Indy and its MVP? See ya later. The Falcons and their rookie of the year? Umm, no. The resurgent Dolphins and the comeback player of the year? Nice try. The Viqueens and the QB about whom I can say nothing of note? Buh bye.
From 12 to 8 and dropping like flies. The NFC North made like the Lie Downs and went oh fer nuthin in the playoffs. Same with the AFC East. Who saw that coming after last year? This weekend will see an NFC East winner. And perhaps even an NFC West surprise, though doubtful. And could the AFC championship game be an AFC North slugfest? Not if the Titans and Chargers have anything to say about it. The games are getting tougher to choose...
Baltimore @ Tennessee
This may prove to be the best game of the weekend. And that's saying a lot. The last time the Ravens won against the Titans in the playoffs, they won a Super Bowl. Against the Giants no less. But the Titans have had their own big win against the Ravens in 2003; the roles reversed, the Wild Card Titans gave AFC North Champion Baltimore an early exit. What will happen tomorrow? Both defenses come to play. I think Collins goes down a few times. And so does Flacco. A low scoring game overall. The name of this game? Turnovers. I think the team with the most turnovers has the fewest points in the end. TD chooses: Tennessee Titans
Arizona @ Carolina
Stat of the week. The Arizona Cardinals are 2-20 in the Eastern Time Zone in their last 22 games. Are you kidding me? That's a 9% winning percentage. NINE. The Carolina Panthers are 9-0 at home. Again, NINE. If the Cardinals hope to win, I think they need a few miracles along the way. Life Edgerrin James running twice as well as he did last weekend. And Boldin and Fitzgerald not dropping a thing. And Warner playing like he did in the greatest show on turf. Possible? Yes. Whisenhunt can obviously motivate his team. But this Cardinal team is not playing an upstart team that's just happy to be there. John Fox has his team playing and believing that they can go all the way. I'm all about miracles. And I'll probably be rooting for the Cards. But I can't, in good conscience, choose them. TD chooses: Carolina Panthers
Philadelphia @ New York Football Giants
I find it somewhat ironic that the Iggles are in a similar position to that of last year's Giants. A Wild Card winner on a tear. AND in this game last year, the Giants knocked off the heavily favored NFC East Champion Dallas Cowboys in Texas Stadium. I've heard many people say that this is the upset of the weekend just waiting to happen. But, I think there's one significant difference between last year's NFC East Divisional playoff game and this year's. That's about 40 degrees with a wind chill feeling about 20 degrees below that. There is a winter storm warning for the area according to the Weather Channel that will bring a significant amount of snow prior to the game. And it doesn't promise to get any warmer. That means the running game becomes all the more important. You won't see many bombs in this game. It's going to be an old fashioned NFC East slugfest. Yes, I envision the Eagles getting some points throwing underneath where the Giants don't cover well. But in the end, I see a healthy dose of Ward and Jacobs floating like a butterfly and pounding like a Mack truck respectively. TD chooses: New York Football Giants
San Diego @ Pittsburgh
The last game of the weekend sees the Bolts visiting the Steelers in a rematch of the only 11-10 game in NFL history. In that earlier game, the Bolts somehow matched defensive wits with the consistently defensively minded Steelers. And now, in this game the Chargers come in with a 5 game winning streak and a perseverance seen by champions. There will likely be no appearance by LT. But DS seems just as ready to carry the load with Michael Bennett throwing in a few runs for good measure. Philip Rivers is playing like he wants a Super Bowl. And the Chargers D is ready to face anything any team seems to throw at them. But they're in Steeler territory. And it's not easy to win there. And doubly difficult during the playoffs. Don't underestimate Big Ben who knows how to win, even with a concussion. And don't underestimate that defense on their home turf in the frigid cold. Again, I think the running game wins this one, and I'm just not sure that Sproles is up for leading his team in that weather. TD chooses: Pittsburgh Steelers
2 comments:
I have to agree with your picks, but then again I did last week as well. That's why they play the games. It's hard to believe that the season is almost over. It just goes by way too fast... Let's hope the defending Champs can make it back-to-back Championships.
Damn! You are the kiss of death. Balt won and Cards won. Please recant and pick Philly!
GO JINTS!
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