Playoffs?

Wild Card weekend is down in the books and what a wild weekend it was. I was 3-1 in my picks for the weekend. I picked Denver, Cincy, New York and New Orleans to win, I should have picked Houston. My initial thought process on that was I wasn't sold on Yates, and thought Dalton would have the better day. I clearly underestimated the Houston defense, and of course, did not factor in the impact of Arian Foster. Congrats to the Texans on their first playoff win. They're going to have a tough game ahead against Baltimore this weekend.

The Saints-Detroit game started out as the track meet we thought it would be, but in the 2nd half New Orleans got on a roll and the Lions were just unable to catch up. I expected this game to be a little closer, but New Orleans is just so tough to beat at home. They are going to have a very tough game next weekend against San Francisco. The 49'ers offense may not be as explosive at New Orleans, but that defense it super tough. Especially against the run. Brees will have to throw a lot of touchdowns (which is not usually a problem) because if I recall correctly, the 49'ers have yet to give up a rushing touchdown this year.

The Giants had a pretty easy win against the Falcons. I'm not sure what happened to Atlanta but their offense completely fell apart and the Giants defense did not allow them to score any points. The only points Atlanta got were from a safety. For a bit the game looked like a really bad lopsided baseball game score. And I have to say, is there any team right now that is hotter than the Giants? Manning was solid with 277 yards and 3 TD's. And while Victor Cruz has been the star receiver of late, today's game saw Hicks re-emerge as Eli's top wideout. The Giants running game has steadily improved since early December and Bradshaw and Jacobs combined for 150+ yards on the ground. And the Giants defense has been solid. I still stand by my original pick of the Giants to go to the Super Bowl. I know many thought I was crazy but I don't think so. They have a great shot at beating Green Bay next weekend. Sure, Rodgers is a beast. But Green Bay's defense? Not so great. The Giants defense can pressure Rodgers. Plus, the Giants almost handed Green Bay their first loss in December when they played last. It is definitely possible. If anyone thinks this game will be an easy win for Green Bay, or the Giants for that matter, they are mistaken. I think this is going to be a really close tough game and it will come down to the wire.

What can I say about the Denver-Pittsburgh game. How is it that Tebow threw for over 300 yards, 2 TD's and only had 10 completions? I picked Denver to win this game because I liked the fact that they were playing at home and the Steelers were beat up with Big Ben hurt and no Mendenhall. When Tebow threw that pass to Thomas to score the winning touchdown on the first play of OT, I was stunned. Simply just could not believe what I just saw. Wow. Say what you will about Tebow. Is he the best QB out there? Absolutely not. But what I see in Tebow and this Denver team is passion to win. And that game tonight was fun to watch. I like rooting for guys like Tebow. He seems like a genuinely good guy. Big Ben? Not really a standout guy personally. I can respect his talent, just like Michael Vick for instance, but do not care for the guy. Tebow is a class act both on and off the field (so far anyway, we all know how fame can change a person). I'm happy for the Broncos. They should enjoy this win, because their next stop is New England, and even though New England's defense is atrocious, I think they are going to have a really tough time in that game.

Which leads me to my picks for this coming weekend's Divisional Playoffs...

Denver vs New England: As much as I would love to see the Broncos pull off another amazing win, I think the magic stops here. The Patriots at home are super tough to beat (as a Colts fan, I know this all too well) and despite New England's horrid defense, I think Tom Brady will be able to out duel Tebow. I'd like to be wrong, but gotta go with the Patriots here.

San Francisco vs New Orleans: This is a difficult matchup. Most would say New Orleans for sure, because Brees is a much better QB than Alex Smith. However, the Saints have to play in San Francisco and struggle more on the road. And the 49'ers defense is not going to make this easy for them. And let's face it, New Orleans defense is okay, but they've let a lot of teams rack up points against them. And New Orleans lost to the Rams. If Brees is pressured and that O-line starts to fall apart, watch out. I think this will be another close game, I don't think this will be a 40+ point day for Brees, I'd say the game will probably end up being 28-24 or something, and I do think that the 49'ers will triumph in the end and win at home. My pick is the 49'ers.

Baltimore vs Houston: The Texans had a very impressive win this weekend against Cincinnati, and I'm so happy for them and the fans that they got their first playoff win. However, I do not see them getting past Baltimore. Baltimore's defense will make it hard for Foster to get a running game going, and Yates is okay at QB, but he's still a rookie and that Baltimore defense will be all over him. Plus Baltimore is playing at home. Baltimore wins this one.

Green Bay vs Giants: Green Bay is a great team, no doubt. They're playing at home and have had a fantastic season. However, the Giants are getting hot at the right time. Both of these teams are going to be on fire and have tons of drive to win this game. I think this one will be close, but I really like the Giants. The Giants have a much stronger defense than GB, and they're on a roll. If they can get pressure to Rodgers? That can be a big game changer. Again, I think this is close but I am going to pick the Giants for the upset in this game.

I still like my pick of Baltimore-Giants in the Super Bowl.

We shall see! More on the NFL playoffs next week!

Black Monday, NFL Final Regular Season Thoughts

First off, Happy New Year 2012! If you were like me, you probably spent most of New Year's Day enjoying the last regular season games of the NFL. While we still have the playoffs to look forward to, I always get sad at the end of the NFL season. At least now I can close the door on the horrible seasons of my Rams and Colts and hope that next season will be better for both. Both teams had some major "Black Monday" firings today.

The Rams announced that HC Steve Spagnuolo and GM Billy Devaney have been let go. This was not a surprise, most of us expected this to happen. I really like Spagnuolo as a person, but I think he is much better off in a coordinator position than head coach. Rams are reportedly looking to hire former Titans HC Jeff Fisher, but so is Miami. Plus Tampa fired HC Raheem Morris so who knows if they'll throw their hat in the ring. The thing that I like about Fisher is that he has a history of being successful as a head coach. It seems to me that the Rams could use a coach that has some sort of history and is proven. Sam Bradford can be the quarterback the Rams hope he will be, but there needs to be some strong coaching and better draft and trade moves to build this team to the success it can be. Will be interesting to see what the Rams choose to do with their #2 pick.

In other "Black Monday" news Jim Irsay fired the Polians today, which came as somewhat of a shock though many sports analysts in Indy have been behind this for some time such as Bob Kravitz. No word on the status of HC Caldwell yet, but I can't imagine that Irsay would can the Polians and keep Caldwell. It sounds like Irsay's looking to clean house.

Irsay also said that he can't say for certain that Peyton will be back. "I've always said that, first and foremost, it's a medical situation, a health situation," Irsay said during a news conference Monday. "Is it safe for him to go on the field? Is it something that he's healthy enough to resume his career? "That to me has always been the most important decision. That's something we're continuing to see where we're at." I would love to see Peyton play again, but his health has to be first and foremost. I hope he's healthy and we're able to see another 3-4 years out of him, win another Super Bowl, etc. But he has to decide whether it's worth the risk. 3 neck surgeries in one year is a huge deal. One bad hit and Peyton could permanently injure himself seriously, including potential paralysis. He's going to have to take it slow and The Colts organization will have some big decisions to make come draft time this spring. Do they take Luck? Unless they have absolute certainty that Peyton is a go, I don't see how they don't draft him. Not sure if the Colts can keep both Luck and Manning. If Manning can play, he'll want to play. That may not be for the Colts if they choose Luck.

The last week of the regular season finally gave us the pieces to finalize the playoff puzzle. The Broncos lost to KC, but still won their division title at 8-8 due to San Diego beating Oakland. I thought the NFC Worst I mean West was bad but wow, the AFC West was crazy! 3 teams finished 8-8 and one at 7-9. The Broncos will face the Steelers this weekend in the Wild Card matchup, which should be interesting. The 49'ers secured a first round bye with their win against the Rams, though the Saints tried with their trouncing of Carolina. Though they tied with San Fran at 13-3, San Fran had the better conference record. Aaron Rodgers didn't start for Green Bay, but it didn't matter in the track meet against the Detroit Lions. Get used to hearing the name Matt Flynn folks, because he is a free agent at the end of the season. I don't know if both offenses were just THAT good in this game or if the defeneses were THAT bad. Green Bay won 45-41, Stafford threw for 520 yards and 5 TD's, Flynn threw for 480 yards and 6 TD's. That's 1,000 passing yards between the 2 QB's. Wow. So is Rodgers really that good or is Green Bay's offensive line that good? I guess we'll find out how great Matt Flynn is without it as there's no way he's still in Green Bay next year after that. He'll be a starter somewhere.

Sunday Night Football featured the Cowboys and the Giants, fighting for the NFC East title. If Brees and Rodgers weren't already so high on the MVP list I'd say Manning should be in contention. Or maybe Victor Cruz. Manning-Cruz have pretty much lifted the Giants to the postseason, and Manning now had the most 4th quarter touchdown passes in history. When I think about the talent on the Packers, the Saints and the Giants...I'd say Manning is pulling his team with far less talent than the other 2. Matt Flynn certainly showed that the Packers can win without Rodgers. Not sure the Saints win without Brees but the Giants definitely don't without Manning.

I just don't understand the Cowboys. They have talent, they just can't seem to get to the playoffs as of late. I know many want to blame Romo, but I don't know that Romo alone is the problem. Romo has the 4th highest quarterback rating this season. The 3 ahead of him? Rodgers, Brees and Brady. Not bad company to be in. So what is it about the Cowboys? I don't know the answer but Jerry Jones will have to figure out something because Dallas fans are most certainly not happy.

This weekend's wild card matchups are: Cincinnati vs Houston, Pittsburgh vs Denver, Atlanta vs New York, and Detroit vs New Orleans. All should be good games, though Houston will be playing Yates at QB but they still have Foster. The Steelers still have a banged up Big Ben and Mendenhall is out for the season due to injury. Denver could have a shot at beating the Steelers if Ben can't get the offense rolling.

However, my picks for this weekend are: Cincinnati over Houston (Foster will be big, but I like Dalton and Green more), Denver over Pittsburgh (I think it will be close, but I think the lack of offense on both sides will hurt and Tebow will pull off his last amazing win of the season), Giants over the Falcons (I wouldn't bet against that Giants team right now, they are on fire), and the Saints over Detroit. It will be a track meet, but the Saints are explosive at home and I think they will be able to pull off this win.

Oh, and while I'm at it. I'll go ahead and make my prediction for the Super Bowl: Baltimore vs Giants. You heard me. I'm not discounting the Saints/Green Bay but never underestimate the power of a team that basically played a playoff game just to get there. They will be a tough team to beat.

I've rambled on enough. More updates in the world of sports soon!