NFL WEEK 13 RECAP

A disappointing week for the Jets, but besides losing the game to the Steelers in the AFC standings, the Jets didn't suffer much damage. The rest of the week:

BEST GAME OF WEEK 13: I'm surprised to say it was the Panthers-Packers. Just didn't expect that. I also didn't see the game, so it could have been a clunker of a 35-31 game, but it seems like it was back and forth, with the winning touchdown coming late. So I think it earns this title. I'm also surprised that the winning team in that game was the road team.

BEST PERFORMANCE OF WEEK 13: It came on Thursday, but that doesn't diminish the impressiveness. Brian Westbrook's four touchdowns and 110 yards rushing were pretty dominant. I also thought he and Jason Witten would be too hurt to do much this week - Witten also turned in a good game. I can't figure out NFL injuries.

WORST PERFORMANCE OF WEEK 13: The Colts played pretty poorly at Cleveland, but still managed to improve their record to 8-4. Winning ugly is still winning, and the thing about Indianapolis is that their schedule shapes up quite favorably the final four weeks (starting with Cincinnati and Detroit in the next two weeks). So they are looking like a Jacksonville-type 12-4, where you wonder how they got there. Anyway, the way they played Sunday in Cleveland I suspect they have a clunker in the next couple of weeks, because they looked terrible (which tells you a little bit about how terrible the Browns were).

BEST GAME IN WEEK 14: Well, it certainly isn't Thursday night's Chargers-Raiders matchup. Yikes. Dallas-Pittsburgh on Sunday and Tampa Bay-Carolina are the ones that catch my eye coming up.

BEST PERFORMANCE PREDICTED IN WEEK 14: There are two NFC South matchups. New Orleans hosts Atlanta and Carolina hosts Tampa Bay. I'm going to predict two wins for the home teams in those games, as I've learned that the home team in the NFC South meetings comes out on top most of the time, and I'm going to say a week after throwing 2 touchdowns (and 3 INT's) and 296 yards in rough weather in Tampa, Drew Brees comes back with 400 yards passing and 4 TD's at home in the dome.
-Last Week: I was way off picking the Lions to upset the Titans. Boy, are they terrible.

NFL WEEK 2 RECAP

I think I might pride myself on being the last recap of the week in the NFL. Here it is, Tuesday night, and I'm just getting to it. It allows for plenty of reflection, so I've got that in my corner.

Different than last week, I'm going to start with the Jets. That was disappointing. I'm taking nothing away from the Patriots, because their defense played very well, and a win's a win...but that was a game the Jets should have won.

The Patriots came out looking like a team unsure of itself after losing their star...and the Jets gave them time to figure themselves out. They practically administered CPR by marching down the field and promptly missing a chip shot field goal. (Wonder why Jay Feely was available in Week 2 of the NFL season? Wonder no more.)

The kicking game as a whole was awful - so it's only slightly surprising that there is a report right now that the Jets waived punter Ben Graham. Graham gave the Patriots excellent field position all day - another way the Jets handed the game to New England.

And the offense looked lackadaisacal. After that opening drive, they just didn't move the ball (again, credit New England's defense there). Just a frustrating game to watch overall - and the frustration was amplified by the Mets' disturbing loss right around kickoff.

The afternoon definitely took my excitement over the football season down a notch...but only a notch. There was a lot going on elsewhere:

BEST GAME OF WEEK 2: Well, since we're doing this on a Tuesday, we should include the Monday night game, because it definitely was the best. Philadelphia and Dallas scored on each other at will. I didn't stay up for the whole game - I went to sleep shortly after the half - but I had a feeling that when I woke up the score would be drastically different. It was - Dallas came back to win.

One thought on this game, though - after DeSean Jackson pulled that idiotic move, dropping the ball on the one-yard-line to celebrate - Andy Reid should have benched him. What other way is there to discourage that idiocy? I would have benched him, and made him realize how responsible he was for the loss. This is why players get away with so much - there's no discipline. I don't know what went on behind closed doors - but I suspect not enough.

BEST PERFORMANCE WEEK 2: A few to choose from - Jay Cutler and Philip Rivers both lit it up in Denver, but Aaron Rodgers had another great week, throwing for 3 touchdowns and 328 yards (0 interceptions) in a 48-25 win over the Lions. Coming out of the gates like this has probably only put more pressure on him - but he's a good quarterback. He looked good last year when he came on a couple of times in relief of Favre - the Packers didn't miss a step then, and they're not missing one now. I'm thinking, though, that in my pre-season predictions, I undervalued Green Bay.

WORST PERFORMANCE OF WEEK 2: I like Ed Hochuli. He's one of those high-profile referees who doesn't really try to steal the show...he calls a good game usually. He's better known because he's a good ref than for anything else. But he dropped the ball on Sunday. Jay Cutler clearly fumbled in front of him and he missed it. But that's where the story should end.

He did the right thing with the 'inadvertant whistle' ruling. There's not much more that you can do in that situation. The inadvertant whistle ruling is that things can't change drastically because once the whistle blows, some players stop playing, and others saw what should have been called and play through the whistle. I don't know what can change in the offseason if the NFL indeed looks at the rule.

And here's something that hasn't been mentioned at all - the whole DeSean Jackson thing was an inadvertant whistle too. The ball was down, the Cowboys could have recovered it, but the Eagles would have still gotten the ball on the 1 because the play was "dead". So where's the anger in Dallas over that inadvertant whistle?

BEST GAME IN WEEK 3: I don't want to sound like a homer, but it's the Jets again. Monday night, Jets-Chargers in San Diego. The Jets' recent success in San Diego was with Chad Pennington at quarterback, so I'm not sure they still have the ability to win there. It's even tougher with the Chargers 0-2, coming off two very very difficult losses (last-second to the Panthers and then the Denver game last week). I'm hoping the Jets can win - but they need to improve on last week's performance. One thing seems for sure - the Jets should be able to put up some points on San Diego - they haven't looked like they can stop anyone.

BEST PERFORMANCE PREDICTED IN WEEK 3: Eli Manning and the Giants will go to 3-0 against Cincinnati. I bet Manning throws for 320 yards, with 3 TD's. Also going to 3-0 - Buffalo hosting Oakland, the Patriots hosting Miami, and either the Packers or Cowboys (OK, one of them has to - they're playing each other).
Last Week - I gave you Adrian Peterson for 150 yards, 2 scores, and a long one - 75 yards, I said. His long was just 29 yards, but he did have 160 yards. Like his teammates, he couldn't find the end zone.
-By the way - enough of the Vikings talk already. They're 0-2, they couldn't score on the Colts, and they let the Colts back into a game they had no business being in. That's not a team that should be favored to win anything.

WELCOME, BRETT

So much for Brett Favre becoming the Mets' closer. But I guess this is better.

Let me just get this out of the way - I still think what Favre did to the Packers was unfair. Just because they wanted a decision back in March doesn't give him the right to hold them over a barrel when he decided he still wanted to play in June or July. The Packers did what was best for them - they couldn't play the waiting game and hold their whole franchise in limbo while one person was making up their mind. And they gave Favre his opportunities to stay with the team in the end...but by that time, for whatever reason, Favre decided he'd rather play for Minnesota. Which is ridiculous. This seems like the best-case scenario for everyone that was involved, except, I guess, for the Vikings and the Buccaneers.

But now that everything is settled, this is a great move for the Jets. I'm probably going to post multiple times today to cover different angles, but let's start with Favre, since it's been all about him for months now, and it's been a little more than a week since I last addressed the situation.

The only drawback I can see to this is that the expectations for the Jets are suddenly sky-high. I felt good about the Jets coming into this season - they made significant improvements, and the best thing was that they were flying under the radar - seasons where no one expects much are the seasons where the Jets tend to surprise and do well. Now, though, the Jets will be on national TV a lot, they'll be featured all the time - Favre is like an ESPN magnet - and they're suddenly playoff contenders. Rightly so - the only question mark they had was at quarterback - and that's now an exclamation point.

Brett Favre gives the Jets a legit downfield threat, which they just didn't seem to have with Chad Pennington. That makes Thomas Jones more of a threat, because now the Jets' passing game alone can beat a team, so defenses can't stack the box.

The other unexpected piece here is that this doesn't seem to be a one-year, one-shot deal with Favre. I think he'll play for a few more years, provided he doesn't get beat up this season. And that means, with a pretty good mix of youth and veterans at the key positions, the Jets might be contenders for a few years.

I'm slightly cautious here. Before last year, Favre was starting to look washed up. He was great last year, and he might be able to repeat that for the next couple of years, but that could be questionable. And to be good, he needs the Jets receivers to be good. Do the likes of Laveraneus Coles, Jerricho Cotchery, and Brad Smith, along with tight ends Chris Baker and (former Packer!) Bubba Franks equal the likes of Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, and Donald Lee? Or is it Favre that makes the receivers better? I guess we'll find out. And there's still the Patriots - Brett Favre can't guard Randy Moss.

Suddenly, I'm excited about football season. More to come....

CASE CLOSED

By the end of today, Brett Favre may be a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. There's still a slight chance he'll play for the Jets...that door hasn't completely shut. And if that happens, I'll welcome him.

But I have a different idea that can save face for Favre. It will only enhance his legacy, rather than tarnish it.

Brett Favre needs a job. The Mets need a closer. Seems like a perfect fit to me.

Who throws harder than Brett Favre? I bet he can hit 100 on the radar gun - he practically does that with a football, let alone throwing a baseball.

It's a win-win situation for everyone:

1) Billy Wagner is on the DL. Even when he has pitched, he's been hurt, and has been ineffective. No one else on the Mets seems to be able to lock down this closer position - Aaron Heilman nearly blew a 4-run 9th inning lead last night. Favre hasn't missed a game since 1992, right? So that solves that problem.

2) There's no such thing as an interception in baseball.

3) Obviously, this addition would lead the Mets to a World Series championship.

4) By the time the World Series is over, the NFL season will be halfway over. Favre will have a better idea then of which teams are in need of a quarterback, he'll be fresh, and be able to take the reins of a team that is missing that final piece for a championship. Who knows - by then, maybe Aaron Rodgers will be hurt, and everything can work out the way Favre wanted it in the first place - he could take over the QB position on the Packers again.

Brett Favre could win a World Series and Super Bowl in the same year. This is something that should be seriously considered.

A STORY I CAN NO LONGER IGNORE

It's been a weird summer for me. Usually about this time I'm getting psyched for fantasy football and the regular football season. It could be due to the pending arrival of baby #2, or the amount of time I'm spending with Baby #1, but every time I hear a football story on ESPN or read something in the paper, I kind of zone out. I haven't even bought my fantasy football preview magazine yet...don't know if I'm going to. Heck, think about the last time I even mentioned the Jets on this blog.

That all could change very soon. Up until now, the story I've ignored the most has been Brett Favre. Favre has been....how to put this nicely....a bit of a pest recently. And I don't think he should have made any retirement announcement if he had any thought that he might get the 'itch' to play again this season. And I don't think it's fair to the Packers what he's doing right now.

And right now, there's no denying he's going to come back. And there's no chance he comes back to Green Bay. And there's about a 50% chance that he's going to come back as a member of the New York Jets...and that's just too good to ignore.

Here are some of the pros and cons of the situation:

PROS
1. The Jets have a chance to get one of the best quarterbacks in the game.

2. He's coming off one of his better seasons in recent years.

3. He has a lot to prove.

4. He's better than what the Jets have right now.

CONS
1. He's 38, and like the Mets, the Jets have a way of screwing up big acquisitions like this.

2. Though Favre has never had a great supporting cast, the Jets are, well, the Jets.

3. The signing of Favre means goodbye to Chad Pennington. But at least he's giving way to Brett Favre, and not Kellen Clemens. I could live with that, I suspect he can too.

I've written about him before - I like Brett Favre. When the Jets struggled (which was for most of my life), I liked to root for Green Bay, and Favre. So there would be a tremendous amount of symmetry for me for Favre to go out as a member of the Jets.

I don't have a problem with him wanting to write a better ending to his career, better than a loss in the conference championship game, in which his final pass was an interception. I just think he could have thought a little more about how many other people his decision affected before he did anything rash.

All that said, if Brett Favre becomes a Jet this weekend, my interest level in football is ramped up tenfold.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES RECAP

That was an exciting day of football. The bad news: I lost my bet, so I'm out of my pool. The good news: I feel like this NFL season was worth it - we've got ourselves a new Super Bowl matchup. My thoughts:

PATRIOTS 21, CHARGERS 12
The Chargers blew this opportunity. When Tom Brady looks as bad as he looked in the early part of this game, you need to pounce, and pounce quick. All the Chargers could muster were field goals...and that's not going to do it. LaDainian Tomlinson may have been hurt - but continues to be invisible in playoff games. I need to stress this - he does get yards in playoff games - but he hasn't changed a playoff game, and he hasn't put up a super performance in a playoff game. And he was a non-factor (again, albeit with an injury) in this game. But the Chargers put up a fight with the likes of Michael Turner and Darren Sproles...and Phillip Rivers played but could not get the ball into the end zone.

One other thing worth commenting on - did you happen to see when Nate Kaeding made his third field goal - just before the half, which made it 14-9 Pats? He started celebrating like the Chargers had just taken the lead or won the game. Take it easy Kaeding...maybe if you had kicked like that in your other playoff games, a 14-9 deficit at halftime of the AFC Championship Game wouldn't feel like such a big deal.

GIANTS 23, PACKERS 20 OT
The only thing wrong with this game was that it hit the over. And I'll tell you why before I go any further. The third quarter - both teams got drives sustained (after defensive stops) by penalties. The penalty on the Packers, which seemed legit, leading to the Giants' TD, and then the Sam Madison penalty, which I've never seen a replay of, which seemed like payback for the Packers' penalty on the Giants' drive. I maintain had those penalties not happened, the game would have been 13-13 going into overtime, and I'd be sitting pretty in my pool. But I digress (I really am taking the loss in the pool a lot better than I thought I would).

The Giants pulled off the upset in another fantastic game by Eli Manning. I can't believe the maturing of Eli Manning that we're watching this post-season. And I'm surprisingly happy for him. I should clarify - I've never hated the Giants. I certainly dislike certain people involved with the Giants (not a Coughlin fan), but I'm pretty indifferent to the Giants. I'll root for them, I'll root against them, depending on the situation, but I'm indifferent. Mostly, usually, (not lately), I find them boring to watch, so I don't even bother. But I've jumped on their bandwagon, and I'm rooting for them this post-season. And I'm really happy for them and for Eli Manning. (And other than the Super Bowl matchup thing, I couldn't lose with this NFC Championship, because I like Favre and the Packers a lot, too.)

The Super Bowl matchup now is one that has never happened before (YES!). And it's interesting, because I'm willing to bet that never before has there been a Super Bowl matchup not where both teams played in the regular season (that's happened many times before), but where they played in the last week of the regular season. And if that's the case (and they have played in the last week of the regular season), I bet it wasn't as intense as Giants-Patriots in Week 17 of this past season. I wonder a couple of things right away:

1) Who does it benefit more? The Patriots, who game plan so well, or the Giants, who now have not only a recent game plan against this team, but a game plan that worked, and just needs a little tweaking?

2) The teams battled hard just a few weeks ago. Is there any carryover into the big game?

3) Don't you get the feeling the Patriots would rather not play the Giants? New York is a team that knows them, having already played them, and is hot. 10 straight wins on the road. Playing its best football. Things seem to be breaking for them. If I were New England, I'd rather be playing the Packers, with their old quarterback, instead of the Giants, with their young quarterback playing the best football of their career.

One last point - I wrote this week about the Giants being a better team without Jeremy Shockey (or, at least, Eli Manning being a better quarterback without him). I can't believe I totally forgot about Tiki Barber. What a difference it must make for the Giants to not have him badmouthing the coach, putting down the quarterback. He must be steaming over at NBC watching the Giants do this....and I kind of like that.

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN

This isn't the first time I've been an outsider. I spent about half of my life (I'm pushing 30 now, and I was an odd duck for about the first 15 years) as more of a social observer than interactor. So maybe I'm suited to be a fan of the Mets and Jets. Occasionally, I'm invited to the party - make an appearance, have a little fun, go home early. (Jets - 1991, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006; Mets - 1988, 1999, 2000, 2006). Once in a while, I'm the hit of the party - 1986 - but that's when I was 8, and my cute kid-ness covered up the other inadequacies.

Anyway, a look at the past couple of years, playoff-wise, shows that once again, I'm on the outside looking in, while all of the people around me are having a blast:


The toughest part is living in New England, where the Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots have had tremendous success, just about from the time when I moved up here until this day. (Really - starting with the Patriots making the Super Bowl in 1996, then lots of Red Sox playoff appearances, then both teams winning multiple championships.) It's bad enough the Jets and Patriots play in the same division - but seeing all of this success right in my own backyard, while I'm always left out - it's rough. The equivalent of this is you make a friend at school, bring him/her home to your neighborhood, and the popular kid next door, who doesn't go to your school, steals your friend and they have a bunch of fun together, and all of a sudden you're a third wheel.

Then there's the other options. I could have been a Yankees fan...or a Giants fan. And then I would be happy - celebrating recent championships or championship game appearances (Giants - 3 Super Bowl appearances in my lifetime [2 wins], Jets - 0...and we all know about Yankees vs. Mets), instead of watching smarter team-pickers than I having more success than me. This group ranges from acquaintances to close friends to members of my own family. So that's just a constant reminder of bad choices...but, in the end, appropriate ones.

Of course, we all know about my second choice. The Packers are a team I've always rooted for when my real team fades. During the 1990's, it was the Packers who were making playoff appearances year after year, while the Jets were going 4-12, 3-13, 1-15, etc. But, they're a second choice - they're not my team. Plus, they weren't even tremendously successful...one championship, one other Super Bowl appearance. I guess that's the friend you kind of have fun with, but you don't see very often, and maybe they don't even consider you a friend. You're like a hanger-on.

Then there's the rivals. The Patriots we've already commented on....but for years the teams the Mets couldn't beat were the ones who stood in their way - the Atlanta Braves for many years, and the Philadelphia Phillies this past, horrid, horrible year. And that's watching the kid you hate, the bully, having fun, getting all the rewards, being Mr. Popular, even though he's a jerk.

And, finally, there's the new blood. I'm sitting here, nearly 30 years old, and the teams I root for (I'll even throw the Rangers in there) have won two championships....one if I take away the Rangers. The playoff appearances I could even count on my fingers...maybe a couple of toes. And then there's the Arizona Diamondbacks, who broke the Mets' record for success out of the gate (1998, created, 2001 championship - the Mets were 1962, 1969), and are back on a successful run again. And the Rockies - who are on the upswing and made the World Series this year. This isn't the strongest argument in the world, but it's fresh in my mind. It's like your younger brother becoming more popular with your own friends, just when you've established some friendships. Not that I'd know.

So here I am, on the outside looking in. Sure looks like a lot of fun. I'm going to go back to watching TV now.

THE CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

For a change, I am 100% going with my head over my heart. And I'm devoting myself fully to it. Last week, I said I was sure about the Giants, but I still put a little bit of money in my pool into all of the games, and as a result, instead of being in first place by a large margin, I'm in first place by a small margin: only $100. I still turned $650 into $900...but I should have had $1300 or so. As a result, this week I'm putting it all on the one bet I'm sure of - The under in the Green Bay-Giants game. If I lose it all, so be it. I'm going with my gut. And even though I don't want the Super Bowl to be Packers-Patriots, because it will be a repeat matchup, and though I might not be rooting for that matchup, that's what my head says will happen. Here are my picks (remember, the spreads are from officefootballpool.com):

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS AT NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (NE -13.5, 47.5)
I don't have a strong feeling either way in this game, but I suspect the Patriots' feelings that the Chargers have wronged them with all their talking will outweigh the Chargers' feelings that they were wronged by the Patriots in last year's playoff loss. After all, San Diego had a chance to avenge the loss in Week 2 and got smoked, when the incident was fresher in their minds. So I think it's Patriots, pretty big. I'm not sure how weather is going to factor into this game, but I hear cold and windy, and if that's the case, the Patriots will have to run the ball a little bit, and maybe the Chargers can beat them in a ground game...if LT decides to show up for a playoff game...but that's my heart talking. Also, they'd better start Billy Volek. But the reason I bring up weather is that might curb the scoring, so I say:

NEW YORK GIANTS AT GREEN BAY PACKERS (GB -7.5, 41.5)
Here's what I'm sure of - this game will be a defensive struggle. Both teams will have trouble getting their offense going. But I think Eli Manning's run of good games will end, and Brett Favre's playoff experience will shine through, and the Packers will run away late...but not score very many points. Therefore, with the under being my lock this week, I say:

The standings didn't change much as far as the picks, but the over/unders shifted a little bit:

We'll see how dedicated Dave in Brighton is, and whether he gets a pick in from a vacation in Spain. My cousin weighed in this week, taking the Giants with the points (Green Bay winning), and New England minus the points. Make your picks in the comments section. Enjoy the championship weekend.

PLAYOFFS ROUND TWO ROUNDUP

The conference championship matchups are set. Basically, with the Colts' loss, it's going to be the Patriots against either the Packers or the Giants in the Super Bowl...and that means I have to root against the Packers, which stinks, since they are my secondary team again this year (for matchup reasons - Packers-Patriots has already happened, but you should know that if you're reading this). I think it's unlikely the Patriots will lose...but at least they're the early game next Sunday, and if they do, I can root for Green Bay late. (Truth be told, I wouldn't mind rooting for the Giants, either - they've grown on me this year - I'll get more into that later in the week.) Here's the recap:

That Green Bay game went sort of how last week's playoff games went. It turned out the way I expected (Green Bay blowout), but took a little while to develop. The Seahawks jumped out to the 14-0 lead, and I started to think there was something to all of these people picking Seattle to win in Green Bay. Then the Packers came back, and Brett Favre just looked like there was no way he was going to lose. It was like the dominant Packers of old. Favre has never won in Dallas, so he and the Packers look like the biggest beneficiaries of the Giants win.

I was disappointed by the Jaguars' performance. Their offense played much better than I expected, and their defense was underwhelming. I thought they would beat up the Patriots more than they did...and now the Patriots head into the conference championship game against a weak opponent, and they're sitting pretty. There's also a chance there might be a storm in New England next week, though I don't know the details. San Diego in New England, and possibly in a storm...I don't like their chances there.

The Colts ought to be ashamed of themselves. There's no call for losing this game. I know Antonio Gates played, which makes a difference for Philip Rivers, but this was a game they should have won. You know what it is? It's bad karma because Bob Sanders acted like a jerk to Nate Kaeding after he missed that field goal (how bad is Kaeding in the post-season - kicking like that in New England isn't going to get you to the Super Bowl). I don't care if you did go to college together - that's bad sportsmanship. (And I should know - I won my Little League sportsmanship award a few times.) I'm not surprised Billy Volek was effective - hasn't he done this type of thing before, at least in the regular season? I feel like he may have even done it in the playoffs - but I can't remember right now and I have more pressing concerns before bed than looking that up. This type of game makes gambling on games (or participating in the type of pool I'm in) a bummer, because I'm sitting there rooting for different scenarios to work out so I can win a bet...and then I realize at the end that while that was going on, I missed a pretty good football game. One last thing about San Diego - they had some legitimate gripes about some of the officials' calls in that game. It seemed Norv Turner was complaining about every call - but I think he had the right to.

The Giants did what I thought they could do. Towards the end of this game, I was actually rooting for the Cowboys to score a touchdown, so the Giants could come back and kick a field goal, force overtime, and I could get the over....then they showed Jerry Jones on the sideline. And I wanted the Giants to win........bad. And there was nothing more rewarding for me, someone who lost his over/under bet, so see Jerry Jones standing there at the end of the game, with his arms crossed, looking like a loser. That was great. I don't know that the Giants continue their Pittsburgh Steelers-type wild card run next week in Green Bay - but I think it will be an entertaining game.

Here's who did what this week (though you may have picked winners, I'm counting everyone's results against the spread, because that's how we do it around here):

PICKS
Johnnymets: 2-2
Justin from NYC: 1-3
Southern Bureau: 1-3
The Wife: 1-3
Dave in Brighton: 0-4

OVER/UNDER
Southern Bureau: 3-1
Dave in Brighton: 2-2
The Wife: 2-2
Johnnymets: 1-3

Chargers-Patriots, Giants-Packers in the conference championship games. Interesting matchups. Make your picks in the comments section on Friday.

3 Things

3 Things From My Saturday of Playoffs Football

1) I never really knew how I felt about David Garrard. I always liked Byron Leftwich, because of the Marshall connection with Chad Pennington, and because of his fighting-through-injury performance in one of his college games, where he played with, I think, what turned out to be a broken leg and drove his team to a comeback win, and couldn't even run down the field, and had to be helped by his offensive lineman to get down the field.

So there were a couple of feelings about Garrard - one was not caring a thing about him, the other was anger because I liked Leftwich. 'Not caring much' won out, because I didn't like Leftwich too much.

But then I saw James Brown's interview with Garrard on the CBS pregame (the interview started at 8:01 of what was supposed to be an 8 o'clock game, so I imagine most everyone saw the interview). And it was very good - Garrard seems very likeable, no? So I think I'll be rooting for him for a while...although his likeability took a pretty big hit after his first quarter fumble against New England. (James Brown looked ridiculous in those cutaways during the interview, incidentally. That's why if I had made it as a reporter I would have taken a very active role in the editing process.)

(Just looked up the Byron Leftwich info - broken shin, and they lost the game...but it was a valiant effort nonetheless.)

2) These Budweiser commercials where that dude keeps talking about the Budweiser process annoy me. I don't like them, and they're not going to grow on me. Boring.

3) Watching the Packers win their playoff game really brought me back to the early 1990's. You may remember that's when the Jets were the pits, and I was always left without a team to root for come January. So I adopted the Packers, partly because I liked Brett Favre, partly because I liked the green and yellow (this was one instance where I could really pick a team based on anything, and team colors weighed in heavily). So I rooted for the Packers, and it was kind of neat for me when they beat the Patriots in 1996. Well, this year I'll be rooting for the Packers again, and their win was pretty fun, in the snow and all. (The only thing I'm not rooting for is the Patriots-Packers rematch, because you know how I feel about rematches. We'll get to that next week as the teams shake out.)

I'll recap the weekend games Sunday night. Terrell Owens is reportedly 100% for the game against the Giants...I don't know if that changes my feelings on the game. I don't know if that's a lie to make him seem more threatening, or the injury was a lie to get him some extra rest.

THE PICKS - PLAYOFFS WEEK 2

Have you seen this week's spreads? I don't know what to make of them, except for the fact that when I look at them, it convinces me that for the most part, as far as putting down money, I'm going to be sticking to the over/unders this weekend. (Remember, when I say "putting down money, I'm referring to my participation in the pool on officefootballpool.com, where I am in first place after one week, incidentally, and from where I am taking these spreads. I earned my week in first by turning $250 into $650 last week - fake dollars.)

Here's what I think will happen this week:

SEATTLE AT GREEN BAY (GB - 7.5, 41.5)
Seattle was less-than-convincing last week at home against the Redskins. No chance on the road in Green Bay this week. Their running game is awful, and the Packers defense is pretty good. I can see this game going a few different ways. I could see 24-17, or 24-20 Packers, where the Pack just squeak by. (Therefore, I won't put money on that spread...I do like the over.) I think it might be close, then the Packers will pull away late:


JACKSONVILLE AT NEW ENGLAND (NE - 13.5, 49.5)
I've been saying it for weeks. The Patriots are ripe for the picking. They haven't been beaten yet, though, and the near losses have probably just made them stronger. The bye week helps, too. And I don't think the Jaguars are the team to get over the "Beating the Patriots" threshold. They'll pound New England. They'll beat them up. The Patriots will lose some players to injury. And I wouldn't be shocked if they lost...but I think the Jaguars will soften them up enough for the Colts next week. All that said, I don't think I'm going to touch this game at all with money, unless I win huge in the early game. Here's my pick:


SAN DIEGO AT INDIANAPOLIS (IND -8.5, 46.5)
This is sort of a tune-up game for the Colts. I see no way San Diego can win, with the way they've been playing, and then throw in the fact that Phillip Rivers doesn't have Antonio Gates. I think the Colts win easy, though I don't know how confident I am in that spread and over/under (although I did give this game my favorite football picking score of all time):


NEW YORK AT DALLAS (DAL -7.5, 47.5)
I hate that this is the last game, because it's the only one I'm positive about putting money on and getting a win. I think this is a 3-point game either way, so I love the Giants getting more than a touchdown. Love it. I think they're playing great football - and they've been proving me wrong all year, so I've finally jumped on the bandwagon (and since this is the Giants we're talking about, that means it's time for them to crap the bed). Eli Manning suddenly has one more playoff win than Tony Romo, Terrell Owens isn't a hundred percent - everything looks like it's pointing to a Giants upset. I know the Cowboys put up lots of points on the Giants this year when they took both games...but it's the Giants' turn. Watch it happen (or at least watch them cover):


Here's where we stand in the picks after last week - if anyone new wants to jump on board, leave your picks in the 'comments' section, and I'll extend the graph to include winning percentage.


Enjoy the football.