NFL Sunday Pick 'Em: Divisional Round
Print
Like (Express' Chris Mincher handicaps the weekend's NFL lineup.
FINALLY! IT'S TAKEN 18 weeks to get here, but, now, an entire day of football worth watching! Saturday marks the first day of the season where every single NFL game is worth tuning into. Yeah, OK, there's only two of them, and they're divisional playoff games — but that just tells you a little about the quality of play this year, in my opinion. My non-humble opinion. Yeah, NFC, up yours.
We can't even get a fully interesting slate on Sunday, thanks to the lousy Seahawks tainting our fun (no, Seahawks, we don't like you, go home). The Seahawks needed a bungled field-goal snap to beat Dallas in Seattle; in Chicago, they'll be lucky if their tattered defense — which has a few players that, I understand, have played in the NFL in the past year — can even hold the Bears offense to field goals. Which, ugh, means we have to watch Rex Grossman pretend to have talent — and he's not even that good of a pretender.
Luckily, the day makes up for it by also featuring the best match of the weekend, when the Patriots head to San Diego (city motto: "Gateway to El Nino"). Nevermind the irrelevant talk by stupid people about Chargers coach Marty Shottenheimer never winning in the playoffs; it's not like the guy changes strategy and opts to punt on third downs — he'll coach exactly the way he coached when San Diego won 14 games. When it comes down to it, however, New England quarterback Tom Brady has won three of the past five Super Bowls, and that's because he has reached a deal with Satan. Well, at least, that's my best guess, as is my prediction for a Patriots win. Either way, pack a sponge; you're going to have some bloody cuticles.
Seattle Seahawks (10-7) +8.5 @ Chicago Bears (13-3)
If there was a Sesame Street episode about the NFL playoffs, all the teams would be lined up, and a little song would play: "One of these things is not like the others/One of these things does not belong/Can you tell me which thing is not like the others/by the time I finish this song?" And even Elmo knows it's the Seattle Seahawks.
CHICAGO BY 10.
Philadelphia Eagles (11-6) +5 @ New Orleans Saints (10-6)
Saints coach Sean Payton was the 2006 NFL Coach of the Year. But, you know what they say: The playoffs are a whole new season. And, in that season, Andy Reid is always Coach of the Game Before The Conference Championship.
PHILADELPHIA BY 3.
Indianapolis Colts (13-4) +4 @ Baltimore Ravens (13-3)
The saying goes: The best defense — that's the Ravens this year, in case you weren't paying attention at all this year — will always beat the best offense. And the Colts don't even have the best offense.
BALTIMORE BY 6.
New England Patriots (13-4) +4.5 @ San Diego Chargers (14-2)
People often attribute the Patriots' playoff success to coach Bill Belichick being some sort of offensive mastermind with madly ingenious improvised play-calling that leaves opponents confused an outmatched. Puh-leeez. The Patriots tear through the playoffs based almost entirely on a superior defense comes to big games prepared, physical and creative. They may not stop running back LaDainian Tomlinson, but they'll figure out a way to slow him down. And quarterback Philip Rivers is still inexperienced enough that an exasperatingly tough defense can get inside his head.
NEW ENGLAND BY 1.
LAST WEEK:
AGAINST THE SPREAD: 2-2
OVERALL: 2-2
SEASON:
AGAINST THE SPREAD: 139-123
OVERALL: 156-104
Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Sunday Pick 'Em: Super Bowl
NFL Sunday Pick 'Em: Divisional Championships
NFL Sunday Pick 'Em: Divisional Round
Addison Road
Marty may not punt on third downs, but he tends to become ultra conservative in playoff games. And that's from a coach is usually the NFL equivalent of Bill O'Reilly. This year, Marty let the offense open up and the results were great and that's what he'll need to do to win against the Patriots. Too bad the Pats are peaking now so Marty's luck continues. I agree with all of Chris' picks actually, which means at least one will be way, way off.
By Swengali , Posted January 12, 2007 11:20 AMMarty certainly does have a reputation for being too conservative in playoff games, but I'm not sure it's deserved. I think he got slapped with this label around 1997, after he had coached his second notably conservative playoff games (the other in 1995) with both ending in losses. However, in his career, he actually has coached a fairly balanced game in the playoffs. Out of the 17 playoff games in his career, he's called for more passes than rushes in 10 of them. In fact, if you take all his playoff games, he's called 1059 plays: 502, or 47 percent, of them have been runs, and 557, or 53 percent, have been passes. Rushing 47 percent of the time and passing 53 percent of the time is a pretty balanced attack overall. And while Marty was certainly conservative in the 1995 and 1997 losses, in his last playoff game - against the Jets in 2004 - Shottenheimer opened up the offense, as quarterback Drew Brees threw the ball 42 times for 308 yards and the team ran for 100 yards on 33 carries. It was still a 20-17 loss, but the playcalling wasn't that conservative.
I do think Marty's reputation for being too conservative in the playoffs isn't quite accurate or fair; that said, he's 5-12 in the postseason overall, so he must not be doing something right.
By Chris , Posted January 12, 2007 8:07 PM