Boston-Homer

THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR


This weekend marks one of my favorite sports weekends of the year. Wildcard weekend is awesome. Four football games, all good teams (except for the Seahawks), and the ability to watch them all. No channel flipping. Hide the controller, grabs some chicken wings, nachos and beer, relax and repeat...

What is going to happen this weekend? I am glad you asked, here are my thoughts.

New Orleans Saints AT Seattle Seahawks (+10.5)

The Seahawks finished the season 7-9, a losing record that won them their lame NFC West Division. The Seahawks are not a good football team, frankly, they suck. Pete Carrol everyone (turn up and enjoy...hilarious...)!

The Saints just placed a key offensive player on injured reserve today. Pierre Thomas will not be playing in the playoffs, a huge loss. The Saints are a team people like for the Super Bowl, they have improved slowly all year and won a big game against Atlanta two weeks ago.

How can the Saint lose? Well they could get lost on the way to the stadium. The only thing that Seattle has in its favor in this game is the crowd. The Seattle fans are some of the best in the league, however, that will not be enough to help their beloved Seahawks.



Could this guy and his buddies tilt the balance against the Saints? Probably not...

Prediction: Saints 34 Seahawks 10




New York Jets AT Indianapolis Colts (-3)

This game is perfect for the Saturday night slot. Two teams that are loved within their fan-base and hated outside of it. As my roommate Pat said when this match-up was announced, "I mean, who do you root for in that game? No one?" Yes, you root for no one.

The Colts and Jets met in last year's AFC Championship game in Indy, the Colts won after trailing 17-6 at halftime. That leaves me asking the question: have the Jets improved enough and have the Colts regressed enough for the result to change from last year? Yes and No.

I think the Jets have improved, I think you cannot underestimate a team that made a run last year in the playoffs. You cannot underestimate a team that has enough swagger for the rest of the league. However, will Mark Sanchez and his sore shoulder be ok? Will the Jets play themselves into a deficit early like they did against the Titans, Browns, and Pats? The Jets are 2-3 in their last 5 games. Did they peak during Hardknocks?

Peyton Manning is still Peyton Manning, however, he does have no one to throw to. Dwight Freeney on the Indy turf is a different animal, between the crowd noise and fast ground the defense is more solid at home.



Will we see "The Manning Face" on Saturday night?

Prediction: New York Jets 27 Indianapolis Colts 24



Baltimore Ravens AT Kansas City Chiefs (+3)

The Chiefs are at home. Bonus for the Chiefs. They are 7-1 this year in Arrowhead Stadium. Matt Castle might be a better quarterback than Joe Flacco (who I don't believe in at all). Flacco on the road is a dangerous, dangerous thing- to his own team. As a Pats fan I know that the Pats lost to the Ravens on the road last year, but Flacco threw the ball 10 times. Their defense and running game got them the lead and kept it for Flacco.

The Chiefs are a polarizing team. Many think they are a threat to make a run and others think they are a "year away." Charlie Weis already has his foot out the door for the University of Florida. This could have a larger effect than we may think, we have seen coaches with other jobs totally mail it in during the playoffs.

The Ravens are a scary team too. They run the ball very well and Ray Lewis is the ultimate defensive leader, like it or not. He is the heart and soul of that entire team.

For me it comes down this: Will Flacco limit his mistakes on the road? The Ravens are better than the Chiefs in every facet of the game, but Matt Castle, Jamal Charles, and Dwayne Bowe could tilt the balance if Flacco gives those three guys a short field to score on.


Ray Lewis is going to be a man possessed this postseason.


Prediction: Baltimore Ravens 21 Kansas City Chiefs 17


Green Bay Packers AT Philadelphia Eagles (-3)

This is an interesting match up for a few reasons.

1) People love the Packers for the Super Bowl. Aaron Rodgers is an elite quarterback, they gave the Pats a run for their money a few weeks ago with Matt Flynn playing quarterback.

2) Everyone has gotten about the Eagles because of their terrible game against Minnesota. They rested Vick last weekend. The Giants comeback seems like a very long time ago.

Can you trust Andy Reid? Can you trust Mike McCarthy? These two coaches are pretty poor game managers. One of them is bound to mess things up at the end of a half or a quarter.

In the end it will come down to turnovers. The defenses are both solid and so are the quarterbacks. Aaron Rodgers for my money is the guy I trust more than Mike Vick. I know Vick is undefeated in this round of the playoffs, but I think the Packers defense with Clay Matthews, A.J. Hawk, and Rod Woodson can handle the Eagles offense.




I heard Brett Favre taught Rodgers everything he knew...sorry, had to throw in a Favre reference...


Prediction: Green Bay 31 Philadelphia 24


My roommate Pat and I had a discussion this week about quarterbacks and coaches that we believe in this playoffs season.

The quarterbacks we believe in:

Peyton Manning
Tom Brady
Big Ben
Aaron Rodgers
Drew Brees

Guys on the fence:

Mike Vick
Matt Ryan

Coaches we believe in:

Bill Bellichik
Mike Tomlin
Sean Payton

On the fence:

Jim Harbaugh
Andy Reid
Mike McCarthy
Rex Ryan

What does all this mean? To me it means you stick with teams that have both a quarterback and coach you can believe in.

Brady-Bellichik
Big Ben - Tomlin
Brees - Payton

This years playoffs I think will be awesome and unpredictable, hell the whole season has been crazy.

Round by Round Predictions:


Wildcard round
Ravens over Chiefs
Jets over Colts
Packers over Eagles
Saints over Seahawks


Divisional Round:
Pats over Ravens
Steelers over Jets
Packers over Falcons
Saints over Bears

Championship Round:
Pats over Steelers
Packers over Saints

Super Bowl:
Pats over Packers


I think the Pats have the best team and they are peaking at the perfect time. I do like the Saints, however they have too many injuries to make it through three rounds of the playoffs (although they do have a semi-bye this week with their Seattle game...).

Here's to a great playoff month...