Can you feel the intensity building? It's playoff time! Wild Card weekend is coming and it's going to exciting. Next week they start playing for all the marbles, it's either win of go home!
Here's my breakdown of each game and my picks on who will go on to face the top teams.
NFC
St. Louis Rams (8-8) at Seattle Seahawks (9-7)
Saturday, Jan. 8
4:30 p.m. on ABC
Neither team has shown much consistency this season. Even though St. Louis beat Seattle twice during the regular season I think home field advantage and revenge will give the Seahawks a slight advantage.
The rams need to strengthen the offensive line and give Bulger a chance to read from the pocket. The Ram's line allowed 41 sacks in the regular season. It's no wonder that Bulger has happy feet and tossed 14 interceptions en route to 21 TD passes, not a good percentage. Steven Jackson will need to step up and have a great day in the backfield with Faulk to establish a solid running game. If the Ram's do not establish a running game early, it will be a long and frustrating day for Marc Bulger and the passing game.
Seattle has the number 2 rusher in the NFL. The key to their success will be to keep the ball on the ground and eat up the clock. While the Ram's aren't the power house they once were they still have the ingredients for the big play. The less time the St. Louis offense has on the field the better. Marcus Trufant needs a big day on defense, the more pressure they can apply to the rams line the better their chances are to own the field.
My pick: Seattle
Minnesota (8-8) at Green Bay (10-6)
Sunday, Jan. 9
4:30 p.m. on FOX
After a bad start of 1-4 the Packers have rallied and finished strong while the Vikings have once again finished the season weak by losing seven of their last ten games.
Defense will be the key to winning this game. Both teams have fantastic talent and the potential to break the game open. Unfortunately these are two of the worst defenses in the NFL, therefore I look forward to a high scoring game.
Minnesota needs to strike hard and fast. Daunte Culpepper has very good numbers and Randy Moss is always a threat and will allow the Vikings to stretch the field giving life to the running game. The key to Minnesota's success will be with their 28th ranked defense. So far this season the Vikings Defense has fallen flat. They haven't pressured quarterbacks and they haven't had many picks, they have to overcome this and find a spark on the game is in jeopardy no matter how well the offense plays.
