It's playoff time. Here's my bracket:
AFC
The Game:
6 Tennessee
3 San Diego
The Pick: Tennessee. Norv Turner and Philip Rivers in the playoffs is a disastrous combination, no matter who plays QB for the Titans. Look for LDT to step quickly out of bounds whenever contact is imminent, and then blame the loss on his teammates that "lacked heart." Someday somebody will catch on to his act, but it probably won't be this year.
The Game:
4 Pittsburgh
5 Jacksonville
The Pick: Jacksonville. This is one of those seldom seen cases where the division winner has a worse record than the Wild Card team. Pittsburgh is the worse team here anyway you slice it, and you can bet that their special teams will cost them on at least one big play.
The Game:
6 Tennessee
1 New England
The Pick: New England. A well coached team like Tennessee can beat a poorly coached team like San Diego despite having inferior talent, but when they come up against an equally well - if not better - coached team such as New England, their talent will lose out every time.
The Game:
5 Jacksonville
2 Indianapolis
The Pick: Jacksonville. This is Jacksonville's Super Bowl. After romping over the Colts in Week 14 last season, the Jags have come up short in 2007. But it's tough to beat an NFL team three times in one season, and Jacksonville is primed for this upset.
The Game:
5 Jacksonville
1 New England
The Pick: New England. After vanquishing the Colts, the Jags won't have enough fight in them to overthrow the Patriots. But even if they did, the Patriots would be too much for them. Simply put, this Patriots team has been the best team of all-time through 16 games and there is no reason why that is about to change. Bill Belichick has demanded 60 minutes from his players every week, and they have delivered each and every time.
NFC
The Game:
6 Washington
3 Seattle
The Pick: Washington. Seattle is a paper champion. Despite the difference in seeding and the shape of their seasons, Washington is just about Seattle's equal according to Football Outsiders DVOA rankings. And while Washington was busy tussling with 8 playoff teams, the Hawks only played two, and none since early October. The only other team they played with a winning record this year was Cleveland, a game they lost. So you have two fairly even teams, but one is battle tested and riding a possibly unprecedented emotional high. This isn't rocket science.
The Game:
4 Tampa Bay
5 New York
The Pick: New York. I just don't see how Jeff Garcia can come in and play effectively after so much time off, especially with the Giants D line chasing him all over the field. Furthermore, the Giants have the weapons to turn this into a shootout, and the Bucs don't. They need games to be low scoring, and the outcome, like most involving Eli Manning will hinge on whether or not the Giants can put the points on the board of which they are capable. I'm betting they will be. However, I will hedge and say that this is the upset with which I'm least comfortable.
The Game:
6 Washington
1 Dallas
The Pick: Washington. I just can't shake the image of Tony Romo fumbling at the goal line last January. He needs to win a playoff game before I'm going to start trusting him. Also, the Cowboys are coached by Wade Phillips, a notorious choker on par with Norv Turner.
The Game:
5 New York
2 Green Bay
The Pick: Green Bay. This game is going to have one of those 1993 feels. Maybe FOX can get Pat Summerall and John Madden back in the booth. While that probably won't happen, what will happen is Bret Favre riddling the depleted Giants secondary with bullets the likes of which Jeff Garcia can't even fathom.
The Game:
6 Washington
2 Green Bay
The Pick: Green Bay. The magic runs out for Joe Gibbs' troop, but not before the entire world knows how well they've come together in the wake of Sean Taylor's death. It is very much a remarkable story, but the way the media sensationalizes everything, I'm sure a lot of people will be tired of hearing about it by the time this game ends.
SUPER BOWL XLII
New England vs. Green Bay
The Pick: New England. In this rematch of Super Bowl XXXI, the Packers will not have Desmond Howard to run back two kicks for touchdowns. Enough has been said about this Patriots team, I don't need to re-hash why they're brilliant. Belichick will do what Belichick does best - take away the other team's biggest strength. The Pats will cut down Favre's slant routes, and players like Tedy Bruschi and Asante Samuel will come up with big INT's. The Super Bowl MVP will go to the aforementioned Bruschi, who will play the game of his life, and then promptly retire in good health and with four rings.
AFC
The Game:
6 Tennessee
3 San Diego
The Pick: Tennessee. Norv Turner and Philip Rivers in the playoffs is a disastrous combination, no matter who plays QB for the Titans. Look for LDT to step quickly out of bounds whenever contact is imminent, and then blame the loss on his teammates that "lacked heart." Someday somebody will catch on to his act, but it probably won't be this year.
The Game:
4 Pittsburgh
5 Jacksonville
The Pick: Jacksonville. This is one of those seldom seen cases where the division winner has a worse record than the Wild Card team. Pittsburgh is the worse team here anyway you slice it, and you can bet that their special teams will cost them on at least one big play.
The Game:
6 Tennessee
1 New England
The Pick: New England. A well coached team like Tennessee can beat a poorly coached team like San Diego despite having inferior talent, but when they come up against an equally well - if not better - coached team such as New England, their talent will lose out every time.
The Game:
5 Jacksonville
2 Indianapolis
The Pick: Jacksonville. This is Jacksonville's Super Bowl. After romping over the Colts in Week 14 last season, the Jags have come up short in 2007. But it's tough to beat an NFL team three times in one season, and Jacksonville is primed for this upset.
The Game:
5 Jacksonville
1 New England
The Pick: New England. After vanquishing the Colts, the Jags won't have enough fight in them to overthrow the Patriots. But even if they did, the Patriots would be too much for them. Simply put, this Patriots team has been the best team of all-time through 16 games and there is no reason why that is about to change. Bill Belichick has demanded 60 minutes from his players every week, and they have delivered each and every time.
NFC
The Game:
6 Washington
3 Seattle
The Pick: Washington. Seattle is a paper champion. Despite the difference in seeding and the shape of their seasons, Washington is just about Seattle's equal according to Football Outsiders DVOA rankings. And while Washington was busy tussling with 8 playoff teams, the Hawks only played two, and none since early October. The only other team they played with a winning record this year was Cleveland, a game they lost. So you have two fairly even teams, but one is battle tested and riding a possibly unprecedented emotional high. This isn't rocket science.
The Game:
4 Tampa Bay
5 New York
The Pick: New York. I just don't see how Jeff Garcia can come in and play effectively after so much time off, especially with the Giants D line chasing him all over the field. Furthermore, the Giants have the weapons to turn this into a shootout, and the Bucs don't. They need games to be low scoring, and the outcome, like most involving Eli Manning will hinge on whether or not the Giants can put the points on the board of which they are capable. I'm betting they will be. However, I will hedge and say that this is the upset with which I'm least comfortable.
The Game:
6 Washington
1 Dallas
The Pick: Washington. I just can't shake the image of Tony Romo fumbling at the goal line last January. He needs to win a playoff game before I'm going to start trusting him. Also, the Cowboys are coached by Wade Phillips, a notorious choker on par with Norv Turner.
The Game:
5 New York
2 Green Bay
The Pick: Green Bay. This game is going to have one of those 1993 feels. Maybe FOX can get Pat Summerall and John Madden back in the booth. While that probably won't happen, what will happen is Bret Favre riddling the depleted Giants secondary with bullets the likes of which Jeff Garcia can't even fathom.
The Game:
6 Washington
2 Green Bay
The Pick: Green Bay. The magic runs out for Joe Gibbs' troop, but not before the entire world knows how well they've come together in the wake of Sean Taylor's death. It is very much a remarkable story, but the way the media sensationalizes everything, I'm sure a lot of people will be tired of hearing about it by the time this game ends.
SUPER BOWL XLII
New England vs. Green Bay
The Pick: New England. In this rematch of Super Bowl XXXI, the Packers will not have Desmond Howard to run back two kicks for touchdowns. Enough has been said about this Patriots team, I don't need to re-hash why they're brilliant. Belichick will do what Belichick does best - take away the other team's biggest strength. The Pats will cut down Favre's slant routes, and players like Tedy Bruschi and Asante Samuel will come up with big INT's. The Super Bowl MVP will go to the aforementioned Bruschi, who will play the game of his life, and then promptly retire in good health and with four rings.