NFL Playoffs - Divisional Round

>So my wildcard predictions were all but awful, but whatever. I wasn’t as bad as Bill Simmons, who not only went 0-4, but, as he acknowledges in his current column, could not have been more wrong about the playoffs in general. This weeks games should be better for the most part than last week. I would like to take this time to brag about pinpointing the Packers/Cardinals game for exactly how it went. I said it would be the game of the week (obviously was), least watched game (it was, though the second half ratings grew significantly), an offensive shoot-out (obviously was), and would be won on defense (and a miss-called face mask). The only thing I had wrong was the team winning. Go figure.

NFC Divisional Playoffs

Cardinals (4) at Saints (1)

Sat 4:30 PM

Background – So it took a while but the Cardinals’ defense finally made a play to stop Aaron Rodgers. Great. Now if only it didn’t take 45 points to do so. Drew Brees and the Saints offense would figure to also have their way against the Cardinals defense. This should be another shootout, as New Orleans’ defense will struggle against Kurt Warner and the Arizona offense too. Anquan Boldin is not expected to play, but Larry Fitzgerald, Steve Breaston, and last week’s hero and one of the top names ever, Early Doucet, should pick up the slack.

Pressure’s On: DREW BREES. The Saints haven’t won since mid-December, and the pressure from that monkey falls squarely on Brees to get them back in rhythm in the playoffs. The Cardinals are going to score, so it’s imperative that Brees matches Warner TD for TD. Aaron Rodgers had the game of his life but just had one big mistake, and that’s why he’s no longer playing. Brees can’t have that mistake.

Prediction – SAINTS: 38, CARDINALS 31. The fireworks will go off from both sides, but something tells me the excitement of the people of the bayou in the Superdome will fuel the Saints to victory while the Cardinals will be forced into a couple mistakes. The rule is don’t pick a road team in the divisional round unless you REALLY like them, and that’s not the case with the Cardinals.

AFC Divisional Playoffs

Ravens (6) at Colts (1)

Sat 8:00 PM

Background – These teams know each other real well, and they played this year in November, with the Colts taking the game 17-15. In that game the Ravens simply could not punch it into the endzone, and the Colts defense picked up the slack when their offense had an off game. You would have to think that the offense would be back this week, looking to finally play again after their long layoff. The Ravens will utilize Ray Rice and Willis McGahee to keep Peyton Manning on the sidelines. But if they keep him there long enough, he may film another one of those DirecTV commercials with Justin Timberlake.

Pressure’s On: PEYTON MANNING. Yes, the QB on the other side had 34 yards and a QB rating of 10.0, but the truth is, the Ravens could have that again this week and STILL WIN. The Colts live, breathe, and move in the form of Peyton Manning. The Colts may have some rust with their decision to rest players, and it’ll be up to Manning to get everyone in midseason form and shake that rust.

Prediction – COLTS 34, RAVENS 20. I don’t think the Colts will take long to shake off their rust, since Peyton Manning is easily the best QB of my generation. The Ravens will contend most of the game, relying Rice and McGahee to move the chains and keep the clock running. However, the Colts’ offense will force the Ravens to get plays out of the passing game, and the pass rush of Indy will just be too much for Flacco and the offensive line to handle.

NFC Divisional Game

Cowboys (3) at Vikings (2)

Sun 1:00 PM

Background – The Cowboys won a playoff game! Now America’s team must stop America’s QB, Brett Favre. Tony Romo grew up watching Brett Favre, and looks up to him. Brett Favre sees a lot of him in Romo. Could this be a passing of the torch?? Or a grizzly old vet showing the young-gun that he is still king?? Will I be able to think of another cliché about this game?? Yeah, probably. And so will Joe Buck. You’ll hear about 50 of them.

Pressure’s On: BRETT FAVRE. Well, here it is, Brett. The playoffs are here. This is why you came back. This is why you went to a team who has yet to won a Super Bowl, but was a QB short of one in most people’s minds. This is the NFL. On Fox.

Prediction – VIKINGS: 23, COWBOYS: 26. The Cowboys look like the best team in the NFC right now, at least recently. The Vikings pass rush will force Tony Romo to make quick decisions, but I have a feeling he will outdo Favre, who will also have not much time to throw. Miles Austin and Roy Williams (yes, Roy Williams) will both have big games, as will Percy Harvin, who got healthy during the break. So why the Cowboys, Adam? You must REALLY like them, right? Well, I do. I like them to win the turnover battle, play smarter football, and get the big plays from their playmakers. Look for someone on Minnesota to make a key turnover late. I have a hunch his name will rhyme with “STARVE”.

AFC Divisional Playoff

Jets (5) at Chargers (1)

Sun 4:45 PM

Breakdown – In this corner, you have Philip Rivers, LaDainian Tomlinson, and the 20+ point scoring machine that is the San Diego Chargers. In the other corner, you have Darelle Revis, David Harris, and the best defense in the playoffs. This is the NFL. On CBS. The Chargers will look to utilize their arsenal of offensive weapons. If Revis shuts down the talented Vincent Jackson, look for Rivers to spread the ball around to Malcolm Floyd, Darren Sproles, and all-pro tight end Antonio Gates. Meanwhile the Jets will most likely run the ball early and often against a weak run defense, and use the run to set up the play-action for big plays downfield. Big plays that Braylon Edwards will most likely drop.

Pressure’s On: THOMAS JONES and SHONN GREENE. The only way the Jets win this game (let alone stay in it) is if they can run the ball. If they are unable to get anything going, and the great pass defense of the Chargers know that the Jets are passing, just turn this game off. Otherwise it’ll be a whole stadium of people doing this. “What it do??”

Prediction – CHARGERS: 30, JETS: 20. The Jets are very talented, particularly on defense. And this is actually a pretty good matchup for them, since their biggest strength is the Chargers’ biggest weakness. But the thing is, the Jets’ weaknesses on defense are also some of the Chargers’ strengths. Rivers doesn’t really use Jackson as a number one; rather he has no problem dumping it off to the speedy Sproles, going deep to Floyd, and going over the middle to Antonio Gates, the latter being the key player for San Diego. Here’s another thing, why is there all this talk of the Jets having SWAGGER? Please. This is the team that got rid of Eric Barton in the offseason, and no one on the corner has swagger like him (thank you). Again, I’m not picking road teams in the divisional round unless I REALLY like them. Not the case here. Chargers move on.