Worst Playoff Game Ever
It is beyond stupid of me to make this declaration prior to a game, and it might turn out to be fun to watch, but man does this one have DOG written all over it!!
Of course I’m talking about the Panthers vs the Cardinals playoff game today. 2 teams with zero tradition, 2 teams that are boring to watch, 2 teams that everyone outside of the Carolina’s and Arizona wish weren’t in the playoffs.
The Cardinals at least deserve to be in. It isn’t as if it is their fault that Carson Palmer got hurt, and had he not then we would have the Cards in the discussion for the Super Bowl. Seattle would likely be the 5th seed because the Cards would have finished at least 13-3 even had they still lost twice to the Seahawks.
But the PANTHERS….man that is just disgusting. I have a simple rule change that the NFL can and should make to correct this problem. A team that wins it’s division is automatically in the playoffs and host a playoff game AS LONG as they finish above .500. If they finish 8-8, then they cannot host a playoff game and will be seeded behind any wildcard team with a better record. If they fail to finish .500, then they lose their playoff spot (unless of course for some unimaginable reason they are still the 5th or 6th best team in the conference).
Is that so difficult to implement?! And I think it’s very fair because most would argue that 9-7 shouldn’t even get you home field. I’m ok with 9-7 because if you end up in a meat grinder of a division then it’s possible that everyone finishes either 9-7 or 8-8 and they’re all good teams who have cancelled each other out.
Anyway, that’s a separate blog. The Panthers are awful to watch, but they’re in, they’re hosting, and they’re likely going to win this game. They’re a hot team right now, have the better QB, and again they’re hosting this playoff game.
But who in the hell is going to watch this game?! These 2 absolute dogs are playing each other, while 2 really good teams are going at it Sunday afternoon in Dallas as the so called 3rd and 6th seeds, and the 10-6 Eagles sit at home. Again, this isn’t the Cards fault that Carson Palmer got hurt, and it’s not their fault that Drew Stanton got hurt, but it still makes for an average at best football team playing in a playoff game.
Not fun, so you better put some money on it!! Now, in the last 3 playoffs I am a PATHETIC 1-11 picking games on wildcard weekend. So here is what we are going to do, and that is pick the opposite.
If I were you, I wouldn’t use these picks. I’m me, and I’m not using these picks. It is just for fun people! Use my picks for the divisional round when things get back to normal. But it is fun to make the picks and see how they go, so here we go.
Arizona at Carolina
I’m going to give my reasoning, and THEN give the pick for this week. Panthers are favored by 6.5. The thinking here on my part is that the Cards have no QB and the Panthers being hot and at home are going to blow them out, without a doubt in my mind. So…
Cardinals +6.5
Baltimore at Pittsburgh
While the Cards/Panthers game is horrific, I can’t wait for this dog fight Saturday night! Steelers are 3 point favorites right now, with it looking like it’ll move all the way to 4. So we’ll assume it does, and in that case there is simply no way I would pick against the Ravens. I know Baltimore has been inconsistent all season, but they’ll be up for this one seeing as it’s the Steelers and it’ll be tight all the way. So that means…
Steelers -4
Cincinnati at Indianapolis
You getting how I’m playing this? Of course you do, I don’t think the people who read these are THAT stupid. So Andy Dalton in a playoff game. Andrew Luck at home. No A.J. Green. You’re an IDIOT if you are thinking that the Colts won’t cover 3.5. An IDIOT…
Bengals +3.5
Detroit at Dallas
The Cowboys are 7 point favorites in this one. That line seems completely ridiculous to me. MAYBE if Suh had in fact been suspended for this game, but he’s not, he is playing. That Lions D-line is maybe the one D-line in the league that could give the incredible Cowboys O-line problems. So 7 feels like an insanely high number to me…
Cowboys -7
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