NFL Championship Games Picks, Pats, and Apologies

Season: 167-88-1
Record Picking Redskins Games: 7-9
Against the Spread: 33-32-2
Lock of the Week: 10-6-1
Playoffs: 2-6

Last Week: Another humiliating playoff week for me. 1-3 in both weeks this season with only the Ravens win over the Dolphins and the Steelers win over the Chargers keeping me from an O'fer. The only game that "stunned" me last week was the Cardinals beating the Panthers. That was a shocking result, not only in the outcome, but in the way the Cardinals dominated that game. It's time for the Panthers to move on from the Jake Delhomme era. I did correctly predict the eleven point spread in the Chargers-Steelers game. Do I get bonus points for that?

This Week's Picks:

Philadelphia at Arizona: I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but this match-up stinks. This is quite possibly the worst championship game match-up I've witnessed since I became an NFL fan in the early 80's. There is a reason that neither of these teams won 10 games this year-- they are both extremely flawed. And I think it makes for a less than attractive game this Sunday. Of course, I give both teams much credit for getting here. As a Redskins fan, I would give my right arm for my team to make this kind of run just once. If I were a fan of either the Eagles or Cardinals, I'd be totally stoked for the game on Sunday. But as an outside fan just looking for a good Super Bowl representative, this games leaves me quite disappointed. I have a feeling the winner of this game may very well get crushed down in Tampa in two weeks. As for the pick... everyone is going Eagles here, but I have an small gut feeling that Arizona finds a way. Yeah, I'm picking the Arizona Cardinals to go to the Super Bowl....shoot me now.

Cardinals 24, Eagles 19

Baltimore at Pittsburgh: Here's another game where I think public perception may be missing the boat. I agree that is should be a brutal, hard-hitting, defense-dominated game, but I also think it could be fairly one-sided. The Ravens struggled a bit last week on both sides of the ball, being rescued by timely plays from the defense, silly mistakes by the Titans, and a fairly obvious clock error. The Ravens still deserved to win that game, and I am incredibly impressed by the poise that Joe Flacco showed late in the game, but I think I may have seen some cracks for the Ravens overall. And the Steelers could turn those cracks into gaping holes. I think the Ravens scratch and crawl their way for most of the game, but Pittsburgh pulls away late.

Steelers 22, Ravens 10

NFL Divisional Playoff Picks, Pats, and Apologies

Season: 167-88-1
Record Picking Redskins Games: 7-9
Against the Spread: 33-32-2
Lock of the Week: 10-6-1
Playoffs: 1-3

Last Week's Review: Ugh, trying to rebound from my terrible post-season last year and I did not get off to a good start. Only Baltimore saved me from complete embarrassment. I was pretty 50/50 on both the Falcons-Cardinals and Eagles-Vikings game, but I was really surprised that the Chargers were able to handle the Colts. Again, the NFL desperately needs to change the homefield advantage rule, but that certainly isn't going to help the 2008 Colts.

This Week's Picks:

Baltimore at Tennessee: I' m not sure I've seen anyone pick the home team yet. The Ravens are certainly a dark-horse favorite amongst fans and media alike right now, and it's hard to argue after watching that defense dismantle the Dolphins last week. Ed Reed has placed himself outside of the Hall of Fame discussion and into the "best of all time" discusion; I anticipate seeing him all over the field yet again against the Titans. Having said that, the Titans have pretty stingy defense themselves, they can run the ball, they've had two weeks to prepare, and they are at home against a rookie quarterback. This game is going to be a slugfest, quite possibly the best game of the weekend. Again, I'm 50/50, but I'm going with my gut.

Titans 18, Ravens 16

Arizona at Carolina: This one is easy. The Cardinals are 0-5 playing on the east coast this year and they've been outscored 201-102 in those games. The one game where they managed to stay competitive was their 27-23 at Carolina, but even then, they blew a 14 point lead in the second half. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me five times?

Panthers 34, Cardinals 17

Philadelphia at New York Giants: It's never fun having to face an underdog division rival in the playoffs-- just ask last year's Cowboys. The tables are turned this year for the Giants-- the Eagles played well in both match-ups with New York and they dominated the Giants in the Meadowlands just one month ago. Overall, the Eagles have been playing excellent football, save the egg they laid in Washington the second to last week of the season. But it's that egg that bothers me right now. The Eagles have been an up and down team all season, and just when people are ready to proclaim their greatness, out comes the egg. That game in Washington was huge at the time for Philly, and they managed to lose a game where they only gave up 10 points. I see the Giants defense containing Brian Westrbook and grinding out a solid victory.

Giants 23, Eagles 13

San Diego at Pittsburgh: Phillip Rivers doesn't get enough credit-- I will put myself in the group of fans who haven't given him due throughout his career. I think he's probably the main reason (both through his play on the field and his leadership) that the Chargers were able to rally this season. But let's not forget a huge element of luck for San Diego. They were incredibly fortunate to play in a division where 8-8 was good enough to win and even more fortunate to get the 12-4 Colts in San Diego. I think that catches up with this week against a stifiling defense.

Steelers 26, Chargers 15

NFL Wild Card Weekend Picks, Pats, and Apologies

Last Week: 11-5
Season: 167-88-1
Record Picking Redskins Games: 7-9
Against the Spread: 33-32-2
Lock of the Week: 10-6-1

Final Regular Season Review: Pretty pleased with how I wound up with my straight-up picks this year. I actually finished with a grand total of ONE more victory of last year, but I crushed my pathetic record from 2006. My picks against the spread were as average as it gets, but it was an improvement from last year. Once again, I had a solid run picking a lock of the week. If I would have bet $100 every week on my lock, I would have made some money in 2008. But alas..... I did do an absolutely terrible job of picking Redskins games this year. I was basically clueless on them from week to week.

Now, my aim is to redeem myself from an embarrassing playoff record last year: I went 4-8 including the Super Bowl. Redemption begins this week!

This Week's Picks:

Atlanta at Arizona: Really waffling on this one. I firmly believe the Falcons are the better team, but Arizona has been much better at home this year, and you've got to anticipate that the home crowd will be going nuts for their first home playoff game since 1947-- which is just a ridiculous drought. Having said that, I'm favoring the more balanced team here.

Falcons 27, Cardinals 23

Indianapolis at San Diego: This really chaps my hide. The NFL must follow the path blazed by the NBA and adopt the rule that the team with the better record gets to host a playoff game regardless of division standing. It's absolutely insane that an 8-8 team is hosting a 12-4 in the playoffs. No system should reward mediocrity like that. I'm hoping the Colts make it a moot point, because it would be a real shame to see the Chargers advance here.

Colts 28, Chargers 17

Baltimore at Miami: Put me in the group of folks that isn't giving Miami very much respect this week. What the Dolphins have done this year is nothing short of amazing, but the Ravens are a team built for the playoffs. They mangled the Dolphins in Miami earlier this season, and despite their success throughout the year, I have a hard time seeing the Dolphins moving the ball this week.

Ravens 19, Dolphins 16

Philadelphia at Minnesota: If I trusted Donovan McNabb, this would be an easy choice. But I think the Vikings are the one home team that advances this week. Everyone talks about how the Vikings don't have the QB to get it done in the post-season. Well, I feel the same way about the Eagles. If McNabb proves me wrong, the Eagles could win easily this week.

Vikings 23, Eagles 20