NFL Divisional Playoff Predictions & Other Assorted Nonsense

• They did a poll on espn.com (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/index) that asked who would have a better pro career, LenDale White or Reggie Bush. Out of 219,000 votes, only 55% picked Bush, with 45% favoring White. So my takeaway of cuorse is that there are an awful lot of idiots out there. How could anyone think White will be better than Bush. White will have a good, productive career in the league, but Reggie Bush could have a hall of fame spot (see Stitzer's Take from yesterday for my stance on hall of fame entry) wrapped up after 5-6 years in the league. He has been compared to Walter Payton, Barry Sander, Gale Sayers, and Ladanian Tomlinson, and I have yet to hear anyone disagree with that potential.
• Carson Palmer's career could be in danger, according to his doctor. I am hopeful that is not the case, as the guy has turned himself into one of the three or four best QBs in the league, and is a class act at the same time.
• If Maurice Clarett and Marcus Vick had a love child, would that kid be in jail before or after his or her 8th birthday?
• Gary Bettman has never gotten respect from the public as a commissioner. I think he deserves some now as he a) crushed the player's union in the strike battle, b) has attendance booming, with something like 23 of the NHL's clubs slated to make money this year. Look for a new TV contract soon. This is stuff you expect to see from Stern. Seems like Bettman paid attention during his NBA tenure.
• By the way, I finally saw Wedding Crashers. Absolutely outstanding movie. If I was not in fact the last person in America to see this movie, I highly recommend renting it for some good laughs.
• Final reminder: remember to tune in to '24" for the two hour season premiere this Sunday Night at 8:00 pm on Fox.
• Go to Dave Kay's post under comments for a well-thought out response from my man Dave Bryla, an MSU grad and huge fan.
• Great news for Duke fans, it looks as if DeMarcus Nelson's new injury is not serious and he should be back in the lineup soon.

Now onto the NFL. As a special bonus, my picks and analysis are first, followed by Stitzer's below. As you will see, Mr. Stitzer and I agree on all sides but one and all three totals (I do not post opinion on Skins/Hawks total). That is 6 of 7 same opinions, very dangerous! So here are the Dils picks:

Washington at Seattle. Washington has won six in a row, including last week when they won despite having only 120 yeard of total offense. Seattle has been great all season. The Skins beat the 'Hawks 20-17 way back in Week 4 (October 2nd) when Seattle's Josh Brown clanged field goal off the upright when they had a chance to win in regulation. The key to the game for Washington is to be able to control the clock with ball control and to contain Shawn Alexander and make Hasselbeck beat them. I think this will be an ugly game, but I do not have the sense that Washington can do what they will need to do to win their third straight road game, 7th overall. Look for a close game at halftime that Seattle will pull away to win by 10-14 points.

New England at Denver. Everybody is on the New England bandwagon as the spread is just three in Vegas. Tom Brady is 10-0 in the playoffs, they are peaking now, especially defensively when they have gone to another level since Bruschi came back. On the flip side, Denver has not done anything in the playoffs since John Elway was taking snaps, and they have Jake Plummer. No matter how many straight passes that Porn Boy throws without tossing a pick during the regular season, he is still Jake Plummer, who is prone to imlpode when the pressure mounts. Belicheck has done a very good job this year holding this team together and having them playing well come playoff time. However, The Denver offense will be too much for the Pats. Denver's running game had success in their first match up against New England, a 28-20 win, and look to do so again this weekend. I think Brady will put some points on the Board, but Denver's defense led by Ian Gold is good enuogh to at least slow them down. Look for Denver to win fairly convincingly in a higher scoring game than the experts are expecting.

Pittsburgh at Indianapolis. Any way you look at this game, Indy is going to blow the Steelers out. Pittsburgh plays best when they get a lead and then run, run, and run some more. Indy is too potent offensively for this formula to work. People think Indianapolis may be rusty as they have not played an important game in over a month, plus the Tony Dungy personal tragedy lingers over the team. This "rust" did not hurt the Eagles last year, and I would be surprised if it hurts Indy this week. Their team, offense in particular, will be functioning on all cylinders. In addition, Pittsburgh is notorious under Cowher to lay it all on the table every week. That is a testament to what a good coach he is. The problem is that when playoff time hits, and other teams are putting it into another gear, Pittsburgh has nothing left. I think this will be another high scoring game, much higher than their 23-7 result several weeks back, with Indy winning easily, something like 38-21.

Carolina at Chicago. This is the game that I will get away from selecting the chalk. Carolina is playing much better football than it did through most of the regular season. Chicago has a similar style to Pittsburgh, in that they like to get a lead, thenn rely on their running game and defense. They key to this game is who gets out in front. I think whoever wins the game will be the team leading at halftime. I think Carolina has the edge because they have more experience in th eplayoffs, they know how to win on the road in the layoffs (they won at St. Louis and at Philly two years ago to get in the Super Bowl). Steve Smith and Nathan Vasher are the 'X' factors here. If Smith outscores Vasher and the Bears defense, Carolina will win something like 14-9 or 17-10.

And now here are the Stitzer picks:

For what its worth, here are my NFL opinions this week. After going 7-1 last week, 4-0 on sides and 3-1 on totals (lone loss was Over in Car/Nyg) there is certainly more room for me to fall than there is for me to climb - a very good problem to have. First and foremost, and please do not consider this "busting my arm by patting ourselves on the back," you should all think twice and maybe three times before wagering against a team that Dils and I agree on in the playoffs. But I wanted to get that out there: buyer beware when you are against the Dils/Nitz team - two of the biggest degenerates and best playoff handicappers you will find west of the Schuylkill and for me, west of the RIO GRANDE!

Wash @ Seattle: Skins are hot, have won 6 in a row. There offense was pathetic last week, which I attribute to a combination of poor Skin execution, good Buc defense, and Gibbs playing ultra-conservative with a lead. It goes without saying that 120 yards is not going to cut it against Seattle; 320 yards might not cut it against Seattle. Seattle is well rested, the Skins are now on the road for the 3rd straight week. The strength of the Skin D is their pass rush, which has been ferocious the last several weeks. The strength of the Seattle offense is running and short passes - the 2 best ways to negate a pass rush. Seattle gives up 13 points a game at home. Seattle scores 28 points a game at home. Do not think they get to 28, but I will also be surprised if the Skins crack 14. Pick is Seattle and the Under.

NE @ Den: Bellichick is a genius and Jake Plummer still stinks? Then why is Denver favored by 3/3.5? If this were any other #4 seed playing at Denver, the line would be 7. Since NE lost @ KC, they have gone 5-1, and in 4 of those games, held opponents to 0, 3, 3, & 7 points. You will hear the media wax poetic about how they "are clicking on all cylinders," "are now healthy on defense." Well, the week before they started this streak, the Chiefs buried them 26-16. NE gives up an average 23 points a game to teams with a +.500 record; 25 on the road. I hope everybody keeps betting NE so the spread gets to 2.5!! Pats are done. Mangini will be offered JETS hc job by Sunday night and probably take it for a day and the resign like his thieving, gutless current boss. Denver and the Over is the way to go here.

Pitt @ Indy: Solid job by Dils breaking this game down and breaking down the Steelers under Cowhrer - has there been a better regular season coach than Cowhrer over the past 14 years? Leave it to the NFL to once again act illogical when scheduling these games. Seattle is west of Denver, so it makes perfect sense to schedule the Seattle game first. But Sunday defies all logic. Chicago and Indy are basically the same longitude. Indy plays in a freaking dome, yet that is the early game? So now we have a night game, outdoors, in January? So it is ok to schedule games that lead up to the Super Bowl, at night, in cold weather, but you can only play the Super Bowl in warm weather or in domes? I see this game as a shootout. And you are not going to beat the Colts in Indy in a shootout. The Colts D will be geared up to stop the run, and they will for the most part, but a healthy BR will hit some plays downfield off play action. Indy, if they are really smart, will just throw, throw, and then throw some more. do not even bother to establish the run, just slip in a draw every now and then. Colts and the Over.

Car @ Chi: I got this game wrong during November, and I will not be fooled again. The Panthers looked great last week, which I greatly appreciate, because now the line is 3 instead of 5.5. The Panthers will not be able to run the ball, and that will have their passing game playing right into the teeth of the Bear defense. By the way, you cannot compare the points allowed from the past 5 years to points allowed of the 199s and prior because the new clock rules severely limit the # of possession during a game. Thus, lets cease all talk about the 2005 Bears D being as good as the 1985 Bears D - not even close. The Bears will hit just enough downfield pass plays to win the field position battle kick a couple of FGs, wait for the Delhomme big mistake, and win by 7-10. Bears and the Under are the pick.

Good luck, and remember, I have no idea what I am talking about, so please bet the other way so the spreads move in my favor (as if the line movement generated from this posting will amount to anything - sort of like Oscar Madison not wanting to give out the Madison/Unger pick to the 3 degenerates in OTB - I am sure 3 $5 win bets would have knocked the odds down on their horse)