It’s really funny how these games roll sometime; the one I was the most certain of last week (Packers over Cardinals) was the one I lost. Oh well, 3-1 is still pretty good!

SATURDAY GAMES

Cardinals at Saints: Prior to last weekend, I would have made this a pretty easy call, picking the Saints going away. But when you have a team involved that scored a wild-card record 51 points, and a QB that threw for 379 yds with 5 TDs, no picks and only got sacked once for 4 yds, that changes things just a bit.

Cardinals’ pluses: Well, obviously Warner, after that performance. The Cardinals’ receiving corps is also outstanding. Without Anquon Boldin even playing, they still had 3 receivers who were off the hook. You might expect great games from Fitz (6-82-2) and Steve Breaston (7-125-1), but I’m pretty sure that Early Doucet (6-77-2) surprised the heck out of the Packers. Their ground game wasn’t really necessary a lot, but Beanie Wells (14-91) still had a pretty good game.

Cardinals’ minuses: Well, I know it was Aaron Rodgers throwing for the Packers, but they gave up 422 yds and 4 TDs. This week they face Drew Brees, and he’s eminently capable of putting up similar numbers against them. The defense did come up big in OT when needed, sacking Rodgers and forcing a fumble that resulted in the game winning TD. However, that OT period wouldn’t have been necessary if Neil Rackers hadn’t missed a 34-yd field goal at the end of regulation.

Saints’ positives: Brees had a great season (4,388-34-11).  He threw TD passes to 10 different players during the year, so it’s often difficult for defenses to know who to focus on the most. WRs Marques Colston (70-1,074-9) and Robert Meachem (45-722-9) were the most prolific getting into the end zone. There were also six other players with multiple TD catches. S Darren Sharper had 9 picks and returned 3 for TD.

Saints’ negatives: Basically, the way they played after crushing the Patriots in week 12. It took a missed chip shot FG at the end of regulation for them to beat the 3-8 Redskins in OT. The following week, the 6-6 Falcons barely missed a 4th down conversion that would have given them a shot at beating the Saints, who won 26-23. Then they suffered their first loss to Dallas. Although the last two games were meaningless for them, you still don’t want to lose to the 2-12 Bucs in OT. They finished off with another loss to the Panthers.

What’s really worrisome about these games is that in their last 3, they scored a TOTAL of 44 points, which is more like a one game total for them a lot of the time. Granted, Brees didn’t play in the final game, but he played the whole game against the Bucs.

Prediction: What I’m relatively sure of is that there should be a lot of passing and a lot of points on the board. Of course, both teams could try to run a lot to keep the other offense off the field as much as possible. But that’s about as likely as me lining up at QB in a NFL game and not getting sacked the first time I tried to pass. I’m going to call it for the Saints in a wild one, but anything’s possible.

Saints 38 - Cardinals 34

Ravens at Colts: Again, this SHOULD be a no-brainer, what with the Colts being 14-0 before basically shutting down for the last two weeks. But the Ravens looked real impressive last week in demolishing the Patriots 33-14. In fact, that game was pretty much over after the first quarter, as the Ravens built a 24-0 lead and never looked back.

Colts’ positives: Well, they have the winner of the Peyton Manning Award, which used to be known as the MVP until the voters decided that once again, he was the only player really deserving of it. Perhaps they should just award it at the beginning of the season, and think up another one for the rest of the league…but I digress, sorry.

Manning (4,500-33-16) did have a fine season, don’t get me wrong. So did WR Reggie Wayne (100-1,264-10) and TE Dallas Clark (100-1,106-10), the best at his position in the NFL. Manning also has a couple of other great targets in WRs Pierre Garcon (47-765-4) and Austin Collie (60-676-7). RB Joseph Addai (219-828-10) didn’t pile up a lot of yardage, but got into the end zone frequently.

Colts’ minuses: It’s tough to find one on a team that started 14-0. The worst that can probably be said about them is that they aren’t great against the run, allowing 126.5 ypg and 10 rushing TDs. That will undoubtedly be what the Ravens try to exploit.

Ravens’ positives: Ray Rice just keeps on rolling along. He had 159 yds and 2 TDs against the Patriots, including an 83-yarder on the first play from scrimmage that put the Ravens ahead before the Patriots fans even had time to get a beer and a dog. The sometimes overlooked part of the Ravens ground game is RB Willis McGahee, who added 20 carries for 62 yds and a TD as well against the Patriots.  WR Derrick Mason, who contemplated retirement prior to the season, finished with 73 catches for 1,028 yds and 7 TDs and is still dangerous.

Ravens’ negatives: QB Joe Flacco only threw 10 times against the Patriots, completing just 4 for 34 yds and being picked once. He’ll have to do better than that against the Colts in order to keep them from keying solely on the running game. TE Todd Heap has been suffering from back spasms, but is expected to play. Losing Heap (53-593-6) would be a major blow to the Ravens’ limited passing game.

Prediction: The Colts won earlier in the season 17-15 and held the Ravens to no TDs. The Ravens are 3-5 on the road, while the Colts are 7-1 at home. I’ll give it to the Colts, but don’t expect a blowout, and if the Ravens can control the ball and keep Manning off the field, an upset is not out of the question.

Colts 24 - Ravens 21

SUNDAY GAMES

Cowboys at Vikings: The Cowboys are hot right now, winners of 4 in a row, including being the first team to knock off the Saints, who were 13-0 at the time. They’ve also beaten the Eagles twice in a row, including a 34-14 beat down in the first round of the playoffs. The Vikings come in having lost 3 of 5, including losses to the Panthers and Bears, who were both sub-.500 teams at the time.

Cowboys’ pluses: They looked awful good against the Eagles in the wild card round, scoring 2 TDs through the air and 2 more on the ground. RB Felix Jones had 16 carries for 148 yds and a TD on a 73-yd run. QB Tony Romo used 8 different receivers in that game, and while he only threw for 244 yds, he did have the two TDs and no picks.

The defense held the passing game pretty much in check most of the day. QB Donovan McNabb didn’t get a TD pass till the 4th quarter, and he was sacked 4 times. The only other TD was a 76-yd pass by QB Michael Vick early in the game.

Cowboys’ minuses: RB Marion Barber III only had 4 yds on 3 carries and didn’t play most of the game because of a left knee injury. Although they are among the league leaders with 42 sacks, they can be beaten with a good passing game.

Vikings’ pluses: First off, there’s RB Adrian Peterson, who finished 5th overall in rushing yardage with 1,383 and led the league in rushing TDs with 18. Peterson is a workhorse with 314 carries, and didn’t slow down at the end, recording 6 of his TDs in the last 4 weeks of the season. QB Brett Favre had a wonderful season even for a guy who’s not 40 years old, throwing for 4,202 yds and 33 TDs vs 7 picks.

Favre also turned WR Sidney Rice into one of the best pass catchers in the league. In his previous 2 seasons, Rice had 46 catches for 537 yds and 8 TDs. This year, he had 83 for 1,312 and 8 TDs. TE Visanthe Shinacoe also had a banner year with 11 TDs, and WR Percy Harvin won rookie of the year with 60 catches for 790 yds and 6 TDs.

It wasn’t all offense for the Vikings either. DE Jared Allen was 2nd in the league with 14.5 sacks, and DE Ray Edwards had 8.5. Harvin also excelled on kickoff returns, racking up 1,156 yds and 2 TDs, one for 101 yds. The Vikings were also the 2nd ranked defense against the run, allowing just 87.1 ypg and 5 rushing TDs.

Vikings’ minuses: Other than those two late-season losses to teams they should have beaten, there really aren’t many. CB Antoine Winfield has been a little dinged up, but is expected to play this weekend.

Prediction: While the Cowboys have been hot. the Vikings are probably the most balanced team in the NFC. With Peterson, Favre, the receiving corps and a strong defense, they can come at you from all angles. They should dispose of the Cowboys and advance.

Vikings 34 - Cowboys 24

Jets at Chargers: This game is a study in contrasts. It features the AFC’s top rated offense and the hottest team going into the playoffs (Chargers) against the NFL’s stingiest defense (Jets).

Chargers’ positives: With all the ballyhoo this season focusing on Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, and Drew Brees, Chargers QB Philip Rivers was kind of the Rodney Dangerfield of passers. But Rivers (4,254-28-9) put up some great numbers in his own right, and led a team that was 2-3 after the first 5 weeks to 11 straight wins and the #2 seed in the AFC.

His receiving corps is none too shabby either. WR Vincent Jackson (68-1,1167-9) and TE Antonio Gates (79-1,1157-8) are both dangerous, and WR Malcom Floyd is coming into his own. RB Darren Sproles also had 4 TDs receiving, and is a threat to break a long one on any catch. All three of them are tall; Gates is 6’4” and the other two are 6’5”, which gives them a great advantage over most DBs.  RB LaDanian Tomlinson only had 730 yds rushing, but he got into the end zone 12 times.

Chargers’ minuses: They’re mediocre on defense against the run, which could cause them a lot of problems against the Jets, the league’s best rushing team. The 11-game winning streak could also be a bit of a problem, in order to win it all, they have to win 14 straight, and not a lot of teams are capable of that.

Jets’ positives: The best ground game in the league. RB Thomas Jones had 1,402 yds and 14 TDs during the regular season, and added a TD last week against the Bengals. Rookie RB Shonn Greene averaged 5.0 ypc during the regular season, and ran for 135 yds and a TD on 21 carries in last week’s playoff game.

The defense has been stellar, allowing just 14.8 ppg during the regular season and 14 last weekend. They were also #1 against the pass, allowing just 153.7 ypg and 8 TDs vs 17 picks. CB Darrelle Revis is one of the best in the game, with 6 picks, one for a TD.

Jets’ negatives: Rookie QB Mark Sanchez had a lot of ups and downs during the regular season, and was one of the lowest rated starting QBs in the league, with just 12 TDs vs 20 picks. He’s at his best when he just hands the ball off and throws often enough to keep the defense honest. Against the Bengals, he was 12 of 15 for 182 yds and a TD. His receiving corps isn’t going to scare anyone either; WR Jerricho Cotchery had 821 yds and 3 TDs for the season.

Prediction: The only way possible for the Jets to win this game is to control the ball for the majority of it and keep Rivers and the Chargers offense off the field. Revis can’t cover all the Chargers’ receivers, and the Jets really don’t have much big-play capability.

Chargers 31 - Jets 13

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Comments (4)

• 01-17-2010 21:58:12 |98.244.11.xxx| mustang jones  - 3 for four

  nice psychosis of the liver, kitty!

  very nice.

  the fix is in. better the nfl than some random pet
  you can bet Alley Cat Strange. the fix is in.

  if i'm wrong, we won't be talking about the jets and the vikes.

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• 01-17-2010 22:16:12 |98.244.11.xxx| mustang jones

  re my first comment.

  not trying to nix your picks.

  well done.

  almost purrfect. imho, you got all four.

  I'd rate your article a total digging with a place to perform a terrific dump. All buried and ready for scooping.

  you are ready to be sponsored by "Clump N' Dump". Go Cat Go!

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• 01-17-2010 22:32:04 |98.244.11.xxx| mustang jones

  the only thing keeping my pants on is how close the games were not.

  only blow out was the Chargers over the Jets.

  your six is safe for another week.

  But, Don't stray out too late!

  again, very nice work. just having fun

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