It is playoff time again, and the Packers were not one of the teams to go for the big dance. The good news is that in the last few weeks the Packers have shown that they can be a playoff caliber team with victories over Tampa Bay, Minnesota (2 game sweep), and Indianapolis. I am looking forward to next year where I believe the pieces will finally get put together for a play off team called the Packers.
Indianapolis vs. Colts Despite the record of the Colts, I believe they will definitely be the team to beat. They are finally running and passing on all cylinders. This is unfortunate for the Miami Dolphins. I am still holding on to my preseason pick of Indianapolis to go to this year’s Super Bowl. Obviously, my NFC preseason pick, the best team money can buy, Washington Redskins, are like the Pack sitting and watching the playoffs from the comfort of their own homes- only the skins have a worse record than the Pack.
St.Louis vs. New Orleans This week we are looking at the final of the best-out-of-three series between the St. Louis Rams and the New Orleans Saints. The Rams are a 6-point favorite over the Saints in the game in New Orleans. The Saints have not won a playoff game in the history of their franchise. I look for the Saints to come on strong and revenge last weeks’ home loss to these same Rams. Aaron Brooks, the Saints QB and the Packer’s gift to the playoffs this year, will lead his offense through the suspect Rams defense and win this game. Look for the Saints defense to put Green or Warner on their backs a lot in this game. The Saints have a lot to prove in this game. The Rams are coming in over confident and I believe have made a mistake over looking this quality Saints squad.
Denver vs. Baltimore. Can you say defense? The Ravens sure can. The Denver brings it high powered offense (avg 424.2 total offense yards per game ranked #2) vs. Baltimore defense (233.4 yards per game allowed Ranked #2 ). This one should prove to be interesting. If the Broncos can manage to run the ball against the stingy Raven’s run defense (allowing 57.3 yards per game ranked #1) . This one could prove to be the best game of the four this weekend. Got to love high powered offense vs. Stingy defense. I will give the edge to the Ravens due to home field advantage. Shannon Sharpe slick tongue could fire up his old teammates and turn the tide of my prediction.
Tampa Bay vs. Philadelphia. I think we will have a low scoring game with the outcome decided by a field goal. The Eagle’s McNabb show has to consistently move the ball against the tough Tampa Bay defense. The problem for the Eagles is consistency. It depends which team shows up as to whether the Eagles will make it pass the first round. The good news is that Tampa Bay does not really have a leader at the QB position like the Eagles have in McNabb. McNabb can hurt you in many ways and King has trouble throwing a good spiral. The Eagles by 3.
Happy holidays from all of us on the PackerIQ.com staff. Also special thanks goes to Bill Gallagher and Jim Bacik for the great columns this year. PackerIQ.com columnist section would not exist without you guys. Thanks Intense for the articles and the official PackerIQ.com trivia questions. You be the man and my favorite Big Bro.
