I want you to do 5 things:

1. Bookmark this post

2. Put in alarm in your phone to go off on February 13th, 2010

3. When the alarm goes off, make sure you have purchased something for the lady/man in your life for Valentine’s day.

4. Then come back and read this post.

5. Finally, marvel at my wisdom.

Why? Because I’m standing here between Week 10 and Week 11 of the NFL Season, and I’m going to tell you how it’s going to end.

First here’s how the AFC Playoff picture will sort out:

1. IND (14-2) – Bet you can’t guess which team has given up the least amount of points in the league this year? Nope, not the Lions…it’s the Colts, believe it or not. That being said, their lack of a healthy Bob Sanders and a healthy running game will cost them 2 wins.

2. CIN (11-5) – Perfect on the road so far this year, the Bengals’ sweep of the Ravens and Steelers has them in position to win the AFC North for the first time since…1995 Ever. (they last won the AFC Central in 1990). (Thanks for the correction Tim)

3. SD (11-5) – Other than the undefeateds, the Chargers are the hottest team in the league right now with consecutive wins over KC, OAK, NYG, and PHI. And with the Chiefs, Browns and Redskins still on their schedule, the West is theirs for the taking.

4. NE (10-6) – The Pats are 1-3 on the road this year, with games in New Orleans, Miami, Buffalo, and Houston left on their docket. And for the record, I didn’t mind Belicheck’s call on Monday night. Just saying.

5. PIT (10-6) – When was the last time the Steelers finished the year with a losing record in their division? It could happen this year, but they’ll find a way to make it to the post-season.

6. DEN (9-7) – Last week’s embarrassment in Washington aside, the Broncos tough schedule finally catches up to them. They still have games against Indy, Philly, and the Giants ahead of them, but they will stumble into the post-season.

Here’s my take on the NFC:

1. NO (14-2) – No division leader in the NFL has given up as many points as the Saints have, but it just doesn’t matter. Brees and company will slip up against New England or Dallas, and then lose a meaningless game in Week 17.

2. MIN (13-3) – The only team in the league whose offense can hang with New Orleans, and a defensive front four that changes games. They should sit Favre as soon as they can to protect his health heading into the playoffs.

3. ARI (11-5) – No team finishes the year with an easier schedule: at SF, at DET, home STL, home GB. Like the Vikes, Arizona needs Old Man Warner to stay healthy to make their run.

4. NYG (10-6) – Which 3 teams have current losing streaks 4 games or longer? The Lions, Browns, and Giants. But thanks to their strong start they’re right in the thick of things, and thanks to a Week 2 win in Dallas, they still can win the East.

5. DAL (10-6) – Tony Romo, aka Mr. November, might get his shot at late season redemption when the Eagles come to town in Week 17. A repeat of last year could keep the Boys out of the playoffs, but I think he finally comes up big.

6. ATL (9-7) – I think this last playoff spot comes down to the Week 13 matchup between the Eagles and Falcons, and since the game is in Atlanta, I’m giving it to the dirty birds.

While we’re here, let’s play out the playoffs…

Wild Card Weekend

DEN@SD – Home cooking and Phil Rivers lead the Chargers to a win over McRookie’s Broncos.

PIT@NE – Where I can sign up for this matchup in January? Brady-Welker for 3 TDs & a win.

ATL@ARI – In a rematch of last year’s playoff game, Tony Gonzalez makes all the difference. Atlanta wins on the road.

DAL@NYG – As bad as Eli can be in cold weather, I don’t see Romo winning this game.

Divisional Weekend

NE@IND – This time Belicheck punts, but it doesn’t matter because New England is up by 17.

SD@CIN – I will not jinx my buddy Geof, I will not jinx my buddy Geof. Bengals lose at home.

ATL@NO – Saints 114, Atlanta 31.

NYG@MIN – Can Eli rob the people of the Vikings-Saints matchup they want? Nope. Peterson runs for 220, Vikes win.

Conference Championship Weekend

NE@SD – Norv Turner goes for it on his own 28 with a 4-point lead to be like Belicheck. It fails and the Pats come back to win. EUREKA! Belicheck was setting up Norv this whole time and reclaims his “genius” tag. Pats 27, Chargers 24.

MIN@NO – Too much purple offense for the Saints to handle. A late Saints comeback isn’t enough to keep Favre from winning indoors. Vikes 48, Saints 31.

The Super Bowl

New England vs. Minnesota – Not sure why, but I’ve just got this feeling that Brett Favre is going to win it all this year. and THEN, when everyone thinks he should actually come back and try to repeat…he’ll finally hang it up.

Or maybe not…

Ladies and Gentlemen, your Super Bowl Winners: The Minnesota Vikings.

What do you think?

Give me your Super Bowl predictions and tell me where I went wrong in the comments.

Over the past couple of weeks we’ve collected predictions on the upcoming baseball season from the smartest people we know (our members), the coolest people we know (like Jeff Miller from Caedmon’s Call), and also Andy Osenga.

If you haven’t blocked it out yet, Andy won our NFL Predictions contest this past season despite thinking football is a joke. And he enjoyed his coronation so much he’s back to embarrass us all again on the baseball diamond.

Will it happen? You never know. But in the spirit of making truly asinine predictions (he predicted Sam Madison as NFL MVP last year) Andy has chosen a New York Yankee as his pick to lead the Majors in homers this year. Teixeira? nope. A-Rod? uh-uh. Jorge Posada??? Not even close.

His pick for MLB Home Run king this year is

…wait for it…

…Chien Ming Wang!!!

If you didn’t get a chance to submit your picks for our contest, leave your selections in the comments.

Good luck to everyone this year, should be a great season!

Here’s a fun game for you baseball fanatics being put on by the good folks at VegasWatch.

They give you the 2009 over/under win totals for each team, you pick 10 (overs or unders) and rank them according to confidence. They keep track of how you’re trending through the year, and whoever wins first place pockets $500. (2nd place is a 6-month subscription to RotoWire)

Here’s their Win Totals:

Arizona- 86.5
Atlanta- 83.5
Baltimore- 73.5
Boston- 94.5
Chicago C- 91.5
Chicago W- 79.5
Cincinnati- 80.5
Cleveland- 85.5
Colorado- 77.5
Detroit- 82.5
Florida- 76.5
Houston- 74.5
Kansas City- 75.5
LA Angels- 89.5
LA Dodgers- 82.5
Milwaukee- 80.5
Minnesota- 83.5
NY Mets- 88.5
NY Yankees- 97.5
Oakland- 81.5
Philadelphia- 87.5
Pittsburgh- 69.5
San Diego- 71.5
San Francisco- 80.5
Seattle- 72.5
St. Louis- 82.5
Tampa Bay- 87.5
Texas- 73.5
Toronto- 80.5
Washington- 71.5

If you want to play along, head on over to their site for all the details.

So, any of these stand out to you as pretty good bets?

Baseball Prospectus released their win/loss projections for 2009 this week. (Mandatory Reminder: these chaps predicted the rise of the Rays last year.)

Where does your team stand in their Nostradamusey eyes? Well, according to their projections, neither the Rays nor the Phillies will win their respective divisions…but the Indians and D-backs will.

At least the Cubs won’t be back in the payoff hunt again this year. Oh wait, they will? Here we go again…

(Baseball Prospectus)

Here at PFB we love to let our members spout off their opinions on anything and everything.

This week we we asked them for their predictions of Super Bowl 43.

Here’s what they said…

First, the chalk-lovers who like the Steelers to win.

	Steelers 31 Cardinals 17. I’d like to see the Cardinals win because I know it would make a lot of the “but they sucked during the regular season” fans and Kurt Warner haters angry, but it seems highly unlikely Pittsburgh won’t be picking up Super Bowl No. 6 on Sunday.
	3-0 Steelers. They’ll get a field goal on their first possession and the rest of the game will be dull, making football fans everywhere realize they should be longing for baseball season instead of getting all hyped up for (what’ll turn out to be) a rather boring Super Bowl.
	Defense wins championships, so we’re going with the Steelers. I’d say Steelers 24-14 because I like the number 4, and because I don’t think Troy Polamalu can stop Fitzgerald every time. Plus Fitz played at Pitt, so I’m sure they’ve got some film on him and stuff.
	Pittsburgh wins 24-17. (It will be close, but Pittsburgh’s offense is much better than people think.)
	27-24 Steelers. The Cards proved they can still score a few points against a good defense, so they’ll put up a few. I think it’ll be close, and I’d like to see Arizona win, but I think Pittsburgh prevails.
	Steelers, 27-19

…and here are your riders of the Arizona Cardinals bandwagon.

	30-27, Cards in the 1st O.T. in Superbowl history. Are you going to get sued if people use the word Superbowl on here? Superbowl.
	31-17 Cardinals. I just think Kurt Warner is going to pick the Steelers apart and the Steelers can’t win a high scoring game
	Cards 28, Steelers 17
	The final score will be Cardinals 24, Steelers 23. Kurt Warner will throw for around 250 yards & 3 scores, but will only complete 20 of his 41 attempts. 13 of those (and 2 scores) will go to Larry Fitzgerald, who will subsequently win the SB MVP award. In general, the Steelers keep the Cardinals locked down, but Fitzgerald is simply a beast who can’t be denied.
	34-31, Cardinals; Hey, why not?
	Cardinals Eleventy Billion – Steelers 0 (as a Cowboys fan, I’m still a bit chuffed about Super Bowls X and XIII and don’t want them to become the first team to win 6)
	28-21 Cardinals. Two words… Larry Fitzgerald
	My prediction is that the Cardinals win the Super Bowl in stunning fashion 32 – 14, Arizona. I think that the offensive line of the Cardinals will step up to the challenge of protecting Warner. This will expose the weakness of the Steelers, and I use weakness very loosely b/c their defense is incredible, but the weakest part of their defense is their corners. The only answer the Steelers have for Fitzgerald is putting Warner on his back. Cards win, Warner goes to Disneyworld with the MVP trophy. My real reason for picking the Cards is, being a Browns fan, I rue the Steelers and the day they became a franchise!
	Cards- 16, Steelers – 15
	I really have no idea what’s going to happen on sunday between the Steelers and the Cardinals. Will Kurt Warner continue to keep his eyes down the field and keep finding Larry Fitzgerald for ridiculous amounts of yardage? Or will the speed of Pittsburgh’s defense be too much for the Cards’ O-line to protect? Because I have to make a pick here, I’ll go with Arizona in the huge upset, 24-16 Cardinals.

I have no idea who’s going to win the big game tomorrow. Neither do you.

Vegas thinks they know. They’ve got the Steelers as 7 point favorites. Then again, last year the favored Patriots lost, thanks to the sticky helmet of David Tyree. So I guess they don’t know either.

Side note: If you’re interested in some of the crazy prop bets Vegas is offering, check them out here.

If Kurt Warner leads the Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl, there will be lots of interviews and lots of opportunities to mention his faith in Jesus. He will jump on every one of those opportunities because that’s what he does. We all know that much.

If Kurt loses, he’ll have less microphones in his face, but he’ll still have his opportunities to thank God. And he still will. I guess we all know that too.

That’s what I find the most fascinating about this whole thing. No one wonders whether or not Kurt will praise God after a loss. Everyone knows he will. That’s a pretty cool place to be, I think, whether you’re a pro football player or an IT engineer. To be at a place where people know you’re consistent no matter the circumstances. Kurt’s a good example of that.

Another side note: for another take on the “God angle”, check out MSNBC’s John Walters latest article

As for the game itself, I hope it’s a good one. You never know with these Super Bowls. Some are classics. Some are so boring, I’d rather watch reruns of Dawson’s Creek. Hey, at least there’s the commercials, right?

I’ll be honest, I didn’t think the Cardinals would win any of their playoff games. So the fact that I don’t think they’ll win on Sunday is actually making me lean towards taking them. If they’re still in the locker room playing the “Nobody believes in us” card, regardless of whether or not it’s actually true, they will come out and start the game with more fire than the Steelers have. I see that as their best chance of pulling the upset.

So to answer the question, “Will God Allow Kurt Warner to Win the Super Bowl?”. I think the answer is ‘Yes’. He will allow it.

But the better question is “Since God has allowed it, will Kurt go out there and win the game?”

Yes, says the Schnoz. Yes he will. Arizona 26, Pittsburgh 20.

Enjoy the game wherever you’re watching it…and check back on Saturday as PFB Members share their predictions on the big game.

Now that the Super Bowl is set and the Eagles are playing golf, it’s become clear who came through with the best preseason predictions of 2008. He’s the only guy with 3 check marks in his row of prognostication.

Let’s look at this busy graphic one last time…

By my calculations, our NFL King for 2008 is none other than singer/songwriter Andrew Osenga, who described football to us last week as “millionaires in tights playing games“.

I will now tie anchors to my legs and drown myself in the Kankakee River. (and if you don’t get that joke, go get yourself some free Andy Osenga music right now.)

Here he is ladies and gentlemen: praise him, congratulate him, or mock him. Your NFL King for 2008:

Oh wait,one last thought. I was walking out of the grocery store last weekend and I saw this display. Take a close look at which 2 teams they have playing in their Super Bowl advertisement:

Hmmm, could it be the Jaguars and Cowboys! The 2 teams that I predicted would be in the big game! You know what, maybe I need to take that crown off Andy’s head and stick it on The Schnoz. He might have bested me in the prediction game, but I had Frito-Lay and Pepsi craft a multi-million dollar advertising campaign around my picks!

Take that toothbrush boy!

Last Week the Schnoz was 2-2 in his playoff picks, bringing him to 3-5 for the playoffs. How about finishing with 3 good picks to go 6-5? (don’t count on it)

Sunday’s games

Philadelphia Eagles (-4) at the Arizona Cardinals

+ I mentioned this last week, but if Tebow and Warner win the first two major sports championships of 2009, this could be the year of the Christian athlete. (If this does happen and I’m Michael Chang, I’m showing up at the Australian Open and begging for an invitation.)

+ This Eagles team is playing such inspired ball right now, I don’t see how they can be beaten. Then again, I didn’t see how the Panthers weren’t going to run all over the Cards last week either. Does Donovan McNabb have a “Jake Delhomme Crapfest” game in him? Absolutely. I’ve seen him throw at WRs feet too many times to think he’s immune to a stinker. But right now he’s playing like there’s a bowl of steaming hot Chunky soup on the line, and I think he’ll come ready to eat play.

+ Cardinals fans were LOUD in their first round game against Atlanta. Expect to see an equally boisterous crowd on Sunday afternoon. If the Eagles can go up by 10 points in the first quarter and take the fans out of it, Jim Johnson will unleash the defensive equivalent of Hades on the Cards and it might be over. But if the Cards can take an early lead or at least hang close to Philly well into the second quarter, I can see them gaining confidence and momentum that they can hang with the favored Eagles. Andy Reid isn’t known for his mental prowess in the last few minutes of a game…a close contest down the stretch could favor the Cards.

+ Not sure if this is true or not, but we received an anonymous tip this week that Kurt Warner could be overheard praying loudly in his bedroom, saying, “Dear God, please confuse Jim Johnson’s mind on Sunday. Make the synapses in his brain like that of the people who tried to build the tower of Babel.” Brenda Warner refused to comment…

+ I’m torn with this pick. I’m not an Eagles fan at all, so I’d like to see them lose. But I’ve picked against them two straight games and they’ve won. Do I pick the Eagles and hope the jinx holds? Or do I pick against them again because I think the Cardinals are going to win? Maybe I should I predict a tie in honor of Donovan McNabb’s brilliance? I think I’ll go with my oft-wrong gut…

The Prediction: Cardinals 28, Eagles 20 (sorry, I can’t help myself)

—

Baltimore Ravens (+6) at the Pittsburgh Steelers

some things to consider…

+ Joe Flacco is dangerously close to possessing a unibrow. That’s definitely something to consider.

+ From what I’ve been reading, sounds like Ravens Defensive Coordinator Rex Ryan is going to take the New York Jets Head Coaching job once the Ravens are done. If Ray Lewis catches wind of this during his one of his “I’m a crazy dude” spells, he might try to eat Ryan’s brain. Keep an eye on that one…

+ Forecast for Sunday evening in Pittsburgh? It will be in the 20s with an 80% chance of snow. Gotta love that.

+ The Ravens had no answer for Chris Johnson’s speed last week. This week they play a fast, but not AS FAST, Willie Parker. Just how old is this Raven Defense? I bet we’ll find out. Expect a healthy dose of Willie Parker and company for 4 straight quarters.

+ Head to Head in their last 16 games against each other, these teams are both 8-8.

+ Will this game feature the 2 best safeties in the game in Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu? I think so. Which one would you rather have on your team? I’d take Reed.

The Prediction: Steelers 26, Ravens 21

***

Potential Super Bowl Matchups

let’s take a quick look at the potential Super Bowl Matchups

Cardinals vs. Ravens – This is NBC’s worst nightmare. In fact, John Madden just read this and he started choking on the turducken leg he was eating. Your main storyline would be the Rookie QB vs. the Old QB. Yawn.

Brief Aside – I forgot to mention this last week, but I had this thought before last week’s games. A sort-of “dream scenario” if you will. What if the Cardinals and Titans had advanced to the Super Bowl, but in their respective Championship games, Kurt Warner and Kerry Collins had suffered significant injuries, forcing their backups to start Super Bowl 43? It would be a rematch of the 2006 Rose Bowl, Matt Leinart vs. Vince Young! Imagine that! Leinart improbably leads the Cardinals over VY and the Titans and exacts revenge for the Rose Bowl loss. Or Vince beats Leinart again and becomes a Super Bowl champion, restoring his shattered ego. Okay, back to reality…

Cardinals vs. Steelers – Is this an upgrade over the previous match-up? I suppose. At least the Steelers bring with them some polarization. Tons of folks who love the team, and plenty of Steeler-haters out there too. Your main storylines would be Ken Whisenhunt coaching against his former team and Kurt and Big Ben going for their second Super Bowl ring.

Eagles vs. Ravens – The clear storyline here would be McNabb getting another chance against the team he was losing to when he was benched. In fact, this would be forced down our throats (and the players’ throats as well) for two straight weeks. If this happens, McNabb might actually throw up BEFORE the Super Bowl instead of DURING it.

Eagles vs. Steelers – Probably the best potential matchup out there. Lots of animosity between Eagles and Steelers fans, especially where I live on the outskirts of central Pennsylvania. In fact, I work about 25 miles from Philly, but today at work there’s 1 Steeler jersey for every 4 Eagle jerseys. Even 300 miles from Pittsburgh, the Black and Gold are representing. The Battle of Pennsylvania. (I think it’s gonna happen)…

So, the Schnoz wants to know…who are you rooting for, and who do you think will win?

Last Week the Schnoz was 1-3 in his playoff picks. What’s shocking was that he got any right at all. Let’s move on to this week.

Baltimore Ravens (+3) at the Tennessee Titans

I want to pick the Titans in this game. I’ve believed in their defense and running game all year, I think Kerry Collins is better than people realize,  I even want to spend my winters in Jeff Fisher’s mustache. But there’s something about this Baltimore defense that makes me fear picking against them. It seems as though they are just as likely to score when they’re on the field as the other team’s offense is. Flacco on the road…again? Why not?

The Prediction: Ravens 23, Titans 17

***

Arizona Cardinals (+10) at the Carolina Panthers

Could this be the year of the outspoken Christian athlete? Tim Tebow wins the National Championship… then Kurt Warner wins the Super Bowl, Dwight Howard wins the NBA Championship, and Josh Hamilton and the Rangers win the World Series? Highly improbable…but it begs the question, if you had a chance of winning a million bucks if one of these 3 things happened, which would you pick?

a) Kurt Warner wins his next 3 games and wins the Super Bowl

b) The Orlando Magic win the NBA Finals

c) The Texas Rangers win the World Series

You’d take “a”, wouldn’t you? See that, there is a chance.  And on that note…

The Prediction: Panthers 30, Cardinals 14

***

Philadelphia Eagles (+4) at the New York Giants

I’m guessing Eagles fans, including Larry Shallenberger, are hoping the Schnoz goes against the Eagles again like I did last week. I was going to type up a defense of why I picked the Vikes to blow out the Birds in their game last week, but my fingers refused to press the keyboard. I had nothing. It was an indefensible pick. But this week, just in case the Giants lay an egg and Philly wins, I’ve got a nice defense for myself. I just don’t think I’ll need it. Why? EAGLES LOSE! SAME SCORE AS I WRONGLY PREDICTED LAST WEEK!

The Prediction: Giants 35, Eagles 14

***

San Diego Chargers (+6) at the Pittsburgh Steelers

I just don’t see the 6 points in this one. Pittsburgh’s great D is countered by their weak O. Pittsburgh’s Home Field advantage is countered by the fact that the Chargers are peaking NOW and playing their best ball of the season.  I think this will be a field goal game either way, so I’m taking the 6 points and grabbing a seat on the sidelines next to LT to watch this one unfold.

The Prediction: Steelers 24, Chargers 21

***

As a special to the Schnoz Report this week, I asked the PFB Members to give me their lock of the 4 games, as well as the other 3 winners. (These picks are straight up, not against the spread).

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If I had to pick one lock I’d say the Panthers because I think the Cardinal’s are the weakest team left.  Every game seems to close to call so I’ll go with the home teams……Titans, Steelers, Panthers and Giants.

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Lock to win this weekend Carolina.
Other wins.  Tennessee, Pittsburgh, New York.

.

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Pittsburgh over San Diego.  San Diego Doesn’t belong.  No way Rivers gets it done in that weather against that defense.

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Pittsburgh Steelers are my lock. I’m wishfully thinking the Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona Cardinals and Baltimore Ravens will all win.

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Lock-Panthers, Giants, Titans and Steelers

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Stillers take down the Bolts.  Of course, I’m predicting this as a lock so it’ll be wrong and I can rejoice with a sack dance over “Ben”’s concussed head.

[I should be more adult about this, but I'm still mad about the Stillers killing Carson Palmer's career and my remaining love of the NFL.]

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My lock is Carolina over Arizona. Arizona hasn’t won a single important road game all season long.  They will not start now, especially with Anquan Boldin’s iffy status.  Also, Chargers upset the Steelers, the Titans eke out another win over the Ravens, and the Eagles stun the Giants.

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Baltimore lock, I am very biased in this pick I really like the Ravens but I do think that they are on a roll and I am not certain of the other 3 games. I’ll go with the other favorites, Pittsburgh, Giants, Panthers. I think the Chargers will have a tough time winning in cold Pittsburgh, the Giants are a much better team than the Eagles and the Panthers should be able to run all over the Cards

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Giants over the Eagles are my lock. Other winners are Carolina, Baltimore and Pittsburgh.

My lock to win this weekend is…oh wait. There’s no lock. Seriously, I don’t think there’s a clear favorite in any game and they all are dangerous for the favored team. With that said, I think Philly and Carolina win in the NFC, and in the AFC, i think Tennessee and San Diego win this weekend.

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Lock to win: Tennessee over Baltimore.  The Titans have just been too good this year.  My other winners:  Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Philly.

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Tennessee, Giants, Pittsburgh (as much I would like that to not happen), Arizona

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I like Pittsburgh at home as a lock.  San Diego is going to have to travel to the eastern time zone and play in some pretty cold weather.  Doesn’t look good for them.  Also going with Baltimore, Carolina and the Giants.

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I really want to say that my one lock this weekend is San Diego, on the back of former Kansas State great Darren Sproles (it’s a small back).  However, the obvious pick here is Carolina over Arizona. SD over PIT – Little Darren Sproles.  He’s shifty. TEN over BAL – I really liked the Oilers growing up. NYG over PHI – McNabb is due for a breakdown

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the Lock this weekend is the Panthers over the Cardinals other three winners Chargers, ravens, Giants

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Just like everyone else, I think the Panthers are a lock to win. Other winners are Giants, Ravens, and CHARGERS!!! I seriously think the Bolts will win.

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Lock- Pittsburgh over the “just happy to be here” Chargers. Other three: Giants, Panthers, and (ugh) Ravens

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Lock – Tenn, SD, Arz, NYG

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Want to join the team at PFB? Just send your name, favorite team, a lock of your hair, and a headshot to prayersforblowouts(at)gmail.com.

Because we know you were having PFB withdrawals over the holidays, The Schnoz offers you a quick look at this weekend’s Wild Card Matchups

Atlanta Falcons (-1.5) at the Arizona Cardinals

The Schnoz loves the Cardinals air attack, and thinks Steve Breaston might be the best 3rd wide receiver in the league. What I don’t love about the Cardinals is the competition they faced all year. Nor do I love the way they finished the season. The Falcons, on the other hand, played in arguably the best division in football and they finished strong. Taking a rookie QB on the road? Eh…Matt Ryan’s not a rookie anymore. I’ll take the dirty south.

The Prediction: Falcons 27, Cardinals 17

***

Indianapolis Colts (-1) at the San Diego Chargers

As I’ve mentioned on the Schnoz Report in previous weeks, the Colts are not great running the ball or defending the run. Still, I can’t wrap my head around the notion that Mr. MVP lets his season end at the hands of an 8-8 team of underacheivers. I don’t think the Colts make it to Tampa this year, but I like them winning tonight.

The Prediction: Colts 33, Chargers 24

***

Baltimore Ravens (-3) at the Miami Dolphins

Much has been made of how this matchup is a great one for the Ravens, and I’ll be honest: I’m buying it. Sure, Chad Pennington brings veteran savvy and smart decision-making into this game, but the Ravens defense is savvier and smarter. Not to mention they probably have more scoring playmakers on their defense than the Dolphins do on offense. Flacco won’t shine, but Ed Reed and Ray Lewis will pick up the slack.

The Prediction: Ravens 26, Dolphins 13

***

Philadelphia Eagles (-3) at the Minnesota Vikings

Here’s the one thing I think I know about this game: If either team gets up by more than two touchdowns early, it’s over. Tarvaris Jackson might be serviceable, but he’s not carrying the Vikings back from a big deficit in the face of Jim Johnson’s unrelenting blitzes. On the flip side, if the Vikings can get an early lead, I see them controlling the clock with All Day Peterson and covering Westbrook with 3 people on every play. So if one team manages to get that big early lead, who will it be? I’m taking the home Vikings.

The Prediction: Vikings 35, Eagles 20

If Betting were Legal

By the way, I ended up going 128-128 in my NFL picks this year. Dead Even. I thought I was a bit under .500, but a check of the official standings in my picks league this week showed that I had lost count at some point and finished with the same number of correct and incorrect picks.

So after 17 weeks, 256 games, and countless hours of analysis, I’ve got nothing to show for it. Maybe next year I’ll just flip a coin to pick the games and spend those extra hours reading or teaching my kids how to make raisins.

Enjoy the playoff games and another long weekend everyone!

-The Schnoz