Divisional Playoffs!

Before I get to the divisional playoffs, I feel the need to address the NCAA BCS Championship. For whatever it's worth, I think that OSU actually played well. By "well" I mean both LSU and OSU gained similar amounts of yards, and they forced LSU into a number of punts. Of course LSU had some long plays, but so did OSU. Obviously, there's just no way to overcome 3 turnovers, 5 personal fouls, 1 blocked FG, and the fumble that loses you 30 yards on 4th down. All in all, the BCS Championship was really night and day compared to last year's game, where OSU appeared overmatched on every play. OSU was not overmatched in this game at all and I believe they actually played “well” (outside of the large number of mistakes)….now back to our regular programming…

Seattle @ Green Bay – Mike Holmgren gets to coach against his old team (again). This game actually could turn into a good one, depending on the weather forecast, which would allow Seattle to utilize its passing game. In the end, I’ll just go with the home team on this one.
Pick: Green Bay

NY Giants @ Dallas – Which Eli is going to show up on Sunday? Cool, calm, collected, "Ferris Bueller" Eli? Or sloppy, hungover, clumsy, Peyton's Degenerate Little Brother Eli? If the Giants play perfectly, they could have a chance. However, you can’t really bank on perfection of Eli to turn into Ferris Bueller every week. He's just not that cool. Pick: Dallas

San Diego @ Indy – I actually think that Indy’s going to destroy San Diego. Actually, though Indy narrowly lost earlier in the season to San Diego, but that was when Peyton threw SIX Interceptions. That’s not happening again. On another random note of something “not happening again”, I caught part of the American Gladiators this past week. Bringing back American Gladiators was smart in my mind, but the problem is some idiot was left to direct the show. They have less events, but now with more interviews by Hulk Hogan! That’s not what I was looking for. Plus, the interviews aren’t even good conversation. Typically, Hulk Hogan will ask a very direct question, like: “How did you feel before you got yanked down off those rings?” Contestant: “I was definitely scared!” The part that makes the American Gladiators UNWATCHABLE though is the fact that they have 10 camera angles, and they switch between each camera every 0.7 seconds, making it utterly impossible to follow any of the events. During one of my old favorites, Assault, they switched camera angles 3 times as the ball was launched towards the contestant and then I wasn’t even sure if she got hit. At least they stayed with the theme of having a short, round-looking referee.
Pick: Indy

Jacksonville @ New England – this is the matchup I’ve been salivating over all season. As shown in Pittsburgh last week, Jacksonville can play dominating football. Of course, they only did it for one half last week, which certainly wouldn’t be good enough against the Patriots. However, if there ever was going to be a formula for beating the Patriots, you’d have to assume it would be a team that can run the ball and play defense to limit the number of possessions that New England has. I don’t have the balls of steel to pick the Jags, but I think this game could be a dandy.
Pick: New England

Last week: 3-1 (I didn’t count on Eli playing so well)