The NFL Playoffs Begin

The NFL Playoffs begin on Saturday with the Wild Card Round, and there are some interesting match-ups on tap.  The Grandstander looks ahead and makes some predictions, a much looked forward to annual tradition.  I am trying something different this year and am going to base my predictions largely on the quality of the quarterbacks in each game.  As always, watch, but don't bet.

Cincinnati Bengals vs.  Houston Texans

For the first three quarters of the season, the Texans were cruising along with an 11-1 record and a seeming lock for a first round bye, if not the #1 seed in the AFC.  Then, they turned into the Pittsburgh Pirates and lost three of their last four games, so welcome to the opening round, Texans.  The Bengals are in, and in fact clinched their berth in game 15 with a win over the Steelers, a game in which QB Andy Dalton was far from impressive, their offense didn't score a touchdown, and which featured some curious coaching decisions by Marvin Lewis (which were nullified by some equally curious decisions by Mike Tomlin, but I digress).  Matt Schaub would appear to be the superior QB in this match-up, and the Texans defense has been among the League's best through the season, so I will call for a TEXANS  win in this one.  

As a side note, the closest thing that I have to an "NFL Insider" tells me that Houston Coach Gary Kubiak is pretty much one of the biggest jagoffs  among all NFL coaches, so there is a reason to root for the Bengals, if you are looking for one.

Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers

Based on the QB's, Christian Ponder and Aaron Rogers, this appears to be an easy call for the Packers, except for the fact that Adrian Peterson has shredded the Packers for over 400 rushing yards in the teams' two games this season, including the final game last week, so that makes this one a bit tougher to forecast.  Still, I am going with Rogers and the home field advantage at the Frozen Tundra, and calling for a PACKERS victory.  But they better try to do a better job on Peterson than their previous efforts.

Indianapolis Colts vs. Baltimore Ravens

Has there been a better story in the NFL this season than the rise of the Indy Colts?  The 2-14 record last year, the glamour rookie QB Andrew Luck, the cancer stricken head coach, Chuck Pagano, the performance of the team under interim head coach Bruce Ariens (fired by Art Rooney II last season, need I remind you), to Pagano's return to the sidelines in the final week of an 11-5, wild card season?   At the beginning of the season, I picked the Ravens to meet the Packers in the Super Bowl, but now I'm not so sure about the Ravens.  The home field advantage for Baltimore could be big, especially against the Colts, the team Bob Irsay spirited away from Baltimore in the middle of the night all those years ago.  However, Baltimore did lose at home a few weeks back to a team led by Charlie Batch, for God's sake, and in an Andrew Luck/Joe Flaco match-up, I'm going to give the advantage to Luck, and call for a COLTS victory.

Seattle Seahawks vs. Washington Redskins

From a quarterback perspective, this may well be the most interesting game of the weekend. Russell Wilson and Robert Griffin III.  Certainly, at least in the eastern part of the country, all the Rookie QB Buzz has surrounded Luck and RG III, and they have certainly been deserving of it, but isolated up in the Pacific Northwest, Russell Wilson has put together a season every bit as good as Luck's and RG III's.  A Facebook friend of mine has been hyping Wilson and the Seahawks all season, and two Sunday nights ago, I made it a point to watch their game against the 49'ers, a game that Wilson and the Seahawks thoroughly dominated.  The Redskins, a really lousy team in 2011, certainly had a great season this year, largely due to Griffin's performance at QB, so this one could well be the best game of the weekend.  I am going with the road team in this one and calling it for the SEAHAWKS.

Oh, if you are looking for some historical perspective, NFL PLayoffs Predictions-wise, The Grandstander went 7-4 in 2012 and 6-5 in 2011.  In both seasons, I called the Super Bowl winner incorrectly.  

As I said at the beginning, watch, but don't bet.