All season I have done a feature on Twitter called the Around the League Tweets (with various fake sponsors) and five times this season I mentioned how excited I’d be to bet against Andy Dalton in a playoff game. And what did I do? Not only did I not gamble against Dalton but I picked the Bengals to win! My quest for a perfect postseason died on Wild Card Weekend. I deserved the opening 3-1. On to the next round…

SATURDAY 4:35 PM ET – NEW ORLEANS AT SEATTLE

Line: Seahawks -8

Analysis: Thought Rob Ryan’s performance in Philadelphia was one of the most impressive defensive game plans we’ve seen in the NFL all season long but that won’t be enough to compensate for NOLA’s offensive struggles on the road. Seattle beat the Eagles in Philadelphia by relying on Mark Ingram and the ground game – an element the Seahawks will certainly take away with their front. That leaves Drew Brees to win the game through the air and he’s not the same player on the road.

Side note: Is it strange that I would give the Seahawks no shot if this game were in New Orleans? That doesn’t feel like the mark of a Super Bowl champion. I’ll worry about that next week.

Final Score: Seattle 24, New Orleans 13

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Presented without comment…

The top four defenses in the NFC in terms of yards allowed per game: Seattle, Carolina, New Orleans, San Francisco.

The top four defenses in the NFC in terms of points allowed per game: Seattle, Carolina, San Francisco, New Orleans

The four teams still alive in the NFC title race: Seattle, Carolina, San Francisco, New Orleans.

Okay, I guess I should make a comment…

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JAY CUTLER

Here are the details for the Bears quarterback, via Aaron Wilson at National Football Post:

In 2014, Cutler has a $22.5 million base salary and salary-cap figure with $2.5 million of his base salary deferred until March 30, 2014 in addition to another $2.5 million paid out over the 2015 regular season.

In 2015, Cutler has a $15.5 million base salary guaranteed and salary-cap figure.

In 2016, Cutler has a $16 million base salary and salary-cap figure.

In 2017, Cutler is due a $12.5 million nonguaranteed base salary and a $15 million salary-cap figure.

He has $2.5 million in per-game roster bonus paid out for $156,250 for every game he’s active.

In 2018, he has a $13.5 million nonguaranteed base salary with a $16 million salary-cap figure.

That includes the same $2.5 million per-game roster bonus.

In 2019, he has a $17.5 million nonguaranteed base salary with a $20 million salary-cap figure. It has the same $2.5 million per-game roster bonus.

In 2020, Cutler has a $19.2 million base salary plus $2.5 million per-game roster bonus.

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As always I will be providing commentary throughout all four of the wild card games on Twitter. You can read my Tweets on the right rail of this page or by logging onto Twitter and following me there.

JUST CLICK HERE AND MAKE IT SO.

All point spreads provided below were listed on BETUS.com as of Wednesday afternoon.

Saturday 4:35 PM ET – Kansas City at Indianapolis

Line: Indianapolis -2.5

Analysis: I’m going with a three-pronged approach to this.

1. Andy Reid is always a little dicey when it comes to the postseason. All of a sudden how he controls the game/manages the clock becomes far more important and Reid is notoriously terrible at both of those things.
2. Since losing 42-28 on the road to the Bengal the Colts have thrashed the Texans, Chiefs and Jaguars. Yes I know two of those three are not the most impressive opponents and KC had nothing to play for in December but I like seeing teams dominate teams they should dominate.
3. Aren’t we due for an Andrew Luck, national spotlight, coming out party? While all the talk has been about Bob Griffin drama and Kaepernick struggling for ten weeks, Luck has quietly just gone about winning games. I think he’s going to have a big afternoon.

Final Score: Indianapolis 30, Kansas City 23

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Phil Emery opened the Bears season-ending press conference by announcing three contract extensions: Jay Cutler, Tim Jennings and Matt Slauson. The Bears have now inked their three most important potential unrestricted free agents.

The 2013 calendar year brought many glad tidings for the Chicago Bears. A new coach. A new offensive line. The first great Bears offense of the modern era. Now Phil Emery and the organization embark upon their most important off-season in many a moon as they attempt to rebuild the defense into a competitive unit for 2014.

Here are the Bears 2014 opponents:

Home

Green Bay, Detroit, Minnesota, Dallas, Tampa Bay, New Orleans, Miami, Buffalo

Away

Green Bay, Detroit, Minnesota (outdoors at University of Minnesota), Carolina, Atlanta, San Francisco, New York Jets, New England

Their two quarterbacks threw for 4,450 yards and 32 touchdowns. Their star tailback accumulated just a squidge below 2,000 yards from scrimmage. Their wide receivers established themselves as the best starting duo in the sport. Their offensive line was fourth best in sacks allowed and provided support for the league’s second-leading rusher. (And they did this with a pair of rookies on the right side.) The finished the second 9th in total yards per game and 2nd in points scored – only trailing the insane juggernaut that is Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos.

While most fans are unable to see the sport of football with any appropriate context, let me provide some. Marc Trestman is a first year head coach with a first year staff. One year was all it took for Trest to establish one of the league’s most prolific offenses right here in the city of Chicago.

These things only get better. Playbooks expand. Offensive lines grow more comfortable. Quarterbacks operate with a developing fluency. Fans around these parts may not understand this concept because Chicago has not – since George Halas roamed the sideline – operated with any discernible offensive system. (I could make a serious argument the T Formation of song was the last time the Bears operated uniquely on offense.) I would expect Matt Slauson and Jay Cutler to be re-signed prior to the start of the league year. I would expect Josh McCown signed, sealed and delivered rather quickly after the league year begins. The 2014 Bears offense should be expected to improve upon 2013’s landmark production.

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You spend a week playing out the scenarios in your mind; how will Team A move the ball, how will Team B fair on third downs…etc. And then you sit in stunned silence as a fumbled football sits on the field and 20 of the 22 NFL players involved in the play pay it no mind. One guy picks it up. The quarterback and sideline tell him to run. Touchdown. We’ll call it The Boykin Fiasco. It is the play everyone will remember for years to come.

Here’s a bunch of thoughts from the afternoon.

• NFL should be embarrassed by the way this game was officiated. What did Clete Blakeman see under the hood that the rest of us did not see on the downed punt at the one yard line? How on earth can the officials call Shea McClellin for unnecessary roughness at that point in the game? I Tweeted it yesterday and I mean it: an official had to WANT to throw that flag to throw it.
• Ultimately the game came down to costly mistakes on the defensive side of the ball. The Boykin Fiasco. Whatever coverage that was on the Packers final play. Chris Conte flat out dropping a game ending interception.
• Julius Peppers flying at Aaron Rodgers on that final play was such a terrible mistake. How do you lose contain there? Oh I know how. You’ve been doing it all season long. (I forgot for a moment the Bears have an awful defense.)
• I was wrong about one thing: If Matt Flynn played yesterday, the Bears win the game easily. Rodgers used his legs quite a bit more than I expected.
• Heck of a game, Matt Forte. Put the team on your back.

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