NFL Playoffs: Is Rex Grossman Really The Second Coming?

Is it just me, or does Ben Roethlisberger become more and more unlikable every time he appears on television. During the games, all he does is complain to the refs every time an opposing defender breathes on him. Hey Ben, you’re 6-5, suck it up. And during his postgame interviews, he seems very arrogant. Almost like he’s too good or too busy to talk to media. Well, hopefully after this week, we won’t have to see Big Ben until next season. As for last week’s playoff picks, I was 2-1 (moving my overall record to 167-81). That’s about what I expected. I took a shot with Cincinnati, and Carson Palmer took a shot in the knee. There went my upset pick. Here are the divisional round playoff predictions, and I’m sorry if I’m a little off today, I’m under the weather:

SATURDAY


New England Patriots (11-6) at Denver Broncos (13-3)(-3)
8:00 p.m. Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium
How much does the media slurp up to New England? Well, CBS had its choice of putting either the Indy-Pittsburgh game in the primetime slot, or this game featuring the Patriots and Broncos. Let’s see, if I’m a television executive, I’d rather have the Colts game air in primetime. You have the Colts, a team that captivated the NFL nation for the entire season, with the most entertaining offense left in the playoffs, trying to break their recent streak of futility. Plus, you have the story of Tony Dungy trying to overcome the heartbreaking loss of his oldest son by leading his team to the Super Bowl. And you have the Steelers, who have one of the best nationwide fan bases in the league. Instead, CBS goes with the “Golden Boys” of New England, who’ve managed to turn winning into a rather boring science while sucking the last bit of fun and intrigue out of the NFL. New England faces a slow, methodical, dull Denver team whose only strategy is to run the ball 20 straight plays and hope the clock runs out. But New England needs some more respect; so let’s subject the primetime audience to the lesser of the two games.
Now to the analysis of the actual contest. This game will hinge on Denver’s ability to run the football. If Mike Anderson, Tatum Bell (assuming he’s finally healthy) and the Denver offensive line can control the line of scrimmage, it is going to be tough for New England to stop them. I don’t care if Robert Craft figures out a way to clone Tedy Bruschi and have 11 Bruschis on the field, if Denver’s offensive line blocks to their capability, the New England defense won’t stand a chance. There is no offensive line better than Denver’s. If they don’t play well, look for the old Jake Plummer to return and hand the game over to the Pats.
One more proof of Patriot media-slurping. My Sports Illustrated arrives today, and on the cover is a little box saying “Get Ready for Rematch Weekend.” There are four pictures in the box. One of Shaun Alexander and the favored, home standing Seahawks. One of Brian Urlacher and the favored, home standing Bears. One of Peyton Manning and the favored, home standing Colts. And the fourth was of Tom Brady and the underdog, visiting Patriots. It’s little things like that that tick me off. Wouldn’t it stand to reason that Jake Plummer or Mike Anderson would have their picture on the cover? Every freakin’ media outlet does this kind of thing. Please Denver, put a stop to this.
Pick: Broncos 27, Patriots 21

SUNDAY


Pittsburgh Steelers (12-5) at Indianapolis Colts (14-2)(-9.5)
1:00 p.m. RCA Dome
As dirty as the Steelers usually play, the hit on Palmer last week was legal and clean. Kimo von Oelhoffen was trying to bull rush his offensive lineman. As he was charging, he was shoved to the ground, but managed to get by the line and have a shot at Palmer. The only chance for von Oelhoffen to get Palmer and not get called for a late hit was low. So it was a clean hit and a bad break for Cincinnati. It would have helped the Bengals immensely if their safeties Kevin Kaesviharn and Ifeanyi Ohalete could cover anybody. I guess they were too busy trying to spell their names.
Anyway, Pittsburgh moves on to face the steamroller that is the Colts. Let’s go position by position and see if anyone, outside the slums of the greater Pittsburgh area, would take the Steelers:
Peyton Manning vs. Roethlisberger. I think Manning gets the overwhelming nod.
Edge vs. Willie Parker and The Bus. Go with Edge, unless the Steelers start every drive for the opponent’s one-yard line.
Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Brandon Stokley and Dallas Clark vs. Hines Ward, Randle-El, Cedrick Wilson and Heath Miller. I would take Harrison alone against the other four combined.
The Colts All-Pro offensive line vs. Pittsburgh front seven. It will be a good matchup, but the Colts line is bettered only by Denver’s.
Pittsburgh average and beat up offensive line against the Colts front seven. Please, Freeney, June, Mathis and company are going to have a field day.
The coaching matchup between Tony Dungy and Bill Cowher. Well, that is basically even. I’ll call it a toss up.
So the Colts are better at almost every position on the field. And they already crushed the Steelers at the RCA Dome not long ago. Don’t see this game turning out much differently.
Pick: Colts 34, Steelers 17



Carolina Panthers (12-5) at Chicago Bears (11-5)(-3)
4:30 p.m. Solider Field
All I hear about this game is how weather will be a factor. Does anyone care enough to actually look at the player matchup for this one? Who cares about the weather? Unless it’s 10 below, I don’t see that being the difference maker for the Bears. They are going to have to earn it on the field.
Like the Colts-Steelers first game, the Bears-Panthers first meeting wasn’t that long ago either. The Bears defense crushed the Panthers and Jake Delhomme with eight sacks and plenty of forced turnovers. And the Bears now have Rex “The Savior” Grossman leading the way. How can they lose?
Well, because Rex Grossman is leading the way. Grossman has thrown exactly 39 passes this season. He has one touchdown pass and two interceptions. His quarterback rating is under 60. In his three-year career, Grossman has played in a grand total of eight football games. He has five victories. In only three of those games did Grossman post a quarterback rating higher than 70. Only twice has Grossman surpassed 90 (naturally, one of those was against the Redskins in 2003). For his career, Grossman has thrown for only 1,303 yards, 4 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. He has been sacked 10 times. His career passer’s rating is 68.8. And this is the guy that Lovie Smith and the Bears are pinning their playoff hopes on? What am I missing here?
You can talk about the Bears defense all you want. They’re terrific, no one disputes that. But to basically ignore the lack of experience that Grossman has, and to go a step further and say that he is the reason the Bears are going to make it to the next level, is insane. Did anyone see what happened to Byron Leftwich last week? How about Chris Simms? Or what about Eli Manning? And all three of those quarterbacks have more experience and more talent than Sexy Rexy. And Grossman will be going against the same Panthers defense that made Eli Manning look like garbage only a few days ago.
Look, this Bears team has been living on borrowed time. They took advantage of a horrendous division and one of the league’s easiest schedules. I’m not saying that this team is a fluke. I’m just saying that the Bears are going to be overwhelmed this Sunday. So unless we have Ice Bowl-like conditions, this one goes to the visitors.
Pick: Panthers 17, Bears 10

If tomorrow is Friday, that means it's almost time for another Redskins preview. This week it's a rematch with the Seahawks.