FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Not many writers are picking the underdogs this weekend, and there's probably good reason why. For whatever reason, this is the time of year when we expect the players to put it all on the line, but can count on the writers to make stock predictions. Those luminaries who would have us believe in their Cinderella teams at the beginning of the season always seem to go limp, and go with the favorites, when it really counts. Not me, though.

I usually root for the underdog. Unfortunately, this year's playoff teams were pretty much as I thought they would be even before the season started - same old, same old. (I even counted on the Redskins, though the Packers' record surprised me). Not a single Cinderella made it to the ball this year, so I'm counting on lots of upsets in the playoffs to make this year a little more interesting. So darn the odds, here's the way I see this weekend going.

Seattle at Green Bay is ripe for an upset. Seattle, like it did in its Super Bowl season, slogged along during the regular season, but put together a huge defensive show in its game against the Redskins. I would expect Seattle will continue that against the Packers, too. Forget the hokie side stories like who's retiring, and who was the master and who was the pupil. Look for Favre to get pushed around by Seattle's front seven, and Hasselbeck to be efficient enough to put a few scores on the board. Weather looks decent for this time of year, so running the ball won't be a necessity for either team. Seattle 27, Green Bay 17.

Everyone seemingly wants to see Jacksonville put a hurting on New England and come away a victor, but no one is willing to say it's going to happen. Frankly, I don't see why it couldn't. Unless the Pats' defense has learned to stop the run in the past couple of weeks, their offense will be playing catch up all day. Garrard doesn't put a lot of fear into defenses, but with the running game going, he can be a deadly weapon putting the ball in the air. The Jags defense can play well against a one dimensional offense like the Pats have shown lately, so if the Pats can't churn out some good yardage on the ground, Brady is in for the worst game of his MVP year. The Pats are human. Jacksonville 24, New England 21.

New York at Dallas should be a thriller. Was that a little swagger the Giants developed over the last couple of weeks? Was that a little swagger the Cowboys lost in D.C.? No reason to pick either team as a strong favorite over the other since the talent level is about even on both sides of the field - coaches included. But if the Giants can hold their fragile psyche together for another game, (a big if), and fracture the psyche of Romo and T.O. (possible), they can win this one. NY 35, Dallas 27.

On paper, San Diego at Indianapolis is probably the least likely game to produce an upset, so it's probably the most likely to do so on the field. Indy's got the better of the two offenses, defenses, special teams, coaches, and intangibles. Plus it has home field advantage. Frankly, for the Bolts to win, a lot of us underdog fans need to spend some quality time in church Sunday morning. About the only weaknesses San Diego could try to exploit is Indy's young offensive line, and often overly aggressive defense. Put pressure on Manning and he can be vulnerable. Establish the passing game (c'mon Rivers, you can do it), and watch Tomlinson go. This is the type of game where reputations can be reborn, and San Diego has any number of characters who could use a new one. Time to show some emotion, Norv; your guys will need anything and everything to play at the level they need to for 60 (or more) minutes. San Diego 31, Indianapolis 30.

Improbable? Sure. Possible? Maybe. But it would be a great weekend for those of us who love to root for the underdog.