Super Bowl XLIII Prediction

Yes I'm very upset that for the 4th time in 5 trips to the NFC Championship game, the Eagles failed to win one more to at least get a Super Bowl bid. Joining the Rams, Buccaneers, and Panthers, the Cardinals became the next team to get in Philly's way. Now there is one team standing in Arizona's way, Pittsburgh. Yes the Pittsburgh Steelers from day one in my mind have been the best team in football. My preseason Super Bowl pick was Minnesota vs Pittsburgh. When the season ended, it was Carolina vs Pittsburgh. I was so sure last week it would be an all PA Super Bowl but that was obviously foiled. I am still confident that the Steelers will win the Super Bowl, and win it soundly. Unlike the Cardinals opponents in Atlanta, Carolina, and Philly, Pittsburgh's defense does not have bad days.

Arizona does have a very good quarterback. In my opinion, Kurt Warner is Hall of Fame bound. He has 3 great receivers ot throw to in Anquan Boldin, Steve Breaston, and the best WR in the game, Larry Fitzgerald. If Arizona wants ot have a prayer, the offensive line will have to hold up and allow Warner to get the ball in the hands of his weapons. Pittsburgh's pass defense is very nasty. Dick LeBeau is the best defensive coordinator in the game and he will throw so many blitz packages at Warner that it will look like the 3rd quarter of the NFC Championship game. You still have to look out for Troy Polamalu. He is fucking dangerous!

Pittsburgh's offense is very good as well. They may not be as talented on paper as Philly's and sure is not as dangerous as Arizona's, but Ben Rothlisberger knows how to lead a team. He still has Hines Ward, Heath Miller, and Willie Parker but no Jerome Bettis. He does, though, have Santonio Holmes, the Steelers deep threat. Ben also has Nate Washington. It will all come down to the running game. Willie Parker is healthy and he can run again. Rothlisberger's performance will depend on the run game.

It's gonna be a long day for Arizona. Pittsburgh will become the first team to win 6 Super Bowls as they roll over Arizona 31-17.

Continuing reading...

Warner 2; McNabb 0

I'm sure Justin will write a post on this game as well but I figured I will write one too. I saw some great positives, some bad negatives, some typical situations, and some aspects of the game that need to change. I'll do a quick summary and then go into my 4 points after the jump.

The Cardinals won 32-25. That's a given. Donovan McNabb completed 28/47 passes for 375 yards, most coming in the 3rd quarter. He had 3 TD's and a pick. Kurt Warner completed 21/28 passes for 279 yards and no picks. He also threw 4 TDs, 3 to Larry Fitzgerald. Fitz had 9 catches for 152 yards as well. Leading the Eagles in receiving was Brent Celek who had an amazing game with 10 catches for 83 yards and 2 TDs. Kevin Curtis had 4 for 122 and DeSean Jackson had 6 for 92 and a score. The running games were shut down all day on both sides even though the backs did get off some decent runs. Adrian Wilson for Arizona had an amazing game with 2 sacks and a forced fumble.

The Positives:
-McNabb started things off with a 21 yard run. He also ran for 10 yards down in the red zone that set up the Eagles go ahead TD in the 4th.
-After being down 24-6 at the half and fumbling on the opening drive of the 3rd, McNabb, the offense, and defense played the best it had all postseason. Too bad that died after the Eagles went ahead in the 4th.
-Celek proved that he is a much better offensive weapon than LJ Smith. He needs to learn to block better if he can be trusted as a full-fledged starter next year.
-The only positive in Andy Reid's play calling was he recognized he could beat Arizona deep.

The Negatives:
-The defense was terrible for 3 quarters.
-The play of Tra Thomas was God-awful! He had terrible penalties on him and he was poor at reading the blitz. On Wilson's sack and strip, instead of picking up Wilson, Thomas doubled down with Todd Herramins to block the end and let Wilson go in untouched to strip McNabb.
-McNabb was bad in the first half as well. His throws were all over the place and his completion to Hank Baskett was all due to Baskett's great catch. A good throw and that was a long TD run for him.
-The wide recievers continued ot drop key passes, like Kevin Curtis on 4th and 10 w/ 1:57 to go in the game. Yea I know the throw was suspect and the PI call was missed but he should have had that. Baskett and Jackson also dropped some passes but both also made some amazing ones. Consistency guys!
-Reid's play calling. 47/18 pass/run ratio and an absent screen game.
-Where did the defense go? I mean this defense was amazing versus New York and Minny and was just outplayed by a loaded Cards offense. I mean they could not get proper pressure on Kurt.

Typicals:
-Reid's play calling.
-Dropped passes.
-The new Greatest Show on Turf was just awesome. I mean this is gonna be a good Super Bowl seeing a high powered offense in Arizona play a stellar defense in Pittsburgh or Baltimore.
-Fitzgerald is the best WR in the game and Warner is a future HOFer.
-The Eagles get us on an emotional high to dash our hopes and dreams on the rocks. Hey, atleast we finally got our parade with the Phillies but one with the Birds would be just as sweet, if not sweeter.

Aspect of the game that needs changing/monitering:
-There is one thing that pisses me off the most. I know the refs blew some calls for Arizona early in the game but don't do make up calls. 2 wrongs that make a fucking right! Not once but twice did they blow PI calls that were key to the Eagles. The first forced a field goal in the 2nd quarter and the second ended the game. Kevin Curtis was clearly dragged down before he caught it and no flag was thrown.

Now that I got that shit out of the way. I'll do a wrap up and call it a night.

Eagles Best Play: Jackson's 62 yard TD pass that was tipped by Rogers-Cromartie. Jackson then bobbled it a few times and got control as he waltzed into the endzone.
Eagles Worst Play: the screen pass caught by JJ Arington that was the go ahead TD.
Eagles Best Number: 10 (number of catches by Brent Celek)
Eagles Worst Number: 3 (number of TDs by Fitzgerald)
Turning Point: on 3rd and 19, McNabb completed a 50 yard pass to Curtis to set up their first touchdown.

3 Stars (both teams):
-Brent Celek
-Donovan McNabb
-DeSean Jackson

-Adrian Wilson
-Kurt Warner
-Larry Fitzgerald

I'm not gonna be bitter. They fought hard after being ruled out a few times all year and this game. Plus they beat the Giants twice, once in the playoffs, and manhandled the Cowboys to get in.

Arizona will play Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLIII.

Continuing reading...

Conference Game Predictions

I’m here at the liquor store bored so I figured I’d contemplate my picks now for the AFC/NFC Championship games. In the AFC, it’s the Steelers versus the Ravens in Pittsburgh and in the NFC it’s our beloved Eagles versus the Cardinals in Arizona. Yes it’s a shock to the rest of the NFL world that the Cards are not only playing in the Championship game but they are the home team but to them it isn’t a surprise. Their offense is showing shades of Kurt Warner’s “Greatest Show on Turf” in St. Louis 7 years ago and I think they are actually better but we’ll get into more depth when I get to that game. The two games after the jump:

We’ll start with the night cap. One of the nastiest rivalries in the NFL is Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Baltimore’s defense is just nasty in the turnovers department while Pittsburgh won’t let you run for the life of them. You also can’t forget about Troy Polamalu running around. He has no problem putting his helmet in your chest if you aren’t looking. The problem with Baltimore’s defense is that they have allowed more first downs than earned, by a lot. In their 2 games, opponents have gotten 39 first downs, 27 through the air. If the Ravens can’t get a good rush on Ben Rothleisberger, he will light up the secondary. The Ravens have given up 533 passing yards to Chad Pennington and Kerry Collins combined and Big Ben is a much better quarterback then those 2. When Pittsburgh’s offense gets rolling, there is no stopping them like in the San Diego game. The Steelers defense only gave up 15 first downs against the Chargers, 1 on the ground. Baltimore will have to move the ball in the air with a rookie quarterback if they want to get down field. If LeRon McClain can establish himself as a running back that can control the game, now is the time. If he doesn’t, Baltimore’s defense will be on the field a lot and they will give up points. I say Pittsburgh wins it 27-10.

Now it’s on to the Eagles. This honestly should be no contest. It’s Arizona, who is playing the best football the franchise has ever seen since the merger but it’s still Arizona. They have a good offense but the defense doesn’t scare me. I think the score will be similar to Thanksgiving when Philly won 48-20. The Eagles offense hasn’t been clicking like it was in Dallas but that defense has been relentless on the ground, on the rush, and in the air. Warner isn’t mobile and his line will allow Jim Johnson’s blitz scheme to take full advantage of them. Asante Samuel is in a familiar position, making big plays in the post season and he will make another one Sunday afternoon. Brian Dawkins is playing every game like it’s his last and he is easily the hungriest player on the team for the Super Bowl, followed by Donovan McNabb. Edgerin James is a very good running back but he is no Brandon Jacobs or Adrian Peterson. He will get shut down. Anquan Boldin is a game time decision and it doesn’t look good for him. Larry Fitzgerald is amazing but he can’t do it all by himself. It was a good run for Arizona but it’s ending here. Eagles win it big, 41-21.

Continuing reading...

Divisional Round Predictions - Sunday

OK so I missed the Saturday games but I got 'em right in my money pools. So now I'm gonna post my picks for the Sunday games. I'll start with the Sunday nighter in Pittsburgh. The Charger's who snuck in with an 8-8 record, which was good enough to win them the pathetic AFC West. They rolled all over the hot Colts last week, being carried by Darrien Sproles. I honestly don't see him being able to carry the Chargers again versus the toughest run defense in the NFL. He will just get man-handled. Pittsburgh's offense has been the opposite of what the name calls it, especially with Ben Rothleisberger and Willie Parker not being 100% and a weak O-Line. I still see the Steelers winning this in another defensive struggle, 13-6.

In our day game at 1PM, the Eagles go to the Meadowlands to play the Giants. They are the only team to win in New York this and they honestly can do it again. It's easy; get pressure on Eli Manning and shut down Brandon Jacobs, who is obviously no Adrian Peterson. If the defense plays like they did versus Minnesota and the offense keeps the Giants defense on the field, this game is theirs. They have to play like they did in Week 14 when they won 20-14. Control the clock and pound the offense. Use Correll Buckhalter more, run the ball, and re-issue the screen game. Donovan McNabb needs to spread the field latterly so he can attack vertically. This should be either very pleasing or very disappointing. Eagles by 10.

Continuing reading...

Divisional Round Predictions

I'll give my today's picks now and tomorrow's night cap and then a detailed analysis of the Eagles game later tonight. I went 2-2 last week, winning on Sunday only.

The first game will be Baltimore at Tennessee. Both team's have excellent defenses but Tennessee's offense is slightly better. Both have good rookie RB's in the Ravens' LeRon McClain and the Titans' Chris Johnson but Tennessee has the experience at QB with Kerry Collins, who played in the Super Bowl in 2000 when Baltimore shellacked the Giants. Ravens rookie Joe Flacco was in high school watching that game. Collins might get the eye of the tiger or something. Titans are my pick.

The night cap should be a blow out but likely won't. Arizona travels to Carolina in the battle of offenses; Arizona's in the air and Carolina's on the ground. Kurt Warner is working on his Arizona version of the Greatest Show on Turf and Jake Delhomme has DeAngelo Williams and Jonathon Stewart to run all over the Cards weak run defense. The Cards held Michael Turner to less than 3 yards a carry last week but like strength in numbers, it's hard to contain 2 different backs. Also Carolina's defense is very good. Carolina by 9.

Continuing reading...

Wild Car Predictions.

Well I'm posting this too late but I had Atlanta beating Arizona and Indianapolis beating San Diego today. I already lost the Atlanta game and right now Indy is up 17-14 going into the 4th quarter. So hear are my picks for tomorrow's games. The first game will be at 1:00 and it's Baltimore in Miami. The second will be our beloved Eagles playing at 4:30 in Minnesota. Picks after the jump.

Baltimore (11-5) @ Miami (11-5) - This should almost be a low scoring game between 2 very strong defenses. Baltimore's D is just unstoppable, especially versus the run. Ray Lewis is still a nasty human being and can deliver a hit to knock the ball loose. He's the heart of that defense. Miami's D is led by Joey Porter, who racked up 20 sacks this year. He can put a ton of pressure on rookie quarter back Joe Flacco. Speaking of Flacco, he played very well in leading the Ravens to a playoff berth with 14 TD's and almost 3000 yards. He was supported heavily by rookie LeRon McClain who rushed for over 1000 yards. Miami found a leader in newly acquired Chad Pennington, who was dumped by the Jets when Brett Favre went there. They are supported by a solid run attack with Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. Pennington found a target in Greg Camarillo who will line up against Samari Rolle of Baltimore. Baltimore's secondary can shut down Miami and their vicious run defense should be able to contain Brown and Williams. The Ravens are my pick.

Now to Philly and Minny, the big game for us fans.

The Offense: The Eagles are coming into the playoffs 4-1 and riding the emotions of a 44-6 pounding of Dallas last Sunday. If Donovan McNabb can find his recievers like in that game and Westbrook can run on the defensive line of Minny, it should be an easy game for Philly. The Vikings have a very underated secondary that's led by Antoine Winfield and Darren Sharper. The Eagles injured oline will have to keep the unrelated Kevin and Pat Williams in check. They will be giving Jamal Jackson, Todd Herramins, and Nick Cole a battle all day. Jared Allen will line up against Tra Thomas mainly and he will try to put McNabb on his back.

The Defense: This is gonna be very interesting. We all know Tavaris Jackson sucks but he can also move. They had a slightly tough time with Jason Cambell two weeks ago and Jackson is a better athlete. He can't throw but he can buy time with his legs. If Jimmy Johnson turns up the heat, mistakes will be made by the young and inexperienced QB. The real story though will be if the run defense can shut down Adrian Peterson. He is the best running back in the league and he can be dangerous on the ground and in the air. Shut him down and force Minny to throw and this will be an easy win. The secondary match up will be Asante Samuel versus Bernard Berrian, who is a deep threat. Brian Dawkins will help him a lot in covering Berrian.

In all honesty, this should be easy for Philly if they play like they did versus Dallas. My score: Eagles 31-9.

Continuing reading...

My last post of 2008

I'm not gonna be doing any posting for the rest of the day so I figured I might as well make it worth while. First I want to wish you all a safe and happy New Year. Just because 08 is over doesn't mean the 80-08 saying is out-dated. We are still in the 2008 football season and hockey and basketball are ending the 2008 portion of their seasons. This is our year. Let's go Eagles!

The Flyers won yesterday, beating Vancouver 3-2 and ending the little 2 game skid. They are now 1-2 during their current 6-game road trip that will continue in 2009 and are 20-10-7 on the season, amassing 47 points. The Flyers are in 2nd place and only 2 points behind the Rangers with 2 games in hand.

The Flyers got the fire works going early with Mike Richards fighting with Vancouver's Kevin Bieksa only 15 seconds into the game. Jeff Carter then tallied his league leading 27th goal 3 minutes later for the early lead. Vancouver tied it back up w/ the Danny/Henrik Sedin connection but less than a minute later, Scott Hartnell fired a hard wrister past Curtis Sanford, who was pulled after the first period. Claude Giroux looked very good all game, especially in that first period. They had him up on the Richards line which is what I liked seeing. I have very high expectations of this kid.

Philly then took a 3-1 lead in the 2nd with Jon Kalinski's first career goal off a redirected pass. Vancouver then made it 3-2 and Marty Biron stayed strong as Philly held on to win. Biron made 29 saves.

For the NFL playoffs I will again be analyzing each week and making my predictions. Even if the Eagles disappoint us once again, I will continue to analyze the playoffs. My next post will be the Wild Card round. I have made my full playoff predictions already but for accuracy's sake, I'll go weekly for the site. Don't forget to cheer hard for your Eagles, who play Sunday at 4:30 in Minnesota.

Continuing reading...

Pre-Wild Card Game

It's simple: win and you're in or lose and you're out. Both Tampa Bay (L 31-24) and Chicago (L 31-24) lost today which means the winner of the Dallas/Philly game that's on now will be the 6th seed in the Wild Card. Let's go Eagles!

Continuing reading...

Giants win the Super Bowl

Congrats to the Giants as they win 17-14 over the heavily favored New England Patriots. The Patriots choked in the last game of the year trying to become the second team to go undefeated. They fell short as the Giants became the first team to play a complete game. I have nothing left to report. Read the news. Do whatever. It's over.

How 'bout that Barkley commercial?

Continuing reading...

Roose's Super Bowl prediction

The time has come for another end to the football season. And like 39 other times, us Eagles fans are not gonna be watching the Green take the field in February (or late January). We tend to pick a favorite or even the under dog. We have our reasons for doing so like last year seeing Peyton Manning finally win one or the year before seeing Bill Cowher and Jerome Bettis retiring on top. Well this year is different. Since we won't be seeing Brett Favre in the game, many of us are forced to root for New England, America's most hated team at the moment. This is a day we are not anticipating. The dilemma: root for the division rival Giants, who we were born to hate, or watch New England go 19-0 and see their bandwagon get bigger and bigger. It's disgusting really. Unfortunately, I'm forced to see those cocky New Englanders boast on a fourth trophy in six years than seeing the Giants fans from North Jersey/New York pull one more championship ahead of the Eagles.

ASSESSING THE OFFENSES

New England: This is the most dynamic offense in the history of the NFL. They broke records in points scored for the year. They are led by MVP quarterback Tom Brady who broke the single season touchdown passes record set by Peyton Manning with 50 TD's. On the receiving end, Randy Moss caught 23 TD passes from Brady, another record held by Jerry Rice that was broken. Moss is aided by Dante Stallworth and Wes Welker, who combined for 168 catches and 11 TD's. The ground game consists of the dangerous tandem in Larence Maroney and Kevin Faulk who are both threats in the air from the backfield. Tight end Ben Watson has been spectacular in the playoffs.

New York: Eli Manning has finally proven that he is a clutch QB. He was inconsistent all year but found his consistency in the playoffs, knocking off the Buccaneers and top seeded Dallas and Green Bay. His receiving corps is very depleted compared to Brady's with Plaxico Burress being injured most of the year. Burress still finds a way to perform well every week. He is joined by Amani Toomer, who has always been clutch in the playoffs. With tight end Jeremy Shockey on the IR, Kevin Boss has been filling in for him, Boss is going to need to step up his game this Sunday.

Edge: Patriots

ASSESSING THE DEFENSES

New England: The Patriots are number four in the league. The defense is strong. They have stuck together for most of the Super Bowl titles they accumulated. The addition of Adalius Thomas has been huge and Junior Seau has really been playing like a guy who wants to win one. The Patriots secondary is led by Asante Samuel and the hard hitting Rodney Harrison. Also Ellis Hobbs and Brandon Meriweather have been good in the supporting cast.

New York: There has been a lot of criticism on this team's defense this year. The secondary isn't great but the line is amazing. The linebacking corps is also good led by Antonio Pierce. The defensive line is led by Michael Strahan and Osu Umenyiora who combined for 22 sacks. They will give the tackles a tough job come Sunday. Sam Madison and Gibril Wilsonlead the team with 4 interceptions.

Edge: Patriots

ASSESSING SPECIAL TEAMS

New England: Stephen Gostkowski is supposed to be the as clutch as Adam Vinatieri. He is 1-2 in the playoffs. Chris Hansen has been solid. Ellis Hobbs is one of the best returners in the game.

New York: Lawrence Tynes is 4-6. He needs to get over almost losing the game for New York in the NFC Title game. Jeff Feagles is the best coffin corner kicker in the league. RW McQuarters is not a game breaking returner but Dominick Hixon is a good KR with on TD this year.

Edge: even

COACHING

New England: Bill Belichek is a genius

New York: Tom Coughlin needs to really work to outsmart Belichek

Edges: Patriots

The Patriots are the better team, no doubt. The Giants have been really hot in the playoffs and came close to beating New England in week 17. They have nothing to lose and a lot to be motivated for. The game will be a shoot out. Eli will be good and Tom will be good. This should be a good Super Bowl as the final score ends up being 31-28......Giants.

Continuing reading...

Roose's Championship Sunday predictions

Well I went 2-2 this past week, killing my perfect bracket. I also lost my championship pick with Indianapolis. I've been thinking about this week already after the Giants win over Dallas. Do I want to go with an upset or do I want to go with the home teams. Both home teams (New England and Green Bay) play in the frozen tundras.

AFC: The Patriots have been perfect. They are 17-0 and 2 games away from history. They already tied the '72 Dolphins by winning their first 17 games and they are one win shy of being tied with the '85 Bears' total of 18 in a season and playoffs. They go up against the #3 Chargers who upset the defending champion Colts. The Pats are fully healthy while the Ladanian Tomlinson (hyper extension) and Phillip Rivers (sprained meniscus) are both questionable for Sunday's game. Antonia Gates has also been battling injuries in the playoffs. Look for a low scoring game as San Diego's defense, especially Shaun Merriman look for revenge after last year in the AFC championship game. If LT is having problems with his knee, look for back-up Michael Turner to see plenty of touches. The Pats offense is explosive. Tom Brady is the best in the league, Lawrence Maroney and Kevin Faulk are a dangerous duo, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, and Dante Stallworth are a dangerous trio to defend, and the defense is tough to do anything on. I have the Patriots winning 21-10.

NFC: The #2 Packers emerged victorious last week with a big win over Seattle as the Seahawks couldn't handle the snow and wind. Brett Favre is riding this record-breaking season to another championship game. He will look to cap it off with a ring. The Giants are coming off of a huge win in Texas as the Cowboys struggles near the end of the season and in the playoffs again. Romo can't seem to get his first win as a starter and T.O. needs a box of tissues. Maybe Jessica Simpson can cheer him up. The Packers are a very balanced team. They have Ryan Grant in the backfield, Favre at the reigns, solid receivers in Donald Driver and Greg Jennings, and a good defense with a great secondary. The Giants have young but inconsistent QB in Eli Manning, a very strong running game with Brandon Jacobs, weapons for Eli, and a vicious run defense. If the secondary plays their game for both teams, the scoring will be low as well. I still have the Packers 20-10.

Look for a repeat of Super Bowl XXXI with hopefully the same outcome.

Continuing reading...

Roose's Playoff Predictions - Divisional

OK after a 4-0 Wild card week for me, I correctly picked New York, Seattle, Jacksonville, and San Diego to move on to the Divisional round. We already had 2 "upsets" with wild card Giants and Jags winning. Will a few more upsets occur? I picked no as the #1 and #2 seeds should advance to face eachother in the Conference championships.

AFC: The AFC is featuring 2 very anticipated match ups. The first of these is the Saturday game, #5 Jacksonville at #1 New England. After a 16-0 season, the first of it's kind, the Patriots are the pretty pick ot win it all. They have a tough road ahead of them as the other 3 AFC teams are very tough as well as the winner of the NFC. The Jaguars are known for beating good teams as they have proven in the past. Their no-name defense and ground-oriented offense could pose a threat to NE. The Pats are favored heavily but the under-estimated Jaguars will keep it close but fail.
Pick: NE over JAX

The Sunday game features the #3 Chargers, who are coming off a close game against Tennessee, versus the #2 Colts, who are now healthy and ready to defend their championship. The Colts quietly went 13-3, while the Patriots took all the spot light. The Colts enjoy being the under-dog. With Marvin Harrison back, all Peyton needs to do is find his ryhthm with him and they will lock up victory. The Chargers don't seem to stand a chance unless LT can run all over the defensive line who is featuring the return of Dwight Freeny.
Pick: IND over SD

NFC: The Saturday game features the #3 Seahawks going to Lambeu Field to face #2 Green Bay Packers. Brett Favre is looking to cap off a magical season, and probably career, with a Super Bowl ring. The Seahawks, who got 14 of their points from the defense last week, needed the whole game to put away the fighting Redskins. Hasselback has shown he is an interception machine and with the secondary the Packers have, it could get worse. The run defense, led by AJ Hawk and Nick Barnett will look to shut down the inconsitent Shaun Alexander. Look for domination as Green Bay wins easily.
Pick: GB over SEA

The Sunday game will be played in the great state of Texas (yea ok) where bad presidents come from. The #5 Giants look to knock off hated rival #1 Dallas. Going into the final weeks of the season, Dallas has played awful, getting shut down by Philadelphia, a team absent from the playoffs, and Washington, a team getting knocked out last week. Tony Romo has been very poor to finish off the regular season while T.O. got hurt in week 16. He is expected to play and maybe his efforts will be "heroic." The Giants are coming off of a solid win over Tampa but another inconsitent QB, Eli Manning, is leading them. He could wind up throwing 3 TD's or 3 picks. He needs to prove if he really is as tough as his Ecko Citizens watch.
Pick: DAL over NY

Continuing reading...

Perfect the first round

I went perfect my first round of playoffs successfully picking Seattle, Jacksonville, New York, and San Diego to move on. In a few days I will write next weeks picks for the Divisional round. Will the 1 and 2 seeds prevail or will they be upset by one of these four winners.

Continuing reading...

Roose's playoff predictions - Wildcard

Well that time of year has finally reached. It's that season that leads into the greatest holiday of the year. Many think I'm talking about Advent and Christmas. Wrong. I'm talking about the NFL Playoffs and Super Bowl XLII. I am going to give you a week by week run down of how the playoffs will turn out. Will it be the undefeated Patriots, the defending champion Colts, the seasoned vet Favre and his Packers, the Romo and T.O. show known as the Cowboys, or will a wild card team like the Jaguars upset their way to glory.

AFC: The 6th seeded Titans go into San Diego this week to try and steal a victory from the kid Philip Rivers and the most dynamic back in the NFL, Ladanian Tomlinson. It seems that a rough start didn't phase the Charers as a hot finish to an 11-win season will carry momentum into the playoffs.
Pick: SD over TEN

The 5th seeded Jaguars seem to be the upset favorite in many eyes. They go up against the Steelers who have been inconsistent all year. After getting embarrassed at home, Big Ben will look for revenge against the Jags. Not gonna happen.
Pick: JAX over PIT

NFC: The Redskins snuck into the playoffs after beating the T.O.-less Cowboys, who have been playing terrible to close out their season. The 'Skins go up against Seattle who, like San Diego, have found their grove near the end of the season. Look for a blow out on Seattles part.
Pick: SEA over WAS

In the other game, the Buccaneers after surprising the league by winning the South, will host the Giants. After playing the Patriots close, Eli and crew could find themselves winners as they are definately the better team.
Pick: NYG over TB

I already mentally made out my picks for the remainder of the playoffs but I will just stick with going round by round.

Continuing reading...