Nurse the Hate: Wild Card Weekend

What's with the word "journey"?  Every person I fucking hear talk about whatever they are doing is on a "journey".  "When I first began my wine journey..." or  "My journey at the company began when..." or "When I first started my fitness journey...".  Look...  You aren't on a "journey".  You're just into wine, or started a job, or got off the couch to workout.  Stop pretending that everyone is as enraptured by your current interest as you are at the moment.  It's like the new word that replaced "obsessed".   "Suzy is just obsessed with these jeans from Saks."  What do you mean?  Like she can't leave the house or stop looking at a pair of fucking pants she bought because it's all she can think about?  Maybe Suzy needs some goddamn mental health help.  They're just pants.  Let it go.  

I have a woman at work that uses the word "literally" all the time.  Every thought out of her head contains the word "literally".  She can't get through a story without saying it.  "I literally just walked up stairs."  It's this point of emphasis but everything apparently needs to be emphasized.  "Holy shit.  Kendra just walked up the stairs.  No... she told me that she literally just walked up the stairs.  I know!  I thought for sure that someone helped her up there because there is NO WAY someone could get up a flight of stairs, but she assured me that she literally walked up here.  Fucking blew my mind."

There's a group think that surrounds everything.  Once enough people start saying something, others grab onto it and think, "this is what we say now".  A new word or idea slips into the culture and it just takes hold.  I hate to think I might have to start referring to some clothing item as my "drip".  You never know.  One day you are standing around minding your own business and then suddenly you're telling people about your "drip".  I think it's the same thing all these talking heads start doing with their NFL Playoff predictions.  Group think on these games comes to together very swiftly.  The Browns with Flacco will roll to victory.  The Cowboys can't lose at home.  There is no way Miami can go into a cold weather game and win.  Buffalo is going to win, but by how much?  

The key is to look past the group think.  The most universal truth going into these playoffs is that Pittsburgh has NO CHANCE.  Buffalo is favored by a whopping ten points.  Buffalo beat Dallas and the Jets by ten this year.  After they clipped their offensive coordinator, they have gone to a ball control offense that keeps scoring down.  It's not a team built to generate separation.  The Steelers had that weird three game swoon in November where they looked awful (with MVP Mitch), but even with that they've only lost 4 of their 17 by more than 10.  I was hoping this game was going to go off in that horrible snowstorm with wind out the ass so I could slam the under.  Since they moved the game to Monday I will wait to see what the weather conditions look like before betting it, but I'm leaning Pittsburgh +10.

The Browns are such a Cinderella story, it's hard not to jump on board, especially since I live in Cleveland.  Things have lined up pretty well for the team getting to play the Texans again after just kicking their ass last month.  This game should be much closer as CJ Stroud appears like a legit premier starting QB, and they had to have made some defensive adjustments to prevent Cooper from getting 786 yards receiving like last game, right?  Still, the Browns should be able to pressure Stroud.  Stroud does not play well when A) pressured and B) playing against man-to-man coverage, what the Browns run about 75% of the time.  With Ward healthy for the Browns, I think that mitigates Houston downfield and they will be forced to try to grind out 12-15 play drives.  I think the Browns beat these guys in the middle of the field.  I am going to regret doing this as the Browns exist only to crush the dreams of their fans, but I'm going Cleveland -2.

There's always an upset in this round.  It could be the Bucs, but Mayfield is a physical wreck.  I am going to take a flier on the Rams.  Hear me out on this.  Sean McVeigh is going to outcoach Campbell.  That's not a prediction.  That's just how it is.  The Lions defense blows, and when the Rams have had Kyren Williams in the lineup at running back, they are an elite offense.  Williams was out for a chunk in the middle of the season, so people don't look at the stats in a Weeks 1-4 + Weeks 10-17 way.  The Rams look mediocre overall, but this version of the Rams offense is a problem for the Lions.  In a high pressure game, who do you want to run an offense through?  Super Bowl Champ Matt Stafford or Jared Goff playing in a high profile game versus the team that traded him for almost nothing that knows exactly all of his weaknesses?  I need to do the math on the moneyline, but I'm taking that or the LA Rams +3.

Miami can't beat a good team.  I don't think Kansas City is any good, but Miami is so banged up that they should have enough to beat Tua in his first playoff game in 2 degree game time temps.  They talk about how Kansas City is used to this type of weather, but it's not like these guys grew up in Missouri and run around in the woods shirtless.  What, like half of these players are from Florida or California anyway.  Did Tyrek Hill go from being able to be comfortable in the cold when he was in a red shirt to being uncomfortable in a turquoise one?  Miami doesn't have the offensive line to run the ball down KC's throat.  It's hard to see Kansas City lighting it up here but it's not enough points to go the other way.  Kansas City money line.

Season Record:  29-24-2