FIWK the NFL: The Chargers no longer control their own destiny.

Going into last week, the Chargers controlled their own destiny. They were 6-5 with a 1-2 division record. The Chiefs were 7-4 with a 1-2 division record. After beating the no-longer-as-impressive-looking Colts, if the Chargers continued their winning streak and won out, defeating the Chiefs along the way, they would have finished 11-5 with a 4-2 division record and the Chiefs at best could have finished with at 11-5 with a 3-3 division record. With the Chiefs losing to the Raiders and the Broncos in weeks 9 and 10, the Chargers controlled their own destiny. Now, not so much. We need to beat the Chiefs, we need to win out, we need to not fumble the ball away on special teams or allow a special teams touchdown... and we need some help. If the Chargers win out, they finish 10-6 with a 3-3 division record. If the Chiefs lose to the Chargers, then defeat the Rams, Titans and Raiders, they finish 11-5 and win the AFC West. Now we need the Jets, Patriots, Ravens or Steelers to lose six games and have a worse conference record for the Chargers to have a shot at a wild card spot (best chance is for 8-4 Baltimore with their 6-3 conference record to lose to two out of Houston, Cleveland and Cincinnati so that the Chargers have a better conference record). OR we need the Chiefs to lose to the Raiders so that the Chargers finish with a better division record. As for what every other team needs to have happen to make the playoffs...

Music Tuesdays - Mirrorage by Glasser

Yes, another quasi-haunting female vocalist. I am becoming a parody of myself with my music choices.

The National Football League: I put my heart and soul into this!

If Aaron were writing this, that is what he would say to answer your "how come you don't get this post up until after work on Friday?!!?" question. Since I'm not Aaron, I'll get this week's NFL review up early - albeit with less insights and considerably less predictions. Aaron is currently in route from Orlando, which is why I'm stepping in to save the day. I'm not sure why he was there, nor do I think MP cares too much. Without further ado, this week's picture!

Image via PE.

Wine Wednesday: Alamos Malbec vs Crios de Susana Balbo Malbec

Malbec is a wine varietal I really like. It tends to be flavorful but easy to drink and is generally a good value in the states - you can find a lot for $20 or less that are pretty good. I also went to Argentina last year, which is the premiere Malbec growing region in the world currently, and became familiar with a lot of the names of the producers. In the US, Malbec is currently becoming very popular according to our old pal Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV.

With that in mind, I tried two Malbecs from BevMo recently and had a pretty good experience: the Alamos Malbec '09 which was $9.99 at BevMo and the Crios de Susana Balbo Malbec '08 which was $12.99 at BevMo.

Music Tuesdays - Fader by the Temper Trap

Another fun song by the Temper Trap, creators of the iconic song "Sweet Disposition" (2nd song listed) which anchored the movie 500 Days of Summer. Fun fact: I always get Temper Trap and Passion Pit confused because their names are so similar.