last week, that man, aged 38, threw more touchdown passes than he did incomplete passes. i'm going to let that statement have a paragraph to itself.it was, as jim ross would say, a hellacious wildcard weekend. on a personal level, i'm fairly happy that i called 3 of the 4 games correctly, and i'm especially happy with my cardinals-green bay assessment, which i think deserves repeating: "warner is a difference maker, and i wouldn't be surprised if he pulls it out again. this will be close, and high-scoring." damn i'm good.
it did indeed turn out to be close, high-scoring, and one of the best playoff games in history. the cardinals just might pull another one out of the bag later today, but more on that in a bit.
elsewhere, the jets punked the bengals for the second time in a week, although it could have been different if poor chad ochocinco had managed to hold on to a long pass inside the end zone. the cowboys did a similar job on the eagles, and look more and more like a team bound for miami. as for new england...i definitely didn't see that one coming. boos rang out for the first time in a while at the gillette stadium, and i can't really blame the fans either, after their team lay down for a solid but unspectacular baltimore side. despite the hysteria, it still, in my opinion, remains to be seen whether this is the end of an era or a stutter for bill bellicheck, but i think it'll be a different patriots side next september. some house cleaning is needed.
on to the divisional round, all kick-off times are GMT.
new orleans saints v arizona cardinals (NFC), 9.30pm saturday.
i honestly haven't got a clue who will win this. i hate it when pundits sit on the fence, but i'm starting to sympathise, because this one, could go, er, either way. apologies, the playoffs turn my prose into mush.
the saints haven't won in a month, and have been on holiday since mid-november. this is a plus in some areas of the field, where key players like darren sharper have been given time to recuperate from a hard regular season. on the other hand, you have to think that drew brees and his receivers will be a little rusty, at least at first. first quarter will be key in this one, because you know that the cardinals are thinking back to when the cowboys turned the saints over at the louisiana superdome- they came out swinging and the saints never caught up. problem with that is, the cardinals can't defend for shit, and threw away the lead a number of times last weekend against the packers.
this one's going to be a shootout between brees and warner, and while brees was unplayable for most of the season, warner looks like a man who wants to go out on top. it's a cliche, but QB is the only place i can separate these 2 teams.
my pick- cardinals, on the last drive of the game.
indianapolis colts v baltimore ravens (AFC), 1am sunday.
like the saints, the colts lost the chance of securing an undefeated season, and have been on a break for the last month or so. unlike the saints, the colts players were, it seems, pretty unhappy about this, and enter the playoffs with a point to prove. peyton manning in particular seemed disgusted with the manner in which the colts finished the regular season, and the recently-named MVP (for the record 4th time) will be looking to cap a fantastic season with another super bowl ring, and i don't see how the ravens can stop him this weekend.
baltimore are a tough side, but against the patriots they didn't actually need the explosive defence that they're so well known for, the pats just laid down. i can't see the colts doing that, and i definitely can't see manning being as listless as brady was last weekend, break or no break.
my pick- colts, who will draw ahead after a tight first half.
minnesota vikings v dallas cowboys (NFC), 5.30pm sunday.
in theory, i should be umming and aaahing about how close this one is. however, after watching the cowboys demolish the eagles last weekend, the only thing that's giving me pause in picking the cowboys is the fact that minnesota have the home field advantage. fact is, the vikings faded badly in the second half of last season, with favre, peterson and harvin looking like shadows of their former selves. the tension between brad childress and brett favre can't have helped either.
in recent years, you could apply the above paragraph to the cowboys. but they've finally got their act together in the post-season, and are looking super-strong. tony romo is in the form of his life, and miles austin is the best wide receiver left in the playoffs. i wouldn't be surprised if this was a sub-28 point game for both teams, but, regardless...
my pick- cowboys, by 7.
san diego chargers v new york jets (AFC), 9pm sunday.
the only team on a better streak than the cowboys going into the post-season were the san diego chargers. 11 straight wins, and QB philip rivers playing like a future hall of famer. which is just as well, because the chargers can't run the ball for shit. they also have trouble stopping the run, which could be tricky against the jets, who like nothing more than a spot of good old blitzkrieg. whatever rex ryan might say about super bowl parades in the itinerary, the jets are in the playoffs because of the failings of other teams, not just their admittedly strong defensive game.
that said, the chargers are the best team for them to face, because of those running issues.
first quarter is key in this one as well, as is the protection that the chargers give to rivers. if they do a good job at that, and if rivers carries on his form, then they'll simply outscore the jets, who, let's face it, don't really have a plan b.
my pick- chargers, by 3-4 scores.
so, that would mean the conference championship round would look like this:
NFC- dallas cowboys v arizona cardinals
AFC- indianapolis colts v san diego chargers.
i definitely didn't call that in september.
No comments:
Post a Comment