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Post by jrmzt on Jan 10, 2010 0:09:35 GMT -5
For those of you who follow the NFL, would love to hear your thoughts on the playoffs as they happen!
So there were some shockers today..Or maybe not!
The two teams that dominated the previous week, repeated again this week. The Eagles who have a history of shutting the Cowboys out of the playoffs have left Cowboy stadium today with a taste of their own medicine. As for the Jets with their young rookie quarterback and their no.1 ranked defense, they certainly showed the AFC North division champs that they are a force to be reckoned with. That said, both prolific QBs of the Eagles and the Bengals had very bad days. Both these QBs who have been apart of a pass first system for many years, failed to do what they usually do best.
McNabb was 19/37 for 230 yards with 1 TD and 1 Int
Palmer was 18/36 for 146 yards with 1 TD and 1 Int
Overall, some poor performances from these normally highly ranked QBs. Palmer who has never won a playoff game in his entire career has now lost to even the kid who was once his towel boy, Mark Sanchez. As for Tony Romo, the choking during the playoffs is over..question is will he continue on his hot streak or lose next round to the Vikings who are led by the legendary Favre and their All-Pro Bowl defense. I guess some may have been hoping the Eagles win today and the Packers win tomorrow in order for there to be another Packer-Vikings showdown which would be their third this year if it happened but overall, I feel the Saints must be breathing a sigh of relief considering how hot a team the Dallas Cowboys are right now. With 0 personnel on the IR list, the Cowboys are not only the healthiest team in the playoffs but also the team with the most weapons and *cough* sexiest cheerleaders.
As for tomorrow's matchups, the Cards are in an unenviable position. With some of their starters out with injuries, and a bruising given to them by the Packers last week, Kurt Warner will have to pull off some amazing feats to beat the stifling Packer defense. That said, he does have an amazing receiver in Larry Fitzgerald who is arguably one of the best receivers in the league right now. Finally, there is the Ravens-Pats matchup which is going to be hard for the Pats who have just recently lost Wes Welker to a season ending injury. Tom Brady will have to make do with Randy Moss who has shown glimpse of brilliance throughout this season, but has also shown just as many no-shows when the situation called for him to perform at his peak.
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Post by freshnthehouse on Jan 10, 2010 0:47:04 GMT -5
I'm a Vikings fan, and of the 4 teams they could've matched up against, I wanted either the Cowboys or the Packers. So, I guess I got my wish. Dallas is playing really well, and it's been a while since the two of them have played, so it should be fun.
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Post by jrmzt on Jan 11, 2010 5:10:40 GMT -5
So it looks like its
Ravens - Colts / Jets - Chargers in the AFC and Saints - Cardinals / Vikings - Cowboys in the NFC. I must say, the Vikings - Cowboys game is definitely the one to be most excited about. Two relatively healthy teams with great defenses and both have offenses run by great QBs. As for the Cardinals who barely made it through their game with the Packers with a fumble return for a TD in OT (a very exciting game nevertheless), its going to be tough for them to go into the Superdome and face Drew Brees and the Saints. However, the Cards have proven all year around that sometimes, it is better to go on the road than to play at home. The Cards have a better road record than a home record...go figure! And noone can ever count out Kurt Warner and his buddy Larry. Kurt today, threw for 29 completions out of 33 and 5 touchdowns with no interceptions and a QB rating of 154.1 which is a near perfect rating. He is definitely still a force to be reckoned with even though there is talk of him retiring at the end of the season. The Saints pass defense are going to have their hands full if Kurt gets going early.
As for the Vikings - Cowboys game, its likely going to depend on which defense spooks the opponent's QB the most. Over the past few weeks, the Vikings have suffered some humiliating defeats and even though they romped the Giants in the final week, the Giants are not exactly playing to their previous years standards. If the Cowboys rush Favre early and sack him a few times, he might be prone to throwing some interceptions but then again the same could be said for Romo who has finally made it past round one. The question is, did the Cowboys really defeat the Eagles or was it due to an injury riddled Eagles defense and an offense that couldn't get it going despite being consistent for most of the year. Romo will be facing a far tougher defense than the Eagles defense and the Vikings' Jared Allen will be a handful for whoever guards him. Lets not forget that the Vikings have a secret weapon that the Cowboys did not encounter in the first round of their playoffs and that is a running game. It'll be interesting to see the Cowboys adapt to defending both a running and passing game, not forgetting that the Vikings run game is powered by the explosive Adrian Peterson.
Now onto the Colts - Ravens game. We'll see if resting their starters was a good idea and if having no momentum would work against them. The Colts ended their undefeated streak with an injury list of 12 players but all that rest should enable most of them to play the Ravens healthy. However the last time the Colts played the Ravens, they ended up ending the game winning but also losing players to injuries thanks to the highly physical Ravens defense. The Ravens won their wildcard playoff game thanks to some fumbles by Tom Brady who played with a rib injury, and a Patriots team that was missing its star receiver Wes Welker while its other star Randy Moss was barely a factor at all. The Ravens with the no.3 overall defense in the league will be a tough match for Manning and co. but that hasn't stopped them dominating the Ravens over the past few seasons. The Ravens have a really bad losing record against the Colts and many think they are unlikely to break that anytime soon. As for Manning who just won his 4th MVP, he'll have to get his playoff monkey off his back but luckily for him, his defense picked up some valuable young players that have really stepped up when the situation demanded. Armed with a better defense than last years, we'll see if he can get past round one or if the Ravens upset the Colts who are supposedly the favorites to win the Super Bowl according to Vegas.
Finally there is the Chargers - Jets match up which looks like its going to be a blowout until we delve deeper into the statistics. The Jets are the no.1 defense in the league and also the no.1 passing defense in the league. Anchored by the outstanding Revis at CB who has arguably been the best CB other than Asomugha, he has held so many of the league's top receivers to some of their worst games this season. Rivers leads the Chargers who are a pass first offense this season and it will be very interesting to see how they deal with the no.1 ranked passed defense in the league. The Chargers do not have their running game going for them with the legendary LT only going for 730 yards this season. The Chargers have a rushing game that is ranked 31st in the league and if they don't get it going, they might soon find themselves facing an upset in the making. Lets not forget that the Jets are a rush first team and they face a favorable matchup with the Chargers 20th ranked rushing defense so look for rookie QB Mark Sanchez to be handing off the ball more often than not. The Jets have proven that a running game alone can win games, shown when they played the no.7 ranked rushing defense Bengals during the final regular season game and the wildcard playoffs. Although most predict an easy win for the Chargers, Coach Rex Ryan who is a great defensive coach may cook up an upset in the making. Definitely the second most exciting game after the Cowboys - Vikings game.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jan 17, 2010 20:44:30 GMT -5
Down to Vikes vs. Saints for the NFC
and
Colts vs. Jets for the AFC
I say Colts for sure are in the SB, but picking a winner for the NFC is tricky. I like the Saints, but the Vikes seem destined to win it all this year.
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Post by jrmzt on Jan 17, 2010 21:42:58 GMT -5
Wow who woulda thought the Jets would beat the Chargers. Actually I did haha. The Jets have a great defense and run game which beat the Chargers today. Revis is obviously their MVP but great game by the rookie Green who exploded through scrimmage lines for great yard gains. Personally, I wanted the Jets to win only because it would be a sentimental victory for the Colts since it was the Colts who opened the playoff door for the Jets.
On the other side, Favre showed he could still throw like he was only 30 years old. Its funny how just a week ago, sports analysts everywhere were calling for a Chargers Cowboys Superbowl but who did the Cowboys actually beat? They beat a beaten up Eagles team that lost their best running back and yet they were touted as the hottest team in the NFL. Once again, Romo and Wade came up very very short. That Cowboys offensive line definitely needs some work because no QB can operate when hes getting sacked and pressured multiple times. But onto next week!
Saints-Vikings should be far more exciting than the Colts and Jets game. Both the Saints and Vikings have all Pro defenses and great offensive weapons. We have the Reggie Bush looking to assert his draft pick status, Percy Harvin looking to prove why he is so deserving of the ROY award, Favre looking to show he can still perform on the big stage, Brees looking to make a break through in the playoffs and add the final missing piece of his legacy, Adrian Peterson looking to assert himself as the best running back in the league, New Orlean residents looking to finally win the big one after suffering through so much and the list just goes on and on and on. The Saints managed to beat up an already injured Cardinals team that barely limped into the second round so it remains to be seen if they can take on a much better opponent that actually has a running game and a great defense. The Vikings on the other hand, beat a very healthy team that came into today's game with all the momentum a team could ever want. Their win silenced critics everywhere that said the Vikings were going downhill after multiple losses to teams like the Bears. The key to this game will be early pressure because Favre has a tendency to throw too many rockets downfield for big plays when he feels like he is being pressured. Another key to the game will be whether AP shows up or if the Vikings end up leaning on Favre's arm like they have throughout most of the season. Regardless of what happens, it'll undoubtedly be the game to watch this coming Sunday. I personally feel that the Saints may have what it takes since they are at home and that crowd noise is deafening. However, I'm looking for it to be a very close game with some great Favre heroics. That said, both teams have shown that they can perform well and also perform very badly. The Saints lost to not just the Cowboys but also some subpar teams and were in some very close games against teams like the Redskins. I predict a final score of 27-24 with the Saints winning.
As for the Colts-Jets game, the Colts have shown that they can stop the run like they did to Ray Rice and also work through a tough defense like they did with the Ravens. Peyton will have to be precise to ensure his passes do not get picked off by Revis but he does have a great stable of receivers to work with. The Jets will need to ensure that they can get their running game going because Sanchez has proven to be not as reliable of an offensive option. In their last meeting, the Colts were up 15-10 before Coach Caldwell decided to rest his players so this coming week, we'll know if the Colts would have won with their starters on the field for all four quarters or if the Cinderella Jets team are really as their Coach Rex Ryan said, "Super Bowl favourites".
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jan 18, 2010 0:46:08 GMT -5
For some reason I'm not sure of, I don't care much for Phillip Rivers. Even though I'm a Dolphins fan and therefor don't care for the Jets, I actually like them more than the Chargers.
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Post by freshnthehouse on Jan 18, 2010 1:28:12 GMT -5
For some reason I'm not sure of, I don't care much for Phillip Rivers. Me either. He comes of as a petulant jerk. Always whining to the refs, always running his mouth, etc. |
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Post by freshnthehouse on Jan 18, 2010 1:28:46 GMT -5
Heckuva game by the Vikings today. Should be a great game next week.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jan 18, 2010 2:07:03 GMT -5
For some reason I'm not sure of, I don't care much for Phillip Rivers. Me either. He comes of as a petulant jerk. Always whining to the refs, always running his mouth, etc. And his throws look awkward too. His passes are flubbers sometimes (but then again, so are Peyton's, but he's heading to the Hall). |
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Post by jrmzt on Jan 18, 2010 2:47:42 GMT -5
Me either. He comes of as a petulant jerk. Always whining to the refs, always running his mouth, etc. And his throws look awkward too. His passes are flubbers sometimes (but then again, so are Peyton's, but he's heading to the Hall). Funny how some of their passes look weird but these guys still have great completion rates and passing ratings. Whats even weirder is that Peyton isn't passing to seasoned veterans like Harrison anymore..Sure he has Wayne and Clark but he also has to pass to guys like Garcon and Collie..I guess its less about the wobble and more about where you position the ball to land. As for Rivers, I don't hate the guy but I dislike the Chargers as a team. Obviously because they are a divisional rival to my team and have kicked our butts for a coupla years. If I had to hate one QB, I'd hate Brady for whining about every single lil touch he gets and getting free yards for those. Just so tired of watching him act like its a big hit in front of the ref then waving his hands around like he expects the call and the ref just giving in and calling it unnecessary roughness or whatever. |
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Post by jrmzt on Jan 24, 2010 18:47:04 GMT -5
ANDDD so the Jets have been shot down by the Colts who overpowered them in the second half. So much for Revis Island and Rex Ryan's big talk. Peyton who got sacked twice in the opening quarter, readjusted and never got sacked again after. Thing about Rex is that his only defensive scheme seems to be blitz blitz and blitz...well today his defense got blitzed for nearly 400 yards and 3 touchdowns. That said, Mark Sanchez showed alot of promise as young QB in the postseason by throwing for two big touchdowns that had the Jets up at the half. He is definitely worth watching in the future. As for Coach Caldwell of the Colts, it will be the 5th time a rookie head coach enters the SuperBowl and so it remains to be seen if he wins it in the end. Now time for the NFC showdown between the Saints and the Vikings!
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Post by freshnthehouse on Jan 24, 2010 22:37:41 GMT -5
Ugh.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jan 24, 2010 23:39:53 GMT -5
The VIkes have themselves to blame. They were just about in FG position with under 15 seconds to go in regulation, but get called with a 12 man on the field violation. That 5 yard penalty kept the FG unit off the field, and forced Favre to use the 3rd down to try and make up for that penalty, and bring them a little bit closer for the kicker to have a better shot.
But of course, Favre throws a pick, allowing the game to go into OT.
Had it not been for that penalty, the Vikes would have kicked a FG and won the game.
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Post by jrmzt on Jan 25, 2010 1:31:40 GMT -5
Agreed with Derren. The Vikes only have themselves to blame for putting themselves out of field goal reach then forcing Favre to throw. Good on the Saints for managing to get that pick after all the turnovers they made throughout that game. Its still going to be a very very good game. Both No.1 Seed, both with very talented rookies and a great group of players. Its definitely going to be worth a watch.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jan 25, 2010 1:58:50 GMT -5
Yeah, this is the first time I'll be cheering for both teams to win. I like Brees and Peyton both.
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