65-year old Tom Coughlin and 59-year old Bill Belichick both have made the most of their second chances to be head coaches in the NFL.  Coughlin saw an 8-year run as the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars end in 2002.  He was 68-60 (53.1%) during the regular season and he was 4-4 (50%) in the post-season for the Jaguars.  The Giants called Coughlin up in 2004 and they hired him to take charge.  The Giants are 74-54 (57.8%) during the regular season in Coughlin’s first 8 years in charge.  The Giants are also 7-3 (70%) during the post-season under Coughlin, including a Super Bowl win in 2007 over the Patriots.  Coughlin has his team rolling right now as they are 3-0 in the playoffs, outscoring the competition by a combined score of 81-39.

Bill Belichick took his lumps with the Cleveland Browns.  He was the Browns’ head coach for five years and he led them to a 36-44 (45%) record during the regular season and he was 1-1 (50%) in the playoffs.  Browns’ owner Art Modell let Belichick go when the Browns decided to move to Baltimore after the 1995 season.  Belichick kept coaching as an assistant before the Patriots gave him a call and hired him as the head coach in 2000.  Belichick now has a 139-53 (72.4%) record in his first 12 years during the regular season for the Patriots and he is 16-5 (76.2%) during the post-season.  The Patriots won the Super Bowl in 2001, 2003 and 2004.  The only Super Bowl they lost was to the New York Giants back in 2007, which ruined a chance at a perfect season as the Patriots were 18-0 at that point.  The Patriots are 2-0 in the playoffs this year and they have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 68-30.  If Belichick and the Patriots win on Sunday, he will tie Chuck Noll as the only coaches with 4 Super Bowl wins in NFL history.

So when your team hires a coach who has not done well in his first go around as a head coach in the NFL, give the guy a chance.  He might just turn into a Hall of Famer after learning from his mistakes the first time around.

I was on fire last weekend as I was a perfect 6-0 against the spread.  With only two games this weekend, it gets a lot harder to pick a side in the games.  Here it goes:

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP:

New England Patriots (-7 1/2) over the Baltimore Ravens:  The Ravens whipped the Patriots 33-14 just two years ago on this very field.  I think it’s going to be a lot different this time around.  I think the Patriots are going to jump to an early lead and force Joe Flacco to try to keep up by throwing the ball.  He NEVER steps up in a big game, while Tom Brady is 15-5 (75%) in his career in the post-season.  I like the Patriots to win this game 31-20 and cover the spread.

New York Giants (+2.5) over the San Francisco 49ers:  The Giants are on a roll right now as they have tightened up on D they last couple of weeks.  That is bad news for the Niners.  The Giants are going to keep rolling this Sunday as I have them beating the Niners 27-17.  I would seriously consider taking the money line with the Giants as you aren’t going to need the points.

I’m going to split the picks over Saturday and Sunday’s games that way you can parlay them if you want to.  Here is how I see the games going down this weekend:

SATURDAY:

San Francisco 49ers (+4) over the New Orleans Saints:  The Saints are not nearly as good away from home.  I have a feeling that the old school style of the Niners (running the ball on offense and playing solid defense) is going to help them win a close game today.  I like the 49ers to win this game 23-20.

New England Patriots (-13.5) over the Denver Broncos:  The Patriots had an easy time with the Broncos the first time around and they will again today.  I like the Patriots to win this game 37-20, as Tim Tebow won’t be too magical today in Foxboro.

Patriots/Broncos over 50 points:  The Patriots’ offense is so good and their defense is so bad, that I love the over in this game!

SUNDAY:

Houston Texans (+7.5) over the Baltimore Ravens:  This is going to be a slobberknocker tomorrow as both of these teams are going to run the ball and play defense.  For that reason, I expect the game to stay close.  I like the Ravens to win this game 20-16.

New York Giants (+7.5) over the Green Bay Packers:  This game is going to be a track meet.  With that in mind I’m going with the better offensive team, so I like the Packers to win 41-34….with the Giants covering the point spread by the smallest of margins.

Giants/Packers over 53 points:  This number jumps off the page at me as these two teams combined for 73 points in their first meeting this year.  I like the over with confidence.

It’s likely going to be a tough betting weekend as far as the NFL Playoffs is concerned.  The better deals might be in the totals this weekend.  Here’s a look at how I see the games going down this weekend:

Houston Texans (-4) over the Cincinnati Bengals:  I like the Texans to win this game because of their defense and running game later today.  I like the Texans to win this game 23-16.

Detroit Lions (+10.5) over the New Orleans Saints:  This game wreaks of a back door cover.  I like the Saints to win this game 37-27, but I like the Lions to cover.

Denver Broncos (+8.5) over the Pittsburgh Steelers:  I think the Steelers will find a way to win this Sunday, but it won’t be easy.  I like the Steelers to win 16-13, but the Broncos to cover the pointspread.

Atlanta Falcons (+3) over the New York Giants:  Michael Turner is going to make the difference in this game.  I like the Falcons to beat the Giants 33-30, so think seriously about taking the money line.

As far as the totals go, I would probably only bet on the over (47.5 points) in the Falcons/Giants game this Sunday afternoon.

This is going to be an exciting year for the playoffs, as some teams are crashing the party that have not been in them for a while.  The Texans, Bengals, Broncos, 49ers and Lions have been away from the playoffs for quite some time.  This will be the Texans’ first venture into the playoffs.  Here is how I see things going down in the NFL Playoffs this year:

AFC:

ROUND #1:

Texans over the Bengals:  The Bengals are going to put up a fight in this game, but they are going to have big time issues stopping Arian Foster and Ben Tate.

Steelers over the Broncos:  This game is going to be much tougher than the Steelers anticipate it being.  That is because they are banged up.  I still see them shutting down the Broncos’ offense in this game.

ROUND #2:

Patriots over the Steelers:  The Patriots are going to be well rested and they will be looking for revenge against the Steelers who beat them earlier this year at Heinz Field.  Brady is going to torch the Steelers’ secondary this time around.

Ravens over the Texans:  Joe Flacco is going to make enough big throws for the Ravens in this game to make the difference.  I think T.J. Yates will make a couple of big mistakes in this game.

AFC Championship:

Ravens over the Patriots:  This will be Ray Rice’s big coming out party in Foxboro.  He’s going to have a monster game on the big stage.  The defense will make Rice’s work stand up.

NFC:

Round #1:

Saints over Lions:  The Lions will keep this game close because of Matt Stafford and his receivers, but they are going to fall short as the Saints are almost unstoppable at home.

Falcons over the Giants:  Matt Ryan is going to be motivated to make up for his poor performance last year in the playoffs.  The Giants’ D is overrated and it will show in this game.

Round #2:

Saints over 49ers:  The Saints are going to win this game on Drew Brees’ right shoulder.  He is going to have a good game and Alex Smith won’t be able to keep up with him.

Packers over the Falcons:  The Packers are going to overwhelm the Falcons’ secondary and it’s going to be the reason for a rather lopsided game.

NFC Championship:

Packers over the Saints:  These two teams mirror each other talent wise.  I’m taking Aaron Rodgers and the crowd at Lambeau Field over the Saints.

SUPER BOWL:  The Packers are going to beat the Ravens in a close, hard fought game.  Rodgers is just going to put too many points on the Ravens’ D for Baltimore to win another Super Bowl.