My favorite phrase of the last two weeks that has been said 8000 times: Ben Roethlisberger, the youngest QB ever to win the Superbowl. Let us not forget the Big Fraud’s performance in the biggest game of his career. 9-21. 123 yards, no touchdown passes and 2 interceptions. Absent a few fishy calls, namely the phantom offensive pass interference on Seattle’s early touchdown and the Big Fraud is a goat of Neil O’Donnell proportions. But he was rescued in large part because one of his receivers happened to be a more accurate thrower than the BF, with Randle El throwing the Steelers’ only touchdown.
This was one of the single worst performances in Superbowl history and certainly the worst ever performance by a winning QB. Absent Gannon’s five interception disaster, the BF would stand alone holding the honor for single worst ever QB performance in the big game. Do people not remember this when they fawn all over BF, Brett Favre style?
Let’s also not forget that league MVP that year, Gannon, was facing his former coach. Much the same way BF is facing his former offensive coordinator. Think there is any other coach anywhere that might know more about the BF than Ken does? Not bloody likely. The Big Fraud continues to be the most overrated QB in NFL history and now the world will watch as he gets his second shot at the big game.
But none of this stops the media love affair with the BF. An under fifty percent dud two weeks ago against the Ravens when two of the three big plays BF made easily could have been interceptions. He does indeed lead a charmed life as he has for the entirety of his NFL career. Consistently backed by a top defense and running game, no one’s thrown less passes than BF in his early years. And he racks up huge Yards Per Pass stats over his career against nine men in the box defenses stacked up to stop the run. While I give BF all the credit for his agility, strength and ability to avoid the pass rush and extend the play, it does not change one simple fact. He is often not very accurate, the most important trait for a QB. An accurate QB would have blown out the Ravens two weeks ago as evidenced by wide open receivers missed time and time again.
Now BF faces a suddenly energized and ball hawking Cardinals defense that get no respect. Never underestimate the value of being the team no one respects or thinks can win. Ask last year’s Giants and Patriots. Ask Kurt Warner about his Superbowl experience against the Patriots. NFL films put together a wonderful half hour on last year’s Superbowl and there is some telling footage of Strahan pumping up his team before kick off. Ranting about facing the QB that cannot ever be hit. The QB no one can stop. Football is an emotional game and the Cardinals have the emotional edge. They will also have every neutral fan cheering for them, while being greatly out-numbered in the number of fans that have traveled, so they will likely be playing on at worst a neutral field. Don’t be surprised to see this crowd leaning the Cardinals way.
Rod Woodson made clear that this is the worst possible match up for the Steelers’ defense. He essentially said that the way you beat a dominant 3-4 defense is to spread them out and attack the seams. Precisely what the Cardinals do best. Add in a QB who reads defenses and makes decision as quickly as anyone ever has, with his quick release, and the Steelers’ defense might not be so dominant. Warner has also greatly improved his ball security, which will be essential. He will have Harrison and Woodley in his face at times, and his ball security will be imperative to a Cardinal victory. Polamalu is not going to be the mad man around the line of scrimmage that he usually is because the Steelers are terrified of Larry Fitzgerald. As they should be. No receiver has ever put together a more dominant three game playoff run.
A dominant receiver in the zone, clicking with his QB, can be unstoppable. Look at Randy Moss last year and in his 15-1 Minnesota season. Jerry Rice for years. T.O. in his prime. It can be nearly impossible to stop a dominant receiver. Don’t think the Steelers can out tough the Cardinals either. The Cardinals are lead by their QB and WR’s who are three of the toughest players in the league. Boldin playing mere weeks after having his face crushed, Warner always getting back up after every huge hit, standing in there til the last second. And Larry Fitzgerald never shies away from the ball, and why should he, he’s bigger than everyone out there trying to take him down.
The Steelers will be able to limit Fitzgerald to an extent, but he will still make some plays. The Steelers will consistently have both Ike Taylor and Polamalu on Fitzgerald, and at times a third defender. Larry will still make some plays because he cannot be stopped, but this is going to be Boldin’s coming out party. No one has a bigger chip on his shoulder coming into this game than Anquan Boldin. In his mind, he is every bit the receiver that Larry is, with none of the accolades. And he has been bashed by just about every talking head, sports writer and blogger from coast to coast. He’s selfish, he’s a cancer, he’s a bad teammate. All Anquan Boldin did in the Eagles game was have an emotional reaction, in an emotional sport, to not being on the field in the biggest game of his life. For shame Anquan Boldin, what an unforgivable crime. There has not been one iota of conversation about Boldin’s skills in comparison to all the chatter about his sideline argument with offensive coordinator, Haley.
Larry’s absurd three game performance mandates extreme measures will be put in place to stop him by the Steelers, which will open it up for Breaston and Boldin. His hammy should be mostly healed up, and if so, Boldin is a top ten receiver and this is his chance to go from the selfish guy who yelled at his coach in the championship game, to hero. I am predicting Anquan Boldin with a monster game and the MVP trophy in a tough call over Warner. 150 yards and 2 TD’s.
The Steelers will get their points and they will eat the clock as the Cardinals bend but don’t break. Ben will take chances on plays when he breaks the pocket and Adrian Wilson will come up with a big interception. Whisenhunt knows the Big Fraud as well as anyone and there will never be a better prepared defense to face him. The key to stopping the BF is to know that you must never drop your coverage, no matter how long it has been. A number of big plays that the BF has made in his career are due to the DB losing sight of the WR by looking back to Ben because they cannot believe the ball has not been thrown yet. You keep your coverage and look for the ball when the receiver does. If this had happened on the Holmes TD last week, it was an interception. But instead, the DB, who could not believe the play was still going on, looked back at Ben and lost his footing just as he was throwing the ball.
The BF is overrated because he is often inaccurate. And that is a killer for his position. You never see Tom Brady or Peyton Manning consistently miss wide open receivers, but you see it from the Fraud all the time. He will miss some passes because that is what he does. He will break containment and extend some plays with his feet. There will be plays where the coverage breaks down because you can only cover for so long, but the Cardinals will be able to limit these. The Steelers are going to score and there is no getting around that. This game comes down to the Cardinals defense making enough plays to slow the Steelers down, and getting the big turnover. Which they will. The BF’s inaccuracy and consistent habit of throwing to covered receivers as he extends the play, all while facing the offensive coordinator who mentored him, will be too much. The BF will prove everything I have ever written about him and he will still be beloved. It will all be an anomaly due to Whisenhunt’s inside knowledge. He ain’t that good, he never was.
The Cardinals can and will win this game because they have a Hall of Fame QB going against the league’s best defense. This has become a league where the offensives are ahead of the defenses because more scoring equals more excitement and more viewers, at least from the NFL’s perspective. The only way the Steelers win this game is if they are allowed to mug Cardinal receivers on every play, the way the Patriots did a few years ago to the Colts on their way to Superbowl number 2, I believe.
Now, I live in New England where Bill Polian is about as revered as Satan and it is blasphemy to say this, but there is no getting around the fact that the year before the refs started actually calling illegal contact, holding and interference, that the Patriots consistently mugged the Colts receivers on play after play in that playoff game. Belichick quickly realized with the new enforcement of the rules that you could construct an unstoppable offense, which he did. And if the Patriots had not been so arrogant in game planning to attack the Giants’ safeties with down the field passes and instead had relied on short passes, they would have won. But, they were arrogant. They did not believe anyone could apply pressure to Brady. And you can’t really blame them, because no one had. What you can blame them for and it has to be a mark against the single best coach ever, is that Belichick took far too long to make the adjustment to the underneath throws. He continued to try to attack the safeties as Brady was tenderized by the Giants’ front four.
The Cardinals will not make the same mistake as they know that Warner will be under pressure and they will be ready to make the quick read and release. This Steelers defense, which is great and is better than last year’s, still has a fundamental flaw. You can exploit them by spreading them out and attacking with quick passes if you have the QB and weapons to do so. The Cardinals have exactly that. Just like the Patriots did last year to the tune of 4 TD passes and 399 passing yards in a 34-13 drubbing of the Steelers. Again, I grant you that this is a better defense, but it can still be exploited with the right pieces. Which it will be.
Cardinals 31-27. MVP Boldin. From the only person anywhere who picked the Cardinals to win each and every playoff week. One more to go and they will not be stopped.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Conference Championship Follow-Up
Couple quick thoughts following championship Sunday. Apologies to my erroneously calling Jim Johnson Joe Johnson. This is what happens with no editor.
Best sign of all time goes to the Cards fan with the "We are who we thought we were" sign. You can't beat that.
Well, we got one right and one wrong. We’ll take 4-2 (both against the spread and with outright winners) in the last six playoff games. Better than just about every “expert” out there. Ravens were very much in that game and things could have been very different if Polamalu did not get the pick six, doing his Ed Reed imitation. Roethlisberger clearly outplayed Flacco, much to my chagrin. However, the gushing about the Big Fraud remains greatly misplaced. Yes, he is excellent at avoiding the rush and extending the play. Yes, he made three big plays that produced points. Passes of 65, 45 and 30 yards to Holmes, Ward and Miller respectively. However, two of these passes easily could have been intercepted.
The opening drive pass to Ward was into blanketed double coverage and was a hair away from being intercepted by Ed Reed. On the TD to Holmes, the receiver was blanketed and it likely would have been an interception if the defender did not fall down after BF’s wobbly, fluttering pass was thrown. The one to Miller was, admittedly, very nice by BF. However, of his 255 yards, 110 of them came on those two passes that were very nearly interceptions. As for the rest of his performance: under 50% completions and bad throw after bad throw to wide open receivers. BF badly missed on at least 10 throws, and if had not missed open receiver after open receiver, this game would have been a drubbing. With Leftwich at QB, this game would have been a blow out. BF’s inability to hit open receivers kept the Ravens in the game.
It’s all about accuracy when you are a QB. Look at the Eagles-Cardinals games. If Donovan McNabb was not erratic and inaccurate (Tavaris Jackson-style), the Eagles win. When McNabb is good, he’s very good. But when he’s bad, he’s awful. He, like the BF, missed open receiver after open receiver and easily could have turned the game his way with some accuracy. His completion percentage: 59.6%. Warner’s: 75%. Think that wasn’t the difference in the game?
As for Flacco’s uneven performance, you have to give credit where credit is due and the same with blame. Pittsburgh’s defense is unreal. As good as any I have seen. I cannot compare it to the ‘85 Bears since I was 9 years old that season. But I have not seen a better defense and that includes the 2000 Ravens. Defensive line: dominant. Linebackers: terrifying. Secondary: unbelievable. Flacco had time on a number of occasions and everyone was blanketed. However, he gets his share of blame for locking on to receivers and telegraphing passes. Admittedly the Raven’s receivers are sub-par, but that was an absolutely dominant and smothering performance by the Steeler’s secondary. Flacco will be back though and in five years he will be a far superior QB to the BF, because he has a stronger arm and is more accurate.
As I proclaimed prior to this game, Larry Fitzgerald is the NFL’s best receiver and he made sure to prove it. More yards than Jerry Rice in a single post-season, staggering. With his Superbowl performance to come, he will set a mark that may never be broken. I had the displeasure of listening to some Patriot fan loonies claiming that Randy Moss is better this morning. Their position was that the very idea that Fitzgerald was better was ridiculous and absurd. Up here in Patriot land, the fans are a little biased, to say the least. That is a laughable proposition. Larry is head and shoulders the best receiver in the league. His last five games including 3 playoff upsets, 650 yards, 8 TD’s on 31 catches. That’s 21 yards per catch. He was also covered by a top 3 (if not the single best) cornerback in Asante Samuel and he absolutely torched him. Randy Moss largely disappears (particularly in recent years) with double coverage. With Larry, it doesn’t make a difference, just throw it up. Cardinals only let the Eagles back in the game by not throwing to Larry for most of the 2nd half. I don’t care if he’s covered or even if you can’t see him. Just throw it in his general direction and he’s going to go up there and get it. Randy Moss was almost a complete non-factor in the Patriots Superbowl loss. Sub Fitzgerald for Randy and the Patriots would have been 19-0.
Aside from his rookie year and the year he struggled with injuries, every year (and there’s only three since this is his fifth year) he’s gone for over 1400 yards and double digit touchdowns. He has just under 6000 yards and 46 touchdowns in the regular season. That does not include the playoffs and leaves him just 28 shy of breaking into the top 25 all time receiving TD leaders. And he’s in his 5th season. If averages just the 9 touchdowns that he has been for his career so far, for another 5 years, he will be in the top 10. This is an all time great receiver and he is far better than anyone in the league at the moment. He has the best hands and leaping ability of any receiver all time, and he is deadly after the catch. These playoffs have been his coming out party and the Superbowl will be his ultimate stage to shine. Larry Fitzgerald vs. one of the best defenses of all time. If he does it again, no one will ever again be able to credibly question his greatness.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Conference Championship Weekend
How come the morons that are in charge of the major sports can’t make a decision that makes sense, might be in the interest of people’s safety, or, heaven forbid, might increase viewership? World Series games end well after midnight, with a short game. NBA Finals games start after 9 pm. Obviously, we are talking east coast here, you know, only the place where the vast majority of the country’s population lives. The NHL sold their major tv deal to a channel no one has ever heard of or can find. Can anyone name for me a single "Versus" show? I just googled them and I saw something about bull riding, so obviously, they know what they’re doing.
The NFL manages to avoid these disasters and actually have their marquis games on when people who have jobs or go to school can actually watch them. Note to the three major sports not raking in money NFL style. If you don’t hook em as kids, you’re never gonna get em. However, in one of their more foolish moves, the NFL has completely blown it this Conference Championship weekend, by throwing all reason and logic out the window. Alright, we have two games. One at 3:00 pm and one at 6:30 pm, both times Eastern. One in the warm desert. One in the frigid and snowy northeast. One in the Eastern time zone. One in the Pacific time zone. This means the 3:00 pm kickoff takes place at noon in the Pacific time zone. So, what would make more sense? Have the game in Arizona be the late game or have the late game in Pittsburgh? Have the Steelers fans out in the elements until after 10:00 pm? Or give them the early game and reduce the likelihood of drunken hypothermia? Have the Cardinals playing at noon local time or 3:30 local time?
You, of course, know the answer. The Cardinals have the early game and the Steelers the late game. This would be a moot point if the Giants had won and both games were on the east coast, but that is precisely what the problem here is. The Giants, a shadow of their former selves without as Plax (precisely as predicted here, mind you) got embarrassed and the Cards get the home game. Yes, the CBS and FOX schedules are set in advance, but are you really telling me they can’t make the switch? It is pure and unadulterated foolishness. And with all the more time to get good and liquored up with a 6:30 start at Pittsburgh, are we really going to be surprised by the multiple people sent to the hospital from the Pittsburgh game due to exposure? Shame on you NFL, this was an easy and logical fix. Steelers play at 3:00, west coast game at 6:30. It’s not rocket science.
On to the games.
Ravens +6 over STEELERS
Six points against the Ravens defense and the weather is too much. Especially since the Ravens are going to win outright. Two best defenses in the league. The winner of this game will be the team that avoids the turnovers. Fast Willie will not look so fast against the Ravens warp speed defense. Expect neither team to have much success with the running game. This game comes down to the QB’s. Roethlisberger vs. Flacco. A no brainer right? Not so fast. You have the unflaccable Joe Flacco against the Big Fraud. QB rating this year. Flacco: 80.3. Big Fraud: 80.1. Surprised?
This is territory that we have covered before, but until the truth is known, we will continue to shout it from the hilltop. The Big Fraud is the single most overrated player at the QB position, ever. BF has been insulated by a top 3 offensive line and top rated running game every year of his career, except this one. Well below the league average in pass attempts per game. And what was the result? 8-9 men in the box stacked up to stop the run, play action passes, and big plays downfield. All inflating his quarterback rating, yards per attempt and TD/INT ratio. But, unfortunately for the BF, the honeymoon is over. No more impenetrable O-line, no more unstoppable running game. The BF now faces the same level playing field that the rest of the league’s QB’s do.
The result? 17 TD’s, 15 INT’s and a lower QB rating than his counterpart in today’s game. How bout a closer look at the numbers? Third down passer rating: 73.5. Fourth down: 0.0 That’s 4 passes, no completions and 3 interceptions. Flacco. Third down passer rating: 86.3 Fourth down: 111.7. That’s five attempts and four completions. The higher the stakes, the better Flacco has done. Flacco has the NFL’s strongest arm (athough it is very close between he and Cutler) to cut through the wind and snow. He beat the Titans with 2 huge throws. He’s seen the Steelers twice already this year and should not be surprised by the speed. Be ready to hit the hot route and watch out for Woodley and Harrison.
The unflappable rookie versus the overrated veteran. I’ll take Joe to do it again and the Big Fraud to throw the pick six to Ed Reed. Big Fraud proves everything I have ever written about with him with 2-3 turnovers in this game. Steelers best chance to win this game is if something happens to the BF and Leftwich ends up under center. The train wreck is coming. Wait for it.
Ravens 23-15
CARDINALS +4 over Eagles
Anyone talking about Brian Westbrook being an unstoppable force has not been watching the games. 2 games, 74 yards rushing and one big screen play with all of the Vikings stuck upfield. He looks like what he is. A banged up running back averaging under 2 yards per carry in the playoffs. Throw out that one screen play and he has 96 total yards in the playoffs. How many touches? 42. He’s a non factor against a defense that completely shut down 2 of the 3 best running attacks in the NFL the first two weeks of the playoffs. McNabb has been alright in the playoffs, 2 TD’s 3 INT’s. But he is now facing a ball hawking Cardinals defense who have it all coming together at the right time.
Never underestimate the "everybody thinks we stink" mentality. The Cardinals have been wholly disrespected all season long and being a 4 point home dog is only furthering that perspective. The Eagles and Joe Johnson’s crazy blitzing defense are going up against the wrong guy. Nobody makes quicker decisions than Kurt Warner. And he gets the ball out fast, fast, fast. He’s throwing to the NFL’s best receiver in Larry Fitzgerald and it seems like Boldin will be back on the field. And you could argue Boldin vs. Fitzgerald. Loss of the tight end does concern me here, but you can’t stop Kurt. He’s going back to the Superbowl.
Warner is not the guy to Blitz. Remember how Belichick stopped the greatest show on turf. He blitzed only about 5 times in that game, kept the receivers in front and punished them. Not saying that would work here (receivers are bigger than the defenders), but you don’t blitz Warner when he has these weapons or he will burn you. And Joe Johnson can’t not blitz (excuse the double negative). People underestimate the importance of who you’re throwing to. If Eli had Plax on the field last week, he gets some big plays on those blitzes and we’re having an entirely different discussion.
Cardinals also continue to work in the run nicely. The Eagles have had a long tough road to get here. Don’t underestimate the miles they’ve traveled and the emotional frenzy they got into to face the champs last week. They can’t be as up for the Cards, even in the conference championship game. Everyone has been telling them all week that it will be a cake walk. They already slaughtered this team by 28 points this year. But, these are not those same Cardinals. They are now a run stuffing, ball hawking defense. A balanced and explosive offense with a QB who has won the big game. Expect to see this game end with McNabb vomiting and out of breath in the last few minutes as he tries to run the hurry up. It will be too little too late. And he doesn’t have T.O. to carry his jock as he did in the Superbowl. This time, he’s got the injured running back and the receiver so stupid that he has gone into the end zone to score multiple times in his career without the football.
Cardinals 38-27.
The NFL manages to avoid these disasters and actually have their marquis games on when people who have jobs or go to school can actually watch them. Note to the three major sports not raking in money NFL style. If you don’t hook em as kids, you’re never gonna get em. However, in one of their more foolish moves, the NFL has completely blown it this Conference Championship weekend, by throwing all reason and logic out the window. Alright, we have two games. One at 3:00 pm and one at 6:30 pm, both times Eastern. One in the warm desert. One in the frigid and snowy northeast. One in the Eastern time zone. One in the Pacific time zone. This means the 3:00 pm kickoff takes place at noon in the Pacific time zone. So, what would make more sense? Have the game in Arizona be the late game or have the late game in Pittsburgh? Have the Steelers fans out in the elements until after 10:00 pm? Or give them the early game and reduce the likelihood of drunken hypothermia? Have the Cardinals playing at noon local time or 3:30 local time?
You, of course, know the answer. The Cardinals have the early game and the Steelers the late game. This would be a moot point if the Giants had won and both games were on the east coast, but that is precisely what the problem here is. The Giants, a shadow of their former selves without as Plax (precisely as predicted here, mind you) got embarrassed and the Cards get the home game. Yes, the CBS and FOX schedules are set in advance, but are you really telling me they can’t make the switch? It is pure and unadulterated foolishness. And with all the more time to get good and liquored up with a 6:30 start at Pittsburgh, are we really going to be surprised by the multiple people sent to the hospital from the Pittsburgh game due to exposure? Shame on you NFL, this was an easy and logical fix. Steelers play at 3:00, west coast game at 6:30. It’s not rocket science.
On to the games.
Ravens +6 over STEELERS
Six points against the Ravens defense and the weather is too much. Especially since the Ravens are going to win outright. Two best defenses in the league. The winner of this game will be the team that avoids the turnovers. Fast Willie will not look so fast against the Ravens warp speed defense. Expect neither team to have much success with the running game. This game comes down to the QB’s. Roethlisberger vs. Flacco. A no brainer right? Not so fast. You have the unflaccable Joe Flacco against the Big Fraud. QB rating this year. Flacco: 80.3. Big Fraud: 80.1. Surprised?
This is territory that we have covered before, but until the truth is known, we will continue to shout it from the hilltop. The Big Fraud is the single most overrated player at the QB position, ever. BF has been insulated by a top 3 offensive line and top rated running game every year of his career, except this one. Well below the league average in pass attempts per game. And what was the result? 8-9 men in the box stacked up to stop the run, play action passes, and big plays downfield. All inflating his quarterback rating, yards per attempt and TD/INT ratio. But, unfortunately for the BF, the honeymoon is over. No more impenetrable O-line, no more unstoppable running game. The BF now faces the same level playing field that the rest of the league’s QB’s do.
The result? 17 TD’s, 15 INT’s and a lower QB rating than his counterpart in today’s game. How bout a closer look at the numbers? Third down passer rating: 73.5. Fourth down: 0.0 That’s 4 passes, no completions and 3 interceptions. Flacco. Third down passer rating: 86.3 Fourth down: 111.7. That’s five attempts and four completions. The higher the stakes, the better Flacco has done. Flacco has the NFL’s strongest arm (athough it is very close between he and Cutler) to cut through the wind and snow. He beat the Titans with 2 huge throws. He’s seen the Steelers twice already this year and should not be surprised by the speed. Be ready to hit the hot route and watch out for Woodley and Harrison.
The unflappable rookie versus the overrated veteran. I’ll take Joe to do it again and the Big Fraud to throw the pick six to Ed Reed. Big Fraud proves everything I have ever written about with him with 2-3 turnovers in this game. Steelers best chance to win this game is if something happens to the BF and Leftwich ends up under center. The train wreck is coming. Wait for it.
Ravens 23-15
CARDINALS +4 over Eagles
Anyone talking about Brian Westbrook being an unstoppable force has not been watching the games. 2 games, 74 yards rushing and one big screen play with all of the Vikings stuck upfield. He looks like what he is. A banged up running back averaging under 2 yards per carry in the playoffs. Throw out that one screen play and he has 96 total yards in the playoffs. How many touches? 42. He’s a non factor against a defense that completely shut down 2 of the 3 best running attacks in the NFL the first two weeks of the playoffs. McNabb has been alright in the playoffs, 2 TD’s 3 INT’s. But he is now facing a ball hawking Cardinals defense who have it all coming together at the right time.
Never underestimate the "everybody thinks we stink" mentality. The Cardinals have been wholly disrespected all season long and being a 4 point home dog is only furthering that perspective. The Eagles and Joe Johnson’s crazy blitzing defense are going up against the wrong guy. Nobody makes quicker decisions than Kurt Warner. And he gets the ball out fast, fast, fast. He’s throwing to the NFL’s best receiver in Larry Fitzgerald and it seems like Boldin will be back on the field. And you could argue Boldin vs. Fitzgerald. Loss of the tight end does concern me here, but you can’t stop Kurt. He’s going back to the Superbowl.
Warner is not the guy to Blitz. Remember how Belichick stopped the greatest show on turf. He blitzed only about 5 times in that game, kept the receivers in front and punished them. Not saying that would work here (receivers are bigger than the defenders), but you don’t blitz Warner when he has these weapons or he will burn you. And Joe Johnson can’t not blitz (excuse the double negative). People underestimate the importance of who you’re throwing to. If Eli had Plax on the field last week, he gets some big plays on those blitzes and we’re having an entirely different discussion.
Cardinals also continue to work in the run nicely. The Eagles have had a long tough road to get here. Don’t underestimate the miles they’ve traveled and the emotional frenzy they got into to face the champs last week. They can’t be as up for the Cards, even in the conference championship game. Everyone has been telling them all week that it will be a cake walk. They already slaughtered this team by 28 points this year. But, these are not those same Cardinals. They are now a run stuffing, ball hawking defense. A balanced and explosive offense with a QB who has won the big game. Expect to see this game end with McNabb vomiting and out of breath in the last few minutes as he tries to run the hurry up. It will be too little too late. And he doesn’t have T.O. to carry his jock as he did in the Superbowl. This time, he’s got the injured running back and the receiver so stupid that he has gone into the end zone to score multiple times in his career without the football.
Cardinals 38-27.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Divisional Playoff Weekend
Picks (Home team in CAPS)
I’ll kill the suspense and lay it all out on the table from the outset. The four divisional winners this weekend will all be road teams. How can this possibly happen? 3 severely flawed home teams and one lightning in a bottle road team that cannot be stopped.
We’ll start with my favorite to pick and my favorite quarterback to heap on.
Chargers +6 over STEELERS
Chargers are the AFC’s unstoppable team of destiny this year. With Manning out of the way, the 3 remaining AFC teams not from Southern California have utterly mediocre offenses. No big play ability. Also ran QB’s. (All due respect to future star Joe Flacco, but he is not there yet.) Let’s talk about Roethlisberger, aka, the Big Fraud. His first year without a dominant offensive line that protected him like a porcelain doll and forced 8 defenders in the box to fight an unstoppable running game. Their best lineman gone to the Jets, this Steelers O-line is a shell of its former self. The Fraud has a made a career out of down the field plays against run suspecting defenses. This year, for the first time in his career, the Steelers running game is not terrifying anybody. The result, a level playing field. You know, what Manning, Warner, Brady and just about every other QB in the league has had to face every week. Defenses not selling out 100% for the run.
And how did the Big Fraud do. Under 60% completions. 17 TD’s, 15 INT’s and barely an average of 200 yards per game. He ain’t that good, he never was. Chargers defense is rounding into form nicely at the perfect time. In the Fraud’s four regular season losses this year, to the Eagles, Giants, Colts and Titans the Fraud threw 10 interceptions compared to his 3 touchdowns. What does this tell you? None of you should be surprised about what is coming here. The Chargers are road playoff tested and have already played in Pittsburgh in front of the rabid hanky waving yahoos. Not going to phase him one bit. Norv Turner is going to get out of his own way and not send LT out there with his walker. Sproles, or as I like to call him, Speedy Gonzalez, cause he’s not only that fast but just about that big is a unique weapon. Do not underrate how important the "we can’t frickin see the guy" factor is.
Get ready to feel sad again Steelers fans. It’s coming. This will not be easy and it will be close with the Big Fraud wasting as good a defense as we have seen this decade. But by avoiding the big mistake, the Chargers will prevail due to the inevitable Big Fraud brain farts. The Big Fraud will show his true colors. The concussions have dumbed him down to a Brett Favre level. And you know what that means. Big mistakes in big games. And by the way, the Big Fraud led the league in lost fumbles this year.
I’ll kill the suspense and lay it all out on the table from the outset. The four divisional winners this weekend will all be road teams. How can this possibly happen? 3 severely flawed home teams and one lightning in a bottle road team that cannot be stopped.
We’ll start with my favorite to pick and my favorite quarterback to heap on.
Chargers +6 over STEELERS
Chargers are the AFC’s unstoppable team of destiny this year. With Manning out of the way, the 3 remaining AFC teams not from Southern California have utterly mediocre offenses. No big play ability. Also ran QB’s. (All due respect to future star Joe Flacco, but he is not there yet.) Let’s talk about Roethlisberger, aka, the Big Fraud. His first year without a dominant offensive line that protected him like a porcelain doll and forced 8 defenders in the box to fight an unstoppable running game. Their best lineman gone to the Jets, this Steelers O-line is a shell of its former self. The Fraud has a made a career out of down the field plays against run suspecting defenses. This year, for the first time in his career, the Steelers running game is not terrifying anybody. The result, a level playing field. You know, what Manning, Warner, Brady and just about every other QB in the league has had to face every week. Defenses not selling out 100% for the run.
And how did the Big Fraud do. Under 60% completions. 17 TD’s, 15 INT’s and barely an average of 200 yards per game. He ain’t that good, he never was. Chargers defense is rounding into form nicely at the perfect time. In the Fraud’s four regular season losses this year, to the Eagles, Giants, Colts and Titans the Fraud threw 10 interceptions compared to his 3 touchdowns. What does this tell you? None of you should be surprised about what is coming here. The Chargers are road playoff tested and have already played in Pittsburgh in front of the rabid hanky waving yahoos. Not going to phase him one bit. Norv Turner is going to get out of his own way and not send LT out there with his walker. Sproles, or as I like to call him, Speedy Gonzalez, cause he’s not only that fast but just about that big is a unique weapon. Do not underrate how important the "we can’t frickin see the guy" factor is.
Get ready to feel sad again Steelers fans. It’s coming. This will not be easy and it will be close with the Big Fraud wasting as good a defense as we have seen this decade. But by avoiding the big mistake, the Chargers will prevail due to the inevitable Big Fraud brain farts. The Big Fraud will show his true colors. The concussions have dumbed him down to a Brett Favre level. And you know what that means. Big mistakes in big games. And by the way, the Big Fraud led the league in lost fumbles this year.
Chargers 20-13
Ravens +3 over TITANS
The old adage is that defense wins championships and it was never more true than last year with the Giants stunning Brady and Co. But you do not win titles without an offense that can score and big play ability. The Titans have neither. Scraping by in close game after close game all year. Depending on their stupendous defense and excellent running game. The problem here, they’re a poor man’s Ravens. Ravens defense is better and while Ravens will have just as hard a time running, is there anyone out there that thinks the Titans can actually run at all in this game? Ed Reed is the equivalent of a heat seeking missile in finding opposing QB passes over the last 8 or so weeks. The chances Kerry (Strug) Collins doesn’t throw at least one INT to Reed? Somewhere between slim and none and you know where Slim is.
The Titans were +141 points-wise on the season. Throw out the +61 against the Lions and Chiefs and you get a better measure of where this team was all year. Just scraping by, particularly against good teams. They are the single least intimidating 1 seed of all time. A three point favorite means this would be an even line on a neutral field. And we all know how intimidating Nashville in January is.
The Ravens have the better QB, by far, and the better defense. This equals road win number two for the Ravens. Good riddance to Jeff Fisher’s Titans. They’ve been boring for as long as I can remember and I enjoy picking against them almost as much as I do pointing out the real skill level of the Big Fraud.
Ravens 20-6
Cardinals +9.5 over PANTHERS
The premise here is that the NFC South was terribly overrated this year. Buccaneers, meh. Falcons, nice story but a year away. And the big bad Panthers with their intimidating 8-0 home record. What exactly made up that 8-0? Well, obviously the three division wins. A 27-23 toss up to these very same Cardinals. The other 4 you ask? Chicago, KC, Detroit and the end of season Broncos, also known as Quitty McGee. No player has ever gotten more bump out of a single game than Jake Delhomme did out of his Superbowl loss to the Patriots. Jake with his 15 TD’s and 12 INT’s in '08. For his career, below 60% completion and under 86 QB rating. Again, he ain’t that good. He’s never been that good. And since no one ever seems to remember this, when he went crazy in the 2nd half of the Superbowl against the Patriots, the Patriots had lost player after player in the secondary and Delhomme put up his 300+ yards against a bunch of nobodies. This was so troubling to Belichick that he taught WR Troy Brown how to play defense the next year. And he’s been living on that single half ever since.
The running game of the Panthers you say. How can it be stopped by lowly Arizona? Panthers did have the number 3 running offense in the league this year. You know who was number 2, the Falcons, who the Cardinals completely stuffed last week. So don’t buy into the Cardinals can’t stop the run argument. They stopped a better run offense last week with a better QB. And the key to beating the Panthers is just keep Steve Smith double covered. You either just shut him down, or, if you’re lucky, he blows his stack. He has to be one of the most praised head cases in the history of the league. No, he didn’t just punch out a teammate and get suspended by the team this year. He has taken himself mentally out of many and games even gotten himself tossed in a huge Cowboys game last year as he flipped out on an official.
The Cardinals have been pacing themselves. Their division was wrapped up about six weeks in. They mailed in the end of the season and came out rejuvenated against the Falcons. They are reveling in the "everybody thinks we stink" mentality. They have a legitimate, prime time QB. Boldin not going would be a blow, but they have other weapons. Edgerrin is fresh and rested for the playoffs, and most importantly, getting the ball. The team nobody respects will beat the team that nobody ever watches. Unfortunately, this will be the lowest rated Saturday night playoff game ever. But it will still be an exciting upset. The weather at kickoff, 52 with scattered showers. While the Cards have been horrendous going east all year, there’s a difference between coming east in the middle of the grinding and exhausting regular season and going east for one game to go to the Conference championship.
Cardinals 27-24.
Eagles +4 over GIANTS
Both teams have speedy, talented crazy blitzing defenses. Playoff tested and experienced QB’s and coaches. Division rivals who know each other inside and out. Neither will be intimidated. Eagles have already won at the Meadowlands this year. Eagles are peaking like last year’s Giants. The difference that will tip this game to the Eagles can be summed up in one word: Plax. Or the absence thereof.
Giants gave this diva a huge contract and expected him to stop behaving like a selfish ass. And they were so scorned by his refusal to do so and idiotic behavior with weapons that they shut him down for the season. We’re the Giants, the world champs. We have the best running game, Superbowl MVP QB, best defense coordinator. We don’t need him. The problem for the Giants is that this is not last year’s defense. Missing significant pieces of last year’s Brady stymieing defense. Giants blitzes will inevitably lead to Brian Westbrook in a favorable matchup and he will make them pay.
Add Plax into this equation and the Giants win hands down. Plax makes the Giants offense nearly unstoppable. Plax prevented teams from stacking up to stop the run. He’s gone and in his place are 13 year veteran Amani Toomer (getting slower with every step) and the also-rans. It changes the entire way in which the Giants can attack, and are accordingly defended. You blitz Manning with Plax out there and he just tosses it up for grabs and it is a first down or better. You blitz him now with below average receivers and you are looking at another Asante pick six.
Eagles 27-21
Four road winners. You only heard it here.
Ravens +3 over TITANS
The old adage is that defense wins championships and it was never more true than last year with the Giants stunning Brady and Co. But you do not win titles without an offense that can score and big play ability. The Titans have neither. Scraping by in close game after close game all year. Depending on their stupendous defense and excellent running game. The problem here, they’re a poor man’s Ravens. Ravens defense is better and while Ravens will have just as hard a time running, is there anyone out there that thinks the Titans can actually run at all in this game? Ed Reed is the equivalent of a heat seeking missile in finding opposing QB passes over the last 8 or so weeks. The chances Kerry (Strug) Collins doesn’t throw at least one INT to Reed? Somewhere between slim and none and you know where Slim is.
The Titans were +141 points-wise on the season. Throw out the +61 against the Lions and Chiefs and you get a better measure of where this team was all year. Just scraping by, particularly against good teams. They are the single least intimidating 1 seed of all time. A three point favorite means this would be an even line on a neutral field. And we all know how intimidating Nashville in January is.
The Ravens have the better QB, by far, and the better defense. This equals road win number two for the Ravens. Good riddance to Jeff Fisher’s Titans. They’ve been boring for as long as I can remember and I enjoy picking against them almost as much as I do pointing out the real skill level of the Big Fraud.
Ravens 20-6
Cardinals +9.5 over PANTHERS
The premise here is that the NFC South was terribly overrated this year. Buccaneers, meh. Falcons, nice story but a year away. And the big bad Panthers with their intimidating 8-0 home record. What exactly made up that 8-0? Well, obviously the three division wins. A 27-23 toss up to these very same Cardinals. The other 4 you ask? Chicago, KC, Detroit and the end of season Broncos, also known as Quitty McGee. No player has ever gotten more bump out of a single game than Jake Delhomme did out of his Superbowl loss to the Patriots. Jake with his 15 TD’s and 12 INT’s in '08. For his career, below 60% completion and under 86 QB rating. Again, he ain’t that good. He’s never been that good. And since no one ever seems to remember this, when he went crazy in the 2nd half of the Superbowl against the Patriots, the Patriots had lost player after player in the secondary and Delhomme put up his 300+ yards against a bunch of nobodies. This was so troubling to Belichick that he taught WR Troy Brown how to play defense the next year. And he’s been living on that single half ever since.
The running game of the Panthers you say. How can it be stopped by lowly Arizona? Panthers did have the number 3 running offense in the league this year. You know who was number 2, the Falcons, who the Cardinals completely stuffed last week. So don’t buy into the Cardinals can’t stop the run argument. They stopped a better run offense last week with a better QB. And the key to beating the Panthers is just keep Steve Smith double covered. You either just shut him down, or, if you’re lucky, he blows his stack. He has to be one of the most praised head cases in the history of the league. No, he didn’t just punch out a teammate and get suspended by the team this year. He has taken himself mentally out of many and games even gotten himself tossed in a huge Cowboys game last year as he flipped out on an official.
The Cardinals have been pacing themselves. Their division was wrapped up about six weeks in. They mailed in the end of the season and came out rejuvenated against the Falcons. They are reveling in the "everybody thinks we stink" mentality. They have a legitimate, prime time QB. Boldin not going would be a blow, but they have other weapons. Edgerrin is fresh and rested for the playoffs, and most importantly, getting the ball. The team nobody respects will beat the team that nobody ever watches. Unfortunately, this will be the lowest rated Saturday night playoff game ever. But it will still be an exciting upset. The weather at kickoff, 52 with scattered showers. While the Cards have been horrendous going east all year, there’s a difference between coming east in the middle of the grinding and exhausting regular season and going east for one game to go to the Conference championship.
Cardinals 27-24.
Eagles +4 over GIANTS
Both teams have speedy, talented crazy blitzing defenses. Playoff tested and experienced QB’s and coaches. Division rivals who know each other inside and out. Neither will be intimidated. Eagles have already won at the Meadowlands this year. Eagles are peaking like last year’s Giants. The difference that will tip this game to the Eagles can be summed up in one word: Plax. Or the absence thereof.
Giants gave this diva a huge contract and expected him to stop behaving like a selfish ass. And they were so scorned by his refusal to do so and idiotic behavior with weapons that they shut him down for the season. We’re the Giants, the world champs. We have the best running game, Superbowl MVP QB, best defense coordinator. We don’t need him. The problem for the Giants is that this is not last year’s defense. Missing significant pieces of last year’s Brady stymieing defense. Giants blitzes will inevitably lead to Brian Westbrook in a favorable matchup and he will make them pay.
Add Plax into this equation and the Giants win hands down. Plax makes the Giants offense nearly unstoppable. Plax prevented teams from stacking up to stop the run. He’s gone and in his place are 13 year veteran Amani Toomer (getting slower with every step) and the also-rans. It changes the entire way in which the Giants can attack, and are accordingly defended. You blitz Manning with Plax out there and he just tosses it up for grabs and it is a first down or better. You blitz him now with below average receivers and you are looking at another Asante pick six.
Eagles 27-21
Four road winners. You only heard it here.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Wild Card Weekend and a Brief Gander Backwards
*This is no longer a Blog. It is officially a Blago in honor of the greatest American hero, Rod Blagojevich. He is my hero for one simple reason. He is not going to pretend that this an anomaly, the exception to the rule. His take, we’re politicians. This is what we do and I’m not going to pretend this is anything other than par for the course in the world of politics and government. God love him.
The 2008 NFL season had all kinds of happenings. 3 rookie no name coaches in the playoffs. The single worst coaching job in the history of the NFL. Brady’s knee snapped. Cassel guaranteed himself $50+ million. Brett Favre destroyed his legacy and two football teams. The fiction that was the Patriots good season. Crazy owners fired good coaches and didn’t fire the worst coaches. Joe Buck realized that it’s only an event if he is broadcasting it. Tony Siragusa taught me that blood can actually flow out of my ears with no physical injury. And most importantly of all, we all learned that you cannot call Brian Baldinger, Brian, or Baldinger, but that he can only be referred to as "Baldy". These things are important.
On the short list of things I was right about, we will start with Aaron Rodgers, or as he was known two weeks into this season, the single greatest quarterback ever to lace them up. He goes 2-0 with big numbers against two horrendous pass defenses and the talking heads were gushing like Keith Olberman about anything really far left of center. For the record, after that stellar beginning, Aaron won 3 games the rest of the season against teams not from Detroit. Yet, he is still blameless, it was the defense. Green Bay’s roster is not significantly different from the team that was so close to the Superbowl last year before Brett Favre felt cold and decided it was time to get back in the locker room. In the final 14 games of the season, Aaron managed just 5 games without an interception. Everybody’s fault but his. Yes his numbers are decent, but they are just numbers often racked up in games with deficits and prevent defenses. He’s no more than a poor man’s Matt Schaub.
Brett Favre. What is his actual IQ? I have been wondering this for a while. His mom would have to do the principal Sally Field style just to get him into the regular school. Alright, that’s going a bit far. But what brains are in there appear to have been crushed by his galactic sized ego. Hey, Favreau, your old team, with the fans that adore you. The franchise you helped revive. They didn’t want you because you throw too many brain dead interceptions in big games. They’d rather go with the kid because at least he’s not going to arbitrarily throw three huge picks in a playoff game. The media creation of Favre as an all time great is purely fiction. One Superbowl victory, a 14 point win in a game with two kick returns for TD’s by Desmond Howard. If you look closely at every playoff game he has ever been in, his failure rate is staggering. Look it up. And kiddies, this is a good lesson for all subjects: It ain’t true just cause the media says it is.
Brett Favre eviscerated a very well put together Jets team. Great O-line, defense coming along, excellent RB’s, top notch WR’s. And what does Favre do? He comes in, never learns the play book and throws interceptions like Congress doling out bailouts. His teammates hated his guts. He spent half his time in a private office. Where I imagine him talking to his agent about more Wrangler commercials. It is so perfect that this happened because it has opened the eyes of at least a few as to the fraud that is the legacy of Brett Favre. Sure, he’s a hall of famer, but he should never be discussed among the all time greats. Don’t tell the media though, it might make them sad.
The ego. It’s a riot. He single handedly destroys the Jets, gets the coach fired and has had more bad things said behind his back than any player I can ever recall. And what does he say after the season, he’s gonna take some time to figure out if he’s retiring or not. Brett, you couldn’t pay a team in this league to let you be their QB next year. And the fact that he is in the Pro Bowl with his 81.0 rating and 22 interceptions, while Phillip Rivers with his 105.5 rating and 34/11 TD/INT season is reason enough to overhaul the system. Too bad the fraud has a boo boo on his arm or he could set a Pro Bowl record for INT’s and mutinying teammates.
Kudos to the Dolphins, Falcons and Ravens for thinking outside the box and hiring head coaches who stirred up funeral level excitement from the fan bases. Three no name rookie coaches all in the playoffs. With any luck, this will mean the end of the retreads. Too bad this came too late for Jerry Jones. Jerry, your roster is stacked with talent. Dominant (at times) offensive line, play-makers all over the offense. Superstar Demarcus Ware leading the league in sacks, while his team did the same. Three talented RB’s. And what does this get you, 9-7 and no playoffs. The most humiliating loss in the history of the franchise, 44-6 to the Eagles. Your defensive captain getting into a fracas with a forlorn fan in your parking lot. All leading into the new Texas Stadium next year.
Since Wade Pillsbury Phillips was handed the well oiled and stacked machine that Parcells handed him, he has quickly run it into the ground. After starting out 12-1, Wade is 10-10 with that talent. Far and away led the league in penalties. And by the end of this year were a team that wilted in the face of any blitz. The QB and WR had no idea what to do in the face of a blitz. I have never seen more mishaps on blitzes. I have never heard players calling out their coaches and calling the system flawed. Clearly it was, but I’ve never heard it. This was the single worst coaching job in the history of organized sports. Wade Phillips has murdered the Cowboys and Jerry Jones doesn’t seem to care.
This is a coaching league. More than any other sport, it is about coaching. And Wade Phillips has always been a failure. This year was humiliating. The penalties, turnovers, wrong routes, special teams embarrassments. Let’s not forget that this team out gained the Giants 336-230 in last year’s playoff loss. They had a 120+ yard running back and did not turn the ball over until the game’s final play. Time of possession: Cowboys 36:30, Giants 23:30. People don’t remember this stuff. So, how did they lose, you ask? 11 back breaking penalties for 84 yards compared to the 3 Giant penalties. It’s that simple. And this year, they were more undisciplined, had more penalties. And Jerry doesn’t appear to have any concern. The only hope for the Cowboys is that during Jerry’s next face lift, they figure out that they had a few too many ill placed sutures where his neck connected to his brain. They loosen his neck from his brain and then he wakes up and realizes this team is the best in the NFC with Mike Shanahan as their coach and an instant contender. Jerry, don’t let the Pillsbury dough boy continue to kill this team.
And while we’re on firings. Mangini is out, Shanahan is out and Marvin Lewis and Wade Phillips are gainfully employed. I don’t get it.
And on a completely unrelated and wholly uncouth matter. You’ve been warned. There was a very peculiar image of Romo on the bench all by himself early in the Eagles game. He took a long slow whiff of his finger as he gently brushed the length of it by his nostril and got the strangest half drunk little smirk. Whatever could he be smelling and smirking about. It could only be Jessica. Pull out your tivo, I swear to you it is right there plain as day. Let’s just say I didn’t feel real good about the Boys chances in that game after that disturbing image.
The fiction that was the Patriots great season. Yes they had a lot of injuries. Yes Cassel played great as the season went on. Yes they won 11 games. However, can you please tell me just one quality win that the Pats had? You can’t, because there was not one decent victory out of the 11. Don’t believe me. Let’s have a look see. The Pats split with the Dolphins and Jets, so you could call the Pats drubbing of the Fins in the Miami a quality win, but that’s the only one and it’s borderline at best. The Jets were Favred and that loss, which would have put them in the playoffs, is now just humiliating. Other than that, they beat an Arizona team in a blizzard that had quit before their plane touched down at Logan.
So, against playoffs teams (throwing out the AZ snow quit game) the Pats were 1-4. Split with Miami, waxed 63-20 by Pittsburgh and San Diego, and a loss to the beginning to get going Colts. Not very impressive, by any standards. They did manage to go 8-0 against KC, SF, St. Louis, BUF, SEA, OAK and AZ. Again, it ain’t true just cause they say it is.
The games (home team in CAPS):
CARDINALS +1 over Falcons
Cardinals play good ball at home and Falcons do not have enough fire power for a high scoring affair. That and every one in the world has picked the Falcons. I like the Falcons, Matt Ryan is incredible, but they need another receiver. They are solid. Cards will have fire in their bellies as a home underdog. Matt Ryan is so good as a rookie it is almost incomprehensible. If Boston College didn’t consistently have the least talented wide receivers ever, imagine what he could have done. He did it with no receivers, not one pass catcher that would even sniff an NFL practice squad. He has every throw there is in his arsenal and reads defenses like a grizzled veteran. He has guaranteed his BC coach an NFL job in the future. The future may be now as the Jets are interviewing him. Not this year though, Matt, your ride is over.
Colts (pk) over CHARGERS
I don’t get this line at all. How can the Colts not be favored? Rivers had the best year of any NFL QB, however, the Chargers cannot get into the playoffs without both LT and Gates injured. Every year, they are game time decisions on playoff day. The Colts are on fire, 9 in a row, and Manning is playing as well as he ever has. Chargers cannot stay close with dinged up weapons.
DOLPHINS -3 over Ravens
I thought the predictions on the Falcons game were one sided. I cannot not find anyone in America who has picked the Dolphins. The chance to be that right is just too much to pass up. This game is far from a foregone conclusion. As good as the Ravens defense is (and it is not as good as 2000 nor as good as the Steelers this year) they are still the Ravens. They can and will struggle to score points quite frequently. The Dolphins, oh those tricky Dolphins. Pennington is deadly accurate and not easily fooled. Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams, Ted Ginn, there are weapons. Is it so out of the realm of possibility that the Fins can put some points on the board, even if they need to get tricky to do so? Fins defense has been anything but consistent, but these are still the Ravens and a rookie QB not half as good Matt Ryan. Flacco is going to be excellent, but Matt Ryan will be an all time great. *
(Here’s what I wrote about Joe way back on October 4, 2008.) * Joe Flacco is unflaccable. I’m coining that phrase. Arm strength, poise. Terribly impressed with this guy who no one ever thought would be starting early on in his career. Out of Delaware. He’s got a cannon, and his head and heart appear to be in the right place. He could be a top 10 QB within 5 years. You heard it here first. And when you have to do it with the Ravens’ receivers who like to be known either as Wingus and Dingus or the Mandrell sisters, that’s all the more impressive.
What Matt Ryan’s doing already is just plain silly.
Dolphins can and will win this game. This was a toss up for me, but with so many integral parts of the Ravens having attended the University of Miami or as I call it, the University of Thuggery, that tipped the scale for me. They refer to it only as "the U" because half their players couldn’t spell or pronounce it in full. All these thugs back in their old stomping grounds. They’ll be lucky if no one ends up killed or in jail. I’m sure they had some fun with their old cronies last night. I feel safe in assuming it was a better than average night for Miami area strippers.
Eagles -3 over VIKINGS
This one will not be close. Vikings and T-Jack will be flummoxed by Phili’s crazy blitzing defense. Eagles are the team hitting on all cylinders at the right time in the NFC. They will be in the Superbowl. The Giants are not the same without Plax. The Panthers are as weak a 2 seed as there has ever been. McNabb and Reid needed to feel so unappreciated that they got into "we’ll show those effers" mode and it’s working.
The 2008 NFL season had all kinds of happenings. 3 rookie no name coaches in the playoffs. The single worst coaching job in the history of the NFL. Brady’s knee snapped. Cassel guaranteed himself $50+ million. Brett Favre destroyed his legacy and two football teams. The fiction that was the Patriots good season. Crazy owners fired good coaches and didn’t fire the worst coaches. Joe Buck realized that it’s only an event if he is broadcasting it. Tony Siragusa taught me that blood can actually flow out of my ears with no physical injury. And most importantly of all, we all learned that you cannot call Brian Baldinger, Brian, or Baldinger, but that he can only be referred to as "Baldy". These things are important.
On the short list of things I was right about, we will start with Aaron Rodgers, or as he was known two weeks into this season, the single greatest quarterback ever to lace them up. He goes 2-0 with big numbers against two horrendous pass defenses and the talking heads were gushing like Keith Olberman about anything really far left of center. For the record, after that stellar beginning, Aaron won 3 games the rest of the season against teams not from Detroit. Yet, he is still blameless, it was the defense. Green Bay’s roster is not significantly different from the team that was so close to the Superbowl last year before Brett Favre felt cold and decided it was time to get back in the locker room. In the final 14 games of the season, Aaron managed just 5 games without an interception. Everybody’s fault but his. Yes his numbers are decent, but they are just numbers often racked up in games with deficits and prevent defenses. He’s no more than a poor man’s Matt Schaub.
Brett Favre. What is his actual IQ? I have been wondering this for a while. His mom would have to do the principal Sally Field style just to get him into the regular school. Alright, that’s going a bit far. But what brains are in there appear to have been crushed by his galactic sized ego. Hey, Favreau, your old team, with the fans that adore you. The franchise you helped revive. They didn’t want you because you throw too many brain dead interceptions in big games. They’d rather go with the kid because at least he’s not going to arbitrarily throw three huge picks in a playoff game. The media creation of Favre as an all time great is purely fiction. One Superbowl victory, a 14 point win in a game with two kick returns for TD’s by Desmond Howard. If you look closely at every playoff game he has ever been in, his failure rate is staggering. Look it up. And kiddies, this is a good lesson for all subjects: It ain’t true just cause the media says it is.
Brett Favre eviscerated a very well put together Jets team. Great O-line, defense coming along, excellent RB’s, top notch WR’s. And what does Favre do? He comes in, never learns the play book and throws interceptions like Congress doling out bailouts. His teammates hated his guts. He spent half his time in a private office. Where I imagine him talking to his agent about more Wrangler commercials. It is so perfect that this happened because it has opened the eyes of at least a few as to the fraud that is the legacy of Brett Favre. Sure, he’s a hall of famer, but he should never be discussed among the all time greats. Don’t tell the media though, it might make them sad.
The ego. It’s a riot. He single handedly destroys the Jets, gets the coach fired and has had more bad things said behind his back than any player I can ever recall. And what does he say after the season, he’s gonna take some time to figure out if he’s retiring or not. Brett, you couldn’t pay a team in this league to let you be their QB next year. And the fact that he is in the Pro Bowl with his 81.0 rating and 22 interceptions, while Phillip Rivers with his 105.5 rating and 34/11 TD/INT season is reason enough to overhaul the system. Too bad the fraud has a boo boo on his arm or he could set a Pro Bowl record for INT’s and mutinying teammates.
Kudos to the Dolphins, Falcons and Ravens for thinking outside the box and hiring head coaches who stirred up funeral level excitement from the fan bases. Three no name rookie coaches all in the playoffs. With any luck, this will mean the end of the retreads. Too bad this came too late for Jerry Jones. Jerry, your roster is stacked with talent. Dominant (at times) offensive line, play-makers all over the offense. Superstar Demarcus Ware leading the league in sacks, while his team did the same. Three talented RB’s. And what does this get you, 9-7 and no playoffs. The most humiliating loss in the history of the franchise, 44-6 to the Eagles. Your defensive captain getting into a fracas with a forlorn fan in your parking lot. All leading into the new Texas Stadium next year.
Since Wade Pillsbury Phillips was handed the well oiled and stacked machine that Parcells handed him, he has quickly run it into the ground. After starting out 12-1, Wade is 10-10 with that talent. Far and away led the league in penalties. And by the end of this year were a team that wilted in the face of any blitz. The QB and WR had no idea what to do in the face of a blitz. I have never seen more mishaps on blitzes. I have never heard players calling out their coaches and calling the system flawed. Clearly it was, but I’ve never heard it. This was the single worst coaching job in the history of organized sports. Wade Phillips has murdered the Cowboys and Jerry Jones doesn’t seem to care.
This is a coaching league. More than any other sport, it is about coaching. And Wade Phillips has always been a failure. This year was humiliating. The penalties, turnovers, wrong routes, special teams embarrassments. Let’s not forget that this team out gained the Giants 336-230 in last year’s playoff loss. They had a 120+ yard running back and did not turn the ball over until the game’s final play. Time of possession: Cowboys 36:30, Giants 23:30. People don’t remember this stuff. So, how did they lose, you ask? 11 back breaking penalties for 84 yards compared to the 3 Giant penalties. It’s that simple. And this year, they were more undisciplined, had more penalties. And Jerry doesn’t appear to have any concern. The only hope for the Cowboys is that during Jerry’s next face lift, they figure out that they had a few too many ill placed sutures where his neck connected to his brain. They loosen his neck from his brain and then he wakes up and realizes this team is the best in the NFC with Mike Shanahan as their coach and an instant contender. Jerry, don’t let the Pillsbury dough boy continue to kill this team.
And while we’re on firings. Mangini is out, Shanahan is out and Marvin Lewis and Wade Phillips are gainfully employed. I don’t get it.
And on a completely unrelated and wholly uncouth matter. You’ve been warned. There was a very peculiar image of Romo on the bench all by himself early in the Eagles game. He took a long slow whiff of his finger as he gently brushed the length of it by his nostril and got the strangest half drunk little smirk. Whatever could he be smelling and smirking about. It could only be Jessica. Pull out your tivo, I swear to you it is right there plain as day. Let’s just say I didn’t feel real good about the Boys chances in that game after that disturbing image.
The fiction that was the Patriots great season. Yes they had a lot of injuries. Yes Cassel played great as the season went on. Yes they won 11 games. However, can you please tell me just one quality win that the Pats had? You can’t, because there was not one decent victory out of the 11. Don’t believe me. Let’s have a look see. The Pats split with the Dolphins and Jets, so you could call the Pats drubbing of the Fins in the Miami a quality win, but that’s the only one and it’s borderline at best. The Jets were Favred and that loss, which would have put them in the playoffs, is now just humiliating. Other than that, they beat an Arizona team in a blizzard that had quit before their plane touched down at Logan.
So, against playoffs teams (throwing out the AZ snow quit game) the Pats were 1-4. Split with Miami, waxed 63-20 by Pittsburgh and San Diego, and a loss to the beginning to get going Colts. Not very impressive, by any standards. They did manage to go 8-0 against KC, SF, St. Louis, BUF, SEA, OAK and AZ. Again, it ain’t true just cause they say it is.
The games (home team in CAPS):
CARDINALS +1 over Falcons
Cardinals play good ball at home and Falcons do not have enough fire power for a high scoring affair. That and every one in the world has picked the Falcons. I like the Falcons, Matt Ryan is incredible, but they need another receiver. They are solid. Cards will have fire in their bellies as a home underdog. Matt Ryan is so good as a rookie it is almost incomprehensible. If Boston College didn’t consistently have the least talented wide receivers ever, imagine what he could have done. He did it with no receivers, not one pass catcher that would even sniff an NFL practice squad. He has every throw there is in his arsenal and reads defenses like a grizzled veteran. He has guaranteed his BC coach an NFL job in the future. The future may be now as the Jets are interviewing him. Not this year though, Matt, your ride is over.
Colts (pk) over CHARGERS
I don’t get this line at all. How can the Colts not be favored? Rivers had the best year of any NFL QB, however, the Chargers cannot get into the playoffs without both LT and Gates injured. Every year, they are game time decisions on playoff day. The Colts are on fire, 9 in a row, and Manning is playing as well as he ever has. Chargers cannot stay close with dinged up weapons.
DOLPHINS -3 over Ravens
I thought the predictions on the Falcons game were one sided. I cannot not find anyone in America who has picked the Dolphins. The chance to be that right is just too much to pass up. This game is far from a foregone conclusion. As good as the Ravens defense is (and it is not as good as 2000 nor as good as the Steelers this year) they are still the Ravens. They can and will struggle to score points quite frequently. The Dolphins, oh those tricky Dolphins. Pennington is deadly accurate and not easily fooled. Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams, Ted Ginn, there are weapons. Is it so out of the realm of possibility that the Fins can put some points on the board, even if they need to get tricky to do so? Fins defense has been anything but consistent, but these are still the Ravens and a rookie QB not half as good Matt Ryan. Flacco is going to be excellent, but Matt Ryan will be an all time great. *
(Here’s what I wrote about Joe way back on October 4, 2008.) * Joe Flacco is unflaccable. I’m coining that phrase. Arm strength, poise. Terribly impressed with this guy who no one ever thought would be starting early on in his career. Out of Delaware. He’s got a cannon, and his head and heart appear to be in the right place. He could be a top 10 QB within 5 years. You heard it here first. And when you have to do it with the Ravens’ receivers who like to be known either as Wingus and Dingus or the Mandrell sisters, that’s all the more impressive.
What Matt Ryan’s doing already is just plain silly.
Dolphins can and will win this game. This was a toss up for me, but with so many integral parts of the Ravens having attended the University of Miami or as I call it, the University of Thuggery, that tipped the scale for me. They refer to it only as "the U" because half their players couldn’t spell or pronounce it in full. All these thugs back in their old stomping grounds. They’ll be lucky if no one ends up killed or in jail. I’m sure they had some fun with their old cronies last night. I feel safe in assuming it was a better than average night for Miami area strippers.
Eagles -3 over VIKINGS
This one will not be close. Vikings and T-Jack will be flummoxed by Phili’s crazy blitzing defense. Eagles are the team hitting on all cylinders at the right time in the NFC. They will be in the Superbowl. The Giants are not the same without Plax. The Panthers are as weak a 2 seed as there has ever been. McNabb and Reid needed to feel so unappreciated that they got into "we’ll show those effers" mode and it’s working.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)