Bet on It

By Dalton Del Don

Last week I went 12-4, so my overall regular season record ends at 135-117-4. I won my best bet, so I finished 12-5 there. Onto the Wild Card weekend picks, and we’ll start fresh for the postseason:

Saints -11 at SEAHAWKS

Jets +2.5 at COLTS (Best Bet)

Ravens -3 at CHIEFS

Packers +2.5 at EAGLES

Comments: I actually like the setup for the Saints, coming off a loss while the Seahawks enter following an emotional win that was essentially a playoff game in primetime, but this is the single biggest line of the 2010 NFL season. And that’s a long trip for New Orleans, who has to play in possibly the toughest venue in football. The Saints will also be without Pierre Thomas, Chris Ivory and both Jimmy Graham and Marques Colston are banged up, while Matt Hasselbeck looks likely to return for Seattle. I’m certainly not saying the Saints shouldn’t be a comfortable favorite, but I’d feel better rolling a teaser up to 18 points than down to four points…I picked Indy without much trepidation, yet I wouldn’t be even a little surprised by a New York upset. Both teams are worse than last year’s versions, when they met in the AFC Championship…The Ravens have been the more legitimate team all season, and the Chiefs have no doubt been aided by a far easier schedule, but Kansas City is coming off a horrible performance, and they were 7-0 at home beforehand. And it’s not like the Ravens are some juggernaut. I’m going contrarian there…The Eagles/Packers matchup is a true coin flip, and I think there’s an argument they are the second and third best teams in the NFL. Of course, the problem is picking which one will win Sunday. On a neutral field, I’d feel confident backing Green Bay, but Philly has been unbeatable coming off a bye under Andy Reid, and this is essentially the same situation (plus I’m hedging since I have a ticket for the Packers to win the SB at 30-1).