Posts Tagged ‘NFL Playoffs’

Monday Morning QB: Jay’s Recapping NFL Playoff Picks

// January 18th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Rob Lunn, Uncategorized

kim-kardashian-playing-football-on-the-beach

Jay here. Hi. Well, week 2 of the playoffs was pretty kind to me. Kinder than last week, where I had even my own mother questioning my intelligence. So What did I do? I locked myself in a cold dark room, poured over hours of game day and, BOOM, this week: NFL Playoff Gold. 3-1, killed the spread. Payin’ this months rent, and as an added bonus this post has not one, not two, but THREE Kim Kardashian pictures.

Here ya go…

Saturday

Prediction: Saints 34 - Cards 31. Outcome: Saints 45 - Cards 14

Manning and Brees were at the top of their games on Saturday.

It was great to see Reggie Bush of USC resurface for a few electrifying plays. I loved how after his

punt return for a TD they flash to Kim Kardashian and her mom hugging, like they really have any clue what is going on (they don’t).

Prediction: Colts 27 - Ravens 17. Outcome: Colts 20 - Ravens 3

Not sure there was ever any doubt here. Manning being Manning. The most surprising thing to come out of this game was that Ed Reed and not Ray Lewis is looking at retirement. I love Ray Ray and his murderin’ linebacker ways, but his time might be up.

Sunday

Prediction: Vikings 31 - Dallas 24. Outcome: Vikings 34 - Dallas 3

Prediction: Chargers 27 - Jets 16. Outcome: Jets 17 - Chargers 14

After watching Brett Favre sling it all over the field on the Cowboys and improve my picks to 3-0, the Chargers go out there and let me down and mess up my chance for a perfect weekend. By the way, WTF is up with kickers this postseason?!?! Nate Kaeding only missed 3 FGs all year and he misses three in this game? Thanks Nate you really let your team down. More importantly, Nate, yout let me down.

**Another side note, they must have told the story about how Mark Sanchez was at the playoff game last year when the Colts played the Chargers like 5 times. The announcers kept saying that he sat 6 rows from the top. This is probably part of his Mark Sanchez-every-man campaign. Really Mark? Your better than that. Rose Bowl MVP and future 1^st round draft pick sitting in the Helen Keller seats? A QB sitting where he can’t even see the game? Hmm…

FWG-NFL Presents Your Guide To The NFL Playoffs- Part II

// January 15th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Uncategorized

Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings, 1:00 pm. (MIN -2.5)

Bears Vikings Football The Cowboys are playing very good football right now. It seems like they are peaking at the right time. Romo is playing out of his mind and the defense is playing the best they have all season. I just have a feeling that the Boys won’t continue to play this good. The Vikings ended the season by whooping up on the Giants. They should be ready to go and I think the Cowboys run to the Super Bowl ends in Viking country. The combination of Brett Favre and Ragnar should be enough to derail the D-Train. I think the Vikes should get AP 25-30 touches in this game. It will be a good battle between the Dallas D-line and the Vikings O-line. Dallas did a great job of shutting down DeSean Jackson two weeks in a row but can they do the same with Offensive rookie of the Year, Percy Harvin?

Bottom Line: I’ll give the 2.5 points and take Minnesota, 31-24.

New York Jets at San Diego Chargers, 4:40 pm. SD -9

fong_steelers_f-500x400 This game reminds me of the old paradox,” What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object?” Corny? I know, but honestly, the Jets defense is playing awesome right now and the San Diego offense is as hot as any. The Chargers own an 11 game win streak. It will be interesting to see how this game unfolds. If the Chargers can put up some points and make the Jets throw the ball a lot, Sanchez will be in serious trouble but if the Jets can dominate the time of possession and keep the score close, so they can rely on the O-line and run game then I think the Jets can hang in there. I am leaning towards the Chargers getting it done. I think Antonio Gates is too big of a mismatch for the Jets (or any team). I am also going to go out on a limb and call for Darren Sproles to have a big game. He is my dark horse. He is such a weapon in the kick return game and is awesome on screens and draws. The Jets love to bring pressure, so look for Sproles to sneak out of the backfield and be unaccounted for. All Rivers needs to do is dump it off to him and he can do the rest. I’m torn on this game but I think the Jets run out of steam. Also, how can the Chargers lose with LT in the backfield? (see below)

Bottom Line: I’ll give the 9 and take Saint Diego , 27-16.

FWG-NFL Presents Your Guide To The NFL Playoffs- Part I

// January 14th, 2010 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

Hi. It’s me Jay. I’m back again this week with part one of my NFL playoffs breakdown….

Arizona Cardinals at New Orleans Saints, 4:30 pm. (NO -7)

…”Get your popcorn ready” would have been such a good line if the Bills had made the playoffs in, oh, say the last decade. But this game fits the same bill; two great offenses going head to head. The Saints limped into the playoffs with three straight losses . They took almost all of last week off to get healthy. CBs Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter are back after missing almost the whole second half of the season. This should help but come on, I don’t care if the Saints play with 13 guys on the field, the Cards offense is explosive. Warner could go out there with me playing receiver and they would still put up points (that may be stretching it a bit but you get the point). In all honesty, I think the Saints need to try to put pressure on Warner and make him make quick decisions. This may work and at the same time it may backfire but the whole world saw what happens when you let him sit back there with time. A lot of people will be high on the Cards after an exciting win at home. I think the Saints like the role they are playing this week. There hasn’t been much talk about them. They play at home and the Superdome should be rocking. Look for Drew and Crew to get back on track here and take down the high flying Cards.

Bottom Line: Saints win, but as far as the spread goes, bet your cake on the Cards. Saints, 34-31.

Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts, 8:15 pm. ( IND -6.5)

The Ravens played a very good game in New England last week as they dominated the Pats in every aspect. The Pats came out flat and had no idea what hit them. It will be a different story in Indianapolis this week. The Colts have taken a lot of heat for resting their players. Now its time to see if their strategy worked. I’m calling for a big game from Peyton Manning (real shocker, huh?) You could see how pissed he was when they let perfection slip away. Plus give the smartest guy in the NFL two weeks to prepare for 1 team? The Colts need to force the Ravens to beat them through the air (last week Flacco was 4 of 10 for 34 yards) That SHOULDN’T cut it in an NFL playoff game. If the Colts can get the Ravens into 2^nd and 3^rd and longs, it could be a long day. Rookie Coach Jim Caldwell makes his playoff debut but lets be serious about who is running that team. If I had to rank my top 3 coaches in the NFL it would go: 1. Peyton Manning 2. Brett Favre and 3. Sean Payton. Look here: caldwellmanning_medium

That conversation probably started something like, “Hey Peyton, what do you think we should do this week?”

Bottom Line: Colts win (and cover), 27-17.

NFL Wild Card Weekend Part Two

// January 8th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // Minnesota, Uncategorized

Jay Says….

Wild Card Weekend – The “Weekend of Rematches”

New York Jets at Cincinnati Bengals, Saturday (1/9/10) 4:30

The Jets and Bengals meet again for the second time in two weeks but this time in Cincinnati. There are a few keys to this game. Right now, the Jets have a recipe for success. They run the ball very well and play good, aggressive defense. In my opinion they have the best corner in the NFL, that being Darrelle Revis. Last week he held Chad Ochocinco to ZERO catches. It was the first time since 2003 that Ochocinco failed to catch a pass in a game. Revis has been solid all season shutting down the best WR’s in the league. Better news for the Jets is that David Harris, there leading tackler, returned to practice Thursday after missing a few days with an ankle injury. The Jets also have the best offensive line in football. With Nick Mangold and Alan Faneca leading the way (both heading to the Pro Bowl) Thomas Jones should have a big day. They are number 1 in the league allowing only 172.2 yards per game. One big question is how will rookie signal caller Mark Sanchez play? At times this year it looked like he was playing for the other team throwing 20 interceptions. I think if you’re the Jets’ coaching staff you don’t let Sanchez throw more than 18-20 times. I liked the mix they had last week with former Mizzou QB turned Mr. Everything Brad Smith taking some snaps under center. He is very good with the ball in his hands and can help the Jets offense. A steady dose of Thomas Jones and rookie backup Shonn Greene behind that great offensive line should take the Jets to victory. The Bengals had a great year but many times I felt like they played to the level of their competition. They lacked consistency and that is never a good sign for a NFL team. The Bengals will have Cedric Benson back this week as he sat out last Sunday’s matchup. The weather is supposed to be lousy with snow in the forecast and that sets up perfectly for the Jets. If Sanchez can hold onto the ball and limit himself to MAX one turnover, I think they Jets will ride that offensive line to the winner’s circle. J-E-T-S. Jets Jets Jets, 20-16.

Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots, Sunday (1/10/10) 1:00 pm

This is the only game of Wild Card weekend that isn’t a rematch from last week however these two teams did meet earlier in the year at Foxboro with the Pats holding on for the win, 27-21. The big story coming in, probably the biggest story in the NFL right now, is that Wes Welker will not play for the rest of the season with a torn MCL and ACL. A lot of people are saying that they should have rested their starters like the Colts did but Welker’s knee injury was a non-contact injury. It is very unfortunate but it could have happened in practice. I like that the Pats always play to win. Enter Julian Edelman, a former college QB at Kent State. Now don’t get me wrong, Wes Welker is one of the best WR in the NFL but Edelman will fit in just fine. Lets remember 2 things. 1. They still have Tom Brady. 2. In the 3 games that Edelman played and Welker didn’t (the two at the start of the season and last weeks game) Edelman had 21 catches for 221 yards receiving (last week he had 10 catches for 103 yards). Once again, I want to reiterate, Julian Edelman does NOT equal Wes Welker but with Tom Brady behind center, the Pats should still be very successful on the offensive side of the ball. For the Ravens, Ed Reed, their star safety, will be playing for the second time in 6 weeks and still won’t be 100%. He played a little last week, splitting time with Tom Zbikowski. I think the Ravens are hurt more without Ed Reed than the Pats are without Welker. The Ravens will need to rely heavily on Ray Rice. He does it all for the Baltimore offense but there is just something about Bill Belichick and the Pats at home. In a close game I like Brady and the hoody to come away with the win. They have won their last 8 and haven’t lost a home playoff game since 1996. I’m going with the Pats at home, 21-20.

Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals, Sunday (1/10/10) 4:40 pm

Another rematch from a game last week. I like the Packers to win again. Aaron Rodgers is playing as well as any QB in the league right now. His last three games he has had a QB rating over 100 and has thrown 5 TD passes and 0 interceptions. On the season Rodgers has thrown for close to 4,500 yards. He is an absolute star in the making and I think the Packers are one of the most dangerous teams in the playoffs. Also, their defense has been solid all year ranking 2^nd in total defense with 284.4 yards per game and 1^st in rushing defense with only 83.3 yards per game. Arizona has a dynamic offense but at times have been stagnant. The big question will be if Anquan Boldin can play. He hurt his knee/ankle in last Sunday’s game and without him the already talented Green Bay Secondary can pay more attention to All-World Receiver Larry Fitzgerald. The Cards also saw DE Calais Campbell break his thumb and talented CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie go down with a bruised left knee. I also like the Packers ability to run the ball better than Arizona. Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower have had a tough time holding onto the ball this year fumbling a combined 9 times. On the other hand Packers RB Ryan Grant has not fumbled all year (sorry Ryan, I know I just jinxed you). So with having a better defense and a better running game I am going to pick Green Bay. I like the Pack 31-27.