Here's my picks for the wild card round of the NFL playoffs. I'm going to be doing a new playoff league to give some of the detritus towards the bottom of the table a chance to redress the balance. Same format as before, but in a much smaller and easier to manage way. Thankfully.

Worth noting that even as I write this, my good lady has put on a film starring not just Cameron Diaz (immediately denotes that a movie is appalling) but also Ashton Kutcher (Imemdiate grounds for divorce). Oh man, they just announced the name of the film, 'What happens in Vegas'. I remember seeing the trailer for this and trying not to throw sharp objects at the cinema's screen. Let me guess the plot without knowing: High flying woman (works in publishing, media, finance or something) has bad time (unfaithful husband, death, loses job) and then goes to Vegas and meets Ashton Kutcher who she tries not to like but he's just so dreamy... those eyes... I... sorry where was I?

Anyway, enough of my torture, on with the important business of the weekend's picks. To help you gauge what to do at this stage of the season, I've incorporated the picks of the top 5 and the bottom 5 of our Pickwatch table. It's just another way that next year I intend to revamp the site based on results, but I thought it's not too hard to do for the playoffs, so Ill start now. You'll have to allow for the fact that a lot of the poorer pickers have neglected to bother with the playoffs so far and only Dan Hanzus and Sterling Sharpe have their picks in, even though the games start tomorrow evening...

Bengals @ Texans
Top 5 analysts: Bengals (3-2)
Bottom 5 analysts: Push (1-1)

Do I like the Texans at the moment? Not really, but the Bengals have been equally as sketchy in the last few weeks and don't have the strong suits of the teams that have capitalised on Houston's frailties. I don't know, I think to put it bluntly, it's easy to forget that the Texans have a really good team and have a habit of bouncing back when you least expect it. Even though the top 5 are with Cinci.

Vikings @ Packers

Top 5 analysts: Packers (5-0)
Bottom 5 **analysts** Packers (2-0)

I wouldn't bet against a truly healthy Packers team at Lambeau, but as they proved last week, they are not great against the run and in a freezing (16F) game scenario like Saturday night, things could be closer than they appear. I'd still take the Pack to win, but I don't feel that the Vikings will be annihilated. Not one analyst has backed them, but hey, that's nothing new this year.

Colts @ Ravens

Top 5 analysts: Ravens (4-1)
Bottom 5 **analysts**: Push (1-1)

I know it's the ultimate cliche but Ray Lewis's return really does give their defence an extra coach on the field. They were 5-1 with him in the team and struggled mightily without him. The Colts are a great story, but ultimately they've been mediocre the last few weeks and capitalised on the mistakes of others. That's not to say that the Ravens haven't made lots of mistakes, but I don't think Andrew Luck has faced an opponent with the instincts of Lewis since week one in Chicago.

Also, Sterling Sharpe went with the Colts so...

Seahawks @ Redskins

Top 5 **analysts**: Seahawks (3-2)
Bottom 5 **analysts**: Push (1-1)
Sterling has also backed the Skins, but have you seen Russell Wilson play lately? The kid and that whole offence is firing on all cylinders and Golden Tate is emerging as one of the more clutch receivers in the league after years of under-achieving. I love the Skins with RGIII at the helm but even at home against a team that notoriously travels poorly, they will need a lot of luck to get past arguably the most complete team left in the NFC. Seriously, I don't think any team wants to face Seattle in January, because they have almost every element of a title winning team. I'm not just backing the Hawks in the Wild Card, I'm backing them for the NFC title right now.

Ok, they're 12 minutes in and Cameron Diaz has fallen in love with Ashton Kutcher. Surely the film could just end now? How do they possibly squeeze another hour and a half out of this plot and cast? Good god. See you all in hell...