The Diary of a Fantasy Virgin - Week 17 Dec 30, 2008 | More

Happy New Year! The Virgin part of the program has now been replaced with prognostication. Oh how much the time flies by. May 2009 bring to you everything that goals and achievement reward. For most it will be a time of waiting. Everyone seems to be waiting these days. Waiting for the economy to get better. Waiting for the end of the world. Waiting to pay the bills. I hope that enough of us will stop waiting and go about our normal business. For when that happens, the economy will no longer be the topic of discussion. It will be something about those rich getting richer no doubt. But I digress. It is Wildcard Weekend in the NFL, and it is time for prognostication. Next week I will try to pick the two final teams and this year the tournament is going to be the toughest ever.

Home Sweet Home

NFL playoffs come at you at a whole different level. For some teams like San Diego, they have been fighting for a playoff berth since they were 4-8. That is a team on the way up. Then you have a team like Arizona. They have been “chill-laxing” the last few weeks. How can they turn it around? Well they are at home (and home is sweet for most of these teams) but these four games bring us something unique. All four home teams could easily lose. This is a rarity but it is not out of the realm of possibility. So let us get on with it shall we?

Up Vs Down – Side Vs Side

This wild weekend sees four games full of drama and intrigue. It begins with the Atlanta Falcons in Arizona to take on the Cardinals. Atlanta has rebounded nicely this year and they have a very well-balanced offense. The storyline on this one is that Arizona has been playing awful lately, but who cares? It is not the playoffs. Well, I have news for you, if Arizona does get by this game, it may be really tough for them to come East with any success. Atlanta may be in over their head with a rookie QB, but they have been playing well. In a great first game, I will take Atlanta just because Arizona is just so one-dimensional. If Arizona does run, they win, but they won’t, so they don’t.

The next game is the Colts of Indianapolis against the Chargers of San Diego.  Normally, this would be a no-brainer because one team will have won several weeks in a row and the other would be tanking. Tanking that they got into the playoffs at all! Oh what a terrible joke. Both teams have been really playing well. This would be a side vs. side matchup. San Diego has not lost in four weeks, and their offense is clicking. The Colts have a nine-game winning streak of their own. The teams did play a nail-biter in Week 12 which the Colts won 23-20. The latest report is that LaDanian Tomlinson may not play. The winner of this game could win the AFC side of the tournament. I say the Colts win again though this is a total toss-up. It is too close to call and it should be a fantastic game to watch on Saturday evening.

The first game on Sunday is the Baltimore Ravens against the Miami Dolphins. Both teams are also playing well. Baltimore has finally found a great QB for them in the name of Joe Flacco. The Dolphins feature that Wildcat offense. These teams played in Week 7 in Miami and the Ravens bested the Dolphins. The Ravens defense prepared and conquered the Wildcat offense with a plan. The problem is that the Dolphins will not be able to beat a team like the Ravens straight up. So look for more Ravens defense and a Baltimore win.

The last game on Sunday is the Philadelphia Eagles at the Minnesota Vikings. Have you watched the Vikings play lately? Have you watched the Eagles play lately?  Enough said. The Eagles dominate offensively and defensively.

If that goes to plan, all four home teams would have lost which is usually a ridiculous proposition. But not too ridiculous on Wildcard weekend in the NFL, my friends.

What To Watch

Teams create momentum in these Wild Card games. The New York Giants convinced me that they were ready to play last year and actually won it all. Can another team do the same? The season-ending chapters of the NFL season become memorabilia everyone purchases the second weekend of February. Sometimes it all comes together for one player or coach and they become the symbol or rallying point.

But at first blush, how the heck is anyone beating Carolina in the NFC and the Titans in the AFC? I guess that article will be next week.

M aster D.

Tim can now be reached at tdavoll@fantasysharks.com and welcomes your inions on the Diary of a Fantasy Virgin Articles.