By Trey Crosby III

The Guru closed out the NFL regular season with a (10-6) mark last week. Wildcard weekend is now set and twelve teams remain in the greatest pro sports playoff format in America. Win and move on, lose and go home. This should be interesting.

I really want to talk more about the upcoming weekend more than the previous one but it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t mention the fact that not enough people are talking about currently. Aaron Rodgers is in the playoffs folks.

You can say what you want about the game, or the Packers, even the Bears. But, Aaron Rodgers came back after a seven week layoff and led the Pack to the playoffs.

Secondly, who saw Kyle Orton go all Tony Romo on everybody at the end of the game.

I thought Dallas would have a chance because of the not knowing factor. We all knew Romo would find a way to ensure an Eagles victory at the end of the game. Obviously, Kyle has taken too many mental reps while Romo was playing and well, you saw how it ended.

Lastly, the NFL is having a major problem. As of Wednesday afternoon, three of the four Wildcard games this weekend have not sold out and are subject to local blackouts if the remaining tickets can not be sold. 

That leads to a couple realizations.

1. There shouldn’t be a such thing as blackout rules. It’s outdated and stupid.

2. The NFL needs to figure out a way to get fans in the seats. Green Bay has an excellent fan base and have sold out 319 consecutive games. The Colts have sold out 137 of the last 138 played in Indy. For those teams not be able to sellout games going into the PLAYOFFS speaks volumes. Get to work Roger.

 

TIME FOR PICKS

 

#GuruSays

#Playoffs

#PlayoffGuru

 

2013-2014 season picks record

Upset Special (4-13)

GuruDAMNtee (12-5)

Last Week (10-6)

Overall (145-110-1)

Chiefs 30 @ Colts 24 *GuruDAMNtee*

Saints 21 @ Eagles 30

Chargers 24 @ Bengals 23 *Upset Special*

49ers 19 @ Packers 23

Before I begin, I want you all to know that the road to the Superbowl takes two things.

1.DEFENSE 

2. Great QB play

These two ingredients are fundamental to success in the NFL Playoffs. I will remind you guys of this fact every single week. Defense and Quarterbacks folks…Defense and Quarterbacks

I’ll go right down the line with my picks here. First my “GuruDAMNtee” pick. I don’t trust the Colts. Obviously, their fans don’t have much faith in them either as tickets for the game have yet to sell out. Andrew Luck without Reggie Wayne has looked more pedestrian than most probably thought he would.

The Chiefs have clearly backpedaled into the playoffs, but after resting starters for week 17, they should be healthy and fully prepared to thrive against the Colts Saturday. Colts rank 25th against the run, and the Chiefs running back is Jamaal Charles. Give me Kansas City on the road.

The Saints travel to Philly to take on the Eagles this weekend. I want to pick New Orleans so bad. They are clearly a better team than the Eagles.

Drew Brees is one of the top 5 quarterbacks in the league, but they have one teeny-tiny problem. The Saints turn into the “Aints” on the road. That’s my logic for this game. Philly is the hot team and the Saints road woes lost them a shot and home field advantage and also the NFC South title. Forecast calls for temps in the low 20’s and a chance of snow.

Maybe New Orleans can prove me wrong, but the best indicator of the future is the past. The past tells me that the Saints will fall flat on their face in the “City of Brotherly Love”.

Upset Special goes to the Chargers over the Bengals in an intriguing matchup. This one is simple for me, I trust Philip Rivers more than I do Andy Dalton. Dalton is a turnover machine. He has thrown 20 interceptions this year.

Compare that to Rivers who has only thrown 11. Cincinnati is at home and favored by 7. Maybe I’m being overzealous by choosing San Diego here but there is no way Cincy takes them by more than a touchdown. Philip Rivers is a GAMER!! Remember that.

Last, but most certainly not least, the Niners head into Lambeau to take on the Packers in the frozen tundra.  Vegas has Frisco favored by three. The Guru is taking the Packers. Why you ask?

He is the man, the myth, the legend. Mr. DISCOUNT DAAABLLLEEEE CHECK himself Aaron Rodgers is leading the Packers out onto the field.

Packer fans should be ashamed of themselves for not making these tickets sell out in two minutes tops. The Packers are 8-7-1, but the records don’t matter when you have Aaron Rodgers under center.

Yes, Packer fans. I’M TELLING YOU THERE’S A CHANCE. The Niners are traveling from the West Coast into the frigid winter of Wisconsin (I live in Milwaukee…IT’S COLD FOLKS) and think they are going to get a victory much like they did last year in the playoffs against this very same team. 70 degrees to 7 degrees is a huge difference and the Packers have new life thanks to Rodgers coming back after the 7 week collarbone injury.

Pundits continue to say the 49ers are one of the most complete teams in the NFL. (Whatever that means) You mean the 49ers who gave up 348 yards passing to Matt Ryan as they lucked their way past the Falcons in the finale at Candlestick. Or, do you mean the 49ers who gave up over 400 yards passing to Carson Palmer and the Cardinals last week.

If that’s your idea of a complete team then I don’t know what to tell you. Matty Lukewarm, and Carson Palmer went wild on the Frisco pass defense. Ask yourself what will Aaron Rodgers do?

I hope you and yours had a great New Years. Welcome to 2014. I hope you will play along with the Guru this week and submit your picks as you tally your score for the playoffs. Comment below and see if you can #BeatTheGuru.

I also want to thank you guys for reading my articles in 2013 and I recently found out that I had three of the Top 5 most-viewed articles on Sports Minded for the year. Be blessed in 2014 guys. COURAGE!!