NFL DIVISIONAL PLAYOFF PICKS

ROUND 2: The Brain Trust vs. The PickMeister

Score one for the Bleeding Sports Brain Trust! The BT went a perfect 4-0 against the spread last weekend in the Wildcard round. BOO YA. Can’t beat that. Meanwhile, The PickMeister may need a name change after a 1-3 weekend. Ouch. All those wonderful stats and analysis the PickMeister offered and the best he could do is 1-3! Let’s just hope he feels the need to pick the opposite of The BT again this week.

Looking for some redemption, here are the PickMeister’s selections for the second week of the NFL Playoffs. Home team is CAPS.

PickMeister’s NFL Divisional Playoff Picks

Indianapolis + 3.5 over BALTIMORE

Baltimore had a very impressive 2006 season, putting together a record totaling 13 victories and only 3 loses. But let’s face it, they had a cake schedule. Only 3 of their wins this year were against teams over .500, and only two of which made the playoffs. Although Baltimore’s #1 ranked defense has been magnificent all year, I am not sure they will be able to hold up against Indianapolis’ pass offense. In addition, if Indy’s D even plays half as well as they did last weekend there’s no way Jamal Lewis, who’s only averaging 3.6 yards per carry, and the Baltimore offense will be able to pull this one off. Take Indianapolis in one of the rare occasions when they are actually getting the points.

NEW ORLEANS -5 over Philadelphia

The only time these two teams met this year New Orleans pulled out a 27-24 victory on a John Carney last second field goal. Don’t expect this rematch to be as close. New Orleans possesses so many weapons that it will be near impossible for Philadelphia to stop them. To make problems worse Philly will be without their best corner Lito Sheppard, who suffered a dislocated elbow in last weeks win against the Giants. Not good news when you’re facing the NFL’s leading passer. Look for Brees and the Saints to win and cover the 5 point spread.

CHICAGO -8.5 over Seattle

Expect this game to be very similar to their week 4 meeting when Chicago dominated in a 37-6 blowout. What better defense can a struggling QB ask for than one whose secondary consists of a rookie and loan officer who hasn’t played in over a year. Wouldn’t surprise me if Grossman called Romo thanking him for not being able to handle a snap. Sure Alexander is one of the best backs in the league, but he was injured for most of the season and has to face a fierce Bears defense. Seattle is lucky to even be playing this weekend after barely escaping Dallas. But now they are up against a much better team in Chicago and I don’t see this one being close. Take Chicago even though they are giving 8.5.

New England +5 over SAN DIEGO

What a great match-up. This one should be the best game of the week, and maybe even the whole playoffs. Both teams possess great offenses as well as defenses. San Diego was the NFL’s best team only losing 2 games all season. LT had another MVP like season rushing for over 1800 yards and finding the endzone a total of 31 times. And if Phillip Rivers can just be the quarterback he’s been all year and not make mistakes, San Diego is damn hard to beat. New England, on the other hand, just doesn’t lose in the playoffs. Tom Brady is unreal, with a playoff record 11-1 and only 5 INTs in 401 attempts. There’s no one more clutch in these situations than this guy. Expect this game to be very close, and therefore you have to take New England getting the 5 points.

Brain Trust Picks for NFL Divisional Playoffs

Indianapolis +3.5 over BALTIMORE

The BT has been warned not to take the Colts over the Ravens. But why would the BT listen to anybody? The BT was 4-0 last week! The BT just hasn’t seen anything from the Ravens to warrant all this praise they have been receiving. Yes, the defense is great, but Peyton Manning is better. On offense, the Ravens don’t run the ball effectively, don’t have any game breakers in the passing game, and were nearly shutout by the Bengals. Even the Colts defense can play with these guys. One more thing, the Colts are playing in Baltimore not New England. The Colts will score points and they will score more of them than the Ravens. That means the Colts win.

Philadelphia +5 over New Orleans

The NFC peaks this weekend. Forget about next week, this game is for the NFC Championship. Write it down now, the winner of this game is going to the Super Bowl. These are the two best teams in the NFC right now and either one will go into Chicago next weekend and blow the doors off the Bears. There is no doubt about it. Not even worth debating. While New England-San Diego is the most anticipated game of the weekend, this game may turn out to be the best. A playoff game, in primetime, in New Orleans – can’t beat that. Even watching on television, you couldn’t help but get pumped up watching the Saints home opener against Atlanta on a Monday night. This game should have the same energy. It’s tough to see the Saints losing this game even with the Eagles playing so well. New Orleans should win, but it feels like a field goal game.

CHICAGO -8.5 over Seattle

The site of the NFC consolation game is in Chicago. Rex Grossman has had 2 weeks to sober up from his New Years Eve binger and can probably manage to hand the ball off to Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson without too much of an issue. The Seahawks should have lost last week, just as the Brain Trust predicted, and will make enough mistakes for the Chicago defense and special teams to control the game and cover the spread.

New England +5 over SAN DIEGO

The Brain Trust has been telling people for weeks that San Diego is going to win the Super Bowl. The Brain Trust would love to see it, for no other reason than to see the Chargers send a championship ring to the NY Giants front office. One problem. This is the one team the Chargers did not want to see if their first game of the postseason. It’s not that Tomlinson won’t play well or the Charger’s defense will struggle against Tom Brady. The problem isn’t even Marty Ball. The problem is Philip Rivers. He already acts like a kid who forgot to take his Ritalin. The Patriots are going to through so many looks and packages at him his head might explode. This game is going to be close and the Chargers can only rely on Tomlinson so much. Rivers is going to have to make a play at some point. The BT just doesn’t see that happening. Take the Patriots getting points.