Going for Two: Wild Card Ranks and Divisional Picks

The NFL is once again hypnotized by a 15 & 1 record and a 30-0 blow out, never considering how easy it is to be undefeated when 5 of those games were against the Romo-less Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, and Tampa Bay, twice. Okay, so they defeated Seattle and the Packers, just barely, but the Falcons figured them out for the second round, and I can't imagine that the Seahawks won't also. As for Kansas City, well, that's all in my Power Ranks. As much as I <3 Alex "Not great, but good enough*" Smith, I'm not stupid. At least I know that New England won't shut them out.

My calculation for the Divisional Round has Seattle, Arizona, Denver, and New England. My Gut picks follow those, but I'm compelled to type GB where my brain says ARI should be. I can't help it, I feel a very 2010 vibration in the air.

1 (2)	Arizona +1	Arizona reclaimed the top spot by virtue of Seattle's slim win up in frozen TFC Stadium. For their sake, lets hope the rest did them well, because the Packers are coming to town with a chip on their shoulder and a whole mess of lessons learned.
2 (4)	Seattle -1	Seattle could still get back to the Super Bowl this year, especially after their demolition of the Carinals in Week 17, but it will take a lot more than a great catch and scrambling QB this time.
3 (6)	New England	The rest should have been good for New England, and they are taking on an overrated Kansas City. Still, it will warm my heart to see them lose this weekend.
4 (3)	Kansas City +5	Kansas City is not nearly as good as my rating implies. Had Weeden been put in, he might have put up 7, 10, or more points on the board, instead of turning the ball over on every single drive. In fact, if Houston had only scored a field goal in that game, Kansas City would be down at number 5 right now. Had they only won by 20, they'd be just below Green Bay.
5 (1)	Carolina -1	Carolina slips only because Kansas City is so overrated, but odds are that Seattle will steamroll over them.
6 (7)	Green Bay	The Pack is BACK! Of course, they were playing the worst of all of the teams in the Playoffs this year, but they have already played Arizona and now have something to prove. Is this a repeat of the 2010 post-season? Packer fans can only hope.
7 (5)	Denver +1	Denver edged up again by virtue of the slim win of the team just beneath them, which happens to be coming to town this weekend. Denver has a stronger defense than the Bengals, but the quarterback situation is a tricky one.
8 (8)	Pittsburgh -1	The Steelers broke many Bengals hearts over the weekend. Well, sort of. The Bengals broke many Bengals hearts this weekend with bonehead mistakes and letting their emotions overrule their skill. Pittsburgh and Denver are nearly evenly matched in my calculation. Is this a repeat of the 2010 post-season? Packer fans can only hope.
9 (9)	Minnesota -4	Poor, poor Minestrone. They are the first of the losers on my list. They lost by a mistake made by the same guy that was responsible for all of their points during the game. However, if they were actually a better team, they would have scored at least one touchdown and Blair Walsh wouldn't be crying himself to sleep right now. But then again, that means that I couldn't watch these every day (and I do, they're beautiful).
10 (10)	Cincinnati	Again, can we say boneheaded? Exactly, Cinci, you made your own bed, now man up and lie in it. Maybe next year, you'll have some discipline and be able to win a primetime game.
11 (12)	Houston	As it was explained to me today, it appears that the Texans coach threw Hoyer under the bus. Had he been taken out in the second quarter, Weeden could have finished a few drives and put some points on the board.
12 (11)	Washington	And we saved the worst for last. This team is thankfully out of the playoffs this year. Let's hope that Cousins is snatched up by another team in Free Agency and they return to the bottom of the barrel.

*That's a quote from a Kansas City fan that came down to near where my tickets were.