Around the NFL: Wildcard Weekend Post-Season Recap
The first round of the NFL Playoffs has come and gone, and there was a lot of excitement to talk about. First, a couple of comments:
Ashley in Maryland writes, “Brandon, you have no idea what you’re talking about! Miami over Baltimore??? Are you an idiot?”
Mike from upstate New York writes, “There’s no way the E-Gals get past my Gents this weekend! Tuck is gonna destroy McNabb!”
The playoffs definitely bring out the passion in fans. Let’s get into a recap of last weekend’s action:
Arizona Beats Atlanta 30-24
Most didn’t think the Cardinals were going to pull this one off. They’d played pretty miserably down the stretch and few believed that they’d be able to a) contain the Falcons running game, and b) establish a running game themselves. Arizona proved everyone wrong however, limiting Turner to just 42 yards on 18 carries and providing a steady dose of Edgerrin James throughout the game. Rookie QB Matt Ryan looked poised toward the end of the first half, as he began to look comfortable in the pocket and was able to convert critical third downs. However, in the second half the third down completions didn’t come so easily and despite a late game comeback, it proved to be too little, too late for the Falcons. Most impressive was the Cardinals defense. DT Darnell Dockett was relentless and seemed to be in the huddle with the Falcons offense. Atlanta’s turnaround this season and the coming of Matt Ryan is nothing to overlook however, and the team has a bright future ahead.
San Diego Beats Indianapolis 23-17 in Overtime
The Colts were the favorite heading into this game. With a banged up LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates, along with an 8-8 record which needed a Week 17 win in order to even make the playoffs, the Chargers certainly couldn’t beat the Colts with their MVP winning QB Peyton Manning, could they? Well, a trifecta of great performances by the Chargers defense, RB Darren Sproles, and P Mike Scifres led to a stunning overtime victory for San Diego, and for the second year in a row, the bolts sent the Colts packing. Watching the Chargers defense vs. the Colts offense was like a chess match of timing and strategy. DC Ron Rivera showed his ability to improvise and to mix up his attacks perfectly enough to keep Manning off balance for a good portion of the game, including a late fourth quarter sack that kept the Chargers’ hopes alive. Darren Sproles had 150 yards from scrimmage along with two touchdowns, including the game winning score in overtime. The Colts seemed to have no answer for Sproles the entire game, as the pint-sized playmaker ironically nicknamed “Tank” ran around the field at will. Most importantly though was the play of punter Mike Scifres. I’ve seen very few games where a punter made such a huge difference in the game, but Scifres consistently gave the Colts terrible field position, which made the job of the Chargers defense far easier. We’ll see if they can continue this success next week against the relentless Pittsburgh Steeler defense.
Baltimore Beats Miami 27-9
The Ravens thrive on creating turnovers and Miami finds success by taking care of the ball. Something had to give in this match-up, and four interceptions and a fumble later we know that “give” was all the Dolphins did in this game. I was impressed that Miami was able to move the ball fairly well against such a great defense. However, each time they seemed to get something going, the pass pressure would intensify and the ball would wind up in the hands of a Raven, twice being All Pro Safety Ed Reed, who I might trade just about anyone in the league for in order to have on my team. The Dolphins defense also did fairly well containing rookie QB Joe Flacco and the Baltimore offense, though it was hard to tell with all the great field position Baltimore was getting after the turnovers. Overall, this was basically a team with more talent beating up on a team that has overachieved during a year in which they had arguably the easiest schedule I’ve ever seen. I really thought that the Dolphins would be able to pull this one off, almost willing themselves to victory, but the relentless Ravens defense proved triumphant. I’ll tell you one thing, there’s no team I’d be more worried about playing than this pumped up Ravens squad. Good luck Tennessee.
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Philadelphia Beats Minnesota 26-14
This was a great game between two of the most exciting defenses in the league, two of the best running backs, and two former colleagues as head coaches battling it out. Like many of the games this wildcard weekend, the difference in this game was superb defensive play by the Philadelphia Eagles. This was a close game throughout, and the containment of Adrian Peterson proved to be too much for the Vikings to overcome. True, Peterson did have a 40 yard touchdown run, but other than that one play, the 2008 league leader in rushing yards had just 43 yards on 19 carries. To add to the containment of the running game, Eagles DC Jim Johnson proved to be true to form, blitzing creatively and often and forcing young Vikings QB Tarvaris Jackson into making some critical mistakes. This included an interception returned for a touchdown by Asante Samuel, who’s become very familiar with this feat during playoff time, as this is the fourth time he’s returned an interception for a score in a playoff game. Philly looked tough this past week, but the problem with the Eagles is you just never know which team you’re getting week to week, and the Giants loom large.
Around The NFL
Just a couple of quick notes for what’s going on in the league this week:
The Cleveland Browns have hired recently fired Jets head coach Eric Mangini to be there new HC. This was a great decision for both parties as Mangini is young and likely learned a lot from his time in New York and will likely help Cleveland get over that hump. For Mangini, this is a good situation, because the personnel for a 3-4 defense are already in place with a stellar NT in Shaun Rogers, and there are playmakers on offense to build around.
Adam Jones was released by the Cowboys, officially making that a failed experiment. I can’t really fault the Cowboys however. They took a risk, didn’t give up too much, and it didn’t work out. Really, with the talent he possesses, it was worth the risk.
More assistant coaches were fired including DC Gary Gibbs for New Orleans and most of the Green Bay Packers defensive staff. This was expected really as both defenses drastically underperformed this season. Word is that former 49ers head coach Mike Nolan might be considered for the DC position in Green Bay.
The 15 finalists for the NFL Hall of Fame induction 2009 were announced. They are: Cris Carter, Dermontti Dawson, Richard dent, Russ Grimm, Bob Hayes, Claude Humphrey, Cortez Kennedy, Bob Kuechenberg, Randall McDaniel, John Randle, Andre Reed, Shannon Sharpe, Bruce Smith, Paul Tagliabue, Derrick Thomas, Ralph Wilson, and Rod Woodson. Good to see guys like Dawson, Carter, and Thomas there. Would’ve also liked to see Terrell Davis and Ray Guy make it however. If you could only select five of these guys, whom would you select? letstalknfl@hotmail.com
Injury concerns this weekend include Tomlinson again, Anquan Boldin, and Brian Westbrook (though Westbrook is likely to play).
Keep an eye on the underclassmen declaring for the draft. UGA stars QB Matthew Stafford and RB Knowshon Moreno both declared this week and the deadline for eligible college players to declare for the draft is January 15 th. This year looks like it might even break a record for most early entries. Keep an eye on Heisman winning quarterbacks Sam Bradford of Oklahoma and Tim Tebow of Florida and the decisions they make after the National Championship game. Bradford has a shot to be the first overall pick, and that might prove to be too difficult to give up for the third year sophomore.
Divisional Round Predictions
So with the new divisional round playoff games set, it’s time for me to take a look at the match-ups and see whom I like. While all the teams are very good and any could really be a contender for the Super Bowl, only one can be the ultimate winner, and narrowing that down continues this weekend with four more exciting games. My predictions for this weekend are:
The Steelers over the Chargers: I didn’t think the Chargers would beat the Colts last week, which proved to be a mistake, but I really don’t think they’ll get past the Steelers in Pittsburgh. While Big Ben is coming off of a concussion, he’s supposed to be okay, and I think that as good as Darren Sproles is, we may see him struggle in a game that could have temperatures lower than the 20’s and possibly even snow. The Steelers will play better defense and the Chargers will struggle to move the ball. Not a high scoring game though. The last match-up was 11-10 Steelers. I’ll go with 13-10 this time.
The Panthers over the Cardinals: As much as I like the Cardinals, and I might be inclined to at least consider them if they were at home, I have to say that I think the Panthers win this one. Carolina beat them earlier in the season in Carolina, and generally speaking, the Cardinals have played badly on the East Coast this season. While I think that the game will be spirited and that the Panthers will have their hands full, I believe that the wily veteran Jake Delhomme will do enough to keep the defensive line from jumping the snap and the running game will be as productive as it’s been the rest of the year.
The Ravens over the Titans: This could really go either way. The Ravens seem to be just flat out dominant sometimes, whereas the Titans just methodically do what it takes to win each game. The Ravens are the hotter team right now and I think that their defense will fair very well against Kerry Collins and the two-headed running back monster of LenDale White and rookie Chris Johnson. This shouldn’t be a high-scoring game either, and it could go either way. Like I said though, I wouldn’t want to play the Ravens right now.
Upset Pick: The Eagles over the Giants: The return of bruising running back Brandon Jacobs gives the Giants three very good running backs to throw at the Philadelphia Eagles. Also, the Eagles are notoriously up-and-down. However, they’re also typically very streaky, and very same thing can be said for QB Donovan McNabb. When he’s in his groove and really on his game, he’s one of the very best in the league, and that’s what we’ve seen from him the past several weeks. If he can get some protection and the HC Andy Reid calls enough running plays to keep the defense balanced, then I think the Eagles will score enough to win this game. On the defensive side of the ball, you can pressure Eli Manning, and I’m betting that Asante Samuel would love to pick off one of his passes, no doubt still feeling the pains of defeat from last year’s Super Bowl when he was with the Patriots.
Until next week, enjoy the action!
By Brandon Niles
ProFootball-fans.com Staff Writer