Playoff Picks - Wild Card Round
Sometimes I'm not sure if anyone enjoys reading me picking the games.
I mean, I enjoy making them and all, but do they really serve a purpose?
Are people out there waiting with baited breath for my picks and counting on said picks in order to enjoy their weekend of NFL Playoff football?
Then I think back to January 6, 2007. My pick - Seahawks 21, Cowboys 20. Remember, when Tony Romo fumbled the snap on a potential game-winning kick?
Yeah, I picked that. Well, not that exactly. But I nailed the score.
And that's good enough reason for this blind squirrel to keep hoping he finds another nut, five years later.
This is a pretty good weekend of football.
I'm rooting hard for the Cincinnati Bengals. I know that they haven't beaten anyone of substance...but if we're being honest, not one team fighting for that sixth seed was doing great. And of those teams, Marvin Lewis was probably the coach who deserves the playoff win against the Houston Texans more than anyone else. (I've said tons about Marvin Lewis - hope you're a regular reader.) The Bengals this year became the anti-Jets - and isn't that a sign of hope that if you get rid of your headache players your team may be able to go out and make the playoffs, no matter who your quarterback is? Anyway, the Texans aren't going to be the cakewalk I expected they might be - their defense is quite good, and Andre Johnson makes any quarterback better...but I think Cincinnati squeaks by in this game. Bengals, 16-13
This is so important to remember in these playoffs: Many of the members of the current New Orleans Saints have won the Super Bowl. And many of those same players were on the team that lost to the 7-9 Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the playoffs one year ago. Do you think they're going to let that happen again? Sorry, Detroit Lions fans, but they're not, and your team is going to pay the price. I'm not sure yet if the Saints are going to take that revenge factor all the way to this year's Super Bowl...but I know they'll win big in the first round of the playoffs. That's what Super Bowl-caliber teams do. Saints, 41-21
Long-time readers may know that I can't pick the Atlanta Falcons games to save my life. This year's readers may remember that the New York Giants were my 2011 foil. Guess who has no idea what's going to happen at 1pm on Sunday? I've completely lost faith in the Falcons as a Super Bowl contender - remember the past couple of years I was huge on them. And because I've lost faith in them......that's why I'm picking them to win on Sunday. Atlanta, 24-20
And finally, the banged-up Pittsburgh Steelers go to Denver in the last game of the weekend. The Broncos are reeling, and things won't get any better this week. The Denver defense will keep it somewhat close...but I don't see the Steelers defense giving up too much to Tim Tebow. Steelers, 20-10
So, to recap, with a graphic courtesy of the Southern Bureau:
And finally, I rounded up some friends of '200 Miles From the Citi' for their thoughts on this weekend:
Justin from Sports Crackle Pop!: Bengals, 21-17; Saints, 45-24; Giants, 24-20; and Broncos, 13-10.
Dave from Ann Arbor, MI (previously Brighton, MA): Texans, 17-10; Saints, 35-31; Falcons, 28-27; Steelers, 20-17 (Dave is the luckiest sports fan I know. He has attended Rex Sox no-hitters, moves to Michigan and suddenly the University of Michigan is relevant in football once more, and the Detroit Lions are back in the playoffs after two decades. In other words, take these picks to the bank.)
The Southern Bureau: Texans, 17-13; Saints, 42-29; Falcons, 28-17; Steelers, 35-3
And, since we're (I'm) bragging about predictions here, I posted this on Twitter Friday, might as well share it here...and I will put this in tomorrow's Sunday Paper as well, so don't you fret about that - This post from July 27, 2010 shows that if we're being honest with ourselves as Jets fans, the end-of-season debacle should come as no surprise - check out what I put as the #1 thing to know about the 2010 Jets.
