Playoff Picks Week 1: Rookie QB's Gone Wild

Playoffs???  Playoffs?

So the regular season has wound all the way down and the creme has risen to the top of the churn bucket that is the NFL.  Wild Card weekend features a marquee matchup of two rookie quarterbacks in Andy Dalton for the Bengals and TJ Yates for the Texans.  So here come the picks!

Game 1: Houston Texans vs. Cincinnati Bengals

I'm gonna go with the Bengals in this matchup.  I'm really hoping that Dalton can pull through for Cincy in this game, I'm not really too excited about this game and chances are neither team has much of a chance going further than this game so it'll be interesting to see how hard either team fights for this one.  It's the Texans' first playoff appearance in their 11 year run in the NFL so congrats to their stout defense but I'm not sure 3rd stringer Yates will be able to lead the Houston offense on any sort of memorable run in these playoffs.




Game 2:  Detroit Lions vs. New Orleans Saints

Former Super Bowl MVP Drew Brees looked pretty strong this season, throwing for over 5,400 yards and leading his Saints to a 13-3 record.  The Lions on the other hand have a big time QB of their own in Matthew Stafford who also put on an aerial showcase with over 5,000 yards himself.  The Superdome can be a dangerous place for visitors though, New Orleans is 8-0 at home this season including a 31-17 win over the Lions.






Game 3:  Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Denver Broncos

Tim Tebow's Broncos have limped into the playoffs losing their final three games of the season, but something makes me think their gonna pull this off.  I'm expecting a low scoring affair as Steelers' QB Big Ben Roethlisberger nurses general soreness and Rashard Mendenhall out for the season with knee problems.  Should be a close one and I'm hoping for a little Tebow magic in Mile High Sunday afternoon.







Game 4: Atlanta Falcons vs. New York Giants

The Giants took home the NFC East but I'm not 100% sure they can handle Matt Ryan and the Falcons this weekend.  The Falcons are hoping to repeat their playoff success of last season and I think they will be able to pull it off in New Jersey.  Eli Manning and the Giants are coming off back to back wins including eliminating the Cowboys in week 17; Atlanta also won last weekend at the Tampa Bay Bucs so both teams are looking to build off their end of season momentum, I'm laying it on the Falcons hard nosed D-fence and the vet Ryan to take the Falcons into the second round.







Recap:  I like the Bengals over the Texans in the battle of rookie QBs; Saints over the Lions in the Superdome; Tebow and the Broncos over Big Ben and the limping Steelers in a low scoring affair, and the Falcons winning on the road at the Giants.  Overall should be an interesting weekend of games and an interesting preamble to the battles to come in the next few weeks.

Lakers Continue To Slump In Rose Garden

iamatrailblazerfan.com

Behind Gerald Wallace's 31 and ferocious through the air attack, the Trail Blazers took down the hated Lakers on Thursday night 107-96.  "Crash" led the way with LaMarcus Aldridge and co doing damage control; the Lakers led by 2 at halftime but a fast paced high emotion third quarter put the Blazers out front and they made sure not to look back.  When asked about why his Lakers have such a hard time winning at the Rose Garden (6-24 since joining the team in 1996) Kobe Bryant simply replied, "It drives me crazy."

In the end it was their defense inadequacy that led to the Laker demise at the hands of the home team and with the win the Blazers are now 5-1, leading the Western Conference, going into their match up tonight against the Phoenix Suns.

Cousins Takes Home Lowe's Senior Class Award

Kirk Cousins leaves the field a winner--his Spartans took down the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2012 Outback Bowl on January 2nd--but he'll be remembered as much more than a leader on the field.  Off the field he served his community with vigor and took pride in the leadership role he assumed when Brian Hoyer left him the reigns in 2009.  Cousins is MSU's all-time leader in Passing Yards (9,131), Completions (723), Passing TDs (66), Passing Efficiency (146.1), 200 Yard Passing Games (26), and Total Offense (9,004); he also led his seniors to the most victories in school history.  His final two seasons will go down in Spartan history as some of the most successful, back to back 11 win seasons and capping it all off with their first bowl win in over a decade.

So congratulations to Kirk on all his success, it has been quite enjoyable watching him play and bringing the program into some prominence once again in the B1G and on the national level with his winning of the Lowe's Senior Class Award for Football 2012.

Blazers Update

GO TEAM!

The Portland Trail Blazers are off to an impressive start after their first week of play.  The Blazers are now 4-1 off their victory over the Thunder; their only loss in this young season was at Staples center to the Clippers.  LaMarcus Aldridge seems to be emerging as team leader in the absence of Brandon Roy, he's averaging 22 points per game and 7 rebounds; L.A. had a game high 30 Tuesday night.  Portland is fourth in the NBA in team scoring at 102 points/game, and second overall in rebounds/game with 47.2.  The NW division is shaping up to be tough down the stretch though with the Thunder and Nuggets both standing out early into the season.

All-Star voting has commenced, visit NBA.com to cast your ballot; Aldridge, Gerald Wallace, Raymond Felton, Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum, and Marcus Camby are all on the ticket this year for Portland.