Today I just thought I'd pick the NFL playoff games for this weekend. No way I'll make .500 for this entire season, but hey, so far in the playoffs I'm 3-1. Let's see how I do this weekend:
New Orleans at Seattle. My pick: SEAHAWKS. What goes into this pick is simple. What do the Saints mainly want to do? Have Drew Brees throw the ball. But Seattle has the defense and especially the corners to really slow that down. Weather reports for Seattle tomorrow indicate rain and 30 mph winds; that won't help Brees either. These teams played a month ago or so and Seattle won convincingly. I expect New Orleans to give a better account of itself this time, and it would not shock me if this was a significantly closer game. But you have to pick Seattle here.
Indianapolis at New England. My pick: PATRIOTS. You have to admire Andrew Luck and the Colts for that brilliant comeback last week. One for the ages, no doubt. But: the Colts have that horrible penchant of falling behind early. Doesn't seem like they've corrected that--and that will be death in this game. This time their opponent isn't KC; it's Tom Brady and the Pats. New England is unbeaten at home; the weather won't be great, and the Pats are used to it (the Colts meanwhile are a dome team); and Brady always seems to play well in the playoffs. The Patriots will find a way to win this one.
San Francisco at Carolina. My pick: PANTHERS. Here I think I'm going against conventional wisdom a bit. Many like the Niners here. After all, they were a Super Bowl team last year. But: this game is in Carolina. The Panthers have a terrific defense, and that's been proven. If you don't know who Carolina LB Luke Kuechly is, you will find out--he is one of the best defensive players in the game today. So Carolina can go toe to toe with SF. They beat them in SF earlier this year. Cam Newton is tough to corral and his running ability can really cause a defense problems. It's tough to go to 2 straight Super Bowls--San Francisco will find that out this weekend when a young, hungry team like Carolina knocks them off.
San Diego at Denver. My pick: BRONCOS. Yes, we know; San Diego won in Denver a month ago. Philip Rivers is playing well; so is their defense and run game. This seems like a juicy upset pick. And yet--Denver and Peyton Manning know what happened a month ago, too. They've had time to prepare. Most still think Denver is the better team overall--and so do I. And I think that will show itself--look for that Denver offense to move the ball, score, and thus outscore a game Chargers squad.
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