When I first decided to start this blog, I figured it'd take me a little while to get into the habit of writing consistently, but eventually, I'd get to the point where I'd branch off into plenty of topics across a variety of sports, writing something every few days. And to some degree, that happened, just not officially. I didn't realize how easily it is for other things to get in the way. I knew work would continue to be work, but grad school applications have really limited the amount of time I've been able to commit to this page. And because of that, I have several half-started posts, ranging from the Cubs rise and inevitable collapse, the White Sox rise-free collapse, the resurgence of the Blackhawks, the implosion of the Bears and Bulls... Actually, looking back at it, it's probably better that I didn't write about all of that, because then I would have been even more depressed than I am from simply looking at my NFL picks...
Why am I sharing this now? Well, because with the number of games ever-reducing, it doesn't take me as long to make my football picks, meaning that I have more time - and more room - for other, random topics. And for this post, the topic is my lack of posts. I'm hoping as things wind down for me, I can start taking more time to just write for the shear pleasure of writing, instead of all these ancillary things I've been working on. Ah, to just focus on sports... what I life that would be.
Until that point, however, let's just get back to focusing on the NFL playoffs. Last week, I recovered slightly from my late-season collapse, only missing on the Giants. Not sure what I was thinking there. I even commented on how I didn't trust the Bucs... then went ahead and took the Bucs. This explains why I ended the season around .500.
This week, there are plenty of big spreads, as nothing is less than 7.5 points. This is supposed to be the round where the bye week helps, but that's a lot of points to be throwing around. Regardless, each game is making me think, so maybe Vegas knows what they're doing afterall...
Jacksonville (+13) at New England - I'm hearing more and more people falling in line behind the Jaguars as the team that can, and will, beat the Patriots. I still don't believe that's going to happen, as Jacksonville, even with David Garrard legs, can't maintain the firepower needed to roll with the Patriots. If the Willie Parker-less Steelers can score in bunches against this team, I'm wondering what the Patriots will do. So why am I going with the Jaguars to cover? Well, I've picked the Patriots nearly every week this season. It worked for the first 10 weeks or so, but the New England hasn't been covering these huge spreads of late. And you never know what the weather in Foxboro is going to be like either.
Indianapolis (-8.5) vs San Diego - Does anybody think that Peyton Manning has forgotten his 6-interception performance the last time the Colts met the Chargers? Neither do I. At home, in the playoffs, the Colts put the collective foot on the gas and roll right past the Chargers. Philip Rivers on the road in a playoff game... yeah, I'll lay the points.
Green Bay (-7.5) vs Seattle - At the beginning of the season, who would have predicted that the Packers were the team with the solid running game while the Seahawks would struggle. Shaun Alexander is a shell of his former self, and while I may be interested in this team next year (as I've seen Illini Rashard Mendenhall projected to Seattle in a couple mock drafts), I'm definitely not interested in them this season. Ryan Grant has the Packers rolling, and they should make it to the conference championship with ease.
New York Giants (+7.5) at Dallas - Is T.O. healthy? Is Romo focused? Those are the questions flying around before this game, but the real question is when two teams play for the 3rd time in a season, don't you expect it to be close? I mean, they pretty much know everything about each other at this point, don't they? It's not like if the Patriots played the Dolphins three time... these are two playoff teams going head-to-head. I see a close game for the right to play the Packers next week.
Last Week: 2-1-1
Overall: 123-123-14
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