Wild Card Picks
I’ve been spending a lot of time in my car this week, which means I’ve been spending a lot of time listening to Sirius NFL Radio. This is mostly a good thing. I mean, how couldn’t it be? Hours and hours of talk about the greatest sport ever invented as the pros head into the playoffs. This is fun.
That said, there are a few negatives. First, I’m pretty sure I hate John Riggins and Adam Schein, who host the program Afternoon Blitz. Why? Because they treat the defending champions like a non-factor in the playoffs, acknowledging the Patriots as part of the post-season picture only occasionally and mostly begrudgingly. Asked by a caller one day this week to rank the playoff teams in the respective conferences, for instance, they offered Pittsburgh easily as the AFC’s best team — and fair enough, the Steelers were amazing in the regular season, finishing 15-1, which makes them the best team in football until someone beats them — taking plenty of time to heap praise on the Steelers, then said something like, “I guess you’ve got to say New England at number two,” and nothing more about the Pats, before going on to talk about how great the Indianapolis Colts are. What the fuck, fellas? That’s a damned impressive team that plays in Foxborough, a team some pretty smart people think can repeat as league champion, a team that — unlike the one and three seeds you guys are so impressed with — opted to play football right through the last quarter of the regular season. Maybe you could give them a little bit of respect. Just a little.
Second, if I hear one more New Orleans fan whining about the tie-breaker rules that kept the Saints out of the playoffs, I’m gonna lose my fucking shit. Look, folks, here’s the deal: 8-8 teams don’t belong in the playoffs. They just don’t. And, yeah, two 8-8 NFC teams made the playoffs this season while yours didn’t. And, yeah, the three-way tie-breaker system is odd. But it is what it is. It’s on paper. It’s as fair as any other tie-breaking system. And all the Saints needed to do to make the post-season in the miserable NFC was to win one more regular-season game than they lost (well, two as it works out), something they were unable to do. The Vikings and the Rams got a gift. They’re in the playoffs even though they have no business being there, because other than Philadelphia and Atlanta (and maybe Green Bay — but probably not), the NFC simply doesn’t have any teams that have earned a damned thing this season. And bellyaching about how your team deserved the spoils of conference-wide inadequacy more than those other teams doesn’t reflect well on either you or the team. So shut up already.
Here’s how I see Wild Card weekend shaping up:
St. Louis (+4) at Seattle
One of two games this weekend featuring division rivals, one of which (the Rams in this case) swept the other in the regular season. And if you listen to the league and to ABC, that’s supposed to make this an exciting matchup. Can the Rams pull off the difficult task of beating a team three times in a season? Can they become the first 8-8 team ever to win a playoff game? Who cares? You know what the bottom line here is? Neither of these teams is going anywhere in the playoffs. This is the last game for one of them, the second to last for the other. And that’s all there is to it. The only reason this game has any potential to be exciting is the fact that one team is probably as sucky as the other. So, yeah, I’m taking the Rams to pull off the upset, just like virtually everyone else. But who the hell knows? And who the hell cares?
NY Jets (+6.5) at San Diego
Forget the fact that the Jets offense has been limping along for the last several weeks. Or don’t. Because it’s a factor. But consider these factors as well: The Jets are playing their second straight road game, making a cross-country trip a week after taking a loss at St. Louis in a long overtime. That’s not an easy situation to be in. Also, you have to wonder to what extent Jets defensive end John Abraham’s approach to this game is indicative of the mindset of other Jets players. Abraham, who was expected to return from a knee injury in time for that Rams game but didn’t, now says he’ll base his decision on whether to play this weekend (in a playoff game) on whether he believes reinjuring the knee (always a possibility in pro football) will hurt his chances to get a good deal as a free agent in the off season. Way to get behind your team, John. If there are other Jets players who feel that way, it’s gonna be a very long evening for New York. And while I couldn’t be more delighted by the idea of the Jets and their wonderful fans taking one on the chin, I have to sorta feel bad for guys like running back Curtis Martin and quarterback Chad Pennington, both of whom play hard all the time and deserve better. The Chargers, who have been remarkable this season and who clearly value winning, should take this one by a touchdown.
Denver (+10) at Indianapolis
The Colts deserve to lose this game as punishment for refusing to field a team in last Sunday’s matchup against the Broncos. The Colts essentially elected to take Denver as their wild card round opponent by taking the loss in Colorado last week (a win over the Broncos would have opened the door for another AFC team to take the six seed). They probably believe they can’t help but put the same kind of hurting on the Broncos this season as they did in last season’s playoffs. And if there’s any justice in this world, they’ll pay for their arrogance with a first-round loss to a lesser team. Thing is, there is no justice in this world. So while I don’t expect a blowout, I do expect the Colts to win a tight one, maybe by a field goal.
Minnesota (+6) at Green Bay
The Vikings are easily the team least worthy of its playoff berth. They don’t act like they want to win. They don’t even act like a team a lot of the time. Mike Tice is without question one of the worst coaches in the league, a talent squanderer of the highest (lowest?) order. And they lost to the Packers twice during the regular season. Still, if the Vikings remember to run the ball some of the time they might actually be able to stay with the Pack until the fourth quarter. Even then, I don’t see them pulling off an upset victory, though. I’m taking Green Bay straight up, Minnesota with the points.
