Not exactly a banner week for Paul’s Picks – only Indianapolis came through for me.  The overwhelming trend I noticed in all of the games – they were terribly played. I can’t believe Arizona and Dallas came out so flat, and don’t even get me started on the San Diego Chargers. So we’re left with only four teams in the the quest for the Superbowl, and here’s how they got here.

ARIZONA/NEW ORLEANS

Any signs of rust that New Orleans was thought to have were erased in a matter of minutes. After the opening 70 yard run by Tim Hightower, the Saints took complete control, and actually got a great contribution from someone I didn’t think had it in him – Reggie Bush. I’ve been critical of Bush’s NFL potential ever since he left USC, but yesterday he demonstrated what kind of impact he can have on a team. If the Saints can get half the effort they got from Bush next week, the Vikings are in trouble.

I hope that wasn’t the last game of Kurt Warner’s career. The hit he took from Bobby McCray was devastating, and it’d be a shame for a sure-fire Hall of Famer like Warner to retire after such a dismal game from his team.

BALTIMORE/INDIANAPOLIS

Another stinker. The Colts did just what I thought they’d do, completely overwhelm the Ravens. Joe Flacco wasn’t able to step up (although he’s injured), and the Colts were able to stack the box and hold Ray Rice to just 67 yards.

Peyton Manning threw the ball a whopping 44 times, and the Colts showed what they can do to teams based on running and defence. Study the game tape New York, the Colts are going to force Mark Sanchez to win next weekend.

And more with the retirement note, it could very well be the end for two Ravens. Derek Mason flirted with retirement last year (he actually retired only to come back), and right now he says he’s 60-40 in favour of retirement. But even more upsetting is Ed Reed’s talk of calling it a career. The 31 year old battled injuries all year, and isn’t quite sure whether or not he’ll come back next year. Quite a shame if he hangs up the cleats.

DALLAS/MINNESOTA

Brett Favre is on a mission. Four touchdown passes against an improved Dallas defence was a simply amazing performance. That was the same Favre we saw earlier in the season, the one who can carry the Vikings despite poor performances by Adrian Peterson (26 carries for 63 yards). We also saw how dominant the Vikings’ defensive front can be. They made a mockery of the Dallas offensive line.

As for the Cowboys, looks like Roy Williams didn’t have that huge game I predicted. It’s hard to have a big game when you’re only targeted once. I don’t understand Dallas’ offensive scheme sometimes. 14 carries for Felix Jones, eight for Marion Barber. Roy Williams targeted once. Miles Austin four catches. Talk about a terrible game plan. Now we only have eight months of Jerry Jones tweaking his team until the new season.

NY JETS/SAN DIEGO

Shameful. There’s nothing else to say about San Diego. Nate Kaeding should be cut for his effort, and Norv Turner should fear for his job. Terrible gameplan, terrible execution, a waste of a season.

As far as New York’s concerned, they are playing outstanding football. Shonn Greene’s got a chance to be special, and he’s already made Thomas Jones expendable in the offseason. His 53 yard run was beautiful. Darrelle Revis had no problems shutting down whoever he was covering, and he made an incredible play to pick off a Philip Rivers pass that deflected off Vincent Jackson. Even without the playoffs, I still feel that Rex Ryan should have won coach of the year. If you look at the Jets’ roster, it’s not overly intimidating. Ryan has done an amazing job.

TWO POINT CONVERSION

- Mike Nolan leaving Denver is a curious move. It’s reportedly a “parting of ways”, but there’s got to be something else to it

- Chan Gailey’s now the front-runner for the Buffalo head coaching job… what an embarrassment for the Bills’ organization the coaching search has been

The divisional round of the NFL playoffs is almost upon us, and I’m looking forward to a much more entertaining slate of games than last weekend. Fans should look forward to a shootout in the South, endless quarterback talk in the North, and a blowout in the West. Without further delay, here’s my take on the matchups.

ARIZONA @ NEW ORLEANS, Saturday, 4:30 pm

This one should be fun. Watching Arizona’s offence last week was a delight for any fan of the game, and New Orleans isn’t too bad at racking up points themselves. I don’t expect Kurt Warner to be as good as last week (more touchdowns than incompletions), but if the retirement talk is true, look for Kurt to have another strong game. I’m curious to see what kind of defensive intensity the Cardinals come out with, and they’ll attempt to bring pressure early at Drew Brees.

On the Saints’ side, they used the bye week to rest up, most notably Jeremy Shockey and their two starting cornerbacks, Jabari Greer and Tracy Porter. The latter’s a huge get for the Saints, especially with a potent arial attack like Arizona coming into the Superdome. The loss of defensive end Charles Grant will really hurt this team, especially in the pass rush. While the Saints will be able to put up points, I just can’t shake the fact that this team hasn’t won a game since December 13.

PAUL’S PICK: Arizona

BALTIMORE @ INDIANAPOLIS, Saturday, 8:15 pm

Baltimore racked up 234 yards on the ground against New England, and now they go up against the league’s 24th ranked rush defence. That’s got to be music to the ears of Ravens fans. Last week Baltimore got monster performances from Ray Rice, Willis McGahee and the entire defence, but this week the game will hinge on Joe Flacco. He went just 4 of 10 for 34 yards and an interception last week, and those numbers will clearly need to improve. There are reports that Flacco has a hip injury, but he still needs to make better decisions in the pocket when going up a much tougher pass rush this week. Even worse for the Ravens was that left tackle Jared Gaither missed practice Thursday. If he can’t play, rookie Michael Oher will step over to the blindside. That’s not the problem. Oniel Cousins, a second year player from Texas-El Paso, would have to take over on the right side… against Dwight Freeney.

Freeney and the Colts are looked at by some as underdogs this weekend because they haven’t played a meaningful game since December 17, but this is what the Colts are built for. Anytime you have Peyton Manning and a mainly healthy team, look out. They haven’t won a playoff game since winning the Superbowl in 2006, but they also didn’t look as dominant as they did this season. Baltimore’s secondary has been riddled by injuries at the cornerback position, and Manning has a few more weapons than Tom Brady does. This one should be close, and it’ll come down to the quarterbacking.

PAUL’S PICK: Indianapolis

DALLAS @ MINNESOTA, Sunday, 1:00 pm

I don’t think anyone can consider what Dallas had last week was a game – more like a scrimmage. With the playoff monkey of their shoulders, Tony Romo & Co. head into Minnesota to tangle with Brett Favre. With the Williams Wall anchoring the middle of the Vikings defence, it’s going to be tough for Dallas to establish a running game. It could get even harder with Marion Barber missing some practice with his sore hamstring (he did return to action Thursday). I mentioned earlier in the week how impressive Felix Jones has been, and Dallas will need him to step up. Also, cue Roy Williams. I said it before, and I’ll say it again, he’s going to have a big game soon.

Minnesota has transitioned to more of a passing attack this season, but that may have to change this week. Dallas has racked up at least four sacks in four straight games, and will be dialing up pressure from different angles at Favre. The key for Minnesota will be getting Adrian Peterson going early, and hanging onto the ball. His six fumbles are a cause for concern, but with all respect to Chris Johnson, AP is the best running back in football. If he can consistently break down the Dallas D, Minnesota can win the game.

PAUL’S PICK: Dallas

NY JETS @ SAN DIEGO, Sunday, 4:40 pm

I still can’t believe the Jets are in the postseason, let alone in the divisional round. But with the number one ranked rushing game and defence, it’s hard not to give them respect. Much like last week’s game, I feel this one comes down to Mark Sanchez. He completed 80% of his passes last week, but against the Chargers’ 3-4 defence he’s sure to see a lot more blitz schemes and zone coverages. Darrelle Revis should be able to occupy Vincent Jackson well, but if the Jets want to isolate Lito Sheppard or Dwight Lowery on the 6′5″ Malcolm Floyd, have fun.

The Chargers haven’t lost a football game since October 19, and they just seem to be firing on all cylinders. Philip Rivers has an underrated receiving core in Jackson, Floyd, Legedu Naanee, and then there’s some guy named Antonio Gates as well. Add in Darren Sproles and LaDainian Tomlison, and they’ve got more than enough firepower to topple the Jets’ number one ranked D. But Chargers fans shouldn’t book their ticket for the next round just yet. The team ranks 20th in the NFL at stopping the run, and they now get the number one ranked rushing attack of Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene. As long as they can slow down the New York ground attack, the Chargers stand a very good chance to move on – and quite easily at that.

PAUL’S PICK: San Diego

TWO POINT CONVERSION

- I wonder if Todd Haley realizes what’s happening in Kansas City. With so many ex-Patriots around, one screw up and he’s out the door

- Jerome Bettis says Bill Cowher wants to coach the New York Giants. Have fun with that Tom Coughlin

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

I’m guessing the people who are in charge of making the NFL schedule felt that Cleveland would be a far better team. How else can you explain the Monday night-er tonight? The Baltimore Ravens (4-4) making the trip to the Mistake by the Lake to take on the Browns (1-7). These two teams are at the bottom of the AFC North and are far from any post season aspirations. Cincinnati leads the division with a 7-2 record and Pittsburgh trails the Bengals by a game. Getting back to the Ravens and Browns, the last time these two teams met was in week 3 and Baltimore cruised to a 34-3 win. A similar result is expected tonight. The Browns are so bad, management has decided to give quarterback Brady Quinn a second chance at starting. In three starts this season (including week 3) Quinn has one touchdown pass, three interceptions and has been sacked 10 times. The Ravens haven’t been great either. They started the season strong, but have lost four of their last five. Running back Ray Rice has been one of the lone bright spots for the team. He’s rushed for 573 yards, caught 46 balls for another 436 yards and has scored six touchdowns. You can be sure he’ll get a lot of work tonight.

If this game doesn’t get you going you can also check out some NBA action. Two young and talented teams battle it out as the Portland Trailblazers are in the ATL to take on the Hawks. Atlanta (8-2) has the best record in the East, while Portland (8-3) is number two in the West.

On the ice it’s on Atlantic division battle as the top seed New Jersey Devils take on the Philadelphia Flyers in the City of Brotherly Love. If the Devils win tonight they open the season winning nine straight on the road, tying a league record for most wins on the road to start a season.

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

It’s a HUGE AFC battle tonight in the Monday-nighter as the Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) go up against the Denver Broncos(6-1). Both teams are coming off the bye and for the first time this year Denver’s rookie coach Josh McDaniels will have to get his team ready following a loss. The Broncos suffered their first loss at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens pressured QB Kyle Orton all game long forcing him to check off to his backs. Tailback Corell Buckhalter led his team with six catches. In fact the Broncos only crossed into Raven territory three times over the course of the entire game and made it to the red zone once. Unfortunately for Denver, Pittsburgh plays a very similar style defence to Baltimore. Pittsburgh has won four straight and before the bye week they handed Minnesota its first loss of the season, thrashing the Vikings 27-17. In that game the Steelers D forced Brett Favre into many mistakes. The linebackers alone sacked Favre three times and scored two touchdowns. In prior season the Steelers have always been known as a run-first offence. This year they’re relying on the arm of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Big Ben is in the top ten for passing yards (2062) and has already thrown 11 touchdowns. If he keeps up this pace he’ll eclipse his personal best of 3,513, which he posted back in 2006. Pittsburgh has some extra motivation. The Cincinnati Bengals lead their division with a 6-2 record and a win for the Steelers bringing them into a tie. The Bengals beat the Steelers already this season and hold an edge over their division rivals. That could all be forgotten when the two battle in next week in Pittsburgh.