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[pmcd9]

Let's see who is the best pro football prognosticator. Who wants to play?  I'll go first

Wild Card Round is probably the easiest round to predict, but there are sometimes surprises.

Pittsburgh Vs. Miami
I predict Pittsburgh will win.

Oakland Vs. Houston
Had Derrick Carr not been hurt this would be a no brainer, but he's out and so is his backup. Houston has the top defense in the league. They will shut down Oakland.

Seattle Vs. Detroit
Seattle will win easily at home

Green Bay Vs. New York
This is a tough one, but the way Green Bay has played the last 6 weeks I'm not sure anyone can beat them.

[Carlos del Vaca]

We could probably set up a playoff pick-em game on Yahoo, if people were into that.

I'm with you on Pittsburgh, Seattle, and Green Bay, but I expect Oakland to pull it out. Houston's got QB woes as well.

[pmcd9]

Only one difference of opinion so far.

[pmcd9]

Okay, it looks like I got all of my predictions correct. Yay me! Now moving on to the next round, where the picking will be much tougher. Who will play this game with me?

Okay, here are my picks...

Houston vs. New England
Might as well get the easy one out of the way. New England will win, possibly in a landslide.

Seattle vs. Atlanta
I like Seattle and they are proven winners. The Falcons have a history of choking in the postseason. However, Matt Ryan is having an epic year and the Seahawks are not very good away from home. This one goes to Atlanta.

KC vs. Pittsburgh
Very tough call. I like both of these teams. Rothlesberger is one of the all time greats, but Alex Smith is no slouch. I don't think he gets his due as a player. Maybe that will change after this weekend. I'm going to pick the Chiefs.

Greenbay vs. Dallas
Two QB's having MVP years. Add in a running back that can't be stopped and homefield advantage and Dallas wins this one.

I just reallized I picked all home teams. For what it's worth, I would have picked New England even if the game were in  Houston.

[KeithHernandez]

I don't know enough to give reasons.

NE

Seattle

Pittsburgh

Dallas

[Carlos del Vaca]

Very tempting to go all chalk this round, but someone's going to lose at home. Probably KC.

[KeithHernandez]

It was so hard for me to pick Dallas!  But like, they are all new players I've never even seen play football.

And I'm right there with you, it's so much easier to hate teams and have vague good feelings for others than to actively like a team.

[pmcd9]

It was so hard for me to pick Dallas!

Yeah, me too. I'm sure I've bored you all with this before, but I think I am one of the only true loyal fans in existence because I still carry a torch for The Oilers. But they left me many years ago and all of my illusions about team loyalty went down the toilet. I was so shattered I didn't watch football at all for about a decade except for the Super Bowl. But it turns out I love the game and the broadcast are so awesome now with cameras everywhere and so much tech it's unbelievable*. Sometimes I go into a zone and I'm hardly even watching the game I'm just marveling at the technology. But I will never be a fan of any one team ever again. That's why I'm the only person I know in Houston who doesn't have their head in the clouds about the Texans. To the rest of the country, if the Texans were to win it would be a Shocker, one of the biggest upsets in NFL history. But most Texans fans think they have a fair shot at winning. So anyway, I don't have strong feelings toward any one team. I have my favorites, based almost entirely on how they play. Green Bay is probably my favorite team, because they are great on the field and the way their ownership is structured they are the only team that truly represents the city in which they play. Dallas is an exception for me, I've reserved the right to hate the Cowboys because it's the last vestige of my Oilers fandom. That is to say, hating the Cowboys is part and parcel of being an Oilers fan and it's all I have left. That and a crumbling edifice (the Astrodome) awaiting it's inevitable demolition. But daaaaang, The Cowboys are playing too good to ignore. They are a treat to watch. So I gotta pick 'em, but I won't be sad if they lose.

*Don't believe me go to NFL's YouTube page and search for full games. I watched a game a couple of weeks ago from 1982. first off let me say, I had for gotten just how awesome John Madden and Pat Summerall were. I'm watching the game and I kept expecting the reverse angle shot or the overhead shot or the pilon cam. Then I was like wait, where is the first down marker stripe? Where is the chyron telling me what down it was? I had forgotten how to keep track of the down in my head. Also, the time left on the play clock, or the game clock even. It was maddening for about a quarter. I wonder what it's like for a younger viewer who's never had to rely on their own mind to keep track of these things?

[KeithHernandez]

the day I got an HDTV the steelers and ravens were on Sunday night football.  Don't know year...2008-2010 probably.  Heath Miller damn near got decapitated.  In glorious hd!  I now watch football if it is on at my work or if it is OSU-OU and I am with my dad. 

This might make me a pansy (I don't know the appropriate way to say pussy.  Sorry if pansy is worse?)  I guess I'm okay with that.  I still vaguely follow it (deadspin, basically) so I'm not moralizing, just it ain't for me.

[KeithHernandez]

And yeah, I think Dallas seems like a fun team.

Then I remembered they were owned by jerry jones.  But then I thought...maybe I like jerry jones?  He just seems like a coked up drunk, or at least was when people hated him.  Hey!  I'm okay with that!  But it was too much, I didn't want to re-evaluate my opinion on the cowboys and upset the universe.  You were born to either hate or love the Yankees and cowboys, I was put in the hate group.  No ones fault, just the way the world works.

[Carlos del Vaca]

Modern problems: my company started blocking video ads on the network. So if you're trying to get to a video but the provider requires you to watch an ad first, you can't get to the video you actually want since the firewall blocks what's coming from the ad server.

Happening right now with nfl.com, in fact. I didn't watch the end of the KC-Pittsburgh game; was the holding penalty on the 2-point conversion legit?

I'm guessing yes. I know KC's tight end is pissed, but to suggest that the penalty was called because the refs either wanted Pittsburgh to win, or that one of them thought America REALLY WANTED TO SEE A PENALTY FLAG RIGHT NOW is freaking ridiculous. I'm sure that ref didn't want to call a penalty at all, but felt like he had to because rules.

[Carlos del Vaca]

Yeah, I'm the guy who obsessively watches line play. So much malicious nuance goes on in there it sucks me in.

It ain't pretty, but so much of the game is won and lost there. I remember reading something by SI's Dr. Z that he watches the line play first.

[Carlos del Vaca]

Oh, and how boring is this: the results guarantee that for the 13th time in 14 years, the AFC's starting Super Bowl QB will be Manning, Brady, or Roesthlisberger. Joe Flacco in 2013 is the only outlier.
Hell, you can go back two more years and get Brady one more time, plus Rich Gannon of all people.

I am actually rooting for the Atlanta Falcons at this point. What the HELL people.

[pmcd9]

I'm guessing yes. I know KC's tight end is pissed, but to suggest that the penalty was called because the refs either wanted Pittsburgh to win, or that one of them thought America REALLY WANTED TO SEE A PENALTY FLAG RIGHT NOW is freaking ridiculous. I'm sure that ref didn't want to call a penalty at all, but felt like he had to because rules.

You think that's nuts, listen to this theory put forth by my ding-a-ling of a roommate. In the Texans, Patriots game the Patriots came out in the second half and intentionally played poorly in their first offensive series. This was to lure the Texans into a false sense of security so they'd let their guard down. And that's what happened, apparently because after that first series Brady and the Pats steamrolled the Texans for the rest of the game. I don't know if this strategy was also responsible for Osweiler throwing 3 picks in the second half. Geez, what a maroon my roommate is!

[pmcd9]

Well, I was 2 for 2 in my predictions this weekend. I have to say though, both KC and Dallas took it to the limit. I can't find it, but I thought I said somewhere that Dallas has an awesome team, but the way Green Bay and Rogers are playing I don't think anyone can beat them. I should have listened to that advice. KC played tough and almost got it done, but one mistake at the end kept them from grabbing that brass ring.

Oh well, better luck this week.

Packers vs. Falcons
I'm gonna take my advice this week and pick the Pack.

Steelers vs. Patriots
I know it's popular to hate Tom Brady, but I have no personal feelings for him. I just know he's an incredibly great football player. In the conversation for best QB ever. Pats are going back to the Superbowl.