NFL Playoffs, Day One

SEEhawk you in the next round, Saints

The Saints will have to deal
with a hostile environment.
(Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

I really don't think anyone will be surprised by me, or anyone else for that matter, picking the Saints to win this game. The defending champs did not have the year everybody thought they would, but still finished with an 11-5 record. Quarterback Drew Brees had another incredible season for New Orleans piling up 4620 yards and 33 touchdowns. The running game was where the Saints really had to scrounge this season with Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas both getting injured early in the season. They relied heavily on rookie back out of Tiffin University, Chris Ivory, who actually managed to accumulate 716 yards and five touchdowns on the ground on just 137 attempts.

The Seahawks, on the other hand, have stumbled into the playoffs by default. I would say that they didn't win the most, but rather lost the least out of teams in the NFC West. However, despite their 7-9 record, the Seattle Seahawks are the NFC West champions and are now hosting the Saints in first week of the playoffs. Quarterback questions have plagued Seattle this season, mostly as of late, as they have had to switch between Matt Hasselbeck and Charlie Whitehurst. Whitehurst was the man to bring home the divisional banner last week against the Rams on NBC's Sunday Night Football with Hasselbeck out due to injuries. However, this week the Seahawks have decided to go with the slightly ailing Hasselbeck over Whitehurst to take on the Saints.

Dan Patrick said on his radio show this week that Seattle will either win this in a close game or get blown out and I must agree with him. Some little part of me says maybe Seattle will sneak up and surprise everybody by winning this game, but I am still going to choose the Saints. The Seahawks showed some small sparks this season and they are playing with the "12th Man" at Qwest Field, but I just don't think that is enough to take down such a dangerous Saints team. As much as I want to go with the demon on my shoulder saying "pick the Seahawks" I cannot give in to that temptation. The Saints are just too good and the Seahawks are just too bad. I'll stick with the defending champions in this one.

Saints 42 - Seahawks 17


*Game at 4:30 P.M. EST on NBC


Peyton still the MANning

Colts fans don't want to see interceptions.
(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

The Colts haven't exactly been the Colts of old this season. After 12 games it seemed that Indianapolis may have been missing out on the playoffs for the 2010-2011 season with a record of 6-6. But with the help of four straight wins by them and three straight losses by Jacksonville, the Colts wound up with yet another AFC South title. Quarterback Peyton Manning had back-to-back four-interception games during the 6-6 stretch, but was able to turn it around by only throwing two in the final four games of the season. The Colts' defense has been what we have come to expect them to be, in the middle of the pack in passing defense (13th in passing yards allowed) and very poor at stopping the run (25th in rushing yards allowed). The Colts have next to no rushing game as they are 29th in the league in rushing yards per game. Basically, the Colts live and die by how Peyton Manning plays as he has averaged 2.3 interceptions in their losses compared to just 0.3 in their wins.

On the other sideline, the Jets have not exactly lived up to their expectations put on them by the media but also by themselves. I discussed how their record is deceiving this season in my Week Fourteen post. I mentioned at the end that they needed to be careful in the final stretch of the season in which they had a big win against the Steelers, but almost missed out on the playoffs with losses to Miami and Chicago. The truth is, the Jets aren't the Jets that everyone wants them to be. Quarterback Mark Sanchez has not played well, only throwing for 3291 yards and 17 touchdowns with 13 interceptions and is still nursing a shoulder injury. The Jets have snuck by this season with a strong two-headed rushing attack in Shonn Greene and LaDanian Tomlinson and also their stellar defense (6th in passing yards allowed, 3rd in rushing yards allowed).

In this game, it is somewhat difficult to choose a winner. Both teams have been streaky this season. In the final five games, the Colts finished 4-1 while the Jets finished 2-3. In the middle of the season it looked as if the Jets were locked into the playoffs and the Colts were on the outside looking in. However, now with those final five-game records it seems that the tables have turned. The Colts are the ones riding the hot streak while the Jets are beginning to dip. I think that as long as Peyton Manning plays like Peyton Manning today, the Colts win this one. I do not think, however, that the Jets will go away quietly. This will be a close game, but in the end it is too difficult to go against Manning.

Colts 24 - Jets 20


*Game at 8:00 P.M. EST on NBC


p.s. Last week my record was 12-4 which left my regular season record at 130-86 (.602 winning percentage). Not bad. But much like in the NFL, my record is now 0-0. A new season begins today.

p.p.s. Tomorrow I will preview the Ravens-Chiefs and Packers-Eagles games.

p.p.p.s. I will remind you of my Super Bowl prediction from my first ever B+ Sports post. I still believe we will be seeing the Packers defeat the Colts on February 6.

p.p.p.p.s. I am going to try to write another post later today on my Phoenix Suns and their struggles and how to fix them.

p.p.p.p.p.s. Tomorrow I will be at the Ohio v. Miami basketball game, so I will try to write another post for that game along with my second round of playoff coverage tomorrow.

p.p.p.p.p.p.s. For more senseless babble, follow me on Twitter @Bradley_W_Parks.