NFL Wildcard Weekend

It's that happy time of year!! NFL Playoff time. There is no time of year I enjoy as much. There are no playoffs I enjoy as much. With all that said, it's about time I broke down this weekend's games, and picked some winners.

(Note: All spreads mentioned are current as of January 5th)


Washington Redskins at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-3)
You know the NFC is taking a lot of flak this year from football fans. A lot of people are talking about how weak it is. Well ya in truth the AFC is stronger from top to bottom, but think of how good the NFC playoffs will be. All the teams in the NFC bracket are very evenly matched. It should make for some very entertaining games.

If this first matchup of the postseason is half as good as the regular season meeting was I'll be satisfied. Tampa beat the Skins earlier this year 36-35 on a 2 point conversion late. Much like this game, it was played in Tampa.

The Redskins are riding a 5 game win streak, but after seeing them struggle in Week 17 at Philadelphia with their season on the line, it kinda confirmed some of my worries about this team. The truth is they are a lot better at home than they are on the road. Also with Brian Kelly and Ronde Barber in the Tampa secondary, I think the Bucs can keep the reins on Santana Moss. Moss will probably get some yards, but I don't think he'll score. Clinton Portis could pose a problem for the Tampa defense. His patience and cutback ability should take advantage of the Bucs pursuit driven defense. Look for Portis to bust at least a couple of big runs. The key will be how often he finds the endzone.

Where I see a large problem for the Bucs will be on their offensive line. I just don't think that it's all that strong, and with the way the Washington defense has been playing lately I think they could be in Chris Simms' grill all day. Also with problems on the offensive line I think the Skins can keep Cadillac Williams wrapped up.

The biggest key to this game will be the Tampa Bay defense. Whether they can produce a couple of big turnovers and plays will decide this one. If they don't, I just don't think the Bucs will be able to beat the Redskins. I really think that this game will be the closest and most exciting of all the wild card round matchups.

My final score:Washington 21 Tampa Bay 20


Jacksonville Jaguars at New England Patriots (7.5)
Unlike the NFC side of the pairings, I think the AFC has a couple of blowouts this weekend. This will be the first one. The Patriots are healthy now for about the first time this season. Though MLB Tedy Bruschi may be missing this game, I still don't think Jacksonville poses that big of a roadblock to the Patriots.

Yes the Jaguars went 12-4, but they played an incredibly weak schedule. I know they didn't choose whom they played but they definetely benefited from it. Also the fact that the Jaguars were able to beat bad teams, but keep the games close scares me. (Ex: Jaguars 10 49ers 9) Throw in the fact that they will either have Byron Leftwich in at QB in his first game in weeks, or David Garrard and things don't look much better. Garrard isn't a bad QB, but he's not exactly someone that makes you worry.

Now let's look at the other things going against the Jaguars.

1. They're playing the Patriots
2. They're playing the Patriots in the playoffs
3. They're playing the Patriots in the playoffs in Foxboro
4. They're playing the Patriots in the playoffs in Foxboro with Tom Brady having the best season of his career.

Tom Brady carried this team on his back all year, and now he has his horses back. Corey Dillon will get the tough yards, while Brady will pick the Jaguars defense apart 7 yards at a time. He'll also occasionally sprinkle in that 40-50 yard pass.

My final score: New England 31 Jacksonville 10

Carolina Panthers at New York Giants(-3)

Yet another really good matchup in the NFC. This game is the biggest question mark to me. It really depends on which Carolina Panther team shows up.

Will we see the incredibly balanced Panther attack or the one dimensional offense? The Panthers NEED, and I mean NEEEEEEED a running game if they want to beat the Giants. If they are forced to rely on dropping Delhomme back to pass every play Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora will make Jake's day a nightmare. Look at the Carolina at Chicago game as an example. The Panthers were on the road, and could not run the ball. As a result the Bears DE's were able to just pin their ears back and go. As a result they ended up with 7 sacks and an estimated 392 QB hurries.

The Giants offense will revolve around Tiki Barber. I look at Tiki and I always think "Nope. He is not that good." Well he is. I'm wrong. A lot of people are questioning whether Eli Manning can have a good enough game to help the Giants win. I don't think he really has to do all that much. Get anywhere around 200 yards and a TD and I think the Giants win as long as Tiki gets his touches. The Giants biggest question mark in fact is not Eli, but their defense right now. There are no problems on the line, but just about every linebacker on the Giants roster is out of the game with an injury. This could really hinder their ability to shut down any Panther running game.

Much like the TB/Wash game I think this one is going to come down to which team makes the least mistakes. It's a very tough one to call.

My final score: New York 17 Carolina 14

Pittsburgh(-3) at Cincinnati

I don't think this game will be all that close either. The thing is I'm thinking the Steelers are the ones who run away with it.

For the last few weeks these teams have been moving in the complete opposite direction. The Steelers are pounding their opposition like was expected of them all season long, and the Bengals looked like they couldn't care less the last few weeks of the season. There is a reason that Pittsburgh is the only favored road team of all the matchups this week.

It's the third meeting of the two division rivals this year, the previous two being split. In the first matchup the Steelers imposed their will on the Bengals and beat them. In the second the Steelers tried to keep pace with the Bengals in a shootout, and lost(though they kept it close much to my surprise). This time the Steelers play their style of football again. The Bengal defense hasn't been very good stopping the run this year, and should expect a steady diet of Willie Parker and Jerome Bettis all day long. This will wear the Bengals down, and most importantly keep the Bengal offense off the field.

Make no mistakes about it though, I think that the Bengals have a very good offense. It's just that right now their defense is going to keep them from going anywhere in the playoffs THIS year. Give Marvin Lewis another year to get more of his kinda guys in there, and another year for the defense with his scheme under their belt, and I think Bengal fans are going to enjoy football again for a while. Just not this year.

My final score:Pittsburgh 24 Cincinnati 14

Random Thoughts

• Think Vince Young is still upset about not winning the Heisman after last night's Rose Bowl? Good Lord what a football player. I've been a huge Reggie Bush guy all season, but at this point I'm upset I didn't get to see more Longhorn games this year. As far as what he will be able to do in the NFL, I'm not sure. There is a lot of concern over his throwing mechanics, but he completes like 65% of his passes. Throw it underhand for all I care if you're gonna complete them at that rate.
• Wondering to myself the other day...Did Miguel Tejada not know the Orioles sucked when he signed with them a few years ago? Why not just buy a house on an Ancient Indian Burial ground and wonder why the walls are bleeding?
• I probably wouldn't have minded seeing Brady Quinn's sister so much during the Fiesta Bowl if she were a lot better looking. Prototypical Butterface Girl. (As in, Everythings pretty but her face.)
• Congratulations to Joe Paterno and the Penn State Nittany Lions for winning the Orange Bowl. Though instead of FedEx, shouldn't the AARP have sponsored the game?
• As Aaron asked, would there be anything more exciting than a College Football playoff system? Look at how great the BCS games all were this year. Imagine if all those teams really had something to play for.
• I hope Keith Jackson never retires.
• I wish Brent Musberger would retire.
• Odds I could walk onto a college football team and get a scholarship as a kicker next season: 3/1
• The Detroit Pistons are a great basketball team. They'll win the NBA Championship.
• The Cubs signed veteran Marquis Grissom to a minor league contract this week. Buy those World Series tickets now Cub fans.
• I can't be the only one who thinks the Packers firing of Mike Sherman is based less on his record, and more on wanting Favre to retire can I? Seriously, the Packers didn't want to have to deal with a situation like last season waiting on #4 to make up his mind. Instead they decided to force his hand.
• Mike Martz will coach in Oakland next season, write it down. He likes to pass, and he's a bad coach. In other words he's everything Al Davis likes in a Head Coach.