Weekend Wild Card Round Picks

Alright, let's take a minute away from blogging about buying stuff to talk about the national past time.

Cincinnati @Houston (-4.5) - If they can keep their coaching staff intact, an I think they can, the Cincinnati Bengals have a great future. With Baltimore and Pittsburgh aging, and Cleveland being Cleveland, a Bengals team with three good receivers, a solid tight end, a respectable run blocking offensive line and an average to above average QB along with a solid defense and one of the best defensive lines in the league should ascend to the top of the AFC North as soon as next year.

But that's next year. The Houston Texans underwhelm me, overall. I don't like the passing schemes at all and Arian Foster seems to succeed despite his offensive line. And while JJ Watt is a terrific Defensive End, the defense itself is hurting. Still, this is a playoff game, and home teams tend to win these at close to a 70% clip. So consider this an unenthusiastic endorsement of Houston(-4.5).

Minnesota @ Green Bay (-7.5) - Yes, Adrian Peterson had a great season, and yes, Jared Allen is a terrific Defensive End and Minnesota's secondary has had a terrific year. But the Vikings don't have much else to offer on either side of the ball, and the Packers are healthy. Easiest pick of the week. Green Bay (-7.5).

Indianapolis @ Baltimore (-7) Call it the Mayflower revenge game. Considering how thin the Colts defense is, and how turnover prone the Colts offense is, if this were the Ravens team of old, you would expect Baltimore to win comfortably. However, this is an old Ravens team with a poorly designed offensive scheme whose architect was fired midseason, and rightfully so. The problem is, you can't redesign an offense on the fly, and Joe Flacco is not the type of QB that can make reads for a modern multiple NFL offense. It's possible that Ray Lewis' win one for the gipper act can get the Ravens through one round. But I'm not betting on it. Indianapolis (+7)

Seattle (-3) @ Washington RG III and Alfred Morris have had great seasons, as has Pierre Garcon once he finally got healthy. The real problem here is on the defensive side of the ball, where Washington is beat up and old. Kudos to Jim Haslett for making the most of what he has, but this isn't a defense that is going to carry the Redskins very far. Seattle (-3)