Smitter�s Wildcard Weekend Picks vs the spread
Last week:� 6-10�� Overall: 124-132�� 48.4%
FLG�s last week: 2-1�
FLG�s overall: 27-24�� 52.9%
The playoffs � time to make up for money lost during the
season. My regular season sucked, although my FLG�s were decent.
Tampa Bay (- 2 �) over Washington � Washington
is playing very good lately. It would seem to be tough to pick against them.
This is a very intriguing coaching battle between two coaches who have won
Super Bowls. Washington seems to have more firepower on offense, so it will be
up to the Buc�s defense to put Chris Simms in positions where he can excel. In
a low scoring affair, I�m going with the Bucs to win and cover.
Jacksonville (+ 7 �) over New England � New England
is on a roll. Jacksonville hasn�t had Leftwich at QB for about a month, and at
times they didn�t look too good at all. Leftwich figures to play this week, he
is listed as �Probable�. You have to figure he is rusty. The Patriot�s defense
has been on fire. Will Bruschi play or not? He is listed as �Questionable�, but
with New England, you never know what that means.� Even though everything seems to be in favor of New England,
including Jax playing up north in January, I still think they keep this game
close and win with the points.
Carolina (+ 2 �) over New York Giants � Carolina
is coming off a pasting of Atlanta that they needed to win. Ever since the
freaky loss to the Vikings and the loss to the Seahawks on all those missed FG�s,
it has seemed the Giants aren�t the same team that they were in the beginning
of the year. Eli hasn�t looked real good in a while. Against the Carolina
defense, Eli is going to have to make some plays. Jake Delhomme, while going to
his first Pro-Bowl, seems to be one of those QB�s who usually get the job done,
but get little recognition. Jake and Smith make a big play, and the Carolina
defense contains Tiki, and Carolina wins the game.
Pittsburgh (- 3 �) over Cincinnati � I hate
the fact that we have to wait til 4:30 on Sunday to watch this. There is
something about late games � maybe due to the fact that it breaks the normal
routine. That being said, I think the Bengals are in trouble. You can say all
you want that the reason you lost by 35 to KC is that �we were resting some
starters.� I don�t buy that. I think Cincy blew their load when they beat us
here. Carson Palmer is going to be running for his life in this one. And, not
to worry, if it comes down to the 4th quarter and the game is close,
which it won�t be, we all know what kind of QB Palmer is, as witnessed by his
toss at the end of the Bills game. Hey, Carson, you were wearing the fugly,
dark uniforms. Ike will do to Chad Johnson what he has done twice already. And,
someone will get hurt on the Bengals, whether it is Houza or the punk who took
the shot at Ben, someone from the Bengals will be carted off. On offense, it is
going to be the Ben and Willy Show. Willy will break a long one, and Ben will
throw for about 250. No turnovers for the Steelers and we romp.
My First Look Goodies (FLG) for the week are:
Tampa Bay (- 2 �) over Washington