NYaT Roundtable: Wild Card Round Picks

I was watching ESPN the other day and the "Fact or Fiction" question came on the screen that read: "No home team will win a Wild Card game." I was shocked seeing that until I realized that this prediction could really come to fruition. Now the real debate starts is this because of the lack of homefield advantage or the fact that some divisions are not equal to others. I side with the latter but I think we'll see some interesting things this weekend as we do every playoffs. If you're still trying to figure out who is going to win this weekend, here's some thoughts for you from Ben P, Ari, Jay and myself:

Can Marc Sanchez make magic happen on the road again? (NY Mag)

New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts (Colts favored by 2.5)

Ben P says: "The Colts are vulnerable with their injuries, but I don't think the Jets have the defense to pull this out. You can't beat Manning without pressure, but the Jets can't apply pressure unless they blitz and Manning eats up the blitz like Rex Ryan eats up feet. On the other side of the ball the Jets lack consistency on offense on home field is a key here for the Colts." Colts

Ari says: "Because I want to hear Rex Ryan yap for another week" Jets

Jay says: "The Colts overcame a four-point halftime deficit to beat the Jets in last season's AFC Championship game.  In seeking revenge in this year's playoff rematch, Rex Ryan says "it's personal."  I believe him.  Mark Sanchez has improved and shown even more poise than he did last year.  Darrelle Revis should do a good job of locking down Reggie Wayne, which leaves Peyton Manning with fewer options than ever before in the playoffs, thanks to injuries to Austin Collie and Dallas Clark.  Since the Colts' only rushing options are a still-recovering Joseph Addai (89 yards in his last 2 games) and a still-developing Donald Brown (UConn in the house!), I think the Colts will be overmatched offensively.  As long as the Jets protect Sanchez from Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, I think the Jets will escape from Indy with a close win." Jets

My opinion: Last year I had my same issues with the Jets: a mediocre QB, an overrated defense (and the Jets passing D is not as good as last year), and a team lucky to even be in the dance. But after watching the Jets prove me wrong last year, I'm not going to discount them--even with some holes in the secondary. It's not just that the Colts are banged up (and they certainly are) but the fact that they're not as good a team this year as they've been in the past. Like The Office, the Colts are just expected to be good despite the fact that the leading man and all the people around him have declined. The Colts pass rush is weak and if you're not going to get to Mark Sanchez, you're not going to beat the Jets. The Colts beat exactly one playoff team (the Chiefs) and really just breezed through an easy schedule. I wouldn't be shocked if they won, but I'm going with my man Russell and picking the J-E-T-S. Jets

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A Look at the Giants: Who To Root For In the Playoffs

If you could have told me the Giants would finish with a 10-6 record at the beginning of the season, I would have signed up for it. The same was true after they fell to 1-2 after a dismal home loss against the Titans. But in the end, 10-6 feels like a hugely disappointing season because it knocks them out of the playoffs. The Giants left wins on the New Meadowlands field against the Titans, Cowboys, and, most painful of all, the Eagles--and even one win in those three games would have gotten the Giants into the big dance. But since they aren't there, we're going to do what we did last year and count down from the worst to the best in order to give you a guide of who to root for as a Giants fan in this year's playoffs.

A 7-9 team winning the Super Bowl wouldn't sit well with this Giants fan (ESPN)

12) Philadelphia Eagles

Pretty simple here. Not only are they now the Giants fiercest rivals (with apologies to the Cowboys and Redskins), but the Giants came oh-so-close to beating them twice this year but fell victim to end-of-game collapses. The last game was the worst of all and any prideful Giants fan should be rooting against the Dog Killer and Deshaun Jackson. For the Eagles to even make a Super Bowl they'll have to go through Green Bay, Chicago (at Chicago), and probably Atlanta (at Atlanta). You hope that road is too tough for Michael Vick and company because the Eagles celebrating with the Lombardi trophy at the end of the year will make someone kill Matt Dodge.

11) Seattle Seahawks

There is a huge drop-off from the Eagles to here. Under the current rules a 7-9 team can make the playoffs in the NFL but if the Giants win 3 more games and the Seahawks find an improbable way to win a Super Bowl, well, that's just not right. The reason division winners are given an automatic bid is to make sure that if a division beats up on each other because they're really good, then all the teams aren't punished. And in the NFC South you had that situation where Atlanta, New Orleans and Tampa Bay were really good. This is not the same situation. Really good teams win games outside the division. This is a team the Giants beat in their home stadium and this crappy team cannot make it past the first round for any Giants fan's sanity.

10) Chicago Bears

The Giants demolished Jay Cutler and the Bears and it looked like that was going to be the downfall of their season...and now they have a first-round bye? I don't get it. Worse yet is that they couldn't beat the Packers yesterday to help out the Giants. I give them kudos for trying (although I don't understand it considering the hits that Jay Cutler took) but their failure doesn't help the position on this list. And between Jay Cutler and Devin Hester, this is not a likable team for Giants fans. Anyone who has watched football the past few years knew Cutler was throwing a pick to end the game yesterday. Can't root for a QB like that.

9) New York Jets

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