anjang86
01-13-2006, 06:51 PM
Rematch week!
Each game today is a rematch of a regular season game in which the Broncos, Colts, Redskins and Bears all beat the teams they are playing this week.
For this weeks picks, I'm going to pick every team that lost in the first matchup.
Colts vs Steelers: Very intersting matchup this week... the line is set at 9.5 in favor of the Colts which is a big slap in the face to the Steelers IMO. The Colts dominated the Steelers on the scoreboard last game but if you payed attention to the game you would have seen that the Steelers' defense really confused Manning and held their own for the majority of the game. One quick score by the Colts on the first play really set the tempo combined with an easy missed fieldgoal by the Steelers. Ben was just back from an injury and the LT for the Steelers (Marvel Smith) was out but there should have been no excuse for the poor play of the offense. The Steelers were only down by 7 at halftime but Cowher made a bonehead onside kick call to start the half and gave the Colts good field position. There was a lot the Steelers learned from that matchup (learning to use the silent count, practicing with crowd noise, not peeking into the backfield and biting on the play action, etc). It's hard for me to pick the Steelers when they're playing the red-hot Colts but it's harder for me to pick against them. Steelers play well as the underdog and they'll surprise everybody come Monday.
Prediction - Steelers
Patriots vs Broncos: The Broncos are undefeated at home and having one heck of a season. The Patriots lost the last matchup after their rally fell short. They were however w/o Richard Seymor and Teddi Bruchi for the last game and were at the trough point of their season. Jake Plummer really has to have a good game for the Broncos to win here because the Patriots will stuff the run but have holes in the secondary. I don't expect Plummer to do much since he's barely been in the playoffs before so its gonna be tough for him against the Patriots. The Patriots are on a roll and perhaps are back to the playoff form they were in the last two years.
Prediction - Patriots
Redskins vs Seahawks: This has to be the hardest game to pick IMO. The Redskins are on a roll right now but the Seahawks have really distinguished themselves in the NFC. The Redskins have one of the best defenses in the playoffs and might just be the answer for the league MVP Shaun Alexander. The Seahawks on the ohter hand have a solid, but not great, defense and a power running game that can produce no matter how many men the defense puts in the box. They have however thrived on an easy schedule and easy divsion (playing Arizona, SF, and St. Louis twice). What makes me want to pick the Seahawks in this game is however the Redskins' lack of an offense. They had it in the regular season but Brunell looked very average the last game against the Bucs.
Prediction - Seattle
Panthers vs Bears: The Bears won this matchup last time beating the Panthers in Week 11. The Bears were able to rack up a lot of their wins on another easy schedule (playing an another bad division). Chicago was exposed when they played the Steelers (although the Steelers probably had a lot more to play for then). Regardless of how easy the schedule might have been, winning consistantly is hard to do in the NFL and you can't take that away from the Bears. I'm not sure whether Carolina lost their last game becuase they were just that good, or whether it was because the Giants were just that bad. It seems that Carolina has found their swagger however and their defense should take over whatever offense the Bears can muster. This game goes down to Jake Delhomme's ability to get the ball past the Bears defense to Steve Smith. I don't see Deshaun Foster doing anything in this game so it's all on Delhomme's shoulders. Honestly I don't know enough about these two teams to make a confident prediction... but since I'm with the "losers of the first matchup" theme here.. I'm going to pick the Panthers to win the game.
Prediction - Panthers
Each game today is a rematch of a regular season game in which the Broncos, Colts, Redskins and Bears all beat the teams they are playing this week.
For this weeks picks, I'm going to pick every team that lost in the first matchup.
Colts vs Steelers: Very intersting matchup this week... the line is set at 9.5 in favor of the Colts which is a big slap in the face to the Steelers IMO. The Colts dominated the Steelers on the scoreboard last game but if you payed attention to the game you would have seen that the Steelers' defense really confused Manning and held their own for the majority of the game. One quick score by the Colts on the first play really set the tempo combined with an easy missed fieldgoal by the Steelers. Ben was just back from an injury and the LT for the Steelers (Marvel Smith) was out but there should have been no excuse for the poor play of the offense. The Steelers were only down by 7 at halftime but Cowher made a bonehead onside kick call to start the half and gave the Colts good field position. There was a lot the Steelers learned from that matchup (learning to use the silent count, practicing with crowd noise, not peeking into the backfield and biting on the play action, etc). It's hard for me to pick the Steelers when they're playing the red-hot Colts but it's harder for me to pick against them. Steelers play well as the underdog and they'll surprise everybody come Monday.
Prediction - Steelers
Patriots vs Broncos: The Broncos are undefeated at home and having one heck of a season. The Patriots lost the last matchup after their rally fell short. They were however w/o Richard Seymor and Teddi Bruchi for the last game and were at the trough point of their season. Jake Plummer really has to have a good game for the Broncos to win here because the Patriots will stuff the run but have holes in the secondary. I don't expect Plummer to do much since he's barely been in the playoffs before so its gonna be tough for him against the Patriots. The Patriots are on a roll and perhaps are back to the playoff form they were in the last two years.
Prediction - Patriots
Redskins vs Seahawks: This has to be the hardest game to pick IMO. The Redskins are on a roll right now but the Seahawks have really distinguished themselves in the NFC. The Redskins have one of the best defenses in the playoffs and might just be the answer for the league MVP Shaun Alexander. The Seahawks on the ohter hand have a solid, but not great, defense and a power running game that can produce no matter how many men the defense puts in the box. They have however thrived on an easy schedule and easy divsion (playing Arizona, SF, and St. Louis twice). What makes me want to pick the Seahawks in this game is however the Redskins' lack of an offense. They had it in the regular season but Brunell looked very average the last game against the Bucs.
Prediction - Seattle
Panthers vs Bears: The Bears won this matchup last time beating the Panthers in Week 11. The Bears were able to rack up a lot of their wins on another easy schedule (playing an another bad division). Chicago was exposed when they played the Steelers (although the Steelers probably had a lot more to play for then). Regardless of how easy the schedule might have been, winning consistantly is hard to do in the NFL and you can't take that away from the Bears. I'm not sure whether Carolina lost their last game becuase they were just that good, or whether it was because the Giants were just that bad. It seems that Carolina has found their swagger however and their defense should take over whatever offense the Bears can muster. This game goes down to Jake Delhomme's ability to get the ball past the Bears defense to Steve Smith. I don't see Deshaun Foster doing anything in this game so it's all on Delhomme's shoulders. Honestly I don't know enough about these two teams to make a confident prediction... but since I'm with the "losers of the first matchup" theme here.. I'm going to pick the Panthers to win the game.
Prediction - Panthers