NFL Wildcard Week Predictions

New Orleans over Seattle - I'm really going out on a limb with this pick, huh? Well, let's be honest. The Saints are a flawed team, but the one thing they can do is score points--and they will score many of them this weekend. Seattle is a bad football team. 7-9 may be good enough to win the NFC West, but it's not good enough to escape the opening round of the playoffs . . .

Indianapolis over New York - The Jets pass rush has been MIA all season, so there's no reason to believe it will emerge now. Mark Sanchez and company will score and keep pace with Manning into the fourth quarter, but at some point in the final minutes the Jets anemic pass rush will allow Manning to complete a long, clock-eating TD drive that seals the win for Indy . . .

Baltimore over Kansas City - This may be the most intriguing game of the weekend. Baltimore has won four in a row, but did not look impressive beating the Bengals at home last week 13-7. Kansas City is 7-1 at home this season, but that lone loss came last week when they were crushed by the Oakland Raiders 31-10. The Chiefs running game is ranked #1 in the NFL (164.2 yards per game). The Ravens run defense is ranked 5th in the NFL (93.9 yards per game). These two similarly matched teams should battle it out until the final seconds. We may even see an overtime game and the first appearance of the new OT rules. I'm going with the Ravens simply because of their playoff experience. They've been here before; most of the Chiefs have not . . .

Green Bay over Philadelphia - Philly finished the season 0-2. In the last six games Michael Vick has thrown six INTs, lost three fumbles, and has been sacked 19 times. Defensively the Eagles are ranked 21st in points allowed per game (23.6), and both their run and pass defenses are ranked 15th in yardage surrendered--110.4 (rush) and 216.8 (pass). Conversely, Green Bay has won four of their last five with the sole loss being to New England. And in that game, which was played in New England, the Packers lost by just four points despite being without starting QB Aaron Rodgers. Green Bay's defense ranks 5th in the NFL in points allowed per game (15), while its offense ranks 5th in passing yards (257.8 yards per game). The Eagles will hang around for a good share of the game, but no matter how well Vick plays--if he plays well--it will be difficult for Philly to overcome their deficiencies in the secondary . . .

Congratulations to Wade Phillips on being named the Houston Texans' def coordinator. Phillips appears to be a gentleman, and it is always refreshing to see a good man land on his feet. Although his stints as a head coach have not been successful, he has proven to be an excellent def coordinator. Let's hope that continues . . .

So I guess Jim Harbaugh is the latest flavor-of-the-month for NFL owners? . . .

The grass may be greener on the other side of the fence for some, but not for Miami and Dallas. Both have decided to stick with their current coaches. Miami keeps Tony Sparano, while Dallas removes the interim tag from Jason Garrett . . .

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