***Clay's Divisional Round Dandies***

So excited about this weekend's games.
Here are my thoughts, strongest fancies first.

MASSIVE MASSIVE MASSIVE MASSIVE BET ON THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS -4.5

I'm very keen on the Patriots today. Bet of the weekend by a country mile for me. Here is why.

I was so keen on the Chiefs last weekend. I had a huge bet on them, but I think they were massively flattered. Hoyer had a complete meltdown. In fact it's actually quite disappointing that the Chiefs only won by 30 when your consider the turnovers and the field positions they got.

Again, as with numerous other play off adventures in his career, Andy Reid turned into a negative coach and had a really conservative game plan. Expect the same today. More so now that Maclin is gimpy.

The Patriots are starting to get their offensive weapons back. Edelman and Amendola are huge players for this team. Yes The Gronk might be banged up but he is still a huge threat and presence and he will still have to be covered.

The Chiefs have a very good pass rush and the Patriots offensive line has struggled. But with Edelman and Amendola back it allows Brady to get the ball out of his hand quickly and that will negate the pass rush.

Also I do like the Pats defence. They are very underrated. I will be surprised if the Chiefs score more than 14 tonight. In fact, I can see them scoring 10 or less.

If Brady finds his groove with important men back then I can't see the Chiefs being able to match them on the scoreboard.

This is the end of the road for a team that have done so well to win 11 in a row.

Travis Kelsey is the Chiefs big receiving threat but Bellicheat will take him out of the game and force Smith to beat him using other receivers. Bellicheat has made his coaching career on taking out the opponents best player and forcing to find other ways to beat them. Chiefs badly needed a fully fit Machlin.

This dink and dump stuff won't work against the Pats defence. And the Chiefs can't beat them by going long. So how do they score?
Patriots all day every day for me.

MASSIVE MAASIVE MASSIVE BET ON THE ARIZONA CARDINALS -7

Taking about being flattered, how about dem Packers. I love Rodgers but his season ends tonight. It was good to see him last week, for the first time in a long while, just being Aaron Rodgers and doing what Aaron Rodgers does best - improvising. But this is not a good Packefs offence - especially without their best receiver Jordy Nelson. Rodgers doesn't really trust the other receivers. Cobb, Jones and Adams are ok but nothing more. Patrick Peterson is going to be all over them like a rash. Eddie lacy is just too fat, while Starks is good. I like him.

There is not much love for Arizona on this forum but boy have they been good this season. I love Bruce Arians. He just socks it right to you. He hits you right in the eyes and doesn't blink. The cardinals just come right at you. Big shots down the field. Strong running game. Very good receivers. Quarter back with a huge arm.

It is very rare in the NFL to get two blow outs in the one season when the same teams face each other twice. But I can see it happening tonight. This Packers side just don't have the offensive weapons to hang with the cardinals. I like the packers defence but this will be a whole new ball game from facing the redskins last week.

MASSUVE MASSUVE BET ON THE CAROLINA PANTHERS -1.5

My first thought last week when thinking about the Panthers v Seahawks was that I'd be all over the Panthers -3 or less but leave it at 3.5 over above.

I have to bet the Panthers where the line is now. The line is saying that the Seahawks are the better team. There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever this season for that being the case.

There is a lot of pro Seahawks opinions on this forum but I have not read anywhere on this forum one mention of the game between these two sides earlier in the season. In Seattle, the Panthers were the best team all day long. Silly mistakes held them back in the first half. Being down going into the 4th quarter, cam newton marched the panthers up and down the field twice in long drives to win the game.

In the separate thread for this game the OP said about the Seahawks stopping the Panthers run game. Possible. The Seahawks do have a very strong defensive front. But here is why I think they will struggle. Last week they concentrated on stopping Peterson. One man. This week they will have Jonathan Stewart, Mike Tolbert and CAM NEWTON to stop in the run game.

For four seasons, even when the Seahawks had a much better defence than now, they have had massive issues with running quarterbacks. Kaepernick has shredded the Seahawks a few times with his legs. As has Rodgers. As has Alex Smith. Cam newton will be a huge threat tomorrow.

Yes the Seahawks shouldn't be here but I am inclined to let them off for last week. The game was played in brutal conditions and I think it was the survival of the fittest. But last week did highlight, however, the reasons why the Seahawks have struggled this season. Their offensive line once again got bullied and pushed around. Russell ended up having to scramble. Their defence can't cover tight ends. Ruddolf on the last drive caused them all sorts of problems.

And just how good is this Seahawks defence? The Vikings had such a conservative game plan last week. But the one time they let the lead off teddy Bridgewater, when they were 10-7 down, he marched them down the field to set up a chip shot field goal that they missed.

Cam newton has been outstanding all season long. The market has consistently underrated the panthers all season long. The panthers D is very good will kill the Seahawks O line. Riverboat Ron is a brilliant coach.
There is no way the Seahawks are a better team than the Panthers. The market is wrong.

I'll be rooting for the steelers but fear injuries have killed them. but even in his prime, Peyton was iffy in the cold in January so I will live in hope