I’m going to start by predicting the Saints to win this game. And here’s why.

Both teams have dominating offences and arguably two of the top three quarterbacks in the league. They also have very similar rosters on the offensive side of the ball. One of the keys will come down to the rushing attacks. There shouldn’t be a whole lot of a problem throwing the ball so it will be up to the running backs to give their offence the edge.

For me, I like the Saints rushing attack. This is mostly because of what Reggie Bush has looked like this post-season. He hasn’t gotten the ball a lot but when he has gotten it he’s gone all out. Even to go as far as to lower his shoulder and level guys. He’s a big-play threat that can make a difference in this game.

There is also the defence that will factor into this game. I give the Saints the edge in this category as well because of their ability to force turnovers. Both teams don’t turn it over much so an interception or fumble would be big. And don’t forget, Darren Sharper is one of the best at returning fumbles and interceptions for touchdowns.

Another thing with this game is the over/under total. As of now, the total is 56.5 which his pretty high for a football game. In my opinion, it’s too high.

I’m planning on betting on this game and I’ll be picking the under. Yes, both of these teams can score but it takes time to get downfield. Add on Peyton Manning’s multiple signal calls at the line, and you have a lot of time being run of the clock. A number of times I’ve seen two high scoring teams put together a low scoring game.

My Prediction for this game: 20-17 Saints

Hope everyone has a great Sunday and remember to be safe, don’t drink and drive!

The Jets get another shot to upset a favoured team at home. But I can’t really give them full credit for the win. Nate Kaeding cost his team 9 points, 9 points that would have given the Chargers the win. I’m one of those guys who still doubt the Jets’ ability. The Colts were beating the Jets in their last meeting until Jim Caldwell decided to rest his starters. Add that on to the fact that the Colts took easy care of the Baltimore Ravens. Indy’s defence allowed only 3 points in last week’s victory and it will be even more crucial for them to keep New York out of the endzone. However, the Jets offence is arguably better than the Ravens so the Colts will have a tougher task.
My Pick: Colts

Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans Saints

Both teams come into this game hot on offence. Both teams scored over 30 points and both have had a bye week to recover. This game will most likely come down to the play of the quarterbacks. Brett Favre, who is arguably having one of his best years, is hot right now while Drew Brees looked amazing last weekend. But the one guy I’ll have my eye on is Reggie Bush. He looked like the back the Saints thought they’d be getting when they drafted him second overall. He was electric every time he touched the ball and was even being physical, laying a few shoulders into defenders after runs. I think we all caught a glimpse of how good Bush could be. But anyways…
My Pick: Saints

And if everything goes right, we’ll have the two teams who were almost perfect in the regular season. Colts vs. Saints would be an epic matchup.

Nate Kaeding after another disappointing miss (Courtesy of nfl.com)

Many people will put kicker at or near the bottom of team’s needs during the off-season. This is mainly because people don’t respect what a kicker can do for their team. But after this post-season, I think some teams will have to reconsider their kicker position.

With only two rounds of the 2010 post-season finish, kickers have gone 15/26 (57.69%). In a few situations, their misses cost their team a win. The weird thing is that 6 out of the 8 games played so far have been either indoors or in warm weather. Here are the kickers who brought shame, frustration and disappointment to their fans:

Nate Kaeding is only 8 for 15 for his career in the playoffs. His worst performance was arguably last Sunday’s game against the Jets. Kaeding missed all three field goals after missing only three out of 35 attempts during the regular season. Though one of his kicks were from 57 yards out, it is still disappointing for him to miss all three kicks, especially since he’s going to the Pro Bowl. Will the Chargers cut him because of it? Probably not but his playoff stats are less than All-Pro.

Shayne Graham, Golden Graham, one of the better kickers in the league, missed both field goals in the Wildcard Round. Funny thing is, they were both under 40 yards. Now was this one bad game? We might never know but it was an awful performance. But with Graham’s contract coming to an end, there’s a possibility that we might not see the red-headed kicker in a Bengals uniform next season.

Neil Rackers might have cost his team a chance to move on to the Divisional Round after missing a 34 yarder that would have put the Cardinals up three with 14 seconds left. Fortunately for him, the Cardinals won the game. He went 1 for 3 overall in this year’s playoffs. He is now 6 for 10 for his career in the playoffs. Now does he get cut? I can’t see it happening but when you shank a 34 yarder as bad as he did, you got to question your kicker’s abilities.

We as fans should understand how important a great kicker is. Numerous games can come down to a late game-winning kick. Kickers like Adam Vinatieri have so many teams interested in signing them because of their clutch kicks. Sometimes it’s just an intangible thing that kickers have. Bottom line, the kicker position is more important than people make it out to be.

Baltimore Ravens vs. Indianapolis Colts

Or the battle of Baltimore. The Ravens are coming off of a big win over the favoured New England Patriots. But now they have a bigger challenge. The Colts won’t be an easy team to beat. However, there are similarities between the Colts offensive and the Patriots offence. Both have great Quarterbacks, average rushing attacks and skill throughout the Wide Receiver position. In their last game, Baltimore got off to a quick start and that will probably be key in this game. If they can get an early lead, their defence could keep them in charge.
My Pick: Ravens (UPSET!) because they took care of the Patriots rather easily

New York Jets vs. San Diego Chargers

Maybe the Jets should be favoured in every game like Rex Ryan said. Sorry Rex, the Chargers are favoured by a touchdown for Sunday’s game. The one battle to look at in this game would be the Chargers passing attack against the Jets pass defence. Both are very solid and have star players at key positions. This week, Revis Island welcomes Vincent Jackson. Jackson has the height advantage but so did Randy Moss in two games the Patriots faced off against the Jets and Moss didn’t do so well. This game might come down to the Jets rushing attack against the Chargers rush defence. The stats tell us that New York has the edge but we’ll have to see. It wasn’t Thomas Jones, their feature back, who was their leading rusher last weekend. San Diego has to learn from what Cincinnati failed to do. The key for the Jets last week was their play action and misdirection. The Chargers must control what the Jets do passing the ball. Though Mark Sanchez did have a good game last week, he is still a rookie that threw 20 interceptions this year. Force Sanchez into mistakes.
My Pick: Chargers

Dallas Cowboys vs. Minnesota Vikings

Now that the Cowboys have won in the playoffs, everyone seems to be jumping on their bandwagon to the Super Bowl. So why haven’t I yet? Because the Vikings are in their way. Now I know Brett Favre hasn’t been great in his last couple of playoff appearances. I understand Adrian Peterson is in slump. But the thing is, Minnesota had the luxury of a bye week. Favre has a week off to rest his arm, Peterson has an extra week to work on his running and the team gets a week to heal up. The Vikings are going to come into this game ready to go. Their run defence has always been solid and will have a difficult task stopping the three-headed running backs of Dallas. However, it might be the passing attack for the Cowboys that is the biggest factor as Tony Romo has been hot as of late and so has their defence.
My Pick: Cowboys (I haven’t jumped on the bandwagon yet, just thinking about it)

Arizona Cardinals vs. New Orleans Saints

This game will be crucial for the Saints. They’ve lost 3 straight even though they had their starters in most of the time. The Cardinals come into this game after putting up 51 points on the second best defence in the league. Kurt Warner lit it up and there’s no doubt that they can do it again. This could be another high scoring game with two of the top offences going at it. But New Orleans is at home for this game, which is a significant advantage since it gets very loud in the Louisiana Superdome. They also got the week off to rest and prepare.
My Pick: Saints

Now I know that the Bengals got destroyed last week. They’ve now lost 3 out of 4 and have some injuries to deal with. The Bengals might not have Chad Ochocinco or Domata Peko for Saturday’s game and they placed Rey Maualuga on IR. The key is to get both Ochocinco and Peko back and starting. Peko is a big guy that can shut down the run, which is something that Cincinnati had trouble with last week. Ochocinco is the main guy in the receiving core and if he is not playing, the Bengals will have to rely on the run. However, both of these guys practiced on Wednesday and should be ready to go. On the flip side, the Jets might not have the services of David Harris, their solid and underrated middle linebacker, for the game.
My Pick: Bengals. I just can’t see the Jets beating them twice but we’ll see.

Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots

The Ravens managed to secure a playoff spot after beating the Raiders Week 17. The key for them now is to prove that they deserve to be playing in the playoffs. These two teams faced off in New England Week 4, a game that the Patriots won 27-21. The difference is that the Patriots had Wes Welker in that game. Welker, who ranked 1st in receptions during the regular season, will not play and it might hurt New England’s offence somewhat. With him being out, I can see Randy Moss being targeted a few more times, especially since the Baltimore cornerbacks are average and not all that tall.
My Pick: Patriots. I don’t know if the Ravens can have the run they had last year in the playoffs.

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys

We’re seeing something out of the Cowboys that we haven’t seen in a long time: Them winning in December. And technically, they did win in January. Tony Romo has been leading his team to the playoffs and is looking almost MVP like. If he can continue with his success and their defence can keep on shutting the door, the Cowboys might be the team to beat in the playoffs. Then again, we haven’t seen them in the playoffs yet and the Eagles are a tough team to beat twice. However, Philadelphia has to make up for the disappointing loss last week. The Eagles could have been sitting back at home watching the Wildcard round on TV if they were to win last week.
My Pick: Cowboys. I know they sucked recently in the playoffs but I can see them beating up the Eagles once again. The new stadium is going to be rocking Saturday Night.

Green Bay Packers vs. Arizona Cardinals

The Packers have been one of the hottest teams heading into the playoffs. They are 4-1 in their last 5 games and had a huge win against the Cardinals last week. They have also outscored their last 2 opponents 81-17. Now they head back to Arizona with some swagger. The Cardinals come into this game knowing what it takes to make the Super Bowl. Both have great quarterbacks, pretty good run games but Green Bay does have a better defence.
My Pick: Packers. Too good of a defence for me to pick Arizona, but it will be a tight game.