Wild Card Weekend Review/Divisional Playoffs Preview:

For The Week/Season:
vs. W/L: (2-2)/(181-79)
VS. ATS: (2-2)/(138-122)
vs. Aggregate: (3-1)/(126-134)

ATS vs. "CBS Sportsline Experts"

Richard 141-117-0
PFN: 138-122-0
Judge 132-126-0
Harmon 125-133-0
Prisco 123-135-0
Urbano 122-136-0
Madden 117-141-0

W/L vs. “USA Today Experts” (Playoff Total)
PFN: 181-79 (2-2)
Pete O'Brien 176-80 (1-3)
Sean Leahy 174-82 (3-1)
Nate Davis 173-83 (1-3)
Gary Mihoces 171-85 (3-1)
Tom Pedulla 170-86 (0-4)
Jarrett Bell 169-87 (0-4)
Jim Corbett 163-93 (4-0)
Skip Wood 156-100 (1-3)

Divisional Playoff Preview:

Let’s hope we have some competitive games this week, because last week featured three pretty dull blowouts and a game that looked like neither team’s defense showed up to play. Before that, let’s recap what went wrong with the Patriots this year.

Patriots’ Aftermath:

What happened last week in Foxboro anyhow? The Patriots were blown off the line of scrimmage for 60 minutes and it certainly appears as if major changes are in the offing for the Patriots before next year gets underway. The local media has had a field day over the Patriots’ humiliating loss, flatly stating that “the dynasty is over”. Maybe it ended at the Super Bowl two years ago. We mentioned several times this year that a defense cannot sustain the amount of losses of core players that the Patriots have over the last 2-3 years and expect to remain competitive by simply plugging in new bodies. It may be the case that Belichick’s prior success emboldened him to arrogantly conclude that players were no more than widgets who could be replaced and plugged into spots without missing a beat. We saw how well that philosophy worked this year on defense.

In recent years, Belichick and the pro personnel staff have done a poor job drafting and signing free agents and, sooner or later, the proof is going to show up in the pudding. On defense, other than Wilfork there is no longer any links to the “Glory Days”. Last year,Bruschi and Harrison retired and Vrabel was traded to KC as part of the Cassel deal. They traded away Richard Seymour for a #1 pick in ’11 and his loss was incalculable. Their pass rush this year was pathetic. They spent big money on Adalius Thomas a couple of years ago, and he played below expectations, openly feuding with the coach at times. They blew a #3 pick on Burgess and he was a big disappointment. Shawn Springs was signed for big bucks and was injured most of the year. They needed to drag Junior Seau out of retirement (again) because none of their linebackers (save Mayo) proved to be capable run-stoppers. They traded down in the draft as usual and shored up the defensive backfield, but the rookies only provided negligible returns. Only Leigh Bodden and Meriwether were adequate players. Their DC abruptly resigned this week with legitimate health problems, so that’s another area of the infrastructure that needs to be promptly addressed.

Things don’t appear as bleak on the offensive side. Considering the seriousness of Brady’s injury in ’08, he came back this year and played reasonably well. He appeared angry after Sunday’s loss and will be highly motivated next year, as the sun has already passed high noon on his brilliant career. The O-Line requires some improvement, not an overhaul. Sebastian Vollmer appears to be developing into a stud at tackle. At running back, it may be time to bid adieu to “Fumbles” Maroney. He was given every fair opportunity to be the go-to guy and did show some flashes, but they ought to seek someone more reliable early in the draft. Fred Taylor came in as a free agent but was hurt most of the year. As usual, Kevin Faulk was the best of the lot and remains a great team leader. Ben Watson was projected to be a game-changer at tight end, but only stepped up to the challenge on rare occasions. They let Jabar Gaffney leave in free agency and the two wideouts they brought in to replace him (Galloway and Lewis) couldn’t even make the team. Wes Welker had another great season before blowing out his knee in Houston in Week 17. He will require major reconstructive surgery and no one knows whether he’ll be the same player again. His replacement, Julian Edelman, stepped in and performed admirably well. Randy Moss was brilliant at times and disinterested at others. One thing’s for certain, the offense needs another Corey Dillon-type workhorse and another home run hitter at wideout to take some of the pressure off Moss.

On special teams, the Patriots truly underperformed and that is an area that Belichick will emphatically address during the off-season. Perhaps it was the loss of Brad Seely to Cleveland that resulted in such poor performance, but Belichick needs to hire a new coach.

Right now, the Patriots are at a crossroads. They can fade into irrelevance like the Steelers, 49’ers and Cowboys did in the previous three decades or they can re-tool and make another run for the brass ring. To win in the future the team needs to reevaluate and redesign the financial model that brought them success in the past. The Patriots’ fans have been spoiled by the team’s dominance in this decade and there are already signs that the bandwagon riders are dropping off. By and large, it’s not a boisterous “football crowd” that goes to the games but a legion of frontrunners who will bail as soon as the next big thing shows up somewhere else. Long gone are the drunken rowdies who filled the old concrete bowl and voiced their emotions in rather unique ways. It’s a tamer, subdued and more affluent crowd that shows up these days. If Mr. Kraft wishes to enjoy a continued profitable return on his investment, he certainly understands that this particular fan base will not fill the stadium or shop at the (overpriced designer) mall if the quality of the product on the field is less than championship caliber. This is not Pittsburgh or Green Bay, where the fans will show up, come hell or high water. The management would be wise to remember how things were in Foxboro pre-Parcells/Bledsoe.

This offseason should be the most interesting in years. They have four picks in the first two rounds and need to draft impact players, especially on defense. This is one year that they cannot “trade down for value” as in years past. They need some serious bodies from the draft and hope that two of last year’s picks (McKenzie and Tate) show up healthy. They also need to re-sign Wilfork and be proactive in free agency.

Time will tell...

At New Orleans -6.5 Arizona 57

The Saints were pretty sluggish heading into their bye, so it remains to be seen how sharp Brees & Co. will come out to start the game. The Cardinals have more playoff experience and playing in the Dome should pose no problem to Warner and the offense. The Cardinals defense gave up 45 points last week in a shootout. Most folks look at the Saints’ offensive juggernaut and figure that they can duplicate the feat this week. But they have some rust that needs to be shaken off before they can roll. It’s going to be a tough test against a Cardinal offense that’s hotter than Arizona in July.

Projected Final Score: New Orleans 34, Arizona 31

At Indianapolis -6.5 Ravens 44

The Ravens played a great game in Foxboro last week, as they pushed the Patriots all over the field in an easy win. As a bonus, they now get to travel to Indy for a date with Manning, who is probably chomping at the bit to get the offense back in high gear. Indianapolis hasn’t played a “real” game in about a month, so one should not expect that they’ll be firing on all cylinders from the git-go. If the Ravens are capable of running the football as well as they did last week, this may pose some problems for Indy. The longer the Ravens can chew the clock with Ray Rice and McGahee, the harder it will be for Manning to quickly strike back. Indianapolis will probably win because the Ravens’ corners are the team’s Achilles Heel, but if they win, it’ll be a squeaker. Wouldn’t the City of Baltimore go wild if the Ravens pulled off the upset? It would erase decades of hurt feelings over the loss of the Colts.

Projected Final Score: Indianapolis 21, Ravens 17.

At Minnesota -2.5 Dallas 45.5

The Vikings established a great deal of momentum during the early part of the year and coasted into the playoffs. Right now, they appear ripe for the upset as their offense simply does not match up well against Dallas. There are issues on the O-Line that guys like Ware will exploit and the Cowboys’ d-backs are no longer as porous as in years past. Who knows, maybe Minnesota peaked around Week 12. The loss of Henderson will prove to be too much for the Vikings’ defense to handle. This may be the last time around for the Ageless Wonder and Doomsday is poised to make it a long afternoon.

Projected Final Score: Dallas 24, Minnesota 20

At San Diego -7.5 NY Jets 42

How many times have the Chargers gone to the tournament only to pull a choke job? Now that New England is not standing in their way this year, there should be no problem advancing to the Conference Championship next week. The Jets lucked their way into the playoffs but, to their credit, played a great game against the Bungles last week. Even though they’ll come into this game loose and with nothing to lose, the clock on their Cinderella run is about to strike midnight (actually 4:00) in San Diego. There has been too long a run of disappointment for the Chargers and they are primed for a championship run. Sure, Revis may shut down Vincent Jackson but the Jets’ D has no answer to defend Antonio Gates.

Projected Final Score: San Diego 27, NY Jets 16