The Blog is Back with Wildcard Weekend Picks!

Happy New Year everyone! The Blog is back after an extended layoff and I am excited about getting back into the swing of things. Next week I will launch the full comeback, including thoughts on a ton of subjects that have gone down over the past month or so including the Pirates offseason, Sidney Crosby’s status, the Pitt coaching debacle and subsequent hire, Penn State’s new coach and the struggle that has been the Pitt basketball season so far. In addition, we will soon be up and running with a new Facebook page and twitter account. I will have plenty of details about those in the coming weeks on the blog, but today is all about the NFL playoffs!

It is every gamblers goal to have a perfect NFL postseason, 11-0 against the spread. I accomplished this during the Steelers 2005 Super Bowl run and just like a NFL quarterback will tell you, the first one only makes you want the second one that much more. With that, let’s dive into the Wildcard weekend games:

HOME TEAM IN CAPS

Cincinnati (+3) over HOUSTON– It’s usually easy money betting against a rookie quarterback in the playoffs but what do you do when both teams are starting a rookie?!? I think that answer is pretty simple, take the guy who has started all year long and hasn’t totally sucked in the past three weeks. T.J. Yates started out playing well for the Texans but was so bad in his past three games that Texans fans seriously debated if Jake Delhomme should be starting this week. If Andre Johnson were completely healthy I may be singing a different tune but Johnson has been a near non-factor since week 4. The Bengals may not win this one outright but I think it’s coming down to the last possession. Take the points and run. Bengals 23 – Texans 21 on a last second field goal.

Detroit (+11) over NEW ORLEANS – The Saints won their previously meeting in New Orleans by 14 but were only leading by 7 in the fourth quarter and the Lions played that game without their madman, Ndamukong Suh. Can the Lions stop the Saints? Of course not, but I think they can slow them down just enough to keep this one interesting. Saints 37 – Lions 27.

NEW YORK (-3) over Atlanta – The Giants are the sleeping giant of the 2012 playoffs. Their Super Bowl winning QB is playing some of the best football of his career, they have very underrated WRs on offense, can get after the passer on defense and have the right mixture of experience and youth that serves well in the playoffs. The Falcons, meanwhile, are pretty much the same team that has been one and done in the playoffs the past two years. I like Matty Ice as a quarterback, I really do. His consistency makes him a guy that can get your team to the playoffs year in and year out. Unfortunately for Falcons fans, that’s about the extent of his talent. Giants 31 – Falcons 20.

Pittsburgh (-9) over DENVER – Despite the loss of Rashard Mendenhall, despite the absence of Maurkice Pouncey and Ryan Clark and despite Ben Roethlisberger hobbling around on one ankle, I don’t see how the Broncos keep this one close without a couple of those “how in the world did that happen” plays that are all too familiar in the NFL. Personally, I love what the Broncos have done with Tebow and their offense over the final 11 games of the season. Can Tebow succeed long-term? I’m not sure yet, he does need to improve as a passer but he is not all that far away from being an extremely dangerous dual-threat quarterback. The question long-term in my opinion will be his ability to stay healthy. But he is not there yet and this week the Broncos could be in big trouble on offense. Steelers 27 – Broncos 6.