Well, I got one of two right yesterday. The Cowboys played exactly the way I thought they would, while Jets rookie QB Mark Sanchez played absolutely nothing like I thought he would. (He played like I thought Bengals veteran QB Carson Palmer would play, and vice versa).
In thrashing the Eagles 34-14, the Cowboys looked like a good team with a great defense and 53 guys who were sick and @#$%$ tired of having their recent playoff woes thrown in their faces. Now the trick is to maintain that feeling and bring it to the Metrodome on Sunday.
In the first game in Cincinnati, Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer played the way I thought Sanchez would. Palmer looked nervous and unsure as his passes sailed high and off target way too often.
I figured the Bengals would struggle to stop the run, which they did. I figured the Bengals would run the ball better than they did the week before against the Jets, which they did. I figured Palmer would act like a veteran quarterback, which he didn't. I figured the Bengals would play like the home team, which they didn't in booting the ball around for a minus-2 turnover ratio. And I figured Sanchez would blow the game, which he obviously didn't in completing 12 of 15 passes with no turnovers and a touchdown.
Today, I'm like a lot of people in thinking the Patriots and Packers will win. I picked the Patriots to beat the visting Ravens by seven, and the Packers to pull a (mild) upset by beating the Cardinals by three.
Pats QB Tom Brady is 8-0 at home in the playoffs. If he wins today, he'll be the first QB to win his first nine home playoff games. These aren't the dominant Patriots of years past, but they're a good, solid team with a great coach and a great QB. They'll win at home.
Losing Wes Welker and his 123 catches for the season obviously hurts. But the Patriots have an amazing ability to find virtual clones to back up some of their key players. Last year, Matt Cassel looked similar to Brady in his throwing motion and in some cases his poise. Remember, the Pats did win 11 games with Cassel.
Now, in rookie seventh-round draft pick Julian Edelman, the Patriots have a slot receiver who looks similar to Welker. The NFL Network did a good job capturing this on tape this morning. Edelman, a quarterback at Kent State, my alma mater, has similar quick, shifty moves that allows him to get open and advance the ball in traffic. He's no Welker, but he's not bad.
