The NFL playoffs start this weekend! With all the lop-sided college bowl games that are taking place right now, some exciting football would definitely be nice. Every playoff game this weekend has the potential to be great. I'm guessing we won't see any games, well maybe one, where the final score is something like 41-10 or 48-28 like we saw over the last few nights in the BCS games. What a joke! But enough about the BCS and the awful bowl games that have happened so far. Let's get onto the wild card playoff matchups for this weekend.

SATURDAY
Washington Redskins @ Seattle Seahawks
This is an interesting matchup. The Redskins are one of the hottest teams in the league going into the playoffs having won their last four games. The just came off a big win over the Dallas Cowboys to assure themselves of a playoff spot. QB Todd Collins is playing great right now and Portis is gashing defenses for yards as well. The Seahawks on the other hand didn't have much of a running game all season until the last couple games where Shaun Alexander finally got on track and remembered why he won his MVP award a couple years ago. The key to this game will be who can force more turnovers? The Redskins are playing with heavy hearts but have played amazingly well since the passing of Sean Taylor. Unfortunately I'm not sure that's going to keep them going as the have to fly all the way across the country to play in the loudest stadium in the NFL.
My Pick: Seattle

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Pittsburgh Steelers
This could be the best game of the weekend. The Steelers are coming in banged up though and will be without their top offensive threat in RB Willie Parker. Ben Roethlisberger is banged up as well and so is most of the offensive line. The defense isn't as stout as we're use to seeing it either. These two teams met earlier in the season and the Jags ran the ball down their throat with their 1-2 punch of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. They're the key to the game. If they can get the ball moving on the ground and QB David Garrard can keep the ball protected like he has most of the season, the Steelers playoff run will be short lived. They're playing in Pittsburgh and it will most likely be cold there, but that didn't seem to bother the Jags last time.
My Pick: Jacksonville

SUNDAY
New York Giants @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs are one of the surprise teams this year. They won their division despite all the injuries they suffered throughout the year. Granted the NFC South was a pretty weak division this year with the Panthers and Saints having sub-par seasons and, well, then there was the Falcons. They lose their starting running back in Cadillac Williams and are forced to start a guy nobody had ever heard of in Earnest Graham. Guess what? Everyone knows him now, especially everyone that plays fantasy football. And once again QB Jeff Garcia proves he has the skills to lead a team to the playoffs even with mediocre talent around him. The Giants, on the other hand, were expected to make the playoffs by most experts. They have a great offense if QB Eli Manning can get his head out of his butt long enough to realize he has the skills to be a great QB. He'll never be what his brother is, but if he could just be half that he'd be an exceptional player at his position. There are weapons all over the offense from RB Brandon Jacobs, to WRs Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer, to TE Jeremy Shockey. The defense is pretty good too. They hung with the best team in the league and nearly knocked off the Patriots last week. While they did lose, I think they might have finally realized themselves that they are a good team and can hang with the big boys.
My Pick: New York

Tennessee Titans @ San Diego Chargers
If there is going to be a game that ends in a blowout this weekend, this would be the one. Look, Tennessee is a good team, but they barely scraped their way into the playoffs. Had Cleveland not lost to Cincinnati in week 16, it would be the Browns going into San Diego this weekend to get waxed rather than the Titans. Vince Young, in my opinion, is not ready to lead his team to a playoff win, especially against the likes of this Chargers team. The Titans have a good defense, but I don't think they're good enough to stop the Chargers' offense. LT is on fire lately and I'm willing to bet we will see him involved in some trick plays this weekend. There's a good chance he could end up running for, receiving and passing for a TD this weekend. As long as Philip Rivers can protect the football and not throw any INTs, the Chargers shouldn't have any problems moving onto the second round. Plus, their defense is pretty good and they have this guy by the name of Shawn Merriman...maybe you've heard of him?
My Pick: San Diego

Those are my picks for this weekend's action. Agree? Disagree? Who ya got? I'll be back next week to pick the divisional round games.