Whoa is me for jumping on the bandwagon this week, but I must. Like any rabid fan of the game, I’m getting caught up in the hoopla of personalities and stardom.
This weekend is gonna be off the hook.
Here’s my picks:
Jets (+8 1/2) over the COLTS
The Jets game will be shocking — again — because the two team’s on the field will be so dynamically different than ever before. On one end, the Colts will pass first and run second. On the other, the Jets will run first, run second, and think about passing third. It’s the tale of the defenses that will push these teams forward. The Colts and Jets both have amazing defenses with exceptional position players. But the advantage is obviously tilted in the Jets’ favor (ranked first in overall yardage allowed versus the Colts defense which is ranked 18th). It’s no big secret that Mark Sanchez will be focused on game management rather than winning with his arm. Every down of this game will be interesting. It’s why I think it’ll be my favorite of the two.
SAINTS (-4) over the Vikings
I guess it’s my New Orleans roots (my mom and dad both have ties to the area, while my grandma continues to be a fan of her hometown team). Part of me wants New Orleans to explode. The other part wants to see Brett Favre fail shamelessly. No doubt, the Vikings’ quarterback is the key to this matchup. If NO can get in the face of the 40-year-old runnerup MVP, the Saints will march their way to the Super Bowl. For what is usually a shoddy run defense from the Saints (21st overall), onlookers won’t have to worry about that for this game. Brad Childress has shown time and time again that he will forget the rushing game with his man crush on Favre. Not so similarly, the Vikings rush defense is second overall. The Saints will have to, at one point, depend on Drew Brees’ arm. I’ll take that chance with the home field advantage.
Last week: 1-3
Playoffs: 2-5 (didn’t pick Pats-Ravens in the wildcard)
Kirk
/ January 24, 2010The Colts are going to win. Revis will shut down Wayne but the Jets aren’t going to be able to blitz all day. Manning will pick them apart with Clark and Collie. Not to mention the Jets are going to have to score more than 17 points. Remember, the Jets were losing the game before the Colts pulled Manning and put in Captain Fumbles.
On the other side of the bracket, I hope both teams lose. If the Vikings win, we’re going to be stuck listing to the Farve love the next couple weeks. If the Saints win, we’ll be hearing about how New Orleans rallied around the team after Katrina. Either way, the cliche-apocalypse is going to be unbearable. If only the Saints and Colts were still undefeated, that would have been a storyline I could get behind.