Predictions for Entire Playoffs

Welcome back to Touchdowns and Kicks with JimmyG on the team990.com

How did I do with my predictions during the regular season?

110-65 (62.9%)

So here we go. I’ll predict this weekends games as well as the entire playoffs.

Wild Card Round Preview and Playoff Predictions

Redskins at Seahawks

Joe Gibbs has opened the playoffs on the road FOUR TIMES. He and the Skins are 4-0.

Prior to this season, Joe Gibbs has been in the playoffs NINE times. On only one occasion (1984 vs Chicago) have the Skins lost their first playoff game. In other words, Gibbs is 8-1 opening the playoffs.

Joe Gibbs has beaten FIVE Super Bowl winning coaches in the playoffs. And by that I mean coaches who had Super Bowl wins at the time of the game, not retroactively.

Who are they? Tom Landry and Don Shula (1982) Bill Walsh (1983) Mike Ditka (1986 and 1987) Jon Gruden (2005)

Who does Joe Gibbs face in the wild card round? Mike Holmgren, a Super Bowl winning coach from 1996 with the Packers.

Joe Gibbs has also beaten THREE coaches who had, at one point, reached the Super Bowl and lost: Bud Grant (1982) Dan Reeves (1987) and Marvin Levy (1991)

Bottom line: Joe Gibbs has three Super Bowl wins and a 17-6 record in the playoffs.

Let’s look at Mike Holmgren for a moment. You’d think that this would be a coaching mismatch, but it really isn’t.

Holmgren has beaten three Super Bowl winning coaches in his playoff career: George Siefert (1995 and 1996) Bill Parcells (1996 and 2006) and who else, Joe Gibbs (2005)

In fact, if Seattle beats Washington on Saturday, Holmgren would have defeated three Super Bowl winning coaches twice each.

Final Score: Skins 24 Seahawks 20

Jaguars at Steelers

One stat that jumps out for this match is yards per pass play. Yards per pass play is calculated by taking yards passing, minus the sack yards, and divide them into the amount of times the quarterback drops back into the pocket. This stat is very telling, because it indicates how quickly a team can go down the field.

You would think that the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger would have a better passing offense than the Jags: Jacksonville is known as a running team, what else would you think?

Well, you’d be wrong. The Jags averaged 6.67 yards every time their quarterback dropped back in the pocket . Only teams finished ahead of the Jaguars in this category:
New England 7.77 (4711/606)
Dallas 7.37 ( 4103/557)
Green Bay 7.26 (4336/597)
Indianapolis 7.02 (4032/574)
Houston 6.81 (3751/551)
Cincinnati 6.78 (4011/592)

The Steelers: they averaged 6.28 yards per pass play, 14th in the league.

Bottom line: the Jags can throw the ball down the field as well as run the ball. The simple reason is that with defenses stacking the line of scrimmage to stop the run, David Garrard has recievers running patterns with one on one coverage.

Final Score: Jaguars 27 Steelers 14

Titans at Chargers

If Kerry Collins starts this game, he’d be the fourth quarterback to start a playoff game for THREE different teams. See the next item for more information.

Norv Turner is someone I simply do not trust in a big game situation. If you were going to fire Marty Shottenheimer because he was a playoff failure, wouldn’t you have picked anyone but Norv Turner as a replacement?

Turner was, heading into the 2007 season, 58-82-1 in nine full seasons as a head coach with Washington and Oakland. Turner had only one playoff appearance to his credit in those nine seasons, and on only one other occasion did his team even have a chance of making the playoffs on the last week of the season.

Can one exceptional 11-5 season erase a reputation that is based on nine years of futility? Norv Turner better hope so.

Final Score: Chargers 28 Titans 10

Giants at Buccaneers

Jeff Garcia, history maker?

Only two quarterbacks have ever started a playoff game for three different teams.

Brad Johnson (Minnesota, Washington and Tampa Bay)
David Krieg (Seattle, Kansas City and Detroit)

If Garcia starts on Sunday against the Giants, he’d be the third or fourth (Tennessee’s Kerry Collins might also join the list, depending on Vince Young’s health)

Where might history be made? Neither Johnson or Krieg won playoff games with all three teams. (Krieg failed with Detroit, Johnson with Washington)

Garcia beat the Giants while with the 49ers (2002) and while with the Eagles last season.

Unfortunately for the Giants, the headline on Monday morning will read as follows: “Giants fall short, Coughlin and Eli 0-3 in the playoffs”

Final Score: Bucs 17 Giants 14

Complete Playoff Predictions

Here is what I think will happen over the next four weeks

Next week
Patriots 31 Jaguars 20
Colts 28 Chargers 10
Cowboys 31 Redskins 14
Packers 30 Bucs 10

AFC Title Game: Patriots 24 Colts 10
NFC Title Game: Cowboys 27 Packers 17

Super Bowl: Patriots 35 Cowboys 24

I'll be back Tuesday with more on the NFL Playoffs.