Bat Country NFL Playoff Pick'Em

[HaemishM]

The NFL Playoffs are this weekend, so what better way to celebrate than have our own playoff pick 'em contest for absolutely no prize (other than maybe a grief title or two). I'll list the coming weekend's games, you make your pick in each game along with some snide comments or trashtalk. Each correct pick is a victory, each wrong pick is a loss. When the Super Bowl is over, the one with the highest win total wins!

Week 1 - Wild Card Weekend
Jacksonville at New England
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati
Washington at Tampa Bay
Carolina at NY Giants

[tazelbain]

New England
Pittsburg
Washington
Giants

[HaemishM]

Week 1 - Wild Card Weekend
Jacksonville at New England - Jacksonville has been surprising, but with questions about Leftwich (is he healthy, rusty) and Tom Brady slinging it for the Pats, I give this one to the Pats, especially at home. The Jags just don't have enough to get past Brady's coolness. Should be a good game though.
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati - I hate to bet against Rothlisberger and the Steelers, and even though the Steelers beat Cincy at Cincy the first time, I think Palmer and the rest know what they need to do to win.
Washington at Tampa Bay - I don't believe in Tampa or Chris Sims, despite the points they put up on the Skins the last time they played. Brunell to Moss with liberal doses of Portis and sacks galore are going to be what win this one for the Skins.
Carolina at NY Giants - Both teams have been inconsistent as hell this year, so there's no telling which of each team will show up. Much as I hate to do it, I got to go with the Giants on this one, simply because of Tiki Barber. DeShaun Foster hasn't proven himself to me yet, and right now Delhomme is about even with Manning based on Manning's inexperience. Expect lots of Barber and Steve Smith with a high scoring game. Also, expect Delhomme to be on his ass a lot looking up at Umenyore.

[Murgos]

Jacksonville at New England - No way in hell the Jags pull this out thier butt.
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati - Upset pick
Washington at Tampa Bay - Im in the air on this one, I think it's going to come down to how Tampa's def responds.  I'm giving the nod to Tampa though.
Carolina at NY Giants - both teams are inconsistant, except for Tiki who is consistantly great so I am giving the go ahead to NY.

[MrHat]

Week 1 - Wild Card Weekend
Jacksonville at New England - Jacksonville has been surprising, but with questions about Leftwich (is he healthy, rusty) and Tom Brady slinging it for the Pats, I give this one to the Pats, especially at home. The Jags just don't have enough to get past Brady's coolness. Should be a good game though.
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati - I hate to bet against Rothlisberger and the Steelers, and even though the Steelers beat Cincy at Cincy the first time, I think Palmer and the rest know what they need to do to win.
Washington at Tampa Bay - I don't believe in Tampa or Chris Sims, despite the points they put up on the Skins the last time they played. Brunell to Moss with liberal doses of Portis and sacks galore are going to be what win this one for the Skins.
Carolina at NY Giants - Both teams have been inconsistent as hell this year, so there's no telling which of each team will show up. Much as I hate to do it, I got to go with the Giants on this one, simply because of Tiki Barber. DeShaun Foster hasn't proven himself to me yet, and right now Delhomme is about even with Manning based on Manning's inexperience. Expect lots of Barber and Steve Smith with a high scoring game. Also, expect Delhomme to be on his ass a lot looking up at Umenyore.

qft

[WayAbvPar]

Jacksonville
Cincy
Washington
Carolina

[Sky]

New England - I wouldn't bet against NE in the playoffs unless they were up against the Colts.
Pittsburg - The Bus ftwimo. I like Da Burg...and it's my boss's favorite team, so I give it the brownnose vote.
Washington - TB sucks imo
Giants - Tiki learned how to hold onto the ball, he's always been good but dropsy. Eli continues to learn.

[Rasix]

New England - Brady v. Leftwich.  Who would you pick?
Pittsburg - Cinci's looked like dogmeat lately.  Their offense will have to wake up after 2 weeks of sleeping to be able to pull through.  I don't see it happening.  Hines scores twice. Bus goes in a couple times himself and there's a special teams or defensive score mixed in.
Tampa Bay - Toss up. Don't care either way.  It's going to come down to a big defensive play making the difference (probably by Ronde Barber).
Carolina - Eli's gonna wilt. I can feel it.

[Murgos]

Jacksonville
Cincy
Washington
Carolina

You did that on purpose.

[Paelos]

New England
Pittsburgh
Tampa Bay
NY Giants

[El Gallo]

Pittsburgh, because they are just better than Cincinatti.  Roethlisburger has sucked ass in every do-or-die game he's played in, but he can play pretty crappy and the Steelers will still win.

New England, because they are just a lot better than Jacksonville, and Brady sits at the left hand of the father.

Tampa because I like their defense against Brunell

Carolina because I think they are finally starting to play up to their potential.

So, 3 favorites (NE, PIT, TB) and 1 upset (CAR) for me.

[WayAbvPar]

Jacksonville
Cincy
Washington
Carolina

You did that on purpose.

Ha! I didn't even notice. I guess we aren't gonna tie for the lead =)

[Hokers]

Jacksonville at New England - hate them, sick of them, but don't bet against them.
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati - The way they just killed the Bears in week 3 still haunts me.
Washington at Tampa Bay - Going with the hot team.
Carolina at NY Giants - only cuz of Tiki, Eli will stuggle.

[Zetleft]

Jacksonville at New England - for no other reason than I really hate NE
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati - Insane Offense
Washington at Tampa Bay - Better D wins this one.
Carolina at NY Giants - Eli's first playoff, he will fail

[Sauced]

Almost forgot to jump in on this.

New England over Jacksonville.  With their LB corp healthy, Leftwich will have a long day, assuming he stays in the game.  Brady will find a way to move the ball just fine against Jax's solid defense.

Pittsburgh over Cincinnati.  My gut tells me that the Bengals are going to win, but my gut is also very hungry.  I just didn't like the last 2 weeks for the Bengals, when they still had a shot at a bye.

Tampa Bay over Washington.  I not behind this whole Chris Simms thing, but I don't like Brunell on the road in the playoffs, either.

NY Giants over Carolina.  If the Panthers OTs don't step up, this game is uuuuuugly.

[Sauced]

Almost forgot to jump in on this.

New England over Jacksonville.  With their LB corp healthy, Leftwich will have a long day, assuming he stays in the game.  Brady will find a way to move the ball just fine against Jax's solid defense.

Pittsburgh over Cincinnati.  My gut tells me that the Bengals are going to win, but my gut is also very hungry.  I just didn't like the last 2 weeks for the Bengals, when they still had a shot at a bye.

I am a genious!

Tampa Bay over Washington.  I not behind this whole Chris Simms thing, but I don't like Brunell on the road in the playoffs, either.

NY Giants over Carolina.  If the Panthers OTs don't step up, this game is uuuuuugly.

No, wait, make that a huge idiot.  I love sports predictions.

[Paelos]

The Washington win was a bit of a shocker, but Tampa just couldn't get it together on offense at all. Hell, Washington's offense did nothing that game and they still won. They won't be able to eek out a win against Seattle, who has done nothing but dominate since the loss to Washington in OT over 3 months ago.

The Carolina win had to happen because Eli would blow it, and he did. Carolina defense v. Chicago defense will set up one of the most offensively barren games of the playoffs, with any points coming off field position and turnovers. Chicago ends up winning that battle because Delhomme will throw an untimely pick and let the Bears defense set up a backbreaking TD, just like he did in their regular season matchup.

Pats over Jacksonville was almost a no-brainer because Jacksonsville was by far the worst team who made the playoff cut. However, it extends NE's playoff streak, and they are the reigning champs until someone beats them. Not counting the week 16 loss to Miami where the starters hardly played at all, the Patriots have done nothing but win since December started. It's hard to pick against them even going into Denver.

The Steelers only beat Cincy because Carson Palmer goes down on throw one. Otherwise, Cincy wins the shootout. Still, a win is a win in the playoffs no matter how you got it, and the big prize for Pittsburgh is to play the Colts offensive Juggernaught in round 2. They couldn't stop the Colt's passing game in late November, but the key issue was that the Colts didn't even play that well in the game. They struggled to make touchdowns, settling for 4 FG's in the match. They had over 100 yards on 12 penalties, and they threw an interception. Yet, they still dominated due to defense and big plays. Imagine what it would be like if they played well. Colts crush the Steelers in this matchup.

Picks:

Seattle
Chicago
New England
Indy

[tazelbain]

Picks:

Seattle
Chicago
New England
Indy

(thanks for letting me cut and paste, Paelos)

[Murgos]

Picks:

Seattle
Chicago
New England
Indy

(thanks for letting me cut and paste, Paelos)

Ditto

[Hokers]

Picks:

Seattle
Chicago
New England Denver - I'm counting on you Jake.
Indy

[MrHat]

Seattle
Carolina
Denver
Indy

yup

And I'm a huge Denver fan.

Except for Jake Plummer, I fucking hate Jake Plummer.

[Sky]

Picks:

Seattle
Chicago
New England
Indy

(thanks for letting me cut and paste, Paelos)

Ditto

Tritto.

[El Gallo]

Seattle (lol Skins offense lol)

Carolina (most talented team in the NFC > most talented defense in NFC with no offense at all)

New Englaned (Brady so sexy; Jacksonville was the worst AFC team to make the playoffs but they'd get a first round bye in the NFC and the Pats destroyed them)

Pittsburgh (this is a homer pick, Indy will probably win.  I take the opposite lesson from Paelos from their previous meeting: after the first 10 minutes, the Steelers figured out how to hold the Colts offense to field goals.  The Steelers long-field pass defense is horrid, but their short-field pass defense is quite good because their CBs lack of speed cannot be exploited.  Also, recall that the regular season game was roflburger's first game back after being out 3 weeks and it showed: the Steelers passing game was horrid.  Still, Indy will probably win because Steelers cannot reliably get pressure with 4 men against Indy's o-line, because R'burger is prone to suckage in big games, and because the Steelers are nicked up while everyone who matters for the Colts has been in a whirlpool for a month which I take to be a pretty huge advantage.  But, like I said, I'm going with the homer pick)

[WayAbvPar]

Seattle
Carolina
Denver
Indy

If the Seahawks lose, I am going on a serious bender. If they win, I will be drinking in celebration. Either way, I am gonna feel like lukewarm shit on Sunday, but sometimes these things must be done.

[HaemishM]

WEEK 1 Tallies

Tazelbain - 3-1
Sky - 3-1
Rasix - 3-1
El Gallo - 3-1
Haemish - 2-2
Murgos - 2-2
Mr. Hat - 2-2
WayabvPar - 2-2
Paelos - 2-2
Hokers - 2-2
Sauced - 2-2
Zetleft - 1-3

[HaemishM]

Week 2 Pick

New England at Denver - Come on, Jake the Snakebit in the playoffs? No. Not happening. New England is much better than they were back when this game first happened. They have a running attack again, they have a D Line and they have a secondary that has some experience now. Jake was in the groove when they first played, now he's throwing INT's again. This will be close, if only because Shanahan will run the fuck out of the ball. But the Pats will win, setting up the rematch.
Pittsburgh at Indy - Who could bet against the fucking Colts? Pitt looked good against the Bengals, but mostly because the Begals lost Palmer and gave up on the run game in the second half. I mean completely. How hard is it to defend when you KNOW they are going to throw 3 downs out of 3? Marvin Lewis got scared in the 3rd quarter, and he panicked, trying to blow out the Steelers. Dungy won't do that. Barring a Manning injury, this game is all Indy.
Carolina at Chicago - Their last meeting, Carolina was on a down swing. This one? After seeing them totally outcoach and outplay the Giants last weekend, I'm going with Fox and Delhomme. Their D handled Tiki, it can handle Orton/Grossman and Thomas Jones or whoever they have running back there. The Bears might not score at all. Carolina won't need much offense to win, but I expect one good Steve Smith pass catch will be all that's needed. Lowest-scoring affair ever.
Washington at Seattle - The Skins D won't have the cakewalk it did in Tampa. Caddy Williams is no Shaun Alexander, yet. Seattle's defense will snap Brunell's other knee, and they'll contain Moss and Portis. I'm not sure this one will be close, but I am sure Washington will have lots of 3 and outs.

[Sauced]

Carolina at Chicago - Their last meeting, Carolina was on a down swing.

Winning 6 in a row is a down swing?

I'm actually bailing out of this, I can't pick against Chicago.

[HaemishM]

Carolina at Chicago - Their last meeting, Carolina was on a down swing.

Winning 6 in a row is a down swing?

I'm actually bailing out of this, I can't pick against Chicago.

That was the game they started on their inconsistent streak, when they really lost the division. They started playing inconsistent.

[Sky]

Actually, after talking about this week over beers with my buddy, I'm inclined to agree Chicago will lose. Delhomme can probably serve up just enough to win as Chicago struggles to move the ball at all. But I'll stick with my initial pick, not like there is money on it :P

[Rasix]

Seattle - They'll get it done. 
Carolina - I just don't think Chicago will put any points on the board. Grossman is going to get murdered.

New England - Jake Plummer, in the playoffs, with the candlestick.
Indy - For some reason I see them beating the tar out of Pittsburg. 

Only one I'm not sure on is the Chicago game.  They can win without offensive touchdowns and if Jake throws a sideline pass that gets picked by someone like Vasher... Chicago not having an offense won't matter as long as they're smart with the ball.  Gut-o-meter rates that pick as "uneasy".

[Zetleft]

Seattle - Wash has no chance playing like they did last week
Denver - I fucking hate NE
Indianapolis - Although it would be pretty damn funny if they lose
Chicago - Special teams scores more then either offence in this one :p

[Murgos]

Seattle
Chicago
New England
Indy

Can I pick 'em or what?

[El Gallo]

Every team in the world should pay Paelos to post that they will get utterly crushed in a game.  They're 2-0 :)

You know I  you.  But I  the Steelers.

Also, I've never seen NFL playoff refereeing as bad as the Pats-Denver game.  Then came the Steelers-Colts officiating crew, which made last night's crew look competent.

[MrHat]

Also, I've never saw NFL playoff refereeing as bad as the Pats-Denver game.  Then came the Steelers-Colts officiating crew, which made last night's crew look competent.

I'll second that.

[Paelos]

Every team in the world should pay Paelos to post that they will get utterly crushed in a game.  They're 2-0 :)

You know I  you.  But I  the Steelers.

Also, I've never seen NFL playoff refereeing as bad as the Pats-Denver game.  Then came the Steelers-Colts officiating crew, which made last night's crew look competent.

Do I suck? Yes. Yes I do.

Go Steelers.