Divisional Playoffs 2017

Welcome back, everybody!!! Hope you are enjoying your weekend!!! It's is time for the Divisional Playoffs!!!

Last weekend, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Green Bay, and Houston won their Wild Card matches to advance to the Divisional round. Now, we are eight teams away from the Super Bowl, and while their Super Bowl dreams are still alive many NFL teams are at home preparing for next year. Two will begin their new seasons in a home.  The San Diego Chargers officially became the Los Angeles Chargers this week, and the Oakland Raiders are on the verge of filing paper work to make Las Vegas their home.  Meanwhile, the NFL coaching vacancies are starting to fill. Jacksonville made Doug Marrone their official coach and hired Tom Coughlin as president of football operations.  The Denver Broncos hired Vance Joseph away from the Miami Dolphins.  After much speculation, including a possible trade for New Orleans head coach Sean Payton, the Los Angeles Rams made 30-year-old Sean McVay the youngest coach after he spent three seasons as the offensive coordinator with the Washington Redskins. Finally, Anthony Lynn left the East Coast for the West Coast to become head coach of the newly minted Los Angeles Chargers.  

Well, to the picks. Last week, I was a perfect 3-0, but I expect no perfection this week. 

Saturday, January 14, 2017
Seattle Seahawks vs. Atlanta Falcons (4:35 pm EST on FOX):  Seattle.  I really have no faith in the Falcons. I want to pick them to win because they should win. They don't have a great defense, but Matt Ryan has been playing out of his mind this year. Russell Wilson's team has the better defense. That said, I just can't trust the Falcons.  They are like my Braves. They get riiiiiiiiiight there and find a way to lose. Remember, Tony Gonzalez wide open three years ago?  Remember, the 2 point game against New York?  That's what I'm saying.

Houston Texans vs. New England Patriots (8:15 pm EST on CBS):  New England.  I'm not going to spend a great deal of time here. We are all thinking it. IT is a forgone conclusion. Tom Brady wants revenge after his four game suspension...Blah-blah-blah, MVP, blah, blah, blah, Bill Belichick, yada-yada. Houston has Brock Osweiler who had a meh game over a meh Raiders team. I wish the Texans the best, but yeah, Brady should win this...easily...

Sunday, January 15, 2017
Green Bay Packers vs. Dallas Cowboys (4:40 pm EST on FOX):  Green Bay.  Yes, I know Prescott and Elliott have been balling out of control all year. Yes, I know that Tony Romo is ready just in case the rookie slips up, but the way Aaron Rodgers has been playing the last few weeks has me thinking of the Giants from a few years back who ran the table then beat the undefeated Patriots in the Super Bowl.  The Cowboys should win, but I'm sticking with the Packers.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Kansas City Chiefs (8:20 pm EST on NBC):  Kansas City.  This was supposed to be the first game on Sunday, but due to the ice storm that is headed Kansas City's way, the NFL made the move change the time of the game from 1:20 pm to 8:20 pm.  This should be the coldest game of the weekend, and these teams really don't like each other.  The Pittsburgh Steelers have had the upper hand on the Chiefs for the last few meetings including the 43-14 beatdown earlier this year, a game James Harrison claims to not remember playing. I did not want my team to play the Steelers.  There, I said it.  My brain tells me this is the time of the year when Ben Roethelisberger plays his best and my Chiefs, much like the Falcons, turn into the Atlanta Braves. Yet, I soooooooo want this to be the year for the Chiefs. My brain tells me that Pittsburgh is going to win, but my heart is with the Chiefs, so that's my pick, and I'm sticking to it.

Enjoy your games this week!!! Until next time, in Honor of Dr. King's Birthday on Sunday, “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”-Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

NFL Week 15: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

Welcome to Week 15, everybody!!!  The NFL Season is winding down and for the first time in years, there are 26 teams alive with a chance at the playoffs!!! The Seahawks, however, are the only team that has clinched their division. 

There was a game last night, or at least, there was supposed to be a game last night. The Miami Dolphins trounced the New York Jets 34-13.  Honestly, I forgot that this game was even on last night. I was too busy entertaining a two-year old and watching Frozen for the 900th time (FYI, I don't really care for this movie...at all). Yet, I would rather watch Frozen, than this dumpster fire of a game.

Jerry Jones and the Cowboys, they have been on a roll, but one bad game, and people are already calling for Romo.  Seriously, Cowboys, even Romo, had bad games, give the kid a break. It wasn't a blowout like Seattle in Green Bay. Even, the Hawks recovered to put a beatdown on LA Thursday night.  Seriously, let's go ahead and put a Thursday Night Football to pasture.

Good luck to everyone whose fantasy playoffs begin today.  Last week, I had an 11-5 run bringing the year's total to 132-75. 

Sunday, December 18, 2016
Tennessee Titans vs. Kansas City Chiefs: Kansas City
San Francisco 49ers vs. Atlanta Falcons:  Atlanta
New Orleans Saints vs. Arizona Cardinals:  Arizona
Oakland Raiders vs. San Diego Chargers:  San Diego
Cleveland Browns vs. Buffalo Bills:  Buffalo
Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears:  Chicago
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals:  Pittsburgh
Indianapolis Colts vs. Minnesota Vikings:  Indianapolis
Detroit Lions vs. New York Giants:  New York
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Baltimore Ravens:  Baltimore
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Houston Texans:  Houston
New England Patriots vs. Denver Broncos:  New England
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Dallas Cowboys:  Dallas

Monday, December 19, 2016
Carolina Panthers vs. Washington Redskins:  Washington

Thursday, December 22, 2016
New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles:  Philadelphia

Until next time, "Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence."-Helen Keller

NFL Divisional Playoffs 2016

Welcome, welcome, welcome! Happy Divisional Playoffs, and may the odds be ever in your favor! And then there were eight...the divisional round of the NFL playoffs begins today, and for the first time in a long time my Chiefs are still standing! Now, I'm not going to get excited because the Chiefs drew the Patriots in Foxborough. Sigh...


Before we get to the games, the coaching carousal has begun. Chip Kelley leaves the East coast for the West coast taking the 49ers head coaching job. Hue Jackson has landed in Cleveland, Adam Gase is the newbie in Miami, Dirk Koetter is replacing Lovie Smith in Tampa Bay, and Ben McAdoo is headed to Jersey to coach the Giants. There is the all but the signing on the dotted line of Chiefs' offensive coordinator Doug Pederson headed to Philadelphia.


To the games. Last week, I went 3-1. I wanted to pick Green Bay, but honestly, they have had some sketchy play recently.


Saturday, January 16, 2016
Kansas City Chiefs vs. New England Patriots-Sigh, I really, really want to pick the Chiefs. Every body knows Tom Brady and Belichick have been formidable opponents for everyone for years. It frightens me when everyone picks my Chiefs. So, I'm going way out on a limb here picking my Chiefs to win. Please, please, please...*fingers crossed*


Green Bay Packers vs. Arizona Cardinals-Remember when I picked the Pack to go to the Super Bowl, but not to win last week. That hasn't changed. Now, look I know that Seattle drop-kicked the Cards in the mouth in their last game, and Green Bay showed a spark last week against Washington. Flipping a coin...Green Bay. Of course, Arizona will prove me wrong. 


Sunday, January 17, 2016
Seattle Seahawks vs. Carolina Panthers-I'm not going to even pretend to dwell here. I'm picking Carolina. I hated every moment of that Seattle/Minnesota game, and while Seattle has shown sparks of greatness this year, I believe Carolina is the better team.


Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Denver Broncos-My sister is one of those weirdo fans who has two favorite teams in the same conference. These are her two teams. Pittsburgh is playing with multiple injuries after that MMA game they played with Cincinnati last week.  Denver has rallied around the returning Peyton Manning. Sigh, makes me sick to say...Denver.


This past week, we lost two giants in the entertainment industry David Bowie and Alan Rickman. I was a fan of both-David Bowie, because of his music and his willingness to be the weirdest person imaginable thus making your feel comfortable in your own skin, and Alan Rickman, because he made you believe he was every character he ever played, and how I loved his bad guys, especially Severus Snape. Until next week-"Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened."~Theodor Seuss Geisel

NFL Wild Card Weekend 2016

Welcome back, everybody! It is Wildcard Weekend! The 2015 season is over, and the season that began with 32 teams seeking to play Super Bowl 50 has been reduced to a field of 12. Of course with the end of the season comes Black Monday. Chip Kelley was fired the week before the end of the season, Tom Coughlin stepped down in New York, Lovie Smith's firing in Tampa Bay surprised everyone, while no one was surprised when Mike Pettine was let go in Cleveland. An even bigger surprise was the Colts hanging on to Chuck Pagano and the Saints retaining Sean Payton. Of course, most of us know there are others still waiting to learn their fate.

As Wild Card weekend begins, let's take a fond look back at my picks from the beginning of the season.

NFC East-Dallas Cowboys, NFC West-Seattle Seahawks, NFC South-Carolina Panthers, NFC North-Green Bay Packers
AFC East-New England Patriots, AFC West-Kansas City Chiefs, AFC South-Indianapolis Colts, AFC North-Baltimore Ravens
Wildcards: NFC-Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints/AFC-Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers
NFC Champion-Green Bay Packers/AFC Champion-Kansas City Chiefs
Super Bowl 50 Champion-Kansas City

Okay, I really tanked choosing the Cowboys, Washington won the East, Arizona the West, Minnesota the North, and I was on the money with Carolina, but only two of my NFC picks did not make the playoffs, as Seattle and Green Bay are both playing wildcard weekend. Sorry, Saints and Cowboys. Not really, Cowboys.

On the AFC side, I correctly called the East (which really wasn't a stretch), but Denver won the West, Cincinnati the North, and Houston won the South. Like with the NFC, only two of my picks didn't make the playoffs, as both Indianapolis and Baltimore both lost their starting quarterbacks and their seasons. Better luck next year, guys.

I picked Green Bay and Kansas City Chiefs to play the Super Bowl with the Chiefs winning. Honestly, I was mostly hoping. Hope is still there, but as a pessimistic Chiefs fan, I watch every game with only one eye open. My Chiefs have lost sooooooooooooooooooooo many first round playoff games. I mean, I know you have heard that the Chiefs haven't won a playoff game since Joe Montana was quarterback. They have won 10 straight games. I'm not bragging. Just stating facts. Please, please, please...Sigh...


Last week, I wrapped my season with a 10-6 finish with my final tally at 144-97. Wild Card Weekend finds the Patriots and the Broncos with byes in the AFC, while the Panthers and the Cardinals are relaxing in the NFC. Let's see how well I perform this Wild Card Weekend.

Saturday, January 9, 2016

Kansas City Chiefs at Houston Texans-No one expected either one of these teams to be here neither at the beginning of the year, nor the middle of the year. Both found a fire that has landed both in the playoffs. As much as I like J.J. Watt, I'm going to have to pick the Chiefs. I'm just going to leave it at that.


Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals-These two teams just flat out hate each other, and I expect it to be chippy early. Each team has won a game in the series this year, and although Cincinnati has been consistent all season (and I have a bit of crush on Marvin Lewis. Yes, I know it's weird), I think Pittsburgh is the hotter team. So, I have to go with Pittsburgh.

Sunday, January 10, 2016

Seattle Seahawks at Minnesota Vikings-So, I picked the Seahawks to win the West, and I didn't even include Minnesota. The Seahawks have had to struggle to get to the playoffs, and the Vikings won the North on the last game of the season. Both teams are hot, but I'm going to have to go with the Seahawks after that smackdown they laid upon the Cards last week.

Green Bay Packers at Washington Redskins-While I am a huge fan of Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews, I have little to no faith in the Packers. Yes, I am aware that I picked them to go to the Super Bowl, but this team has been playing poorly the last few weeks, yet Washington has a hot hand with Kirk Cousins. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm going with Washington.

There they are ladies and gentlemen. Enjoy your games! Divisional Playoffs next week! Until then, "I put my life on the line to be right here with y'all. Y'all helped me get to this point. We're just going to keep going forward. To me it's nota  game. It's bigger than that."-Eric Berry #BerryStrong Go Chiefs!!

NFL Week 1: My Very, Very, Very, Bold Prediction

After months of waiting, the 2015 season is here! The season kicked off with the controversial Super Bowl winning New England Patriots defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in a show of pomp and pageantry usually saved for the Bowl itself or the Grammy Awards. I’m not going to tarry long today rambling about how long it has been since my Chiefs have been to the Super Bowl or the fact that they were undefeated during the preseason (which means nothing).

Here are my picks (which are sure to fail) for the season.

NFC East-Dallas Cowboys

NFC West-Seattle Seahawks

NFC South-Carolina Panthers

NFC North-Green Bay Packers

 

AFC East-New England Patriots

AFC West-Kansas City Chiefs

AFC South-Indianapolis Colts

AFC North-Baltimore Ravens

 

Wildcards

NFC-Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints

AFC-Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers

 

NFC Champion-Green Bay Packers

AFC Champion-Kansas Chiefs

 

My bold prediction…I’m picking my Chiefs for Super Bowl 50. Why? Because, just because. It’s a feeling. How awesome would that be a repeat of Super Bowl I, but with the Chiefs taking the title?  Okay seriously, it will probably be New England vs. Seattle Part Two, with Seattle winning, but a girl can dream, right.

Sunday, September 13

Indianapolis Colts at Buffalo Bills: Indianapolis
Kansas City Chiefs at Houston Texans: Kansas City
Cleveland Browns at New York Jets: Cleveland

Miami Dolphins at Washington Redskins: Miami

Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears: Green Bay
Carolina Panthers at Jacksonville Jaguars: Carolina
Seattle Seahawks at St. Louis Rams: Seattle

New Orleans Saints at Arizona Cardinals: New Orleans
Detroit Lions at San Diego Chargers: San Diego

Baltimore Ravens at Denver Broncos: Denver

Cincinnati Bengals at Oakland Raiders:  Cincinnati
Tennessee Titans at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Tennessee

New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys: Dallas

Monday, September 14

Philadelphia Eagles at Atlanta Falcons: Philadelphia
Minnesota Vikings at San Francisco 49ers: San Francisco

Until next week, "Risk more then others think is safe. Care more than others think is wise. Dream more than others think is practical. Expect more than others think is possible." -Cadet Maxim

Championship Weekend Picks

It's Championship Weekend! We are down to the Final Four and a mere two weeks until Super Bowl XLVIII.  We get Brady vs. Manning 15 and The Young Guns 2 - Kaepernick vs. Wilson.  These should be two really good games. Yet, I'm having a hard time rooting for anybody.  It is no secret that I have no love for Brady and the Pats, but I always liked Peyton Manning until he became a Bronco, and therefore, public enemy #1.  Kaepernick is captaining the team that use to be my favorite team, but I don't really care for him nor his coach.  Then, there are the Seahawks. I'm beginning to hate everything about this team-Their logo, their uniforms, their coach, their quarterback, their corners, their rabid fans.  Granted, Russell Wilson has done nothing really for me to dislike him, nor has Colin Kaepernick, but there is something, I can't put my finger on it, that makes me think they are a little sketch. Maybe, it's the hater in me, but, yeah...not fond of them.

Three more teams, not Cleveland, finally have head coaches. Jim Caldwell replaces Jim Schwartz in Detroit, Ken Wisenhunt for Mike Munchak, and Jay Gruden for Mike Shanahan.  Good luck, gents! Speaking of the Redskins, what did you guys think about RGIII's Facebook response to fans.  He complains that he doesn't want publicity as he garners more publicity with this response.  I think he has been spending too much time perusing through the Kanye West playbook on how to handle the media. 

So, last week was the first week in a long time that I didn't mention the now former tight end of the Atlanta Falcons. Well, that's to The Big Lead, there are rumors going around that my favorite player of all time is in discussion to work at either at CBS or FOX.  Word on the street is that CBS wants to shakeup their cast on the NFL on CBS.  Let me digress for a moment here. I use to be a fan of the NFL on CBS, but with James Brown inanely yelling "Shay-non," every single time he had to address  Shannon Sharpe (whose speech has not gotten better), Dan Marino mannequinesque demeanor, and Boomer Esaison's apparent exclusion in all things, I changed the channel. I went to ESPN, but seriously, it's like watching a Football version of Grumpy Old Men. I watch GameDay morning on NFL Network, but seriously, my pregame favorite is the NFL on FOX.  Now, while the NFL on FOX doesn't want to mess with the chemistry on their show, and CBS is interested in possibly replacing Shannon Sharpe.  I want to go on record saying I like the choices here:  FOX which would give me a daily dose of Tony Gonzalez or CBS which is a weekly dose-win-win.

Last week, I was 3-1 thanks to the Panthers dropping the ball. Last pick before the Super Bowl.

San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks

The 49ers handled the Panthers on the Panthers home field, and they have had the hot hand like New York a couple of years ago.  The Seahawks looked a little sketch even at home last week against the Saints. I'm not going to even start with Marques Colston and Jimmy Graham. It's hard to go against Seattle in the Emerald City with the 12th man riding shotgun, but I'm going with my old favorite-49ers.

New England Patriots at Denver Broncos

In the two teams I dislike the most bowl, we see Tom Brady and Peyton Manny meeting for the 15th time.  Tom Brady has the most victories in this rivalry with 10. It's...yeah, you have heard all of the rhetoric this week about these two...blahdy-blahdy-blah-Broncos.  Man up, Manning.

Well, that's that...Happy 205th Birthday to Edgar Allan Poe, "All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream."-Edgar Allan Poe

Divisional Playoff Weekend Picks

I am thoroughly depressed. I realize that it has been over a week since Wildcard Weekend, but I'm still bitter about the Chiefs loss to the Colts.  The Chiefs' bad omens began in the first half when they loss running back Jamaal Charles to a concussion.  Most people, including myself, now saw 1/3 of the Chief offense sitting on the bench, but Alex Smith didn't see it that way and gave every Chiefs fan a false sense of hope by jumping out to a 38-10 lead. Chiefs' fans were ecstatic!  We were 30 minutes away from seeing our beloved Chiefs end a 20 year playoff drought, but alas, it was not to be.  The 28 point lead disappeared along with injuries to five more players.  Andrew Luck and the Colts stabbed Chiefs fans in the heart with a one point 44-45 victory.  Sickening...just...sickening.

The other games provided just as much excitement, not San Diego and Cincinnati, but the Saints, Chargers, and 49ers are now moving on to the Divisional rounds to take on the teams who were relaxing during their bye weeks.  My picks were a mediocre 2-2 thanks to Kansas City and Green Bay where the wheels fell off of the band wagons...

Saturday, January 11
New Orleans Saints at Seattle Seahawks
In a rematch of their Week 13 meeting, the Saints travel to Seattle to try to avenge the 34-7 drumming at the hands of the Saints.  I want to pick the Saints, but I think Russell Wilson and the 12th man will be too much-Seahawks

Indianapolis Colts at New England Patriots

This is the only game in which the teams did not play this year.  Me thinks young Mr. Luck's fortunes may not fall his way today at Gillette-Patriots

Sunday, January 12
San Francisco 49ers at Carolina Panthers

Young guns Colin Kaepernick and Cam Newton will battle for the second time this season.  The week 10 game saw the Panthers topping the 49er at Candlestick. I'm looking for a repeat of that game (hopefully with a better score)-Panthers

San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos

Philip Rivers and the Bolos, I mean, the Bolts are traveling back to Denver for a third meeting with the Broncos. The Chargers and Broncos split the season series with the Chargers winning the last match up at Mile High. The Chargers are on a roll, but I'm going to have to go with Pey-Pey-Broncos.

This is one of those weekends where I almost hope I go 0-4. I really don't care for a single team I picked, but alas, they are the stronger teams going in.  Enjoy your Divisional Playoff Weekend!

Until next time, good luck to your teams and "May the odds be ever in your favor!"-Suzanne Collins.

Divisional Playoff Weekend...

Howdy-do, everyone! It is Divisional Playoff Weekend!  And the biggest news this week...Blue Ivy turned 1 and Destiny's Child is getting back together for the Super Bowl!!!!  No, not really.  How about that Wildcard Weekend, huh?  Exciting right?  

I'll be honest.  It was not very exciting, though I did enjoy the Seattle/Washington game.  Bad News for Robert Griffin, III.  The rookie QB had surgery to repair his ACL and lateral collateral ligament repair performed Wednesday.  Good luck, my man!  Hope you make it all the way back in time for the season to start.

 

Wild Card Weekend 2013...

Welcome back!  The NFL Regular season came to an end last week, and we bid a fond farewell to playoff stalwarts the New York Giants (too little, too late), the Pittsburgh Steelers (couldn't overcome those weeks without Big Ben), the San Diego Chargers (Here's hoping Philip Rivers remembers he's Philip Rivers), the Chicago Bears (man, it will be tragic not seeing Jay Cutler pouting on the sidelines), the New Orleans Saints (Drew and Sean are getting the band back together next season), and the Dallas Cowboys (who Romo'd their way out of the playoffs).  See ya, next season boys!

Several coaches not only had to say goodbye to the playoffs, but had to say farewell to their jobs as well.  Black Monday saw 7 NFL Coaches cleaning out their offices:   Romeo Crennel (Kansas City), Chan Gailey (Buffalo), Andy Reid (Philadelphia), Pat Shurmur (Cleveland), Lovie Smith (Chicago), Norv Turner (San Diego), and Ken Whisenhunt (Arizona). Rumors are swirling that more may be getting the ax as early as today.  In addition to head coaches, GM's have been getting kicked to the curb as well including, Rod Graves (Arizona), Tom Heckert (Cleveland), Scott Pioli (Kansas City), A.J. Smith (San Diego), Mike Tannenbaum (New York Jets), and Gene Smith (Jacksonville).  Many of these were expected (in the case of Scott Pioli hoped, wished, and protested for), but I will admit I was surprised by the firing of Lovie Smith and Ken Whisenhunt.  

If you haven't heard, Andy Reid is about to be announced as the new head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs.  Reid will be the twelfth head coach in Chiefs history, and the fourth since 2005.  Sigh, I don't know how I feel about this signing.  I'm not striking up the band just yet.  I think I'm just going to take a wait and see approach.  I mean, the Chiefs ended the season with a 2-14 record-the fourth losing season since 2005.  When your team is in the basement, there is no where to look but up, right?

Ray Lewis announced that he would be retiring at the end of the Ravens run in the playoffs.  I've always been a little ambivalent about Ray Lewis.  I'll admit that I've never really quite known how to feel about him.  I will say this about Ray Lewis.  He is a heck of a football player.  The man has been an out and out leader on the field-one of the most feared defenders even as his body was starting to turn on him.  He is one of the most intense players to ever take the field, and I've enjoyed watching him play and will miss watching him explode from the Ravens tunnel. 

At the start of the season, I made my picks for the year.  Let's see how they turned out, shall we?

AFC East-New England Patriots (Right on the money.  12-4 with a bye)
AFC South-Houston Texans (Correct.)
AFC North-Baltimore Ravens (Correct. 
AFC West-Kansas City Chiefs (Eliminated. Could not have been more wrong.  Y'all forgive me for this gaffe.  Denver took the AFC West without much of a fight for the rest of the division.  Heck, the Broncos were the only team with a winning record.  Who thought Peyton would be back with such a vengeance?  Yeah, everybody.)
Wild Cards-Pittsburgh (Eliminated), Denver (Won the division)  Cincinnati made the cut.  So in the AFC, I was 4 for 6.  Not bad...I picked Houston to win it all.  I don't think I'm going to stick with that pick.

NFC East-New York Giants (Wrong.  Didn't see Washington taking this division.  Not at all.)
NFC South-Atlanta Falcons  (Correct with a bye)
NFC North-Green Bay Packers (Correct)
NFC West-San Francisco 49ers (Correct)
Wild Cards-Chicago (Eliminated.  Adrian Peterson and the Vikings power ran their way into the playoffs.), New Orleans (Eliminated. Seattle and their Rookie QB made the grade instead)
I picked Atlanta for the NFC Champs.  I'm going to stand by this pick, but they have me terrified with the way they have played as of late. 

Even with some of those craptastic predictions, I ended the season with a 135-80 pick record.  Not too shabby...

So, here are my Wild Card picks.  I will say I was more comfortable with my Saturday picks than my Sunday picks.

Saturday, January 5
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Houston Texans:  Cincinnati (I've pretty much lost faith in Houston)
Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers:  Green Bay (I think Aaron and the boys get it together.)
Sunday, January 6
Indianapolis Colts vs. Baltimore Ravens:  Baltimore (Either of these teams are capable, and each team is playing with added inspiration)
Seattle Seahawks vs. Washington Redskins:   Washington (If this were in Seattle, I probably would have picked Seattle.  These teams are a close match up, and it really could go either way.

That's all I've got today.  Enjoy your Wild Card Weekend!  Until next week, "I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious."~Vince Lombardi

The Birds are Falling, and I'm Eating a Little Crow

Welcome to the first Round of the NFL Playoffs, ladies and gents! I always find myself a little sad during the first week of the playoffs, because that means that in a mere four weeks, the NFL season will end with Super Bowl XLV. An added dilemma this year is the possible lockout if the NFL does not hammer out their CBA. There is enough crazy dramas in the world. Could we resolve this gentleman? The 49ers hired Jim Harbaugh as their new coach, and most of us collectively yawned. Miami retained Tony Sparano after they couldn't get Harbaugh. The Bengals and Marvin Lewis hemmed and hawed before deciding to finally stay married instead of playing the field. The Titans decided to stick with Jeff Fisher for the 17th season.

Earlier this year I made my predictions for the NFL Season...Looking back, I didn't fare too badly.
AFC East Champions-New England Patriots. My Pick-New York Jets
AFC North Champions-Pittsburgh Steelers. My Pick-Baltimore Ravens
AFC South Champions-Indianapolis Colts. My Pick-Indianapolis Colts
AFC West Champions-Kansas City Chiefs. My Pick-San Diego Chargers

AFC Wildcards-Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets. My Picks-New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans

Seriously, I picked the Titans? What was I thinking? Clearly I wasn't. I definitely didn't see my Chiefs jumping the Raiders, much less the Chargers.

NFC East Champions-Philadelphia Eagles My Pick-Dallas Cowboys
NFC North Champions-Chicago Bears My Pick-Green Bay Packers
NFC South Champions-Atlanta Falcons My Pick-Atlanta Falcons
NFC West Champions-Seattle Seahawks My Pick-San Francisco 49ers

NFC Wildcards-New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers. My Picks-New Orleans Saints, New York Giants

I completely read the NFC, because I thought that Dallas and New York were going to take the top spot. New York missed it by thismuch. I drank the 49ers Kool Aid, and it left a horrible taste in my mouth. The Seahawks...smh...there are no words for the NFC West division. None at all.

Last week, I posted a 10-6 record which brought my season total to 92-66. Not bad...So here are my picks for the Wildcard Round...

Saturday, January 8
New Orleans Saints vs. Seattle Seahawks-New Orleans Saints
New York Jets vs. Indianapolis Colts-New York Jets

Sunday, January 9
Baltimore Ravens v. Kansas City Chiefs-I have to pick my Chiefs...I know, I had Baltimore going to the Super Bowl, but I have to go with my heart and not my brain.
Green Bay Packers v. Philadelphia Eagles-Green Bay. I picked them earlier. I'm gonna stick with the Pack.

Byes-New England, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and Chicago

Good luck, guys. Those are my wayward picks...check back to mock my failure next week...
Until next week, “It was all self-inflicted. We were in the driver’s seat. And then we were in the passenger seat. And now we’re in the back seat.”-Keith Bullock. Go Chiefs!!!!