NFL 2014 Week 19 Predictions: Divisional Round

Week 19 Predictions: Divisional Card Round

I am alive to go 11-0 against the spread for the playoffs! It is going to happen one of these years, perhaps it will be this one.

Patriots -7 over Ravens, 31-23

-This could easily be a tight game so the point spread scares me. But the Pats will be fresh and ready to go, hardly ever lose their first playoff game at home, and have a decided edge passing downfield on the Ravens’ abhorrent corner situation. I believe the Pats will keep extra blockers in on most plays to neutralize Dumervil and Suggs and win this game in a solid fashion.

Seahawks -11 over Panthers, 30-9

-The Panthers are having a hard time scoring right now. The Seahawks are not allowing anyone to score right now. Questions?

Packers -5.5 over Cowboys, 27-19

-I’m terrified of Rodgers’ calf, but overall I think the Packers are the much better team. Hopefully he stays upright and takes advantage of an overmatched Cowboys defense, especially in the secondary. I see Cobb and Nelson running wild deep in the Cowboys secondary. This is probably a stay away overall though because of the injury situation.

Colts +7.5 over Broncos, 24-23

-I’m delusional, ignore me. Broncos look broken and odd and the Colts are going to throw it all over the field and…okay, I’m done.

Record last week:

Straight Up: 3-1

By Spread: 4-0

Record this year:

Straight Up: 131-75

By Spread: 107-97

Lifetime record:
Straight Up: 796-430
By Spread: 645-567

NFL 2014 Week 12 Predictions

Week 12 Predictions

Browns +3 over Falcons, 27-20

-This is exactly the type of game the “first place” Falcons lose. Josh Gordon + Hoyer is the second best deep ball thrower efficiency wise + Falcons cover WRs about as well as a HS secondary would.

Colts -13.5 over Jags, 34-17

-Oh boy.

Packers -9 over Vikings, 41-14

-Oh boy again.

Pats -7 over Lions, 27-17

-The Lions defense will be tough, but the Pats are just vibing right now. Detroit also has no answer for Gronk.

Eagles -11 over Titans, 27-10

-Sanchez is bad, but the whole Titans team is bad. Weird game that I won’t be watching very much of.

Rams +5 over Bolts, 23-14

-Chargers are going the WRONG direction.

Cards +7 over Seahawks, 20-24

-A good game that the Seahawks probably win at home. But when the probable number 1 seed is getting 7 points, you take it.

Dolphins +7 over Broncos, 27-26

-The interior line issues for the Broncos are very real, and the Dolphins can exploit that. They can also show with the Broncos enough to win this game.

Niners -9 over Ethnic Slurs, 17-12

-I don’t like either team, but the Niners just have far more talent. I won’t be watching any part of this game.

Cowboys -4 over Giants, 20-6

-A slugfest that will be ugly to watch, punctuated by a few big hits to Dez.

Bills -2.5 over Jets, 24-13

-A tough game that will probably be very disjointed. Bills have more talent, so I think that will

Saints -3 over Ravens, 31-23

-Both teams really need it, and at some point at night on national TV at home the Saints will right this ship. I’ve been there all year on the Saints bandwagon: if it goes off the cliff I’ll be on it.

Record last week:

Straight Up: 4-6

By Spread: 3-7

Record this year:

Straight Up: 80-47

By Spread: 66-60

Lifetime record:
Straight Up: 747-402
By Spread: 604-530

NFL 2012 Week 19 Predictions: Divisional Round

And there goes my annual quest to go 11-0 in the playoffs. Some day, maybe.

The Divisional Round is always my favorite. We get to see 8 great, non pretender teams square off almost every year without fail. While the Conference Title Game weekend produces better matchups, there are only two games to watch. This weekend, we still get the full slate of four games. And occasionally in the Divisional round, we get to see some juggernaught tripped up by just a little too much rest and relaxation or even a false sense of security. 

Week 19: Divisional Playoffs

Ravens +10.5 over Broncos, 22-28
-As much as I would love it, I just cannot predict the upset. Too much would have to go right for the Ravens and wrong for the Broncos. If Webb was healthy, that would make a huge difference. But, I do think that the Ravens put up a good fight and are able to keep it close. Ray Rice should be ready to go off after his miscues last week. Maybe the Broncos get rusty/lethargic/lulled into a false sense of security after their 10 game winning streak, but I just don’t think so. Von Miller could have a big day here, and I know Demaryius Thomas does.

Packers +3.5 over Niners, 31-22
-I know, I know, this result flipped the other way in week 1 of the regular season. Guess what? THAT WAS 19 WEEKS/5 MONTHS AGO. These are totally different teams. Randall Cobb has been unleashed, Cedric Benson/Alex Green/Jeff Saturday aren’t involved, and the Packers now know not to force the ball to Finley (well, kinda). The Niners are also a very different team, with a different quarterback, an emerged Michael Crabtree, and a concussed Vernon Davis. However, the biggest difference is the injured Justin Smith. He means so much to that team from a leadership standpoint and a schematic standpoint that his injury by itself makes me flip my prediction for this game. Ironically, the SF-NE game that I attended sold me that A. SF was the best team in the league and B. It immediately dropped from being that because of Justin Smith’s injury. He enables clean tackles for Patrick Willis and Bowman, and more importantly allows Aldon Smith to tee off on the quarterback through holds, stunts, and twists. Finally, Aaron Rodgers in the playoffs versus Colin K? Yeah, sign me up for about a 10 point Pack win.

Seahawks +3 over Falcons, 24-18

-By the way, the Falcons get to 18 by a touchdown, 3 field goals, and 1 safety. It seems right that they would get a safety, since that is all they got last year in the playoffs. I don’t believe in the Falcons in the post season. Not one bit. There is a limited but significant track record at this point saying that they are not an elite level team. The truth is, even if they had gone 3-5 in the playoffs under Matt Ryan so far instead of being winless, I’d still pick Seattle. Their team is just set up so well to win. Atlanta can really only throw the ball at an elite level. And Seattle is perhaps the only team that can take both Roddy and Julio out with their elite corners. Lynch is going to eat that defense up. Seattle wins outright, and while it won’t be Alabama – Notre Dame, I think the ‘Hawks show clear physical dominance over the Falcons.

Pats -9.5 over Texans, 34-17

-I watched that Bengals-Texans game and cheered. Not because the Texans won, no; I wanted the Bengals to win. But I cheered because the Texans won having 7 sustained drives but scored only 1 touchdown and 4 field goals. They do anything similar versus NE, show any of that pathetic level of aggression, and they will lose badly to the Pats in Foxboro. Second, we just saw this game a month ago, same place, same teams. The Pats won easily, and while they had some weird fluke good luck plays, those are counteracted by the fact that they will now get Gronk back. Third, Tom Brady in the playoffs, 16-6 all time. With one more win, he passes Montana for most all time. They aren’t losing this game.

Record last week:

Straight Up: 2-2

By Spread: 2-2

Record this year:

Straight Up: 143-77

By Spread: 112-102

Lifetime record:
Straight Up: 532-274
By Spread: 437-375

NFL 2012 Week 18 Predictions: Wild Card Weekend

Time for the annual quest to go 11-0 in the playoff picks. Good luck everyone.

Power Tiers:

Super Bowl Probables: Green Bay and Denver. Nothing changed there.

Championship Level: San Francisco and New England. Both shaky but it really seems they will be there in the end.

In Contention: Atlanta and Seattle. For different reasons, don’t know if they will be there in the end.

Week 18: Wild Card Weekend

Bengals +4.5 over Houston, 23-19

-Calling the pure upset. Houston is in free fall, its star RB looks worn out and may have a heart problem, and its QB is playing horribly right now. It wouldn’t surprise me if I found out that Matt Schaub was hiding a major arm injury, because he clearly isn’t the same guy. AJ Green is going to torch the Texans. I trust in him as a top 5 game changer at his position. Like Calvin, AJ can bust a game open even if the QB isn't on. But Geno Atkins especially makes me scared to go against the Bengals here. I think he dominates as he has done all season. Finally this is revenge for the Bengals. They still feel like they could have won last year versus TJ freaking Yates, and everything is setup for them to finally do so now.

Colts +6.5 over Ravens, 24-19

-I really believe that the Colts will upset the Ravens this weekend. I predicted it weeks ago. I have a friend that can attest to this fact. And for those claiming Chuckstrong is counteracted by Ray Lewis's return/retirement news, stop. Lewis already has his announcing gig lined up, clearly has his mind elsewhere now. He isn't that good anymore anyways. The Colts are riding high and coming in with good vibes from their win over the Texans, a game they didn’t need and the Texans did. The Ravens will have trouble with Wayne and even Ballard. While it is true Flacco tends to get better in the playoffs, his general inconsistency scares me. And somehow, despite Ray Rice having the potential to run all over Indy, I think he gets a strong lack of carries. BAL key guard Yanda either won’t play or will be playing hurt. Luck is really good and has that special something, kind of Big Ben esch, and I think they move on. So ends an era from Raven football.

Packers -7.5 over Vikings, 37-20

-I know the purple men from northern Europe just won this matchup last week, but that was different. The Viks were at home, and the Pack were playing for seeding, not their playoff lives. Big difference. Last week featured both a strong multi TD game from Rodgers and a 200 yard game from Peterson with no big runs. Guess which situation I find more replicable? Packers are also getting Woodson and Cobb back, and will unleash Matthews full force. Finally, it is pretty much impossible for Tramon Williams to be that bad again. However, it is fully possible for Christian Ponder to be much much worse than he was. Green Bay is my pick to go to the Super Bowl from NFC, and nothing in this game is going to distract me from that.

Seahawks -3 over Ethnic Slurs, 26-17

-It should be no surprise to anyone reading this that I am taking the Seahawks over the Ethnic Slurs. In a battle of rookie quarterbacks with a style I don't particularly like, I will take the quiet inconsistent leadership of Russell Wilson over the hobbled and overly simplified offense of RG3. However, the truth is the difference in this matchup will probably come mostly come from the vast disparity in their defensive secondaries. Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner should easily dominate their matchups and cause Griffin to have the biggest problems in his young career.  On the other side however, the WAS defense, held together by sticks, glue, and strong play calling, will finally be exposed for its lack of talent. This is mainly due to injury and isn’t their fault, but is just the truth. It will not matter that Seattle is on the road.

Record last week:

Straight Up: 8-4

By Spread: 6-6

Record this year:

Straight Up: 141-75

By Spread: 110-100

Lifetime record:
Straight Up: 530-272
By Spread: 435-373