philip rivers probably has balls made of iron or something

due to espn's nonstop coverage of tom brady in his boot, you may not have noticed that philip rivers just played in the afc championship game with a torn ACL. that's right, a ligament in a major joint in the body of a human, torn beyond the point of use. except he still used it with the help of a brace. while i have thought some of rivers' on-field and off-field antics have been somewhat bush league, he's a talented QB, and i definitely have a new respect for him now.

by the way, espn, i really wouldn't mind if you stopped trying to be TMZ and just went back to reporting scores and showing highlights and stuff. k? thanks.

nfl conference championship previews

san diego at new england (-14)

even though the chargers probably won't have phillip rivers and antonio gates (both listed as doubtful) for this game, i don't think it would make very much of a difference. the patriots will have a talent advantage irregardless of the injury status of san diego players. i would also say that they'll have a coaching advantage too, except that norv turner has done surprisingly well in the playoffs (3-1 all-time). it's true that he does not make the playoffs very often (only twice), but when he does, he seems to do well. perhaps he is the 90's mark messier of the NFL. anyway, the chargers charmed run will end somewhere in the 2nd quarter of this game, when randy moss does something amazing and then does something disgusting, America. which is what this game will be--disgusting. patriots 42-10

ny giants (+7.5) at green bay

i was reading the words of a wise blogger this week who said that the super bowl everyone wants is rarely the super bowl everyone gets. i think there's a lot of truth to this. obviously, the super bowl that seemingly everyone wants is packers versus patriots. after all, this will be the last chance that a team will have to knock off the patriots, and it would be a team that hasn't already been beaten by them (which the giants have been). it would also of course be a great opportunity for us (read: everyone on espn) to debate whether or not brett favre will re-re-re-retire already. despite the very high price of two straight weeks of complete nonsensical bloviation from trey wingo, sean salisbury, and the rest of goof troop, i too would like to see a green bay vs new england super bowl, because i think the packers would have a better chance of winning than the giants. basically i just don't want to see the patriots go 19-0, probably like everyone else in the world outside of the greater bastin area. but as far as this game is concerned, i think the giants road warriordom will continue. they'll be superior both on the ground and through the air, despite eli manning's well-noted difficulties in the cold, and their defense will be just good enough. giants 24-20

nfl divisional playoff preview

i should probably be more excited about this weekend's games given that the top seeds are now in action, but instead i find myself dealing with a tough bout of blogger's block. i think it may have something to do with a sinking feeling i have that all four home teams will win this weekend, which would kind of stink. indeed, all the top seeds are favored by at least 7.5 points, which just seems really high for playoff games. irregardless, onto the matchups:

seattle at green bay (-7.5)

by now we've all seen the al harris Pick Six clip at least a dozen times. sadly for packers fans, this has no bearing on saturday afternoon's game. still, seattle morphs into a different team when not in the presence of the 12th man. this is compounded by the fact that lambeau field has traditionally been a notoriously tough place for road teams to win in the playoffs. my guess is that hasselbeck has been sick of hearing about that "we want the ball and we're gonna score" thing all week and will be inspired to play a good game. mike holmgren is a good coach and he'll have a smart game plan, but ultimately, seattle's awfulness on the road will get the best of them. packers 28-17

jacksonville at new england (-13.5)

fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, none of the experts are giving the jaguars a chance. sometimes when everyone is picking one team and not giving the other team a chance, the other team wins. however, in this case, the team being (almost) unanimously picked is the 16-0 patriots. add to this that various jaguars have been running their mouths all week, and there is no chance that jacksonville can come in under the radar. as for the game itself, i believe in the jaguars' ability to both run and to stop the run. they also strike me as the more physical team. my concern lies in their secondary and their (in)ability to stop brady and his wide receivers corps. also, at some point, david garrard's run of non-crappy games has to come to an end. this seems as good a time as any to predict that. though i'll be pulling for jacksonville, i predict 32-20 patriots.

san diego (+9) at indianapolis

admittedly, i am somewhat of a peyton manning fan these days, and this recent talk by tony dungy of him not knowing whether he'll return next season has me worried. basically this is because i think it has the potential to be a distraction. also, let's not forget that peyton once had developed, and i feel it was earned, a reputation for playing poorly in the playoffs. unfortunately, i think this is going to happen again on sunday, which will consequently lead to struggles in their running game. on the other side of the ball, i think l.t. will help san diego control the ball, and, somewhat shockingly, phillip rivers will go two consecutive weeks without crapping himself. despite all their fake noise, the colts are about to lose at home to norv turner. verily, the end is nigh. chargers 28-13

new york giants at dallas (-7.5)

how is the tony romo/jessica simpson thing a story at all? has espn just completely turned into mtv plus skip bayless? i've heard a lot of comments this week that it's hard to beat a team three times in a season. that giants/eli manning bandwagon is getting pretty crowded these days, and i think there's going to be some people hopping off after this sunday. t.o. is set to play in this game and the giants will also be without two of their cornerbacks. cowboys 27-20

nfl wildcard weekend preview and review

with the playoff season finally here, and with my awful fantasy football season in the past, i can now watch football without concern for jay cutler's skiddishness or lawrence maroney's lack of carries (thanks, belicheck. jerk.) so i shall now take to writing previews and reviews of each weekend's hot playoff action. first up are the wildcard games. check back here after the games for reviews. like a chia pet, this post will grow.

washington at seattle

preview: the seahawks are both a better team than the redskins and are at home. these will be too big of obstacles for washington to overcome. mike holmgren ditched the run for a while and the passing game got in sync, and now lately shaun alexander has resumed a respectable running game. their offensive weapons will be too much for washington's average defense. prediction: 24-7 c-hawks

review: after looking positively catatonic for 3 quarters, the redskins suddenly got off the mat for about 5 minutes and took a brief 14-13 lead. then the missed field goal probably took away some momentum, and then todd collins really took away the momentum. and i'm done talking about this one. 35-14 seahawks

jacksonville at pittsburgh

preview: jacksonville won what many (myself included) believe was a landmark game for their franchise 3 weeks ago in pittsburgh. they proved they could win a tough road game they "weren't supposed to win" and shook off that pesky label of being "mentally weak." they also proved, yet again, that mother nature does not put on a uniform for the home team (i can hear happy ninja rolling in his grave right now). of course, the jaguars were rewarded for that victory by...having to play in pittsburgh again. since their previous matchup, the jaguars have done nothing to make me believe in them less, and the steelers have done nothing to make me believe in them more. plus now pittsburgh's really in deep doodoo without willie parker. i expect the jaguars to have lots of confidence going into this game and for them to intercept roethlisberger at least 3 times, from which i will derive much more enjoyment than i probably should. prediction: 26-14 jags

review: after completely dominating for about 3 quarters, the jaguars found ways to let the steelers back in the game, nearly losing in the process. this propensity to blow leads doesn't give me much confidence in their upcoming matchup versus the patriots. anyway, the play of the game obviously was david garrard's run on 4th and 2, which was a great call by jack del rio. 31-29 jaguars

ny giants at tampa bay

preview: last week's effort versus the patriots had to be inspiring for giants fans. i think they gave new england a much better fight than the buccaneers would have. indeed, the giants are my sleeper pick to make the super bowl from the nfc. in this game, their main difficulty is just the fact that it's on the road. but the giants were 7-1 on the road this year, and they are the better team here. they've also played a tougher schedule in a stronger division, so i think they're more prepared in that way. while i'm aware of jeff garcia's success against the giants in the postseason, i'll take new york in a close one. prediction: 24-17 giants

review: eli manning wins his first playoff game which sets up a re-rematch with the cowboys. the giants front four was able to consistently get pressure on jeff garcia and hurry him into some bad throws. the general lack of an offense on the bucaneers part was exposed, while eli manning played very well versus a tough bucs pass defense. actually if i had to take either manning or phillip rivers right now, i'd say eli is the better quarterback. 24-14 giants

titans at chargers

preview: since this game is in san diego, and given the chargers great home record recently, they are the safe bet to win this game. but there are a few things that make me think the titans can pull the upset: 1) vince young might not play. as happy ninja once accurately stated, no team hides its quarterback more effectively than tennessee. strange as it sounds, kerry collins gives them a better chance to win. 2) the titans should've won their regular season matchup but gave the game away late. 3) norv turner is the chargers coach. this shouldn't need any further explanation. 4) steroidface's lights out dance looks stupid and his doing it will cause all his teammates to be sad and play worse. despite these facts, i'll still pick the chargers. prediction: 28-10 san diego

review: somehow norv turner both won this game and managed to keep his pants on. for the entire first half, i was certain the titans would pull off the upset. then, as the game went on, i remembered just how horrible their offense is, and just how good ladainian tomlinson is. this puts a damper on my previous prediction that the chargers would hire pete carroll in the offseason. 17-6 chargers