Wild Card Weekend Picks!

17 weeks of football are over. There are only three real weekends left of the NFL. The playoffs have finally arrived, and they kick off this weekend with Wild Card Weekend. This weekend and next weekend are two of the best weeks in sports. You get doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday both weekends, and it is nothing but high intensity and pressure filled football. Think about this while you are watching the games this weekend: In 2005, Pittsburgh opened up their Super Bowl run on Wild Card Weekend. In 2006, the Colts started their Super Bowl run on Wild Card Saturday. In 2007, the Giants began their march to the Super Bowl on Wild Card Weekend. Last year, the Cardinals began their run to a Super Bowl appearance on Wild Card Weekend. It is pretty amazing that the last four Super Bowls featured a team that played their first game in the first round of the playoffs. The NFL playoffs are becoming more and more of a crapshoot. We could be sitting there in February getting ready for the Super Bowl and thinking, "How the hell did the Jets win three road games and make the Super Bowl?" We could be saying to ourselves, "I can't believe I counted the Pats out before the playoffs started?" or "Wow, I didn't realize how Aaron Rodgers and Charles Woodson basically willed the Packers to the Super Bowl." Who could make it to the Super Bowl out of this group of eight that will play during Wild Card Weekend? I think this is the order from most likely to least likely: 1)Pats 2) Dallas 3) Philly 4) Arizona 5) Packers 6) Ravens 7) Bengals 8) Jets. Could the streak reach five this year? Who knows because the NFL Playoffs resemble the NCAA Tournament more then ever. Onto the picks.....

Week 17 Record: 9-4-3

Final Regular Season Record: 120-126-11

Last Year's Wild Card Record: 3-1

Last Year's Playoff Record: 5-6

(HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

BENGALS (-2) over New York Jets: I have loved this game ever since the second quarter of the Jets blowout over Cincy last Sunday Night. The Bengals have had a solid defense all year long, especially against the run. Against the Jets in Week 17, they were without Robert Geathers and Domata Peko and Chris Crocker. You can't tell me that the Bengals went all out on SNF. I think you will see a better effort by the defense on Saturday. The Jets did dominate the line of scrimmage, and they can run the ball effectively, but I have a feeling something will be different in this game. The Jets can't hide Mark Sanchez, and there will be a time when the Bengals will force the Jets and Sanchez to make a big time play. If he does pass that test, then there is a good chance that the Jets will win the game. The more the Jets piled on last week, the more and more I liked the Cincinnati's chances. The other factor in this game is Carson Palmer. The Bengals have pulled the reins in on him this year, but he is still a very good QB. I look for him to make some big throws and play very well. Another huge factor is that the fact that this game is in Cincy. The Bengals last hosted a playoff game in 2005, and the wind was taken out of their sails when Palmer was hurt on the first play. The Bengal fans will be pumped and the stadium will be rocking. I see the Bengals jumping out early and forcing the Jets into some third and long situations. I see Sanchez struggling and giving one of those "Holy shit, the playoffs are really no joke" type looks as he comes off the field on another three and out. Too many people are overrated the Jets and underestimating the Bengals. Not me. I'll take the Bengals giving two points. Final Score: Bengals-23 Jets-13.

Philadelphia (+4) over DALLAS: You have to love the setting for this game: Saturday Night, Wild Card Game, Philly-Dallas, the new Cowboys Stadium. Philly was one of the hottest teams in the league and boasted one of the best offenses when it entered Dallas in Week 17. The Cowboys thrashed the Eagles 24-0, but I'm not ready to buy into Dallas yet. If Dallas was hosting the Packers or playing anyone else in the field, I could see myself picking them, but I'm not going to go against the Eagles in this one. There is enormous pressure on the Cowboys this week. From Jerry Jones to Wade Phillips to Tony Romo to the kicker and even the concession stand guy, there is a tremendous amount of pressure on them to win this game. I know the Cowboys have won two games in two attempts from the Eagles, but Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb find a way to pull this one out. No one really stopped the combination of Brent Celek, Desean Jackson, and Jeremy Maclin all year, and they will have big days on Saturday Night. The Eagles were my preseason Super Bowl pick, so I'll stay with them here.

Final Score: Philly-27 Dallas-21

NEW ENGLAND (-2) over Baltimore: The Ravens haven't been impressive since their 3-0 start. They were 6-6 at one point, and the only reason they got in was because they played Detroit, Chicago, and Oakland down the stretch. They will rely too much in their run game, and their secondary can't stop anyone. Although the Pats lost Wes Welker due to injury, they still have Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. That is good enough for me. This will be close for awhile, but Brady will find ways to exploit that Ravens secondary. I'll stick with the Pats in Foxboro.

Final Score: New England-24 Ravens-17

ARIZONA (-1) over Green Bay: As much as I would like to see the Packers win, the Cardinals will come out on top. Throw their Week 17 games out of the window. All Arizona has to do is get the Kurt Warner to Larry Fitzgerald game going. The Packers will counter with putting Charles Woodson on Fizgerald, but Warner has other weapons (Don't forget about Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells), and he will find ways to beat the Packers in the passing game. Aaron Rodgers will play well and expect a lot of points and a lot of yards, but at the end of the day, Warner will make a few more plays then Rodgers. Final Score: Arizona-31 Green Bay-21