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I don’t know if it means I know something or if it was a case of the blind squirrel finding a nut, but I nailed the conference championships, picking the Colts to beat the Jets both straight up and against the spread while guessing the Vikings would beat the spread but lose a close one to New Orleans. That puts me at 7-3 straight up and 6-4 against Vegas lines for the playoffs. And so on to the Super Bowl.

Straight up: Colts
Spread: Saints +5

The Super Bowl presents another intriguing match-up between two high-powered offenses going against defenses that have been vulnerable at times this season.

Among the most interesting aspects of this tilt will be the quarterback duel between Peyton Manning and Drew Brees – a match-up that brings back memories of Staubach vs Bradshaw or Montana vs Elway. With Dwight Freeney injured and either out or playing at less than full strength and the Saints sporting a very good offensive line, I expect Brees to have plenty of time to throw. The same should be true of Manning, who is rarely sacked.

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And the fun continues.

I was less successful in my picks last weekend than I was during the Wild Card round. I hit two of four straight up and one of four against the spread. Hopefully this week goes a bit better.

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Some people call NFL Divisional Playoff Weekend the best of the football season. This season I think they are absolutely right on.

I love this weekend’s games. I’ve been studying them as time allowed all week and I’ve spent the last hour scouring the Internet and two newspapers looking for information. And I can’t get a good grasp on any of the four matchups.

I’m coming off of a pretty good week though. I hit three of four both straight up and against the spread last week. Hopefully that trend continues. Here are my thoughts:
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We dropped the prediction segment on the ZB Web site early in the season this year due to lack of cohesiveness, direction and readership. We’ll probably bring something pick-related, both straight up and against the spread, for next season. It’ll definitely be more organized than it was before.

That said, it’s the playoffs and with the beginning of the second season I thought I’d go back to making some foolish game picks.

So, for Wild Card weekend, here are my thoughts.
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Just a couple this week – lots of games I think I like, but few I like enough to publish. As always, the odds come from Vegas.com. Playing heavily on the favorites today.

1. Indianapolis (-14) over St. Louis
St. Louis is giving up 252 yards per game via the pass, sixth worst in the league. They’ve only given up eight touchdowns in the air, but likely at least in part because they’ve been behind to the point where opponents focused on milking the clock. Peyton Manning has thrown for 300-plus in every game. He could have that by halftime. The Rams are averaging nine points per game. They will not hold Indy to 23 or fewer.

2. New England (-14.5) over Tampa Bay
If the NFL wants to turn the Brits on to  American football they might want to schedule more competitive games. Tom Brady is starting to look like the Tom Brady of old. And while Tampa hasn’t been scorched through the air by yardage, they have given up 13 passing touchdowns on the season, third most in the league. Meanwhile, the Bucs’ offense isn’t as punchless as St. Louis’ is, but they still don’t have enough power to keep this within two scores.

Good luck.