Welcome to the NFL Playoffs

I’m actually not overly ecstatic about these games this first weekend. Mainly because the greater intrigue this season are the 4 teams with byes...

Interestingly, the AFC is sporting a couple of rematches this weekend, and it seems inevitable that the winners from earlier may just be winning yet again...

3-San Diego vs. 6-Tennessee – San Diego beat Tennessee just a few weeks ago, when Tennessee somehow had a decent lead. The Titans actually look worse in a lot of ways than last year’s team that went on that insane 6-game winning streak near the end of 2006. During that run last year, the Titans scored 31, 24, 20, 26 24, and 30 points (an average of 26 ppg). Vince Young had a crappy 66.7 rating, with 12 TDs and 13 INTs, but had added 550 yards rushing. This season, Vince Young has a crappy 71 rating, but with only 9 TDs and 17 INTs, and only 400 yards rushing. It just doesn’t seem to be as good of a team, plus they finished the season 4-4 and almost lost to the Colts’ backups.
Pick: San Diego

4-Pittsburgh vs. 5- Jacksonville – Jacksonville put the smackdown on Pittsburgh a few weeks ago and I don’t see why this game will be any different. The Steelers are not going to be able to slow down the Jags running game, unless they put the field in really crappy shape (again) to even the playing field. Little known fact: Jags QB Garrard has a 102.2 Rating this season, as he only threw 3 INTs all season, which is good for 3rd in the league behind Brady and Roethlisberger.
Pick: Jacksonville

3-Seattle vs 6-Washington – Just like a couple of years ago, I don’t think the Redskins can go into Seattle and win a playoff game. The Todd Collins Fantastic Voyage ends here.
Pick: Seattle

4-Tampa vs. 5-Giants – This is probably the hardest game to pick, because it’s completely unclear to me how the Giants will play. Odds are, the Tampa defense, which regained its old form this year, should be able to force enough Eli Manning turnovers to win the game.
Pick: Tampa

Now I’m going to pick the whole playoff tree, but I’ll be back each week to pick the matchups. So, it’s time to get to what I’m seeing in my crystal ball (which never actually happens)…

AFC
San Diego goes to Indianapolis. The Colts give beat the snot out of the Chargers and force 3 Rivers’ INTs. Meanwhile, the Jaguars go to New England. The Jaguars are still mad about losing to the Patriots in the playoffs from 2 seasons ago, when the Jags lost 28-3. I think this game will be a lot closer than that game. Unfortunately, the Jags defense may be good, but even if the Jags give up 24 points, it could be difficult for the Jags to eek out more than 20 points. If the weather is shitty though, that should help reduce the chance of any long-bombs to Moss.

Finally, the rematch we’ve all been waiting for, Pats-Colts, takes place. ESPN decides to award the Pats the “ESPN NFL Championship” before the game, regardless of the outcome. This feat results in a lot of anger among the Colts, who are still angry about their earlier collapse to the Pats with a 10 point lead. With the game in New England though, the Colts end up falling short as Vinatieri misses a late FG. Irony sucks.

NFC
Seattle goes to Green Bay. Green Bay makes short work of the Seahawks with their big play ability by running and passing the ball.
Tampa goes to Dallas and also gets utterly destroyed by the big-play ability of the Dallas Cowboys. I know TO may be gimpy, but I think the Cowboys still have enough weapons to get through this game.
Finally, the rematch we’ve all been waiting for, Dallas-Green Bay, takes place. Peter King abruptly faints at the prospect of 2 of his favorite white QBs playing each other and writes mushy love letters all week about the prospect of either Favre going back to the Super Bowl or Romo reaching the big game for the first time. Romo's girlfriend, Jessica Simpson, does not show up at the game, to the relief of the Cowboys fans. Unfortunately for all the fans of the Cowboys though, Wade Phillips ends up getting distracted during the game, as he notices that Tony Romo is completely fixated on his daughter, Tracy Phillips, (who also is a dancer in the movie Charlie Wilson’s war) being in the stands. Finally, the announcers and the millions of viewers realize why Coach Wade Phillips is so agitated - it's because Tony Romo is also dating his daughter! With the distractions on the sideline for the QB and the coach, the Cowboys lose the game by 10 points.

Super Bowl
New England vs. Green Bay. The Same Super Bowl matchup of 11 years ago. It’s perhaps the most obnoxious Super Bowl coverage ever, with talk of Brett Favre now playing for 5 more years, and talk of Bill Belichick wearing an emperor’s gown all week because he’s that confident of winning and going 19-0. Belichick, as part of his plan to mess with the opposing team, eats at the exact same places that the Green Bay coaches eat at and gives them menacingly stares throughout Super Bowl week. In the end, it doesn’t matter, as the Pats destroy the Packers, and thus complete the perfect season. Finally, Belichick smiles in public, and the city of Boston celebrates yet again.

Final Stats From the Regular Season
ESPN Average: 150-106 (This seems rather low, given that so many favorites won this year. Maybe it’s counting people who forget to enter their picks???)
Yahoo “Average”: 168-88 (I found out that this is not an average, it’s just that if 51% of the nation picks a team, than that counts as one game correct. Basically, this is almost the same as “picking the favorites.”)
Peter King: 162-94
Me: 166-90 (last week was another stellar 12-4 outing… this was my best season yet. But as I’ve said before, I’m like the San Antonio Spurs, and I only pick well in the odd years for some reason.)
Manwich: 13-4 (thanks Redskins)
Upset Special: 8-9 (The Colts backups almost won the game. It’s too bad Vince Young got injured, because I was convinced he was going to lose the game for the Titans)