A Libertarian's Thoughts on Whatever

Friday, January 10, 2003

 
Last week's playoff games were great. Well, Saturday wasn't terribly interesting, but Sunday was terrific. I would have preferred it if the Browns had won, but watching the Steelers comeback was a lot of fun. Then to see the Giants choke away that huge lead was marvellous. Good times, good times. I wound up 2-2 against the spread, which is ok I guess, but hopefully I'll improve this week.
First up is the Pittsburgh Steelers at Tennessee, Titans favored by 4. The Titans have a balanced offense and a great defense. Steve McNair may have deserved to win the MVP, as he has really taken a big step forward this year. The Steelers will stop the running game, but their secondary will be chewed up. On the other side of the ball, the Steelers should be able to score some, but will struggle mightily to do so.
TITANS 27, Steelers 14
Next is the Atlanta Falcons at Philadelphia, Eagles favored by 7.5. This is a great matchup, McNabb against Vick. I like the Eagles. They are my pick to win the Superbowl, and have been all along. However, we won't know about McNabb until the game actually starts. Is he fully healthy? Will he be rusty? Can he adjust his game if he isn't 100% or is rusty? Will the Ewing Theory strike? On the other side, the Falcons impressed me against Green Bay. However, the Packers were clearly banged-up, and when breaks went Atlanta's way early, Favre became very predictable. So what's the pick? It will be a blowout. I think by Philly. But all I can say with any certainty is it won't be close.
EAGLES 34, Falcons 10
Sunday brings us the San Francisco 49ers at Tampa Bay, Bucs favored by 5. The Bucs are a pretty good team. Arguably the best defense in the league, very good passing game. However, their running game is highly suspect, and I don't trust Brad Johnson at QB. He certainly doesn't qualify as one of those QBs you never favor in the playoffs, but he doesn't seem reliable either. Plus, he's fragile, so we could be seeing one of his god-awful backups playing. While San Fran's defense is suspect enough that I don't feel comfortable picking them to win, their offense is potent enough to keep them in the game.
Bucs 20, 49ERS 17
Lastly we have the NY Jets at Oakland, Raiders favored by 5.5. The Jets played great down the stretch, and are legit. You can say the same about the Raiders, though. Oakland's offensive line is ridiculously good, while the Jets pass rush is excellent, so that will be interesting. Gannon is overrated as league MVP, but he is good. Pennington is a good young QB. The Raiders have more running options, but Martin is the best runner on the two teams. I really think this is going to be a great game and will go down to the wire. The Raiders bye week, home-field advantage and hall-of-fame receivers will win out.
Raiders 24, JETS 21
Maestro 6:44 PM