kapernick after the performance he had on Monday night against one of the top defenses in the NFL? Will be interesting to see what Harbaugh does here and what direction the team heads in as a result.

*Eagles – Panthers: At first glace, this game looks like a snooze. Cam is in a sophomore slump, the Panthers offense is struggling to find and identity and the team can’t close out close games. Meanwhile, Eagles quarterback Michael Vick and running back LeSean McCoy will be out with head injuries and the whole Eagles team has seemingly quit on their head coach. All of these reasons and more are why this game could not only be  an interesting one, it could have huge ramifications for two NFL franchises. If the Eagles lose another game, will Reid even keep his job until the end of the year?!? Get your popcorn ready…

Emily