Friday, January 11, 2008
NFL PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS: ROUND 2
Damn those oddsmakers.
They have managed to create four splendidly difficult lines to decipher.
• Some folks are thinking that Jacksonville will go into Foxboro and take down the unbeaten Patriots. I was thinking that too, for a while. Then I managed to get some blood back to my brain. Yes, David Garrard has done a solid job of leading the Jags to where they are. Yes, Jacksonville is one of the five best teams in the NFL. But the 2007 Patriots are the best NFL team ever. They're going to find a way to not only win but to cover this one. Brady, Moss, et al., they're all going to be playing, and playing hard. There's just no way, is there? New England is favored at home by 13.5 points. New England will WIN and COVER, 42-19.
• The Chargers sucked against Tennessee for a full half before getting their minds right. That doesn't bode well for a team now heading to Indianapolis to take on the well-rested Colts. I'm not even sure the prospect of a return to the field by Marvin Harrison is even going to make a difference. Yes, I know San Diego beat Indy earlier this year, but the Colts were beset by injuries and Peyton Manning just simply had a rare bad night. It's not going to happen again. Indianapolis is favored at home by nine. Indianapolis will WIN and COVER, 38-7.
NFC Wild-Card Round:
• The point spreads on the NFC games have me thinking the home teams are bound for more success this weekend than should reasonably be expected. Seattle is not a slouch. Yes, the game is at Lambeau, and yes, I'm sure Matt Hasselbeck is going to be mindful of his ill-fated overtime coin-flip claim a few years back. But Seattle is tough. They might be undervalued because their division title came in a weak NFC West. They should give it a game, and possibly even make it an overtime one again. An overtime game means 1) the Packers can not cover, and 2) anything can happen. A Josh Brown overtime field goal is not out of the question, but I'll stick with the Pack. Green Bay is favored by 7.5 at home. Green Bay will WIN but NOT COVER, 23-20 in overtime.
• The question involved in the Dallas-N.Y. Giants game is, which Giants team will show up? The one that gave the Patriots a game in Week 17, or the one that got crushed by a streaking Redskins team a couple weeks before? Eli Manning has won many games on the road this year, but he lost in Dallas early on. The Cowboys took both regular-season games against the Giants, and historically it has been tough for a team to win three times against the same team in one year. Now I see we're depending too much on the past to figure out what's going to happen. RIght now both these teams are playing well, and don't worry about this fake scandal about Tony Romo being on the beach for a week instead of focusing on the game. He'll be focused. Everyone involved in this game will be. It's going to be a good one. Dallas is favored by 7.5 at home. Dallas will WIN but NOT COVER, 26-23.
They have managed to create four splendidly difficult lines to decipher.
AFC Divisional Playoffs:
• Some folks are thinking that Jacksonville will go into Foxboro and take down the unbeaten Patriots. I was thinking that too, for a while. Then I managed to get some blood back to my brain. Yes, David Garrard has done a solid job of leading the Jags to where they are. Yes, Jacksonville is one of the five best teams in the NFL. But the 2007 Patriots are the best NFL team ever. They're going to find a way to not only win but to cover this one. Brady, Moss, et al., they're all going to be playing, and playing hard. There's just no way, is there? New England is favored at home by 13.5 points. New England will WIN and COVER, 42-19.
• The Chargers sucked against Tennessee for a full half before getting their minds right. That doesn't bode well for a team now heading to Indianapolis to take on the well-rested Colts. I'm not even sure the prospect of a return to the field by Marvin Harrison is even going to make a difference. Yes, I know San Diego beat Indy earlier this year, but the Colts were beset by injuries and Peyton Manning just simply had a rare bad night. It's not going to happen again. Indianapolis is favored at home by nine. Indianapolis will WIN and COVER, 38-7.
NFC Wild-Card Round:
• The point spreads on the NFC games have me thinking the home teams are bound for more success this weekend than should reasonably be expected. Seattle is not a slouch. Yes, the game is at Lambeau, and yes, I'm sure Matt Hasselbeck is going to be mindful of his ill-fated overtime coin-flip claim a few years back. But Seattle is tough. They might be undervalued because their division title came in a weak NFC West. They should give it a game, and possibly even make it an overtime one again. An overtime game means 1) the Packers can not cover, and 2) anything can happen. A Josh Brown overtime field goal is not out of the question, but I'll stick with the Pack. Green Bay is favored by 7.5 at home. Green Bay will WIN but NOT COVER, 23-20 in overtime.
• The question involved in the Dallas-N.Y. Giants game is, which Giants team will show up? The one that gave the Patriots a game in Week 17, or the one that got crushed by a streaking Redskins team a couple weeks before? Eli Manning has won many games on the road this year, but he lost in Dallas early on. The Cowboys took both regular-season games against the Giants, and historically it has been tough for a team to win three times against the same team in one year. Now I see we're depending too much on the past to figure out what's going to happen. RIght now both these teams are playing well, and don't worry about this fake scandal about Tony Romo being on the beach for a week instead of focusing on the game. He'll be focused. Everyone involved in this game will be. It's going to be a good one. Dallas is favored by 7.5 at home. Dallas will WIN but NOT COVER, 26-23.
