Round 2 Recap

Saturday seemed like a normal day of Round 2 NFL playoff football. 1 blowout and another game that really wasn't that close. Although it wasn't a complete waste of time and energy, it lacked the competitiveness that most of us NFL junkies thrive on. And then came Sunday. Maybe it was just a tad bit more exciting as I had action on both underdogs, but both of Sunday's games will probably be remembered as the best of the 2008 NFL playoffs. Let's do a quick recap of this week's action West Coast Style.

• Green Bay 42 Seattle 20-I bet Seattle +9 and was ecstatic when I was up 23 points to the spread about 5 minutes into the game. Seattle jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead and it seemed my prediction of Seattle having too much experience for Green Bay to be true. What transpired over the next 55 minutes of game time was embarrassing to any Seahawks fan. The Packers absolutely destroyed the Seahawks in all facets of the game. The Pack outscored Seattle 42-6 after a bad start. Although I missed most of the game, there really wasn't much to see (aside from a snow game at Lambeau...which is always nice.)
• New England 31 Jacksonville 20-The Pats, once again, did just enough to win. Their offense is still unstoppable and on defense they were just good enough. Because they rarely turn the ball over, this team is still going to be extremely tough to beat even with a mediocre defense. Somehow, I managed to win my Jags +13.5 wager.
• San Diego 28 Indy 24-Maybe because I'm a bandwagon Charger fan, but this seemed like the best playoff game in a long time. The Chargers proved that depth is a HUGE asset in a long NFL season. OK, so maybe Billy Volek isn't that great, but look at the RB situation. Has there ever been as good of a 2 headed monster as Turner and Tomlinson? And when both get banged up, Sproles comes up with a huge TD play. Already having action at 8.5, I was giddy when I noticed the spread up to 10 on Saturday when I made my other wagers. Because of this, the SD-Indy game became only the 2nd game all season that I doubled down on (the other Dallas -14 St. Louis). Looking back, how could you possibly take Indy by double digits? They've NEVER blown out this Charger team. It's a good thing the Colts won it all last year, or else Peyton Manning would have a ton more baggage for "not winning the big game." Looking back, isn't it even more obvious Brady is a better choice at QB if you were to start a franchise? Regardless, it's obvious the Pats were ecstatic to see these teams beat up on each other the way they did.
• NY Giants 21 Dallas 17-OK, I admit it. I was completely wrong about the way the Giants have come on lately. Maybe I had action on them getting 7.5, but I wasn't that confident they wouldn't get blown out. I really thought the Cowboys would take care of business at home. What happened? The answer has nothing to do with Tony Romo or Jessica Simpson. TO was banged up, Crayton choked on more than one big play, and Terry Glenn was too rusty. The Giants D shut down the run fairly well and made just enough big plays to keep them in the game. Simply put, this was a very impressive performance by the Giants and I did not think that they had it in them. At 9-1, the road warrior Giants will have their toughest test at Lambeau next week.

West Coast Style NFL playoff ATS: 5-2-1 (6-2 actual money)

Simple formula this year so far: home teams in Week 1, road teams in Week 2.

CHAMPIONSHIP OUTLOOK

New England -14.5 San Diego-Forecast: Partly cloudy and cold. High of 15.

Green Bay -7 NY Giants-Forecast: Partly cloudy and cold. High of 12.

Las Vegas, NV: Sunny. High of 61. 100% chance of alcoholic intoxication.