Hey everyone,
Now that the 2005 holiday season is over and life is getting back to normal, I should be able to post more often...hopefully. I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmahanukwanzika and a Happy New Year.
Many things have happened in the sports world since my last post. After the Bruins traded away their best player, they still suck...go figure. The Celtics aren't that much better, but at least they have potential. The Red Sox seem to be falling apart at the seams. They lost their GM. They traded away Edgar Renteria for Atlanta's top prospect. They lost arguably the best leadoff man in the game in Johnny Damon to the hated Yankees who could now have the best lineup ever assembled. On top of that, they are potentially being forced to trade away Manny Ramierez. Ugh...maybe they could trade him to the Yankees for some new bats and a bag of used balls. That's the only way things could get worse. So...onto the one thing that remains constant in New England sports...the Patriots!
Once again, the New England Patriots have won the AFC East and are in the playoffs to go after their 3rd Super Bowl victory in a row and 4th in 5 years. Although I am a Dolphins fan, I still root for the Pats when Miami is out of the running. The playoffs begin this Saturday, so here's the rundown of who's playing and my predictions for each game.
Wild Card Round:
Saturday, January 7th
(#6) Washington Redskins at (#3) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-2.5) - This is a rematch of a classic battle these two teams had earlier in the year in which the Bucs squeaked out 1 point victory at home 36-35. I see this game being a little more defensive than that, but the Bucs still come out on top behind Offensive Rookie of the Year RB Carnell Williams. TB - 17 WAS - 14
(#5) Jacksonville Jaguars at (#4) New England Patriots (-8) - The Jaguars are in the playoffs because they benefited from one of the easiest schedules in the league. That doesn't mean the Pats should overlook them though. Bill Belichick could be the greatest coach of all time and he will have his team ready for this game. The Pats will win big at home. NE - 35 JAC - 10
Sunday January 8th
(#5) Carolina Panthers at (#4) New York Giants (-2.5) - A great matchup of two very similar teams. They both like to run the ball a lot but still go for some big pass plays throughout the game. I see the winner of this game being whoever wins the turnover battle. Right now, NYG QB Eli Manning is not playing his best football and loses his first playoff game. CAR 24 NYG 20
(#6) Pittsburgh Steelers (-3) at (#3) Cincinnati Bengals - Another great matchup of division rivals. Earlier in the year, Pittsburgh won in Cincy. Then in Week 13, the Bengals went into Pittsburgh and came out victorious. Pittsburgh is on a 4 game win streak, while Cincinnati is on a 2 game losing streak, which is probably why the Steelers are favored by 3 on the road. For Cincy to win, their Defense needs to step up and shut down the Steelers run game. I am very interested in this game, as it could go either way, but I'll give the edge to the home team in a mild upset. CIN 28 PIT 27
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