Conference Round Playoff Picks

Conference Championship Round Picks Against the Spread (HOME teams in caps):
So did anyone on the planet go better than 2-2 either against the spread OR straight up last weekend? I mean if you went 2-0 Saturday (like yours truly) you had to feel pretty good that at worst you were going 3-1 for the weekend right? Can we put that Colts loss up there with the 2004 Yankees, the 1776 British and the 1066 Angols (for the record this was the last time the French won a war… several decades later they would anoint a 16 year old girl as the head of their army…wow) among the worst choke jobs in the history? How do you get every call, have your opponent lose their starting quarterback, the best tight end in the NFL, and a perennial MVP candidate running back, move the ball inside your opponents 35 twice in the last five minutes and still lose at home by four? Can we at least put the “Best Quarterback in the NFL” question to an end permanently? Is there any doubt that Tom Brady would’ve won that game? Another thing, if you’re Tony Dungy, how do you let Norv Turner of all people beat you at home with a backup QB and running back? You can’t retire with that being your last game. That would be like Joe Dumars trading Rip Hamilton, Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince to the Knicks for Stephon Marbury and Malik Rose and then immediately retiring. You’ve got to come back Tony… and that’s coming from a Patriots fan.

Barstool Quarterback Aggregate Positional Rankings will be in order of:
Offense Rank + Defense Rank + Special Teams + Coaching = Total (Rank)

Chargers (+14) over PATRIOTS:
And the top ten reasons why this line scares me are:
1. First and foremost, the Patriots haven’t shown that will they had to disembowel the opponent that they had the fist 10 weeks or so.
2. I know that nothing bothers the Pats, but this Moss thing worries me a little.
3. Vegas is terrified of the Pats and adjusts its’ spreads as such
4. LDT and Rivers will play, and even if they don’t, the drop-off to their back-ups is smaller than that of any other team. Turner is a starter on 10-12 other teams and while Volek could probably be a starter on 2-4 teams, Rivers could only be a starter on 4-6 teams.
5. The temps are going to be in the mid-twenties at game time and the wind chill will be in the low to mid-teens. That’s a good 20 degrees colder than last week’s Pats game. I can’t see the passing game being as prolific.
6. Rodney Harrison made some dumb penalties last week and he may be starting to lose his mind.
7. Packers v. Pats would be the NFL’s ideal match-up and I can’t remember the last time that happened.
8. Unlike the Jaguars, the Chargers can actually mount a pass rush.
9. Chris Chambers+Vincent Jackson > Ernest Wilford+Reggie Williams
10. You don’t win by two touchdowns or more without creating early turnovers, and the Pats back 8 has been ineffective the last couple months at doing that.

You’ll notice I don’t have Anthony Cromartie on the list. Cromartie was on the field for most of the first Pats v. Chargers game as a nickel back and he couldn’t shut down Donte Stallworth. You think he’s going to shut down Moss?
All that said; the Pats will win this game. Bill Belichick v. Norv Turner and Brady v. Phil Rivers/Volek, I mean come on, who you got? Pats 27-23.
BSQ APR:
Chargers: 4+4+4+12=24 (5)
PATRIOTS: 1+1+1+1=4 (1)

PACKERS (-7) over Giants:
I really looked for reasons to pick the upset here because the Packers terrify me as a Patriots fan. I just can’t see it. Of all the people in the NFL who could stop Brett Favre from reaching his destiny of winning in Super Bowl XLII, Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning (on the road) are probably somewhere in the bottom 10%. I mean they’re saying that game time temperatures are going to be in the low single digits with wind chill in the negative teens. I’m not saying that Eli is soft, but…well yes actually that’s exactly what I’m saying. Pack 31-3.
BSQ APR:
PACKERS: 5+1+6+5=17 (4)
Giants: 8+9+12+11=40 (12)