WILD CARD WEEKEND

Every year it's the same auld story. You go into a season making ridiculous picks for the Super Bowl and invariably, one or both picks struggle and/or don't even make the playoffs. This season Sports Amnesia had a Super Bowl matching the Indianapolis Colts against the Philadelphia Iggles and although both teams won their respective divisions, neither did in convincing enough fashion to merit a first round bye. Thus, both are forced to face Wild Card teams they could be upset by, an extree game no one really wanted, save for the wild card team of course, and a headache waiting to happen.

It's important to note that both the Iggles and the Colts could well make their unexpected runs onward to the Super Bowl. The Iggles have the suddenly infallable Jeff Garcia as their replacement QB and momentum, a valuable commodity going into the postseason. The Colts finally enter a postseason with zero expectation which might, considering their flailing amid high expectation, do them an unexpected bit of good.

It's also important to note that the two highest seeded teams, the Chargers and Bears are unlikely to find themselves facing each other in the Super Bowl. In fact, most are already calling the Chargers - Ravens potential AFC Title Game the real Super Bowl given the laughingstocks the NFC submissions to the postseason have become. The Chargers have the momentum of a long winning streak and a seemingly unstoppable team. We only have to look at the Colts of the last several years to know what that means as in sweet F.A. When was the last time you can recall a team being unstoppable all the way through to the Super Bowl? I thought so. Now imagine Marty Schottenheimer's historical postseason conservatism failures and humiliations and you can imagine where things might have a tendancy to go wrong. Of course, simply because everyone is thinking that already, well, perhaps that is reason enough that Schott won't, like the Colts, seize up in a gasping self-choke hold.

The Saints of course, are not only everyone's favourites but when you're looking at this seriously from the perspective of karma, performance, lack of pressure, lack of expectation, etc., there doesn't seem to be much in their way representing as they do the notoriously weak and laughable NFC bid for the Stupor Bowl. In fact, a Saints-Chargers matchup in the finale something very few would complain about and simply because it's probably the most appealing matchup, it's not likely to happen. The Saints are too inexperienced, too happy to be here sort of giddiness to match up with the gob-smacking reality of postseason football when every team that wants it, steps it up a notch, grinds it out, plays intimidating defence, (insert your own cliché here)

The Bears of course aren't going anywhere with Rex Grossman at QB. That's what their saying anyway. That's what they were saying in the preseason until he got them off to that rousing start that sort of fizzled out at the end. This team virtually mirrors the Ravens in that they are both tough defences, good running games and less-than-Super QBs running the low-octane offences. They always preach rushing and defence and headless as they may be, both might make it despite a distinct lack of visibly talented QBs.

The Patriots, who make a habit out of getting to Super Bowls they don't really belong in, are always a threat to outperform their expectations. But they haven't got an easy road ahead of them with the shocking Jets team being the first barrier and then either the Ravens or Chargers to follow. Not to mention Rodney Harrison being out. Yes Brady, Brady, the QB of the ages who never loses a big game, blablabla. I've got news for you. I watched him playing last week and on the sidelines he bent over to pick something up and he's got a big fat bald spot waiting to erupt. That won't make him a worse QB of course but it does in fact, shatter the myth of infallability.

There isn't much to say about the rest of the teams in this one-game-at-a-time crap shoot. The Seahawks, defending NFC Champs have bordered on mediocre all season but managed to crawl through a more mediocre division to get their playoff berth the cheap way, as the lesser of evils (imagine the Cardinals, 49ers in this slot instead) and this sort of lack of expectation is precisely what fuels postseason runs (much like the Colts). They only have to get by Dallas, who have given up more points than their NBA counterpart Mavericks over the last four miserable weeks and are led by a QB with the fastest falling stock his side of Rex Chapman. Once that's finished there's only two MORE games between them and the Stupor Bowl and that's pretty much what we all imagined last season and look what happened. Boom, as John Madden would say, the Seahawks were in the final.

Last season the Steelers defeated all doubters winning all their road games as a Wild Card team and eventually, the Super Bowl. Is there a wild card out there this season who could make a similar run? The Seahawks aren't a WC team but they are, in fact, for all intents and purposes, only with a homefield advantage for game one. Their road record is 3-5 this season with ugly losses to the Steelers, Dolphins and Browns to their credit. At home, they might have been good enough but two road victories against playoff teams? Forget it. Jets? The most overrated 10-6 team ever? Quite possibly. The Giants? Look how they crumbled last season when the games counted. Tom Coughlin, adios.

What Sports Amnesia is seeing, and it isn't as pretty a sight as you might imagine is a Super Bowl coming down to two factors: The lack of expectation on the part of the Colts and the team that has seen the bottom and made it back, the Iggles. That's right. I'm sticking with my preseason pick all the way.


SATURDAY WILD CARD GAMES

KC CHIEFS (9-7) @ INDY COLTS (12-4) - This is of course a matchup made in heaven for those who love to hate the Colts, love to watch them choke and have fallen in love with cracking jokes about their inability to stop the run. It's almost as easy as making fun of Rex Grossman. Yes, Larry Johnson is a running back who could chew up and chew up and chew up the clock and the Colts' defence. The new defensive scheme for the Colts should be to let him run for a touchdown any time the Chiefs manage an offensive drive of more than 6 plays simply so they can get the ball back and score themselves because believe me, the Colts will score on these Chiefs and score often. Not only that, the Colts, for all their wretched play, have not lost at home yet this season. The Colts are favoured by 6 1/2 points and they will cover. Pick: Colts 36 Chiefs 14

DALLAS COWBOYS (9-7) @ SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (9-7) - If the Jets are the most overrated 10-6 team in the playoffs, the Seahawks are the most underrated 9-7 team left playing. They overcame the losses of their star QB and star RB, have taken a few weeks once those two returned to familiar with one another again and are ready to make their run. At least for one homefield advantage week. The Cowboys on the other hand, have their wunderkind QB on the ropes. Romomania is on the wane, Bill Parcells has not had a playoff run as the Cowboys coach and the team itself is prepared to collapse and collapse early. Even at home the Seahawks have such little respect they are only favoured by 2 1/2 points. Pick: Seawhawks 24 Cowboys 7

SUNDAY WILDCARD GAMES

NY JETS (10-6) @ NE PATRIOTS (12-4) - Mentor v mentee, Part Three, ho hum. These are two teams, not two intellectual giants facing each other over a chess board. This is a very overrated Jets team facing a very veteran Patriots team that exceeded most expectations, overcame the usual plethera of injuries and basically, forced themselves to win. Yes, the Jets did beat the Patriots once on the road but that is more a fluke than a trend. The Pats are favoured by 9 points and deservedly so. Pick: Patriots 27 Jets 10.

NY GIANTS (8-8) @ PHILLY IGGLES (10-6) - About the only thing the Giants have going for them is Tiki Barber and whilst that might have been enough against the Redskins last week, though just barely, this is still a team waiting to be embarassed. The Iggles on the other hand, are a team of destiny and momentum. Is it possible that yet another Pennsylvania team will go on to the Super Bowl? Who knows but they are certainly good enough to beat these Giants. The Iggles are favoured by 5 1/2 points and that might just not be enough for the Giants to cover. Pick: Iggles 27 Giants 14

And if you're curious, you see who the "experts" are picking.