The 2002 Weekly Picks thread is for the regular season. Playoffs are a totally different animal.
Participate if you are brave enough to put your predictions on the line.
Here we go…Wild Card Weekend Games:
Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers
Besides the Bills/Miami game, this is one of the least competitive match ups. 49ers are hot and there are not many teams in the NFC (AFC is another story…..the only game they have played against some of the best the AFC has to offer was KC and they got their asses kicked in) that can beat them…Philly is their biggest threat.
Geno Ford is a great story. And Seattle made a tremendously successful and smart decision to move on from Russel Wilson, and that trade will help Seattle to build a perennial contender once again.
But not yet.
This game may be over well before half time. 49ers all the way
__________________________________________________________________
LA Chargers at Jacksonville Jaguars
This may be the most competitive games this weekend, with two of the emerging young QB’s that are destined to be elite forces for years to come.
I believe the difference is going to be coaching. Staley is not a very good head coach, and there were many valid reasons why there was much chatter earlier in the season that he was good as gone.
The talent was there last year to get into the playoffs, but he stumbled way too many times.
The decision to play so many starters in week 18 with nothing on the line, was stupid, stupid, stupid. Two of the best non-QB players aggravated their injuries, Mike Williams and Bosa.
Now with the news that Mike Williams is out, that can have a substantial effect.
On the other sideline is Pederson who is a fantastic coach who won a Super Bowl with a middling backup QB at the helm.
I’m picking Jacksonville in a close and exciting game. Probably a 60/40 chance that Staley is fired.
__________________________________________________________________
Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills
Even before Tua was ruled out of the game, this was almost assuredly destined to be a Bills win. Now, with Skyler Thompson as QB, and Mostert questionable with a broken thumb, and Waddle also questionable (along with starting LT, LG and RT) this will be the least competitive game of WCWE.
Josh Allen is going to step up his game when everything is on the line. Rousseau and Oliver are going to make Thompson’s life miserable, and there will probably be three or four INT’s.
This may turn ugly for Miami pretty quickly. Very much like last year’s blowout of NE.
No one will be surprised when many starters are taken out the game after half time, to give more backup players some playoff experience.
__________________________________________________________________
NY Giants at Minnesota Vikings
This may end up being the most exciting game of WCWE. It’s almost like the Vikings welcome crazy close endings. It’s probably the hardest game to pick.
Jefferson is a superstar who just cannot be stopped. Cousins has played at an extremely high level this year, but is not trustworthy to do it week after week, snap after snap.
Brian Daboll has got the Giants playing well above their talent level, and they do have some elite players that can change the game on both offence (Barkley) and defense (Thibodeaux).
Daniel Jones has shown he is a threat in both passing and running.
Vikings luck runs out and I see a close NY Giants win.
__________________________________________________________________
Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals
Without Lamar Jackson, the Ravens do not have a realistic chance to win this game. But, the arrogant Bengals showed in week 18, that they are very capable of keeping Baltimore in the game much longer than they should….like their barely beating NE too.
Even with backup QB Tyler Huntley not playing in week #18 (and raw rookie third-stringer Anthony Brown getting his first start in the NFL) along with two of their best offensive non-QB players on the sideline (Mark Andrews and J.K. Dobbins) the Bengals, after building up a 1st half lead, came out flat in the 2nd and almost let that game slip away.
I expect a lot of fight from the Ravens, but, ultimately, this is a different team without Lamar Jackson.
Cincy wins, but they will allow the Ravens a chance to win it at the end, and Huntley does not have it in him to put the game on his shoulders to win.
__________________________________________________________________
Dallas Cowboys at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Two teams that I hate (or at least one team, the stupidly named “America’s Team”…which they are NOT, and the QB that all Bills fans love to hate, TB12) round up the WCWE.
The Cowboys should win this fairly easily, but they have shown the ability to stink up the place way too often.
Last week’s debacle of a crappy performance against Washington, who had nothing to play for while Dallas still had a chance to get the #1 seed, shows how unreliable and inconsistent this overrated team is.
Tampa Bay is a sucky team. Let’s face it, without Brady, they would be in the running for worst record in the NFL.
After their season opening win vs Dallas (another example on how easily the Cowboys can and DO stink it up in any given week) Tampa has not beat any quality teams.
But, Brady IS on their team, and elite QB play at the end of the game can cover up a lot of deficiencies.
I would like to see both of these teams to lose. Especially TB…..what the NFL world does NOT need is TB12 sucking up all the attention about how great he is. So insufferable.
So, I’m going with my heart here. I’d rather TB12 be knocked out of the playoffs in the first round MORE than I want to see Dallas embarrassed.
THAT schadenfreude will come next week when they go to SanFran and get their asses beat.
Participate if you are brave enough to put your predictions on the line.
Here we go…Wild Card Weekend Games:
Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers
Besides the Bills/Miami game, this is one of the least competitive match ups. 49ers are hot and there are not many teams in the NFC (AFC is another story…..the only game they have played against some of the best the AFC has to offer was KC and they got their asses kicked in) that can beat them…Philly is their biggest threat.
Geno Ford is a great story. And Seattle made a tremendously successful and smart decision to move on from Russel Wilson, and that trade will help Seattle to build a perennial contender once again.
But not yet.
This game may be over well before half time. 49ers all the way
__________________________________________________________________
LA Chargers at Jacksonville Jaguars
This may be the most competitive games this weekend, with two of the emerging young QB’s that are destined to be elite forces for years to come.
I believe the difference is going to be coaching. Staley is not a very good head coach, and there were many valid reasons why there was much chatter earlier in the season that he was good as gone.
The talent was there last year to get into the playoffs, but he stumbled way too many times.
The decision to play so many starters in week 18 with nothing on the line, was stupid, stupid, stupid. Two of the best non-QB players aggravated their injuries, Mike Williams and Bosa.
Now with the news that Mike Williams is out, that can have a substantial effect.
On the other sideline is Pederson who is a fantastic coach who won a Super Bowl with a middling backup QB at the helm.
I’m picking Jacksonville in a close and exciting game. Probably a 60/40 chance that Staley is fired.
__________________________________________________________________
Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills
Even before Tua was ruled out of the game, this was almost assuredly destined to be a Bills win. Now, with Skyler Thompson as QB, and Mostert questionable with a broken thumb, and Waddle also questionable (along with starting LT, LG and RT) this will be the least competitive game of WCWE.
Josh Allen is going to step up his game when everything is on the line. Rousseau and Oliver are going to make Thompson’s life miserable, and there will probably be three or four INT’s.
This may turn ugly for Miami pretty quickly. Very much like last year’s blowout of NE.
No one will be surprised when many starters are taken out the game after half time, to give more backup players some playoff experience.
__________________________________________________________________
NY Giants at Minnesota Vikings
This may end up being the most exciting game of WCWE. It’s almost like the Vikings welcome crazy close endings. It’s probably the hardest game to pick.
Jefferson is a superstar who just cannot be stopped. Cousins has played at an extremely high level this year, but is not trustworthy to do it week after week, snap after snap.
Brian Daboll has got the Giants playing well above their talent level, and they do have some elite players that can change the game on both offence (Barkley) and defense (Thibodeaux).
Daniel Jones has shown he is a threat in both passing and running.
Vikings luck runs out and I see a close NY Giants win.
__________________________________________________________________
Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals
Without Lamar Jackson, the Ravens do not have a realistic chance to win this game. But, the arrogant Bengals showed in week 18, that they are very capable of keeping Baltimore in the game much longer than they should….like their barely beating NE too.
Even with backup QB Tyler Huntley not playing in week #18 (and raw rookie third-stringer Anthony Brown getting his first start in the NFL) along with two of their best offensive non-QB players on the sideline (Mark Andrews and J.K. Dobbins) the Bengals, after building up a 1st half lead, came out flat in the 2nd and almost let that game slip away.
I expect a lot of fight from the Ravens, but, ultimately, this is a different team without Lamar Jackson.
Cincy wins, but they will allow the Ravens a chance to win it at the end, and Huntley does not have it in him to put the game on his shoulders to win.
__________________________________________________________________
Dallas Cowboys at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Two teams that I hate (or at least one team, the stupidly named “America’s Team”…which they are NOT, and the QB that all Bills fans love to hate, TB12) round up the WCWE.
The Cowboys should win this fairly easily, but they have shown the ability to stink up the place way too often.
Last week’s debacle of a crappy performance against Washington, who had nothing to play for while Dallas still had a chance to get the #1 seed, shows how unreliable and inconsistent this overrated team is.
Tampa Bay is a sucky team. Let’s face it, without Brady, they would be in the running for worst record in the NFL.
After their season opening win vs Dallas (another example on how easily the Cowboys can and DO stink it up in any given week) Tampa has not beat any quality teams.
But, Brady IS on their team, and elite QB play at the end of the game can cover up a lot of deficiencies.
I would like to see both of these teams to lose. Especially TB…..what the NFL world does NOT need is TB12 sucking up all the attention about how great he is. So insufferable.
So, I’m going with my heart here. I’d rather TB12 be knocked out of the playoffs in the first round MORE than I want to see Dallas embarrassed.
THAT schadenfreude will come next week when they go to SanFran and get their asses beat.
Comment