CHEDDAR BAY PLAYOFFS: Divisional Round
1) Ben (115)
2) Nick Harlow (115)
3) CapGG (114)
4) AmplifiedEsq (104)
5) Teddycuddles (100)
6) Thatsfine (92.5)
DIVISIONAL ROUND LOCKED LINES:
Titans -3.5 (vs Bengals)
Packers -6 (vs 49ers)
Buccaneers -2.5 (vs Rams)
Chiefs -2 (vs Bills)
REMINDERS:
1) Divisional Round Scoring: Pick all four games, which are worth 5 points each. Your selected essay is worth an additional 5 points. 25 total points available on the week
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2) All picks must be emailed to the Executive Committee by 3:30pm EST Saturday.
Everyone else just sit back and enjoy the masters at work
Nick Harlow:
ReplyDeleteTitans -3.5 vs Bengals***Essay Play***
Ryder is the leader of the paw patrol. And he had a lot of growing up to do in the paw patrol movie when he quit on Chase after Chase froze on top of the skyscraper, it caused Chase to run away and they had to make amends, and heal some trauma. Mike Vrabel is a great leader. I remember when he showed up at Cleveland Browns stadium a few years ago in the home opener and Tennessee put up a 40 burger on the Clowns. Cleveland never stood a chance that day and I believe that is the fate of the Bengals this weekend. It really felt like survival for the Bengals in the 2H against the Raiders as their defensive players just kept going down. Great season for Cincy, they got their playoff win, but I don't think they have the bodies to hang with Tennessee.
Packers -6 vs 49ers
4 degrees at kick off. Both quarterbacks can handle it. This really feels like the Packers time, they have fresh legs on defense, and a week of rest.
Rams +2.5 vs Bucs
Mayor Humdinger is the villain in the paw patrol movie. He's a cranky old man who loves cats and top hats and can't stand the paw patrol. He's reckless, self-absorbed, and totally unreasonable. Antonio Browns fits the mold here, and while he isn't on the Bucs anymore, they do still play in Florida, which is home to most of the zaniest stories that we hear about in this great but deeply flawed country of ours. Suffice to say, if Mayor Humdinger existed in real life, he would reside in Florida. Stafford is ready for the big lights, and so is everyone around him.
Chiefs -2 vs Bills
Game of the playoffs right here. It's amazing what the Bills offense is doing, and how they are scoring Touchdowns at an unrelenting pace. Not sure how the Chiefs defense slows down the Bills (perhaps the home crowd?), but then how does anyone stop the shovel pass?
CapGG
ReplyDeleteTitans -3.5 v Bengals: Coaching matters.
Rams +2.5 @ Buccaneers: O-line injuries mounting.
Chiefs -2 v Bills: i like betting against teams coming off blow-out wins in the playoffs.
Packers -6 v 49ers [Essay]
Betting the spot here because I'm really not sure of anything this week. 49ers have been at home for 2 games since the start of December, that's 6 road games and 2 in Santa Clara. They've basically been back against the wall since Thanksgiving. They have been impressive to get to this point, but they just can't sustain this. Last week the coaching differential was stark, it is less so this week. The Pack has the better QB. And Green Bay expects to be as healthy as they could be at this point, expecting Bakhtiari and Josh Meyers back.
I wanted to be on San Francisco here, but because of the above plus the expected single-digit temperatures on the Frozen Tundra I've got to be with Green Bay's Meat Packers in this one.
Teddycuddles
ReplyDeleteEssay: Titans -3.5
Packers -6
Bucs -2.5
Bills +2
In a matchup of two teams that both lost to the Jets this year I'll take the home team to cover. I think they are a little undervalued here. Yes, they inexplicably lost to both the Jets and the Texans, but take away those two games and they lost to the Cardinals in the first game of the year when nobody knew how to stop them yet, at Patriots and at a desperate Steelers team trying to do something for Big Ben. I know it's a "what if," but had they ended up 14-3 this line would be at least -6.5. Tannehill played very well down the stretch, they get their workhorse back in Henry and Vrabel is 8-0 both outright and ATS with at least 9 days between games. Titans by a tuddy. SKOL!
AmplifiedEsq
ReplyDeleteTitans -3.5 vs. Bengals
Packers -6 vs. 49ers
Rams +2.5 @ Buccaneers
Chiefs -2 vs. Bills *ESSAY*
Essay: Chiefs -2 vs. Bills
This pick is all about making up ground on those ahead of me. The Bills were a popular play last week and I'm hopeful that carries over this week.
Despite that initial reasoning, there are football reasons the Chiefs will win and cover this game and the obvious one is Patrick Mahomes. This Buffalo defense is not the greatest matchup for him given their ability to get pressure without blitzing, but I'll hold out hope that Andy Reid has game planned appropriately to take advantage where this team can, mostly with Hill and Kelce. I also have full faith Patrick Mahomes isn't going to turn the ball over as many times has he did the previous meeting with the Bills resulting in extra possessions leading to points.
Josh Allen running the ball was a big part of the Bills success last meeting, but I question whether or not the Bills are going to appropriately commit to that with Devin Singletary being in the picture lately. I think the success the Bills will find with Allen would be greater than that with their RBs. For a team that faced no real adversity last week, this could be a rude welcoming to the playoffs.
This weekend will be the start of the redemption tour as the Chiefs were 0-3 this season against the remaining AFC teams, so no matter who wins the other one revenge will be on the mind. The Bills came into Arrowhead week 5 and beat the Chiefs 38-20, but that was then and this is now. Chiefs get the win and cover Sunday night to advance to the AFC championship.
Ben
ReplyDeleteTitans -3.5 over Bengals
Bills 2 over Chefs
Niners 6 over Packers
Essay: Rams 2.5 over Bucs
The divisional round is traditionally the best round of football each year. These lines are tight, and excruciatingly difficult to pick. You ask, what psycho would essay against the GOAT, at the same time as backing the combustible Matthew Stafford (gulp). Well, good question. But here goes nothing.
Tom Brady’s highest profile losses, at least in my memory, have always had a simple formula: getting to him with 4. The Bucs have had a truly remarkable run of health on their offensive line over the last two years. That ended at the worst possible time this week, as stalwart second year RT Tristan Wirfs and Pro Bowl C Ryan Jensen are expected to miss the game. I expect Jalen Ramsey to blanket Mike Evans, and the Rams to pay a lot of attention to Gronk. Meanwhile, Aaron Donald and Von Miller — the latter of whom had 2.5 sacks in the 2016 AFCCG in one of the aforementioned high profile Brady playoff losses — should wreak havoc against the Bucs backups.
With the Rams on offense, I’m putting my trust in Sean McVay to continue to rely on a run heavy game plan to keep the ball out of Brady’s hands. When these teams met earlier this year it was a shootout, but things have trended the other way — Rams running more, and Bucs allowing more explosive runs. I’m already dreading a horrible Matt Stafford turnover, but trying to stay positive.
Good luck to all, but not too much!
Thatsfine
ReplyDeleteBucs -2.5 essay
Chiefs -2
Bengals +3.5
Packers -6
Bucs essay
It's tough to decipher any crucial information from these two in the wild card rounds. Both handled business, the Buc against the team that probably arrived one year early, and the Rams against the team that basically staggered through the second half of the season Kingsbury style. What I do know is Tom Brady has won at least 30 "big games" in his life, and Matthew Stafford has won one, and that was last week. This week he will need to do it as a West Coast team on the east coast in an early time slot. And while Aaron Donald alone will keep the Rams within striking distance for a while, I don't like the Rams chances of keeping it within a field goal.