rooting guide

This might be my favorite weekend of the football season. The Patriots are sitting at home getting a much-needed bye week (but still keeping their intensity at 10) and we the Pats fans can just sit back and enjoy some great playoff football without the heart palpitations.

Next week our butts will be on the line Saturday night against the lowest remaining AFC seed, but who do we want to win this weekend?

First, a disclaimer — I’m all about history. Wins over teams the Pats don’t have history with mean less to me and when Belichick and Brady are done I’d like it to all wrap up into a nice neat little package. Fortunately for us, there aren’t many teams the Patriots still owe.

Really, I thought 2011 would be an almost too perfect playoff run had they finished things off. They got revenge on the two teams that had ended their seasons in 2005 and 2009 (Denver and Baltimore) and had a chance to avenge the horribleness of Super Bowl 42 only to lose to Eli Manning and the Giants in similar fashion.

Yes, they still owe the Giants, but we’ll get to that. Here’s who I want to win, not necessarily who I think will win.