Meet Your New QB Coach Baltimore - Jim Zorn

The last time we heard about Jim Zorn he was being fired. The firing happened immediately when he got off the plane after the last Washington Redskins game in early January. They replaced him with Mike Shanahan within a few days and Zorn was left wondering what was going to happen to his NFL coaching future.

To be fair, Zorn fell into the head coaching job in Washington. Dan Snyder wanted a big name coach like Cowher at the time but no one wanted to take the job. Snyder took to long to pull the trigger so Zorn was bumped from offensive coordinator to head coach. Many thought Snyder overlooked Gregg Williams, who since has gone on to turn the Saints into a Super Bowl-caliber, turnover machine.

So with the Ravens QB coach Hue Jackson heading for greener pastures in Oakland (not really greener but he will be the offensive coordinator there) it was announced today who would replace him. Jim Zorn. Now before everyone freaks out or Steelers fans start mocking us (Alex!), let's realize what title he got here. He will not be calling plays, Cam Cameron still has that job (probably will never get a head coaching gig thanks to that 1 win stint in Miami a couple years ago). He is going to be doing a job he knows how to do. I know Jason Campbell may not have made the Pro Bowl but let's take a look at his numbers.

Campbell has had to deal with a different offense implemented every season since he has been in Washington. However, with Zorn at the helm, Campbell's numbers improved. It was the team that was poor. The year before Zorn got there Campbell's stats looked like this; 13 games, 60% completions, 2700 yards passing, 12 TDs, 11 interceptions and a QB rating of 77.6. Each of those stats have gone up with Zorn in charge. 2008 saw Campbell limit his turnovers and improve his mechanics with this season having career highs in every passing statistic. Unfortunately that included turnovers. This was mostly without the services of Chris Cooley, the Pro Bowl tight end missed most of the season with a leg injury. Campbell is not Joe Flacco, he did not lead a team to back to back playoff appearances and his owner actually wants him as the franchise QB.

So let's look at this as a positive. Zorn knows how to handle QB's. He is a former NFL QB who has done this job for years. Zorn is on a long road back to being trusted to lead another NFL ship. If he turns Flacco into a Pro Bowler like he did with Matt Hasselbeck in Seattle, it may be sooner then you think.

No-no Show-show fo-fo Coco?

If the title makes absolutely no sense then you probably never watched an episode of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. I know that everyone has a style of humor that they appreciate, maybe Conan isn't your guy. He's my kind of guy and he will be sadly missed, at least for the next 7 months.



After some serious thought, I realized that I have basically grown up loving the things that O'Brien has done. Whether it was The Simpsons, Saturday Night Live or Late Night with Conan O'Brien I have been a fan for a long time. Mr. O'Brien, if you are reading this, A) thanks for using your free time to check out my blog and 2) you have to own a sweet game system, why read? Since he isn't reading this, because no one has that kind of free time I have been told, I will just wax poetic about his accomplishments. I could do that, bash Jay Leno or NBC. Decisions, decisions.



The high road is a choice not usually taken by yours truly, 98% of readers agree with that. I have too much respect for O'Brien to not bash Leno or the network for what they did. In all honesty, I'm sad to see such a talented guy be taken off the air. Had my emotion been anger I would bash away. Again I know some see his humor as sophmoric, self-depreciating, immature and/or childish crap. On the flip side of that, who cares? He is hilarious!


Other then the obvious skits I will miss of his, mostly his mime abilities will be missed. Whether it is the NBC exec in his evil lair stroking his cat, Sarah Palin, Larry King (suspender pull, suspender pull, glasses = the national sign for Larry King), or his many other inappropriate (guitar riff) moves that coincided with his monologue. Just filing through some Youtube clips of Late Night (just search alternate cable channels for example along with Conan O'Brien or another favorite of mine were the cameos by the Governator Arnold Schwarzanegger/Former President George W. Bush).


Many of us watched as O'Brien gave his emotional, almost tearful, state of mind regarding NBC on Friday. What people who don't watch the show, or who have half a brain, don't realize that this isn't just about Conan. During the final show, honestly the whole final week, he talked about his staff and band (Max Weinberg and the Max Weinberg 7/Tonight Show band) in very high regard. If it weren't for Jimmy Fallon lucking out and having the Roots as his band, I would agree with O'Brien that he had the best band in late night. His show has been nominated previously for it's writing accomplishments. That's right, the crew who gave us the Masterbating Bear (the self pleasuring bear as supposedly called by NBC in O'Brien's seperation papers), was nominated for awards. The great news is the staff will receive a severence, one that I hope includes Andy Richter as I don't know if he will be doing any subpar series on NBC anytime soon. Bring back Andy Richter Controls the Universe! Or just stick with Conan. Either way, it's probably going to happen on Fox.


So that is what we are all questioning now. When or if Conan will be back on a network? Will he go to cable? Will he bring back the infamous James Lipton doing weird acts segment on his show? Who knows? Until then, I will have to catch David Letterman to hear all the latest on Jay bashing. Which, in my opinion, is way funnier then Jay Walking.

Playoff Picks - Part Deux

Do you know who went 4-0 on his picks last week? No, not Chris Berman. Not Mike Ditka. Certainly not Bill Cowher. It was this guy. Little old Brandan Spiegel. The scores may have been wrong but who could see the Ravens destruction of the Pats (Welker would not have saved Brady folks, he wouldn't have been blocking Suggs or Ray Lewis). Who could have seen that epic game in Arizona? No one, however I did pick the Cards so at least I have that.



So with the Wild Card round in the books that leaves the divisional round where we will see two teams who haven't won in nearly a month (Colts and Saints). Included in the madness will be two of the highest powered offenses in the NFL this year leading to the Cards being in yet another shootout. Unlike last week, only one match up is a rematch of a regular season game. Before I get into my analysis early let's jump into the games (which are in order of when they will be televised).





Arizona Cardinals VS New Orleans Saints





Anyone who thought that Green Bay and Arizona put on an offensive display needs to tune in to this one. I don't know if 96 points and over 1,000 yards of offense will be eclipsed but this one should be a shootout. Especially considering that both defenses are questionable when it comes to pass defense. New Orleans really lacks a pass rusher to upset Warner in the pocket and they really could use one. Warner is coming off a game where he had more touchdowns, 5, then incompletions, 4. Drew Brees is utterly ridiculous and could easily match Warner throw for throw. However the problem I have with the Saints is that they haven't won a game in a month, twice when their starters were out there. The Cowboys made them look vulnerable and the Buccaneers proved anyone could beat them at home. While I know that Boldin is probably still going to sit this one out, does it matter? Look at what Doucet and Breaston did last week. Not to mention the awesome TD celebration by Breaston (the Razor Ramon dance,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN5CiElINSs kind of hard to see but just awesome).



Prediction: Fans of shootouts tune in! This one is going to be a back and forth game where you don't want to miss anything. Warner and Brees are the NFC's version of a Brady and Manning match up in the AFC. Meaning, as fans, this is a match up of possible hall of fame candidates. Each defense can be abused via the pass but its New Orleans run defense that is the issue. People forget how good the running game of the Cardinals actually is. Beanie Wells had 92 yards on 16 carries this past Sunday. That was against a highly ranked defense. Who knows what he will do against the Saints. Will the Superdome be exploding with excitement? Yes. Will the Saints put up a fight? Definetly. Will the Saints win? I'm not so sure. If it is a close game then the edge goes to the Saints because Neil Rackers has not been himself this season. We all know what the Cardinals did last year. They had a close game at home and then the blew out the number one seed. It could happen again. Cardinals win 35-14





Baltimore Ravens VS Indianapolis Colts



This is the only rematch from the regular season. The game in Baltimore was close but unfortunately the Ravens offense could never get going. Flacco turned the ball over in the red zone and Ed Reed tried to lateral a ball on an excellent return which resulted in a fumble recovered by the Colts. Needless to say, the Ravens gave the game to the Colts. The defense of the Ravens is always great at home but until last week against New England, hadn't impressed anyone on the road. Causing 4 turnovers tends to impress people. Can they play "giant killer" once again? Against the Colts they caused 3 turnovers and only gave up one big play to Garcon. If they do that, who knows what could happen.



Prediction: I will pretend to know what is going to happen. Peyton is well rested and honestly so is Joe Flacco. In their last game they played, each QB wasn't used to his full capacity. Ravens fans love themselves some Joe Flacco, they think he is the second coming(of who I have no idea, Testaverde?). When you look at the numbers for Flacco closely you notice he started hot, like the Ravens, but kinda trailed off throughout the season. His last great game was against the Bears when he threw 4 TDs. Currently, Flacco hasn't thrown a TD in his last two games. Not to mention that Heap was hobbling off the field last week which makes me a little nervous. Clayton making that stellar 17 yard grab does make me feel better for the future, as long as he keeps making plays. Sure, Ray Rice is going to run the ball. Willis McGahee (http://ravens.fandome.com/video/107758/Willis-McGahees-77-Yard-Saturday-Night-TD-Scamper/you got to be kiddin' me! click the link if you are totally clueless) will to. Hey, LeRon McClain might get a carry or two. Flacco is going to have to keep us in the game because we all know that Manning is going to hit at least one bomb to his play makers whether it be Clark, Wayne or Garcon. For the Ravens to win the Colts bombs have to miss their targets, control the clock to keep the ball out of Manning's hands and play lock down defense like last week. If the same team arrives in Indy that left New England, the Colts don't stand a chance. Ravens win 21-17





Dallas Cowboys VS Minnesota Vikings


Brett Favre has never beaten the Cowboys in the playoffs. Let's just say he never beat Troy Aikman in the playoffs. Considering he lost to them three years straight (93-95) when they were Super Bowl contenders. So that stat is a little misleading. Add to the fact that those games were all in Dallas back in the days when home field advantage mattered. Then you see my point. The modern era Cowboys are coming off their first playoff win since '96, a complete demolition of the Eagles, and are currently on a four game winning streak. This is one team even TE Visanthe Shiancoe told Dan Patrick that he didn't want to face. They are the hottest team in the NFC right now and have a lot of people talking about an upset. They have a strong defense and Demarcus Ware is playing out of his mind. On the offensive side of the ball, Romo to Austin seems to be working out a whole lot better then Romo to T.O. Romo isn't turning the ball over and is matriculating the ball down the field with ease lately. The thing that hasn't been proven by these Cowboys is that they haven't played a team with a top caliber running game during their 4 game tear. The Vikes have this guy named Adrian Peterson, I hear he is pretty good. The Boys secondary isn't overly impressive but if they get pressure on Favre he could make a lot of mistakes.


Prediction: Make no mistake about this one either, it is going to be great. In all honesty, the NFC games look better then the AFC. Both games could be close. Personally I don't want either team to win, as a former Niners fan I don't like Favre(read previous posts if you don't believe me) or the Cowboys. Since someone has to win I should probably analyze it a little bit. A lot of what Dallas can do in the passing game depends on whether Antoine Winfield is healthy or not. If he is it makes their secondary substantially better. I don't know who the Vikes played two weeks ago, it wasn't the Giants(they were on vacation clearly). They looked sharp in the game but they were playing a team with a draft pick to play for. Romo idolizes Favre and this will be their first ever meeting in the postseason. I don't know of the old man has any new tricks he can show his young protege. I do know that I would take Peterson over any of the backs in Dallas. He will have more rushing yards then the three headed monster (Felix Jones, Marion Barber III and Tashard Choice). Ray Rice proved that a good back can run all over this defense. I don't think any of these backs will do that against a charged Vikings squad. As far as the Vikings offense, short dip and dunk passes will work if Favre is being pressured considering the playmakers he has with Percy Harvin and Sidney Rice. Visanthe Shiancoe isn't bad in short yardage situations either. He is going to be a monster in the red zone for the Vikes. If you are doing fantasy during the playoffs, here is a sleeper for you. Scoop him up, I'm guessing he will have at least 1 TD. That is, if it isn't the Adrian Peterson show. If the game is close and it comes down to a field goal (a la the Ravens/Vikings game earlier in the season) give the edge to the Vikes. As the Cowboys are relying on someone who has cut by the Redskins. Yeah, those Redskins. Vikings win 31-24


New York Jets VS San Diego Chargers


Sorry Rex, your troops are not the Super Bowl favorite right now. Actually, most experts have the Chargers in the Super Bowl to represent the AFC. So why should I even analyze the game? I mean, game over man! Right? No, unfortunately its not that easy. I told you all the stats last week about the Jets, being the best NFL team this season in defense and running the ball. Then they went out and proved it against the Bengals. What surprised me was the Sanch-ise (Mark Sanchez) completing 80% of his passes and not turning the ball over. Oh yeah, he threw a TD as well. The Chargers, on the other hand, favor the pass. I don't think Vincent Jackson will be a factor this week since he will be visiting Revis Island. Darrelle Revis will shut him down. That isn't analysis as much as it is a known fact. What about LT, the electric glider himself? Will he be just as awful as his Nike viral video? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-owX-EAib8s)


Prediction: My thoughts are no he won't. If Cedric Benson can abuse this defense then so can LT. Rivers is the hottest QB in the league right now and will let everyone know it on Sunday afternoon. Will Revis pick him off? Possibly. It's not like for every Vincent Jackson there isn't another play maker out there. Can any of the Jets linebackers really cover Antonio Gates, LT or Darren Sproles? I don't think so. What about Malcolm Floyd, he has been massively improving throughout the season. During Rivers' off week in week 17 Floyd really shined. There are stellar players everywhere on the offensive side of the ball even though they have been dealing with injuries on their line and their defensive line. The defense throughout the season wasn't stellar. They were in the middle of the pack in most categories and were closer to the bottom of the league in rush defense. As we saw last week in Arizona, regular season stats don't matter. The Packers were second in the league in defense. We all know what happened there! The Jets are going to put up a fight, Rex Ryan won't let them quit. These Chargers are just too much to handle and I don't think Sanchez can string together two great performances in a row(he never did it during the regular season). Who does he think he is? Joe Flacco?!? Chargers win 35-21


I don't know how I will feel if I go perfect two weeks in a row. I may just have to call ESPN and tell them to hook me up. So spread the word readers about the king of all pick ems. Now if I go 0-4, disregard anything I have said. Honestly, I'm just BS-ing with you guys anyway. If you want to challenge me this week let me know your picks in the comment section. That is, if you got the guts!

So You Want to Play a Fantasy Sport

So you want to play a fantasy sport eh? Well I am here to assist you with the hardest thing involving doing just that.

No, I'm not going to tell you who you should pick with your first selection. No, I'm not going to tell you how to annihilate your friends. Although I could tell you how to get annihilated by your buddies. No, that is not what this post is about. My friends and readers alike, this is about the first thing your opponent sees every week. What haunts people's dreams and nightmares. What I am going to help you do folks is...name your team.

This may seem like a mundane and silly task to some. To others (Brandon Waters) it might seem a bit difficult to be creative and come up with your own stuff. I only tease since Brandon borrowed my Lethal Interception Crew name this past season. Unlike some people, I feel the need to change my name every year a la Chad Johnson/Ochocinco/Child Please/WhoGivesaCrap. All of which, in my opinion are awesome. To give you an idea of some of my team names...

B-Town Brawlers, Motherfuggin Snakes (Snakes on a Plane had just come out), AK-Forty Sevens("because when you have to kill every MFer in the room except no substitute", Sam Jackson in Jackie Brown...paraphrased a little, got to keep it clean for the kids), Lethal Interception Crew (Boondocks reference), Team Awesome-O (lame but come on, South Park rules and the league name was battle for awesomeness), A Team Named Slickback (you have to say the whole name, its like A Tribe Called Quest, another Boondocks reference) and Glorious Basterds (because Quentin Tarantino owns my soul).

Now that you have some examples you can steal them or use these few helpful tips.

1. Personnel Related Team Name

• As a fan of Chinese food and Pork Fried Rice, this season in my ESPN league , I thought about calling my team Gore Fried Rice (I had Frank Gore and Ray Rice). I have heard some classics throughout the years like Brady's Bunch, I Just Addai'd in Your Arms Tonight(personal favorite) or The Wieter-Mobile(which is just more proof how awesome Matt Wieters is. My buddy called his team this in our fantasy football league this past season and needless to say he won the championship via epic beatdown proportions). Now some I haven't seen are I'm a Manning I'm 40 (or if you have Matt Forte and a Manning, I'm a Manning I'm Forte), A Rivers Runs Through It, Open the Flood Gates, 64 Calories of MJD or Our Lord Breesus Christ. There are millions of possibilities.

2. Chappelle's Show/Boondocks/South Park/Your Favorite TV Show References

• If you aren't a fan of those selected above it is no big deal. However I have used some references from these shows and have many stored in my memory to use in the future. I haven't used all of these but here are some that can be used - The Playa Hatas, What the 5 Fingas Said to the Face(or just name your team Slap!), Team Named Slickback, Lethal Interception Crew, The Group of Flunkees, We Pee on You, Wu Tang Financial, A MFin Shark Ate Me, I Like Fishsticks, I Made Chili from Ur Parents (South Park reference in case you don't know) and the list could go on for days. Those who know me are probably shocked to not see Family Guy or Simpson references but again, this list could go on for daaaaaaaaaaays.

3. Samuel L. "MFin" Jackson Quotes

• Who Sucks? Not Me!, Motherfuggin Snakes, Yes You Deserve to Lose, I Hope You Burn in Hell, AK-Forty Sevens, Ezekiel 25:17, The Ones who Say Bad MFer on Them and honestly there are endless possibilities. Personally, avoid Black Snake Moan quotes. Most people won't want to admit they watched that movie. If you have a favorite movie of the legend that is SLJ, even if it is Black Snake Moan, take your favorite quote from the movie and make it your team name. In my opinion, it is a fantasy team name win!

4. Pop Culture References

• This can be anything current in our culture. For example, this past season my girl named her team shankapotami because of the E-Trade commercials where the baby calls the guy a shankapotomus. As you read above I named a team Glorious Basterds because readers, "business was-ah boomin'!" This method takes a little humor/creativity. I mean to get one of these all you have to do is watch the ole boob tube.

5. Sports Movie References

• In case of emergency, break open sports movie references. Since I am a fantasy football guy most of my examples are football movies but there is an enormous amount of awesome sport movies that can be referenced. Of course, I will give examples. Necessary Roughness, The Wildcats, The Program, Remember the Titans (Dismembering Titans is also a good one), The Express, Hoosiers (Whoosiers...ooo real creative right?), The Hustlers, We Got Game, I mean I could do this all day. Just like the Sam Jackson quotes, pick a favorite and run with it.

6. Music Group References

• Another never ending list is possible here where you could pick a top musician/group and just go with the flow. Perhaps I may touch on one of your favorites and you can just pilfer one of my ideas. A Tribe on a Quest(stolen from Brandon Waters), RZA the Razors(Razaz), Young Clean Gentlemen (a play on O.D.B. for those who don't know), Ghostface Killahs(spell it however you want), Who Tang Clan, MegaDEATH, Mos Def...inetly Champ, The Funky Homosapiens(Del), Beasts of Boys, Inspectah Deck You in the Face, BBD (Big Bad Dudes), Big Punishers, Disastrous Peoples, Quannum Emcees, Jedi Mind Trix and many many others. Just push the creativity button in that big brain of yours and use it with one of your favorites.

7. Support Your Team/City/Favorite Player

• Whether supporting a favorite team/player by showing them love or hate for a rival, representing a hometown/current city or dissing the location of said hated rival. However it can be done is fine. Some examples seen/used are CowboyKillaz, Ravenssuck(what makes me mad is the dude who named his team that won our league the first season we played fantasy), BlitzBerg, The Steel Curtain, Purple People Eaters, Bmore Brawlers, Urlached-in, and Ray of Light (or now maybe Ray of Rice) are just a few. Either way you go is a victory.

8. Self Promotion

• GETS YOU A MUTE! All Around The Horn references aside, this is one way to talk yourself up in your league. Have you won it all in your league? Won 8 games in a row (some sites let you change your team name anytime, as many times as you want)? Won trophies? Want a trophy? Make it known with a self promotion team name. Something like The Repeater, ThreePeat, I Own You, Complete Pwnage, Johnny 2 Time Champ (can't go wrong with a Goodfellas reference), 8 is GRRREAT, Get a Broom (since I'm sweeping the floor with you, BOO YAH! SWEET SASSY MOLASSEY!), Beatdown Central, Central Beatdown Authority (we authorize the right, to put a whoopin' on you!), etc. etc. Honestly, how would you like to mock your friends and boost your own esteem. Then insert said phrase as your team name and voila, you got yourself a self promotion team name. Now give yourself a pat on the back, you earned it!

9. Self Mockery

• Or did you earn it? Since I haven't earned squat in Yahoo or ESPN, this is going to be my route of choice when it comes to my team name. I am thinking that since I can make it to the playoffs and then choke, I could call my team the December Swooners or Cowboys Circa 2006. If I could get to the championship game repeatedly and lose...I would call my boys the Illadelphia Spiegels. Sorry Philly, haven't won a big game in football/basketball in a long time (woo Phils is what they will say). If those don't tickle your fancy, try these gems on for size. The Baltimorons (sure why not mock your hometown and your knowledge of football, Bea!), No Trophy No Problem, Playoff Pretenders, Suck-ond Place, Legendarily Bad or Can I Get A Little Less Suck. The harder you make it on yourself through a team name the more laughs people will get out of it. You might snicker a little to. Don't lie, you know you will.

10. Inside Jokes

• I don't know if you have any inside jokes with friends, especially those you play fantasy football/baseball/hockey/basketball/badminton/whatever with. Odds are you have one or two that may be able to get twisted into a team name. They could even mock someone. Know of a time a buddy used a horrible pick up line on a girl? Hey, if you remember the line, throw it in there. For example, a friend of a friend was down on the boardwalk in Ocean City, MD. His line(s) were, Hey You in the Yellow/My Watch is Nice. Two separate lines but both with the same result. Being ignored. At the time it was a pretty funny moment. Inside jokes are great to have with your friends and should always be revisited as often as possible. Especially if they mock your opponent because isn't that what fantasy sports are all about? The more you know, now cue the star to shoot over my head.

Some of you are going to say, "That's too many characters for my team name!" Well who's fault is that? Certainly not mine. Besides, who relies on some dude typing his thoughts on some lame blog to name their team anyway? Who? I'll tell you who! Not me!

Playoff Predictions

I can't pretend that after this week's games I am not happy. With everything basically settled in the NFC, everyone had their eye on what the Ravens and Jets were going to do with a playoff spot on the line. Win, that is what they are going to do.



So my prediction of the Texans making the playoffs, fail. My dissing of Merril Hoge for saying the Bengals were going to make the playoffs, fail. My prediction that the Ravens still would make the playoffs, win (in your face Hoge!). So with predictions on my mind I might as well put out my thoughts on what is going to happen in next week's games (all of which are rematches of regular season games, 3 from week 17). So I will go through game by game and explain why I think what I think, I am awesome not being allowed to be why I think a team will win/lose.





New York Jets VS Cincinnati Bengals



The first match up of next weekend puts two of the top 5 defenses against one another. With the Jets at 1 and the Bengals at 4 in overall defense. This game will be short of offense with both teams ranking in the bottom of the NFL in passing offense, 26th for the Bengals and 31st for the Jets respectively, (although the Jets finished the year with the league's best rushing attack, Cincy was 9th). Last night Cincy didn't start their best RB in Cedric Benson while NY unleashed hell in a game they needed to win. The Bengals were without the fire we had seen from them for most of the season while the Jets were clearly fighting for their playoff lives, even though Rex Ryan thought they were eliminated two weeks ago.





Prediction: Pain. Each team has a similar game plan. Run the ball and stop the other team. What has me concerned is how injured is Chad Ochocinco? Revis will shut him down if he plays anyway so either way someone is going to have to step up in the passing game. Will Cincy be able to flick a switch and play as hard as they have the other 15 games this season? I am not so sure. Flacco was the first rookie to win a road playoff game last season, Sanchez may be the second. This game is going to be much closer then week 17's match up, however I think it will have the same result with the Jets winning. Jets win 17-14





Philadelphia Eagles VS Dallas Cowboys





Sunday the roles were reversed from last season, The 'Boys downright embarrassed the Eagles like what the Eagles did to them last season. I never knew an injury to a center could be so costly on the offensive side of the ball but there is a huge lack of communication on the line in Philly. Add to that the Cowboys improvement on the defensive side of the ball and McNabb is going to have a lot of issues getting the ball to his play makers. The numbers for the regular season seem equal but again you have to remember how well Dallas has been playing lately. Romo has thrown 5 interceptions since the bye week back in week 6. This was after throwing 4 in his first 5 games. Could Dallas do to the Eagles what Pittsburgh did to the Ravens last season? Take out a division foe for a third time and eliminate them from playoff contention?





Prediction: It may be a surprise to those that know me that I am picking the Cowboys to win and upset in the next round of the playoffs. Clearly this year might be their year, they couldn't win in December (they just won 3 in a row with 2 shutouts) which is a monkey off their back after their recent performances. They haven't won a playoff game in 13 years (they beat Minnesota back in 1996) so maybe they are due. Especially the way the Eagles looked yesterday, it is hard to predict that they will have a complete turnaround to beat the Cowboys. Add to the fact that McNabb has not beaten them in the playoffs ever (0-3). Cowboys win 31-14





Baltimore Ravens VS New England Patriots





A rematch from way back in week 4, this is one game the Pats didn't want to see in the first round. Honestly, they didn't really want to face either wild card team. Both play them hard and the Jets split the season series. The main issue people have with these two teams is their inability to win on the road (the Ravens better the Pats with a 3-5 mark) which may have some people leaning to the Pats. Especially since they never lost at home during the regular season and haven't lost a first round match up with Belichick running things. Both teams are dealing with injuries for some of their primetime players (Welker is out with ACL/MCL injuries, Ed Reed is a question mark with his hip/groin, Tom Brady has a broken ring finger as well as broken ribs) but what has people thinking the Ravens have a chance is not just the injuries. It is that "undeserved" confidence, I only say that because most people think this group of Ravens has no right to be confident. Why? I have no idea. They aren't scared of the Patriots and feel that they're in the same class as them.





Prediction: Now it would be utterly ridiculous for me to just choose the Ravens because they are the team I follow closely. However, I am going to pick them for more then just that reason. The game should be interesting with strength versus strength (Pats are 3rd in total offense with the Ravens 3rd in total defense) but what has me so optimistic is the improvement of the Ravens offense this season. They are the 5th best rushing team in the league, clearly Willis McGahee is fresh after not being used much prior to last week's ownage of the Raiders (16 carries, 167 yards, 3 TDs), and New England isn't exactly a run stopping team. Last week Arian Foster rushed for 119 yards on 20 carries with 2 visits into the end zone. Again that was on the road where New England is not the same team. Hopefully for me the match up will be similar to the week 4 match up with a different result in the final score. Maybe Clayton will be able to redeem himself? Ravens win 28-24


Green Bay Packers VS Arizona Cardinals


Yet another rematch from week 17 which Kurt Warner was the main starter missing from the Cardinals. However this week may be different. It has been confirmed that Anquan Boldin may miss the game with a ankle/knee injury. That isn't definite, let's remember that this is the guy who came back after just 3 weeks away due to a broken jaw. Boldin plays hurt more then any other player besides maybe Ben Rothlisberger. Rodgers-Cromartie is expected to play however one of their defensive line members is expected to be out. Last time I checked, Aaron Rodgers doesn't enjoy being sacked so that injury helps the Packers. After last season, it is hard for a lot of experts and average Joes like me to predict the demise of the Cardinals. However the stat of them being 3-0 at home in the playoffs is a little skewed. I mean, two of those are from last season. Green Bay wasn't overly impressive on the road but at least they managed to be above .500 (5-3) and the Cardinals were one of the only playoff teams with a subpar record at home (4-4). So another Packers win wouldn't be a complete surprise to me. I don't see them doing to the Cards what they did to them last week.

Prediction: All injuries aside, the Cardinals offense is still powerful. The Packers defense however is just as powerful. Charles Woodson is a candidate for defensive player of the year and his shoulder injury isn't anything serious. Warner playing in the game will be a huge difference from last week. When this team is clicking on all cylinders they are one of the best offenses in the NFL. We saw what a decent offense could do to the Packers just two weeks ago in Pittsburgh. Considering that the Cardinals team we saw last week will not be the same who play this week, you have to assume that Whisenhunt will have his boys ready to execute on Sunday. Cardinals win 31-21



As for the bye teams. I don't see either number 1 seed making it out of next weekend. I don't care who they play.

If you aren't down with that then I got two words for ya! Do better! I challenge you to pick them and when I win, you can get me some grapes. Losers! However if I pick wrong, who is going to know? The 12 people that read this? I can live with that. Until we BS again.