Picked Apart

Jimmy the Greek I am not. 

I had as much success predicting the outcomes of this weekend’s playoff games as Donald Rumsfeld did planning the occupation of Iraq. I went an embarrassing 0 for 4, bringing my postseason tally to an underwhelming 2-6. I guess I could spin this statistic, dear reader, and say that your intrepid blogger accurately calls one-third of all sporting events, but I’d rather wallow in the ineptitude of my own picks and not take up valuable Internet space dissembling about known unknowns or known knowns. 

Still, aside from the last-minute Chargers nod, I was confident in my selections. Tennessee gave the game to Joey Flacco and the Ravens, with a helping hand from the referees, too, I might add. Nobody—and I mean nobody—gave the Cardinals even a puncher’s chance against Carolina. I don’t think many people could blame me for taking either team.  

The Giants, on the other hand, totally exposed my handicapping abilities. That one hurt. I’m usually pretty good at spotting trends. This Eagles team is eerily reminiscent of last year’s Giants team, which came out of nowhere to win three straight playoff games on the road, before eventually knocking off the Patriots in the Super Bowl. The Eagles and the Giants are so much alike I actually refused to believe it. No way, I thought, is another low-ranking NFC East team going to win three road games to get to the Super Bowl, especially after a terrible up-and-down season. Even with the playoff beards. I just wasn’t ready to buy into them. Hell, I’m still not. As solid as the Eagles played yesterday, the Giants looked like absolute hell. They were about as ready to defend their title as the Celtics have been since they finally started playing games away from Boston. Just a brutal loss for the Jints. 

As for the San Diego pick? What can I say, I took a shot. I actually like Pittsburgh. A lot. As late as Saturday night, I had in my mind a Steelers-Giants Super Bowl. I went with the hot hand and got burned. I should have stuck with my gut. 

I’m going to take a few days to think about what I did. It’s exactly this kind of sloppiness that justifies the recent shunning from my peers.