went to four divisions in each conference in 2002 all the division
winners got through wild card weekend. I'm not gloating that I picked
all the games right. (Thanks for the great hold there, Romo) The four
teams that will be left after this weekend will be the best of each
conference, no flukes here.
NFL Divisional Playoffs
Saturday January 13
Colts (13-4 AFC #3 Seed) @ Ravens (13-3 #2 Seed)
M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore-4:30 (CBS)
Favorite- Ravens by 4
How They Got Here- Ravens had a bye to this round as AFC #2 seed, Colts
defeated Chiefs 23-8 in Wild Card Round
Playoff History-First Meeting
Its A Fact-Colts playing first playoff game in Baltimore since losing
to Oakland in the 1977 playoffs, Ravens have lost last two playoff
games
The Ravens will show more firepower offensively than the Chiefs who
stubbornly kept running the ball up the middle when the Colts were
putting everybody but the mascot in the middle and daring the Chiefs to
throw the ball. The Colts will get their horse's you know what handed to
them if Peyton Manning throws as bad as he did against the Chiefs. I'm
banking that Manning's performance was an abberation and that Joseph
Addai can keep the Ravens defense honest enough to not sit back in
coverage. This will be a tight game all the way around. But I smell an
upset.
Pick-Indianapolis
Eagles(11-6 NFC #3 seed) @ Saints (10-6 #2 seed)
Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans- 8 (FOX)
Favorite- Saints by 5
How They Got Here- Saints had a bye to this round as NFC #2 seed,
Eagles defeated Giants 23-20 in the Wild Card Round
Playoff History The Eagles beat the Saints in the 1992 Wild Card round
36-20
Its A Fact-This is only the Saints 3rd Home playoff game in team
history (1-1), The Eagles have at least one win in each of their last 5
playoff appearances.
The Saints beat the Eagles 27-24 in week 6 (which gave them the
tiebreaker to earn the home game) but the Eagles are a vastly different
team now. The Saints are a tough team, period. Drew Brees would have won
MVP in any other year, and his play has inspired this team. As he goes
so go the Saints. Reggie Bush has gotten a lot of pub, but Deuce
McAllister is one of the most underrated backs in the game. His quiet
steady performance keeps defenses from trying to load up to stop Brees.
Jeff Garcia's season saving play has gotten the Eagles this far but
he'll have his work cut out for him facing the Saints top ranked pass
defense. Brian Westbrook is the key to this game. The Eagles will need
his running to quiet the rowdy Superdome crowd. I'm betting that the
Saints will ride the energy of a rare home playoff game to a tight win.
Pick-New Orleans
January 14th
Seahawks (10-7 #4 seed) at Bears (13-3 #1 seed)
Soldier Field, Chicago-1 (Fox)
Favorite-Bears by 9
How They Got Here-Bears had a bye to this round as NFC's top seed,
Seahawks beat Cowboys 21-20 in the wild card round.
Playoff History-First Playoff Meeting
Just The Facts-Bears have lost their last three playoff games all at
home. The Seahawks are 3-2 in the NFC playoffs after being 3-5 all time
in their AFC playoff appearances.
The Seahawks came a botched snap away from being bounced out last week.
This is a team that can win in spite of itself. The Bears went 13-3 in
spite of Rex Grossman whos stock is falling faster than Enron's did. The
Bears went 14-2 with a solid defense, specail teams and the redoubtable
running of Thomas Jones. The problem is that the defense has gotten a
bit soft and have given up points at an alarming rate as of late. Look
for the Seahawks to jack up the tempo on the Bears defense. But I can't
see it making that much of a difference. The Bears need only to force a
turnover or two and give Grossman a short field to work with. The Bears
are money with a lead.
Pick-Chicago
Patriots (13-4 #4 seed) at Chargers (14-2 #1 seed)
Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego- 4:30 (CBS)
Favorite-Chargers by 4.5
How They Got Here-Chargers had a bye to this round as the AFC's top
seed, Patriots beat the Jets 37-16 in the wild card round.
Playoff History- The Chargers beat the Patriots 51-10 in the 1963 AFL
title game
Just the Facts-The Chargers have lost their last three playoff games,
and two of those were at home. The Patriots are 11-1 in the playoffs
under Bill Belichick
Its well documented that Marty Schottenheimer is 5-12 in the playoffs,
but this is undoubtedly his best team. LaDainian Tomlinson is everyones
"Well Duh!" MVP after his record setting year. But don't sleep on the
slam-bang job that QB Philip Rivers has done in his first year. The
Patriots are playoff tested and then some. Tom Brady doesn't have the
weapons that he is used to, but he has a solid running tandem in
Lawrence Maroney and Corey Dillon. The Chargers are tough on defense and
if Shawne Merriman can wreck havoc, the Chargers can have their way. The
Pats have flown under the radar for most of the season, and its soooo
hard to pick against the Pats. The Pats defense will have to play very
well, they won't get the breaks like they did against the Jets. How
can a #1 seed winning be an upset? Given who they're playing, it would
be.
Pick-San Diego
Last Week 4-0
Overall 159-101
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