First, let's not acknowledge how my picks went this week.... I went 6-4. Ugh. Thanks a lot Giants, Bucs, Bears and Saints. You are all dead to me now. Well, moreso than usual. In any case my playoff bracket was messed up a bit by Tampa's inability to beat the Raiders at home. What a collapse. Arguably worse than the Jets or Broncos. Tampa drops their final four games to get knocked out of the playoffs completely. Well that's what happens when you bench Jeff Garcia and your defensive coordinator takes a college job. How that defense collapsed. Tsk tsk. Right so the playoff bracket. Very very interesting, Philly sneaks in after dominating a distrastrous Dallas team... the Chargers destroy Denver and steal the division after Cutler's Brocnos lose their final three games... and Miami improves by ten wins over last season and knocks the Jets and Pats out the postseason. Also, non-playoff related, the Detroit Lions managed to lose again - setting a new landmark in futility by losing all sixteen games this season. 0-16. I hope Matt Stafford or Sam Bradford enjoy losing next year.
Basically here's the deal with the Falcons:
Saturday, Jan. 3, 4:30PM @ Arizona (NBC-TV). If we win, we will need the the Eagles to win if we want to avoid playing the Giants in the Divisional Round. If we win and Philly does, we'll head to Charlotte to take on the Panthers the following week.
Personally I think the Colts, Falcons and Eagles are the most dangerous non-bye teams in the bracket. Let's not forget the last time the Falcons played the Panthers and Vikings, beating them both (but let's do forget their meeting with Philly). The Eagles have beaten a lot of very good teams this season (including the Steelers, Bucs, Falcons and Cardinals), and the Colts are the hottest team in football, winning their final nine games. If the Colts weren't taking on an equally hot (and finally healthy) Chargers team, I'd say the Colts are a safe bet to get to the AFC Championship game. Anyway here's a lovely article from the good folks at ESPN: "Why Not the Falcons?" - Why the Falcons might be the most dangerous team in the NFC bracket. ESPN is definitely doing that sweet dirty bird for sure.
Right so lets take a look at the matchups this weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, and what we have to look forward to now that an actual football postseason has begun. Enough with the meaningless bowl games, lets get the playoffs going!
Saturday January 3rd
4:30PM: (5) Atlanta Falcons @ (4) Arizona Cardinals
Ryan/Turner VS. Warner
As long as Atlanta leans on their running game and Ryan minimizes his mistakes, the defense should get the handful of stops it needs to help the offense out-score Arizona's high-powered passing game. The main obstacle for the Falcons should be scoring enough points to keep up. They've shown they can put points on the board, with a variety of talented weapons in the air and on the ground. If they can limit their turnovers, the Falcons should win in a high-scoring matchup.
8:00PM: (5) Indianapolis Colts @ (4) San Diego Chargers
Manning VS. Rivers
These are the two best quarterbacks in the AFC, and you know they'll be on their game. This should ultimately come down to whether the Colts defense can contain the (at times) inconsistent Chargers offense, including limiting Tomlinson and the ground attack. I think the Colts D is up to the task. If they can force Rivers to beat them in a duel with Manning, the Colts should win. Another high scoring affair.
Sunday January 4th
1:00PM: (6) Baltimore Ravens @ (3) Miami Dolphins
Defense VS. Defense
The beaten down vet Pennington rose from the ashes to have a phenomenal year; rookie QB Joe Flacco went from 3 to 1 on the depth chart to become a viable ROY candidate. But this game won't come down to the quarterbacks. Its the defenses that will decide this. The Ravens need to decide on a stable running attack to get past the Dolphins if they want to win, and containing Ronnie Brown is a tough task as well. I think ultimately the Dolphins have more drive, more experience and a more consistent offensive approach to edge the Ravens.
4:30PM: (6) Philadelphia Eagles @ (3) Minnesota Vikings
McNabb VS. Defense
The Eagles improbably find themselves in the playoffs, staring down the league's best running back. Their defense is more than up to the task though. The bigger matchup is whether McNabb can overcome a strong Vikings defense to score enough points. The problem for Minnesota is the Philly offense is clicking, is healthy, is angry, and is hot as hell. Expect Philly to pull away in the second half and move on to the Divisional Round to play the Giants.
So there we have it! Can't wait for the weekend and some real football games.
1 comments. Leave Your Own!:
I went 1 for 1 this past weekend. I predicted the Falcons would win. I was correct with this.
This weekend i'm scared for the Falcons. The Cardinals will show their Air Game. Go Birds.
I like the Colts, Eagles, Ravens, and Steve Smith.
And now a prayer...
Dear Lord,
Hallowed be Thy name. I'd just like to thank You for that waitress in South Bend. You know who she is - she kept calling Your name.
Please tell Matthew Stafford to return for this senior year at Georgia.
Amen, play ball
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