Divisional round

If I had my druthers (and, uh, I suppose I do), I'd just carry on talking about David Beckham's decision to come to the US. One day later, I am utterly surprised at myself for still being so enthused about his imminent move. I'm not even a Beckham fan, per se, but the news is a great shot of life, particularly after the last few days had me feeling pretty negatively towards sports (specifically: anything involving college football and all Hall of Fame/Steroids talk in baseball). Anyway, seemingly an afterthought, now, the NFL playoffs continue this weekend. Let's preview, shall we?

Indianapolis at Baltimore (-4) - I give the Colts credit for beating a poorly game-coached Kansas City team who was unable to improvise on offense and suspect all season-long on defense. Now, they run into a buzzsaw with the Ravens. Baltimore's defense is arguably the best in the league and have all the tools necessary to pressure and fluster Peyton Manning. On offense, they're strong at running the ball (which will mean keeping Manning of the field) and McNair has the savvy and leadership skills that this team has been lacking in recent seasons. I said it a couple weeks back, but the Ravens are firmly my choice to win the Superbowl. That means, obviously, that the ride for Indy ends in the city they deserted 24 years ago. Ravens 24 Colts 16

Philadelphia at New Orleans (-5) - Perhaps the most devastating thing that could've happened to the Eagles, leading up to this game, was losing Lito Sheppard. Now, Drew Brees and his vast array of receivers face a depleted secondary mae up entirely of back-ups. It could get ugly. Unless! Jeff Garcia continues his fire-crotch hot play and, combined with Brian Westbrook, racks up a ton of points for Philly against what is not the most overwhelming defense. But the Saints have a couple things going for them aside from their scoring ability. 1) When these two met earlier in the season, Philly didn't get to Brees once. Not once. And now, with the personel on defense certainly not categorized as an upgrade since then, it's unlikely they'll get to Brees this game either. 2) This season more than ever before, I don't want to be playing the Saints at home for reasons that should be obvious to everyone. Philly is game on offense, but ultimately don't have the firepower to keep up. Saints 31 Eagles 22

Seattle at Chicago (-8.5) - Easily the most unattractive of the four games scheduled this weekend. Initially, I thought that if Seattle got this far, they may have a shot. But they probably don't. Even if Grossman stinks it up (likely), the Seahawks did little to inspire anyone, last week, when they back-doored their way past Dallas. The weather conditions will be too unfriendly, Hasselbeck looks off his game, and the Seattle D will have serious trouble stopping Chicago on the ground. I don't like either of these teams, but Chicago cruised through a terrible NFC. Seattle didn't. Also, there was that game (granted, it was week 3, but still) when the Bears polaxed Seattle on Sunday Night Football. Bears 20 Seahawks 10

New England (+5) at San Diego - Oh man... Oh man, oh man, oh man... This is going to be a great one. I'm deeply conflicted on who to pick. On the one hand, you've got the New England Patriots who have a coach/QB tandem that is made for the playoffs. On the other, there's the curse of Marty and Philip Rivers making his postseason debut. As the overwhelming Superbowl favorite, all the expectations are on San Diego. There's no pressure on New England. Bill Belichick is sure to have a gameplan that will frustrate Rivers and attack the Chargers secondary (perhaps the team's lone weak spot). This has all the makings of an upset. So why am I conflicted? Well, for starters, unlike the Jets, the Chargers can run the ball. Secondly, the Jets were made of grit, guts, and pure intestinal fortitude. They were a pure character team who grinded out the victories by sheer will, whereas the Chargers got this successful on the strength of unreal, elite talent and execution. Third, I mentioned this little phrase a few weeks back, but these aren't your older brother's Patriots. At times, they struggled mightily during the season against inferior opposition and often failed to impress. Is that a product of their standard being set so high or is there a serious discrepancy in talent between the Pats and teams like San Diego? Are they saving their best for January, waiting to flick a switch into playoff mode or are they no more than what they've appeared to be all season? It's a tough call. This is going to be a phenomenal game that the Patriots have every chance at winning, but at the end of the day: Rodney Harrison won't be available, LDT looks unstoppable, the Chargers are at home, and, while this would be a choke job for SD, Schottenheimer tends to save his best (worst) for conference championship games. Slimmest of margins, here. Chargers 27 Patriots 26