This weekend's NFL playoff games

Ok, here are the spreads for the NFL playoff games:

1/14 Washington Redskins at Seattle Seahawks (-8.5)

1/14 New England Patriots at Denver Broncos (-3)

1/15 Pittsburgh Steelers at Indianapolis Colts (-9.5)

1/15 Carolina Panthers at Chicago Bears (-3)

And here are my picks:

I like Seattle despite the (-8.5) line. Washington put up a measly 120 yds last week in beating Tampa Bay. The skins easily could have lost that game if a couple bounces went the other way. I think Seattle has enough offense to put up points in the high 20's or low 30's and Washington should not score more than 17. Take Seattle.

I'm gonna go with the Patriots and take the 3 points. Can't bet against the Pats until somebody shows they can beat them in the playoffs.

I'll have to take Pittsburgh and the 9.5 points. That's just too many points to give considering Indianapolis's playoff record over the last 5 years. Indy could very easily win this game, but I think Pittsburgh's ball control offense will keep it close.

Despite my homerism for the Bears, I'm gonna take Carolina and the 3 points. Carolina looked very good last week on the road, albeit against a weak New York Giant defense and a playoff rookie qb. They play another playoff rookie qb in Rex Grossman this weekend and I look for Carolina to mix up some blitzes and try to take advantage of any playoff jitters on the part of Grossman. This should be a low scoring game, but I think Carolina wins by at least a field goal. Take the points and run to the bank.

PS these picks of course are for entertainment purposes only. I'm 1-3 so far in the playoffs so I wouldn't recommend using them for anything besides pure entertainment.