Divisional Playoff Picks

I'd call last week's Wild Card Weekend quite a bit less than wild. I'd even go as far as saying that the games were quite boring, with the possible exception of Jacksonville versus Pittsburgh and even that wasn't a well played game. There were a lot of turnovers, poor quarterback play and non existent running backs in every game. Let's hope the quality of play is better this week or I may have to switch over to watch American Gladiators (again). I'm actually a little disappointed in myself because I'm picking the top two seeds to advance in each division and I hate when people do that but I just don't see any upsets taking place. Last week I was 3-1. Winner is in CAPS.

Divisional Playoffs
Saturday, Jan. 12
Seattle at GREEN BAY
I guess I'm going with Green Bay here and it pains me to do so. I don't think either of these teams are any good. They rank in the middle of just about every offensive and defense category with the excpetion of Green Bay's total yards and passing yards, both of which rank second in the league. Guess who's first in both categories? Yup, New England.

The nod goes to Green Bay for three reasons. The first is that the game is in Green Bay and that's a nearly impossible place to win a game, let alone in the playoffs. I have no clue how the whole wearing a block of cheese on your head started but it apparently helps the Packers. Green Bay is 7-1 at home this year while Seattle has a 3-5 road record. That's not a good combination if you're rooting for the Seahawks.

Second, I just don't think that Seattle is that good. They play in the NFC West which is an easy division and the only playoff teams they beat all year were Tampa Bay and Washington last week. Beating those teams is nothing to brag about. By contrast, Green Bay has beaten the Giants, Chargers and Redskins, in addition to beating the Vikings twice. I have no clue how they lost two games to the Bears this year but they did. And their only other loss came to Dallas (look for that trend to continue next week). In addition, since winning the starting RB job earlier this season, Ryan Grant has gained nearly 1,000 yards in ten games. He is who Seattle RB Shaun Alexander used to be- someone who took the pressure off of the quarterback, could be counted on to run down the clock and was always good for 100 yards a game.

The third reason is Brett Favre. I don't remember the last time he was in the playoffs and, perhaps he doesn't either because it's been so long. I'm sure he'll come out ready to play in what will most definitely not be his last year as a starting QB.

Green Bay 27 Seattle 17

As a side note, can someone please tell me what a Packer is?

Jacksonville at NEW ENGLAND
Much more to come Friday but if I were Jacksonville, I might consider surrendering now and saving myself the embarassment. Perhaps they could give their plane tickets to a school so some little Floridians can come see Plymouth Rock or walk the Freedom Trail. I can see this one being ugly early and often.

Sunday, Jan. 13
San Diego at INDIANAPOLIS
I watched part of the Chargers-Titans game last weekend and was so disgusted with San Diego QB Philip Rivers that I felt sick. The only thing the Chargers had going for them all day is that Vince Young is the Titans QB and he's just awful. Once Young checks off his first receiver, it looks like he has no clue what to do. And yeah, he may be fast now but give him another year or two before he has a major knee injury from all of the scrambling and the Titans are going to be left looking for another QB- that may not be a bad thing in the long run.

Last Sunday against the Titans, it appeared to me that Rivers quite possibly has the weakest arm in the entire NFL. He was contorting his body and gearing up to throw deep passes (similar to what the photo to the left looks like- nice form, eh?) that only ended up traveling 25 yards. Luckily for the Chargers, the Titans didn't cover any receivers past 20 yards so Rivers statistically had a good day.

Billy Volek is the Chargers backup QB and all I have to say is that he must really stink if he can't beat out Philip Rivers. For the year, Rivers has thrown 3,150 yards, 21 TDs and 15 INTs. Based on the QB ratings, Rivers is ranked number 18 for the year among all starting NFL quarterbacks, which is not good news for a playoff team. The other seven remaining starting QBs in the playoffs are all ranked in the top eight based on their QB rating. In fact, the only category that I could find Rivers listed in the top ten was in the number of interceptions he's thrown this year and that's not a good thing.

For the year, the Chargers have the 26th best passing offense. In actuality, the 26th best offense can also be dubbed the 6th worst offense. The Colts have the second best pass defense and give up the fewest points in the entire league with 16.4 per game. That's not a good combination for the Chargers. Factor in that this game is being played in the RCA Dome where they pump in crowd volume and I give the Chargers next to no chance of winning this game. Actually, factor in that Norv Turner coaches the Chargers and I give them zero chance of winning this game.

Colts 41 Chargers 13

NY Giants at DALLAS
Last week against the Bucaneers, I somehow managed to convince myself that the Giants would win. There will be no convincing me this week. Heck, Jessica Simpson could show up to do the coin flip and I would still pick the Cowgirls.

The Giants lost twice to Dallas earlier this year, 45-35 and 31-20. I don't see anything changing this week. Dallas has the second highest scoring offense in the league at 28.4 points per game. Dallas also comes in with the third highest yardage per game stat at 365 yards per game. But what this game really comes down to is Eli Manning and that never makes me feel good. For the year, Manning threw for 3,336 yards with 23 TDs and 20 INTs for a QB rating of 73.9. I just don't think he's that good and he'll probably spend most of the game running around the backfield or laying flat on his back wondering if his own team recovered another one of his fumbles or not.

By contrast, Tony Romo threw for 4,211 yards, 36 TDs and 19 INTs for a QB rating of 97.4. Not bad for a second year QB. I know that TO will be a game-time decision but, even without him, I think that the Cowgirls easily win this game.

Dallas 31 New York 17

Some Links That You May or May Not Enjoy

Better luck next year. Somehow, this seems deserving for someone I once chased five blocks to get an autograph from when I was about 12 years old. After nearly running over my foot with his Porsche and taking my pen, he sped off without signing his baseball card, which I proceeded to throw in the gutter. He's no media darling but I do hope he ends up in Cooperstown one day. I would like my pen back, though.


Here's a nice recap of the Patriots season to date. I'm trying not to be too excited about being 16-0 but it is fun to read a recap of each game. And I completely forgot that Randy Moss never played a snap in the preseason.


I'm not sure I'm buying this explanation. Seriously, he couldn't think of something better than his dog ate it?


Vindicated. We all balked at Jose Canseco's first book, Juiced, but much of what he wrote was proven true. If I were a former team mate that used steroids with Canseco, I'd start worrying. Somewhere, Stray-Rod may be getting a little nervous.


More awards for Tom Brady and the Patriots. I won't run a whole column on this one but how did Brett Favre get a vote? Randy Moss and Wes Welker I can understand but Favre?


I don't get this. So let me get this straight- doing drugs will actually cut Michael Vick's sentence by one year? Umm, am I the only one who sees a problem with this?


Rog's pitch off target. For those of you who aren't fortunate enough to listen to WEEI or read the Boston Herald, this is one of my favorite radio personalities/sports writers.


Special Report: Roger Clemens. This is probably way more information on Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee than any one could ever read.


Nike to release 23rd Air Jordan. Does anyone else see a problem with a basketball shoe selling for $230?


34 year winning streak halted. This streak spanned 12,396 days, six presidents and 34 Super Bowls.


Sports Bloopers. I like watching people wipe out.


And more sports bloopers. Seriously, I like watching people wipe out.

Brett Favre Comes in Second in MVP Voting

I have no clue how this possibly could have happened, but Brett Favre has miraculously received sole possession of second place in the MVP voting, showing up 48 points behind New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who received 49 of 50 votes. I was positive that Favre would finish in a second place tie with everyone else in the NFL when Brady received all 50 votes. It would have been fitting for Brady to throw 50 TDs and get all 50 votes but apparently they must let someone in Green Bay have a say in the voting (or perhaps Bridgette Moynihan has a vote). I'd start looking into the witness protection program if I were the guy (or gal) that voted for Favre.

In winning the Award, Brady said that individual accomplishments don't rule his world. "As I have learned over the course of my time with the Patriots, the most meaningful accomplishments are always the ones I have celebrated with my teammates," he said. Yeah, like those three Super Bowls!

Let's look at the numbers to try to make some sense of all this madness: Brady threw for 4,806 yards, which was 383 more than any other quarterback. He completed 68.9 percent of his passes. He threw 50 TDs to eight INTs for a QB rating of 117.2. The league record for QB rating is 121.1, which is apparently the only record that Brady didn't break this year. He had 12 games this year where he threw at least three TDs. New England scored 589 points and 75 touchdowns, both records. Oh, and in case you've had your head buried in the sand, Brady is the first QB to lead his team to a 16-0 regular season.

By comparison, Favre threw for 4,155 yards, fourth most in the league. He completed 66.5 percent of his passes (also ranking fourth) while throwing for 28 TDs (tied for sixth) and 15 INTs (tied for 11th most in the league). His QB rating for the year was 95.7, placing him sixth among all QBs this year. His team finished 13-3.

I just don't get it. How can someone possibly look at these two quarterbacks and think that Favre honestly had the better year? And please don't tell me that the Packers would be doomed without Favre because you know what? Almost any NFL team would be doomed without their starting QB. Do you think that Matt Cassell would have led the Patriots to a 16-0 record? Heck, Bill Belicheat benched Cassell in garbage time earlier this year because he threw an interception. Yeah, the Packers had a good year. Favre played good, even great at times, but how can you honestly say that Favre had a better year than Brady or is more valuable to his team.

"He deserves it," Bill Belicheat said. "I have thought for a long time that there is no past or present quarterback I'd rather coach than Tom Brady, and I am more certain of that every year he plays."

Look, getting 49 out of 50 votes is pretty cool but if the Patriots play the Packers in the Super Bowl, look for the Pats to score at least 50 points. . in the first half. As it is, I can easily see Brady and Belicheat taking out their grudges against the NFL voters against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday night. Belicheat only received 29 of 50 votes for Coach of the Year and now Brady gets slapped in the face by only receiving 49 of 50 votes for MVP. It could get very ugly Saturday night.

More to come later in the week on the Patriots-Jaguars game and all of my NFL picks for the weekend.

Wild Card Weekend Picks

So now the real season starts. Your team has played 16 games and here you are on the cusp of playoff greatness. For some of these teams, I wouldn't get too excited about the embarassment that is to come. In case you're a wicked slow learner, winning team is in CAPS.

Wild-Card Weekend
Saturday, Jan. 5
WASHINGTON at Seattle
Washington comes in at 9-7, riding a four game winning streak. Seattle is 10-6. I pretty much have nothing good to say about this game and can think of no good reason why anyone outside of these two cities would want to waste one second watching this game.

I basically think that Seattle is a total fraud. The only teams with winning records that they've beaten are Tampa Bay (9-7) in the first game of the year and Arizona and Philadelphia, both of whom squeaked in at 8-8. Technically, I don't even think that 8-8 is a winning record so it looks like the only winning team they've beaten all year is Tampa Bay.

Seattle QB Matt Hasslebeck seems to have had a good year, throwing for nearly 4,000 yards with 28 TDs to 12 INTs for a QB rating of 91.4. Not bad for someone that I originally thought completely stunk.

The 'Skins won their last four against Chicago, the New York Giants, the Vikings and the Cowgirls just to get here. And they did it with a backup QB who I thought was retired. They play in a much tougher division than Seattle, who could only muster 10 wins playing in the NFC West, which I consider the weakest division in the NFL.

Washington 28 Seattle 13

JACKSONVILLE at Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh still looks hung over from the loss to New England a month ago. They've lost their starting running back to a broken leg. They have home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. And they're the underdog. That's not a good sign. To top it off, they're playing a team that beat them at home three weeks ago. Yes, that's called adding insult to injury.

Jacksonville 31 Pittsburgh 14

Sunday, Jan. 6
NY GIANTS at Tampa Bay
I don't know what to make of this game. I was originally going to pick Tampa Bay based on the fact that the Giants played a very physical and emotional game last week against the Patriots and are now playing short handed due to injuries. Based on the fact that I put Tampa Bay in CAPS, I guess I'm still picking them to win. But don't get too excited. It has nothing to do with their record, who they've played or any statistical rating. I just remembered that Eli Manning is still the QB of the Giants. He managed to thow for 3,336 yards, 23 TDs and 20 INTs for a QB rating of 73.9. Basically, he pretty much sucks.

Lucky for them, the Giants are playing the NFC South winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who come in with a worse record than the Giants and I'm still picking them to win. I think that their QB is still Jeff Garcia, who ended the year throwing for 2,440 yards, 13 TDs and 4 INTs for a QB rating of 94.6 while managing to basically miss four of the last six games with some type of mystery ailment.

Screw it, I just convinced myself to take Eli and the Giants. This is going to end ugly, I know it.

New York 20 Tampa Bay 10

Tennessee at San Diego
I don't even know how Tennessee got into the playoffs or won ten games, for that matter. Apparently they beat the Colts in the last game of the year to "earn" their spot. I use the term "earn" because Peyton Manning barely stepped on the field in that game.

I can't figure out who the QB of the Titans is because Vince Young may be hurt, which leaves Kerry Collins- that's not a good thing. The two of them combined this year have thrown for 3,077 yards, nine TDs and 30 INTs for a QB rating of 72.6. That's worse than Eli Manning. And yes, the nine TDs is correct. I know, I had to check that one about five times, too. That's 41 fewer TDs than Tom Brady threw this year. Forty one! And they're happy to be going to San Diego? The only thing keeping my predicted score lower is the fact that Philip Rivers is the QB for San Diego. Thank goodness for LaDainian Tomlinson

San Diego 44 Tennessee 17

Apparently Cheaters Do Win

It was announced yesterday that Bill Belicheat was voted the Associated Press Coach of the Year. I found the timing of the award rather interesting because the announcement was originally scheduled for January 12. Thanks to this article in the Boston Herald, the NFL apparently decided not to wait another week and to tell the world what we all knew already- Bill Belicheat is the coach of the year. Is their a coach of the decade award or a coach of the century award? If there is, they should just engrave Belicheat's name on it now.

What's so surprising isn't the timing of the announcment but that the voting, in my opinion, was somewhat close. Out of 50 voters, only 29 voted for Belicheat. Are you serious? It's beyond me to think that Belicheat just wrapped up the first ever 16-0 regular season and the voters don't automatically check him off as the coach of the year. Yes, I know that the Patriots were somewhat stacked on offense but can you imagine the pressure he had to deal with on the road to 16-0? Or how about motivating his players each week, knowing that after they started 8-0 that they had already wrapped up the AFC East title?

Belicheat beat out Packers coach Mike McCarthy, who received 15 votes for leading the Packers to a 13-3 record and the NFC North title. In addition, Cowgirl coach Wade Phillips and Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio each recieved two votes with Colts coach Tony Dungy and Bucaneers coach Jon Gruden each getting one vote.

Listen, I totally expect there to be a lot of hometown bias on the part of the people who vote. How else would you explain the fact that John Gruden, who coached a 9-7 team, would get one vote? Or how about Tony Dungy? The Colts lost to the Patriots this year and it looks like Dungy may have had some type of (illegal) gentleman's agreement with Jeff Fisher that let the Titans run out the clock even though the Colts could have called time out and gotten the ball back with a chance to score the winnning touchdown in their final regular season game. And I'm not sure what to think of the Packers, either. Tom Brady has been throwing to worse recievers his whole career and yet he's won three Super Bowl titles in six years. Brett Favre has a resurgence in his career and all of a sudden you feel the need to vote for McCarthy? I guess I feel like Del Rio may have been the next most deserving coach because once you get by Fred Taylor, the Jaguars aren't very deep and they still managed to win 11 games in a tough division.

It's interesting to see that since 2000, only one previous coach of the year has gone on to have his team with the Super Bowl. The year was 2003 and the team was the New England Patriots, coached by none other than Bill Belicheat, back when he was still referred to as Bill Belichick.

Since joining the Patriots in 2000, Belicheat has led the Patriots to three Super Bowl titles (no other team has more than one this century) and are 91-37 in the regular season. They've owned the AFC East title for five straight years with no fewer than 10 wins in any of those seasons.

Am I right in wondering how he has only won the award twice?

"There are three things that get better with age: good cigars, red wine and to me it looks like coaches who have the ability," Patriots owner (and one shirt wonder) Bob Kraft said in response to Belicheat winning coach of the year. "He's really hit his sweet spot and I'm really happy for him personally." I have no clue what Kraft is talking about in this quote. He couldn't just say congratulations or we're glad he turned out to be spineless when he shunned the Jets head coaching job or something along those lines?

Yeah, I know that there was that little thing involving the Jets, a camera and a possilbe misinterpretation of the rules by Belicheat but I can already see Rodney HGHarrison walking around playing the disrespect angle before their first playoff game because their head coach only got 29 of 50 votes for coach of the year. And you know what? I totally believe that this is exactly how Belicheat wants it. You know what else? The players will use it for motivation and demolish their first playoff opponenet.

Wild Card weekend play off picks coming tomorrow.

Some Links That You May Or May Not Enjoy

This alone should justify his contract for next year. Curt Schilling, never one to keep his mouth shut, opens up on steroids and Roger Clemens.


In case you haven't been paying attention the last ten years, Tiger Woods is pretty good. I think the PGA can get used to seeing Tiger wearing red on Sunday's for at least another decade.


Has Pete Rose looked in the mirror lately? I love the fact that he comes right out and admits that if steroids were available when he played he'd have 5,000 hits. What a loser.


This guy was 13-14 last year. Does that seem worthy of a 4 year $48 million contract? I guess it does if you're the Seattle Mariners.


These guys are certifiably insane. Surfing has never appealed to me but you've got to have some serious stones to do this. Check out some of the video footage on the link, too.


A recap of the Winter Classic. You know I'm no fan of the NHL but I've spoken to people who attended this game (as would any good reporter) and it sounded like fun- freezing cold, wet snow, windy, couldn't see the puck and a game that had no flow to it because of the constant delays. I think there's a reason hockey is played indoors.


This kind of stinks. I thought that people were guilty until proven innocent in this country. I was really looking forward to the backlash of the Mitchell Report but apparently there won't be any and that's too bad.


Remember Anthony Smith? This is a little late on my part, but I think that you could see this coming. The Steelers should just save themselves the trouble and cut him now.


A little light reading for your enjoyment. I've not seen a Cliff Notes version so I guess you have no choice but to read all 409 pages.


These guys are awesome.

The Road to 16-0

Well, I'm finally back from vacationing in Buffalo (although, I think that vacation and Buffalo is an oxymoron but I'll go with it for now) and the Patriots sit at 16-0. Pretty sweet. But it's not the goal. I've said all along that the goal is for the Patriots to be riding around in ugly duck boats in the dead of winter hoisting some lame piece of tin over their heads as hundreds of thousands of fans wait hours outside so they can see their Super Bowl champs for about 45 seconds from 50 feet away. But 16-0 is pretty cool.

It seems like it's been months since the Patriots ran up the score on any of their opponents but here's the thing- for the last six weeks, their opponents have been playing them like it was their Super Bowl. Those teams (Eagles, Ravens, Steelers, Jets, Dolphins and Giants) left nothing on the table. Okay, maybe the Dolphins did but they're just awful. And in each case, the Patriots don't just beat you, they demoralize you. The Giants played as good as they can. They played their starters, they ran trick plays, they played an emotional game, perhaps their best game all year. And they lost.

Here are some thoughts on the game:

∙Eli Manning is 23-9 in the first half of the season and 12-20 in the second half. That's a combination of not being a very good quarterback and having a terrible coach.

∙Want to know what the two highest scoring offenses (Patriots 2007 and Vikings 1998) in the history of the NFL have in common? Randy Moss.

∙The mantra of the Patriots all year has been 60 minutes. And no, I'm not talking about the tv show. Remember they held a 21-3 lead at Indy in the AFC Championship game last year with 31 minutes left and wound up losing? All year, Belicheat has talked about the importance of playing 60 minutes in preparation for playoff games and not taking your foot off the pedal. People talk about running up the score but all the Patriots talk about playing full tilt for 60 minutes.

∙Bob Kraft to Bill Belicheat: "Congratulations on completing the most awe-inspiring regular season in the history of the NFL. You are the best coach in the history of the NFL and you've helped make me a billion dollars."

Bill Belicheat to Bob Kraft: "Nice shirt."

∙The late hits by Rodney HGHarrison finally caught up to him and I don't think Belicheat is too pleased. On a kickoff, HGHarrison got into a shoving match with one of the Giants. On the very next play, he was called for a 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. I liked Belicheat benching him following that play. There's a reason that HGHarrison is consistently voted one of the league's dirtiest players but that sequence was just plain stupid.

∙The two minute drill that the Giants were running at the end of the game was pretty pathetic. That's poor execution based on poor coaching.

∙Chris Collinsworth is 100 percent correct on two points. First, this New England Patriots team is the best team ever. They showed the clip of Collinsworth saying the exact same thing in week six and it's cemented in history now with a 16-0 regular season. Second, being the best team ever will mean nothing if they don't win the Super Bowl.

∙Can someone please explain what happened on one of the Giants kickoff returns? The official announced that the penalty was on Randy Moss, who was sitting on the bench. Chris Collinsworth then said the penalty was actually on Brandon Merriweather for a hit out of bounds, but the hit was clearly in bounds. Then the official pushed the Giants back 15 yards with no explanation at all. Neither announcer mentioned it again, either.

∙"I don't know any better way of being prepared for the playoffs than to go against a team that is 15-0. And I really think this provides the momentum we were looking forward to." Tom Coughlin, after the Giants' loss to the Patriots. Let me get this straight- losing your last game, your starting center and one of your starting linebackers, as well as a cornerback, is going to give you momentum? Everyone is praising Coughlin for playing his starters and making it a great game but in the end, I believe that it will cost the Giants their season. The Giants were going to be the number 5 seed in the NFC no matter what happened in the game. They knew they were going to play in Tampa Bay in the first round of the playoffs. Congratulations, not only did you lose the game but you also gave your team a disadvantage in the playoffs. Look for the Giants to be making an early playoff exit.

∙I don't get the 15 yard penalty of Randy Moss following his first TD catch. He got leveled several plays earlier and was constantly being held and bumped beyond five yards. He scores and does a little celebration and that's a penalty? Some guys do more than that after they get a first down. It's apparent that Moss has a bulls eye on his jersey and anything he says or does is under close scrutiny.

∙I actually called the record breaking TD to Moss following the dropped pass on the previous play. I said they should go right back to Moss deep and they did. The only thing that was surprising is that they didn't call that route on every play because Moss looked like he could beat his man eleven times out of ten.

∙Donte Stallworth ended the regular season with 46 catches for 697 yards and three TDs. I can't remember a single one of those catches.

∙Laurence Maroney didn't play in three games this year and somehow still managed to run for 835 yards on 185 carries for a 4.5 yards per carry average. I have no idea how he pulled this off but I may have to rethink my position on him- he may not be great but he may not stink, either.

∙I think that the Patriots broke every conceivable record there is, inlcuding the most team points, most TDs by a QB, most TDs by a receiver and most records broken in a game. Tom Brady finished the year with 4,806 passing yards, 50 TDs, 8 INTs and a QB rating of 117.2. There is also a rumor that Brady broke another scoring record with Gisele after the game but it is still unconfirmed.

∙After the Miami Dolphins won their first game of the season against the Ravens a few weeks ago, the players dumped Gatorade on Cam Cameron, the head coach. The Patriots just completed the first ever 16-0 regular season. There were no Gatorade showers. Yeah, everyone is jacked and pumped about being undefeated but they have their goal set on the Lombardi Trophy, not meaningless regular season games. Belicheat has his team acting and playing like champions right now.

So up next is a first round bye week. Of the AFC teams remaining, the only ones that concern me are Jacksonville and Indianapolis. Jacksonville plays a very physical game and they have an awesome ground game. Unfortunately for them, their quarterback is David Gerrard, who has only thrown 18 TD passes all year. By my accounts, that less than one-third the number thrown by Brady. And I'd be crazy not be concerned about Indianapolis. They're still the world champs until someone knocks them out. The game being in Foxboro is a big advantage. The only NFC team that concerns me for a potential Super Bowl matchup is Green Bay and that's only because I don't want to listen to more stories about Brett Favre. I'll be back later this week with some first round playoff predictions.