Football Picks

Here are my NFL divisional playoff picks:

Carolina beats Arizona. I like Arizona's chances because Carolina generally plays well in the playoffs and it makes sense that they hiccup once. But I still think the Panthers are on the prowl and will pounce.

I like Baltimore against Tennessee only because the Titans have had so much rest. They remind me of several other teams who had brilliant turnaround seasons to secure the bye and then unfortunately lost (the Chicago Bears in 2005, the Denver Broncos in 1997, the Baltimore Ravens in 2006). I'm hoping Tennessee wins because I'd like to see them play Carolina in the Super Bowl but think Baltimore will pull out the victory and Tennessee will make a big run next year.

San Diego/Pittsburgh's a tough pick. The last time they met in the playoffs San Diego won but Pittsburgh has home field and defeated them during the regular season. The Chargers are hot but the Steelers have never cooled down. My pick's Pittsburgh in a very close game.

The Giants/Eagles game is tough to pick as well. Philadelphia's surging and New York struggled near the end of the season. In addition, Carolina has defeated both the Eagles and Philadelphia during the playoffs in recent years meaning a victory from either team will result in an exciting rematch (which oddly makes me think Arizona will win [Arizona in the Conference Finals would also be exciting]). I prefer the Giants/Panthers rematch only because it's more exciting to see last year's Super Bowl champion playing a team who beat them 23-0 on the road in 2006. So I'm picking the Giants.