Thursday, January 3, 2013

NFL playoffs

First let's take a look at how I did with my predictions:
AFC: I did pretty well here.  I picked 4 out of 6 playoff teams and if not for a missed FG in a late season game between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, I would have had 5.  I picked 3 out of 4 division champs (New England, Baltimore, Houston).  I missed on Denver but did pick them for a wild card.
I was correct that the New York Jets would flop without Tebow starting.  I predicted that San Diego would bounce back and Indy was still a year away from being a playoff challenger.  Wrong on both counts. Baltimore was my pre-season Super Bowl pick.

NFC: Not so good here.  I only got 3 out of 6.  I was correct that New Orleans would falter but I also got burned by picking Carolina and Detroit as wild cards. I did not pick Seattle but did mention them as a potential surprise team.  Like most others, I did not expect Washington or Minnesota to make it and did expect New York to win the East.  I was correct in 3 out of 4 division picks (Atlanta, Green Bay and San Fran).  Green Bay was my pre-season pick to win it all.

Wild card weekend:
Houston over Cincy- The Bengals are a good but not great team.  It would be a surprise to see an upset here even though Houston has not looked great at times either.

Indy over Baltimore-  Picking a mild upset here but neither team is much of a threat to go all the way.  Luck is a good clutch QB but his overall numbers weren't great.  Baltimore lost 4 out of 5 going into the playoffs and it's rare to see a team that faded down the stretch make a deep playoff run.

Green Bay over Minnesota- re-match of week 17.  Green Bay wins by 10 at home.

Washington over Seattle- 2 of the hottest teams.  The winner of this one is a serious threat to go all the way.  I'm picking Washington only because they are the home team.  Seattle was 8-0 at home this year but only 3-5 on the road.

Divisonal round:
New England over Houston- It was a blowout win for New England in the regular season and it will not be close in the playoffs either.

Denver over Indy- Peyton Manning vs. his old team.  If Manning still played for Indy, I'd pick a different outcome but as it is, Denver wins it pretty easily.

Washington over Atlanta- The upset special.  Atlanta is a great team but Washington won 7 in row to close the season and it's hard to bet against RG3. In recent years, it's been the team that got hot at the end instead of the team with the best record during the season.

Green Bay over San Fran- Mild upset here.  Close game but Rogers pulls it out at the end.

Conference champ weekend:
Denver over New England- Another Manning vs. Brady classic.  In a close game, I've got to go with the home team.

Green Bay over Washington- Could be a classic.  No rookie QB has ever led his team to the Super Bowl.  If anyone can do it, it's RG3 but I'm going with Rogers and the Packers.

Super Bowl:
Green Bay over Denver- Sticking with my pre-season pick in a classic QB duel.



1 comment:

Crazy J said...

2-2 in Wild Card week. RG3 should have been pulled at halftime. I'd be very surprised if the AFC is not DEN vs NE. In the NFC, all 4 teams have a decent chance.