Conference Championship Game Picks

Aside from the Carolina-Cardinals game last week I was pretty much spot on last week.  I honestly don't regret that pick though.  How many people thought after Carolina marched down the field for a score, and then held the Cardinals, that this game would not be a blowout?  I also thought the Giants were going to come back, bust not get the cover on the Eagles, but Eli was Eli.   Last week I was 3-1, if you looked at my final scores I was 3-1 with the totals, so I think I will attempt to guess them this since there are only 4 possible bets on the board.   Pickin ATS for the Playoffs 5-3   Philly @ Arizona +4 49.5   Here we are, at the moment I have been fearing the most.  The Arizona Cardinals are one home game away from making it to the Super Bowl, and burying my foot in my mouth.  I originally started posting with how excited I was to bet against this team. I said they couldn't run or stop the run. I said Kurt Warner was a turnover waiting to happen. I lost some substantial wagers on them in this postseason, but luckily had the Steelers and Ravens to bail me out.   The Eagles have probably been an even bigger enigma than the Cardinals.  They tie the Bengals, McNabb gets benched against the Ravens, and the season is in disarray. This act is followed up by reeling off a few impressive victories, only to no show against the Redskins.  They get a blessing in a Raiders win over the Bucs, then beat th... [More]

Cards pull wool over our eyes

NFL Divisional Round Picks

I posted my picks for the wild card round last week, and failed at my goal of the perfect playoffs.  In reality I counted on 3-1, instead fell to 2-2 after the Westbrook screen in the Philly game.  However, I was correct in saying at some point in that game you would feel like if you were the coach of either team it would be an improvement.  Now onto this weeks picks.  I'm not even going to bother guessing totals since at this point anything can happen.   Baltimore @ Tennessee -3   Buckle up your chin straps for this contest, because this is going to be a good old fashioned smashmouth football game.  The teams are pretty much mirror images of one another.  Both teams have outstanding defenses, great ground attacks, and QB's considered to be game managers that have been able to make plays to win games.     When there is a matchup like this I generally side with the team who has the best player on the field.  It would be very hard to argue that on Saturday Ed Reed will not be the best player on the field.  Compound that with the fact Tennessee's passing game is comparable to the Miami passing game, and the fact is Kerry Collins is still Kerry Collins expect him to pick one off.  We all know when Ed Reed has the ball in his hands he is a threat to go to the house.  There will not be much relief in the ground game, last contest was the Titans worst rushing output of the season.   Injuries sho... [More]

Wild Card Round Picks

Much like espn.com's Bill Simmons it a life-long goal of mine to finish with a perfect playoffs.  The best I ever had was the 2006 playoffs where I went 9-1-1 and my one loss was cause I took Brady and the boys against Denver when he had yet to lose a playoff game.  That said this figures to be the toughest year I have seen in recent memory for pickin the opening round.   Atlanta @ Arizona PK 51 I posted a blog the other day to see if anyone was excited as I was to bet against Arizona.  Part of this was because that was how I really felt about that game, but I also wanted to hear what the other side of the argument was.  I was not given a good reason to take Arizona over the reasons I listed.  Turner will be able to run wild, Matty Ice will be able to make a few big plays when needed.  Arizona is no threat to run the ball, and Kurt Warner hasn't looked good in about 6 weeks.  Not to mention his proclivity for turning the ball over.   The Pick: Atlanta, slight lean on the under as well   Indianapolis @ San Diego +1.5 50   This is probably the most difficult game of the bunch to pick, which is not the norm for a 12-4 team playing an 8-8 team.  Then you consider the potential this 8-8 team has and how well they play, and how they have a history of playing the 12-4 team great.  There is not a scarier player in the NFL to have money against than Peyton Manning.  Whenever I have bet against him and won, ... [More]