NFL Wild Card Weekend (Part 2)

As promised, here are my breakdowns and picks for the Sunday games of Wild Card Weekend.

1/9 1:00 ET: Baltimore (-3) @ Kansas City

When I first saw the spread for this game, i was quite surprised by how the low line was. The Chiefs finished the season at 10-6 however it was a very unimpressive 10-6 being in the AFC's weakest division. How do you lose two games to the Raiders? On the other side, The Ravens finished 12-4 and had a shot to win their division all the way down to the wire. The key thing to look for in this match-up is the Chiefs running tandem of Charles and Jones vs. the stacked front 7 of the Raven's defense starring Ngata, Suggs, and of course Ray Lewis. If the Ravens can win the battle up front, shut down the running game, and force Matt Cassel to make plays with his arm, its going to be a long day for the Chiefs.

Pick: Ravens win big. This line should have been closer to 7 or 8.

1/9 4:30 ET: Green Bay (+2.5) @ Philadelphia

This is hands down the best match-up of the entire weekend. The showdown of Aaron Rodgers, who is clearly now a top flight quarterback, against the reborn Michael Vick is certainly going to be an electric display. Both teams have superb wide-outs. If you were to ask me to pick Jennings, Jones and Driver or Jackson, Maclin and Avant, it would honestly be a very tough decision (though we know who I'd take). The deciding factors in this game are how much Andy Reid chooses to use LeSean McCoy, if the Eagles can contain Clay Matthews, and how bad the Eagles secondary decides to play. LeSean McCoy is in my opinion the second coming of Brian Westbrook and has been extremely underutilized all season. He should touch the ball at least 18-20 times. Andy has shown that he can get away from the run if early success isn't there. That would be a very bad decision. Clay Matthews is a beast. Straight-up. The Birds will need to use the TE, RB, and FB and whatever else it takes to stop this guy from getting to Vick. If Vick gets hit early and often, that could spell trouble for an offense that relies on its ability to make big plays. Finally the lowly Eagles secondary. I just want to start out by saying Dimitri Patterson's new nickname should be Toast. This guy is horrible and I expect Aaron Rodgers to throw in his direction every chance he gets. Even with Asante Samuel back, the secondary just hasn't been making plays and seems to always give up the big one at the wrong time. Is it too much for me to ask for them to just play average for one game?

Pick: How can I pick against my Birds? Oh wait, I can't. Fly Eagles Fly minus 2.5!