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