DTTWSB NFL Wild-Card Week Picks

The moment we have all been waiting for, the playoffs are finally here! Now it's truly do or die for all NFL teams. The playoffs separates the men from the boys in my opinion. It separates contender from pretender. In the last week of the season I went 11-5 with my picks which brought my final regular season record to 158-98. That has me in a tie for third in comparison to the ESPN NFL experts. Now the regular season is over, I'm looking to go perfect in the playoffs by carefully analyzing each game. Here we go with my Wild-Card weekend picks!

Saints at Seahawks: Saints

All the pressure in the world will be on the Saints up until kickoff when it comes to this game. If they can jump on Seattle quickly that pressure would definitely shift to the Seahawks. That's what I think is going to happen. I'm hoping for a good game but I having a hard time seeing how it will be close. The Saints have a better offense and defense, better quarterback and better head coach. The only thing the Seahawks have on their side is the 12th man and the possibilty of inclement weather. What people are forgetting is that fans and weather don't win games, players and coaches do. I like the Saints to advance.

Jets at Colts: Jets

In the Saturday night game we have a rematch of last year's AFC Championship game. It's going to be the ultimate chess match when the Colts offense and Jets defense are on the field. I cannot wait to see what Jets head coach Rex Ryan has in store for Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. Although that's going to be highly entertaining, everyone seems to forget that the Colts defense has to attempt to stop the Jets offense. The Jets are coming with a great running game and big play ability in the passing game. That combination is dangerous in the playoffs. The Jets are also feeling a bit disrespected that very few are picking them to win. A team playing with something to prove this time of the year is deadly.

Ravens at Chiefs: Ravens

Like the Seahawks, it's going to be hard for the Chiefs to pull off the upset. They're just facing a team that is superior to them in my opinion. The easiest way to beat the Chiefs is to stop the run and that's exactly what the Ravens do best. I could see Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel having to put the ball up 35 to 40 times to try and get back into the game and that's a recipe for disaster when Ravens safety Ed Reed will be lurking. Baltimore's offense should be able to move the ball down the field on the Chiefs defense. If the Ravens can finish those drives with touchdowns instead of field goals there is no reason why they shouldn't have this game in the bag by the start of the 4th quarter.

Packers at Eagles: Eagles

In my opinion this is the Wild-Card week game of the week. These two teams are evenly matched, and some people will even tell you that they're the two best teams in the entire NFC. In Week 1 these teams played each other but that was when Kevin Kolb was starting for the Eagles at quarterback. You have to believe that things will be different when Michael Vick is starting this Sunday. It will be intriguing to see the type of things the Packers defense tries to do to stop Vick. That zone blitz schem will slow him down at times, but at the end of the day I think Vick and the Eagles will come out on top. They have too many weapons offensively. Right now the Packers are hot but they have a very questionable running game. Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is going to have to play a flawless game for them to win. This will be a close one that might even go to overtime. My gut is just telling me to take the Eagles in this one.