Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is on one of four regional covers produced this week for Sports Illustrated's NFL playoff preview.

That's good news for Patriots fans in that they get to see their favorite son get even more love from a national publication. Bad news if you believe in the SI jinx. Of course Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers, New Orleans' Drew Brees and Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger also appear on regional covers, so it's hard to believe that all four star passers could be jinxed out of winning the Super Bowl.

The SI playoff preview also includes a feature story on the oft-told tale of Brady's time at Michigan, what he had to go through to earn the starting job there and how it affected his development.

"He became a man [at Michigan]. When you become a man, that means you get slapped around a little bit," Brady's father, Tom Sr., told Sports Illustrated in the piece.

This edition of SI also includes Peter King's playoff predictions. The longtime NFL writer picks the Patriots to beat the Steelers (23-16) and the Ravens (22-20) on the way to the Super Bowl in Indy. King then projects the Saints to beat the Patriots (34-24) to bring another Lombardi Trophy home to New Orleans. [Edit: I'm a blind moron and guess had wishful eyes, as I previously thought King had picked the Patriots to win the Super Bowl. As many comments pointed out, he did not. I apologize for the previous error. Maybe it will be a prescient mistake.]