Posts about national football league

Trying to figure out the NFC divisional round

 after a late four martini lunch by 3

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This side of the tournament was much more difficult to figure out. I could honestly see both games coming down to the final possession, whether it be a last second field goal or whatever, these games are going to be close. The Packers and 49ers played in the very first week of the season at Lambeau with the Niners dominating but both of these teams are clearly different squads. 49ers have a new starting QB and the Packers are led by a red-hot Aaron Rodgers. Down in Atlanta the momentum heavy Seahawks are looking to once again upset an opponent as the try and play spoiler to Atlanta’s party. Can Atlanta finally shed their playoff demons? There are lots of NFL fans around the country that believe Atlanta isn’t as good as it’s 13-3 record and don’t deserve the #1 seed. I can’t wait for these games to start.

Keys to each game: For the Packers, as usual, it’s going to be about how much Rodgers can carry the team on offense. Everyone knows that the Niners have an excellent defense so watch how Rodgers responds to pressure throughout the game. The Niners defense isn’t at full health so I want to see just how much pressure they actually get on Rodgers, anything to disrupt the Packers pass offense. How will Colin Kaepernick perform in the first playoff start of his career? Kaepernick’s mobility could be problem for the Packers but look for the Niners QB to find his favorite target, Crabtree, early and often. Also, both of these teams are facing issues with their kickers so watch out for that as well.

The Seahawks will have to use all of their momentum, especially on defense to stop the array of weapons that the Falcons can put on the field. Seattle is dealing with injuries at key positions on defense so it will have to be seen how much that affects the amount of pressure that is put on Matt Ryan. The biggest factor for the Falcons on offense will be how much seperation their elite receivers (Jones and White) can get against the Seahawks’ great corners. Things might get pretty intense on the sidelines with balls thrown deep. Both defenses are among the best in league in takeaways so a turnover is most likely going to result in a big play for the other team.

Prediction: I flipped back and forth between these two games, not knowing which teams to pick because I feel every single one of teams deserves to be in the NFC title game. Can Atlanta finally prove they can perform when it matters most? I’m taking Seattle and their momentum. Along with Wilson’s ability to win games from out of nowhere. Until I see Atlanta come through when it matters most, i’m hesitant to take them. Prove me wrong Falcons. As for the Packers-49ers game, everyone else’s guess is as good as mine. I think these teams are extremely close and either could take the victory. If I have to put my money on something, it’s going to be the better QB and that’s Rodgers. Packers win a very close game. Maybe we’re just destined to see a rematch of the “fail mary” to settle the score once and for all.

Enjoy the games everyone.

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Is a Brady vs Manning AFC title game inevitable?

 after a late four martini lunch by 1

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This isn’t a guarantee by any means but i’m sure you can guess which teams i’m leaning towards to advance to the AFC championship. It’s surely what the NFL and it’s money-hungry hands want. I’m not speaking for all NFL fans but i’m positive that most non-Ravens/Texans fans would prefer to see Brady face Manning next weekend. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves because as we know, crazy things happen in the NFL. Particularly this week where teams with the bye week can get caught off guard by being a little too confident. Then again there’s a reason that Vegas has the higher seed favored by more than one score (+9.5) but let’s take a closer look at how the Ravens or Texans can spoil some parties.

Biggest factors: Baltimore faced Denver not too long ago (week 15) and it was a lopsided affair in favor of Manning and co. Baltimore is a different looking team this time around with previously injured players not named Ray Lewis being much healthier and ready for action this time around. Can that be enough to slow down Manning? The Ravens need a couple of big plays on defense to help their offense keep up with Denver’s firepower. The Ravens must score quickly because being down by a TD against the Broncos in Denver is a death sentence. I know Ray Rice had 2 fumbles last week but look for screens and things of that sort to neutralize Von Miller’s pressure on Joe Flacco.

A big reason the Texans are playing this game in New England is because one month ago today, the Texans played against the Patriots on to road and it wasn’t pretty for Houston. Tom Brady and co laid the smack down. So what can Houston do to slow down the best offense in the league? Remember, this time Gronkowski is playing. For starters the Texans can’t get into such a big hole. The Patriots are susceptible to teams that can pressure Brady and control the clock. The Texans can do that but only if they score early. Playing catch up is not an option. The Texans biggest stars (Foster and Watt) both need big games and need to influence the game or else it’s going to be a long night for Houston.

Prediction: Like I said earlier, there’s a reason the Broncos and Patriots are favored so heavily at this stage of the season. They’re just better teams. It doesn’t take stats or extensive film study to figure that out, just watch the teams from week to week. That doesn’t mean that I don’t give the under dogs a chance this weekend. There’s always a chance for an upset and if I had to chose one, i’d take the Ravens. They’re not intimidated by any means and the Baltimore offense can catch fire at any moment. Also, Denver did have an extremely easy regular season schedule. I wouldn’t put my money on it though. Denver wins closer than expect and the Patriots roll. Get ready for an enitre week of Brady-Manning hype.

NFC tomorrow.

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Lingering questions, comments and concerns about the NFL’s wild-card weekend

 after a late four martini lunch by 5

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My initial plans were to post my comments yesterday, with the action from Sunday still fresh in my mind. Unfortunately, my body decided to get a flu sometime Friday night so I ended up watching the wild card games huddled in blankets. Now i’m back on track to 100% so I can post some thoughts that are still on my mind from Sunday’s games. Before I get to that, I know i’m not the first person to say that the games were a bit underwhelming as a whole. That changed Sunday so all is well that ends well.

How effective can the Texans be with Schaub? I picked the Bengals mostly because I thought the Texans were in a major rut, particularly at the QB position. Foster was much better (32 car, 140 yds, 1 TD) and defense was solid but even after all that, the Bengals still had a strong chance to win game at the end. Dalton and the Bengals weren’t able convert on 3rd down the entire game but it always felt like the Bengals were in. To Schaub’s credit, he did convert a nice pass to basically seal the game for Houston but how much further can they advance?

Are the Packers the scariest team in the NFC? Poor Adrian Peterson, I really feel bad that a RB of his caliber has to be stuck with such mediocre play at QB. The Packers threw absolutely everything at him, daring the Vikings pass game to keep up with the Packers and it ended up working for Green Bay. What surprised me the most about the Packers offense was how effective their running game was. The Packers used a Harris-Kuhn combo very well, particularly in the red zone to further open up the passing game of Aaron Rodgers and co. The result was Rodgers being able to find 10 different receivers. Scary.

Is Joe Flacco taking that next step? Flacco gets a lot of crap for calling himself “elite” and among the top quarterbacks in the league but he played very well against the Colts. It doesn’t hurt when his best receiver Boldin (145 yds, 1 TD) is able to catch any bomb that’s thrown his way. Yes, the Colts secondary isn’t known for shutting teams down but it’s the kind of game that any quarterback can use as momentum heading forward. Oh yeah, we get it Ray Lewis, it was your last home game. Stop dancing and save the energy for when you’re in Denver this weekend.

Should RG3 have kept playing? One of the hottest topics around the league yesterday and that was before it was being reported that he partially tore ligaments in a previously injured knee. The field was terrible and is part of blame but how much should land on head coach Shanahan and the rest of the Redskins staff? Chances are that this won’t be the only time RG3 is in the postseason so why would the Redskins risk a “do or die” playoff attitude right now? One of the biggest reasons people are questioning this decision not bench RG3 is because back up Kirk Cousins has shown the capability to lead them to a victory.

Ps. How great was it that Russell Wilson sprinted past Marshawn Lynch to block for him (pictured above) on the go ahead TD for the Seahawks?

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Taking a closer look at the wild card round: NFC

 in the middle of the afternoon by 3

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Now it’s time to look at the better conference this round. No offense to the AFC but there’s a reason both of the NFC games were scheduled at the second game, they’re the match ups that are going to attract more viewers because they both hold potential to be classic games. Quick tangent: do fans realize that there’s a chance that the Packers and Seahawks can meet in the conference championship game? That’s pretty crazy considering what happened earlier in the season between those two teams. I’m getting a little ahead of myself but I just wanted to point that out. Let’s take a look at this side of the tournament.

Key match ups: In the Packers-Vikings game, the key to each team is pretty simple: how much can you stop the other team’s best player? Adrian Peterson is clearly the best RB in the league and Aaron Rodgers is arguably (definitely on Brady/Manning level) the best QB in the league so the defenses for each team will have their work cut out for them. This was the last game of the regular season and the Vikings won the game but this time it will be at Lambeau. It’ll be cold so who does that benefit more? Peterson breaking the record of rushing yards in a single playoff game (248) is definitely in play.

The final game this weekend will feature two rookie QBs that have been incredible for their own teams throughout the season. Redskins-Seahawks in the nation’s capital will surely have fireworks and i’m very excited for this game. These teams play a very similar style on offense. Both have an excellent running game, they take care of the football AND both RG3 and Russell Wilson are dual threat style QBs. How much will RG3′s injury hold him back? It was evident against my Cowboys that he’s not 100% but still remained somewhat effect on the ground. Can Seattle play at elite level when they’re on the road? They’re weren’t good outside of Seattle for most of the season but they did have a signature road win against the Bears in early December.

Prediction: This is a quarterback driven league and as much damage as Peterson can do, I don’t think it will be enough to overcome how good the Packers are at home. The Packers are going to throw everything at Peterson and dare Christian Ponder to carry more of the Vikings’ offense throughout the game. Would you bet on Ponder? I’m putting my money on Rodgers. Now the other game was harder for me to pick. Essentially the Redskins and Seahawks are the same team on offense with the exception of RG3 not being 100% healthy. The biggest difference is that Seattle has been playing MUCH better on defense than the Redskins have and I think that will be the determining factor in this game. I’m taking the Seahawks on the road but I think it will be a very close game filled with excitement.

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Regular season ends in the NFL as playoff contenders make final push

 in the middle of the afternoon by 3

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Writing this up wasn’t the easiest of tasks. Not to say a few hundred words is difficult to write but after the way last night’s game ended, I can’t help feeling a little bummed out about the way the Cowboys season ended. It’s also because the NFL regular season ends on the night before we turn to 2013 and it’s hard to think that an entire season came and went just like that. Now there are 10 teams with a chance to make to New Orleans for the Super Bowl but let’s not get ahead of ourselves as there is still lots of football to be played. Let’s take a look at yesterday and how things went down.

AFC playoffs: One of the things that I can be proud of predicting before yesterday was that Houston was going to lose their spot and have to play in the wild card. The Texans have some glaring issues and have quietly been getting worse as the end of the season unfolded. Houston is going up against a Bengals that has been a bit underwhelming but Cincinnati has the defense and offensive potential to take Houston down. The other match up has the Colts, who continue to surprise against the Ravens, who most people feel are very lucky to even be in the postseason. The Ravens are limping as badly as a playoff team can but it’s going to be very interesting to see how a rookie QB does in Baltimore.

NFC playoffs: Things shook out a little more dramatically in the NFC as Adrian Peterson nearly broke a 30-year old record (only 9 yards short) as he led the Vikings into the playoffs. Peterson officially gets my vote for MVP because of how much he carried the Vikings throughout the season and we’ll get to see how he does against the Packers in what should be an NFC North classic. Other dramatics included the Redskins defeating my Cowboys to take the NFC East title and a date with the Seahawks. How amazing is the RG3/Russell Wilson battle going to be?

I’ll keep my rant short on why the Cowboys lost. First and foremost it was the defense’s inability to do anything about stopping or slowing down Alfred Morris. Romo should carry a lot of the blame after two bad plays and one terrible play that was too much for the Cowboys to recover. I can’t point to injuries too much because RG3 clearly didn’t look 100%.

Thank you to everyone that read anything that I wrote in 2012 and especially to Moe and Jackson for giving me this opportunity. Everyone have a wonderful New Year’s with family/friends but remember to stay safe. AAA is giving free rides tonight. See y’all in 2013.

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NFL division/playoff races in tight battle with two weeks left

 while eating a Bastardly Certified lunch by 2

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It’s getting to the time of the NFL season where the experts begin to use phrases like “crunch time” or that every single game is a “MUST win” even though technically it’s not a must win unless your team will be mathematically out of the postseason. So for many teams (yes, including my Cowboys) what they do these last two weeks will significantly alter their position or lack of position in January. You know, the playoffs in the NFL or when “the real season” begins. First things are first, let’s take a look at the teams that have either clinched their divisions or have a good enough record to clinch a definite spot.

The AFC is a little more simple because the top 3 seeds have clinched the division (Texans, Broncos and Patriots in order) and I don’t see the seeding changing because even though Houston has the toughest schedule, I don’t see them slipping up knowing that both Denver and New England are hot on their heels with two very easy games for each team. Now, the Colts aren’t going to win the AFC South but they have clinched a spot and it’s pretty incredible that this team can go from 1st pick in the entire draft to participating in the postseason in the same year. Something else that’s incredible is that the Ravens, in a complete tailspin, actually clinched a playoff even thought they’ve lost 3 straight games. So it’s up to the Bengals whether they would like to take the division, which could come down to the final game this season but first they’d have to defeat the Steelers this weekend. The Steelers have been up and down since the Big Ben injury but they’ve proven that they can get it done when it matters most and they have the easiest remaining schedule of the three AFC North contenders.

The NFC gets a little more complicated because there are only 2 teams that have clinched their division (Falcons and Packers) and one team that has a spot (49ers) but there are still 6 teams in contention with the NFC East still completely wide open. Teams not named the Eagles in the NFC East are all tied at 8-6 and conventional thinking would have most people leaning toward the Redskins. The Giants do have the easier schedule (at Ravens, Eagles) but they don’t control their own destiny and for that reason alone, they’re the least likely to win the division. My gut feeling is that the NFC East is going to come down to the Redskins-Cowboys games in the final week but it’s also going to depend what happens with Seattle/Minnesota/Chicago for the wildcard. The Bears are in completely disarray and if ever they needed two easy games to save their season, it’s now. Despite a grueling final two games, i’m not going to pick against the Vikings because Adrian Peterson is their RB, enough said.

Let’s all take a minute to thank whatever higher powers you believe in and say thank you that Thursday night games are finally over. I love the NFL but the every single Thursday game was mediocre at best because it was painfully (for the players, literally) obvious that it’s impossible to play at full capacity with only 3 days rest. Thanksgiving is a tradition but every single week, no. Just toss in a random Friday or Saturday games. Speaking of Saturday, this week the Falcons try to move closer to the best record in the NFC as they take on the Lions who are only playing for Megatron’s record breaking performance (only 182 yards being Rice) so keep an eye out for that if you watch the game.

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Who is the NFL’s MVP through week 14?

 after a late four martini lunch by 1

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How does one determine the exact criteria needed to be an MVP? Some people take the definition literally, who is the most valuable player on a team relative to their success? Others believe that an MVP is simply the best player on the best team. It’s a little more complicated in the NFL because not only are there many more players, it’s a rare sport where the most valuable player can only affect one aspect of the game. Basketball only has five players on the court playing offense and defense while in baseball some pitchers get a chance to bat. In the NFL, I feel like it’s a combination of being on a successful team but more so the fact that the awarded player is above and beyond his peers in that respective position. 

There are a pack of QBs shuffling in and out of the MVP conversation, all with great reasoning as to why they should be considered for the award. That group includes Aaron Rodgers, RG3, Andrew Luck and Matt Ryan. All four have certain games or moments that have them among the MVP candidates but their consistency has them wavering a bit. On a side note, I think it’s pretty ridiculous that there are TWO rookies in the conversation in the same season. So take one of those four in the 5th spot (personally, i’d take Rodgers) and ranking 4th in the MVP race is J. J. Watt, defensive end for the Houston Texans. I think he is far and above the best defensive player this season (linebackers Von Miller and Aldon Smith are his only competition) and while he took a slight blow on Monday night, he’s still more valuable to his defense than any other player.

Speaking of above and beyond, there’s a running back in Minnesota named Adrian Peterson that has been tearing through defensive players like they’re JV squad. Can someone say first RB taken in your fantasy draft next season? The only hit to Peterson’s MVP campaign is that the Vikings aren’t a playoff team right now but he’s still 3rd place in my book. That could change and if Purple Jesus carries his team into the playoffs, I think he should jump into the lead of the race. Everyone knows that the NFL is a passing league and it’s a quarterback league so naturally the two front runners for the MVP are the league’s two best quarterbacks right now. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are basically 1A and 1B for this season’s award for most valuable player. Both players have excellent cases so it’s going to come down to personal preference. Right now, for myself, it’s Brady at 1A and Manning at 1B but there’s still three weeks left so anything can happen.

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Broncos take care of Raiders; preparing for week 14

 after a late four martini lunch by 1

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Most people were preparing last night’s game to be a blowout and that is pretty much what happened. From the first quarter, it was all Denver and even when it looked like the Raiders were going to make some sort of comeback it was stalled. The past few weeks Peyton Manning carried the offense but this week RB Knowshon Moreno contributed a solid running performance as the Broncos cruised to a 26-13 victory over the Raiders. It wasn’t a memorable performance by Manning but it did have a significance as he completed his 5,000th pass in his NFL career. Quite the milestone, second all-time but it’s going to be tough to catch Favre’s record of 6,300 completions. As for the Raiders, well they kept the game close for a few minutes after a touchdown catch by RB McFadden but every time they had some sort of momentum there was a costly penalty of turnover.

Best/worst games of this weekend: I’m going to leave out the obvious choice of the mammoth Monday night game. I’m looking at the Bears-Vikings game closely as Chicago is in a bit of a rut and Minnesota is a team desperately trying to save their playoff hopes alive. It’s a similar scenario in the Ravens-Redskins game plus, I would like to see how RG3 does against that defense. I’d also keep a close eye on Saints-Giants and Lions-Packers, both with shootout potential. Game to avoid all costs: initially it was clearly Chiefs at Browns but I feel that those two teams will give it some heart. So we’re going with the Jets visiting the Jaguars as the game to avoid at all costs.

Quick NBA tangent: Alright Moe, your Knicks are a top 5 team in the NBA right now. The way the 3s are falling for New York, they’re practically unbeatable and they looked the part last night as they routed the Heat in Miami. Consequently, Bryan’s Lakers are still in a tailspin out west but only time will tell if they can get it together because the Thunder and Grizzlies look like the absolute class of the western conference.

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