NY Jets +8½ over PITTSBURGH<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com
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Seems every playoff game this post-season features two teams that faced each other during the regular season. This one is no different and while we should be cautious when putting too much weight to previous contests, there are factors to take away from each one. In Week 14, the Steelers defeated the Jets on this very field by a 17-6 count. Pittsburgh played soundly and was deserving of the win but the score was not exactly indicative of the play. That one stood at 10-6 with less than four minutes to play before the Steelers put it away. However, rookie sensation Ben Roethlisberger was only 9 of 19 for 144 yards and the only touchdown pass of the game came off the arm of running back Jerome Bettis. Roethlisberger was also picked twice in that game. In addition, the Jets actually out-gained the Steelers by a 296-262 count. Of course, this is a different day and both arrive here under different circumstances. Pittsburgh earned the right to have a week off by winning the AFC and they should be well rested. The Jets are here for a second post-season road game after an impressive win in San Diego. While the Steelers are deserving of this billing, we consider the points being offered as substantial ones. Big Ben is still a rookie quarterback being asked to spot more than a touchdown. The league caught up to the youngster in the final weeks of the season as Pittsburgh relied more on its defense than the arm of Roethlisberger, who threw five interceptions in his last three starts. The Jets make few mistakes (+17 in turnover ratio) and can hang around here with their solid defense. Another low-scoring affair gets us the cover here. Play: NY Jets +8 ½ (Risking 1.65 units to win 1.5).<o></o>
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St. Louis +7 over ATLANTA<o></o>
Perhaps the wrong quarterback is getting all the pre-game hype here. Because of Michael Vick’s diversity as a runner and a thrower, he has established himself as one of the league’s more exciting players to watch. Taking nothing away from him, he is a great talent that’s fun to watch. However, being a scrambler and then a thrower is not necessarily a recipe for success in this league. Over the past few seasons, the pocket-passing prototypes are wearing Super Bowl rings, i.e., Tom Brady, Brad Johnston and Kurt Warner. The Rams’ Marc Bulger fits that mold. Bulger was plagued by injury for part of the year but appears to be good to go now. In Bulger’s previous two games, he has thrown for 763 yards and five touchdowns with the bulk of those stats occurring against a solid Jets defense. Granted, it’s never easy getting excited over the Rams. They can look as good as any at times but can also have you pulling your hair out on any given Sunday. If they are to win here, they’ll need to slow Atlanta’s running game. The best way to accomplish that could be by getting a lead and forcing the Falcons to play catch up through the air. With the Rams playing on an indoor fast track with their potent passing attack that can easily happen. We don’t quite trust this Atlanta team whose 14th ranked defense is somewhat slighted by playing in the weak NFC. This is a big number for a team that has not had much playoff experience and for one that has failed miserably as a favorite with the Falcons having just three covers in past 10 tries when spotting points. Play: St. Louis +7 (Risking 1.65 units to win 1.5).<o></o>
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PHILADELPHIA –8½ over Minnesota<o></o>
Funny how fickle we can be when it comes to football teams. Before last week’s game against the Packers, you couldn’t find support for the Vikings with counterfeit money. After dismantling Green Bay, in the cold confines of Lambeau Field, rumblings are being heard about the Vikes being a sleeper team. Let’s get a grip, shall we? A group of the popcorn vendors could have penetrated the Green Bay defense. That was a horrible unit that failed miserably all season long and stood little chance against a decent Minnesota offense. The Eagles are a huge step up. Everyone has been focused on Philadelphia’s recent loss of Terrell Owens and rightfully so. He helped elevate the Eagles into a legit contender and his absence will be felt. But Owens does not play defense and the Vikings will not have their way here like they did last week. Philadelphia’s defense is a formidable bunch that can slow down the Vikes. The Minny running game has been suspect at best with an array of running backs being inserted in and out of the lineup. We all know the capabilities of Minnesota’s passing game but with Randy Moss on a wonky ankle, it is significantly negated. We saw Minnesota lose four of its final five regular season games to teams much weaker than this opponent. There is some concern about Philly’s mindset. They lost Owens and then went into preventive maintenance mode for the remainder of their schedule, having secured home field for the playoffs. But we’re not concerned. In fact, it actually helps here as Andy Reid lays over Mike Tice and Reid has had ample time to prepare his troops for a strong playoff run in a weak conference. The Vikings are lucky to have gone this far but the ride stops here. Play: Philadelphia –8½ (Risking 1.65 units to win 1.5). <o></o>
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NEW ENGLAND –1½ over Indianapolis
One almost has to feel sorry for the Patriots. Here’s a team that has won two of the past three Super Bowls, has won 19 straight home games and lost only two games this entire season. Even so, all we hear about are the Colts and their prolific ways. It’s understandable. Here in North America, we are a society that enjoys offense and no team provides it better than this Indianapolis bunch. However, it rarely gets you a trophy. The Colts can attest to that and one of their biggest stumbling blocks in pursuing football’s Holy Grail, have been these very same Patriots. New England has owned this team with five straight victories, including three on this field with one occurring on opening week. So why will this day be any different? Some may point out that New England is suffering severely on defense with the loss of Ty Law and possibly Richard Seymour. There is merit to that argument. However, have we all forgotten how vulnerable the Indianapolis defense is? Not to worry because Tom Brady hasn’t. Nor has offensive coordinator Charlie Weiss and both will take full advantage against the Colts 29th ranked defense. This is perhaps the best offensive unit the Pats have had over their current run. In the previous game against Indy, Brady and the Pats actually threw for 320 yards compared to Peyton Manning’s 244. Running back Corey Dillon did not start that day but still managed 86 yards on 15 carries. Dillon will be a key factor on this day as the always savvy Bill Belichick knows that he must control the tempo and can do so with the skills of Dillon. The Colts could be ready to turn a corner. However, we get the 14-2 champions spotting a small number on a field that they have not lost on since the 2002 season. That works for us. Play: New England –1½ (Risking 1.65 units to win 1.5).
fficeffice" /><o></o>Seems every playoff game this post-season features two teams that faced each other during the regular season. This one is no different and while we should be cautious when putting too much weight to previous contests, there are factors to take away from each one. In Week 14, the Steelers defeated the Jets on this very field by a 17-6 count. Pittsburgh played soundly and was deserving of the win but the score was not exactly indicative of the play. That one stood at 10-6 with less than four minutes to play before the Steelers put it away. However, rookie sensation Ben Roethlisberger was only 9 of 19 for 144 yards and the only touchdown pass of the game came off the arm of running back Jerome Bettis. Roethlisberger was also picked twice in that game. In addition, the Jets actually out-gained the Steelers by a 296-262 count. Of course, this is a different day and both arrive here under different circumstances. Pittsburgh earned the right to have a week off by winning the AFC and they should be well rested. The Jets are here for a second post-season road game after an impressive win in San Diego. While the Steelers are deserving of this billing, we consider the points being offered as substantial ones. Big Ben is still a rookie quarterback being asked to spot more than a touchdown. The league caught up to the youngster in the final weeks of the season as Pittsburgh relied more on its defense than the arm of Roethlisberger, who threw five interceptions in his last three starts. The Jets make few mistakes (+17 in turnover ratio) and can hang around here with their solid defense. Another low-scoring affair gets us the cover here. Play: NY Jets +8 ½ (Risking 1.65 units to win 1.5).<o
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></o>St. Louis +7 over ATLANTA<o
></o>Perhaps the wrong quarterback is getting all the pre-game hype here. Because of Michael Vick’s diversity as a runner and a thrower, he has established himself as one of the league’s more exciting players to watch. Taking nothing away from him, he is a great talent that’s fun to watch. However, being a scrambler and then a thrower is not necessarily a recipe for success in this league. Over the past few seasons, the pocket-passing prototypes are wearing Super Bowl rings, i.e., Tom Brady, Brad Johnston and Kurt Warner. The Rams’ Marc Bulger fits that mold. Bulger was plagued by injury for part of the year but appears to be good to go now. In Bulger’s previous two games, he has thrown for 763 yards and five touchdowns with the bulk of those stats occurring against a solid Jets defense. Granted, it’s never easy getting excited over the Rams. They can look as good as any at times but can also have you pulling your hair out on any given Sunday. If they are to win here, they’ll need to slow Atlanta’s running game. The best way to accomplish that could be by getting a lead and forcing the Falcons to play catch up through the air. With the Rams playing on an indoor fast track with their potent passing attack that can easily happen. We don’t quite trust this Atlanta team whose 14th ranked defense is somewhat slighted by playing in the weak NFC. This is a big number for a team that has not had much playoff experience and for one that has failed miserably as a favorite with the Falcons having just three covers in past 10 tries when spotting points. Play: St. Louis +7 (Risking 1.65 units to win 1.5).<o
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></o>PHILADELPHIA –8½ over Minnesota<o
></o>Funny how fickle we can be when it comes to football teams. Before last week’s game against the Packers, you couldn’t find support for the Vikings with counterfeit money. After dismantling Green Bay, in the cold confines of Lambeau Field, rumblings are being heard about the Vikes being a sleeper team. Let’s get a grip, shall we? A group of the popcorn vendors could have penetrated the Green Bay defense. That was a horrible unit that failed miserably all season long and stood little chance against a decent Minnesota offense. The Eagles are a huge step up. Everyone has been focused on Philadelphia’s recent loss of Terrell Owens and rightfully so. He helped elevate the Eagles into a legit contender and his absence will be felt. But Owens does not play defense and the Vikings will not have their way here like they did last week. Philadelphia’s defense is a formidable bunch that can slow down the Vikes. The Minny running game has been suspect at best with an array of running backs being inserted in and out of the lineup. We all know the capabilities of Minnesota’s passing game but with Randy Moss on a wonky ankle, it is significantly negated. We saw Minnesota lose four of its final five regular season games to teams much weaker than this opponent. There is some concern about Philly’s mindset. They lost Owens and then went into preventive maintenance mode for the remainder of their schedule, having secured home field for the playoffs. But we’re not concerned. In fact, it actually helps here as Andy Reid lays over Mike Tice and Reid has had ample time to prepare his troops for a strong playoff run in a weak conference. The Vikings are lucky to have gone this far but the ride stops here. Play: Philadelphia –8½ (Risking 1.65 units to win 1.5). <o
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></o>NEW ENGLAND –1½ over Indianapolis
One almost has to feel sorry for the Patriots. Here’s a team that has won two of the past three Super Bowls, has won 19 straight home games and lost only two games this entire season. Even so, all we hear about are the Colts and their prolific ways. It’s understandable. Here in North America, we are a society that enjoys offense and no team provides it better than this Indianapolis bunch. However, it rarely gets you a trophy. The Colts can attest to that and one of their biggest stumbling blocks in pursuing football’s Holy Grail, have been these very same Patriots. New England has owned this team with five straight victories, including three on this field with one occurring on opening week. So why will this day be any different? Some may point out that New England is suffering severely on defense with the loss of Ty Law and possibly Richard Seymour. There is merit to that argument. However, have we all forgotten how vulnerable the Indianapolis defense is? Not to worry because Tom Brady hasn’t. Nor has offensive coordinator Charlie Weiss and both will take full advantage against the Colts 29th ranked defense. This is perhaps the best offensive unit the Pats have had over their current run. In the previous game against Indy, Brady and the Pats actually threw for 320 yards compared to Peyton Manning’s 244. Running back Corey Dillon did not start that day but still managed 86 yards on 15 carries. Dillon will be a key factor on this day as the always savvy Bill Belichick knows that he must control the tempo and can do so with the skills of Dillon. The Colts could be ready to turn a corner. However, we get the 14-2 champions spotting a small number on a field that they have not lost on since the 2002 season. That works for us. Play: New England –1½ (Risking 1.65 units to win 1.5).
PATRIOTS.....REDSOX wherever you turn a happy face in our land.:howdy: 
