Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Yesterday's post was a recap of the two Conference title games. Today, I'll be giving a brief recap of the AFC half of the postseason tournament up to the CCG.

The first match-up of the 2006 postseason pitted the Indianapolis Colts against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Colts had been the toast of the NFL after racing out to a 9-0 start to become, again, the NFL's last remining unbeaten squad, but stumbled down the stretch, losing 4 of their last 7. Their run defense, long the chink in their armor, had become more like a festering wound, lowlighted by an awful performance in which they gave up an incredible 375 rushing yards to the Jacksonville Jaguars in a 44-17 loss. Kansas City had snuck into the playoffs after losses by Denver and Cincinnati, and many thought they would give the Colts a good game, since their offense was pretty much all about the running game, and star back Larry Johnson, who rushed for 1789 yards on an NFL record 416 carries on the season. But, using 8 and 9 man fronts, the Colts shut down the Kansas City rushing attack and the Chiefs never responded with an aerial assualt. Meanwhile, Peyton Manning had an on-and-off game, throwing 3 INTs but completing 30 of 38 passes. The Colts got the win, 23-8.

The next day the New England Patriots took on the New York Jets. The AFC East rivals split their two game series, with each team winning on the road. The Patriots hosted the rubber match, and for three quarters the game was entertaining, but the Patriots capatilized on a couple of costly turnovers late in the game to put it out of reach. The lopsided 37-16 final did not reflect the nature of most of the game.

The Colts were once again playing the Saturday game in week 2 of the postseason, as they traveled to Baltimore to take on the 13-3 Ravens. The Ravens were, as always, led by their defense, which was the stingiest in the League in terms of yards per game and points per game (not even the fabled 2000 defense did that - Tennessee was first in YPG that year) and was seond in the league in takeaways, and their offense, behind power running back Jamal Lewis, was doing just enough to win, which had many around the country thinking that this might be a repeat of the 2000 season. But once again the Colts defense rose to the task of stopping their opponents ground game, and once again, the opposing quarterback failed to make their safeites pay for sneaking up in the box. The Ravens were absolutely immobile on offense. As for the Colts offense, they didn't exactly light it up - neither team got the ball into the end zone in this game - but 5 scoring drives, four of which covered more than 45 yards, were enough to catapault the Colts into the AFC Championship Game with a 15-6 victory.

The next day, the Patriots took on the Chargers in San Diego, in what was certainly the ugliest game of the postseason. The Patriots got out to an early 3-0 lead, but the Chargers responded with two TDs before Tom Brady worked a nice and neat two minute drill for a score right before the half to make it 14-10 going into the break. Then the Chargers got a wicked case of the stoopids. Eric Parker, who had been plagued by drops all game, muffed a punt which dropped at his feet, but then he inexplicably tried to scoop it up instead of just falling on it, and the Patriots ended up with the recovery. Later, the Chargers stopped the Patriots on 3rd and long, but Drayton Florence couldn't help himself and headbutted Daniel Graham, giving the Patriots a fresh set of downs and eventually giving kicker Stephen Gostkowski an easy figgie to pull the score to 14-13. The Chargers scored one more time on a run by MVP LaDanian Tomlinson (but once again, the stoopids took over, and they ended up with a 15 yard Unecessary Roughness penalty ON THE EXTRA POINT), and with under 7 minutes remaing, the defense had the Patriots facing 4th and 5 at midfield. Tom Brady threw a pass that defensive back Marlon McCree stepped in front of. But rather than knocking the pass down, which would have all but sealed the voctory, McCree intercepted the pass and attempted to run with the ball. This monumentally stoopid decision gave WR Troy Brown the oportunity to strip the ball away from Jackass McCree, and the Patriots' day was saved. Armed with a fresh set of downs, Brady drove his team in for the game tying score. One more Gostkowski field goal later, and the Patriots were on their way to face the Colts in a football game of epic proportions.

Tommorow, the NFC playoffs...

Monday, January 22, 2007

14 days, 14 posts

That's what I have in store for the next two weeks before the Super Bowl. The first week I'll be focusing on this past season, starting with the most recent events, and working my way backwards. Then next week, the posts will be more geared towards the upcoming game. Should be a lot of fun.

Anyway, I have to start with yesterday's games.

Bears 39, Saints 14 - This was actually a very entertaining game for 3 quarters, then the wheels finally fell off for the Saints. They took the city on a magical ride, though, and the future is definately bright - see the ridiculous 88-yard TD reception by Reggie Bush. As for the Bears, Rex Grossman played a very solid, if unspectacular, game at QB. With that defense and running game he really needs to play the Trent Dilfer role - the question is can he be disciplined enough to do it. The answer yesterday was yes. We'll see what the answer is in two weeks. And can you say enough about the Bears defense? Ya, they gave up a bushel of yards, but they turned the Saints over 4 times. And if it weren't for the aforementioned 88-yard reception by Bush, they would have given up only 287 yards and 7 points to the NFL's best offense. The elements were on their side, but they took full advantage, never allowing the Saints to get their passing or running game in stride.

Colts 38, Patriots 34 - This is the game everyone wants to talk about, and with good reason. Only three weeks ago I was saying that the Boise State/Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl was the greatest football game I have ever seen at any level. Now, that has been replaced. The game started as a replay of the teams' previous post-season meetings, with the Patriots running the Colts off the field and leaping out to a gaudy 21-3 lead. But then, something switched on in Peyton Manning's head - maybe it was the abscence of pressure, with the game having been apparently lost - and he started moving his team down the field like he has done his entire career in the regular season. Before you knew it, the game was tied at 21 and he was thinking "Hey, this isn't so hard after all." Next thing you know, the two best quarterbacks in the NFL were having a heavyweight slugfest, and at the end of it all they both found themselves with a possession at the end of the game with a chance to score a touchdown for the win. Manning lead his team to a touchdown, Brady failed. Game over.

Tomorrow I'll be recapping the AFC side of the tournament. Till then...

Friday, January 19, 2007

Ok, time for my two predictions, and explanations.

First, the early game, Saints @ Bears.

All the focus coming into this match-up has been on Rex Grossman - will he be the "good" Rex or the "bad" Rex? Personally, I don't like his chances. The Saints defense is stout up front and should be able to put the clamps on the Bears' running game and get good pressure on the young QB. Now, the Saints have been vulnerable to the big play, especially through the air, so look for some big completions down the field for Chicago. However, he won't be able to hit those passes every time, especially if all of the pressure is on him to win the game, as it should be. On the other side of the ball, the Saints offense is the best remaining, and perhaps the best in the League overall. Reggie Bush's ascension over the last few weeks has come just in time, and Deuce McAllister is running like a bull. The Bears' defense, rock solid through the majority of the season, has come apart with injuries and suspensions, and is suddenly very vulnerable to the running game. The Bears are going to have to cheat their safeties up to keep the Saints from eating up the clock, and that will make them very susceptible to the Saints high-potency air game. Of course, the Bears have the X-factor with Hester returning kicks, but I don't see that as being enough of an advantage to counteract the fact that the Saints match-up very well with them in other facets. The Saints will win, and it won't come down to the final drive.

As for the AFC Championship...

I don't know if you've heard, but the Colts are playing the Patriots, and everyone is wondering if Manning and Dungy can finally get past Brady and Bellichick (never mind the fact that the Colts have won the last two meetings - apparently the regular season is the new preseason). Well, maybe, maybe not. But if you can look past those four guys, something becomes abundantly clear - except for the two B's, the Patriots are badly outmanned in this match-up. The Colts have more explosive playmakers on both sides of the ball, a result of the talent purge that has been going on in New England ever since Bellichick started believing his own press and thinking that he could win with anybody. Well, it takes players to win in this league, and I think Bellichick is going to rue the days he underestimated the importance of Deion Branch, David Givens, Adam Vinitieri, Willie McGinest, Ty Law, etc., etc., etc. That being said, the Colts suddenly inpenetrable run defense will be tested now that they are playing an opponent that should be able to throw the ball around a little, and so don't be suprised if the Colts find themselves suddenly giving up some points again. But I have faith in that Indy offense to put up more than enough points themselves. This will be a high scoring one, and in the end I see the Colts headed to Miami.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Well, first of all I want to congratulate the Florida Gators for winning the 2007 BCS Championship. In fact, I want to congratulate all 22 of the 32 bowl winning teams I picked in my last post.

But college season is over, now, and it's time to look at the Professional playoffs. We're down to four teams, now, 2 per conference. And once again I'm going to make some predictions that are going to startle many (well, "many" relative to the number of people who read this), but if anyone doubt my predictive prowess, look again at my outstanding bowl record. Bitches.

But that is for tomorrow - it's only Thursday, after all. Today, we'll look back at the playoff games that have taken place so far, and try to glean whatever information we can out of them. In chronological order:

Wild Card Round:

Colts 23, Chiefs 8 - I'm sorry, but everyone should have seen this coming. The pundits spent so much time worrying about how the Colts were going to stop Larry Johnson that nobody realized that LJ was pretty much the entirety of the Chiefs' offense, and a team of monkeys can stop the run if they line up 8 and 9 in the box all of the time. This would foreshadow Indy's performance in their next postseason game. Meanwhile, Manning had, contrary to popular belief, a pretty decent game. Everybody focused on the three picks, but he went 30-38 for 268 yards. And two of those picks appeared to be the result of miscommunications.

Seahawks 21, Cowboys 20 - Aaaaahahahahahahhaaaahahahaahahaaahahahhaaaaaahahaaa!!!

Patriots 37, Jets 16 - The Jets managed to keep close the entire game, but in the end desparation caught up with them and they allowed the Patriots to make the plays which closed the door on their season. We didn't learn much here except that the Jets weren't ready for prime time. But there is one other thing. Everyone makes a big deal of how the NFC sent an 8-8 team to the playoffs and none of the 4,5, or 6 seeds had better than 9 wins on the season. But my question is how good can the AFC be if the clearly undermanned Jets can put up a 10 win season?

Eagles 23, Giants 20 - Tiki's last stand. In fact, both teams went ground heavy, which is how you win in the postseason.

Divisional Round:

Colts 15, Ravens 6 - An eerily similar result to the first Indy game, with the difference being that the Ravens have a better defense than the Chiefs and were able to hold the Colts to field goals. Otherwise, it was almost the same game. Manning threw a couple picks, but he made the plays he needed to make to set up scoring drives. The Ravens planned on running the Colts defense over but Jamal couldn't break through 8 and 9 man fronts, and the Ravens' passing game was unable to punish the Colts for cheating with their safeties.

Saints 27, Eagles 24 - The story of this ball game, to me, is Reggie Bush. Overall, McAllister had the better game, but he has been a reliable quantity all season. Bush is showing that he is finally ready to make the leap. Some of his runs made me think of his college days, especially the TD run where he got stopped going up the middle, and then reversed course and outran everyone to the corner of the end zone. If Bush can continue his ascension, the Saints will have the best running game of the remaining four teams, and should be looking at the best running attack next season, as well.

Bears 27, Seahawks 24 - You have to like what Rex Grossman did by setting up the winning score. However, the state of the Bears defense continues to be substandard - especially considering the standard they had set.

Patriots 24, Chargers 21 - The worst palyed playoff game I have ever seen. Between the drops, the fumbles, the boneheaded penalties, and the just general stupidity of the Chargers, it's a wonder the Patriots didn't win by 30. Although, it's not really a wonder when you consider that this simply isn't the same Patriots team that won consecutive Super Bowls 2 and 3 years ago. They're lucky to still be playing.

Predictions tomorrow.