Just for anyone who would like to know, there has been a greater percentage of home teams losing during the wild card weekend in the years past. This of course means that the road teams have been in the habit of upsetting the home teams and sending them home for the season before they even have the chance to leave home! That was most certainly not the case this last week as the home teams dominated and went 4-0 in the Wild Card Weekend.
So let the countdown to the Divisional Playoffs begin! By the time I get this message posted we’ll be 119 hours and 31 minutes away from the first scheduled game time. Our AFC and NFC bye week winners have had their time to get ready and we’re all in at game time this weekend! So lets get down and dirty with this weekends Divisional Playoff Picks!!!
- Saturday, January 13, 2007
Indianapolis Colts @ Baltimore Ravens
This looks to be the first matchup of the season between these two teams. So there isn’t any past games to compare with. And where weather has played a factor with Peyton Manning in the past, it doesn’t look like Baltimore will get any severe weather to speak of at this time. In fact, current forecasts are showing 55 degrees, breezy and mild, and a low chance of rain. Sounds like a nice evening to me. So this matchup is going to come down head to head between two teams fighting for their spot in the AFC Championship game. Peyton Manning will find it hard to move the ball against the rough and tough defense of the Ravens. As a whole, this defense is perhaps the best defense in the NFL. Expect Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes to struggle for any yards they may gain and Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison will have to beat their covers in order to give Manning anything to work with. The big question this week will be Jamal Lewis. Can the Colts defense maintain the level of intensity they displayed against Larry Johnson? Or do they revert back to the weak run defense we have all come to know this year. If Jamal Lewis has a big game against this Colts defense, then this game is over and the Colts will miss the Big Game once again. As it stands however, I see the Home team with another win in this game.
Ravens spoil another year for Peyton Manning.
8:00pm on FOX
Philadelphia Eagles @ New Orleans Saints
This game has got my vote for matchup of the week. There are so many possibilities as the Eagles make the trip down to New Orleans. With Andy Reid finally deviating away from the dominate passing game the Eagles have know for years, Brian Westbrook is finally being given his shining moment in the spot light. Always a great running back, in my opinion, Westbrook has been overlooked for years because of his lack of carries. However, with Donovan McNabb out, Reid has began to call more rushing plays and Westbrook has caught fire! So with both the Saints and the Eagles ranked high in Pass Defense, but low in Rush Defense, this game looks to be a foot race to the endzone. Who can run faster? Brian Westbrook or Deuce McAllister? I’m giving the foot race to Brian Westbrook, but I don’t think I’m ready to give him the game. Even with the Eagles highly ranked pass defense, Drew Brees and his number one ranked pass offense will teeter this team over the edge as Marques Colston and Reggie Bush continue to light up the scoreboard.
Saints march on toward their Superbowl dream
- Sunday, January 14, 2007
Seattle Seahawks @ Chicago Bears
The Seahawks survived an amazing end to a fourth quarter that should have had them home on their couch watching the game this weekend instead of entering into Soldier Field, but that’s just the way the ball drops sometimes. The Bengals discovered it back in Denver several weeks ago, and now Tony Romo and the Cowboys have ended their season on it. So do the Seahawks think they can escape with another win against the Bears this weekend? The Bears defense has proven to be brutal at times this year and have been especially strong against the run. This could prove to be a problem for Shaun Alexander who is a great running back, but a little up and down since his return from injury this year. Only averaging 3.6 yards a carry this year, the Bears defense may be more than he can handle this week. So expect Matt Hasselbeck to struggle with his passing game if they are unable to establish a dominating run game. Hasselbeck has thrown for 18 TDs this year, but has countered that with 15 INTs. However, the Bears offense isn’t a shining star either as they enter into this week. Rex Grossman has just had some down right awful games this year and could very well end the Bears season on turnovers having already chalked up 20 INTs on the year. So if this game is going to be won by the home team, and I expect that it will be, it’s going to be done on the backs of the Bears Defense, but with a little help from the legs of Thomas Jones. This game will be close, and the scoring will be extremely low…that is if the Seahawks don’t turn the ball over a lot.
Bears advance to the next round
4:30pm on CBS
New England Patriots @ San Diego Chargers
The Patriots knew what it would take to defeat the Jets and played their game plan to the letter. Tom Brady cannot be overlooked in any game, especially in the post season. As much as I dislike the Patriots and can’t stand to see them in the playoffs once again, I can’t disrespect Brady. He is truly one of the greatest quarterbacks in the game! Without any true superstars to throw to down the field, Brady can make any receiver his target and make that receiver the star player for that day! Of course, with that being said, Brady is going to have to battle it out on the playing field with an extremely strong Chargers defense to keep pace with another super force of the NFL in LaDainian Tomlinson. LT has been a touchdown scoring machine this year as he has marked 28 TDs on the season. That’s four more touchdowns than Brady has thrown and LT doesn’t have the 12 INTs. Nope, I’m afraid that the Chargers have been ranked the number one team in the NFL for a reason, and winning at home has been what they do best. Brady is going to get picked this week, and LT is going to show the Patriots offense why he is the MVP this year.
Chargers Charge on the Superbowl
All times are Eastern Standard Time
And that wraps it up for this week’s Divisional Playoff games. I do realize that I have picked all home teams this week and being as how the home teams went 4-0 last week, this could be a recipe for disaster in my picks this week, but that is how I see them. Most all of these games could go the other way, but that’s why we enjoy making predictions so much. Good Luck to everyone this week.
Silver Dragon
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