THE DAILY MOJO by Adam Daniel

Hey there. Happy New Year! I’ll be posting a New Year Resolutions post later today, but wanted to quickly post my picks for the NFL Playoffs before I sit down to tune in. I’ve followed this season more closely than any since we lived in USA/Canada for a year, and it’s definitely been a roller coaster season. I was disappointed to see the Pats eliminated last weekend, but after losing Tom Brady week 1 I didn’t really see any other outcome.

One of my idols Bill Simmons is trying to go 11-0 in Playoff picks, and I was intrigued enough to try and go for it myself. Here’s my picks, with a brief explanation for each (home team in caps):

Falcons over CARDINALS

The Cardinals have been on a slide since the first half of the season, whilst the Falcons have put together a remarkable season behind good coaching, defence and surprising QB play.
I’m getting a good ‘Brady-esque’ vibe from Atlanta QB Matt Ryan, who I think will be much steadier than other rookie quarterbacks in the pressure cooker of playoff football.

Colts over CHARGERS

Peyton Manning shook off his ‘choker’ label with their championship season, so I don’t see him going out against an 8-8 team that barely scraped into the playoffs. I’m predicting a close one, but the QB leadership and better coaching should put the Chargers away.

Ravens over DOLPHINS

Really like the Ravens, one of those killer defensive teams that somehow worked out how to score effectively this season. Can’t see the Dolphins scoring big against them, and if it turns into a grind-out game, Baltimore will be in the driver’s seat.

Eagles over VIKINGS

This is the one I am wavering on the most, but in the end it was Vikings QB Tavaris Jackson who swayed me to choose the Eagles. If the Eagles manage to get some pressure on him early and force the Vikings to abandon the pass game, even a RB as good as Adrian Peterson should struggle against a run-oriented Eagles D which has been very good (at times) in their regular season games. The Eagles have been a yo-yo team throughout the season, but I think they have one more win in them before they meet the real big guns.

Yep, I ended up choosing 4 road winners which is definitely not going to help my cause probability wise – but then again, it’s been that kind of season. Enjoy the games if you’re watching.