Seriously. 4 awesome playoff games back to back all weekend. In the NFL this weekend is #1a and last weekend was #1b. But in March Madness the first 4-day weekend is better than the next one. Sure deciding who goes to the Final Four is cool, but seeing 48 basketball games in 4 days is better.
Since it's the playoffs, I'll be giving my rationale behind the picks. Which just looks more foolish when I'm wrong.
Lock of the Week: Redskins at Seahawks
The Redskins have won 6 in a row and they don't stand a chance. They were lucky to win last week in Tampa and their reward is a trip to Seattle. The Hawks are undefeated at home this year and Shaun loves to run on that turf. Everyone in Chicago will be pulling for the Skins so the Bears can have another home game, but it won't happen.
Seahawks 24-13
Safe Pick of the Week: Steelers at Colts
They are the Super Bowl favorite and they have the #6 seed at home, who they already dominated earlier in the season. But Pittsburgh is a good team. They have running, reliable quarterbacking, and solid D: exactly what it takes to win in January. It's just too bad that this is the Colts year.
Colts 20-13
Gut Pick of the Week: Patriots at Broncos
The Broncos are really, really good at home. Bye week teams win 81% of the time. I think this game will be really good and really close. But when it comes down to the last 5 minutes, who do you want leading your team on the field? Plummer or Brady? Denver fans had better hope to have a 10 point lead at that point, and I don't think they'll have it. The Broncos are a fantastic team that could be the best in the NFC, but I'm picking the champs in a close one.
Pats 24-20
Pick that I'm really not sure about: Panthers at Bears
I happened to see a lot of the Bears games this year, more than I cared to see. And their defense is so good, especially at home, that they won most of their games in spite of their offense. And Grossman is much better than Orton, at least he provides a threat of a deep ball. So lets review: great defense, bye week, at home, 81%...so why am I picking the Panthers? The playoffs are all about experience. The Panthers were in the Super Bowl 2 years ago. Grossman can count his starts on one hand. And this isn't a slight against the Bear's defense. They will create points and limit Carolina. But they can't prevent Sexy Rexy from throwing a key pick in the 2nd half. So to conclude, I'll make my pick with something I heard a lot during my job search:
I decided to go with someone with more experience. I hope you understand.
Panthers 17-13
looks like the commish has grown some balls. picking both #2 seeds to lose after having pretty dominating years.
ReplyDeleteit's hard to pick against the champ, especially when the champ has brady and belichick, but not picking the bears? i think you're getting frustrated with the job search in chicago and taking it out on the hometown team. i don't think carolina's got it. and while i think the patriots will make it close, i think their time is up. i think they've been overachieving the whole second half. but that's just me, and i haven't seen them play this year.
Looks like Mark's 1-1.
ReplyDeleteYou guys should start your own PTI-type show and go head-to-head :)