DaveZdyrko.com

My record picking against the spread for this year’s NFL playoffs stands at a fairly impressive 5-1. I nailed both conference championship games and got 3 out of 4 correct in the divisional round. The only pick I’ve gotten wrong so far was the game between the Jets and Patriots and I’m going to chalk that one up to being over-hyped by the Patriots-infested office at QUICKHIT in Foxboro.

That said, my previous success hasn’t raised my confidence in picking the outcome of Super Bowl XLV between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers. This game could easily go any way and it should be an epic and exciting battle.

Green Bay (-2.5) over Pittsburgh

My enormous gut and parts of my brain are telling me to go with the Steelers on this one. Big Ben already has two rings to his credit, is a proven winner and doesn’t take no for an answer. Pittsburgh is also the more experienced team as many of its players have played in the “big game” before and should be better prepared for things such as the special ball they use for the Super Bowl or the longer half time show.

The Steelers’ franchise has also won this thing more than any other. So much so that one could argue that the Lombardi Trophy should be renamed the Rooney Trophy. Nevertheless, I’m not going to listen to my gut or the parts of my brain telling me to pick Pittsburgh. I’m going with the Packers to win and cover the 2.5 point spread because they were my pre-season pick to win it all and I might as well stick with them because getting that right makes me even smarter than just picking this one game correct.

Plus, I think one of the story lines that will unfold will be the match-up between Pittsburgh’s back-up center and B.J. Raji of the Packers. I think Raji’s going to make a big impact stifling the Steelers’ rushing attack and will get some good pressure on Big Ben up the middle. This combined with the fact that I really want this to be Aaron Rodgers’ coming out party, as it’ll somewhat tarnish the legacy of Brett “Sext Machine” Favre just a little more, even makes me want the Pack to win.

Green Bay 31 Pittsburgh 27

Last week’s 3-1 record against the spread has my confidence at an all-time low. Why would getting 3 out of 4 picks correct while only missing out on a perfect 4-0 because I succumbed to all the hype created by an office filled with mostly Patriots fans? Well, the way these things go I figure the chances of me going 0-2 and having my prediction record even out at .500 seems fairly likely. Plus, I think these games can easily go either way.

With that said, here are my picks against the current Las Vegas spreads:

Green Bay (-3.5) over CHICAGO

Having met 181 times in the past but only once in the playoffs, this is easily the most storied rivalry in professional football. Bears and Packers fans hate each other so much that I’ve had some friends stop talking to me because I have friends that like the other team.

They’ve also played twice in the regular season with Chicago winning by 3 at home and the Packers winning the final game of the regular season by 7 in Lambeau.  Both teams finished the season strong, the Packers have mostly gotten past their early season injury woes, and the free run at sacking Cutler has been slowed by Martz’s willingness to run the ball a lot more.

This should be a good game, but in these kinds of games I can’t bet against the better quarterback and that’s Aaron Rodgers. Jay Cutler can easily prove me and the rest of his doubters wrong, but I’m picking the Pack to cover the spread. (Apologies to my friends that are Bears fans, hope they win for you guys!)

Prediction: Green Bay 17 Chicago 13

PITTSBURGH (-4) over New Jersey

I’m very excited for this game because it should be a hard-hitting affair between a pair of great defenses who like to get into each other faces. I’ve also gained a mad amount of respect for Rex Ryan’s coaching ability thanks to his amazing schemes in stopping Peyton Manning and making Tom Brady bust out his own version of the “Manning Face”. Plus, you gotta love a coach that will actually say what he really feels even if he’s a total douche bag (not to mention the fact that it takes the pressure off his team and young QB and puts it on him).

Despite all that, I’m thinking the Steelers are going to pull this out at home thanks in part to the fact that the weather will be atrocious during the game. The forecast is for the temperature to be 13 degrees at kickoff with a wind chill as low as 6 and I think this will negatively affect “Dirty” and make him wish he was back at USC. In this respect, I’m thinking the football God’s smiled on the Jets last week as it was in the upper 30s for the Pats game despite it being in the low 20s on the Saturday before and the Monday after the game. This time, they’re not smiling and Big Ben will have to hold off on partying with college girls for another few weeks as Pittsburgh will be prepping for the Super Bowl in Dallas.

Prediction: Pittsburgh 17 New Jersey 6

Let me start this off by saying that I’m always wrong, so please don’t bet your rent money based on any suggestions that I might have. Go with your gut and end up homeless based on your wrong decisions and not mine — mainly because I don’t want to be on anyone’s lipstick list.

With that said, here are my picks against the current Las Vegas spreads:

Baltimore at PITTSBURGH (-3)

The hardest part about picking this game is that I have two of my all-time favorite Miami Hurricanes playing for the Ravens so I just “want” them to win. And even if you disregard my loyalty to the “U”, I think that the Ravens have the edge in overall talent. That said, I believe more in Ben “You Know You Like College Girls Too” Roethlisberger than Joe “Went to Dave Z’s School” Flacco.

Prediction: Pittsburgh 24 Baltimore 20

GREEN BAY (+2) at Atlanta

The thing that makes this pick so freaking hard is that Atlanta is 13-3 and I still don’t respect the Falcons.  The Falcons just keep winning and they’ve only lost three games all season. They’re one of those teams that people keep doubting until they win the Super Bowl. Regardless, I’m going to keep doubting them and go with the “hot” team that’s actually had a fairly mediocre season, the Green Bay Packers.

Prediction: Green Bay  21 Atlanta 20

Seattle at CHICAGO (-10.0)

This is another game that I’m absolutely torn with. I kind of want the Seahawks to make a run where they end up Super Bowl Champions after a 7-9 regular season. I also know that Jay Cutler has the potential to lose any game against any team.

My gut is telling me to go with the Seahawks to at least cover the spread, but my brain is saying that the Hawks won’t be able to stop Da Bears’ running game with Matt Forte and the Bears will win in a blowout. I’ll go with my brain this time.

Prediction: Chicago 31 Seattle 3

New Jersey at NEW ENGLAND (-8.5)

It’s a close race between this game and the Ravens/Steelers game for the “best. game. ever.” tag. Since I’m now living in Boston and working in Foxboro, I’ll give the edge to the Jets v Pats matchup. I might be blinded by all the Tom Brady manlove at the office, but I just can’t see the Jets winning this game.

They might be able to if they concentrate solely on the run game, but I think the Pats will get them out of it. I thought the last game was going to be close, but I was wrong. Maybe I’ll be wrong again, but I see Captain Butt Chin winning again in a blowout over Mark “Dirty” Sanchez. Bonus points to the Pats’ organization if “Footloose” gets played at Gillette multiple times throughout the game.

Prediction: New England 48 New Jersey 10

Originally posted @ the QHF Blog

First, I want to say that I don’t think it effected the outcome of the game. The Steelers won and the chances are that they would’ve run even if the fumble was overturned. Nevertheless, I feel completely ripped off as a football fan that the final play for the Cards was NOT reviewed. Regardless of the outcome, the play SHOULD have been reviewed. I’m pissed that it wasn’t and  that the announcers completely ignored it despite talking about it in depth. It’s embarassing as a fan of NFL football. I feel ashamed and I feel ripped off. This could’ve been on of the greatest Super Bowls ever but it ended up a joke.

I’m proud to reveal that my company’s newly remodeled website has officially launched with our new name — Quick Hit, Inc. @ www.quickhit.com. The name of the game has also transformed from Play Hard Football to Quick Hit Football and we’ve also just announced the signing of former Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach, the legendary Bill Cowher, to be our official voice. A lot of exciting stuff is happening on the professional front and I can’t wait till you guys get to see what’s in store down the road with the game.