Divisional Round Picks

Dave's cold streak continues(but did warn you guys in the Playoff Preview of a Broncos win over the Steelers) as Gabe added a two-game lead in the playoffs to go with his regular season crown.

On to Round 2.....

LAST WEEK:

Gabe: 3-1

Dave: 1-3

PLAYOFFS

Gabe: 3-1

Dave: 1-3

Saints (-3.5) at Niners

Dave: Niners - A couple of things you should know here before you kill me for this pick. First, the Saints have never won on the road in the playoffs under Drew Brees. The weather in San Fran isn't expected to be a factor but it goes without saying that things won't be as comfy for the Saints at The Stick as it would be in the friendly confines of the Superdome. Second, if you take away the shootout New Orleans won over Houston in the season's opening month, the Saints haven't faced a good defense all season. The closest thing to Houston that New Orleans faced was St. Louis(who finished 7th against the pass) and the Rams won that game. The Niners possess the best defense in the NFL and while defending the pass is their one weak link(16th against air attacks), they are pretty stout everywhere else. Pierre Thomas isn't going to be able to pound away at SF like he did Detroit and the Niners will be looking for those quick screens to Darren Sproles. A good defense has almost ALWAYS beat a good offense and I think San Fran pulls the upset here at home.

Gabe: San Fran - Historically great defense beats great offense. I'm taking the defense. Niners.

Broncos (+13.5) at Patriots

Dave: Broncos - Some more fun with numbers. The Patriots don't have a single victory over a team with a winning record all season. Sure, they beat the Broncos a couple months ago but it's safe to say that Denver has a bit more momentum in the rematch than they did the first go-round. The Broncos gashed the Patriots' porous defense with the run attack in the first game and I expect that to be true again in the second match. This time around though, Tim Tebow has a bit more comfort in the offense, a lot more comfort with WR Demaryius Thomas, and a Patriots' offensive line that might be too battered to keep Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil off of Tom Brady all game. Tebow and, especially, John Fox knows turnovers killed them the last time against New England and the age-old blueprint to beat New England has been keep Brady off the field and then smack him in the mouth when he's out there. I think another dose of Tebow magic is farfetched, but Denver keeping it under double digits? I'll take that.

Gabe: Broncos - Quite simply, no way the Pats win by two touchdowns.

Texans (+7.5) at Ravens

Dave: Ravens - This isn't as much of a lay-up as it seems. Sure, the Texans are beat up and they are trotting out T.J. Yates as their starting QB and Houston lost to Baltimore already this season but this still isn't a lock for the Ravens. The Texans play outstanding defense, which was something the Bengals found out the hard way last week. Second, you can never fully trust Joe Flacco if you're a Ravens fan. The Ravens' losses this season have come when both the team underestimated it's seemingly inferior opponent and Flacco looked more like Drew Bledsoe than Drew Brees. All that being said, I think this is Baltimore's year. With Pittsburgh out of the way, the only thing standing between them and a trip to Indy is themselves. The Ravens know the window is closing for Ray Lewis and Ed Reed and Ray Rice is too dangerous on the ground and in the passing game to be completely held in check. The Ravens are going to bog down on Arian Foster, force Yates to make throws/mistakes and keep Flacco from blowing this one. Ravens by 13.

Gabe: Ravens - Terrell Suggs makes sure he and rest of the Ravens ball so hard.

Giants (+7.5) at Packers

Dave: Giants - I haven't spoke to Gabe about this game all week. Not one snarky post on Facebook about our teams facing each other in the playoffs. No angry texts over Jason Pierre-Paul's "guarentee". No mentions of Green Bay's win over New York early in the year. Why? Because I remember 2007, when an underdog Giants team went into Lambeau and ruined Brett Favre's last chance at a Super Bowl as a Packer. However, while much is made over that upset, it's important to make distinctions. One, the QB for this week's game is Aaron Rodgers, not Brett Favre. Two, most of the stars on Green Bay's team weren't around for that '07 L. Three, the Packers weren't the defending Super Bowl champions playing at an absolute high back then like they are now. Four, while the Giants pass rush is improved, the secondary is much worse and you can make the case that the run game is as well(even if it's the same guys in the backfield as five years ago). So, why do I like New York? Because I know this game will be just as close as the last one was and I have very little faith in both the Packers O-Line as well as their defense. I still like Green Bay to win though. Aaron Rodgers has spent the last two weeks listening to how Matt Flynn killed his MVP campaign and how great Drew Brees is and how the Giants are going to pull off the upset again and, knowing A-Rod, I expect him to come out in full "Fuck you" mode. This game is going to come down to making costly mistakes and, unlike in '07, the Packers don't have a turnover machine at QB like they did then. So I'll take my boys, but I think they win it by 6 after Eli gets picked off on the final drive by Tramon Williams.

Gabe: Giants - Aaron Rodgers has had three weeks off and could be rusty. The Giants have tons of momentum. The thing the Giants do best of defense is harass and disrupt the opposition's passing game. In addition, the Packers are going through some turmoil because the death of their offensive coordinator's son. I think the Giants have a shot to win. They might not win, but it will be close.