Jeremy: Remember the 2000 Portland Trailblazers? Rasheed Wallace, Steve Smith, Scottie Pippen, Damon Stoudamire, Arvydas Sabonis, Bonzi Wells, Jermaine O’Neal, Stacey Augmon, Detley Schrempf and Brian Grant. (Or, if you prefer the 1998-1999 version, sub in Walt Williams and Jim Jackson for Pippen and Schrempf)

Whew.

Yeah. They went freakin’ ten deep, all lottery picks or potential All-stars. Just a sick, sick squad.

That’s sort of like the Ravens defense. They’ve got so many “lottery” picks back there it’s not even funny.

It’s January. Time for Mister Manning to go home, and the Ravens D will help him out the door.

Pick: Ravens

Brian: Remember that show Change of Heart? Second best dating show of all time. It had every driving component of success: likeable host, jealous couples and people getting dumped on national TV. My all-time top four dating shows are as follows:

4. Elimidate: The skankiest of the lot. They basically promised an eight-ball to the prostitute not eliminated. Decent overall, great catfights.
3. Singled Out: This is the best MTV ever had; everything now is so contrived. I can’t watch NEXT without thinking I’m at a bad audition for Eurotrip 2. Also, Jenny McCarthy was HOT. She was so damn wacko that I couldn’t help but imagine what a firecracker she had to have been in bed.
2. Change of Heart: Yeah.
1. Blind Date: Roger Lodge is awesome, but not as awesome as those Pop-Ups.

Now, I realize last week I said neither Manning would make it though the second round of the playoffs. Well, I had a Change of Heart.

Bet the Colts to win outright.

Pick: Colts

Jeremy: Believe it or not, the Eagles actually have the talent to beat the Saints. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, amongst all the “feel good” stories down their in Nawlins, but them Saints can’t actually play defense.

But hey, the Saints have Reggie Bush. So they gotta win, right?

(He went to USC, didn’t he?)

Pick: Saints

Brian: Do you realize that Marques Colston isn’t even on the Rookie of the Year Ballot? Here are his stats along with the players that did make the ballot:

Reggie Bush: Had a decent year where he caught on as of late and had one MONSTER game. Maurice Jones-Drew: Had the best season for a rookie with 1,400 yds (run/catch), an absurd 5.7 per carry and 16 TDs (only half of the league leading LT, but good enough for third overall). Joseph Addai: Had 8 TDs (half as many as Jones-Drew). Devin Hester: An amazing Special Teams season with 6 TDs, 1100 yds. But no Special Teamer is going to win it. Vince Young: Finished the season with a paltry QB rating of 66.7 (30th in the league!! This means he was the third worst starter!!). Marques Colston: Had a VERY solid year with 70 catches, 1,038 yds and 8 TDs (T-10, receiving). I’m not saying he should win the award, but deserves to be in the conversation.

Take the Saints, give the points. Drew Brees gets nasty.

Pick: Saints

Jeremy: Remember the original Curt Warner? Like, with a “C”?

He was an old Seahawks running back.

I don’t really know what that has to do with anything, but I thought I’d mention it.

My friend Gabe is a Seahawks fan. He also can’t beat me at Tecmo. Are these two facts related? Probably not, but I just wanted to mention that too.

Take the ‘Hawks. Eight and a half points? Yes please.

Pick: Seahawks

Brian: (*Licking my chops*) I’ve been waiting for this game all year.

Here’s HOW Seattle will win… Hasselbeck throws no more than 2 picks. Shaun Alexander has a boring game with 90 yards on 32 carries, 1 TD and (most importantly) no fumbles. Jerramy Stevens has more catches than drops. And Seattle never kicks a returnable ball to Devin Hester.

Here’s WHY Chicago will lose… Rex Grossman.

Seriously, has there ever been a number one seed with a worse quarterback? Don’t be surprised when Grossman throws 3 first half picks and Griese throws 2 more in the second half.

Delusional Bears Fans everywhere will be distraught with unwarranted disappointment following their early playoff exit. This loss should be EXPECTED. Five AFC teams would have run the table with that CAKE schedule. Where was the hard part of the schedule, Arizona-BYE-49ers or perhaps Packers-Lions-Viking to open the season?

I hate fat greasy Bears Fans more than I hate purple t-shirts. Seattle wins outright.

Pick: Seahawks

Jeremy: Ugh.

Anyone who says they know anything about this game is lying. Remember a couple of years ago, before the last Pats Super Bowl win, when they were a pick ‘em agains the Colts and they ended up beating them by like 50?

There’s that sort of potential there. On BOTH sides.

The key, to me, is whether anyone on the Pats can cover Gates. I don’t really think anyone can.

But pick Rivers over Brady? Sorry. I can’t do it. And with a 5 point cushion, I gotta take the Pats. But I’m not happy about it.

Pick: Patriots

Brian: Scary bet. Don’t even think about touching this or the Saints game. You know it’s a stay-away-from-me pick, when you aren’t sure if you’d take the bet even if you switched the line. If you could have either team at +5 would you want to bet any significant amount of money either way? Didn’t think so.

I have NO idea. I am going to the game, so I’ll take the Bolts to cover.

Pick: Chargers