Spread Em: Wild Card Weekend

The regular season is over, and we now enter the dangerous waters of the playoffs. I'm not sure what happened this season, but somehow, someway, I managed to get more games right than I did wrong. Consider it another sign that the world will be coming to an end soon, right there with global warming. The playoffs, though, they're a different story. Will I wilt under the pressure, or rise above the rest of my non-existent competition like the virile beast I am? I don't know, I'm just hoping this paragraph is long enough at this point to "cover" the photo to it's right. So let's just get on with the picks.

Saturday Games

Seahawks vs. Redskins (+3.5) - One thing I didn't mention in the intro paragraph? Despite the record I had this regular season picking games, I still didn't beat Panger in our own personal pool on Yahoo. So not only did I lose to a girl, but now that girl's team is in the playoffs while my Bears sit at home on their asses. Then to make matters worse, I'm actually picking the damn Redskins to go into Seattle and walk out of there with a victory. (Seriously, Panger, can you send me my balls back? They're in that jar above your mantle.) I'm knee deep in the Todd Collins Kool-Aid, as he's played exceptionally well in the place of Jason Campbell these last few weeks. Of course, the play of Clinton Portis hasn't hurt either, as he's been phenomenal over the last month. Another factor in my picking Washington? The weather in Seattle on Saturday is going to be rainy and very windy, which is going to hurt Seattle's passing attack. That means they're going to have to rely on Shaun Alexander a lot more than they have been, and if you haven't seen Alexander this season, well, there's a reason the Seahawks have been a passing team this season. He won't have much more success against Washington's defense either.

Steelers (+3) vs. Jaguars - I should probably tell you that I'm rooting for the Jaguars in this game. Since the Bears aren't in the playoffs, I've adopted Jacksonville as my pet team, which is actually the trendy pick this postseason. I'm not doing it to be cool though, I'm doing it because the Jags play the style of football I enjoy the most. They're a tough running team, with a very tough defense. Kinda like what the Steelers used to be. So why am I taking Pittsburgh and the points? Well, it sure as hell isn't because the Steelers have impressed me lately. No, it's because Jacksonville already won in Pittsburgh earlier this season, and in the NFL it's very tough to beat the same team twice in one season. Let alone doing it both times on the road. So with that in mind, I have to take Pittsburgh, but I hope I'm wrong.

Sunday Games

Buccaneers vs. Giants (+3) - God help me, I'm taking Eli Manning in a playoff game. See, this right here is why I hate the NFC so much. Neither of these teams has a chance to get to the NFC Championship, as the winner will get beat by whomever they face next week. I know Jeff Garcia beat the Giants with Philadelphia in the playoffs last season, but Tampa won it's division with a 9-7 record. Oh wow, you're a divison champ, but you still suck. Also, whether you like him or not, Eli hasn't played too bad lately and now that Plaxico Burress is finally getting healthy it's only going to help him out.

Chargers (-10) vs. Titans - The only reason the Titans are in the playoffs is because they got to play a Colts team that was resting it's starters, and they still barely won that game. Vince Young left the game with an injury, but Kerry Collins came in and the Titans actually looked better of without Young under center. I've no idea what's happened to Vince this season, but it's incredibly disappointing. The Chargers meanwhile have been rolling the last few weeks, and it's all because they remembered that handing the ball to LaDainian Tomlinson equals success. Also the addition of Chris Chambers has proven to be a big help to Philip Rivers as he now has another option aside from Antonio Gates to throw too. In the end, San Diego will just prove to be too powerful for the Titans, and then Rivers will talk a ton of shit despite the fact he'll have gone 14/27 for 189 yards, a touchdown, and an interception on the day.

Last Week: 7-8

Overall: 127-105-9

All spreads courtesy of Bodog