NFL Pro Football 2008 Divisional Picks early games

NFL Pro Football 2008 Divisional Picks

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Fearless Rick's NFL Week Divisional Picks

Rick Gagliano | January 10-11, 2009

All times Eastern

Saturday, January 10

4:30 pm Baltimore Ravens at Tennessee Titans (-3, 34 1/2) - This is a meeting of two of the three best defensive teams in the league (Pittsburgh is the third), but the Ravens have discovered an offense in rookie QB Joe Flacco and their three-headed running back rotation of Le'Ron McClain, Willis McGahee and another rookie, Ray Rice. Between them, this trio toted the leather 509 times for 2027 yards, 4th most in the league and the most of any remaining AFC playoff teams.

The Titans are no slouches themselves in advancing the pigskin via the grass. Chris Johnson and LenDale White, rushed for just over 2000 yards, with Johnson getting the majority of the carries (251) and yards (1228).

The key for both teams will be how well their QBs throw the ball. Flacco has looked more like a seasoned pro than a rookie, while the actual seasoned veteran, Tennessee's Kerry Collins, has been shaky down the stretch, while the Titans were losing three of their final six games. Despite that rough patch, Tennessee still gets home field advantage here, which may help, but probably not enough. Baltimore has a more reactive secondary - including the sensational Ed Reed - and Flacco and his backfield look like the superior group.

The two teams met during the regular season, with the Titans securing a 13-10 win at Baltimore. This time should be different, though still low-scoring

Prediction: Ravens 20 Titans 10

8:15 pm Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers (-10, 38 1/2) - Which Cardinals team will show up at Carolina for this round? The one which lost every single East coast road game (all 5 of them at the Jets, Washington, Carolina, Philadelphia and New England), or the one which blasted the Falcons 30-24 last week? Arizona's road woes have been well-documented all season. The team simply does not travel well, with a 3-5 road record, though their closest East coast game was against these same Panthers: a 27-23 loss on October 26.

That game should hold the key to how this playoff contest will go. It featured 776 yards of offense, a fumble by each team, a Kurt Warner pick, five TDs in the third quarter, followed by a lone field goal in the final stanza. The Cardinals actually out-gained the Panthers by 74 yards, but they rushed for just 50 yards. If Arizona intends to stay viable in this game, they'll have to do better than that, though Carolina only recorded 37 sacks in 2008, about in the middle of the pack.

The Cardinals have the most potentially explosive passing game and Warner has a Super Bowl ring already, which he no doubt has been showing off to his hungry teammates. Delhomme and his mates have a fair share of playoff experience, but no rings, and they're primed and ready as well. The Cardinals don't play defense well, and that will be a huge difference here, but the passing attack will not be totally squelched as the Cards keep it close.

Prediction: Panthers 27 Cardinals 24

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Sunday, January 11

1:00 pm Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants (-4, 40) - Philadelphia, like the legendary phoenix, has risen from the ashes and now seeks to unseat the reigning champions. Nearly written off over a month ago, after their tie at Cincy and ugly loss to Baltimore, the Eagles regrouped and won four of their last five before humbling the Vikings last weekend, eliminating them from the playoffs with a 26-14 licking.

The Giants rolled to the best record in the NFC, at 12-4, and will hold home field for as long as they stay in the playoffs, but there are plenty of reasons to doubt they'll repeat as Super Bowl participants. First, there's the late-season departure of Plaxico Burress, who shot himself in the leg and his career in the wallet in early December. Second, hammering Brandon Jacobs is still not 100%, though he's sure to play here. Third, the Eagles and Giants split their home-and-home series, with the Eagles winning the latter game, 20-14, in Philly, though the score doesn't really indicate how badly the Eagles dominated the Giants.

That was the first game without Burress and also the game in which Jacobs was injured. After rushing for 52 yards on 10 carries in the first half, he sat out the second, as the Eagles stymied the Giants' offense. But, even though the Giants lost three of their last four, they turned things around offensively, especially in their comeback win over Carolina, so they are probably - with an extra week off due to the bye - a lot healthier than people want to believe.

The Giants also are very ready and eager to get back to the Super Bowl. while the Eagles are hot, they are well known by the Giants and vice versa. Both teams have their weapons - Brian Westbrook and Donovan McNabb for the Eagles; Jacobs and Eli Manning for the G-Men - and both defense are solid, though Philly seems to be the more physical of the two and actually led the Giants in sacks, 48-42.

This one figures to be close, but the brilliance of Eli Manning (with considerable help from his entire offense) will carry the day.

Prediction: Giants 24 Eagles 14

4:45 pm San Diego Chargers at Pittsburgh Steelers (-6, 37 1/2) - We've seen this movie before. The Chargers visited Pittsburgh back in November and the result was one of the most memorable games of the season, resulting in the only 11-10 final score in NFL history. Many consider that game to be a low point for officiating in the NFL, with a heavy imbalance of penalties called against the Steelers (14-2) and the controversial non-touchdown by Troy Polamalu on the final play of the game. The Steelers were 4 1/2 - 5 1/2-point favorites that day and the game looked like a sure fix. Pittsburgh dominated the Chargers all day long, and just barely came away with a win.

The line here tells it all. Vegas is clearly trying to get punters on the Chargers side of the ledger with the hefty spread. Even though the Chargers are hot, having won 5 straight including their OT victory over the Colts, they're going to be facing a Steeler defense which hasn't allowed a 100-yard rusher or a 300-yard passer all season. This is a defense built for the cold with a "no prisoners" mindset. With LaDainian Tomlinson likely to see limited action - if he plays at all - Darren Sproles will be forced to carry the rushing load for San Diego and the Steelers will punish him severely.

The Chargers had a nice run, but the Steelers won't allow them to run up and down the filed as they did against Indianapolis. Pittsburgh will dominate on defense and use turnovers to turn this game into a joke... that is, if the refs haven't already been bought.

Prediction: Steelers 23 Chargers 13

All times Eastern

Copyright 2008, 2009, Rick Gagliano, Downtown Magazine. All rights reserved. Downtown Magazine is located in the Uinted States of America and is not affiliated with the National Football League or the NCAA. For more information, contact us here. Use of this site is for entertainment purposes only.

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