Just thought I'd weigh in on the weekend of playoff football:

• Jacksonville IS the worst 12-4 team of all time.
• The Giants are awful. What a disaster. I truly think that had I picked the Panthers to win that game, the Giants would have found a way to win. I have nothing against the Giants, I root for them. I don't root for them over the Jets, but I still root for the Giants. I don't like Tom Coughlin, but I really like Tiki Barber, and I root for them. But they clearly hate me, and are out to get me.
• It's a shame about Carson Palmer. Definitely not a dirty hit. To have it happen on Palmer's first post-season pass...maybe there is a more snake-bitten franchise than the Jets. But they've still been to two Super Bowls.
• Washington played disgusting football. There is no way they beat the Seahawks in Seattle. No way.
• The NFL's announcers obviously read johnnyjets.blogspot.com. The use of the word "unbelievable" was definitely curbed this weekend - although it reared its head a few times. Incidentally - this is related to the fact that the best broadcast teams were working these games this weekend - the ESPN Broadcast crew (though Mike Patrick's game in recent weeks has admittedly suffered), Maddens-Michaels, Simms-Nantz (though I don't like Nantz), and Buck-Aikman. The further down the broadcasting depth chart you go, the more the word "unbelievable" appears as a crutch for stupid analysts.
• In a related story, we're going to have to suffer through Enberg-Dierdorf one more time this season during this coming weekend's games, and it's most likely going to be during the Steelers-Colts game, unless CBS decides the Colts are the prime game, and sends Enberg to Denver. (I will miss the live telecast of the Patriots-Broncos game to attend a BU hockey game with the Brighton, Wilmington, and Upper East Side Bureau Chiefs of JJDBSDC, so I sincerely hope CBS sends Simms and Nantz to Indy.)

Finally, in a new feature, which I will try to get Dave in Brighton to participate in (oops - on the phone with him now, he already looked at the spreads, so he won't participate) -

JOHNNYJETS.BLOGSPOT.COM PICKS THE SPREADS FOR THE WEEK!!

I have SEA - 8.5 over Washington, with the over/under at (48.5)

DEN - 2.5 over New England (only because it's in Denver), with the over/under at (46.5)

IND -4.5 over Pittsburgh, over/under at (52.5)

CHI -1.5 over Carolina, over/under at (27.5)

Much to my surprise, I learned that the Indy/Pittsburgh spread is 9 right now. That's something.

Finally, thanks to big Jets fan cousin Eddie for letting me know that Terry Bradway was on Mike & The Mad Dog this afternoon, to say the Jets interviewed Jim Haslett (Booooo), will interview Mike Tice (are you kidding me - (I forgot to mention this yesterday - but he is the only thing on this planet that could happen to the Jets that would be worse than Haslett), and apparently will meet with Patriots defensive coordinator Eric Mangini this week about their head coaching position. Not much conversation about Mike Sherman....yet. But the Mangini thing is sure to make news up here in the Boston area - I'll keep my ear close to the ground.

Sorry folks. I was too sick to write yesterday. So there's no AFC East preview.

Today is the day I'm supposed to write about the Jets' opponent, and to be honest, there's not a whole heck of a lot going on in Cincinnati. The big news is that the Bengals want to get off to a better start than they did last year (duh - so do the Jets), and that they want to do better than their 3-5 mark on the road. The opener is at the Jets, so the idea is the Bengals want to win in Week 1. Not much insight out of Ohio. So I'll draw my own conclusions.

Carson Palmer is the Bengals quarterback - he was named the starter from the beginning of the preseason, unseating Jon Kitna, who had a surprisingly good season last year. Corey Dillon is no longer a Bengal (he's now with New England), but they have a very good running back in Rudi Johnson. That'll be a great test for the Jets' defense - Rudi Johnson will test their run defense, and we'll find out if that part of their game is better.

The Bengals' receivers are kind of dangerous. Peter Warrick still hasn't lived up to his potential, but Chad Johnson is the one to look out for. He's put up two very good seasons in a row. The receivers can't do anything, though, if the quarterback can't get them the ball...so I hope the Jets' D blitzes Palmer like crazy, not giving him a chance to think, and makes the Bengals offense a non-factor.

The Bengals defense is pretty good, I think...but to be honest, I couldn't name one guy on their defense. That said, time to switch into e-mail mode, the last time we will do e-mail on Thursday - from now on it'll be on Tuesday - meaning send your mail by Monday.

"Dear Johnnyjets,

The line on Thursday's season opener in New England is Pats minus 3 1/2 versus the Colts. Do you give the points or take them?
Thanks,
Bettor in Brighton"

Not that I encourage this sort of thing, but I will be making picks throughout the season, and keeping track of them, as you would see in your local paper. My disclaimer is that my picks are for entertainment purposes only, and to keep a statistic, which I love to do. So proceed at your own risk. That said, I think the Colts keep Thursday night's game close, and I think they have a very good chance to win. I think the Patriots will get called for a number of penalties, and the Colts want revenge. Bad. I take the Colts with the points.

Tomorrow we'll preview the season opener!!!!!