NFL Picks - Divisional Playoffs

Last week pretty much went as expected; Giants showed muscle against a poor team, Saints put up a ridiculous amount of yardage and Tim Tebow buried yet another team in the late stages of a game. Same old, same old. I'm superstitious to a fault and come playoff time it's harder to pick a Ravens game. I want to use my head, but my heart always gets in a way. I'll explain later. Let's go straight to the games.

(Winners in bold).


Giants at Packers

The bandwagon pick is New York. For some reason, it's become a detriment to win 15 games and have a week off. Also, it seems as if beating a team a few weeks prior only makes your chances of beating them again slimmer. I don't understand the logic, but I have no reason to jump off of the Packers now.


Broncos at Patriots

I can't pick the Broncos to win for pretty much the same reason, I can't justify picking the Giants. You lose to a team (and Denver was embarrassed) and then you become the underdog (although not literally in this case). Tebow magic didn't work when they played last time, no reason to believe his magic wand has been fixed this quickly.

Saints at 49ers

Rookie head coaches have to make a mistake at some point don't they? Jim Harbaugh and the Niners have already far exceeded their expectations, but can they really make it all the way to NFC Championship? I don't think so. It's too much too soon. You can definitely make a case that they are the Cinderealla story of the NFL, but even she had to leave ball at some point. She didn't marry the prince right on the spot (have I taken this analogy too far?). I always say, for players and coaches, they can be successful their rookie season, but year two will tell us the truth. Too soon.

Texans at Ravens

Like I said earlier, I'm conflicted with this game. Every big Ravens game, I picked against them (both Steelers games and the No. 2 seed-clinching Bengals game). And they won. So how can I, in good faith, pick them to win this game, when it seems that my doubts equal wins. Of course I think they can and should win this game. This team does NOT lose at home, but isn't that just a recipe fora letdown. I've seen some duds from this team and this one would break my heart. The cards are stacked against Texans. They have a rookie, 3rd string quarterback, leading a franchise into their first divisional game ever against a team that they have NEVER beaten. I've seen a good amount of football this year and this one just smells fishy. But I hope I'm wrong.

Hopefully, my team won't send me to the hospital and I'll be back to make Championship weekend picks.