Trav's Thoughts

Hey! I just noticed that my visit counter rolled past 10,000. Cool!


Seattle hasn't played well on the road against good teams all season. I see no reason for it to be any different just because it's the playoffs. If the Seahawks are going to win today it will be with the passing game. The running game has been better with Maurice Morris, but it's still not consistently good. If Matt Hasselbeck can stay away from mistakes and his receivers can get open deep, Seattle may be able to take advantage of Green Bay's safeties over the middle. Defensively everyone makes a fuss over Seattle's strong pass rush, but the statistical reality is that the Seahawks have an average defense that is prone to coverage mistakes. However, it looks like the weather will be cold with possible afternoon snow flurries or showers but light winds. For two teams that haven't shown they can consistently run the football and win games via the pass, this could be a problem.

My pick is Green Bay.


I've been saying for some time that I think Jacksonville is a team that can pick off New England. The Jaguars are a pure running team. They don't use the run to set up anything but another run. But first down is key. QB David Garrard has avoided big mistakes all season, throwing only 3 interceptions due mostly to the fact that Jacksonville stays out of 3rd down and long situations. While New England went 16-0 during the regular season, this is not a perfect football team. The defensive weakness is against the run. The Patriots have been able to overcome it, mainly because they've scored so many points and generated large leads that force opponents to throw to try and stay in the game. Any defense will have success when you know the other offense is going to pass. Jacksonville must control the clock with the run, shorten the game, and survive big play strikes from New England. Above all, the Jaguars have to remember to keep playing through the entire 60 minutes. The Patriots are most dangerous down two scores - NE came back on Indy, Pittsburgh, and the Giants when it looked like those teams were in control.

My pick is Jacksonville.