Here's my take on the Wild Card Round:
Arizona vs. Atlanta It's hard to pick the Cardinals to win anything here, especially when you look how bad they were over the last four weeks of the season. Their passing game is enticing, and they are at home, and Atlanta has very little playoff experience here. Then again, neither do the Cardinals outside of Kurt Warner and Edgerrin James, who looks to be washed up at this point. Warner should play well, but will lkely get knocked down a few times by the Falcon pass rush. They'll get their 20-plus points, regardless of the final result. Line play favors the Falcons, though, on both sides. The Cardinals don't run well enough to eat the clock if they're ahead in the second half and they don't stop the run well enough to get back in the game should the Falcons get ahead. My guess is that this one stays close until the third or fourth quarter, then the Falcons pull away with Michael Turner. Falcons win.
Baltimore at Miami: The Ravens are the sexy pick here, and I'm not disagreeing with that one bit. The only thing that can do them in is if the Fish can force Joe Flacco into making a bunch of mistakes, but it will be hard to do that without scoring enough points to put the Ravens in catch up mode. The Raven offense is better than it's been in a long time, and shold be able to move the ball against the so-so Dolphin defense. On the flip side, Baltimore already shut down the Miami offense when they played earlier this season, and while I'm sure the Dolphins will adjust and do better, they still won't light up the scoreboard with their offense. I think the Ravens get up by ten or so by halftime and keep it there.
Philadelphia at Minnesota The Vikings running game is scary, but their passing game isn't. The same can be said for their run and pass defenses, respectively. We all know the deal with the Eagles: when they actually try to run the ball, they can beat anybody, and when they decide to throw it 40 times they get beat. I figure this goes one of two ways: 1. The Vikings run the ball well while the Eagles don't, McNabb throws 40 passes (of which his receivers screw up at least ten) and the Vikings win a close game. 2. The Eagles get a lead early, batter Viking QB Tavaris Jackson into submission and run their way to a lopsided victory with at least one defensive score. So which one do I think will actually happen? I go with door number two. Andy Reid won't screw this one up; he'll wait until they play the Giants in the next round for that.
Indianapolis at San Diego The Colts are the favorite here, and it's obvious why. Better record (12-4 vs. 8-8), better coach (Tony Dungy), etc. They've also won nine in a row. But the Chargers have their own four game winning streak going, and did just put up 52 points to close out the regular season. Their offense can shoot it out with Indy's, they are at home. And oh yeah, they did beat the Colts in last year's playoffs so it's not like they should be afraid. But they didn't beat anyone that can be considered a serious contender this season (0-5 vs. playoff teams and 4-7 vs. teams that finished .500 or better) while the Colts are 5-1 vs. playoffs teams and 8-2 vs. teams that were .500 or better. There's also the close game factor: the Chargers are 2-6 in games decided by less than seven points while the Colts are 7-1. The Chargers have the biggest choker in recent history as their head coach, and to me that seals their fate. They play well, and may even be ahead late, but they'll find a way to blow it.
