NFL Playoff Predictions 2011: Players Who Will Blow Up in the Postseason

The danger in predicting which players will blow up in the postseason is that it means we have to assume that we already know which teams will actually be in the postseason. If I knew that, I would probably be using Las Vegas as my new address from now until the end of the calendar year.

But that is part of the beauty of predictions. You can be right some of the time, or wrong most of the time, but I know of very few people who are right all of the time.

We will do our best to decipher the tea leaves and come up with not only who the playoff teams are going to be, but which players from that smaller subset will step up and have a huge impact in the playoffs.

Who Are the 12 Teams That Reach the Playoffs?

For the purposes of this article, I will have to go out on a limb and identify which teams qualify for the playoffs. It is not the intent of this article to identify the reasons why certain teams make it and why certain teams fell short. So, if you disagree with my selections, I understand that you might be upset, but also realize that it is a difficult task to predict all 12 teams while awaiting results from the next eight weeks.

So, without further adieu, here are my playoff team selections. Read 'em and weep.

AFC Playoff teams:

AFC East: New England Patriots

AFC North: Baltimore Ravens

AFC South: Houston Texans

AFC West: San Diego Chargers  

AFC Wild-Card Teams: Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets

NFC Playoff teams:

NFC East: New York Giants

NFC North: Green Bay Packers

NFC South: New Orleans Saints

NFC West: San Francisco 49ers

NFC Wild-Card teams: Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons

Hated to leave the feel good stories of the Bills and Bengals out in the AFC, but they both made positive strides this year. In the NFC, Bucs, Bears, Cowboys and Eagles fans want to be in here as well, but that is the way I see it for now.

Atlanta Falcons

Now that rookie wide receiver Julio Jones is healthy again, I think you will continue to see him have some outstanding games over the rest of the regular season, helping to take his team to the playoffs.

While the Atlanta Falcons opponents will be focused on limiting the damage that Roddy White can do, and trying to slow down the Falcons' running game, it will be left to Julio Jones and Tony Gonzalez to step up and take the Falcons further in the playoffs than they did in 2010.

I can see both Jones and Gonzalez producing in the playoffs, assuming that the Falcons get to play one game in reasonable weather or in a dome. If they are forced to play in Green Bay in January, then all bets are off. If this turns out to be the last season for Gonzalez, the Falcons will make it a point to make sure that he is involved in the offense, and sees adequate targets for the future Hall of Fame tight end.

Baltimore Ravens

Joe Flacco's dramatic fourth-quarter rally against the Pittsburgh Steelers will serve as a springboard to give the beleaguered quarterback the necessary boost of confidence he needs to take his game up a notch over the final eight weeks and into the playoffs as well.

Flacco will be solid in the playoffs, as will Ray Rice and Anquan Boldin. I expect this trio to do well in the playoffs. But there is one other player who is flying way under the radar who I also want to talk about.

The Baltimore Ravens team and the Ravens fans have to be frustrated beyond belief at the lack of progress of Lee Evans with his injury rehab. But having watched Evans closely over the years, I can't imagine any player more appreciative of what it would mean to be in the playoffs. Evans has never experienced the second season while in Buffalo, and I think his lack of production in the regular season provides the perfect cover for him to step up and be a big factor for the Ravens in the postseason.

Detroit Lions

While I am very happy for the long-suffering Detroit Lions fans that they will make the playoffs, I am just not so sure how well they will be in the playoffs.

For starters, I don't know for sure that Matthew Stafford will have survived the entire regular season. So far, so good, but if I were in Detroit I would be collectively holding my breath every time he gets hit hard over the final eight weeks.

The running back situation is also a shaky one, which is another reason I don't feel great about the playoff chances for Detroit. From Jahvid Best's concussion issues, to Mikel LeShoure going down early, the Lions just haven't had much luck with their running backs.

I do expect Calvin Johnson to step up and have a huge impact in the playoffs, whether it is Stafford who throws the ball to him or Shaun Hill, it won't matter. Johnson will be a monster in the playoffs.

Finally, one dark-horse candidate I like in the playoffs, because I always like rooting for the underdog, would be Kevin Smith—if he emerges to be a factor in the playoffs. That would be a feel good story for the Lions and for Smith.

Green Bay Packers

As of now, I just don't see any plausible reason why the Green Bay Packers won't be holding home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. That is a key factor for this slide, because playing in Green Bay in January can be a little tough when you are battling the elements.

One player who started to emerge in the playoffs in 2010 was running back James Starks. I see Starks as stepping up his game again and becoming an even bigger factor in 2011. He has been able to play for a full regular season, and his knowledge of the offense and the ability to run behind the talented Packers offensive line is sufficient grounds for believing that he will be a factor. 

The other guy I have to discuss is quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers has been playing at an unbelievably high level of production week in and week out. To me, he is probably the run-away winner of the MVP this year, unless he starts to fall on his face, or gets injured. Rodgers will continue to play at an advanced level through the playoffs and should be able to take his team deep into the playoffs again.

From a receiver standpoint, I look for Jordy Nelson and Jermichael Finley to step up with huge games in the playoffs. I like both of them as receivers in general, and there is something about throwing to the bigger targets in the red zone that makes me think they will be a bigger factor in the postseason.

Houston Texans

Which AFC playoff team will have the best running attack in the playoffs? I think that honor is going to go to the Houston Texans. The combination of Arian Foster and Ben Tate has been rolling along in the regular season and will continue to be a big factor in the playoffs.

As of now, the Texans are leading the AFC with an average of 155.1 yards per game, and trail only the Philadelphia Eagles in that category.

The injury to Andre Johnson probably forced the Texans to rely more on their ground game, and that may have turned out to be a mixed blessing in disguise. Relying less on the arm of Matt Schaub and the passing attack, forced the Texans to realize how valuable and dynamic their running back duo has become, and how far they can carry the team.

If the Texans are required to travel up to either the AFC North or AFC East cities in the playoffs, they will be glad that they have the best AFC running game to give them a strong chance to emerge with a win.

New England Patriots

Albert Haynesworth is now history, and one has to wonder if Chad Ochocinco will be far behind. Tom Brady has already thrown 10 interceptions, and fans and critics are wondering aloud about the decisions being made by legendary coach Bill Belichick. If the Patriots happen to fall to the New York Jets on Sunday Night Football, they will have dropped three straight games.

Luckily, when the postseason rolls around, all of these issues will seem like a long time ago, and the Patriots will be focused on the task at hand, advancing far into the playoffs.

Brady will be relieved to have a chance to redeem himself and will relish in the opportunity to be able to throw to his talented trio of Wes Welker, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. You can't take all three of them out of the equation, so if you try to focus on doubling up one or two of the targets, the third one can kill you.

Hard for me to say which one of Brady's three targets will blow up the most in the playoffs, but I really like the chances of Welker (due to his quickness) and Gronkowski (due to his size and ability to run after the catch) to have the most impact in the playoffs.

New Orleans Saints

The key for the New Orleans Saints is to win the NFC South division and host a playoff game in the dome, because if they have to play in either Green Bay or go to play the New York Giants, they will have a fast exit from the playoffs. I just don't see them as a team that would do well playing outside in January in a cold climate environment.

If they are playing San Francisco, Atlanta or Detroit, then Drew Brees will be able to have his usual passing attack running on all cylinders. Brees will distribute the ball to his long cast of characters and have his normal solid performances.

The two other Saints players I think will come up big in the playoffs are running back Darren Sproles and tight end Jimmy Graham. Sproles is averaging an amazing 7.1 yards per carry this season, and the Saints will look to exploit his quickness in the playoffs by getting him more touches than they have in the regular season. Graham is on a pace to come up with around 1,400 yards in receptions this season, and will continue to excel into the postseason as well.

The Saints will pose some difficult challenges for any team they face in the postseason.

New York Giants

Eli Manning wants to be known as an elite quarterback, and the best way I know of is to lead his team to the NFC Championship Game. There, he will more than likely have a showdown with Aaron Rodgers, and let the most elite quarterback win.

Manning has been missing from the postseason for the past two years, but it appears that he is leading the Giants back to the postseason this year. The comeback win against the Patriots and Tom Brady was a major statement win for the team, and should give them good momentum for the second half of the season.

I see Manning doing well in the playoffs, as his play this year appears to have matured into a better kind of quarterback. He makes better decisions with the ball, and that is reflected in his ratio of 15 touchdowns to only six interceptions.

The running backs are taking turns getting hurt, as both Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs have been taking turns missing games. But, the wide receivers are pretty intriguing. Both Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz are averaging better than 15 yards per catch, and I like both of them to continue their strong play into the playoffs as well.

New York Jets

Of all the teams we have selected to reach the playoffs, there are only two teams that currently rank in the bottom 10 of overall offenses in the NFL—the New York Jets and the San Francisco 49ers. There just isn't that much to get overly excited about the Jets offense.

Both of their main backs are averaging less than 4.0 yards per carry. None of their receivers are on pace for a 1,000-yard season. In short, the Jets play a pretty boring offense.

They are carried on the strength of their defense. That defense showed up against last weekend to lead the Jets over the Bills, which is why I picked the Jets to reach the playoffs and for the Bills to fall short.

But in terms of standout players who will explode in the playoffs, the only guy I think can step up and make a difference is Plaxico Burress. He is not a spring chicken any longer, but I think the Jets will be looking for him in the red zone in the playoffs, and that is why he will be making an impact.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers will have to knock the Cincinnati Bengals out of the playoff picture, but I think they do that based on the strength of their wide receiving corps and on the arm of Ben Roethlisberger.

The Steelers' running game is nothing special, so I don't expect any of their running backs to break out in the playoffs.

But the talented wide receivers are always capable of erupting. Hines Ward's best days are behind him, and I don't see him being much of a factor in the playoffs. But from Antonio Brown to Mike Wallace and Heath Miller, all of them have the potential to bust out in the playoffs.

You can also count on Ben Roethlisberger to turn in solid performances throughout the playoffs again.

San Diego Chargers

I like the San Diego Chargers to emerge from the current pack in the AFC West to win their division.

Phillip Rivers will need to start playing more consistent ball in the second half of the season, but his game has been too shaky this year to tell you that I think he will break out in the playoffs.

Rivers will throw the ball enough to Vincent Jackson to allow him to be a major factor in the playoffs. It is too bad that injuries have sapped the legs and spring out of Antonio Gates' play, as he is just not playing at the same levels of excellence that we are used to seeing.

This will represent the first playoff game for running back Ryan Mathews, and he is averaging a very healthy 4.6 yards per carry this year. Look for the Chargers to feed Mathews often to keep a balanced attack, and then throw to Jackson to move the chains.

San Francisco 49ers

The key to the San Francisco 49ers in the playoffs will be Frank Gore. He is the key that keeps this offense humming. Alex Smith has a very respectable season going, throwing 10 touchdowns to only two interceptions and completing 64 percent of his passes. While that will allow the 49ers to continue winning, I just don't consider Smith to be a playoff breakout kind of quarterback.

The 49ers do not have any receiver who will come close to a 1,000-yard season, and there is no reason to feel like one of these guys will suddenly break out in the playoffs.

As Gore has been the featured back all season, the 49ers will have to determine if they want to keep him fresher down the stretch run so that he is healthy coming in to the playoffs. In practice this week, he was seen favoring one of his ankles, so if they are smart they will start to preserve Gore with the playoffs in mind.

Their playoff berth is basically secure, so the 49ers need to use the second half of the season to evaluate some of their depth and try to get some of their receivers to step up their game.