Wild Card Round Preview
It’s January, time to put away those post-Holiday blues and get ready for some playoffs. Round One of the playoffs has finally arrived and is truly one of the few great things about early winter. Anything can happen in the playoffs, so it would be no surprise for any one of the eight teams to win. Of the four matchups, the Sunday's games appear to be much better. But we’ll address the Saturday matchups first.
At Indianapolis -7 Kansas City 51
There’s something unseemly about playing football indoors in January. Where’s the snow, the muck and grime? Bud Grant would surely disapprove of such comfy conditions. KC lucked their way into the tournament. Were it not for the Broncos’ collapse at home, Herm would be catching the action from a recliner rather than the sidelines. Kansas City is going to pound the football, of this there is no doubt. Indianapolis has no run defense to speak of, so ought to be very interesting to see how they will be able to stop LJ and the Chiefs running attack. Trent Green’s a pretty smart quarterback, though he’s not the caliber of Peyton Manning. On offense, Indy’s firepower is tough to stop. Provided the Chiefs don't chew up significant clock time when they have the ball, this game may become a shootout, and if it becomes one, it's reasonable to believe that Indianapolis will be the last one standing. However, should the Chiefs play smart football and grind things out, they have a 50/50 shot. They have to keep Manning off the field as much as possible.
Projected final score: Indianapolis 27, Kansas City 23.
At Seattle -3 Dallas 47
In the years before the Super Bowl, the NFL used to have an end-of-season game called the “Playoff Bowl”, where the second and third place teams fought it out to determine who would be number #2. Vince Lombardi referred to this game as the “Losers Bowl”. The Saturday night Cowboys-Seahawks match up is the modern-day equivalent of the “Playoff Bowl”. There are no less than five teams in the AFC who are better than both of these teams and didn’t make it to the tournament. Both teams finished the season gasping for air enter the playoffs crawling on their knees. Seattle was hampered by injuries early and midway through the year and hasn’t gotten it together since everyone returned to the lineup. On the other hand Dallas is a different story. Tony Romo seems to have lost to the magic touch that led the Cowboys to a number of wins in October and November. They have no pass defense whatsoever, so look for Hasselbeck to light it up. If the Cowboys are effective with their running game, maybe they have a chance. They won’t win going toe-to-toe offensively with Seattle.
Projected final score: Seattle 24, Dallas 20.
At New England -8.5 NY Jets 37.5
Kicking off the Sunday games are the Patriots and Jets for the third time. Each team won their games on the road. Many people in New England are predicting a blowout victory for the Patriots in the rubber game. Looking at the spread of 8 ½, the boasts of the yahoos are comical. Thankfully, the Patriots are not listening. In November, the Jets came to Foxborough and their offensive and defensive lines beat the Patriots physically as well as emotionally. Not to make excuses for New England, but it was the last game that was played on the horrible turf, or what remained of it. The Patriots played as if their cleats were stuck in cement. The grass/muck field has been replaced with synthetic turf, and the weather conditions are highly favorable for January. By the end of the last Jets’ game, it was one of the rare instances when a Belichick- coached team could actually admit not only defeat, but first-class humiliation. Coach Mangini employed a variety of packages on defense that harried and flustered Brady all afternoon. The Jets are a good football team, and know if they employ the same strategy as they used in November, they can win. Chad Pennington has had a great year, winning the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year award. But the Patriots are a different team now than they were in November. December is generally the time of year when they really start to play their best football. Their defense has been stingy, and they faced much tougher opponents coming down the stretch. They can play whatever kind of game it takes to win. Last Sunday's game was a back alley brawl, so they're not afraid to get down and dirty if they have to. Chances are pretty good that the home team will enter the game chastened from their last meeting and 100% prepared to win, but eight and half points? No way.
Projected final score: New England 20, NY Jets 16.
At Philadelphia -7 NY Giants 46.5
Both teams faced adversity and injuries this year. One team discovered their identity under harsh conditions while the other appears to have lost theirs. The Giants are the third terrible NFC team to make it into the tournament. The only rooting interest here for Big Blue is that it may be Tiki Barber's final game for the G-Men. Is he a great player? Absolutely. Hall of Famer? Probably not.
One can only feel good about Jeff Garcia, for all of the ups and downs he's gone through in his career to finally make it back to the big stage. Right now, the Eagles are a roll, while the Giants appear to be playing as if they were on life support. The dictatorial style of guys like Tom Coughlin appears to wear thin after two or three seasons. Such now appears to be the case in New York, as was the case in Jacksonville. The days of sustaining a Lombardi-type approach with players over the long haul simply don’t play as well as they used to. Barring an unexpected rediscovery of their heart Tiki and the G-Men will be packing it in.
Projected final score: Philadelphia 27, NY Giants 16.
At Indianapolis -7 Kansas City 51
There’s something unseemly about playing football indoors in January. Where’s the snow, the muck and grime? Bud Grant would surely disapprove of such comfy conditions. KC lucked their way into the tournament. Were it not for the Broncos’ collapse at home, Herm would be catching the action from a recliner rather than the sidelines. Kansas City is going to pound the football, of this there is no doubt. Indianapolis has no run defense to speak of, so ought to be very interesting to see how they will be able to stop LJ and the Chiefs running attack. Trent Green’s a pretty smart quarterback, though he’s not the caliber of Peyton Manning. On offense, Indy’s firepower is tough to stop. Provided the Chiefs don't chew up significant clock time when they have the ball, this game may become a shootout, and if it becomes one, it's reasonable to believe that Indianapolis will be the last one standing. However, should the Chiefs play smart football and grind things out, they have a 50/50 shot. They have to keep Manning off the field as much as possible.
Projected final score: Indianapolis 27, Kansas City 23.
At Seattle -3 Dallas 47
In the years before the Super Bowl, the NFL used to have an end-of-season game called the “Playoff Bowl”, where the second and third place teams fought it out to determine who would be number #2. Vince Lombardi referred to this game as the “Losers Bowl”. The Saturday night Cowboys-Seahawks match up is the modern-day equivalent of the “Playoff Bowl”. There are no less than five teams in the AFC who are better than both of these teams and didn’t make it to the tournament. Both teams finished the season gasping for air enter the playoffs crawling on their knees. Seattle was hampered by injuries early and midway through the year and hasn’t gotten it together since everyone returned to the lineup. On the other hand Dallas is a different story. Tony Romo seems to have lost to the magic touch that led the Cowboys to a number of wins in October and November. They have no pass defense whatsoever, so look for Hasselbeck to light it up. If the Cowboys are effective with their running game, maybe they have a chance. They won’t win going toe-to-toe offensively with Seattle.
Projected final score: Seattle 24, Dallas 20.
At New England -8.5 NY Jets 37.5
Kicking off the Sunday games are the Patriots and Jets for the third time. Each team won their games on the road. Many people in New England are predicting a blowout victory for the Patriots in the rubber game. Looking at the spread of 8 ½, the boasts of the yahoos are comical. Thankfully, the Patriots are not listening. In November, the Jets came to Foxborough and their offensive and defensive lines beat the Patriots physically as well as emotionally. Not to make excuses for New England, but it was the last game that was played on the horrible turf, or what remained of it. The Patriots played as if their cleats were stuck in cement. The grass/muck field has been replaced with synthetic turf, and the weather conditions are highly favorable for January. By the end of the last Jets’ game, it was one of the rare instances when a Belichick- coached team could actually admit not only defeat, but first-class humiliation. Coach Mangini employed a variety of packages on defense that harried and flustered Brady all afternoon. The Jets are a good football team, and know if they employ the same strategy as they used in November, they can win. Chad Pennington has had a great year, winning the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year award. But the Patriots are a different team now than they were in November. December is generally the time of year when they really start to play their best football. Their defense has been stingy, and they faced much tougher opponents coming down the stretch. They can play whatever kind of game it takes to win. Last Sunday's game was a back alley brawl, so they're not afraid to get down and dirty if they have to. Chances are pretty good that the home team will enter the game chastened from their last meeting and 100% prepared to win, but eight and half points? No way.
Projected final score: New England 20, NY Jets 16.
At Philadelphia -7 NY Giants 46.5
Both teams faced adversity and injuries this year. One team discovered their identity under harsh conditions while the other appears to have lost theirs. The Giants are the third terrible NFC team to make it into the tournament. The only rooting interest here for Big Blue is that it may be Tiki Barber's final game for the G-Men. Is he a great player? Absolutely. Hall of Famer? Probably not.
One can only feel good about Jeff Garcia, for all of the ups and downs he's gone through in his career to finally make it back to the big stage. Right now, the Eagles are a roll, while the Giants appear to be playing as if they were on life support. The dictatorial style of guys like Tom Coughlin appears to wear thin after two or three seasons. Such now appears to be the case in New York, as was the case in Jacksonville. The days of sustaining a Lombardi-type approach with players over the long haul simply don’t play as well as they used to. Barring an unexpected rediscovery of their heart Tiki and the G-Men will be packing it in.
Projected final score: Philadelphia 27, NY Giants 16.
posted by Richard | 8:38 PM
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