New England Patriots, 28 Seattle Seahawks, 24
15 years after Kevin Dyson of the Tennessee Titans desperately stretched out towards the goal line in vain, we have another Super Bowl that ends at the 1 yard line. After a floating, circus catch by Jermaine Kearse to the 5 yard line, and a solid 1st down run by Marshawn Lynch to the 1 yard line, the Patriots were looking down the same heartbreaking barrel that they had in 2007 and 2011.
However, everything changed in an instant on 2nd-and-goal.
Russell Wilson dropped back to pass, Special Teams Ace Ricardo Lockette cut in lazily on a slant. Patriots DBs Brandon Browner and Malcom Butler were prepared and aware (in tape review you can see them telling each other what was coming). Browner jammed Kearse at the line, leaving room for Butler to bolt to the ball in front of Lockette and hold on for a great catch. The West Coast Seattle ready to jump for joy, fell to their knees. The East Coast Boston sitting watching their nightmare replay, jumped to their feet. America was stunned, the Super Bowl was over.
The football field-to-popular opinion translator will forever ring "why didn't the Seahawks run the ball?" But what it should actually ring is "how gutsy was Bill Bellicheck to call Pete Carroll's bluff?" The key to this sequence was that Bellicheck did not call a timeout after Lynch's run. Kearse's catch to the 5 happened at the 1:14 mark, Lynch's run at 1:06. The Seahawks ran to the line with a slant play to Lockette but any other opposing coach- especially in the Super Bowl- would have accepted the likelihood of a coming touchdown, and called a timeout to preserve an opportunity for Tom Brady drive for a FG. Instead, Belicheck let the Seahawks run down half of the precious final minute and snap the ball at 0:26. If Butler doesn't intercept the ball- the Seahawks have two more chances to score as time winds down and there will be no time for a Brady drive.
So why did Belicheck let the time roll down? Did he know the play as Browner and Butler did? The personnel grouping was not in the Patriots' favor, both Patriots' star secondary players, Revis and McCourty, were on the opposite side of the field. It's an amazing decision that should live on in infamy even more than "The Seahakws should have ran the ball". The Seahawks did not expect to be milking the penultimate 30 seconds of the game, and running that 2nd down play at all. They never expected a perfect jam by Browner, or a perfect telegraphing run into a clutch catch by 3rd DB Malcom Butler. This is why the Patriots' won the Super Bowl.
The ending is undeniably memorable but the whole game was a battle of two well-oiled machines. There were dramatic shifts in momentum after the 1st quarter ended in a 0-0 tie. A stale-mate that was preserved by a CB Jeremy Lane red zone interception of QB Tom Brady. However, the Seahawks were forced to punt, and Brady drove the field again this time to hit WR Brandon Lafell and take the first lead.
The Seahawks took time to respond but eventually, with 2:22 left in the half, Marshawn Lynch tied the game 7-7.
Yet the half ended 14-14 because the Patriots impressively marched down the field (9 plays in a minute and a half) culminating in a perfect 22-yard corner TD to TE Rob Gronkowski with 0:36 remaining. The tempo ante'd up, it was now Seattle who responded aggressively driving the field in those 36 seconds- a 19 yard run by RB Robert Turbin, 17 yard run by Wilson, face mask penalty and an 11 yard touchdown to WR Chris Matthews, an unlikely Seattle hero who finished the day with 5 catches for 109 yards. The only 5 catches so far of his NFL career. I contend the final two minutes of this half are some of the best offensive drives I have ever seen.
In the 2nd half the Seahawks took over. They took the lead on the opening drive with a field goal, LB Bobby Wagner then intercepted an attempted Brady-to-Gronkowski connection, and the Seahawks converted the turnover for a TD to WR Doug Baldwin. 24-14 with 5:00 minutes in 3rd quarter, the Patriots had to respond in championship fashion, and they did.
The 4th quarter of Super Bowl 49 belonged to QB Tom Brady. The Butler play will always be remembered as the reason the Patriots were able to preserve their lead but how did they get that lead? It was no sure thing. CB Richard Sherman, S Earl Thomas and S Kam Chancellor were all significantly injured but still playing. The truth is that the Seahawks Defense was worn down for the first time in a few years by the efficiency and calculated calm of Tom Brady's two long 4th Quarter Touchdown Drives, a 10-play drive capped by a 4 yard TD to WR Danny Amendola and a 12-play ending with a 3 yard TD to WR Julian Edelman with 2:06 remaining in the game. It was from this point that Russell Wilson and the Seahawks changed the momentum yet again, drove the ball to the one yard line in 60 seconds, Belicheck boldly let another 30 seconds milk off, and Butler made history.
KEY PLAY: I am going to go out on a limb and say the key play was CB Malcom Butler intercepting QB Russell Wilson on the 1-yard line to end the Super Bowl.
MVP: QB Tom Brady won MVP as his 4th quarter mastery deserved. Brady is uncharted territory now, as he joins Montana and Bradshaw as QBs to win four Super Bowls. But he's also been to two more and the 4th Super Bowl comes a decade after the 3rd. This would be like Bradshaw and the Steel Curtain Steelers sustaining into the 1980s to take one from the 1985 Bears, or Lawrence Taylor Giants- or if Montana and Walsh had stayed around into the 1990s rather than turning the 49ers over to Seifert and Young. Tom Brady and Bill Belicheck have been to 6 Super Bowls in 14 Seasons, with 4 rings to show for it.
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Eminem: Football Genius
Somewhere in the early fall of 2013, Eminem recorded the following lyrics on the song 'The Monster' :
It's payback, Russell Wilson falling way back
In the draft, turn nothing into something, still can make that
Straw into gold chump, I will spin Rumpelstiltskin in a haystack
Russell Wilson's a popular guy. A hip cultural figure about to play on the Sports World's biggest stage for the 2nd year in a row. His meteoric rise to national fame has been so swift over the last 18 months that it's common to think of Eminem's shout out as a reaction to it. The reality however, is that Eminem recorded the line just before the rise of National Wilsonism, and that's amazing.
When Eminem wrote the song the "something" that Russell had spun from 3rd round nothingness was earning the Seahawks' starting job, 11 wins, one playoff win and one playoff loss. Now, the "something" is 30 more wins, two division championships, two dramatic playoff runs, two Super Bowls, and usurping the TV Commercial MVP crown from Peyton Manning. The "something" as it stands now may help Wilson avoid the fate of so many other Eminem lines.
Not all music survives our tumultuous cultural turnover but we can safely bet Eminem's music -especially a hit like 'The Monster'- is going to survive the decades just as his hits from the early 2000s have.
Eminem's songs are filled with references and name drops and that's part of his appeal, certainly he's not the only artist to do so, but it does carry some awkward risks. I doubt Eminem gives any thought on the matter, but while his music will live on through the decades, some of his references will most certainly not.
A noticable feature of Eminem's older hits are some puzzling lines for the younger crowds, Tom Green? Fred Durst? Vanilla Ice? Pam and Tommy? I'm sorry fellow 30-40 year olds, those aren't household names anymore. The 2015 kids streaming those songs on Pandora today have no idea who Eminem was talking about. By contrast, Elvis, the Incredible Hulk and Will Smith carry on today in name recognition just as they did in 2000.
When 'The Monster' comes on at a party in 2030, or shuffles onto your iPhone19 in 2035, the Russell Wilson line may not live on like Elvis, but he's not likely to suffer the same fate that has befallen the Tom Green line in 2015.
Here and now, Wilson is on the precipice of becoming a lasting household name. But was Wilson's rise to national fame obvious when Eminem recorded the song? I contend it was not obvious at all. In fact, when Eminem recorded his Russell Wilson line, it would have been downright irresponsible to suggest that a short QB from an obscure NFL market like Seattle would become a decade-lasting household name (outside of Seattle, of course). Wilson has a chance to become that name this Sunday.
Eminem's Wilson reference came out so perfectly during the Seattle Seahawks' rise to national prominence that I don't think anyone has taken the time to appreciate how improbably great of a call this was.
Well, let's try and pin down the point that Eminem recorded the line. It appears Eminem recorded his verses somewhere in late August or early September of 2013. He then sent the track, verses intact, to Rihanna because she was also "a little nuts" to record the chorus. Rhianna is the first one to officially mention the song. She posted on her twitter on September 11, 2013 that she had recorded a "#monster hook" for one of her "favorite artists". So the Wilson line was in place at least by 9/11/13.
On that day, Russell Wilson & The Seahawks had only just beaten the Carolina Panthers 12-7 in Week 1 of the 2013 season. This was considered a lackluster effort because the Panthers had been so terrible in 2012.
This was before the Sunday Night Week 2 beat-down of the defending NFC Champion 49ers, before the Monday Night Massacre of the Saints, before 'The Tip', before we literally shattered Peyton Manning's soul 43-8, before Russell and Sherman ate turkey on the 49ers logo, before the Miracle Comeback against the Packers last week and before the face-off with Tom Brady this Sunday in another Super Bowl. These are the things that have made Wilson a household name and could cement his household name legacy for a long time. None of them had happened when Eminem laid down his track.
( I should clarify what I mean when I say "household name". I'm talking about a player that any casual fan, your mom for example (boom!), outside of the player's region could name. Major League Baseball doesn't even have a household name anymore now that Derek Jeter has retired. Lebron James, Wayne Gretzy, Michael Jordon, Peyton Manning, Tiger Woods, those are some household names that your mom would know. )
On 9/11/13, Wilson was undoubtedly the least famous of the hip, new "read-option QBs". Colin Kapernick was coming off the Super Bowl and RG3 was fresh off his rookie-of-the-year award and gif-worthy knee explosion. In terms of NFL patterns, Wilson very easily could have regressed, let his height become a factor and by 2030 kids would hear "The Monster" and say WHO? Just as kids hear Eminem's early 2000s music today and may be inclined to wonder about Moby, Chris Kirkpatrick, or Karl Kani.
For context, 'The Monster' was released on October 29, 2013. By that point, the Seahawks were 7-1 and the favorites in the NFC alongside the New Orleans Saints. Wilson's star was beginning it's true ascent.
Now I can hear you saying - "But Miles, unlike Tom Green or Fred Durst, Wilson's fame comes from the massively popular NFL". One could argue that his NFL stardom made Wilson's cultural staying power much more likely. As a 20 year fan of the NFL, I would call you a damned fool. To be an NFL star is one thing, to be a lasting household name is a whole different level.
The NFL moves so fast and spits out stars to be forgotten so quickly that we don't even realize it. Look no further than the Madden covers, whose entire purpose is to pick the single most marketable and famous football player and put them on the cover to sell video games. Next to household names Ray Lewis, Brett Favre and Drew Brees are the slowly-being-forgotten faces of Peyton Hillis, Eddie George and sadly, fellow Seahawk Shaun Alexander.
What if Eminem had a hit song from 2002 with a Rich Gannon reference? Gannon was a redemption story, had a chip on his shoulder, he was the MVP of the league and led the Raiders to the Super Bowl that year. Does that name ring much of a bell outside of the sports world? Not really. I asked my wife who Rich Gannon was and she had literally no idea. It's tough to be remembered.
Wilson could have easily been the next Gannon, or maybe a Kordell Stewart or Jake Plummer. Even other single Super Bowl winners like Brad Johnson, Phil Simms or Mark Rypien can't stay on the radar. For Wilson to stay relevant inside of Eminem's lasting lyrics, he needed Super Bowls and playoff wins and national attention - and that is happening. I don't know if even Seattle fans could have saw this coming. Apparently, only Eminem knew that Russell's spinning "something" was going to be so big. Sorry Moby, but I don't think Russell is going to share your obscure fate OR listen to techno.
For context, 'The Monster' was released on October 29, 2013. By that point, the Seahawks were 7-1 and the favorites in the NFC alongside the New Orleans Saints. Wilson's star was beginning it's true ascent.
Now I can hear you saying - "But Miles, unlike Tom Green or Fred Durst, Wilson's fame comes from the massively popular NFL". One could argue that his NFL stardom made Wilson's cultural staying power much more likely. As a 20 year fan of the NFL, I would call you a damned fool. To be an NFL star is one thing, to be a lasting household name is a whole different level.
The NFL moves so fast and spits out stars to be forgotten so quickly that we don't even realize it. Look no further than the Madden covers, whose entire purpose is to pick the single most marketable and famous football player and put them on the cover to sell video games. Next to household names Ray Lewis, Brett Favre and Drew Brees are the slowly-being-forgotten faces of Peyton Hillis, Eddie George and sadly, fellow Seahawk Shaun Alexander.
What if Eminem had a hit song from 2002 with a Rich Gannon reference? Gannon was a redemption story, had a chip on his shoulder, he was the MVP of the league and led the Raiders to the Super Bowl that year. Does that name ring much of a bell outside of the sports world? Not really. I asked my wife who Rich Gannon was and she had literally no idea. It's tough to be remembered.
Wilson could have easily been the next Gannon, or maybe a Kordell Stewart or Jake Plummer. Even other single Super Bowl winners like Brad Johnson, Phil Simms or Mark Rypien can't stay on the radar. For Wilson to stay relevant inside of Eminem's lasting lyrics, he needed Super Bowls and playoff wins and national attention - and that is happening. I don't know if even Seattle fans could have saw this coming. Apparently, only Eminem knew that Russell's spinning "something" was going to be so big. Sorry Moby, but I don't think Russell is going to share your obscure fate OR listen to techno.
With a victory on Sunday, Wilson will be the 7th QB in NFL history to win back-to-back Super Bowls. Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Troy Aikman, John Elway and Tom Brady are the other six. Now, there are some household names that won't be forgotten.
-Miles.
-Miles.
Thursday, January 22, 2015
The Week Before The Week Before; Madness
Last year during this, the week before the week before the Super Bowl, the media was up in arms about Richard Sherman's heated postgame comments. The word 'thug' was said 625 times the following Monday on television, many more on print and over the airwaves. Richard Sherman had no respect, he was a disgrace to the NFL's image, and he was bad role model.
It was Sherman himself, with a Sports Illustrated written piece and a press conference the following Wednesday, who helped change the national conversation with his remarks that a white player would never be so viciously labeled as an 'unsportsmanlike thug' for having similar emotions, his example was fighting in hockey. This really struck a chord of truth with people and helped reverse the outraged sports media's witch-hunt for the 'ungrateful, unsportsmanlike thug' who should have 'won with class' into an interesting discussion of race perceptions in sports.
The Patriots aren't being called 'thugs', they are being called 'cheaters'. The same frenzy is on, and they can't get out of it. The media is at a frothing point. We are talking about slightly deflated balls in a 45-7 blowout like it's the end of the world. It's the spirt of this week, the week before the week before the Super Bowl. It's a perfect storm of massive Super Bowl hype but without any Super Bowl events until the following week. It's the beginning of the most sensationalized event in America. Actually, it's the beginning of the sensationalizing but not the beginning of the actual event. Some strange stories have filled this vacuum. This year, it's Deflate-Gate.
And that's from the big boys, the big sports media outlets. Lord knows what the thousands of little, free-wheelin', plebeian bloggers like me are saying.
The week before the week before the Super Bowl has always been sports media's finest hour in terms of annoyingly blowing things out of proportion. But it has been much worse in the last four or five years with Twitter and the NFL's new 'no-I-found-out-first' media culture of Adam Shefters and Mike Florios and the legions of idiots tweeting everything every source has ever said ever.
Last year we all talked Sherman, this year we all talk deflated balls.
Seriously, deflated balls! Has everyone gone insane?
We, the average football fan, should not be made to care about under or over inflated footballs. We should be talking about Seattle's comeback and New England's blowout of Andrew Luck.
If an investigation comes out and informs us how the Patriots cheated, we can note that, so be it, we kind of suspected it anyway, now they will be punished and we can move on. It's the referees and the NFL's job to keep that under control, so let's let them do that. If the Patriots are deflating balls, reinflate the damn balls! When did we turn into little babies who can't stand the idea of someone doing something bad? There are hundreds of millions of dollars at stake in the NFL every season, people are bending rules. That's why they have other people paid to enforce the rules.
If a ball boy is caught deflating, punish him, fire him, remove a draft pick from the team, and enforce the rule. That's that. We don't have to spin around with our hands in the air scoffing at the audacity of the Patriots and lamenting the way the world used to be! It's not the end of the world, it's just the NFL enforcing a relatively small rule. If they do it again, remove another draft pick, fine them 10 million dollars whatever! Eventually they won't be deflating balls anymore. There you go.
If all this hoop-la and crying and integrity talk had come out after an NFL investigation, I still would say we are overreacting, but let's consider that all this coverage has come before the NFL investigation has been released! We don't actually know who did it, when, where, or how! Nobody has been officially accused of deflating balls, we just know they were deflated.
Here's how the game day situation with the balls works:
The Patriots give their 12 game balls -that they've been allowed to break in all week during practice- to the referees a few hours before the game for inspection. They receive them back 15 minutes prior to the game. If the referees actually did their PSI inspection, and the NFL says they did, all the balls should have been properly inflated 15 minutes prior to the game.
That means 11 of 12 balls were deflated in that 15 minutes or during the first half. Who did it? When and how? Why can't we just let the NFL investigate and report back before we go off the damn rails. Even then, we don't need to devolve into this absolute insanity. If they report back they don't know who deflated 11 balls on the sideline during a nationally-televised, NFL-film-documented AFC Championship... then so be it.
ESPN, among others, has been reckless in their reporting. To the point that Fat Jerome Bettis, Brian Dawkins and Mark "The Crying Face Of The Jaguars" Brunell were given a full 10 minutes after Tom Brady's press conference today to call him a liar without needing one single fact. They just knew "from their own experience" that he was.
Fat Jerome Bettis repeatedly commented that this was not a big deal until Tom Brady lied. That's right, Jerome Bettis sitting in on the 72nd straight hour of ESPN Deflategate Coverage, with a MASSIVE Deflategate Graphic floating behind him, said that this wasn't a big deal "until now". That is the kind of insanity we are dealing with here!
Since Tom Brady and Bill Belicheck couldn't turn the conversation like Richard Sherman did, I am putting out a plea for sanity; Can we please just let the investigation report back, acknowledge the punishment or lack thereof, make sure to measure the PSI at the Super Bowl, and move on? No grandiose discussion about how Belicheck and Brady have destroyed the principles of the American Dream, let's just play the Super Bowl.
So now I've vented. I'm sorry I haven't talked at all about football today. I am going to do be doing four other blogs before the game, I promise those will be Seahawk related.
It's just that I've been worked up from listening to our own callers on the radio calling the Patriots cheaters, honestly stating they believe the Colts should play in the Super Bowl because of this! I've been watching ESPN, and reading articles on SI and even CNN about shame, loss of NFL's integrity, no- the loss of our national innocence and it's driven me insane. Yet I can't look away, it's just the lure of the week before the week before the Super Bowl. It gets me every time.
Next week, I hope to hear about and write about Tom Brady -vs- Russell Wilson, Beast Mode against Big Wilfork, Kam Chancellor hitting Rob Gronkowski, Richard Sherman -vs- Darelle Revis, Pete Carrol and Bill Belicheck. This game is an amazing matchup, we should start talking about it!
SIDE NOTE: Does anyone know why we add 'gate' to everything controversial? I mean, Watergate wasn't a controversy about Water it was the name of a hotel. Why do we add the 'gate' to things now? Such a weird quirk of our culture... but I suppose that's for another blog.
-miles.
Monday, January 19, 2015
Sunday 1/18/15 (AFC/NFC)
Seattle Seahawks, 28 Green Bay Packers, 22
For 55 minutes, the Seattle Seahawks' offense was set to be the goat of Seattle. QB Russell Wilson was having the worst game of his career and WRs Jermaine Kearse and Doug Baldwin were being dominated in all facets of their game. In 55 minutes, Wilson had 4 interceptions, two by rookie S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and there was a Baldwin kickoff return fumble as well.
The Packers, however, did not capitalize. They had a total of 6 points off the 5 Seahawk turnovers. Their one TD drive of the day started at their own 44 and ended with a well-protected dart from QB Aaron Rodgers to WR Randall Cobb. The Packers would add another field goal and go up 16-0 at the half. Considering the Packers' amazing field position, multiple turnovers and offensive pedigree, 16 points is astonishingly low.
In the second half, Wilson continued to struggle. His 3rd interception- an ill-advised bomb to a double-covered and struggling Kearse- was negated by Aaron Rodgers' own awful throw to CB Byron Maxwell. The Seahawks first big play came on a fake field goal that saw P Jon Ryan connect 19 yards with OT Garry Gillium to first put the Seahawks on the board.
Nothing seemed to shake either offense alive. The Packers played conservative and were completely shut down by a one-armed CB Richard Sherman and separated shoulder S Earl Thomas. The Packers added only a field goal but it seemed a moot point when Jermaine Kearse dropped another ball, this one ricocheting into the arms of S Morgan Burnett who slid into a victory celebration. The Packers' D celebrated their Super Bowl berth, Star LB Clay Matthews wasn't even in the game because the Packers had won.
Only they hadn't.
With 5:04 remaining in the game and Green Bay at midfield, the Seahawks needed to force a punt, score a touchdown, recover an onside kick, and score another touchdown. And that is exactly what happened!
In one of the most improbable comebacks of All-Time, the Seahawks offense finally clicked into high gear. Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch each scored a touchdown in between an epic onside kick recovery by WR Chris Matthews, and punctuated by a high lofted prayer of a 2pt conversion to TE Luke Willson. The Seahawks took the lead 22-19 having been down 7-19 just 4 minutes before.
Amazingly, the Seahawks had done this too quickly! In response QB Aaron Rodgers was allowed to throw the ball, quickly driving the Packers to a field goal, a 22-22 tie and Overtime.
KEY PLAY: With an overtime do-over to his disastrous day, Russell Wilson responded with an 87-yard drive that had two key plays, a 3rd-and-6 35-yard sideline route to WR Doug Baldwin and the definitive seam route up the middle, 35 more yards to the goat-turned-hero WR Jermaine Kearse.
MVP: RB Marshawn Lynch was the engine of the Seahawks again. He ran well all game and when the rest of the offense joined him in the final 5 minutes, it became a Marshawn Lynch show, he finished with 183 total yards.
New England Patriots, 45 Indianapolis Colts, 7
I suppose QB Andrew Luck was not ready after all. The AFC Championship was a sharp contrast to the NFC's thrilling finish. QB Tom Brady had 226 yards and 3 TDs, all that was needed from him. RB LaGarette Blount reprised his role as a Colt-killer with 148 yards and 3 TDs. Blount has now scored 7 TDs against the Colts in two playoff games.
With Colts WR T.Y Hilton double-covered and WR Reggie Wayne on his last legs, Luck desperately challenged CB Darrelle Revis who promptly intercepted him. The Patriots domination was so thorough that Patriots T Nate Solder scored on a touchdown pass from Brady in the 3rd quarter and it didn't even matter.
In the beginning of the 4th quarter, Blount scored his 3rd touchdown to make the score 45-7 and both teams consensually ran out the clock. It was nice of the Colts and Patriots to allow America to turn in early and make it to work Monday morning. You can't help but feel that the real AFC Championship was last weekends Patriots/Ravens matchup.
KEY PLAY: The two plays most emcompasing of the Patriots' feel-good night were Tom Brady's perfect dart to TE Rob Gronkowski in the end zone mid-3rd quarter and CB Darrelle Revis' 'you-didn't-really-think-he-was-open' open field interception. With a healthy Gronk and Revis Island in Red, White and Blue, Foxborough was feeling good.
MVP: Since his last thrashing of the Colts in the 2013 regular season, RB LaGarette Blount has come full circle. He was allowed to test free agency in the spring, left the Patriots to sign with the Steelers, spent much of the season backing up blossoming superstar Le'Veon Bell, was then cut by Pittsburgh, cleared waivers, re-signed by New England and here he is again- right back to killing the soft underbelly of the young Colts in the playoffs.
For 55 minutes, the Seattle Seahawks' offense was set to be the goat of Seattle. QB Russell Wilson was having the worst game of his career and WRs Jermaine Kearse and Doug Baldwin were being dominated in all facets of their game. In 55 minutes, Wilson had 4 interceptions, two by rookie S Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and there was a Baldwin kickoff return fumble as well.
The Packers, however, did not capitalize. They had a total of 6 points off the 5 Seahawk turnovers. Their one TD drive of the day started at their own 44 and ended with a well-protected dart from QB Aaron Rodgers to WR Randall Cobb. The Packers would add another field goal and go up 16-0 at the half. Considering the Packers' amazing field position, multiple turnovers and offensive pedigree, 16 points is astonishingly low.
In the second half, Wilson continued to struggle. His 3rd interception- an ill-advised bomb to a double-covered and struggling Kearse- was negated by Aaron Rodgers' own awful throw to CB Byron Maxwell. The Seahawks first big play came on a fake field goal that saw P Jon Ryan connect 19 yards with OT Garry Gillium to first put the Seahawks on the board.
Nothing seemed to shake either offense alive. The Packers played conservative and were completely shut down by a one-armed CB Richard Sherman and separated shoulder S Earl Thomas. The Packers added only a field goal but it seemed a moot point when Jermaine Kearse dropped another ball, this one ricocheting into the arms of S Morgan Burnett who slid into a victory celebration. The Packers' D celebrated their Super Bowl berth, Star LB Clay Matthews wasn't even in the game because the Packers had won.
Only they hadn't.
With 5:04 remaining in the game and Green Bay at midfield, the Seahawks needed to force a punt, score a touchdown, recover an onside kick, and score another touchdown. And that is exactly what happened!
In one of the most improbable comebacks of All-Time, the Seahawks offense finally clicked into high gear. Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch each scored a touchdown in between an epic onside kick recovery by WR Chris Matthews, and punctuated by a high lofted prayer of a 2pt conversion to TE Luke Willson. The Seahawks took the lead 22-19 having been down 7-19 just 4 minutes before.
Amazingly, the Seahawks had done this too quickly! In response QB Aaron Rodgers was allowed to throw the ball, quickly driving the Packers to a field goal, a 22-22 tie and Overtime.
KEY PLAY: With an overtime do-over to his disastrous day, Russell Wilson responded with an 87-yard drive that had two key plays, a 3rd-and-6 35-yard sideline route to WR Doug Baldwin and the definitive seam route up the middle, 35 more yards to the goat-turned-hero WR Jermaine Kearse.
MVP: RB Marshawn Lynch was the engine of the Seahawks again. He ran well all game and when the rest of the offense joined him in the final 5 minutes, it became a Marshawn Lynch show, he finished with 183 total yards.
New England Patriots, 45 Indianapolis Colts, 7
I suppose QB Andrew Luck was not ready after all. The AFC Championship was a sharp contrast to the NFC's thrilling finish. QB Tom Brady had 226 yards and 3 TDs, all that was needed from him. RB LaGarette Blount reprised his role as a Colt-killer with 148 yards and 3 TDs. Blount has now scored 7 TDs against the Colts in two playoff games.
With Colts WR T.Y Hilton double-covered and WR Reggie Wayne on his last legs, Luck desperately challenged CB Darrelle Revis who promptly intercepted him. The Patriots domination was so thorough that Patriots T Nate Solder scored on a touchdown pass from Brady in the 3rd quarter and it didn't even matter.
In the beginning of the 4th quarter, Blount scored his 3rd touchdown to make the score 45-7 and both teams consensually ran out the clock. It was nice of the Colts and Patriots to allow America to turn in early and make it to work Monday morning. You can't help but feel that the real AFC Championship was last weekends Patriots/Ravens matchup.
KEY PLAY: The two plays most emcompasing of the Patriots' feel-good night were Tom Brady's perfect dart to TE Rob Gronkowski in the end zone mid-3rd quarter and CB Darrelle Revis' 'you-didn't-really-think-he-was-open' open field interception. With a healthy Gronk and Revis Island in Red, White and Blue, Foxborough was feeling good.
MVP: Since his last thrashing of the Colts in the 2013 regular season, RB LaGarette Blount has come full circle. He was allowed to test free agency in the spring, left the Patriots to sign with the Steelers, spent much of the season backing up blossoming superstar Le'Veon Bell, was then cut by Pittsburgh, cleared waivers, re-signed by New England and here he is again- right back to killing the soft underbelly of the young Colts in the playoffs.
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Championship Weekend 2015
Indianapolis Colts (13-5) @ New England Patriots (13-5)
QB Andrew Luck and the Colts are ahead of schedule. A few playoff wins and a stepping stone season for their franchise QB would have sufficed. But now that they've upset their former leader Peyton Manning in Denver and reached the AFC Championship against the hated Patriots, the expectations have changed. The Colts know reaching the Championship Round is no easy task and that they now have a shot to do something special.Then again, maybe making the Championship is easy. Patriots QB Tom Brady and Bill Bellicheck certainly make it look easy. This is the Patriots' 4th appearance in a row and their 9th overall since 2001. That's insane.
As tempting as it is to lean on the upstart Colts after their beating of Denver, let's not lose sight of the mountain the Colts have to climb here. The Patriots demolished the Colts last year in the playoffs 43-20 with a powerful rushing attack, 234 total rushing yards. In week 11, only two months ago, they did it again. Another primetime blowout 42-20 on their way to 507 total yards, 247 rushing. These games have not been close.
KEYS FOR IND: Unlike most teams, the Colts would love a shoot-out with Tom Brady in the playoffs, Andrew Luck and the Colts secondary are up for that battle. The key of the game is crystal clear for both teams. The Colts must stop the run, or at least not hemorrhage 225+ yards on the ground this time. The Colts would love a game similar to the BAL/NE game last week in which New England rushed only 13 times trying to keep pace on the scoreboard.
KEYS FOR NE: Be it Blount, Vareen, Gray, Bolden, hell- nose tackle Vince Wilfork, whoever Bill Bellicheck wants to put out there, rack up the yards on the ground again. The Patriots have embarrassed the Colts with the ground game twice in one year. Now, those same soft-in-the-middle Colts are the only thing in the way of the 6th Tom Brady Super Bowl appearance. Pound the rock.
Green Bay Packers (13-4) @ Seattle Seahawks (13-4)
Just as the NFC began, the NFC will end with the Green Bay Packers traveling into Seattle to face the Seahawks. Four years ago, the high-flying offenses of the Packers and Saints ruled the NFC with their elite QBs and monster numbers. That has changed in the last three years. The Seahawks and 49ers with their stacked, fast, violent defenses and dynamic QBs have upped the ante for the rest of the NFC. The Packers have not yet called this raise, they are 0-3 against the 49ers and were blown out by the Seahawks in week 1. Now would be the time to call, because we know they are not going to fold.RB Marshawn Lynch is still the heartbeat of the Seahawks, and QB Russell Wilson is the General. The Packers' defense has been terrible on the road this season, and without a controversial call overturned against Dallas, we easily could have been talking about how the Packers' defense gave up yet another playoff game for Green Bay.
Green Bay's offense is as potent as it ever has been, even with Rodgers on a "hobbly, wobbly calf" (to quote Kam Chancellor). The Packers have their own dread-locked mutant RB in Eddie Lacy but he faces a much more immovable object than his counterpart Lynch. The Seahawks defense in on fire. The Legion Of Boom is famous for having the three of the best secondary players in the world, but DE Cliff Avril, DE Michael Bennett, LB Bobby Wagner and LB K.J Wright are also top-tier players who could take over the game at any time.
KEYS FOR GB: Aaron Rodgers is always good for a few big plays but the Seahawks secondary will be nothing like facing an overachieving Cowboys' unit in Lambeau Field. The big story lines nationally are about the trenches, about the Packers D matching the Seahawks' intensity but let's get real here; the Packers don't win this game without an MVP performance from Aaron Rodgers. In a stadium he has had little success in (1 TD in 2 games) he must face the Seattle defense at it's strongest point of the season. This is on Rodgers.
KEYS FOR SEA: Is Russell Wilson ready to take the next step? It's easy to get caught up in the headlines about the defense but Russell Wilson was amazing against Carolina. He now faces a weaker defense and a bigger stage, can Wilson cement his legacy tomorrow?
Monday, January 12, 2015
Sunday 1/11/15 (Divisional)
Green Bay Packers, 26 Dallas Cowboys, 21
Packers QB Aaron Rodgers was extremely limited on one calf and Cowboys QB Tony Romo took a beating as well.
With both QBs limited in their mobility, two top running games flexed their muscles. Cowboys RB DeMarco Murray was heavily involved (25 carries for 123 yards) and the Packers used RB Eddie Lacy effectively as well, 19 carries for 101 yards.
With 4:16 remaining in the 3rd quarter, DeMarco Murray broke a 26-yard run and punched it in the next play for a 1-yard TD to put Dallas ahead 21-13. Normally, an 8 point lead against these Green Bay Packers would mean essentially nothing, but Rodgers had done little through the air to this point and was a complete liability on the ground game, quite literally unable to run.
Despite it all, Rodgers exploded in a way only the best QB in the league could. There were a few impressive after-the-catch plays by rookie WR Davonte Adams (who had the best game of his season at the right time) but the 13-yard knife to TE Richard Rodgers in the back of the end zone was one of the most impressive throws of Rodgers' career with 9 minutes remaining.
Make no mistake, the Packers' defense still folded and allowed the Cowbos back down the field as they have so often throughout the last four seasons. This time, they were bailed out by a by-the-book, complete-the-catch controversy that took away a spectacular, leaping, downright Irvin-esque catch by WR Dez Bryant 31 yards to the 1-yard line. It was a 4th-and-1 Texas gamble. Des had control going down, took two or three steps towards the end zone and reached toward the pylon. However, he did not control the ball coming back up or make "a football move" during his fall. The play was reversed and resulted in a turnover on downs. It is the technically correct call but it certainly does not pass the eyeball test, he caught the ball.
The Cowboys defense was no better. There was still 4:41 left in the game at this point but they crumbled under the now red-hot Packers who ran RB Eddie Lacy hard and had Rodgers convert the 3rd downs until the timeouts were used and the game was over. Tony Romo, Bryant and Murray never saw the field again.
KEY PLAY: The Dez Bryant reversal changed the game. I say both defenses were crumbling by that point so it's likely even if the Dez catch stood and a TD was scored. Rodgers would have had no problem driving the field to win the game. Still, you never know. The reversal kept that ending from us.
MVP: Aaron Rodgers. After the Cowboys went ahead 21-13 late in the 3rd quarter, Rodgers had only 95 yards passing. From the kickoff after Murray's TD to the final 12-yard wobble to WR Randall Cobb to seal the victory, Rodgers was 13/16 with 221 yards and 2 TDs.
Indianapolis Colts, 24 Denver Broncos, 13
After all the excitement of Divisonal Weekend, the present meeting of the past (Peyton Manning) and the future (Andrew Luck) was somewhat of an afterthought. It was an anticlimactic game. Manning and the Broncos' offense had a dominant opening drive but never again could move the ball.
Colts CBs Vontae Davis and Greg Toler were a huge reason for the Colts' defense's success. They won their match ups on the outside against WR Demaryius Thomas and WR Emmanuel Sanders. Manning alternated between unimpressive missed connections deep and ineffective short passes with no after-the-catch performances. Demaryius Thomas, blocking poorly and dropping screen passes, had one of the worst games of his career. It wasn't all disaster for Denver, Broncos RB C.J Anderson was a real silver lining. Anderson played his heart out, in a defining 4th-and-1, he was hit in the backfield 4 yards deep but still converted the first down.
While Manning struggled, Luck and the Colts offense consistently put together long drives against a stout Denver defense. Staying on the field has always been the go-to strategy against Peyton Manning, and the sudden balance that exploding RB Boom Herron added to the Colts' attack was important.
KEY PLAY: Manning did not look right. At the start of the 4th quarter, down 21-13, he was given 3 straight passing plays to get a drive going. All 3 passes traveled less than 5 yards down the field and all fell incomplete. This summed up the game.
MVP: QB Andrew Luck had many games this season that were much more impressive statistically. Still, this was a big one for Luck. Both his INTs were not careless pressings of a prodigy but the calculated risks of a wiser man. Both were on long 3rd downs and were essentially 40 yards punts. Luck played against a great Denver secondary and continued to move the ball. When the Colts' were in the red zone, Luck was able to finish. In many minds, today was the day Andrew Luck stopped being the new kid and started being a genuine NFL star.
Packers QB Aaron Rodgers was extremely limited on one calf and Cowboys QB Tony Romo took a beating as well.
With both QBs limited in their mobility, two top running games flexed their muscles. Cowboys RB DeMarco Murray was heavily involved (25 carries for 123 yards) and the Packers used RB Eddie Lacy effectively as well, 19 carries for 101 yards.
With 4:16 remaining in the 3rd quarter, DeMarco Murray broke a 26-yard run and punched it in the next play for a 1-yard TD to put Dallas ahead 21-13. Normally, an 8 point lead against these Green Bay Packers would mean essentially nothing, but Rodgers had done little through the air to this point and was a complete liability on the ground game, quite literally unable to run.
Despite it all, Rodgers exploded in a way only the best QB in the league could. There were a few impressive after-the-catch plays by rookie WR Davonte Adams (who had the best game of his season at the right time) but the 13-yard knife to TE Richard Rodgers in the back of the end zone was one of the most impressive throws of Rodgers' career with 9 minutes remaining.
Make no mistake, the Packers' defense still folded and allowed the Cowbos back down the field as they have so often throughout the last four seasons. This time, they were bailed out by a by-the-book, complete-the-catch controversy that took away a spectacular, leaping, downright Irvin-esque catch by WR Dez Bryant 31 yards to the 1-yard line. It was a 4th-and-1 Texas gamble. Des had control going down, took two or three steps towards the end zone and reached toward the pylon. However, he did not control the ball coming back up or make "a football move" during his fall. The play was reversed and resulted in a turnover on downs. It is the technically correct call but it certainly does not pass the eyeball test, he caught the ball.
The Cowboys defense was no better. There was still 4:41 left in the game at this point but they crumbled under the now red-hot Packers who ran RB Eddie Lacy hard and had Rodgers convert the 3rd downs until the timeouts were used and the game was over. Tony Romo, Bryant and Murray never saw the field again.
KEY PLAY: The Dez Bryant reversal changed the game. I say both defenses were crumbling by that point so it's likely even if the Dez catch stood and a TD was scored. Rodgers would have had no problem driving the field to win the game. Still, you never know. The reversal kept that ending from us.
MVP: Aaron Rodgers. After the Cowboys went ahead 21-13 late in the 3rd quarter, Rodgers had only 95 yards passing. From the kickoff after Murray's TD to the final 12-yard wobble to WR Randall Cobb to seal the victory, Rodgers was 13/16 with 221 yards and 2 TDs.
Indianapolis Colts, 24 Denver Broncos, 13
After all the excitement of Divisonal Weekend, the present meeting of the past (Peyton Manning) and the future (Andrew Luck) was somewhat of an afterthought. It was an anticlimactic game. Manning and the Broncos' offense had a dominant opening drive but never again could move the ball.
Colts CBs Vontae Davis and Greg Toler were a huge reason for the Colts' defense's success. They won their match ups on the outside against WR Demaryius Thomas and WR Emmanuel Sanders. Manning alternated between unimpressive missed connections deep and ineffective short passes with no after-the-catch performances. Demaryius Thomas, blocking poorly and dropping screen passes, had one of the worst games of his career. It wasn't all disaster for Denver, Broncos RB C.J Anderson was a real silver lining. Anderson played his heart out, in a defining 4th-and-1, he was hit in the backfield 4 yards deep but still converted the first down.
While Manning struggled, Luck and the Colts offense consistently put together long drives against a stout Denver defense. Staying on the field has always been the go-to strategy against Peyton Manning, and the sudden balance that exploding RB Boom Herron added to the Colts' attack was important.
KEY PLAY: Manning did not look right. At the start of the 4th quarter, down 21-13, he was given 3 straight passing plays to get a drive going. All 3 passes traveled less than 5 yards down the field and all fell incomplete. This summed up the game.
MVP: QB Andrew Luck had many games this season that were much more impressive statistically. Still, this was a big one for Luck. Both his INTs were not careless pressings of a prodigy but the calculated risks of a wiser man. Both were on long 3rd downs and were essentially 40 yards punts. Luck played against a great Denver secondary and continued to move the ball. When the Colts' were in the red zone, Luck was able to finish. In many minds, today was the day Andrew Luck stopped being the new kid and started being a genuine NFL star.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Saturday 1/10/15 (Divisional)
New England Patriots, 35 Baltimore Ravens, 31
Patriots QB Tom Brady and Ravens QB Joe Flacco went blow-for-blow for seemingly 100 years but the King Patriots managed to break away from the sticky, deadly grasp of the playoff plague Ravens.
Initially, the Ravens appeared set to spoil the mood in Foxborough again. Flacco was 9/9 for 119 yards in the first two drives, both ended in passing TDs. The second of which was a perfect dart bobbled and grasped by WR Steve Smith who beat out the Patriots' defensive savior CB Darelle Revis.
Unlike the 2009 or 2012 Patriots who lived similar-starting, heart-wrenching upsets, these Patriots battled back with force. The offense drove the field. The drive was capped with QB Tom Brady's 4-yard TD run, followed by a forceful spike and a primal yell towards the ballistic, euphoric throng of Patriots fans, woken up and ready to roll. The Patriots controlled the 2nd quarter, WR Danny Amendola later made a great catch-and-run to tie the game at 14.
Maybe the Patriots were spent, Brady's emotion can only carry them so far. The Ravens ended the 2nd quarter on a perfect bullet into tight coverage from Flacco to TE Owen Daniels and started the 3rd with a 16-yard TD run from RB Justin Forsett. 28-14, Ravens.
In the pendulum swing of this great game, Brady responded with a 80-yard touchdown drive his own, the Patriots regrouped on defense and when the Patriots gained possession again they took to trickery to tie the game at 28. Brady threw a screen to WR Julian Edelman who stepped back and launched a perfect pass to a broken-free Amendola.
Both teams played battering, brutal, smart, crisp football in the 4th quarter. The Ravens took the lead with a Justin Tucker field goal, but Brady had another one of those Brady drives that ended in a go-route strike to a tightly-covered WR Brandon LaFell. Now 35-31, Flacco had 3 and a half minutes to respond and the Patriots improved secondary carried the day. CB Duron Harmon intercepted Flacco's own go route to WR Torrey Smith and the war was over. Patriots advance to their 4th AFC Championship in 4 years.
KEY PLAY: Brady's pinpoint go route to Brandon LaFell was just another chapter in a long book of Tom Brady Playoff moments.
MVP: How can it not be Tom Brady? He continues to drive the Patriots both in play and emotion. When Flacco looked to be carrying the day with his 2 early TDs, Brady responded with 367 yards and 3 TDs of own.
Seattle Seahawks, 31 Carolina Panthers, 17
The Panthers played their best but the Seahawks were better.
Panthers LBs Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis did a great job selling out and stuffing the relentless RB Marshawn Lynch, asking QB Russell Wilson to beat them with arm. Unfortunately for them, Wilson was more than up to the task.
QB Cam Newton was Superman in a hostile environment, but ran right into the Dark Knight S Kam Chancellor.
The statistic that most defines this wild Saturday night in Seattle was Russell Wilson on 3rd downs. Wilson was 8/8, 199 yards with 3 TDs. Every time the Seahawks needed Wilson, he responded. Whether it be a high loft to WR Doug Baldwin for the game's first TD or a perfect dart for a one-handed WR Jermaine Kearse 63 yard TD. Wilson's consistency carried the day, he made the big plays, had no interceptions and threw only 7 incomplete passes (most of those purposeful throwaways).
QB Cam Newton didn't have that same consistency. The Panthers moved the ball for 362 total yards and 2 touchdowns to rookie WR Kelvin Benjamin, which can be regarded as an accomplishment. However, Newton also tried CB Richard Sherman on his first pass of the day and was intercepted, he fumbled a handoff that led to Seattle's first touchdown, and while driving the Panthers back to within one possession was intercepted by Kam Chancellor on the 10-yard line, which was returned 90 yards to seal the game.
KEY PLAY: The Chancellor interception, the KamQuake, got Seattle rumbling and kicked off the celebration. The Seahawks had brow-beat and pushed the Panthers around all game and again it paid dividends in the fourth quarter with big plays, this the biggest.
MVP: S Kam Chancellor made himself a national star tonight. The Dark Knight. Kam Chancellor the Touchdown Canceller. Bam Bam Kam. He had 11 tackles and was the heart of a defense that already includes 1st team All-Pros CB Richard Sherman, LB Bobby Wagner and his cohort S Earl Thomas.
Patriots QB Tom Brady and Ravens QB Joe Flacco went blow-for-blow for seemingly 100 years but the King Patriots managed to break away from the sticky, deadly grasp of the playoff plague Ravens.
Initially, the Ravens appeared set to spoil the mood in Foxborough again. Flacco was 9/9 for 119 yards in the first two drives, both ended in passing TDs. The second of which was a perfect dart bobbled and grasped by WR Steve Smith who beat out the Patriots' defensive savior CB Darelle Revis.
Unlike the 2009 or 2012 Patriots who lived similar-starting, heart-wrenching upsets, these Patriots battled back with force. The offense drove the field. The drive was capped with QB Tom Brady's 4-yard TD run, followed by a forceful spike and a primal yell towards the ballistic, euphoric throng of Patriots fans, woken up and ready to roll. The Patriots controlled the 2nd quarter, WR Danny Amendola later made a great catch-and-run to tie the game at 14.
Maybe the Patriots were spent, Brady's emotion can only carry them so far. The Ravens ended the 2nd quarter on a perfect bullet into tight coverage from Flacco to TE Owen Daniels and started the 3rd with a 16-yard TD run from RB Justin Forsett. 28-14, Ravens.
In the pendulum swing of this great game, Brady responded with a 80-yard touchdown drive his own, the Patriots regrouped on defense and when the Patriots gained possession again they took to trickery to tie the game at 28. Brady threw a screen to WR Julian Edelman who stepped back and launched a perfect pass to a broken-free Amendola.
Both teams played battering, brutal, smart, crisp football in the 4th quarter. The Ravens took the lead with a Justin Tucker field goal, but Brady had another one of those Brady drives that ended in a go-route strike to a tightly-covered WR Brandon LaFell. Now 35-31, Flacco had 3 and a half minutes to respond and the Patriots improved secondary carried the day. CB Duron Harmon intercepted Flacco's own go route to WR Torrey Smith and the war was over. Patriots advance to their 4th AFC Championship in 4 years.
KEY PLAY: Brady's pinpoint go route to Brandon LaFell was just another chapter in a long book of Tom Brady Playoff moments.
MVP: How can it not be Tom Brady? He continues to drive the Patriots both in play and emotion. When Flacco looked to be carrying the day with his 2 early TDs, Brady responded with 367 yards and 3 TDs of own.
Seattle Seahawks, 31 Carolina Panthers, 17
The Panthers played their best but the Seahawks were better.
Panthers LBs Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis did a great job selling out and stuffing the relentless RB Marshawn Lynch, asking QB Russell Wilson to beat them with arm. Unfortunately for them, Wilson was more than up to the task.
QB Cam Newton was Superman in a hostile environment, but ran right into the Dark Knight S Kam Chancellor.
The statistic that most defines this wild Saturday night in Seattle was Russell Wilson on 3rd downs. Wilson was 8/8, 199 yards with 3 TDs. Every time the Seahawks needed Wilson, he responded. Whether it be a high loft to WR Doug Baldwin for the game's first TD or a perfect dart for a one-handed WR Jermaine Kearse 63 yard TD. Wilson's consistency carried the day, he made the big plays, had no interceptions and threw only 7 incomplete passes (most of those purposeful throwaways).
QB Cam Newton didn't have that same consistency. The Panthers moved the ball for 362 total yards and 2 touchdowns to rookie WR Kelvin Benjamin, which can be regarded as an accomplishment. However, Newton also tried CB Richard Sherman on his first pass of the day and was intercepted, he fumbled a handoff that led to Seattle's first touchdown, and while driving the Panthers back to within one possession was intercepted by Kam Chancellor on the 10-yard line, which was returned 90 yards to seal the game.
KEY PLAY: The Chancellor interception, the KamQuake, got Seattle rumbling and kicked off the celebration. The Seahawks had brow-beat and pushed the Panthers around all game and again it paid dividends in the fourth quarter with big plays, this the biggest.
MVP: S Kam Chancellor made himself a national star tonight. The Dark Knight. Kam Chancellor the Touchdown Canceller. Bam Bam Kam. He had 11 tackles and was the heart of a defense that already includes 1st team All-Pros CB Richard Sherman, LB Bobby Wagner and his cohort S Earl Thomas.
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
2015 Divisional Weekend
Baltimore Ravens (11-6) @ New England Patriots (12-4)
Of the AFC elite, the Patriots reign supreme. As they say, the whispers of their demise were great exaggerated after a week 4 blowout loss to Kansas City on Monday Night Football. In typical Patriot fashion they responded with a scorched earth policy and dominated the remainder of the season, 10 wins to 1 loss, before resting a few stars in Week 17. The Patriots again lord high over the AFC peasantry, poised to claim their two home game victories and travel to Arizona for their 6th Super Bowl appearance in 14 years.If the Patriots are King of the AFC, and the Steelers, Colts and Broncos are the high royalty, then the Ravens are the plague that reappears every January to wreak havoc upon them all. QB Joe Flacco and a younger defense now led by LB Terrell Suggs barely made the postseason but now that they have, no team wants these road warriors on their schedule, Pittsburgh the latest victims.
On paper, the Patriots again appear superior. QB Tom Brady, TE Rob Gronkowski and an improved defense that added elite CB Darelle Revis and enforcer CB Brandon Browner are imposing enough. However, who am I to discount these Ravens in January? They have won more road playoff games since 2008 than any other team has won playoff games, period! The resiliency of Joe Flacco and these Ravens against the dominance and relentlessness of Tom Brady and these Patriots always makes for a great matchup, and we are treated again to yet another chapter. Can't we just sit back and enjoy it again?
KEYS FOR BAL: RB Justin Forsett has been one of the best stories of the year, coming from NFL journeymen obscurity to claim the Ravens' starting job. He will need to find success. The patchwork offensive line proved last week it can handle the load, it's up to them and Forsett to keep the ball on the ground and Tom Brady on the cold New England sidelines.
KEYS FOR NE: The Patriot defense is not the handicap that it has been in recent years with a stronger secondary and a more consistent pass rush. Teams have not had the record-breaking passing success they previously enjoyed. Call this a 'prove it' game, because none of their noted regular season improvement matters unless they perform against a January Joe Flacco in the playoffs.
Carolina Panthers (8-8-1) @ Seattle Seahawks (12-4)
A hobbled Cam Newton faces incredible odds to defeat the defending champions. He has never been to Seattle, his team has only now reached a .500 record with a Wildcard victory over QBish Ryan Lindley, and he has been defeated by the Seahawks three times in three years in Carolina. Newton has scored only one touchdown in those 180 minutes of play.But this game is not only Cam Newton vs The Seattle Seahawks. Despite their quarterback's struggles, the Panthers have gone toe-to-toe with Seattle for three years in a row. The total score of the three Wilson v Newton slugfests is 41-27. I've seen many single games with that score. The score may again be low with two of the best young middle linebackers in the game, LB Bobby Wagner and LB Luke Kuchley, in the heart of the action again. Still, with home field advantage, QB Russell Wilson, RB Marshawn Lynch, the Legion Of Boom and one of the most complete defensive units of all time, the defending champion Seahawks must be heavily favored. Even Panthers' fans cannot die a victory would be one of the biggest upsets of all time.
KEYS FOR CAR: Teams that have beaten the Seahawks in Seattle have done so by playing the Seahawks own game, running the ball and defense. The Panthers are set up for this. RBs Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams could have huge games and the defense could prove it's 78-yard triumph over a non-NFL QB was no fluke. The 2014 Cowboys did so, the 2013 Cardinals did so. Unfortunately those are the only two examples in 24 total games in the Wilson era.
KEYS FOR SEA: The Seahawks simply need to continue playing their own style; running the ball with Lynch, pressuring without blitzing, trusting their secondary, and wearing down their opponent while making few mistakes. The formula has worked through their impressive November & December surge and should work again for the Seahawks to become the first defending Super Bowl Champion to win a playoff game since the New England Patriots did so on January 7, 2006.
Dallas Cowboys (13-4) @ Green Bay Packers (12-4)
For the first time since the 1967 NFL Championship, the infamous Ice Bowl that lives on as an early NFL watershed mark, the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers will meet for a playoff matchup at Lambeau Field. The Cowboys are 8-0 on the road, the Packers are 8-0 at home. The Cowboys gained some much needed momentum knocking off Detroit and the Packers some much needed rest, watching the action on television.
This a great matchup. Both teams have a top-tier running backs; Eddie Lacy to DeMarco Murray. Both have impressive WR cores; Bryant/Williams/Witten to Nelson/Cobb. Both have middling defenses getting it done, the Cowboys have overachieved well past their talent level, and the Packers defensive superstars have made up for their other weaknesses.
You'll hear pundits lament that the Cowboys are too inexperienced, that they haven't been to the playoffs since 2009! How dare they! Pundits love experience. But is the Packers experience anything to write home about? Since their Super Bowl victory with a much better defense, they were stunned by the Giants as the #1 seed three years ago, massacred in San Francisco the following year, and lost their shot at redemption last year, again falling to San Francisco in dramatic fashion. This is a great matchup.
KEYS FOR DAL: Tony Romo played great to end the game in Dallas but the Cowboys offense should not expect the Packers to score 6 points in 3 quarters as the Lions did to close the game. A quick start for the running game with RB DeMarco Murray is essential.
KEYS FOR GB: No, it's not Aaron Rodgers. Aaron Rodgers has not wavered, or even dipped below being the best player in the league in the last four years. The difference between the 2010/11 Packers who won the Super Bowl and the last three mediocre units (1-3 in the playoffs) was the defense. Green Bay's defense has looked improved at times this season, but avoiding the big plays will be key. No 50 yard runs, no 70 yard bombs down the sideline. If the Cowboys have to earn their points with sustained drives, they will not be able to match Mr. Rodgers.
Indianapolis Colts (12-5) @ Denver Broncos (12-4)
Denver QB Peyton Manning is not the first Hall Of Fame Quarterback to find success with another team late in his career. Joe Montana did with Kanas City, Brett Favre did with Minnesota and Kurt Warner did with Arizona. None of those players had a playoff game against their old city. The thought of Indianapolis facing Peyton Manning in the playoffs would have been incomprehensible from 1998 to 2009. This guy was the body, hear and soul of the Colts.So why is this not the headline of the decade?
Because the Colts are over Peyton Manning. Yes, Indianapolis has moved on from indisputably one of the top QBs of all time! Why? Because they have the player with the most promising NFL future of all, the golden boy Andrew Luck. The first and likely last matchup of legacy consequence between Manning and Luck comes this weekend. In Denver though, the cards are hugely stacked in Manning's favor as his defense is now loaded with S T.J Ward, CB Chris Harris, LB Von Miller, CB Aqib Talib and DE DeMarcus Ware. Not one of which played in the Super Bowl, whether injured or on other teams. This is not the same team of 8pt fame in Super Bowl 48.
KEYS FOR IND: CB Vontae Davis has quietly been a dominant force on an inconsistent defense. If a good corner takes away one of Peyton's options without help, we've seen how that can pay dividends across the field for the rest of the defense against Peyton's spread attack. Now, the Broncos have been a power running team lately so take advantage of Davis' game-changing ability, the Colts will need an early lead.
KEYS FOR DEN: RB C.J Anderson, the defense, the gritty, dare-I-say Seahawk style that GM John Elway has compiled and Coach John Fox has devised must continue. Manning hasn't looked like a 50 attempt, 400 yard man in a few months. But if Manning is not the strength of the team anymore, what an incredible asset to a team's strength he is.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Sunday 1/4/15 (Wildcard)
Indianapolis Colts, 26 Cincinnati Bengals, 10
The Bengals earn their fourth straight 'Thanks For Participating' sticker from the Wildcard round. In all four losses (2012 and 2013 to the Texans, 2014 to the Chargers and this year to the Colts) they have been mostly uncompetitive. Hey- the world needs Wildcard Losers too, and the Bengals are them. To say this was QB Andy Dalton's best playoff performance is sadly accurate and incredibly telling.
Without WR A.J Green, the receiving core of WR Mohamed Sanu and WR Brandon Tate were little more than intended targets for the incomplete passes on the stat sheet. Dalton didn't have the weapons down field and RBs Giovoni Bernard and Jeremy Hill were the focus of a good defensive game plan from the Colts.
With the defense containing Dalton and Company, the Colts put a winnable game in QB Andrew Luck's hands and he delivered. Luck relied on WR T.Y Hilton for 103 yards (should have been much more but for 3 long drops) and RB Boom Herron who finished with 85 receiving of 141 total yards. The most yards by any Colts RB in Andrew Luck's 3-year career.
KEY PLAY: It was just a matter of time that the Colts would crack the game wide open. The Colts' offensive line played an amazing game, Luck was under little pressure all game. Ironically, the big play came in the 3rd quarter when the right side collapsed and Luck sprinting forward launched a perfect over the shoulder dart to rookie WR Donte Moncrief for a 36-yard TD to go ahead 20-10.
MVP: The Colts O-line. They gave Andrew Luck more time than any NFL quarterback needs. Luck's 376 yards were inevitable with the O-line's performance. The Colts called 46 passing plays to 23 rushing plays and most of those rushes were to kill the clock late in the game. There was no need for running plays with that kind of protection.
Dallas Cowboys, 24 Detroit Lions, 20.
As if the weight of high expectations and career legacy wasn't already on the shoulders of QB Tony Romo, the Detroit Lions came into JerryWorld and lept out to a 14-0 lead with the explosion of WR Golden Tate's 55-yard TD and the methodical beat-down of a 99-yard march capped by RB Reggie Bush's 18 yard rushing TD.
QB Tony Romo, RB DeMarco Murray and WR Dez Bryant (2 first half yards and a fumble) continued to struggle in the 1st half until a 8-yard slant route turned into a 76-yard Touchdown to WR Terrance Williams with 1:37 remaining in the 2nd half. The Lions were able to add a field goal but it felt as if Dallas had truly saved themselves from disaster.
The Lions played tough and did not fold on the road. The 2nd half began with QB Matt Stafford's pass being tipped and intercepted by LB Kyle Wilbur. The Lions defense held, sacked Romo and forced a 41 yard field goal. Fox put up the graphic and Joe Buck commenced the celebration that K Dan Bailey has been the most accurate kicker in NFL History over 100 attempts. Of course, Bailey promptly missed the kick.
The Lions drove for another field goal after the miss to take the lead 20-10 and this time it was Dallas who did not fold. The Cowboys offense drove 80 yards for a RB Demarco Murray score and with Dez Bryant and Murray finally rolling, the Cowboy defense seemed go grow stronger from it. Eventually, Dallas was assisted by a controversial picking up of a pass interference flag on a 3rd-and-1 (honestly, more controversial than it should be), and a miserably shanked 10 yard punt the play after, Romo hit WR Terrance Williams for the go-ahead 8-yard TD. A type of signature playoff drive Romo's career has always lacked. For a oft-criticized QB like Romo, it is well deserved.
After Williams' touchdown, Detroit still had 2:32 to drive the field with the high-powered-on-paper offense. The Lions' were given a break when Stafford was stripped and instead of falling on the ball, rookie DE Demarcus Lawrence recovered, tried to run and gave the ball back to Detroit when he fumbled as well.
KEY PLAY: 7 plays and 32 yards later with 1:00 remaining, Lawrence had his revenge; a strip-sack-fumble-recovery on 4th-and-3 that ended the game.
MVP: The MVP is really Romo, but I personally think RB Demarco Murray was the difference. He didn't have the statistics he had all year (75 yards on 19 carries and 1 TD) but instead of abandoning the run and losing the game the way the Cowboys have lost games for the last 10 years, they stuck with Murray who became a factor in the game in the 3rd quarter and the entire team rallied around him.
The Bengals earn their fourth straight 'Thanks For Participating' sticker from the Wildcard round. In all four losses (2012 and 2013 to the Texans, 2014 to the Chargers and this year to the Colts) they have been mostly uncompetitive. Hey- the world needs Wildcard Losers too, and the Bengals are them. To say this was QB Andy Dalton's best playoff performance is sadly accurate and incredibly telling.
Without WR A.J Green, the receiving core of WR Mohamed Sanu and WR Brandon Tate were little more than intended targets for the incomplete passes on the stat sheet. Dalton didn't have the weapons down field and RBs Giovoni Bernard and Jeremy Hill were the focus of a good defensive game plan from the Colts.
With the defense containing Dalton and Company, the Colts put a winnable game in QB Andrew Luck's hands and he delivered. Luck relied on WR T.Y Hilton for 103 yards (should have been much more but for 3 long drops) and RB Boom Herron who finished with 85 receiving of 141 total yards. The most yards by any Colts RB in Andrew Luck's 3-year career.
KEY PLAY: It was just a matter of time that the Colts would crack the game wide open. The Colts' offensive line played an amazing game, Luck was under little pressure all game. Ironically, the big play came in the 3rd quarter when the right side collapsed and Luck sprinting forward launched a perfect over the shoulder dart to rookie WR Donte Moncrief for a 36-yard TD to go ahead 20-10.
MVP: The Colts O-line. They gave Andrew Luck more time than any NFL quarterback needs. Luck's 376 yards were inevitable with the O-line's performance. The Colts called 46 passing plays to 23 rushing plays and most of those rushes were to kill the clock late in the game. There was no need for running plays with that kind of protection.
Dallas Cowboys, 24 Detroit Lions, 20.
As if the weight of high expectations and career legacy wasn't already on the shoulders of QB Tony Romo, the Detroit Lions came into JerryWorld and lept out to a 14-0 lead with the explosion of WR Golden Tate's 55-yard TD and the methodical beat-down of a 99-yard march capped by RB Reggie Bush's 18 yard rushing TD.
QB Tony Romo, RB DeMarco Murray and WR Dez Bryant (2 first half yards and a fumble) continued to struggle in the 1st half until a 8-yard slant route turned into a 76-yard Touchdown to WR Terrance Williams with 1:37 remaining in the 2nd half. The Lions were able to add a field goal but it felt as if Dallas had truly saved themselves from disaster.
The Lions played tough and did not fold on the road. The 2nd half began with QB Matt Stafford's pass being tipped and intercepted by LB Kyle Wilbur. The Lions defense held, sacked Romo and forced a 41 yard field goal. Fox put up the graphic and Joe Buck commenced the celebration that K Dan Bailey has been the most accurate kicker in NFL History over 100 attempts. Of course, Bailey promptly missed the kick.
The Lions drove for another field goal after the miss to take the lead 20-10 and this time it was Dallas who did not fold. The Cowboys offense drove 80 yards for a RB Demarco Murray score and with Dez Bryant and Murray finally rolling, the Cowboy defense seemed go grow stronger from it. Eventually, Dallas was assisted by a controversial picking up of a pass interference flag on a 3rd-and-1 (honestly, more controversial than it should be), and a miserably shanked 10 yard punt the play after, Romo hit WR Terrance Williams for the go-ahead 8-yard TD. A type of signature playoff drive Romo's career has always lacked. For a oft-criticized QB like Romo, it is well deserved.
After Williams' touchdown, Detroit still had 2:32 to drive the field with the high-powered-on-paper offense. The Lions' were given a break when Stafford was stripped and instead of falling on the ball, rookie DE Demarcus Lawrence recovered, tried to run and gave the ball back to Detroit when he fumbled as well.
KEY PLAY: 7 plays and 32 yards later with 1:00 remaining, Lawrence had his revenge; a strip-sack-fumble-recovery on 4th-and-3 that ended the game.
MVP: The MVP is really Romo, but I personally think RB Demarco Murray was the difference. He didn't have the statistics he had all year (75 yards on 19 carries and 1 TD) but instead of abandoning the run and losing the game the way the Cowboys have lost games for the last 10 years, they stuck with Murray who became a factor in the game in the 3rd quarter and the entire team rallied around him.
Saturday 1/3/15 (Wildcard)
Carolina Panthers, 27 Arizona Cardinals, 16
Cardinals QB Ryan Lindley did not belong on the field today. Some credit certainly goes to LB Luke Kuchely, DE Charles Johnson and the rejuvenated Panther defense, but Lindley's inept performance hindered the Cardinals in a historical fashion. Arizona managed only 77 yards, the lowest net offense in NFL Playoff history.
Turnovers kept the Cardinals alive in the first half; a muffed punt led to a short field touchdown and a long interception return by CB Antonio Rodgers-Cromartie led to another short field touchdown. Arizona actually went into the half leading 14-13.
Carolina wasn't perfect, QB Cam Newton was off target on a good amount of throws but hit enough to keep the Panthers moving. Newton also was a big part of the ground game with RB Jonathan Stewart that dominated the Cardinals vaunted but exhausted front 7 for 188 yards.
KEY PLAY: RB Fozzy Whittaker set the tone for the 2nd half with a screen pass to the right and cut across the entire field to the left corner of the end zone for a 39-yard TD to go up 20-14. Arizona KR Ted Ginn Jr fumbled away Arizona's next possession before it existed and Cam Newton and RB Mike Tolbert punched the remaining 5 yards for another TD. With the deer-in-headlights Lindley under center for Arizona, the outcome was never again in question.
MVP: RB Jonathan Stewart finally has cashed on some of the promise of his injury-plagued career with a 24-carry, 123 yard, 1 TD playoff performance to follow his 501-yard December.
Baltimore Ravens, 30 Pittsburgh Steelers, 17
In their principal rival's house, the 6th seed Baltimore Ravens under Coach John Harbaugh and QB Joe Flacco earned their 10th playoff victory in 7 seasons. The Ravens' O-line stuck together, and the D-line greatly beneifted from the return of DT Haloti Ngata who had missed the previous four games. Consistently winning both lines of scrimmage, the Ravens were in control away from home.
The Steelers desperatly missed superstar RB Le'Veon Bell. The trio of Dri Archer, Josh Harris and off-the-street Ben Tate generated very litle and the game was put on the arm of Ben Rothlisberger. Normally, that would be okay but the depleted Ravens' secondary including S Will Hill, CB LaDarius Webb and CB Rashaan Melvin turned in a surprisingly great performance.
There will be debate about Rothlisberger and TE Health Miller's back-to-back returns from incredibly hard hits to the head. Rothlisberger returned from his hit to the head and promptly through a blatant interception into obvious double coverage in the end zone.
KEY PLAY: Up 13-9 in the 3rd quarter, QB Joe Flacco hit WR Torrey Smith for the crucial seperating touchdown. Steelers LB James Harrison was inches from sacking Flacco after beating the tackle but G Kelechi Osemele made a game-changing block at the last possible millisecond, Flacco broke free and hit Smith.
MVP: For the rest of the AFC, this is the darkest timeline. Joe Flacco and postseason Ravens are back. While G Kelechi Osemele and RT Marshall Yanda almost deserve MVP for their great , QB Joe Flacco looked a top-tier QB for the first time since Super Bowl 47 going 18 for 29, 259 yards, 2 TDs, no INT and countless converted 3rd downs.
Cardinals QB Ryan Lindley did not belong on the field today. Some credit certainly goes to LB Luke Kuchely, DE Charles Johnson and the rejuvenated Panther defense, but Lindley's inept performance hindered the Cardinals in a historical fashion. Arizona managed only 77 yards, the lowest net offense in NFL Playoff history.
Turnovers kept the Cardinals alive in the first half; a muffed punt led to a short field touchdown and a long interception return by CB Antonio Rodgers-Cromartie led to another short field touchdown. Arizona actually went into the half leading 14-13.
Carolina wasn't perfect, QB Cam Newton was off target on a good amount of throws but hit enough to keep the Panthers moving. Newton also was a big part of the ground game with RB Jonathan Stewart that dominated the Cardinals vaunted but exhausted front 7 for 188 yards.
KEY PLAY: RB Fozzy Whittaker set the tone for the 2nd half with a screen pass to the right and cut across the entire field to the left corner of the end zone for a 39-yard TD to go up 20-14. Arizona KR Ted Ginn Jr fumbled away Arizona's next possession before it existed and Cam Newton and RB Mike Tolbert punched the remaining 5 yards for another TD. With the deer-in-headlights Lindley under center for Arizona, the outcome was never again in question.
MVP: RB Jonathan Stewart finally has cashed on some of the promise of his injury-plagued career with a 24-carry, 123 yard, 1 TD playoff performance to follow his 501-yard December.
Baltimore Ravens, 30 Pittsburgh Steelers, 17
In their principal rival's house, the 6th seed Baltimore Ravens under Coach John Harbaugh and QB Joe Flacco earned their 10th playoff victory in 7 seasons. The Ravens' O-line stuck together, and the D-line greatly beneifted from the return of DT Haloti Ngata who had missed the previous four games. Consistently winning both lines of scrimmage, the Ravens were in control away from home.
The Steelers desperatly missed superstar RB Le'Veon Bell. The trio of Dri Archer, Josh Harris and off-the-street Ben Tate generated very litle and the game was put on the arm of Ben Rothlisberger. Normally, that would be okay but the depleted Ravens' secondary including S Will Hill, CB LaDarius Webb and CB Rashaan Melvin turned in a surprisingly great performance.
There will be debate about Rothlisberger and TE Health Miller's back-to-back returns from incredibly hard hits to the head. Rothlisberger returned from his hit to the head and promptly through a blatant interception into obvious double coverage in the end zone.
KEY PLAY: Up 13-9 in the 3rd quarter, QB Joe Flacco hit WR Torrey Smith for the crucial seperating touchdown. Steelers LB James Harrison was inches from sacking Flacco after beating the tackle but G Kelechi Osemele made a game-changing block at the last possible millisecond, Flacco broke free and hit Smith.
MVP: For the rest of the AFC, this is the darkest timeline. Joe Flacco and postseason Ravens are back. While G Kelechi Osemele and RT Marshall Yanda almost deserve MVP for their great , QB Joe Flacco looked a top-tier QB for the first time since Super Bowl 47 going 18 for 29, 259 yards, 2 TDs, no INT and countless converted 3rd downs.
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Wildcard Weekend 2015
Arizona Cardinals (11-5) @ Carolina Panthers (7-8-1)
Only six weeks ago, the 9-1 Cardinals were the NFC favorites for the #1 seed and the 3-7-1 Panthers were in the conversation for the #1 pick of the draft. Now, the Panthers host the Cardinals to kick off the 2014/15 NFL Playoffs. It's not the marquee playoff matchup ESPN wanted but it certainly is unique.QB Cam Newton and the Panthers are riding a 4 game win streak into the playoffs but still finished with a losing record. The December Panthers have looked more like a playoff team and in the woeful NFC South, one month of good football was enough. Fortune could not have been sweeter as their playoff opponent is moving in the opposite direction. Arizona has suffered injuries to QB Carson Palmer, backup QB Drew Stanton, and star RB Andre Ellington, leaving the Red Sea offense to rely on QB Ryan Lindley and RB Kerywnn Williams, two players who weren't even with the team for any part of the 9-1 start.
KEYS FOR ARI: If banged-up Arizona is going to shock the world with the three road victories it would take to return home to Arizona for the Super Bowl, it will need to be on the backs of the defense. DE Calais Campbell and CB Patrick Peterson will need to make themselves household names starting this Saturday.
KEYS FOR CAR: Cam Newton can elevate his game any time, but a playoff team with the 19th best record in the NFL is going to have multiple keys. Against Arizona, a consistent run game, a rejuvenated pass rush and a healthy Cam Newton must all continue their December improvement, or at least not regress, to keep Carolina favored in this game.
Baltimore Ravens (10-6) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5)
This is not your older brother's Ravens/Steelers of 2006-2012. These are two teams turning the corner of their respective rebuilding processes that have over-performed into the playoffs. It really is a testament to both franchises that they could lose so much of their recent Super Bowl teams (2012 for BAL, 2010 for PIT) and already return to the playoffs.You know both Baltimore and Pittsburgh would love to ground and pound through each other with the run game and stifling defensive lines like the "old days" but that is just not where the strength of these teams lie. The Ravens will need big plays from QB Joe Flacco to the Smith bothers (Steve and Torrey) against a suspect Steeler secondary and the Steelers Ben Rothlisberger will look to remain on fire with his All-Pro WR Antonio Brown and big play rookie WR Martavis Bryant. Steelers/Ravens; the aerial versions.
KEYS FOR BAL: The Ravens offensive line has sustained injuries to both tackles and may start two rookies in their line for the 2nd straight week. This was well and good against a demoralized Cleveland last week, but in the hostile playoff atmosphere of Heinz field it may be a factor. Much of the Ravens' success will hinge on if the patchwork offensive line can keep Flacco protected and make some room for RB Justin Forsett.
KEYS FOR PIT: This season, the Steelers witnessed the rise of two legitimate superstars, WR Antonio Brown and RB Le'Veon Bell. If Bell cannot play after hyper extending his knee last week, it's clear that the burden will be placed on Brown and the Steelers' passing game.
Cincinnati Bengals (10-5-1) @ Indianapolis Colts (11-5)
Marvin Lewis, QB Andy Dalton and their tiger striped friends appear on Morning Wildcard TV for the 4th straight year. If this were a movie, it would follow that the Bengals would overcome this obstacle and finally thrive. That still may be the case but the Bengals' playoff woes have not been coincidence, in the case of opposing QBs, Andrew Luck is already miles ahead of Andy Dalton.While Luck hasn't been perfect, he's turned the ball over a lot, he has been one of the best players in the league this season. Meanwhile, Andy Dalton has embarrassed himself on primetime television a few times, calling back to his horrendous Wildcard performance against San Diego last year in this same TV time slot.
KEYS FOR CIN: Spark-plugs RB Jeremy Hill, RB Giovoni Bernard and another year from another solid defense have signed Dalton up for the Playoff Challenge yet again. I continue to harp that the playoffs are won and lost with quarterback play and Andy Dalton;s time has come again. Will he rise to the challenge?
KEYS FOR IND: Meanwhile, Andrew Luck could use some help. The Indianapolis defense was at it's scariest during it's week 7 shutout of these same Bengals. The Colts have had a lackluster December and they would benefit greatly from a few early big plays on defense.
Detroit Lions (11-5) @ Dallas Cowboys (12-4)
The underachieving Lions & Cowboys combine for our final Wild Card battle. Cowboys QB Tony Romo makes his first playoff appearance since the 2009 season and finally has the cast around him to contend. RB DeMarco Murray and the O-line have been the best in the NFL. The offensive balance has helped the much-maligned Cowboy defense turn in the most surprisingly solid year on record despite being the worst defense in the league last season and then losing two stars (Ware and Lee) before the season began.The Lions are looking to add a 2nd playoff victory their franchise's troubled history. QB Matt Stafford has not put up the video game numbers he has in years' past, even with Megatron finally being complemented by another decent option in WR Golden Tate. The Lions have dominated lesser teams with great defense. Some hold this against them, but I don't see it that way. The old Lions would have underachieved again and dropped many of those games. Defeating the lesser opponents without requiring offensive explosions is what real playoff teams do.
Perennial troublemaker DT Ndamukong Suh is lucky to be playing in this game after being suspended for his attempted ankle step on Aaron Rodgers. It does give us the benefit of a Dallas' O-line -vs- Detroit D-line matchup, a consensus #1 -vs- #1 unit battle.
Can the Lions do to the Romo/Murray/Bryant Cowboys what they did to the Aikman/Smith/Irvin Cowboys in 1991? Be afraid, Dallas, be very afraid!
KEYS FOR DET: The Lions' defense has been great this season because of LB DeAndre Levy, an above-average secondary and truly the best D-line in the league. Except they have been destroyed by the Saints, Packers and Patriots. The Lions need to rattle the top-tier passer they face, this time Tony Romo.
KEYS FOR DAL: Dallas just needs to do what they have been doing; running the ball, getting great decision-making from Romo, and keeping their offense on the field for long drives. The Cowboys have shown themselves to be a complete team, they need only prove it by continuing their formula into the playoffs.
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