Playoff preview
Okay, the Steelers went up to Cleveland and took care of business with a decisive win over the Browns, won the AFC North, and received a bye in the first round of the playoffs. That means no game for the local populace next week. No matter. The playoffs have begun and that means some serious football viewing for those of us who are football junkies.
These next two weeks will give the Steelers time to rest and heal. Troy Polamalu needs some time to rest his ankle and Aaron Smith needs time to rehab his arm. Ben needs time to allow his foot to get back up to speed. But, make no mistake about it, Mike Tomlin will have his troops sharp and ready to play, and that will be Saturday January 15 at 4:30. They will play one of three possible opponents: Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, or Baltimore Ravens. The thing to keep in mind is that the high seed plays the low seed, so the Steelers cannot play the New York Jets unless it’s for the AFC Championship.
So, given that information, it’s time to get down to business. This is Wild Card weekend in the NFL. The casual fan might decide to do something else – maybe go shopping or head out for the day/night. Not Sports Beat. This is the time of year to live for. First up, the Saturday games, which will both be played on NBC.
New Orleans Saints vs Seattle Seahawks
The defending Super Bowl champions will kick things off against the NFC West champion Seattle Seahawks. The Hawks became the first time in modern NFL history to win their division with a sub .500 record (7 – 9). As sick as that is, they have earned the right to make the playoffs and host the champions from 2009. Someone had to win that division and it was the Seahawks under first year coach Pete Carroll, he of USC, the New York Jets and New England Patriots. He has how taken his third team to the playoffs in his career.
Okay, maybe this is a dangerous matchup since Seattle has nothing to lose. They will be playing at home, so they don’t have to make the cross country trip. Is this is an upset in the making? Perhaps. But they must not underestimate their opponent. The Saints have gotten over their Super Bowl hangover and earned the number five seed in the NFC. They have a legitimate chance to defend their title.
What the Saints have going for them is quarterback Drew Brees and head coach Sean Payton. They know how to attack an opposing defense. They will mean business going up to Seattle and do not want to be known as the team, and the defending champion, that was knocked out by a sub .500 team. That just won’t happen. Perhaps Seattle rides a wave of emotion out of the gate, then gets settled in and faces reality when they come to terms with the fact they are playing the defending champions.
Barring a colossal collapse, this is the Saints’ game to lose. The defending
champions will take care of business. New Orleans 35, Seattle 10.
New York Jets vs Indianapolis Colts
This will be bravado versus business. Rex Ryan and Mark Sanchez against Jim
Caldwell and Peyton Manning. This is a repeat of last year’s AFC Championship Game.
Indianapolis gets to stay home and host the number six seed Jets. Rex Ryan says his Jets
are going to win it all. Well, this isn’t 1969 and Joe Namath is not his quarterback. Matter of fact, this is a team that stubbed its toe when it should be backing up all of the talk from the past, and they were unable to do that.
While just about everyone may be sick of Peyton Manning, you can blame TV and the advertisers for that. Vendors want to tie their wagons to spokesmen/women who portray a positive image and can sell their products or services. Manning cannot be blamed for that. He is just doing the right thing and capitalizing on his image (hear that Tiger Woods?)
This will be a matter of hot air versus experience and experience will win out in this matchup. Like him or not, Peyton Manning is deadly when he is on. These are the playoffs and he knows how to deliver, at least in the first round. The Colts should not have any problem dispatching the Jets in this game.
Indianapolis 31, New York Jets 13.
Baltimore Ravens versus Kansas City Chiefs
This Sunday game will be played at 1:00 pm on CBS. How close were the Ravens to being a number two seed? You can thank Troy Polamalu for the play he made in Baltimore, allowing the offense to score the go ahead, and decisive, touchdown. Now, the Ravens get to travel to Kansas City and take on the Chiefs.
For those not in the know, Kansas City is coached by Todd Haley, who was Ken Whisenhunt’s offensive coordinator in Arizona (who are not in the playoffs, by the way) and left for Kansas City after the Super Bowl in 2009. His offensive coordinator is Charlie Weis, late of New Englamd and Notre Dame, and his defensive coordinator is Romeo Crennel, late of New England and Cleveland. Talk about an intriguing matchup!
So, who do you pick? The Ravens are quarterbacked by Joe Flacco, the Chiefs by Matt Cassel. The other USC quarterback still alive in the playoffs is Mark Sanchez. Cassell never started at USC. Yet Carson Palmer couldn’t get the Cincinnati Bengals into the show, and Matt Leinart is riding pine in Houston for the Texans. Both are former Heisman Trophy winners. That award doesn’t mean so much anymore, now, does it?
The Ravens have a defense that is perhaps feared more due to Ed Reed than Ray Lewis. Ultimately, this could be the most intriguing matchup of the weekend. It’s a coin flip. By a nose, we’ll take Kansas City 17, Baltimore 14.
Green Bay Packers versus Philadelphia Eagles
This is the wrap up game of wild card weekend on Fox. Green Bay assured its spot by beating Chicago last weekend at Lambeau Field and earning the number six seed in the NFC. This could be the most dangerous team in the playoffs, with Aaron Rodgers directing head coach Mike McCarthy’s offense. Rodgers is young and is only getting better. And the defense is led by, among others, A.J. Hawk and Clay Matthews, Jr.
Now, the prevailing wisdom seems to be that having Michael Vick as your quarterback assures you of winning it all. Well, Michael Vick did not win a Super Bowl while in Atlanta, and before his imprisonment for dog fighting. And Philadelphia did win a weak division, where the New York Giants, Washington Redskins, and Dallas Cowboys all wilted under expectations.
Everyone seems to be on the Green Bay bandwagon, this writer included. Once a team gets into the playoffs, anything can happen. The Packers have a team that can do some serous damage. They are playing their best football right now and are a team that no one wants to face in the postseason. The Pack is capable of winning all of their games on the road. It starts in the City of Brotherly Love. Green Bay 20, Philadelphia 10.
Next week, wrap up of Wild Card weekend and a look ahead to whom the Steelers will be facing as well as the other divisional contests.
These next two weeks will give the Steelers time to rest and heal. Troy Polamalu needs some time to rest his ankle and Aaron Smith needs time to rehab his arm. Ben needs time to allow his foot to get back up to speed. But, make no mistake about it, Mike Tomlin will have his troops sharp and ready to play, and that will be Saturday January 15 at 4:30. They will play one of three possible opponents: Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, or Baltimore Ravens. The thing to keep in mind is that the high seed plays the low seed, so the Steelers cannot play the New York Jets unless it’s for the AFC Championship.
So, given that information, it’s time to get down to business. This is Wild Card weekend in the NFL. The casual fan might decide to do something else – maybe go shopping or head out for the day/night. Not Sports Beat. This is the time of year to live for. First up, the Saturday games, which will both be played on NBC.
New Orleans Saints vs Seattle Seahawks
The defending Super Bowl champions will kick things off against the NFC West champion Seattle Seahawks. The Hawks became the first time in modern NFL history to win their division with a sub .500 record (7 – 9). As sick as that is, they have earned the right to make the playoffs and host the champions from 2009. Someone had to win that division and it was the Seahawks under first year coach Pete Carroll, he of USC, the New York Jets and New England Patriots. He has how taken his third team to the playoffs in his career.
Okay, maybe this is a dangerous matchup since Seattle has nothing to lose. They will be playing at home, so they don’t have to make the cross country trip. Is this is an upset in the making? Perhaps. But they must not underestimate their opponent. The Saints have gotten over their Super Bowl hangover and earned the number five seed in the NFC. They have a legitimate chance to defend their title.
What the Saints have going for them is quarterback Drew Brees and head coach Sean Payton. They know how to attack an opposing defense. They will mean business going up to Seattle and do not want to be known as the team, and the defending champion, that was knocked out by a sub .500 team. That just won’t happen. Perhaps Seattle rides a wave of emotion out of the gate, then gets settled in and faces reality when they come to terms with the fact they are playing the defending champions.
Barring a colossal collapse, this is the Saints’ game to lose. The defending
champions will take care of business. New Orleans 35, Seattle 10.
New York Jets vs Indianapolis Colts
This will be bravado versus business. Rex Ryan and Mark Sanchez against Jim
Caldwell and Peyton Manning. This is a repeat of last year’s AFC Championship Game.
Indianapolis gets to stay home and host the number six seed Jets. Rex Ryan says his Jets
are going to win it all. Well, this isn’t 1969 and Joe Namath is not his quarterback. Matter of fact, this is a team that stubbed its toe when it should be backing up all of the talk from the past, and they were unable to do that.
While just about everyone may be sick of Peyton Manning, you can blame TV and the advertisers for that. Vendors want to tie their wagons to spokesmen/women who portray a positive image and can sell their products or services. Manning cannot be blamed for that. He is just doing the right thing and capitalizing on his image (hear that Tiger Woods?)
This will be a matter of hot air versus experience and experience will win out in this matchup. Like him or not, Peyton Manning is deadly when he is on. These are the playoffs and he knows how to deliver, at least in the first round. The Colts should not have any problem dispatching the Jets in this game.
Indianapolis 31, New York Jets 13.
Baltimore Ravens versus Kansas City Chiefs
This Sunday game will be played at 1:00 pm on CBS. How close were the Ravens to being a number two seed? You can thank Troy Polamalu for the play he made in Baltimore, allowing the offense to score the go ahead, and decisive, touchdown. Now, the Ravens get to travel to Kansas City and take on the Chiefs.
For those not in the know, Kansas City is coached by Todd Haley, who was Ken Whisenhunt’s offensive coordinator in Arizona (who are not in the playoffs, by the way) and left for Kansas City after the Super Bowl in 2009. His offensive coordinator is Charlie Weis, late of New Englamd and Notre Dame, and his defensive coordinator is Romeo Crennel, late of New England and Cleveland. Talk about an intriguing matchup!
So, who do you pick? The Ravens are quarterbacked by Joe Flacco, the Chiefs by Matt Cassel. The other USC quarterback still alive in the playoffs is Mark Sanchez. Cassell never started at USC. Yet Carson Palmer couldn’t get the Cincinnati Bengals into the show, and Matt Leinart is riding pine in Houston for the Texans. Both are former Heisman Trophy winners. That award doesn’t mean so much anymore, now, does it?
The Ravens have a defense that is perhaps feared more due to Ed Reed than Ray Lewis. Ultimately, this could be the most intriguing matchup of the weekend. It’s a coin flip. By a nose, we’ll take Kansas City 17, Baltimore 14.
Green Bay Packers versus Philadelphia Eagles
This is the wrap up game of wild card weekend on Fox. Green Bay assured its spot by beating Chicago last weekend at Lambeau Field and earning the number six seed in the NFC. This could be the most dangerous team in the playoffs, with Aaron Rodgers directing head coach Mike McCarthy’s offense. Rodgers is young and is only getting better. And the defense is led by, among others, A.J. Hawk and Clay Matthews, Jr.
Now, the prevailing wisdom seems to be that having Michael Vick as your quarterback assures you of winning it all. Well, Michael Vick did not win a Super Bowl while in Atlanta, and before his imprisonment for dog fighting. And Philadelphia did win a weak division, where the New York Giants, Washington Redskins, and Dallas Cowboys all wilted under expectations.
Everyone seems to be on the Green Bay bandwagon, this writer included. Once a team gets into the playoffs, anything can happen. The Packers have a team that can do some serous damage. They are playing their best football right now and are a team that no one wants to face in the postseason. The Pack is capable of winning all of their games on the road. It starts in the City of Brotherly Love. Green Bay 20, Philadelphia 10.
Next week, wrap up of Wild Card weekend and a look ahead to whom the Steelers will be facing as well as the other divisional contests.
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