I would like to start with a shout out to cjnatlfalcons. His Falcons now have back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in franchise history.
The Cincinnati Bengals couldn’t have picked a worse time to slump. The Bengals have now lost their last 3 out of 4. Their worst loss of the year came on Sunday Night Football against the New York Jets. The Bengals kept a bunch of their starters in yet still lost 37-0. It was a rather disturbing game to watch for me and I’m sure to any Bengals fan. We’ll see how they do in the playoffs. Both teams face each other Saturday at Paul Brown Stadium. Expect a more competitive game out of these two teams.
The Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints are two surprising finishes to the year. In the last three weeks, both teams combined have totalled only 1 win. Both are riding losing streaks heading into the playoffs. Luckily for them, they have home-field advantage and first-round byes. The Colts have the edge in experience as they have been in the playoffs for the last 7 year. However, 4 out of their last 7 playoff appearances have been 1 and done. Maybe one of these two teams will go perfect in the playoffs?
Some interesting questions that will be answered after this weekend:
Are the Jets good enough to win in the playoffs?
Are the Bengals for real?
Did the Cowboys shake off their playoff woes?
Is Favre going to hold up in the playoffs?
Can the Cardinals repeat as NFC Champions?
And the most important question of all: WHO’S MOVING ON?
1. Rams
2. Lions
3. Buccaneers
4. Redskins
5. Chiefs
6. Seahawks
7. Browns
8. Raiders
9. Bills
10*. Broncos (from Chicago)
10*. Jaguars
12. Dolphins
13. 49ers
14. Seahawks (from Denver)
15. Giants
16*. 49ers (from Carolina)
16*. Titans
18. Steelers
19*. Falcons
19*. Texans
*Will be determined by coin flip
The Rams have a top 3 pick for the 3rd time in a row. I believe that they will draft a quarterback with the first overall pick but Ndamukong Suh is also a very good option. The 2nd and 3rd overall picks will not be quarterbacks unless there is a trade. Both teams have their quarterbacks of the future. Some players I like: Joe Haden, Donovan Warren, Dez Bryant.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=c21342d1-fe18-4f65-a0b3-6559aa7dac3d)
28-20 my records getting better
The key point for this game is whether or not the Colts will rest their starters again. Most likely it will happen. It would be a slap in the face of all the Colts fans if the team were to keep their starters in all game. I highly doubt we’ll see Peyton Manning or any other starter in the game for more than a half. Last week, we saw how bad the Indianapolis backups could be as they allowed 19 points while scoring 0. Add that onto the fact that it will be in snowy Buffalo, and you got a recipe for disaster.
My Pick: Buffalo
Basically this game is a slumping playoff team against a team that just barely missed the playoffs. So who is going to be hungrier in this game? For the Giants, it’s a chance to make up for the 41-9 loss they had at home against the Panthers. A win would also give them their 3rd straight winning season. For the Vikings, it means a couple of things. First off, a win and an Eagles loss would give Minnesota a first-round bye. Even if they don’t get a first-round bye, a win would definitely pick up the spirits of the players. Heading into the playoffs with a 3 game losing streak would be disappointing. I really think that Minnesota needs this game more than the Giants do.
My Pick: Vikings
This game would probably be a little more interesting if it wasn’t Week 17. Both of these teams have clinched a playoff birth. The Packers and Cardinals might actually face each other in the Wildcard round if the Packers win this game. If the Cardinals were to win, they would need the Vikings and Eagles to lose to clinch a first-round bye. If both of those teams were to win, Arizona would stay at the 4th seed. The Packers can either be seeded 5th or 6th as the Vikings already locked up the NFC North. Because of the situation with the back to back games, these two teams might rest their starters.
My Pick: Cardinals
In two weeks New Orleans has gone from a possible 16-0 team to a giant question mark. It’s very disappointing to see the Saints struggling at this point in the season. Now they have to go into Carolina to face a team that has been red hot offensively. A big surprise has been the play of Matt Moore. In his last 4 games, he has thrown for 7 touchdowns and only 1 interception. Also last week, Jonathan Stewart ran for over 200 yards. We’ll see how the Saints do but in my opinion, what’s the point of keeping the starters in for the whole game?
My Pick: Panthers
There’s no doubt that both teams are coming into this game ready to go. For them, the playoffs start this Sunday. Neither of these teams wants to lose to their divisional rival. What’s at stake in this game? Well the Eagles clinch not only the NFC East division but a first-round bye with a win. If the Cowboys win, they clinch the division and can clinch a first-round bye if the Vikings and Cardinals loss. And just to add a little bit of fuel to the fire: Eagles Intro Video (Thanks to dawkinseffect for posting the video on the EA Forum)
My Pick: Eagles
Jacksonville Jaguars over Cleveland Browns
Chicago Bears over Detroit Lions
San Francisco 49ers over St. Louis Rams
Pittsburgh Steelers over Miami Dolphins
Atlanta Falcons over Tampa Bay Buccaneers
New England Patriots over Houston Texans
San Diego Chargers over Washington Redskins
Tennessee Titans over Seattle Seahawks
Baltimore Ravens over Oakland Raiders
Denver Broncos over Kansas City Chiefs
New York Jets over Cincinnati Bengals
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=f42e4da7-c75f-411b-a48f-3c0b19b153a3)
by 
Loading ...