Sarcastiholic

2010 NFL Season – Conference Championship Picks

Getting these picks in under the wire…

I’m going with the home teams on both games. I have to figure that there will be an upset in one of these games, but I have to go with the simple basis that the two home teams are the statistical favorites to win and I’m sticking with that.

Maybe I’m taking the easy road out, but there it is.

2010 NFL Season – Division Round – Pick Results

I really didn’t think I could do that much worse with my picks in this round of the NFL Playoffs. Just goes to show, that if you put your mind to it, you can really screw up.

0 for 4.

I have to let that sink in for a little bit more…

Ouch. Bad picks all around.

Hats off to those jerks from New York in the big upset of weekend. The New York Jets’ defense kept the mighty Charger offense to just 7 points until the final minutes of the game.

2010 NFL Season - Divisional Round - Ravens at Colts

The second game of the weekend features the rushing game of the Baltimore Ravens versus the passing game of the Indianapolis Colts.

The Ravens enter the game with the 5th ranked rushing attack in the NFL. Based upon the lack of a passing game that they have demonstrated over the last part of the season, the Ravens are going to need every bit of it. Luckily for the Ravens, the Colts are going in the offseason with the 24th ranked rushing defense. Seems like a match made in heaven for the Baltimore Ravens.

But teams have tried to control the clock against the Colts by featuring a steady run game and keeping Peyton Manning off the field. So far, it really hasn’t worked. Give Manning any window to score and he seems to do it. The Colts have come back from behind to win seven games this season.

The Ravens can’t afford to rely on controlling the clock with the run game. They are going to have to score in their passing game, and for that they will need an injured Joe Flacco to throw the ball more than the 10 attempts he had in the game against New England. A solid running attack should help to keep the pass rush in check and force the Colts to play their safeties up which should allow for Joe Flacco to have some success.

They are going to need a complete game on offense if they are going to have a chance against the Colts. The passing game might just be the key to a win unless the Ravens’ secondary can come up with some big plays. But even turnovers might not be enough as the Colts don’t make the habit of allowing points off of turnovers. They may give you the ball, but they usually don’t give you six when it happens and that was the key to the Ravens’ win in Foxboro last weekend.

Turnovers and field position allowed them to gain a big lead early in the game. But the Ravens’ were only able to score 9 points after the scoring bonanza of the first quarter. That kind of repeat performance probably won’t get it done against the Colts’ offense this week. But an open passing game would.

The Colts have really not played a full game in about a month. Peyton Manning’s playoff record coming off a bye week is 0 – 3. That doesn’t give me much confidence in the Colts’ ability to muster a complete game in this round of the playoffs.

The Ravens have been in playoff mode for the last month. They’re hungry. The Colts have been lax.

All of the regular season statistics point to the Colts as the clear winners of this game.

So, naturally, I’m taking the Ravens as the upset.

2010 NFL Season - Week 17 Picks

The last week of the regular season of the NFL is here.

I am excited for the playoffs to start but I still hate this time of year. The holidays are over. Football is almost over, and all we have to look forward to is the long, cold remainder of winter with an occasional half-ass holiday like President’s Day thrown in until we can at least dig into OTA’s and the NFL Draft.

No more Monday Night Football. No more Thursday night games.

They’re going to stop selling Egg Nog pretty soon, too.

Somewhere, somebody’s puppy just died.

Winter blues…

Now onto the picks!

Indianapolis at Buffalo:
How much playing time do the Colts’ give their starters? Does it really matter? The Bills have no offense right now, and why should the defense give a crap?

I’ll take the Colts to squeeze a win out of the kicker.

New Orleans at Carolina:
The Panthers have been kicking the hell out of everybody the past couple of weeks, but I think the Mojo ends this week when the Saints come marching in.

The Saints have to pull it together and win this game. They need to go into their bye week with a solid win against an inferior opponent otherwise they will be sorely suited for the divisional round. There will be too many questions being asked inside the locker room otherwise.

The Panthers will be without Steve Smith, who broke his arm on a touchdown catch last week against the New York Giants. That should take a ton of pressure off of the scattered New Orleans’ secondary.

Saints win. They better win.

Jacksonville at Cleveland:
Jacksonville is the better overall team, but I’m taking the Browns to continue their win streak behind Jerome Harrison’s hot streak. This crazy guy has put up 434 yards in the past two weeks. I have to figure that they will continue on this track.

Feed him the ball. Feed him!

New England at Houston:
A doofus from the Pittsburgh Steelers is adamant that the Patriots and the Bengals are going to “lay down” to their respective opponents this week because they are afraid of the Steelers making it into the playoffs. If these teams lose, the Steelers are out of the playoffs even if they beat Miami.

I really don’t think that Pittsburgh playoff chances are any factor in any decision that Bill Belichick is going to make in this game. The Patriots really don’t have anything to really gain by playing all of their starters for the entire game this weekend, but I figure that they will play for most of the game. The same goes for Cincinnati.

These teams need to go into the first round of the playoffs on a solid note, and resting their starters for the entire game would not be the way to do it.

NY Giants at Minnesota:
I’m taking the Vikings again this week. Probably a dumb idea.

The Vikings has dropped three of their last four games. Their advantage is that the Giants are a dysfunctional team and are now out of the playoffs. They have nothing left to play for, and if they couldn’t get it together to keep themselves in the hunt of for a Wild Card slot, then I’m not sure if they do it this week.

The Vikings are currently the number three seed. They can get the second seed, and a bye week, with a win and a Philadelphia loss.

I figure they will win this game, and Brett Favre will hug it out after the game with Brad Childress.

Gross.

Pittsburgh at Miami:
The Steelers need help to make It into the Wild Card round. But they have to start by beating the Dolphins in Miami this week. They can’t control anything else.

This is not going to be an easy game for the Steelers but I think they will leave the dumb comments at home and put together a good game.

Chicago at Detroit:
Even if the Bears win this game, they will still be ending the season with a losing record. It has now been three straight years without a playoff appearance since losing the Super Bowl.

Changes will be made in Chicago this offseason. It’s hard to say exactly what though. I have a feeling that Lovie Smith will be back this year, but if the Bears lose to Detroit…

Anything can happen.

2010 NFL Season – Week 16 Results

Those jerks from the ’72 Dolphins popped open their champagne bottles as the last undefeated team went down this week. The Indianapolis Colts decided to pull their starters and got rolled by the Jets.

My dream of two undefeated teams in the Super Bowl was already in ashes, so I didn’t really care as much that the Colts’ win streak ended. I just wanted somebody else to do it so I can stop hearing about how great that Dolphins team was.

Supposedly, Mercury Morris is disappointed that the Colts didn’t go for the perfect season. But I think he was probably happy about it.

The Saints dropped another game. They lost to the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home. Woe is the thoughts of the Saints’ organization this December. They get another shot to get the train back on the tracks again in Week 17 before going into the bye.

Even though they lost, the Saints win the first seed by default after the Vikings lost to the woeful Chicago Bears on Monday night.

The Bears put together a 16 -0 lead going into the half, and naturally gave it all back. They managed to win in overtime and should be celebrated as such. But the defense rolling over in the second half, after a great start to the game should not be overlooked. There is talent and determination on this team. It just doesn’t present itself for four quarters.

That has to come back to the coaching. Speaking of which, there were more Lovie Smith game management (or mismanagement) but I won’t go into it.

Suffice it to say, there will be some coaching changes in Chicago after the season ends this Sunday. I think that Lovie Smith will be back, but there will be a lot of new faces blowing whistles on the sidelines in Spring.

The reigning Super Bowl Champions are still in the mix for a playoff spot but they need a lot of help. The first thing they had to do in Week 16 was beat the Baltimore Ravens. They did it. Now they need a lot of help to get into the Wild Card round.

I don’t think it is going to happen.