Wild Card plays and other NFL thoughts

Colts 23, Chiefs 8: This was a game neither team deserved to win.

For the Chiefs, Trent Green was ice cold, which meant the Colts defense could concentrate on stopping Larry Johnson without paying for it. I don't know who was calling the offensive plays for the Chiefs, but I suspect they were possessed by the ghost of some 1960's head coach. Run, run, pass, punt.

On the other hand, the Chiefs defense looked like they were possessed by the 1970's Steelers defense. They made life miserable for Peyton Manning, who threw three interceptions. The Chiefs also kept the Colts out of the end zone until the third quarter.

Nothing the Colts did impressed me, although Dallas Clark looked good. Joseph Addai looked good in the second half, although the Chiefs defense was worn down by that point, due to the ineptitude of the Chiefs offense.

Don't look for the Colts to last past the next round, against the Ravens.

Seahawks 21, Cowboys 20: Poor Tony Romo. He does everything he can to win this game for the Boys, then botches the hold on a chip shot field goal which would have won the game.

This was a game between two teams which won't last long in the playoffs, and it showed. After watching the great defensive performances in the Chiefs-Colts game, this game was a defensive mediocrity. The worst part was the offenses didn't seem good enough to take advantage of it. A good offense against either of these teams would have put 40 points on the scoreboard easily.

Unfortunately, the Seahawks don't have to worry about facing a good offense next week with the Bears. However, I cannot see the Hawks putting up 21 on the Bears defense.

Patriots 37, Jets 16: I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed watching the Pats out-coach and out-play the Jets. All I have heard is how I have been underrating the Jets this year. That cricket chirping sound you hear is all the Jets fans now.

The Jets didn't belong in the playoffs, and the Pats proved it.

The Pats-Chargers game next week should be a good one. I want to see if Belichick can figure out a way to stop the Chargers. It may be a classic if he can.

Eagles 23, Giants 20: I must admit the Giants fans aren't nearly as obnoxious as the Jets fans. I suspect it is because they know the Giants have problems. However, the Giants put up a much better effort than the Jets did.

For awhile there, I thought the Eagles would just beat the Giants in a snoozer. When the Eagles were up 20-10 in the third quarter, I expected the Giants to just cave in. But the Giants showed some heart and tied it up in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for the G-men, they didn't get a botched field goal attempt at the end to save them.

The Eagles will have to put up a much better effort against the Saints next week. Even though I predicted the Eagles will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, I was not pleased by what I saw from them against the Giants.

FALCONS HIRE PETRINO: My initial thought on the Falcons hiring Louisville's Bobby Petrino as their next head coach is "bad move". College coaches generally don't do well on the pro level (see Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban). For every Jimmy Johnson who does succeed, there are plenty of Butch Davis and Dennis Erickson failures.

But it really doesn't matter who the Falcons hire as head coach, since they are determined to continue with the failed Mike Vick experiment.

Pick the NFL Playoff Winners

Time for the BIG "Pick the NFL Playoff Winners" competition! Ok, so it is not really that big, since there's no money to be won. But isn't it all worthwhile when you get your name mentioned on three blogs? (Politics and Pigskins, American Legends, and Ragged Thots)

The object of the game is simple: pick the winners throughout the rest of the playoffs. The trick is to do it NOW. Similar to an "NCAA Final Four Tourney" pool, you pick the brackets all the way through to the championship game. You get one point for each Wild Card Weekend winner predicted correctly, two points for each Divisional Playoff winner, three points for each Conference Championship winner, and four points for the Super Bowl winner.

I will keep score and give weekly updates. Just post your picks in the comments.

Each conference's playoffs are seeded the following way (final records shown in parentheses):

AFC
#1 seed - San Diego (14-2)
2 - Baltimore (13-3)
3 - Indianapolis (12-4)
4 - New England (12-4)
5 - N.Y. Jets (10-6)
6 - Kansas City (9-7)

NFC
#1 seed - Chicago (13-3)
2 - New Orleans (10-6)
3 - Philadelphia (10-6)
4 - Seattle (9-7)
5 - Dallas (9-7)
6 - N.Y. Giants (8-8)

Remember, the top seed always plays the lowest seed every weekend, with the exception of the first weekend (Wild Card Weekend) when the top two seeds in each conference don't play.

I shall demonstrate how to do this with my own picks (in red).

WILD CARD WEEKEND
AFC
#6 Kansas City at #3 Indianapolis: This game is perfect for the Chiefs. Their grind-it-out running attack against the Colts porous run defense. I would be surprised if Herm Edwards can screw up this game plan.
#5 N.Y. Jets at #4 New England: I said it before and I will say it again. The Jets are one and done.
NFC
#5 Dallas at #4 Seattle: Dallas should bounce back from their big choke against the Lions (a million Raider fans have sent Matt Millen a Christmas card).
#6 N.Y. Giants at #3 Philadelphia: The Eagles complete the "New York, New York" bounce from the playoffs.

DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS
AFC
#6 Kansas City at #1 San Diego: This is a no-brainer. Don't think for a second that Marty Schottenheimer won't enjoy beating his old team in the playoffs.
#4 New England at #2 Baltimore: If McNair stays healthy, the Ravens go far.
NFC
#5 Dallas at #1 Chicago: I give the edge to Chicago on special teams in this game. Other than that, this is a toss-up.
#3 Philadelphia at #2 New Orleans: As much as I would like to see the Saints do well in the playoffs, they look too young to pull it off. Philly has the veteran leadership needed to play well enough to win.

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
AFC
#2 Baltimore at #1 San Diego: This game is the true Super Bowl. Either of these teams is a worthy Super Bowl champion (yes, I said champion). I am gambling McNair stays healthy and leads the Ravens to the promised land, while the Chargers fall prey to the "Marty-ball" curse.
NFC
#3 Philadelphia at #1 Chicago: I expect only two playoff games for the Bears before we see the real Rex "Which team am I on?" Grossman. I might be over-rating that by one playoff game.

SUPER BOWL
Philadelphia vs. Baltimore: "The Battle of I-95". I predict the Eagles score the first touchdown, before the Ravens say, "Nevermore." Ravens win 31-7.