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It was a rather uneventful Wildcard Weekend save for the Packers-Cardinals game. Luckily the Divisional Round is often produces “the best weekend of football” and the matchups have the potential for some great games. But first, can we get rid of the name Divisional Round. What does that even mean? Couldn’t the NFL have though of something better before settling on Divisional Round. Who was like yeah let’s call the Divisional Round, that’s a great name. It could be the worst name in all of sports. Why not just call it the Conference Semifinals or something similar. All right, enough of my rant let’s get on to my picks.
I went 4-4 last week, nailing every Saturday pick and missing every Sunday pick. As I did last week, I’ll be picking the over under as well.
Arizona Cardinals @ New Orleans Saints
The Cardinals are coming off an emotionally draining win over the Packers are now have to travel to New Orleans and play on a short week. Granted, the Saints are arguably the coldest team in the NFL losing three straight since starting 13-0. However, the Saints will be at full strenght this game with Pierre Thomas back to solidify the running game, Jeremy Shockey back at full strength, Lance Moore adding more receiving depth, and perhaps most importantly having their starting corners, Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter, healthy for the first time since Week 8.
This game looks like it has the makings of a shootout with Drew Brees and Kurt Warner trying to out-duel each other. After seeing Arizona’s defense get shredded by Aaron Rodgers I see no reason why Drew Brees won’t do the same. The Saints are number one in the NFL in takeaways and as great as Kurt Warner has played he is also very turnover prone and I expect him to throw a few to the opposition. The Cardinals are also playing in the SuperDome, which will be even rowdier than usual because of the playoffs.
The Pick: Take the Saints (-7) and the over (57)
Baltimore Ravens @ Indianapolis Colts
All the talk leading up to this game will be about how the Colts rested their starters blowing a shot at an undefeated season, but none of that will matter once the whistle blows. The Ravens looked great last week as they dismantled the Pats, but I wouldn’t be drinking the kool-aid too much. They caught the Pats at the right time — no Wes Welker, an aging and under preforming defense — and took advantage. The Colts will be ready for them and there’s no way they get up 24-0 on the Colts.
Getting up so much so quick allowed the Ravens to mask Joe Flacco, who threw for just 34 yards, and their poor secondary by forcing the Pats to pass. With the Ravens having to stay honest to the run against the Colts expect Peyton Manning to pick apart the Ravens secondary. He’ll have all his targets fully healthy and even though the Ravens have a good pass rush, Indy is ranked number one in pass protections and Peyton Manning has such a quick release. I expect the Colts to come out playing with a chip on their shoulder and take care of business in this one.
The Pick: Take the Colts (-6.5) and the Under (44)
Dallas Cowboys @ Minnesota Vikings
This is the toughest game of the weekend to pick. I’m leaning toward the Cowboys as they are arguably the hottest team in football right now and the Vikings limped into the postseason almost blowing a first round bye. But the Cowboys may take the foot off the pedal after they finally won a playoff game.
The pressure in this game will definitely be on Brett Favre and Brad Childress. For Favre this is his chance to show everyone why he came back and for Childress, he threw all his eggs in Favre’s basket and now the time to see if his gamble pays off. However, this game could come down the Vikings pass protection versus the Cowboys pass rush. Veteran tackle Bryan McKinnie has struggled this season and has to face DeMarcus Ware on Sunday. Also Ware’s partner in crime, Anthony Spencer, has come around recently and is turning into a force to be reckon with on the other side. In the end I see this game coming down to the wire with the Cowboys just edging out the Vikings.
The Pick: Take the Cowboys (+3) and the Under (45.5)
New York Jets @ San Diego Chargers
The last game of the weekend pits two teams with opposite styles. The Jets are going to run the ball and play good defense while the Chargers are going to pass the ball all day long. These two teams are also very hot as the Chargers have won eleven in a row although they had a bye last week and the Jets are winners of three straight.
The Chargers are the more talented team, but the Jets matchup really well against the Chargers. The Jets boast the best rushing attack in the league while the Chargers rank 20th in the league. The Chargers are great at passing, but the Jets are number in the league against the pass. The Jets do struggle a bit versus the run, but the Chargers are second to last in running the football. You’d figure Darrelle Revis will take out Vincent Jackson or at least keep him in check so this game will come down to whether the Chargers secondary targets can come though. A key matchup in this game will be Antonio Gates vs. Kerry Rhodes Rhodes has had his ups and downs this and will need to come up huge here and contain Gates. The x-factor for the Chargers will be Darren Sproles. They haven’t utilize him much this season and his speed can give the Jets linebackers some trouble.
While the Jets matchup well it still all come back to Mark Sanchez. The rookie hasn’t turned the ball over in three weeks and not surprisingly the Jets have won every game. If he can stay turnover free and make a few big plays here and there like he did last week I like the Jets to cover and pull off the upset.
Pick: Take the Jets (+7) and the Over (42)
