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