Must admit that I was feeling pretty good about NFL playoff picks late Saturday night, when I capped off a 2-0 day when the Saints booted the Eagles after Indianapolis took care of Baltimore.
Yep, I was 2-0 and feeling fine after my picks on our podcast – NFLfree4all.
Then came Sunday’s games.
To refresh your memories, I had Seattle over Chicago in the early game and San Diego over New England in the nightcap.
Wrong, and wrong again.
Didn’t think da Bears could muster that much offense, but much-maligned QB Rex Grossman came through in the clutch. Enough “Rex Must Go To the Bench” talk, OK?
And I didn’t see New England coming, even though Tom Brady had done this a million times before. Strange, but if you watched that game and didn’t know the score, you’d swear San Diego was winning big. But there were the Patriots, hanging around at the end. And we’ve learned over the years that you can’t let Brady hang around or he’ll burn you. He burned the Chargers on Sunday, and then his teammates danced all over the field, which lit a fire under LT.
By the way, if that game is in New England and the Chargers won, you can’t tell me their players wouldn’t be dancing all over the Patriots’ field. So relax, LT.
OK, so we’re down to our final four. Personally, I’ve always enjoyed the conference championships more than the Super Bowl. Call me crazy, but that’s one heck of a day of great football.
How will things shake down? Read on:
New Orleans @ Chicago, 3 p.m. on FOX-TV: The Saints were my pick to represent the NFC from the start, so I’m taking New Orleans. No backing down now, right? Why the Saints? Drew Brees continues to amaze. Deuce is a heck of a back running between the tackles. You’ve never heard
of any of their wideouts, but they continue to produce. And they have Reggie Bush, who can pop one on any play. Man, how wicked was that hit he took against the Eagles? It was a like a car crash. But he bounced back and made a couple of big plays. I expect him to do the same Sunday in Chicago. I said before that I didn’t like Chicago as a No. 1 seed, and I think this is the week the Bears will crumble. No way Grossman can make all of those big plays again, right? Right? Right – take the Saints, 27-17.
New England @ Indianapolis, 6:30 p.m. on CBS-TV: I had San Diego going to the Super Bowl, and since the Chargers are out, I have to break down this game – and what a great game this should be. Manning against Brady. Belichick against Dungy. The NFL couldn’t have scripted anything better than this. Love them or hate them, the Patriots are back on the brink of going to yet another Super Bowl (I’ve lost count), but they’ll have to deal with Manning, Addai, Wayne and Harrison – and an inspired Colts’ defense, which wrecked Kansas City and held Baltimore to a pair of measly field goals. I wouldn’t be stunned if New England pulled one out in the closing seconds, but my heart says to take the Colts, who are almost unstoppable at home. Indy wins and Manning finally gets his team to the big one – 28-20.
Check back next week to see how I did, and be sure to stay tuned for my fearless Super Bowl prediction.
JEFFREY REINHART
