Who's going to the Super Bowl?

I'm hoping Indianapolis is going to be one of those teams. It seems obvious to me that the Colts should have their way with the Jets; then again, I thought the same thing about the Chargers. That said, I'm sticking to my guns on this one. The Colts are, in my opinion, the best team in the league. The Jets, far from it.

Indianapolis 23, New York 10

As for the second game today, I have no idea, and I don't particularly feel like researching any numbers to try to figure out what will happen. That strategy has failed me all year, anyways. In an exchange of texts a few weeks ago with Don, I made the claim that "the Saints will be fine." Guess I'll stick with that.

New Orleans 34, Minnesota 28

To the SuperBowl

Four teams left, and lets get this under way. 2-2 last weekend which puts me at a respectful 5-3 for the playoffs and I'll take that. Which really needs to be noticed is how boring the games have been this postseason and I don't see that changing.

Colts vs Jets: I've known this pick sense day 1, and I am sticking to it. The Colts let the Jets get in here, now its time for them to amend that decision. Colts dominate.
Colts 27 Jets 9

Saints vs Vikings: For awhile I was all anti-Saints, and don't get me wrong, I hate them. With that said, the world is looking at these Vikings as a great team, and yet on the road in the NFC Championship is the perfect time for them to choke. Saints win, and easily after a turnover filled Vikings game.
Saints 31 Vikings 13

Divisional Round game

Thiell is being awfully hard on himself, as he has struggled throughout the year, but this has been a year that I have won about 66% which is a distinct improvement from last year (and I did have that sweet perfect week). With a 3-1 week first round (dang Pats) I am hoping to go 4-0 this week, although I am much more worried about tomorrows games then today.

Arizona vs New Orleans: I assume anyone who knows me, knows this pick before it happens. First and foremost; is there a single active QB you want in the playoffs then Kurt Warner? I am hard pressed to believe there is. Drew Brees, however, has never been a great postseason QB, and their Running backs are depleted due to injury. But none of that matters when it comes to this game. What does matters, is that Arizona keeps winning in the playoffs, and I see nothing to change this.
Arizona 31- New Orleans 20

Indianapolis vs Baltimore: Alot of people are turning on Indy for this game, because the team "turned back on history". However, they clearly made the best decision for the team, and if you doubt that, just look at Wes Welker. With that said, Baltimore is a team that has historically struggled against Indy, they have a hobbled sophomore QB who makes alot of mistakes, and a running back in Rice who is undersized, and got shot down in their previous meeting. Oh, and did I mention their secondary is greatly depleted sense the first meeting, and you need a good secondary to beat Indy
Indianapolis 34- Baltimore 17

Dallas vs Minnesota: Toughest game of the week to pick for me, by far. I have been riding Dallas for awhile now, and they haven't done anything to turn my back on them. However, everyone and their brother is picking Dallas, forgetting that this is the same Minny team that trounced the Giants and has, by far, the best Runningback left in this postseason (once again, I am not even convinced Rice is probowl caliber). Favre has been known to make big postseason mistake... but guess what... SO IS TONY ROMO. What I see is opportunity for big mistake, and a slight Minnesota win, but who really knows with this crazy game.
Minnesota 20- Dallas 19


New York Jets vs San Diego Chargers: Every part of me wants to pick the Jets. They have the best running game left, and the they have the one player who can shut down Vincent Jackson in Reves, and there is no chance the Chargers can run on the Jets. See, I am trying to convince myself the Jets can win... But when it is Rivers vs Sanchez, I just can't pull the trigger this round.
San Diego Chargers 29- New York Jets 16

Divisional Picks

No time for football this weekend. Colts over Ravens, Chargers over Jets, Vikings over Cowboys, and Cardinals over Saints.

I wanted to go with all four favorites, but thought that would be a bit of a cop out.

Wild Card Playoff Picks, Sunday

Don owned me all regular season, so why should the playoffs be any different? Here's hoping that I haven't completely lost my limited football forecasting skills.

I've noticed that I tend to pick with my heart a bit too often. I wanted to see the Bengals win yesterday, and I desperately wanted the Cowboys to lose. Parlaying those desires into picks did not work well for me yesterday. (I still stand by my assertion that the Cowboys aren't going anywhere, I'll qualify that now and say that they definitely are not winning the NFC.)

Today, I really would love to see the Patriots lose. I feel the same way about the Patriots as I do the Cowboys. In the AFC, unless you are the Colts or Chargers, you're just wasting everyone else's time. As for the NFC game, the news that this could be Kurt Warner's final season will likely have me rooting for the Cardinals.

So, today, I'm picking against my heart.

New England Patriots 24, Baltimore Ravens 14

Green Bay Packers 20, Arizona Cardinals 17

Wild Card Playoff Picks, Saturday

First of all, let me congratulate Don on a great year of picks. He handed it to me all year long. By the end of today, he should have this thing mathematically clinched, even though it's really been over for weeks now. Nice work, Don.

Now, for today's picks.

Cincinnati Bengals 16, New York Jets 10

I've been riding the Bengals all year, and there's no reason to stop now. Benson is rested, Ochocinco will be back, and the coaches won't be holding anything back, unlike last week. The goal for the Jets, clearly, is to make Mark Sanchez throw the ball as little as possible. Here's a fun bit of trivia: The last time Sanchez attempted 20 or more passes and the Jets won? Week 3 against the Titans. When the strategy for your starting quarterback is for him to throw as little as possible (and I don't care just how good your running game is, even the Titans let Vince Young throw the ball this year) it's not a good sign.

Philadelphia Eagles 31, Dallas Cowboys 21

Look, I know that there's a lot of hype for the Cowboys right about now, but neither of these teams is going far this postseason. Do we really trust Andy Reid or Wade Phillips? The Giants were awful this year, and even that mess managed to drop the Cowboys twice this year. The Eagles, meanwhile, cannot run the football and dropped an egg last week with a first round bye on the line. The X-Factor here, of course, is that Flozell Adams is always liable to take a cheap shot and injure the opposing team's best pass rusher. Assuming that doesn't happen (again), the Cowboys will be losing this one, I hope.

My Playoff Picks

Here we go:

Jets over Cincy: When I doubt, I am going to trust the best player on the field, and in my mind its far and away Darelle Reves.

Dallas over Philly: Maybe the toughest game of the weekend. I hate picking a team to win three times, but I think this is the year Dallas puts the past behind them, and finally wins a playoff game.

New England over Baltimore: Everyone is running from NE because of the fact they lost Welker. Its time to stand up and show that Welker is just another player that is part of the system and not a superstar.

Arizona over Greenbay: I love Greenbay as a contender. But I've picked Arizona four straight playoff games, and they won three of them... so I am at least going to start this playoffs that way