NFL Wild Card Picks & More Apologies???

I guess I'm going to be issuing apologies throughout the bowl season as Kansas won an exciting Orange Bowl over a BCS jinxed Virginia Tech last night. I still say that despite their solid season that the Jayhawks should not have been in the BCS sponsored Orange Bowl. I'm not knocking Kansas mind you, I just feel that it was wrong for Kansas to lose to Mizzou in what amounted to the Big 12 North title game, and then get a BCS bid after Mizzou lost in the Big 12 championship to Oklahoma. In my humble opinion the BCS matchups should have been

Rose
USC vs Georgia

Orange
Va. Tech vs. Mizzou

Sugar
Hawai'i va Oklahoma

Fiesta
West Virginia vs. Michigan

BCS Championship
Ohio State vs. LSU

Notice that I left Illinois out, they finished 3rd in the Big 10 and got to a BCS bowl? How is that?

I would have sent the Jayhawks to the Cotton Bowl to face (and likely beat Arkansas) and Illinois would have gotten clobbered by Florida in the Capital One Bowl.

Also, since I live in Ohio I get my overdose of Buckeye coverage, I'm already getting sick of hearing the poor pitiful us carping from the Ohio State fans and to some extent the players who are whining that they are the underdog with an unfair burden of having to beat LSU in its own backyard. If my memory serves me correct Ohio State is the #1 team and if they are the champion that they like to say that they are (something that they do so often) they should be ready to go into any venue and win. Not everything will be cooked up to your liking Buckeye nation, deal with it and play. If you're the champion that you say you are, you will win regardless of where and who you play.

Hey, thats just my humble opinion so lets look at the NFL now. Oh and I know I forgot to put my Phat Dap and Head Slap in on Wednesday. I'll bring that back next week.


I gave capsules on each teams strengths and weaknesses now its time to get down to business. New England, Indy, Dallas and Green Bay all sit on their respective couches and barcoloungers this week and let "the lower creatures" fight it out for the right to come to their cribs and houses of pain next weekend. I remember when the wild card weekend was two games on Sunday that usually featured a 9-7 vs a 10-6 team that would be fodder for a divisional champ the next week. Now the last two Super Bowl winners have played that extra game in the wild card round and used it as a springboard to the Super Bowl. The top seeded team in either conference hasn't won the Super Bowl since 2003 and only three times in the past ten years, so history is actually against the teams sitting out this weekend.
As usual the odds are provided courtesy of Yahoo Sports and are for entertainment and comparison purposes only.

Saturday, January 5

NFC Wild Card Game
Redskins (9-7 Wild Card, #6 Seed) @ Seahawks (10-6 NFC West Champ, #3 Seed)
Qwest Field, Seattle 4:30 (NBC)
Favorite Seahawks by 3½
Fast Facts The Seahawks beat the Redskins 20-10 in the 2005 NFC Divisional round. Over the last four games the Redskins have given up a league best 71.8 yards rushing a game.
The Redskins come into this game on a serious roll, having needed to win every game after a 5-7 start to get here. They have used the resurgence of Todd Collins and the redoubtable running of Clinton Portis to win their last four and are the keys to a Redskin vicotry. The Seahawks won an extremely weak NFC West for the fourth straight time, they will look to the solid play of Matt Hasselbeck who has had to compensate for the disappointing play of Shawn Alexander. The Seahawks will look to their rowdy home crowd, the Seahawks were 7-1 at home to give them a boost. This game smacks of an upset waiting to happen, but I cant see the Redskins riding their emotions this long.
Pick-Seattle


AFC Wild Card Game
Jaguars (11-5 Wild Card #5 Seed) @ Steelers (10-6 AFC North Champs, #4 Seed)
Heinz Field, Pittsburgh 8:00 (NBC)
Favorite Jaguars by 2½
Fast Facts The Steelers are hosting their first playoff game since losing the 2004 AFC Championship to the Pats. The Jags set an AFC playoff record for points in their last playoff win (62-7 vs Miami in the '99 AFC Divsional round)
The Jags are not a typical warm weather team, they are built for a ground pounding down and dirty type game. Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor provide an excellent 1-2 punch in the Jags running game. David Garrard is a solid game manager who has a sneaky good arm. The Steelers are their usual battle tested team, but they are hurting. Najeh Davenport is being counted on to fill in for the injured Willie Parker and the offensive line is hurting as well. Factor in a host of injuries on the defensive side including walking wounded Troy Palomalu and the Steelers look lucky to have held off the Browns for their divisional title. The Steelers are by no means a pushover but the Jags outslugged a healthier Steeler squad in the snow three weeks ago, I don't see why it cant happen again. Ignore all the yapping that has begun to emanate from tthe Steelers saying that the Jags won't sneak up on them again, they won't have to.
Pick-Jacksonville


Sunday, January 6

NFC Wild Card Game
Giants (10-6 Wild Card, #5 Seed) @ Buccaneers (9-7 NFC South Champs, #4 Seed)
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa 1:00 (FOX)
Favorite Buccaneers by 3
Fast Facts Jeff Garcia is facing the Giants in the playoff with his third different team (SF, 2002, Phil 2006) Eli Manning is 0-2 in the playoffs.
The Giants impressed many with their strong play against the Pats, but then you are left to wonder are they able to get up emotionally for the Bucs. The inconsistent play of Eli Manning is the one thing that will dog the G-Men. Brandon Jacobs provides tough inside running while the emergence of Ahmad Bradshaw as a chance of pace provides critical depth. The Bucs are a hard team to figure out, they lack a real threat a RB, Earnest Graham is decent but hardly a super threat. Jeff Garcia is a battle tested vet, but his inconsistent play and the lack of a real threat at WR make you wonder how this team got nine wins. The two teams have been yapping at one another and Ronde Barber's comments about Eli Manning were about as ill-timed as one could get. The Bucs are plenty tough in the playoff at home, but the Giants are playing well and are 7-1 on the road. Eli may not be the hero in this game, but he won't be the goat.
Pick-New York Giants


AFC Wild Card Game
Titans (10-6, #6 Seed) @ Chargers (11-5 AFC West Champs, #3 Seed)
Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego 4:30 (CBS)
Favorite Chargers by 10
Fast Facts The Chargers have lost their last three home playoff games, The Titans have never won a playoff game on the west coast
The Chargers started slow but have gained momentum and roll into the postseason having won 10 of their last twelve after a 1-3 start. Someone clued Norv Turner in to the fact that he had an all-pro RB on his roster and that he needed to use him a few times. Philip Rivers while not flashy has developed into a fairly effective game manager and the Chargers underrated but solid defense has played well led by the superior play of Shawne Merriman. The Titans needed every break that they got to get to the postseason. A weak running game, Vince Young erratic play and a Jekyll and Hyde tendency had them at 6-5 after a devestating blowout loss in Cincinnati. The Titans ground out four wins in their last five and snuck past the Browns to snatch the last playoff berth. One can never be sure of which team will show up. This is the same team that has these same Chargers behind the eight-ball in Nashville a few weeks ago and blew a 14 point lead to lose in OT. That team was a lot healthier, they won't get the opportunity to jump on the Chargers again. Look for the Chargers to establish a strong presence from LT and use their fast pursuing defense to pressure a hobbled Vince Young into a mistake or three.
Pick-San Diego

Last Week 12-4 (Upset and Lock Correct)
Regular Season Total 163-93(.637 correct)(15-2 Locks, 5-12 Upsets)

I'll review the weekends games on Monday and give an indepth preview of the BCS title game. Until Next Post Fellow Sports Fans!