A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That

First, it's long overdue, but best of luck to Maryland WR Darrius Heyward-Bey, who officially declared for the NFL Draft on Wednesday. I know that as a Ravens fan, I'm hoping he falls into the second round so he can be wearing purple on Sundays (all accounts say that the Ravens are looking for a cornerback in the first round of the draft), but the Maryland student in me hopes that Heyward-Bey doesn't even make it until the second round. 

Maryland has ample people to catch the ball next year (Torrey Smith, Ronnie Tyler, for instance), but they will surely lack Heyward-Bey's game-breaking speed. One of my fondest memories as a Maryland football fan was against Boston College last year when Heyward-Bey took a reverse down the right sideline to the house. Whenever the ball was in his hands, he was a threat to go all the way. A fan favorite, he will be missed. 

On to other Maryland news, after the community recovered from the embarrassment that was Wednesday night, the team looks to move forward and start the ACC season 1-0 with a home win against GT today at 12:00. 9-7 in the ACC with one win over either Duke or Carolina will still likely get the job done, so Maryland fans should not completely despair yet. If they go their projected 6-10, though, it will certainly make for an interesting offseason. 

Of course, those stories are certainly overshadowed by the NFL Divisional Playoffs. People aren't exaggerating when they say this is one of the greatest sports weekends of the year. You have really the four best teams in the NFL playing at home against four teams who already won playoff games. There are always going to be great games during this weekend every year, but it will be especially true this week with all four of the games being played this weekend having already been played earlier in the season. 

I usually never post my picks on this, because there's nothing like losing your credibility for everyone to see, but why not? I went 3-1 last week in case you were wondering - that one loss also meant my projected Colts-Panthers Super Bowl could be no more. 

So, feel free to quote me, because I'm saying ...

Baltimore 21, Tennessee 10. The Ravens clearly outplayed them earlier in the season, and the Ravens are better since then. The Titans may be worse. Home field means nothing; the Ravens thrive on the road.

Arizona 24, Carolina 35. This was going to be my upset of the week until I learned Anquan Boldin wasn't playing. Yes, I do think Boldin means that much to the Cardinals. On the other side of the ball, I just don't see the Cardinals' run defense holding up two weeks in a row. 

Philadelphia 23, Giants 20. Philadelphia didn't even play that great against the Vikings and came away with a relatively easy win. I just don't think that the Giants can get through the playoffs without Plaxico; it's too easy to provide a gameplan on passing downs. 

San Diego 9, Pittsburgh 13. Pittsburgh's defense is not that of the Colts. Though I mean no disrespect to Sproles, who put out the performance of a lifetime last Saturday, I don't see him having the same kind of success this Sunday, and Rivers will suffer for it. 

(Photo Credit: Washington Post)