Gambling on Football: NFL Playoff Picks Against the Line and Over-Under for the First Round

The NFL playoffs are here, and that means one thing: It's time to for gamblers to study the lines and place some bets to make the football games a little more interesting and to win a little cash along the way. Football and gambling - as American as baseball and apple pie.

Saturday and Sunday (January 7th and 8th, respectively) are the days you'll be hauling in the cash, thanks to the Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, Carolina Panthers, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals.

Are you ready for free money? Come and get it.

THE PICKS

Washington at Tampa Bay (-2.5, over/under 37)
Gibbs or Chucky? Easy. The Bucs got throttled by the Niners. Even though Cadillac Williams is back at full strength, Chris Simms is an implosion waiting to happen. The Skins will lay back and wait for the Bucs to make mistakes (which they will). PICK: Take the points and the Hogs. Hail to the Redskins!

Jacksonville at New England (-7.5, o/u 37)
As the soon-to-be-leaving Jets head coach, Herm Edwards, stated, "There is a reason they go to the playoffs every year. There is a reason why they've won three world championships." And the same reason for being so good is the same reason to give up 7.5 points: the Pats are on fire. Brady and Dillon are healthy, the defense is back in good standing (even with Bruschi's cryptic leg injury) and they're at home. However, 7.5 points can look like a ton if the Pats defense can't stop the Jags. Wait… the NINERS clowned Jacksonville in Florida! PICK: Lay the seven and a half and watch Brady dissect these maroons.

Carolina at New York (-2.5, o/u 44)
Do you trust Eli Manning? Really? Do you trust Jake Delhomme? Yikes! These guys can throw td's but, man, they can throw picks in a big way. That's why I like the idea of a defensive touchdown and the quarterbacks to launch a blitzkrieg. Who'll win? Who cares! PICK: Take the over, sit back and watch these teams slug it out for 38-27 offensive showcase. If you really want to pick a team, though, go with the Panthers. They've been there before and they'll know how to get it done better than the feisty G-Men.

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati (-2.5, o/u 44.5)
Carson Palmer, Rudi Johnson, Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Weapons! And on defense? Yuck. Pittsburgh has been great on the road this year, and while they don't like to cover a spread when they're a home favorite, they love to cover as a road underdog. And they smashed in the Bengals' faces already once this year. Remember, a good defense will tear apart a good offense in January. Always. PICK: Pittsburgh.

There it is. Your budding empire is ready to be assembled. As you'll learn this coming weekend, money is so much sweeter when it's won than earned.