Week One Notes: I went 10-6 for week one, 63%. Not bad. First off Arian Foster is my hero right now. That man went insane on the Colts. Although mad props to the Texans O-Line and the blocking beast that is Vonta Leach. If you go back and watch some of those runs look for Leach punishing people with awesome lead blocks. Not trying to take away from Foster but I could have averaged about three yards a carry with that blocking. Both of the times the Texans have beat the Colts, I picked the Colts to win…consipiracy?

The Cowboys looked terrible, which made me really happy until I realized I picked them to win.

I take the bad things I said about San Diego/Kansas City not being a good game. That game was good and it looks like KC might actually be a good sleeper this year. (Or at least like Denver last year.)

The Jets offense looked bad (just like I said it would). I think the Jets are good, just not as good as everyone is making them out to be. I’ve said that since the Jets became media darlings last season. Enough chit-chat let’s get to the picks.

Pittsburgh at Tennessee

The Titans were lucky enough to play the Raiders in week one but this game is going to test them for real. The Steelers look good, Dennis Dixon…not so much. I still think Dixon is a solid back-up but I obviously retract my “people will love Dennis Dixon” after his week one performance.  I feel a low scoring game here with a stout Steelers D and a most likely lack luster offense against the Titans. However I think it’ll be easier for Tennessee to get on the board.

Miami at Minnesota

Both of these teams had an unattractive week one. Minnesota got embarrassed on the season opener and Miami made me  wonder if the Bills were a good team. That does not bode well for Miami fans. The Dolphins are better than that but hey they still got the win. I’m going with Minnesota at home and with an angry Favre. P.S. How many more games does Favre have in him? A side bet to make with friends.

Arizona at Atlanta

Arizona barely got by the Rams and now have to travel to Atlanta. Atlanta’s offense looked pretty back but I think they’ll get back in the grove this game. And maybe the Atlanta defense can get some confidence against Arizona. Atlanta wins.

Baltimore at Cincinnati

The Bengals might be able to get some passing yards against the suspect secondary in Baltimore. Yeah right now Baltimore is 1st in passing yards allowed but that’s just because the played the Jets. And the Bengals ate up yards in the air last week. However I think the Ravens are better and will not lose this game. Another close game for Baltimore this week? The return of the Cardiac Cats? I think so.

Kansas City at Cleveland

I think this is an easy pick (depending on whether a not KC is a fluke). KC looked good in the late night MNF and last week Cleveland looked like…well Cleveland. And there are reports the Jake Delhomme is questionable and not practicing. I don’t know if that’s a good or bad thing for Cleveland. I still think KC can win this and show they’re a good team now.

Chicago at Dallas

This is a tough call because it’s really tough to peg these teams for me right now. I’m going with Chicago because Detroit is not as bad as they have been and Chicago put good D on them and had a decent offensive outing. And Dallas really likes beating themselves.

Philadelphia at Detroit

The battle of the backups. Michael Vick is starting his first game since 2006 which will be either very disappointing or very exciting. It’s like when Quentien Tarentino came out with the Grindhouse Double Feature. You knew it was going to be great or it was going to be a huge tease. On the other side there’s Shaun Hill, filling in for Matthew Stafford. Shaun Hill is actually 10-6 as a starter and is a decent QB. But he has as much appeal as that Legends of G’Hoole owl movie.  As much as I want the Lions to win this one I have to go with the Eagles.

Buffalo at Green Bay

No Ryan Grant for Green Bay but the good news is they have a week to figure out how to run the ball. Playing Buffalo is a free pass for Green Bay to find out what works for them without Grant. This would be a tough win for Buffalo on the road, I’m going with Green Bay.

Tampa Bay at Carolina

I smell a game with a lot of rushing yards here. It’ll be a close one with Carolina getting the edge.

Seattle at Denver

Seattle’s win over San Fran was not all that impressive on their part. I think Denver is the better team and will be ready to win this one. Maybe I just hate Pete Carroll.

St. Louis at Oakland

I don’t know where to begin with this one. I’m thinking Oakland but it’s almost too close to call. You really would like one of these teams to come out of the NFL cellar but last week did not look good for either team. The team that wins this could gain momentum to…almost hit 500 but the team who loses is verifying their spot in the cellar. I’m going with…sigh…Oakland.

Houston at Washington

Will Arian Foster have a repeat performance? No. Will Arian Foster have a good game? Yes. One thing about the Texans though is they have an incredible passing game that was not unleashed last week. I’m thinking the pass attack comes full force here. This should be a very pass happy (Kyle Shanahan) game but I’m going with Houston to win the shoot-out.

New England at NY Jets

This game should be fun. In one corner we have a team loved by the media who is showing it’s flaws and had a horrible week one. In the other a team that is not well like outside of it’s own fan base, has been written off this season, however had a great week one. The Pats look good and I don’t think the Jets have what it takes to stop them. Sub-plot of this game is whether or not Randy Moss gets stranded on Revis Island.

Jacksonville at San Diego

I don’t want to pick one here because I feel like I’ll be jinxing one of them. This is an important win for both of these teams in terms of momentum. I think the Chargers are a better team and they are playing at home. San Diego will win but the Jags might be able to prove that they’re to be taken seriously.

NY Giants at Indianapolis

The battle of the Manning’s. Here’s the way it works. Indy is a better team. Indy has now lost the Super Bowl and a game vs. the Texans they historically win. Indy is a football machine that wins games. Indy will beat the Giants.

New Orleans at San Francisco

The Saints are in back-to-back prime time games here. The Saints looked really good last Thursday and have had plenty of time off to rest and prepare. San Francisco on the other hand had horrible offensive woes last week and have a really tough opponent here. New Orleans should win this game hands down.

Last week I went 3-1. Which is good because the week before I went 1-3, so I’m sitting at 500 with 4-4. Let’s look at to who I’m going with to go to Miami…

New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts

Ok, so I’ve been dead wrong about these Jets. But I’m still not sold. My feelings about this game is simple. The New York Jets are modeled after the Baltimore Ravens. You have an awesome tough defense and a game manager type quarterback. I think if the Colts can beat the Ravens they can beat the Jets, who are essentially a slightly worse version of the Ravens. I think the Jets are good and they play with a lot of intensity and emotion. But the Colts are the opposite, they are very controlled and methodical and they have been preparing for this for awhile. Whoever wins this game gets to be a rookie coach going to the Super Bowl. I don’t think it’s going to be Rex Ryan.

Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints

This game might be the toughest game to call in the playoffs. I love the Saints. I love their attitude. I love their fans. I think they’re the best team in the NFL. But then there’s the Vikings. This team is no joke. If it wasn’t for mid-season ‘power struggles’ their record would have probably been better. I’ve been thinking about who to pick. On one side we have the young fiery Drew Brees, who leads his team with intensity and has amazing weapons surrounding him. On the other we have the Ol’ Gunslinger, he knows how to win and will do everything in his power to get there. His presence makes everyone around him better and he leads by example. He brings a confidence to the young athletes around him. Both of these offenses are incredible and can light up many defenses and that’s why this game will be won on the other side of the ball. Because we all know offense entertains but defense wins games. Both teams have some good defenses, but Minnesota has an amazing D-Line and run stopping game. At the same time, they’re going to need it with all the weapons New Orleans has. The Saints defense is very versatile and they’ll need it against the different looks the Vikings are going to throw their way. In the end after much consideration, I’m going against what my heart is telling me. I’m picking the Vikings because I think their defense is going to make plays and win the game.

Hey kids! After going 1-3 last week, I need to pick up my game and pick every game right if I want a winning record in the playoffs. It really hurts me that the only winner that I picked correctly last week was the Cowboys. And I had the Cardinals all wrong. I should have known that Kurt Warner was going to be playoff ready. Although, the Green Bay Packers almost won that game after being completely out of it. You can’t say that was a bad game, easily could be the best game of the playoffs.

Arizona at New Orleans

I don’t really know what to think of this game off the bat. The Saints have been my pick to go to the Super Bowl for most of the season. But the Cardinals offense, even without Anquan Boldin, is perhaps unstoppable. Their defense however seems to be pushovers. I’m going with the Saints because they have both a potent offense and defense. The only way the Saints can lose is if they break down.

Baltimore at Indianapolis

The Colts are a great team. Forget all that benching the starters stuff. Forget that they didn’t be part of history. All you have to know is that they want one thing and one thing only. They want to win the Super Bowl. That’s why they benched starters and decline an invitation to be ‘historic.’ The Colts are going to be ready to play. The Ravens aren’t chumps though and are ready to smack around the Colts offense. I think this will be a lower scoring game than most people think. However, Peyton ‘MVP’ Manning is going to pull through and win it for the Colts.

Dallas at Minnesota

No matter how hot the Cowboys are, I still think Vikings are a better team. I’m still waiting for the Cowboys and Tony Romo to fall apart and I’m picking that this is the game. The Vikings defense is intense and Jared Allen has put a target on Romo’s jersey. And how I forget to mention The Ol’ Gunslinger. Gunslinger is going in this game willing to do anything to win, even ignore Brad Childress’ playcalling…

New York Jets at San Diego

So right now I’m thinking to myself, I haven’t picked a wild card team to go on to the next round. And it’s not changing now. I think the Chargers are going to expose the Jets. The Jets play with a lot of emotion but are not as great of a team as they are made out to be. The Jets are a good story and have become media darlings but that doesn’t make them a good playoff team.

There it is.

Alright so let’s take a quick look at the wildcard matchups…

New York Jets at Cincinnati Bengals

Everyone is going on and on about this game being tough on the Bengals for the beating they took last week. But the Bengals had nothing to play for and didn’t want to give away any “secrets” so that they could win the playoff game. The Bengals are just like that boxer that is cornered with his gloves up taking punch after punch only to lash out and beat the snot out of the other fighter. The Jets play with a lot of emotion but will probably fall short because of a unproven quarterback and a drop happy wide out. The Bengals are the better team, but this is still going to be a close game.

Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys

This is the game that has me scratching my head the most. I think the Eagles are the better team and I hate the Cowboys with every fiber of my being, but I’d be a fool to say that there is any other team that is bringing this much fire into the playoffs. However, these Cowboys are not as good as some of the other Cowboys teams that have been eliminated from the playoffs in years past. As much as I hate to do it, I’m going with the Cowboys on this one. Although I really hope that Tony Romo finds a way to show that he’s still a bonehead. The Eagles have this game in the bag if ghost of playoffs past haunt Romo.

Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots

This year I feel like all of these matchups are almost too close to call. The Ravens defense has the edge in this game but you can’t count the Pats out (even with a possibly weak Wes Welker). The Pats proved in the Texans game last week that they have a potent backup for Welker should he need to sit out on plays. The Ravens offense is no joke either, Ray Rice is going to be all over this field today. I’m going with the Patriots because they are better coached. I think that the Ravens have more fire, but I have to go with the Pats here.

Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals

This is the only pick that I feel confident about. I think the Packers are going to push around the Cardinals. The Packers are hungry and I feel the Cards are on the decline and a little complacent.

Earlier this afternoon some Texans fans were ecstatic with the possibility of a playoff run. However most knew the reality of the situation, the Texans needed two bad teams to win and the Bengals to play well in a meaningless game. After the Kansas City Chiefs won playoffs looked like they could be on the horizon. But as we all know by now the Jets beat the Bengals and got the much coveted second wild card berth. So let the blaming begin! The scapegoat of the bunch is Kris Brown, a veteran kicker who lost his confidence Brad Lidge style. While he didn’t do his job, Kubiak put him on the hot seat by not using his stellar offense to score touchdowns. Coach Kubiak opted to set up for field goals at the end of the game. (Someone should have told him he had a good offense.) Of course Kubiak is on the list as well. And maybe Steve Slaton losing the magic he had in the first season. (Which might be attributed to the loss of our two starting guards but that seems like a free pass.)

While we could sit here and play the blame game, which I’m sure myself and many other fans will do in the off season, I’d like to look at some positive.

First the defense.  After last seasons miserable excuse for a defense we made a new hire in DC, Mr. Frank Bush. Frank Bush’s defense had a rocky start, but as it started to gel with the hardcore tendencies of Brian Cushing and the acquisition of Bernard Pollard. The linebacking core was amazing and as the year went on the defense only got better.

Second, Matt Schaub started 16 games and silenced all doubters. With a little more leadership and charisma the guy should be a pro bowler next year.

Third Arian Foster. The main reason we even won the game against the Pats was the rushing effort on the new guy. He might not be the answer but he was a Godsend for the closing of our first winning record.

The season shouldn’t have ended like this yes. (Relying on other teams to win games instead of letting our record speak for itself.) We only have to look at the first game of the season and think that if we would have beat the lowly Jets we would be in the playoffs right now.