Thoughts on Wild Card games

[Senser81]

Thoughts on Wild Card games

NYJ-Cincy

*Carson Palmer is a shell of himself. He made Mark Sanchez look like Joe Montana.

*Shayne Graham killed his team’s momentum twice in the 2nd half with two FG shanks of easy distances. I think if Graham makes either of those FGs, it’s a different ball game.

*The game was very unappealing to watch. The Jets made two plays the whole game (Greene’s run and Keller’s catch), but that was two more than the Bengals made.

Cowboys-Eagles

*The Eagles guessed wrong with their defensive blitzes all game. They made it pretty easy for the Cowboys to move the ball.

*A healthy Felix Jones could be the X-factor in this year’s playoffs. He and Romo were a tough tandem, and the Cowboys defense was very physical.

*Sometimes Donovan McNabb has bad games. This was one of them.

Pats-Ravens

*It seemed like the Patriots didn’t really care if they won or lost. The fans were booing the team 5 plays into the game. Tom Brady looked stoned.

*I’m not that surprised the Ravens won…if you look at each team on a player-by-player basis, its obvious that the Ravens have the better talent. The Patriots have always been a finesse team, but it was shocking as to how much the Ravens physically dominated New England. Flacco basically didn’t have to throw a pass all game.

Cardinals-Packers

*The Packers never got out of their zone defense. Their LBers provided no obstacle to Kurt Warner’s passes, yet Dom Capers was content to drop his LBers into a short zone and allow Warner all the time in the world to pick his defense apart. That said, Warner was throwing darts off of 3-step drops…it was amazing that Doucet and Breaston would be 5 yards behind the linebackers immediately after the snap.

*Speaking of Warner, he had a tremendous game. His accuracy on downfield throws is incredible. He had one pass down the sideline to Breaston where the Packer DB had pinned Breaston’s left arm, yet Warner was able to have the ball float over the DB’s head and rest gently into Breaston’s right arm. An amazing throw. Lets hope this retirement talk is premature…Warner still has some good football left in him.

 

[ralaw]

LOL, yeah, the Pats really seemed out of it. I’m not sure how much longer Brady can handle having to coddle Moss after every loss of downs. For much of the game Baltimore had single coverage on Moss, but due to the fact that he basically gives up when his team is down he wasn’t much of a factor. Anyone who has watched Baltimore this season knows the team struggles at corner. That Edelman kid is a player though.

 

[Leftwich]

I learned that Warner is very clutch in the playoffs.

Aaron Rodgers looks like he'll be a very good QB in this league in the regular season and post season. He just needs his line to protect better.

 

[killgod]

LOL, yeah, the Pats really seemed out of it. I’m not sure how much longer Brady can handle having to coddle Moss after every loss of downs. For much of the game Baltimore had single coverage on Moss, but due to the fact that he basically gives up when his team is down he wasn’t much of a factor. Anyone who has watched Baltimore this season knows the team struggles at corner. That Edelman kid is a player though.

I don't think Moss was 100%, he was laboring most of the game.

It's easy to say he was just not trying, but I don't think that was the case.

I think this is the official end of Randy Moss superstar WR.

 

[ralaw]

I don't think Moss was 100%, he was laboring most of the game.

It's easy to say he was just not trying, but I don't think that was the case.

I think this is the official end of Randy Moss superstar WR.

Any word on Brady? His throws just seemed off. That was not the Brady that I've enjoyed over the years.

 

[Leftwich]

Any word on Brady? His throws just seemed off. That was not the Brady that I've enjoyed over the years.

He realized yesterday that he'll never catch up to Peyton Manning's 4 MVPs.

 

[killgod]

Any word on Brady? His throws just seemed off. That was not the Brady that I've enjoyed over the years.

I think it was the pressure more than anything, ala Superbowl 2007.

No Welker, Moss is hurt and Edelman hurt his hamstring early so he wasn't 100% either.

That's a bad combination for just about any QB.

 

[killgod]

He realized yesterday that he'll never catch up to Peyton Manning's 4 MVPs.

Was that at the same time Manning realized he'll never win 3 Superbowls?

 

[Leftwich]

Was that at the same time Manning realized he'll never win 3 Superbowls?

Probably. I'm not trying to defend Peyton Manning but god damn Brady did look like Elvis Grbac yesterday.

 

[killgod]

Probably. I'm not trying to defend Peyton Manning but god damn Brady did look like Elvis Grbac yesterday.

lol that's a pretty accurate comparison.

 

[Point Blank]

0-4 in my picks this weekend. Good thing I didn't bet shit :facepalm:

 

[Diivox]

like i said all season, rodgers still doesnt quite have clutch down. he already is a good quarterback, but very good/great is still a few steps away. he needs to get rid of the ball quicker and come through when it matters, and he almost did that yesterday, but almost doesnt mean shit in the playoffs

 

[Archer]

My thoughts

-Far too many blowouts . Thanks for at least giving us a close game Green Bay and Arizona

-I think I got sucked in by the Pats name more than anything . As a Colts fan I still half feared them coming into the playoffs but it turns out that I was giving them more respect than they deserved

-Some teams just don't matchup well . The Eagles could have played Dallas a million times and they would still have struggled like hell in that game

-It was nice to see Kurt Warner cutting defenses apart [lets hope he doesn't retire]

 

[St. Francisco]

-The Baltimore game went exactly like it thought it would...I just had a feeling that the Ravens were going to dominate that game, and they did. I think they'll get a close win against Indy next week, and give the Chargers one hell of a game in the AFC championship.

-The Cowboys REALLY impressed me. I thought Philly would go deep into the playoffs until they got embarassed two weeks in a row. I still have Minnesota going to the Super Bowl, but Dallas coming to town next week has me worried.

-Arizona is looking like the hot team once again, and I think they'll get rid of New Orleans next week, which leaves us with Kurt Warner vs. Brett Favre. They're gonna grab the early bird special at IHOP before the game and talk about where they served during World War II.

 

[ralaw]

like i said all season, rodgers still doesnt quite have clutch down. he already is a good quarterback, but very good/great is still a few steps away. he needs to get rid of the ball quicker and come through when it matters, and he almost did that yesterday, but almost doesnt mean shit in the playoffs

Whats funny is that had Rodgers connected on that pass to Jennings in OT people would be mentioning his name with the elites of the league. Yet, because of the fumble people have resorted back to bashing him for holding on to the ball too long [which that talk had died down when the team was winning to close out the season]. Rodgers is a lot like Roethlisberger in that they’re going to hold on to the ball to make a play…..yeah it isn’t textbook, but both players are among the best at their position and more often than not they’re going to make positive play for their team.

 

[Tailback U]

NYJ-Cincy

The Jets are the most physical team in the playoffs and have a great shot at beating San Diego. If the game was in NYJ, I'd put money on the Jets, but as of right now I'm undecided. Nonetheless, I won't be surprised at all if the Jets beat the Chargers.

The Chargers are a passing team and don't run the ball well. Antonio Gates will be the x-factor because Revis will shut Jackson down. The Jets will be able to run the ball and control the clock, if Sanchez can continue his recent play and not turn the ball over, I think the Jets move on to the AFC Championship game.

Cowboys-Eagles

I gave the Eagles too much credit and the Cowboys not enough. For every great game Donovan McNabb has, he has an equally as bad one. Romo has been playing lights out for over a month now, I should have known better, especially since Dallas already beat Philly twice.

That said, the Vikings are not the Eagles and Brett Favre is not Donovan McNabb. I fully believe in Favre and think the Cowboys roller coaster season comes to end this week.

Pats-Ravens

I think it's safe to say that Belichick might have finally realized that you can't just keep plugging in jersey numbers and expect everything to be fine. The loss of Seymour, Bruschi, Vrabel, Harrison, etc., really hurt New England this year.

They had no leadership or toughness on that team this season, as evidenced by the Ravens proved kicking the ever living shit out of them.

The Ravens looked great on defense but don't get it twisted - they aren't going to make Peyton Manning look like Elvis Grbac and they're going to have to complete more than 4 passes if they want to beat the Colts.

Cardinals-Packers

Never underestimate proven hall of fame quarterbacks in the playoffs. Especially when they've been playing some of the best football of their career and are at the end of their career.

Excited about the Cards/Saints game but pretty comfortable about picking the Cards.

Like I said, I fully believe in proven HOF QBs like Warner, Favre, and Manning. That's why they are my 3 favorites to go to the Super Bowl.

As of right now, I have the Cards over the Vikings in the NFC Championship game but that could change depending on Favre's performance against the Cowboys this week.

 

[mobbdeep1122]

It was Rodgers first ever playoff game. I thought he did pretty damn well considering the circumstances. He had some early jitters but put up 45 points. Anytime you put 45 in a playoff game (or any game) you should win. Rodgers may not be elite now but I can see him becoming one of the best in the game as he gains experience.

Packers fans have to feel a lot better of their QB situation after seeing Rodgers' performance yesterday.

 

[Tailback U]

It was Rodgers first ever playoff game. I thought he did pretty damn well considering the circumstances. He had some early jitters but put up 45 points. Anytime you put 45 in a playoff game (or any game) you should win. Rodgers may not be elite now but I can see him becoming one of the best in the game as he gains experience.

Packers fans have to feel a lot better of their QB situation after seeing Rodgers' performance yesterday.

I don't think anyone is going to argue with you.

Rodgers looked great but his early interception and late fumble cost the Packers the game. Warner played flawless and Rodgers did not, so there is definitely a gap between the two but that is expected because Rodgers is so young.

The kid has the ability to be a potential hall of fame quarterback, he just needs to learn how to win. I won't be surprised if the Packers are the NFC favorite to go to the Super Bowl next year if Favre and Warner both retire.

 

[mobbdeep1122]

I don't think anyone is going to argue with you.

Rodgers looked great but his early interception and late fumble cost the Packers the game. Warner played flawless and Rodgers did not, so there is definitely a gap between the two but that is expected because Rodgers is so young.

The kid has the ability to be a potential hall of fame quarterback, he just needs to learn how to win. I won't be surprised if the Packers are the NFC favorite to go to the Super Bowl next year if Favre and Warner both retire.

I'm with ya. Like we said it was Rodgers first playoff game. He'll get better as he gains experience. It's clear to see he's not the level of Warner yet. I think he'll get there in time.

PS- Warner is unbelievable. I hope he doesn't retire after this season.

 

[Bear Pand]

Jets are gonna have to stop playing so conservatively on offense. They had the ball around midfield with ~2minutes to go before half time and also had 2 timeouts, they chose to basically try to run the clock out. They're probably the only team left that would do that and it's not gonna work against teams that can move the ball on offense.

There was also another drive where had like a 3rd and 6 already in field goal range and ran some lame "give up" play and settled for a fg instead of trying to throw for a first and move into the redzone. That combined with constant wildcat runs on 3rd down shows me that the Jets still don't trust Sanchez so it'll be fun to see what happens this week if San Diego can move the ball on that D.