AP Photo/Jack Dempsey
We were on our game last week. 3 out of the 4 contributors picked Denver outright to beat the Steelers in the upset, and yours truly (Voodoo) actually predicted it would happen in OT. CJ was a perfect 4-0. What does this week have in store for us? These matchups all seem very predictable. In fact, all 4 of our contributors all have the same picks for this week: Saints, Pats, Ravens, Pack. Is it really that predictable… Or are we in store for some major upsets? Can Tebow slay the Pats? Are the Giants really as hot as they looked last week? Can the Niners slow down the Saints? Questions that will be answered over the next couple of days.
Here are our Wildcard Weekend results:
CJ: 4-0
Voodoo: 3-1
Mike P: 3-1
Darren D: 1-3
Here are our Divisional Weekend predictions…
Voodoo Brown: San Francisco has put together quite a season under soon-to-be Coach of the Year Jim Harbaugh. People talk about their stout defense, and while they are a good defensive team, they are hardly impenetrable. Their run D is impressive (they didn’t allow a rushing TD until Week 16), but guess what, New Orleans is a pass-first offense whose running game is essentially screen dumpoffs to Darren Sproles – huge mismatch for every opposing defense. Couple that with the fact that the Niners lack major firepower on offense, and you are looking at an awful matchup for them. There’s no bad weather to slow the Saints down, no bitter cold to stiffen them up. Unless San Fran soaks the field with hoses and makes it sloppy, New Orleans will cut right through them. Every offensive Saints player seems to be a mismatch, especially Jimmy Graham in the heart of the field. New Orleans wins this one easily.
New Orleans 34, San Francisco 20
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Darren DeGaetano: Top offense versus top defense. In past years, the adage went: Offense wins games, defense wins championships. Not so much this year. San Francisco may well have the best defensive player on the planet in MLB Patrick Willis. He IS that good. But in this case in a big game, New Orleans’ offense will be too much. Last week against Detroit, the Saints showed they can be well balanced as Darren Sproles, Pierre Thomas and Chris Ivory all ran the ball well. I think you may see the Saints run a little more than usual, especially early in the game. All that nice analysis is somewhat moot because Alex Smith is still the 49ers quarterback and I just can’t trust him yet in a playoff game.
New Orleans 27, San Francisco 20
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CJ Sullivan: The old guard desperately wants the Niners to win this game so they can hold on to their outdated beliefs of defense winning championships. The 3 best teams (GB, NE, NO) have seemed to have gone out of their way this year to not a give a shit about defense. It makes our elders as irate as casual Friday. The Niners are improved and have an excellent defense. Boring.
New Orleans 31, San Francisco 20
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Mike Procopio: The Niners had some time to get healthy and also gave Alex Smith two weeks to “think about it.” Anytime Alex Smith has time to think about it, it isn’t a good thing for anyone involved. The defense causes as many turnovers as anyone in the league and has a gentleman who was named as an All Pro in two different positions! However, Drew Brees and the most potent offense I’ve seen since 2007 in New England is coming to town. This Saints team lost games to the Rams and Bucs this season on the road. Both of those teams fired their coaches last week. Being an underdog at home in the playoffs is never a good thing. Having the second coming of the Greatest Show on Turf in town is an even worse thing. I’ll take the Saints here.
New Orleans 27, San Francisco 10
Voodoo Brown: If you are a Tebow hater, I really need to question why. How can you not love this guy? He’s slow, can’t throw, looks like he’s in the midst of a Gladiator battle when he plays, and he still pulls off these Hollywood script wins. To top it off, he is a genuinely nice guy – almost to the point of being comical. For instance, when Brian Urlacher insulted Tebow’s QB legitimacy and called him “a good runningback”, Saint Tim politely responded “Coming from a really good player, that means a lot.” Friggin amazing, Tim. Keep the soundbytes coming. Unfortunately I think the Tebow show ends this week. Pats are at home, and I don’t see Denver keeping up with Brady & Co. The only chance the Broncos have is if Elvis Dumervil can get tons of pressure on Brady and keep him rattled all day. Even then, not sure Denver can keep up. Gotta go with the rested Pats at home.
New England 38, Denver 24
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Darren DeGaetano: Everyone says this game is going to shatter Nielson ratings and it just might. The country has been polarized by the man they call Tebow prompting people, such as myself, to slam Tom Brady with the satan moniker. These two teams squared off about a month ago and after Denver hung with the Patriots for about a quarter, the league’s true dark prince, Bill Belichick, decided he had enough of the Messiah. The hooded devil is licking his chops and the Patriots will roll again. All that said, I’m certainly pulling for the Broncos. What amazes me is how many people are threatened by Tebow’s success. Why does it bother you? Yeah, I’m talkin’ to YOU!! Don’t we all yearn for real good guys in sports to succeed? Why not him? My only question is why do teams make it so difficult on themselves to defend him? Michael Vick has more speed, agility and double the arm strength, yet most teams don’t seem to have a problem beating him. Divine intervention, I suppose.
New England 37, Denver 17
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CJ Sullivan: Tim Tebow should have another solid game against what is a hilarious Patriot defense, but the problem will be Tom Brady. Denver’s pass defense is surprisingly just as bad as New England’s and that is not good when facing a qb that actually can throw an over handed forward pass.
New England 48, Denver 17
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Mike Procopio: Brady versus Tebow Part II. McDaniels comes back to New England after his “eff you” moment a few years back in Denver, to coach against two guys he drafted in Tebow and Thomas. Primetime game on a Saturday Night that will probably shatter all divisional playoff ratings, it doesn’t get any better than this. The Patriots will expose the Broncos defense once again and force Tebow to beat them. They have the youth on defense (if you wanna call it that) to hang with the Broncos as the Steelers showed their age late in the game on Sunday. The Patriots earn a birth to the AFC Title game with a 38-17 beating of Tebow and the Broncos.
New England 38, Denver 17
Voodoo Brown: Imagine if Houston never left and they were still the Oilers, and the Ravens stayed in Cleveland and were still the Browns. This would be a classic Oilers/Browns “baby blue vs brown & orange” matchup, and I’d be glued to my TV. Instead, I need to watch Ray Lewis and T-Sizzle bark like dogs and that Baltimore meat & potatoes offense go to work, led by the most boring QB in the game. The only thing slightly appealing about this game is the Ray Rice vs Arian Foster matchup. But I think it’s going to be way more Rice than Foster. Baltimore wins this very lame game easily, and Houston will think about the “what if”s.
Baltimore 27, Houston 13
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Darren DeGaetano: Despite a strong running game, Houston quarterback T.J. Yates is going to see a much stronger pass rush this week. The Texans defense is going to see a more balanced attack than they did last week against Cincinnati who played, essentially, without an ability to run the ball. Ray Rice should open things up just enough for Joe Flacco and the Ravens will win a run heavy matchup.
Baltimore 20, Houston 17
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CJ Sullivan: The Houston Texans have given everything their fans wanted this year. After starting off the season on fire, they suffered numerous injuries that threatened their run. The Texans rallied, however, and key reserves stepped up to give their fans their first ever playoff win at home. Now the fans want their team to come home before they do anything stupid like get embarrassed in a Super Bowl. Texans oblige.
Baltimore 27, Houston 3
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Mike Procopio: This will as “smash-mouth, game won in the trenches” as you can get on Sunday. Neither team has a quarterback that you can trust. Both teams also have a top 5 NFL running back to pound the rock. I do think the inexperience in Houston will show, perhaps with a turnover two early that they just can’t come back from. Don’t be surprised to see the Ravens special teams make a big play as well on Sunday. I’m going with the Ravens in this one.
Baltimore 24, Houston 13
Voodoo Brown: I’m not sure if the Giants were that “lights out” impressive last week, or if Atlanta just has no heart. They never showed up. With the Giants, it’s amazing to me how many times Coughlin is on the hot seat one week, then after a big win he’s serving up quotes that the press latches onto like he’s Vince Lombardi. Absolutely mind-boggling how much of a see-saw the NY media is. And I thought Philly was bad. I’m glad that their D Coordinator saved his job with that one stellar performance last week, giving the Eagles a chance to sign Spagnuolo. Now if Andy would just come home from vacation to make the deal official, I’d rest much easier. Because this week, Aaron Rodgers & Co are going to hang 40+ on them… and we can’t have any heads roll in New Jersey after this game.
Green Bay 41, New Jersey 31
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Darren DeGaetano: I expect Eli Manning to play very well in this game. I expect Aaron Rodgers to play a lot better. Thanks to the emergence of Victor Cruz, the Giants now have a legitimate top flight passing attack. Last week, their ground game simply outmuscled Atlanta’s defense. On Sunday, I expect the Giants offense to play even better. Only problem is, their defense isn’t playing the Falcons’ terrible offensive line this time. Rodgers will have plenty of time to pick apart New York’s secondary.
Green Bay 33, New York 24
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CJ Sullivan: Everyone wants to compare this years Giant team with the 2007 version, because of the similar finishes to the seasons. The difference is that the 2007 Giants upset Jeff Garcia, Tony Romo, and Brett Favre on the road to their improbable playoff run. Aaron Rodgers will not be floating up daddy ghost balls in Lambeau this Sunday.
Green Bay 44, New York 24
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Mike Procopio: The pass rush, the receivers, the quarterback, and coaching staff is all in sync right now in New Jersey. These components are the perfect recipe for an upset win in Green Bay. Aaron Rodgers will not have played in meaningful football game in over three weeks, Greg Jennings will have to put some trust in that limp knee he is hobbling around with, and the worst defense statistically in the NFL has to match up with Nicks, Manningham, and Victor Cruz. All of these are reasons why the Giants could pull an upset in Lambeau on Sunday. I still don’t see it happening. The Packers have too much fire power and enough playmakers on defense to bend and not break when it counts. I’ll take the Pack by 10 – 31-21 to head to the NFC Championship game.
Green Bay 31, New Jersey 21
