Life Gets in the Way
Been a busy week, folks. Work and family, and nothing else, really. I am checking the block this week...making the picks, and that is it.
For the second week in a row, I am going with all of the favorites. A couple of dudes that I was hanging out with last night are all in on the Jaguars (upset), one of them has money on the Saints (upset) "straight up." So you have to assume the upsets are there like last weekend, but I am not getting a gut feel on one.
[NOTE: There are 11 games in an NFL playoff as currently structured. Last year, the favorite won 10 of those 11 games. We are already ahead of that pace this year.]
This is the best weekend of pro football for the entire year. Like last week, there are four games strategically placed so you can watch all of them, but the competition is one round of elimination better than last week's Wild Card Weekend. And, you may not have to go to work on Monday.
We have family coming into town, and a wrestling meet to attend. Gotta go. Enjoy the games.
Atlanta Falcons vs. (+3.0) Philadelphia Eagles: This is a great game to kick off this great weekend of NFL action. Neither of these two teams has a Super Bowl victory, but both have two Super Bowl losses. One long suffering fan base will be one step away from the Super Bowl come Saturday night. Even though the Eagles are the NFC #1 seed, they built that bulk of that resume with MVP candidate QB Carson Wentz at the helm. He is of course injured now, and their stock has plummeted. At times this year, the Falcons have looked like they were dealing with the dreaded Super Bowl hangover, but they gained admittance to the Divisional Playoffs with a solid 26-13 victory over the Los Angeles Rams last week in the L.A. Coliseum. The playoff-experienced Falcons have slipped on the Cinderella slipper, and will continue to dance past this weekend. -- FALCONS
Tennessee Titans vs. (-13.5) New England Patriots: Tennessee played an almost perfect second half last week against the Kansas City Chiefs to come back from 18 points down to secure a 22-21 victory on the road at Arrowhead Stadium. Titans QB Marcus Mariota made the most critical play of the game when he caught his own deflected pass and ran it in for a touchdown. That is the type of crazy play on which unlikely playoff runs are built. It didn't hurt that RB Derrick Henry ran for 156 yards, as well. They will need more fluke plays and yards from Henry to win this week, because Mariota directs the 27th best passing game in the NFL. The problem: the Patriots and coach Bill Belichick are adept at taking away that one thing you need to be able to do. Plus, they will be rested and ready to avenge all the talk of their infighting. -- PATRIOTS
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. (-7.0) Pittsburgh Steelers: The Jaguars 10-3 victory over the Buffalo Bills last week in Jacksonville was an absolute bore. I spent a lot of that game walking our 10 year old around the neighborhood selling Girl Scout cookies. It was the right call. Jacksonville started making their mark this year when they hammered Pittsburgh 30-9 on Oct. 8. That loss lit a fire in Steeltown. After that defeat, the Steelers ran off eight straight wins, and won 10 of their next 11 games. Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger threw five interceptions in the loss to the Jaguars. He won't do that again. -- STEELERS
New Orleans Saints vs. (-5.0) Minnesota Vikings: This is a great game to complete this great weekend of NFL action. This is another rematch. The Vikings beat the Saints 29-19 in Week One in Minnesota. New Orleans lost to the Patriots at home 36-20 the next week, and then got it going with eight straight wins. One of the simplest ways to pick a game is to make your pick based upon the quarterbacks. By name and history alone, you would put your money on New Orleans QB Drew Brees. Minnesota QB Case Keenum, a career backup, compares very well to Brees this year. Keenum has thrown one less touchdown, and one less interception. He is also within 5.6 points in quarterback rating. That is a virtual tie. I am breaking the tie by going with the Vikings top-rated defense. -- VIKINGS
This is me struggling to get this blog out.
For the second week in a row, I am going with all of the favorites. A couple of dudes that I was hanging out with last night are all in on the Jaguars (upset), one of them has money on the Saints (upset) "straight up." So you have to assume the upsets are there like last weekend, but I am not getting a gut feel on one.
[NOTE: There are 11 games in an NFL playoff as currently structured. Last year, the favorite won 10 of those 11 games. We are already ahead of that pace this year.]
This is the best weekend of pro football for the entire year. Like last week, there are four games strategically placed so you can watch all of them, but the competition is one round of elimination better than last week's Wild Card Weekend. And, you may not have to go to work on Monday.
We have family coming into town, and a wrestling meet to attend. Gotta go. Enjoy the games.
Atlanta Falcons vs. (+3.0) Philadelphia Eagles: This is a great game to kick off this great weekend of NFL action. Neither of these two teams has a Super Bowl victory, but both have two Super Bowl losses. One long suffering fan base will be one step away from the Super Bowl come Saturday night. Even though the Eagles are the NFC #1 seed, they built that bulk of that resume with MVP candidate QB Carson Wentz at the helm. He is of course injured now, and their stock has plummeted. At times this year, the Falcons have looked like they were dealing with the dreaded Super Bowl hangover, but they gained admittance to the Divisional Playoffs with a solid 26-13 victory over the Los Angeles Rams last week in the L.A. Coliseum. The playoff-experienced Falcons have slipped on the Cinderella slipper, and will continue to dance past this weekend. -- FALCONS
Tennessee Titans vs. (-13.5) New England Patriots: Tennessee played an almost perfect second half last week against the Kansas City Chiefs to come back from 18 points down to secure a 22-21 victory on the road at Arrowhead Stadium. Titans QB Marcus Mariota made the most critical play of the game when he caught his own deflected pass and ran it in for a touchdown. That is the type of crazy play on which unlikely playoff runs are built. It didn't hurt that RB Derrick Henry ran for 156 yards, as well. They will need more fluke plays and yards from Henry to win this week, because Mariota directs the 27th best passing game in the NFL. The problem: the Patriots and coach Bill Belichick are adept at taking away that one thing you need to be able to do. Plus, they will be rested and ready to avenge all the talk of their infighting. -- PATRIOTS
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. (-7.0) Pittsburgh Steelers: The Jaguars 10-3 victory over the Buffalo Bills last week in Jacksonville was an absolute bore. I spent a lot of that game walking our 10 year old around the neighborhood selling Girl Scout cookies. It was the right call. Jacksonville started making their mark this year when they hammered Pittsburgh 30-9 on Oct. 8. That loss lit a fire in Steeltown. After that defeat, the Steelers ran off eight straight wins, and won 10 of their next 11 games. Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger threw five interceptions in the loss to the Jaguars. He won't do that again. -- STEELERS
New Orleans Saints vs. (-5.0) Minnesota Vikings: This is a great game to complete this great weekend of NFL action. This is another rematch. The Vikings beat the Saints 29-19 in Week One in Minnesota. New Orleans lost to the Patriots at home 36-20 the next week, and then got it going with eight straight wins. One of the simplest ways to pick a game is to make your pick based upon the quarterbacks. By name and history alone, you would put your money on New Orleans QB Drew Brees. Minnesota QB Case Keenum, a career backup, compares very well to Brees this year. Keenum has thrown one less touchdown, and one less interception. He is also within 5.6 points in quarterback rating. That is a virtual tie. I am breaking the tie by going with the Vikings top-rated defense. -- VIKINGS
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