A look at the divisional round

San Diego at Pittsburgh
This could not be a bigger game for the Pittsburgh Steelers. I have no idea how I could even tell you that the San Diego Chargers could win this game. It is just full of destiny. If you look at the first time these two teams played each other, and if you remember at that time the Chargers defense was not really even that good, Ben Roethlisberger proved that he is a guy that has to play the perfect game. He is going to have to come out and take total control of this game. Their running game and their offensive line is not that good and should be completely exposed in this game when it comes down to winning at home. I am going to go with San Diego even without L.T. Gates is healthy and looking good and I really like Philip Rivers and what he has accomplished thus far, so I am choosing the Chargers on the road and picking against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It should be a good game, but San Diego is my team in this one.
Philadelphia at New York Giants
Boy, it does not get any better? This is a great NFC East matchup between two powerhouses. You look at Philly and you wonder to yourself how they made it into the playoffs. By playing solid football down the stretch; that’s how. The Giants on the other hand have been playing great football all season, but they do have a few blemishes. The key in this game is when you are in a tight situation in the playoffs, which guy are you going to go to? Who are your playmakers? I don’t see a Plaxico Burress there for them to throw the football to and I think that is going to hurt them tremendously. Their run game will definately have to step up. If you look at the Eagles defense against the run, you see that they like to blitz the run, blitz the pass and put the pressure on the quarterback and hope that he will make a mistake. Eli Manning is bad against the blitz and he will have to maintain his poise back there to have a shot at moving the ball down the field. The Eagles have to realize that the Giants are coming in looking exactly the same as last year, but I am taking the high team in this one and am picking the Philadelphia Eagles at the Giants to win this ball game.
A look back at Saturday's games
Arizona at Carolina
It is hard to pick against Carolina right now but I am not sure what the bye is going to do. Jake Delhomme is the wild card and I am not sure that Arizona can go on the road and play as good of run defense that they played at home. They will not have the crowd noise in their hand as well as not having any advantage to getting off the ball on the snap when the offense is on the field. I look for Carolina's defense to do a better job in the first half then they did in the first game by allowing Arizona to get a lead. Anquan Boldin is the question mark in this game. We have seen how Edgerrin James can play and man how good he has been looking. To be a good coach in this league, you have to find the guys who are going to help you win games and put them in. I think John Fox will do a better job at this and I see Carolina pulling this one out at home.
Baltimore at Tennessee
This should be a good game. We saw the preview of this game and how well this game was played. The thing is, Baltimore and their defense is intact, not to mention they really can get after it offensively. Joe Flacco has been finding ways to win without having to throw a lot and they have been running the ball well. I am a bit worried for Tennessee. I am worried for them because Kyle Vanden Bosch and Albert Haynesworth are banged up and we are still unsure if Kevin Mawae is going to play or not. So even though we all know that guys will get out there and play if they can during the playoffs, I still like Baltimore in this one. I think that their defense is playing at a level comparable to the 2001 level when they won the Super Bowl and I think this is going to be a really great game. I see it being very hard hitting and hardnosed and the coach that comes out of this game with the least amount of mistakes will no doubt win this ball game. I like Baltimore to win at Tennessee.
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