Saturday, January 3, 2009

Wild Card Picks

Atlanta +1.5 at Arizona: Maybe this is the week Arizona gets rolling again, but I can't get past its horrendous finish. Matt Ryan has been solid all year, so I can't bet on him crapping the bed now.

Indy -1 at San Diego: I know Manning generally isn't as good against 3-4 defenses, but the Chargers couldn't stop the pass at all season. SD is lucky to even be here. Don't let last week's shellacking of a terrible Broncos defense sway you.

Baltimore -3 at Miami: Great match-up for the Ravens. They can be burned deep, but Pennington doesn't have the arm to exploit them. This is my pick of the week.

Minnesota +3 vs. Philly: I'm picking Minnesota if only because I can't force myself to pick every road team. Yes, it's difficult to pick Tarvaris Jackson over Donovan McNabb, but the Metrodome is one of the toughest places to play in football. Plus, Adrian Peterson is an absolute force of nature and might touch it 30 times or more. I changed my mind on this pick about 30 times.

Season record: 2-4

(See, this is why I don't actually gamble.)