WILD CARD WEEKEND PART TOO

RAVENS @ DOLPHINS: In a perfect world there would be no winners in this game, but unfortunately, there are no ties in the Playoffs. Got that Donovan? Now this has the potential to be a good game, which is all well and good. But I'm more interested in the pregame warmups. You read correctly. Joey Porter on one side with Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs on the other side. C'mon! If I'm NFL Films I am getting microphones on them two days ago! But, I guess they will also actually play a football game, and despite my repeated emails to Roger Goodell, there will be a winner, so, ummmm, Ravens 23-21.

EAGLES @ VIKINGS: Both teams seem to be playing their best ball when it counts. This one will either be close or an Eagles blowout. I'm leaning more towards the former, I think. Is the "former" the first thing in the sentence? I never remember that. Well, I think it will be close is what I'm trying to get across. But I think the effort of one individual could tip the scales in the Eagles direction. No, not Donovan McNabb. Not DeSean Jackson or Brian Westbrook either. No, the difference maker on Wild Card Sunday will be none other than............ Green Man
Eagles 17-12.

WILD CARD WEEKEND: PART ONE

Yes folks its time for football's second season! Wild Card Weekend is here! Everything that has occurred over the last seventeen weeks or so is now virtually meaningless. I said virtually. Anyway, on to the picks:

FALCONS @ CARDINALS: This one should be a shootout in the desert. The Cardinals earned a home game by winning the NFC West. As we've mentioned before winning the NFC West is kinda like being the skinniest kid at fat camp, the smartest Congressman, the tallest midget, or the healthiest Burger King menu item. I'm pretty sure the Lions would not have been winless if they played in that division. There I said it! In other words the Cardinals have proven the least of all the division winners, while the Falcons were just one game shy of getting a first round bye. Hmmm, Matty Ice versus the Methuselah of quarterbacks. Let me think. Falcons 31-21.

COLTS @ CHARGERS: The Chargers are the home team with the best chance of winning this weekend, while the Colts have Peyton Manning. This is a battle between two teams who were more or less written off as dead teams walking back in like Week 6. The Chargers surged to win the scrappy AFC West with a whopping 8-8 record. I mean how did they win four straight to get here? Well, they beat the Chiefs, Bengals, Buccaneers and Broncos. Only one of those teams was over .500, and that was Tampa Bay, but they lost their last four games including one to the Raiders, so that's not much to shake a stick at. Okay, okay, the Broncos were over .500 when they played them, but they lost their last three games and four of their last six. In fact against teams with above .500 records this year, the Chargers were a whopping, wait for it, 4-7. But....

before you all go jumping to pick the Colts in this one, lets take a look at that nine straight they won to turn their season around. It started with the Patriots and Steelers, in close games, those we'll count as "good" wins, but the next 7? Texans, Chargers, Browns, Bengals, Lions, Jaguars, Titans. The only team in there that actually gave a crap was probably the Chargers. And beating the Browns by 4, the Lions by 10, the Texans by 6, Jaguars by 7 and the lame duck Chargers by 3 is hardly awe inspiring, Now, I realize that the first couple of Patriot Super Bowl teams did the same thing, playing down to there opponents and winning every game close, but having not played a game that mattered in like 7 weeks could effect the Colts. Plus the Colts have had their troubles with the Chargers in the postseason. So what does this all mean? Well, I think its fairly obvious. Colts 27-23.