It was a fitting end to the weekend, really. The one game I dismissed as probably being the biggest blowout turned out to be the closest of any in the first round. The one game I probably could have cared less about ended up being the only one I was really able to watch in its entirety. And, of course, because I (like everyone else) picked the Steelers, it ended up being the only game I got wrong last weekend.
As I've mentioned, I did not participate any confidence pools, and thus, didn't feel inclined to weekly picks this season. So last weekend marked my first bit of predicting since the beginning of the season when I made my stabs at where everybody would finish.
That bit of business, by the way, was an improvement from the miserable performance of 2010. This year, I had 13 of the 32 teams in their correct spots, correctly predicting the finishes of every team in two divisions (AFC East and NFC North), got half the teams right in one division (NFC South), only had one right in three others (AFC South, AFC West and NFC West) and drew blanks on the two remaining divisions (AFC North and NFC East). I had seven of the 12 playoff teams right, two overall seeds correct and three of my four predicted participants in next weekend's Championship games.
And two of those three are also my Super Bowl teams, so I guess that probably gives away two of my picks this weekend ... assuming I'm staying with that original prediction, of course.
I know that last year (at least I think it was last year) I began embedding a table with the other experts' picks, but sorry, I already sacrificed that this year and am hoping you can simply be satisfied with the usual standings instead. Maybe the fancy graphics will return next year. But for now, here's how everybody else and I did on predicting last weekend:
1. Clark Judge, CBS Sports: 3-1
1. Dave Richard, CBS Sports: 3-1
1. Mark Schlereth, ESPN: 3-1
1. YOURS TRULY: 3-1
5. Eric Allen, ESPN: 2-2
5. Les Carpenter, Yahoo: 2-2
5. Mike Freeman, CBS Sports: 2-2
5. Mike Golic, ESPN: 2-2
5. Merrill Hoge, ESPN: 2-2
5. Ron Jaworski, ESPN: 2-2
5. Adam Schefter, ESPN: 2-2
5. Michael Silver, Yahoo: 2-2
13. Will Brinson, CBS Sports: 1-3
13. Jason Cole, Yahoo: 1-3
13. Chris Mortensen, ESPN: 1-3
13. Pete Prisco, CBS Sports: 1-3
13. Seth Wickersham, ESPN: 1-3
If you're interested to see what these guys have for the games coming up this weekend, you can find each group of picks here, here and here. As for my own picks:
I guess I'm not a convert yet. But keeping in mind that the Pats were my pick to win it all this year (risky, I know ... just like the last time two years ago and probably more than a couple other years right before that) and rather quietly came away with the top seed in the conference, I think the mystical Tebow ride for Denver ends here. Seriously. If the Pats blow this, I swear I will not be posting next week saying that I thought about picking the Broncos. Because I didn't. These two teams met earlier this year and it was a laugher in which the Denver QB stopped winning and started fumbling. I expect New England's offense to get off to a fast start and this one to never really be in doubt.
As long as I'm making note of picks in years past, I should also note that I had the Ravens and the Giants making it to the Super Bowl last year. The Ravens came on strong this year, making it a point to sweep Pittsburgh and securing a home playoff game for the first time in ... I don't know. I heard it had been a while. So the Ravens defense gets a Houston third-string QB that makes this Bears fan fume, because it illustrates how a competent front office can have backup plans in place that still allow them to be a competitive team. At least this year Gary Kubiak isn't going to have to worry about his job status going into the off-season.
New Orleans Saints (14-3) over San Francisco 49ers (13-3)
I suppose the one thing that I'm thinking might be most likely to cause me to change my Super Bowl pick would be the idea of going with the Saints to beat the Patriots instead of lose to them. Sean Payton and Drew Brees have developed that offense into an almost sadistic precision attack that just seems to score at will. The defense of the Niners will present perhaps the toughest test this Saints offense is likely to see throughout their postseason run. Where the game will really be won, I think, will be what the oftentimes lackluster New Orleans defense is able to do against a just as frequently underwhelming San Francisco offense. Turnovers will be huge, but I expect the Saints to pull it out.
New York Giants (9-8) over Green Bay Packers (15-1)
I'm guilty of being among those who recall the Championship game these two teams had four years ago (got that one right, BTW), or also saw the similarities in how that Giants team that lost a close 38-35 game to the then-undefeated Patriots went on to stun in them in the biggest Super Bowl upset of all time. This year's Giants nearly knocked off the Pack during the regular season, but fell 38-35. This Green Bay team is obviously superior to that Green Bay team four years ago, but what to make of these Giants? You will hear more about my admiration of Victor Cruz later in future blog posts, rest assured, and the Packers know their defense really needs to step it up. And while Green Bay is averaging something like 40+ points a game this year or the past whatever number of weeks, New York's defensive line had been nothing to scoff at. I suppose the Pack will be getting healthy at just the right time, but I feel like there will have to be one upset this weekend. And I can't tell you how it will happen exactly, but I'm going to guess it has something to do with fumbles and maybe a fluky interception (or two).
NOTE: BRACKETS FOR GRAPHIC TAKEN WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THIS BALTIMORE SUN IMAGE
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