NFL Playoffs, first round

A word we heard a lot in the year 2008 was "Change". That's exactly what some of NFL teams are looking forward to going into the next year. Mike Shannahan is gone as is Eric Mangini and Bill Cowher will not be replacing him. Mike Holmgren won't be in Seattle either. Jerry Jones says he's sticking with Wade Phillips but I'm guessing Phillips will "resign". When he was brought into Dallas it was mainly because no one else was available. Now, there are people available but who wants to work with Jerry?

Dallas should clean house. Get rid of Wade. Release Adam Jones seeing as he should never have been brought in there in the first place. Get rid of T.O. He brings too much drama and costs too much money. Use the young receivers to take his place and bring in another quarterback. Let him compete with Romo for the starting position and if he doesn't win, he can at least be a solid back up.

The Lions are also looking for change. They'll have a new head coach that hopes to turn that Detroit Lions team around. A record of 1-15 will be a step up. They're calling out to Jason Garrett.

The first thing in 2009 we have to look forward to are the playoffs. Let's jump right in starting in the NFC.

Matt Ryan and Kurt Warner are at complete opposite points in their careers but are both going strong. Who would have thought the rookie of the year quarterback would lead the Atlanta Falcons and their rookie head coach to the playoffs? He left fans asking "Why does the name Michael Vick sound familiar?".

Who would have thought Warner, near the end of his career would lead a team that was the laughing stock of the league (that award obviously belongs in Detroit) to the playoffs? This guy wasn't even supposed to start never the less lead his team to a divisional title.

All that being said, the Cardinals are at home and have just a few more weapons and I think they come out of this one with the win. Ryan will have a year under his belt and will be back next year though. ARIZONA WINS.

The Eagles are the second team out of the East to go after humiliating a team that looked like a bunch of school girls in week 17. They'll travel to Minnesota who barely got into the playoffs. The Eagles will have to contain Adrian Peterson if they want to win. That won't be easy. Philly seems to want it right now and now that Donovan knows a regular season game can end in a tie, he thinks the same is true of a playoff game and will do all he can to avoid that happening. This game is a toss up and not even the so called "experts" can agree on who takes it. I'm going with the Vikings which might jinx them but I'm doing solely because of my hatred for the Eagles. MINNESOTA WINS.

Both home teams in the AFC are the underdogs. Miami went from being a 1-15 team a year ago to making the playoffs with Chad Pennington lined up behind center. They're hosting the Baltimore Ravens who are also lead by a rookie quarterback. Joe Flacco has been very impressive and gave Matt Ryan a run for his money for the rookie of the year. The Ravens beat the Dolphins in Miami and the regular season 27-13. I expect something similar in this game. The Baltimore defense will be too much for Miami to handle. BALTIMORE WINS.

These two teams have battled it out in the past now the rivalry (if you want to call it that) continues. The Colts are favored with a better record yet travel to San Diego to take on the Chargers who embarrassed the Broncos by putting up 52 points to their 21. The Colts are on a hot streak. They struggled early and weren't looking like the Colts that everyone was used to watching. They finished with a 12-4 record though and are favored to win. I'm taking the Colts because you can't go against Peyton Manning when he's on a hot streak and there's no streak going for Ladanian Tomlinson. That's what the Chargers need if they want to win but I don't see that happening here. Not to mention, the Chargers knocked off the Colts last year and now, it just might be time for revenge. INDIANAPOLIS WINS.

The Titans, Steelers, Giants and Panthers all have a firs round bye.

So there you have it for the first round of the playoffs. Remember, if you're smart, you will base your picks on the opposite of what I say. Happy new year.