Well now, look who predicted every single game of round 1 correctly. That's right...this guy! OK...enough gloating. It really wasn't that big of a deal. Pretty much everyone had the same picks. Some of those games were much closer than expected, as well. Round 2 has four really intriguing matchups that should be much more entertaining and difficult to predict. I'll give it a shot, though...
Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers (The Maxwell Bowl) - Seattle started out a little slow last week in their Round 1 matchup against the Redskins, but then they broke the game open in the 4th quarter with 2 INT's that went for touchdowns. It was a good defensive matchup. Such is not the case this week when the Seahawks invade Green Bay. The Packers, led by the ageless Brett Favre, have a much better offense that Washington and I totally expect this game to quickly turn into a shootout between Favre and Matt Hasselbeck. Both teams have capable running games, but they have found their success this year by passing. The game could be decided by who turns over the ball more. People are saying the Packers and Favre are destined this year and maybe they are, but Seattle certainly won't make it easy for them. The home field advantage should have the Packers pumped up and Brett Favre will find a way to win. Score - Green Bay: 35 Seattle: 31.
Jacksonville Jaguars at New England Patriots - This is the game that everyone wanted to see this week (except maybe New England fans). The experts are saying that if anyone can beat the Patriots, it could be the Jaguars because the Jaguars strengths (the running game) match up with the Pats weaknesses (the run defense). While that may be true, I don't think it's going to be enough. The Jaguars didn't look as good last week as I thought they would. They were lucky to even win that game against Pittsburgh. The Steelers were able to throw on them all day. How in the heck do the Jags expect to stop Tom Brady and the Pats passing attack which is probably the greatest of all time? What will happen if they fall behind by 2 or more TD's? They will have to abandon the run and depend on David Gerrard to throw the ball. Who's going to take Gerrard over Brady in a shootout? Certainly not me. Score - New England: 28 Jacksonville: 21.
San Diego Chargers at Indianapolis Colts - Much like the Jaguars, the Chargers did not impress me last week against the Tennessee Titans. They didn't even have a lead until late in the 3rd quarter after getting shut out in the first half. Sure, the Colts defense isn't as good as the Titans, but their offense is 10 times better. Plus the possibility of the Chargers not having Antonio Gates for this game could be the final nail in the proverbial coffin. Without Gates, the Colts can focus all their attention on LaDainian Tomlinson. This will force Philip Rivers to throw, but to who? He hasn't really developed a great rapport with Chris Chambers, yet. They better get on the same page quickly if they want to win this game. Look for a lot of screen passes and dump-offs to LDT. It won't be enough though to keep up with the Colts, though. Score - Indianapolis: 31 San Diego: 20.
New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys - The Giants actually surprised me last week. Although I thought they would win, it didn't happen the way I thought it would. I expected a heavy dose of Brandon Jacobs wearing down the Tampa Bay Defense. Instead we had a balanced running attack with Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw to go along with an impressive passing attack led by Eli Manning (20-27 with 2 TD's and no INT's). Not too bad, G-Men. Now they face a much better team in the Dallas Cowboys, who they have already lost to this year...twice. I look for this matchup to be different, though. The Cowboys didn't finish the season on a high note and T.O. is not 100%. These two teams are fairly evenly matched, although Dallas has the advantage when healthy. If T.O. can't bring his A game, expect lots of throws to TE Jason Witten. The Giants need to duplicate their performance from last week if they want to pull off the upset. Look for a very physical game from both teams, and if that happens, I think the Giants gain the advantage and might shock some people. Score - New York: 24 Dallas: 23.
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