Since Saturday night, all I’ve been hearing is that Aaron Rodgers had an uncharacteristically bad day. Otherwise, they seem to say, the Giants could’ve lost their battle with the #1 seed and 15-1 Green Bay Packers. They outline each and every time Rodgers missed a pass or one of his receivers dropped a ball.
I say “bullshit.”
Rodgers missed the passes because he was out-of-synch all game long. The best passer in the world was only normal when he had pass-rushers up his butt all afternoon. His receivers got a little jumpy when they had defensive backs and linebackers growing out of their backs. Packer running backs found a lot of tough going and every Packer had to make sure they held onto that football.
Pressure. That’s what stopped the Packers. Relentless all-day-long hits and eleven guys paying attention, an offense the Packers kind of knew they couldn’t stop, a quarterback named Manning making all the throws and making all the right calls. The combination of all that was just too much for the green and gold, even at home.
There would be very few leaps into the stands that day.
I had called it exactly right. I had said that it would take the best defense in the league to stop Aaron Rodgers and all those nifty receivers, Finley and Jennings and Jordy Nelson and Donald Driver. And it did take some really great defense to do it. I think the Giants have the best defense in the league. Who’s better….the Ravens?
I don’t think so.
Not the guys from Baltimore, not the 49ers and certainly not the New England Patriots. The Giants are the best defense in the league. The 49ers will have something to say about that this weekend but it wasn’t the Niners defense that won their game against Drew Brees and the Saints, although for almost 3 quarters, they showed they were awfully tough.
In the final quarter, the Niners were getting picked apart. It was an almost miraculous performance by the Niners offense that saved the Niners day. Alex Smith and Vernon Davis saved the Niners. The Saints defense couldn’t stop a perfectly-thrown goal line pass to Vernon Davis. They couldn’t stop Alex Smith running with the ball. The Saints dared Alex Smith to beat them and so he did.
The Niners may beat the Giants but it won’t be their defense stifling Manning and those wide-outs. They may stop the run pretty well but the Giants should get their points. Hell, they may even be able to run the ball, though the wise would be wise to not count on such a happening.
Even Eli and all his weapons will have trouble penetrating that sure to be pumped-up Niners defense in San Francisco. But I think they eventually will. It’ll probably come late in the game, after having pressured that Niners secondary all day long.
The G-Men will eventually take the lead and hold it. Alex Smith and Vernon Davis won’t beat these Giants. The home field of that City by the Bay won’t beat them. After all, they’ve already come through that gigantic structure in Dallas and that frozen tundra in Green Bay. Those la-la Niners fans won’t shake them. It’s not likely anyway.
What might be likely is a bit of a Giants letdown. They’ve been through a lot of pressure themselves. This will be their umpty-ump must-win game in a row. And it’ll be the first time in these playoffs that they won’t be facing an acknowledged defense-killer at quarterback, no Romo, no Rodgers, just a guy named Smith.
And they’ve faced these Niners before. To a man, they think they should have won that game. That previous experience can do two things. It can build up confidence or it can lead to a little bit of complacency on the field. After all, it won’t be Rodgers guiding those Niners….just Alex Smith.
Our heroes will also be facing arguably the best head coach in the league. Jim Harbaugh doesn’t make mistakes. He’s no Mike Smith, the Falcons head coach, the 4th and 1 wonder. He’s no Jason Garrett either. He’s probably on a par with that Green Bay head coach who won 15 games this season.
Harbaugh will keep that team motivated. He’ll probably figure a way of getting to Eli. Harbaugh will likely find some chink in that Giants armor. It’ll probably be centered around the Niners running game and that horse Frank Gore.
But the Falcons had a horse of a runner in Michael Turner. He didn’t do much. And the Falcons had a great receiving corps…Julio Jones and Roddy White and that venerable Tony Gonzalez at tight end. That contingent scored zero versus the Giants. Sure, Mike Smith was a handicap but even the best head coach would’ve had trouble with the Giants that day.
The Niners though have some Smiths of their own, some formidable Smiths, not just Alex but also Aldon and Justin in that steely Niners front seven. Justin is especially scary. Anybody who witnessed him charging through that Saints offensive line won’t take anything for granted this weekend. The Harbaugh Niners are really tough and play really hard.
Unlikely as it seems to me, the Giants are currently the underdog in this matchup by 2 ½ points, no doubt due primarily to hosting the game in San Fran. The over-under is currently 42. That means the rest of the world thinks the Niners will come out on top by a score of 22 ¼ to 19 ¾.
I don’t think so. Yeah, I know all about the brilliant Niners coaching and their terrific kicking game and their stingy defense but the Giants ain’t chopped liver either. Harbaugh acknowledged as much the other day. He seemed to be of the same mind as Green Bay when they decided to on-sides kick in a tie game, that they would need an extra possession to win.
If the better team prevails, it’ll be the Giants game.
Showing posts with label Packers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Packers. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Monday, February 7, 2011
The Good Guys Won
Aside from the blow to my ego, having picked the Steelers to beat the Packers, everything else about the game was great, assuming, of course, you didn’t watch the halftime show. But the good guys got a commanding lead, the bad guys came back and the good guys held on.
Why are the Packers good guys? Listen to Aaron Rodgers talk, or Clay Matthews, or Greg Jennings or Charles Woodson. They’re all gentlemen. They don’t brag, they don’t say stupid things, they don’t play dirty and heck, they even covered the spread 31-25.
The Steelers aren’t really bad guys either. But their persona is at least somewhat bad, with Roethlisberger’s indiscretions (to say the least), Harrison’s illegal hits to the head and his stolid defense of them, and Hines Ward’s chippy blocks. But those things don’t really make them bad. It just makes them what they are, a really tough football team.
But they weren’t so tough yesterday. And that’s why they lost.
They didn’t play like the Steelers at all. I’d characterize their performance as uncharacteristic except for the fact that good teams can make you look bad. That’s what good teams do and that’s what the Packers were yesterday, a really good team.
Yeah, yeah, I know, the turnovers lost it for the black and gold. But it’s not as if they weren’t forced. You could also say the breaks and even the early officiating, went against the Steelers, but, in a way, the Packers forced those things too.
From the very start of the game, the Pack won the toss and elected to receive, thus throwing down the gauntlet right away, much as the Jets did against the Steelers, albeit with a very different result. The Jets proceeded to get run over by the Steelers running game and Rashard Mendenhall after they issued their challenge.
I recall thinking that the election to kick was brilliant but only if the Pack could shut the Steelers down on that first drive. This time the Steelers went 3 and out. The Packers were saying, “We’re not the Jets”. And the Steelers had to accept it after their offense sputtered.
The two teams slugged it out in the early stages, like two heavyweight fighters feeling each other out. But the Packers landed a couple of lefts and a couple of rights, some Starks runs and a few Rodgers completions, and the Pack hit the board first, taking full advantage of the weakness in the Steelers secondary and making Jordy Nelson look like Randy Moss in his heyday.
At this point, a really good team comes back immediately. Roethlisberger certainly tried, maybe a little too hard. On first and ten, deep in his own territory, he threw a floater and Green Bay’s Nick Collins not only picked it off but then made a nifty runback for the touchdown. To use a boxing analogy again, that was like scoring a knockdown…7-0 became 14-0.
Only then did the Steelers start to turn things the other way, driving the ball for 6 minutes or so, mixing the run and the pass, and getting on the board with a field goal to make it 14-3. They had a good round but were still trailing. Then they had another good round by forcing a 3 and out of their own.
The Steelers were on the move again, or should have been. But after about a 4-minute promising drive, Big Ben got picked again when free safety Jarrod Bush out-wrestled a Steeler for the ball and killed another drive. The Pack had scored a big counterpunch.
Right around then, all the hard play going on got reflected in injuries. The Steelers lost WR Sanders. The Pack lost Donald Driver, an even more fearsome receiver. Then Pack All-World corner (and more) Charles Woodson broke his collarbone stretching out for the INT but hitting the ground hard instead.
But the Pack wasn’t comfortable yet at just 14-3. Rodgers hit Greg Jennings over the middle for the third Packers touchdown of the day. It was a nice catch between defenders and Jennings held on tight after he got hit. Now it was 21-3 and at this point a lesser team than the Steelers would have been feeling a little groggy.
But the Steelers aren’t chopped liver either. In less than a minute, Roethlisberger found Antawn Randle El for a nice long one and Hines Ward a few times, the last one for a TD making it 21-10 just before the second half. The Black and Gold were serving notice they’d be showing up for the second half.
And show up they did. They dominated the third quarter. After forcing a Packers punt, they ran and passed their way back into the game, punctuated by a tough, hard (redundant) Rashard Mendenhall run, making it 21-17. After forcing still another Pack 3 and out, they drove down the field again but the Packers held on.
At this point, a coaching decision once again had a big impact. After the Steelers drive stalled, they elected to try the 52-yard field goal. But the move made no sense, risking the kicking of Shawn Suisham rather than the Steelers defense pinning the Pack down deep in their own end.
Coach Mike Tomlin gave the Pack a reprieve. The Steelers’ momentum stalled.
The Pack had managed to keep their head in front throughout, like Affirmed holding off Alydar down the stretch. Then, when things started to look their bleakest, the Pack’s Clay Matthews forced the Mendenhall fumble.
The fumble ignited the Pack. Rodgers hit a few passes and it was soon 28-17. The Steelers came back once again to make it 28-25 (after a 2-point conversion was good) but the Pack held on once more, driving for a field goal, forcing the Steelers to have to drive the length of the field for the TD to win.
After having gallantly held on, the good guys could have still lost this thing. But they didn’t. They held on.
Why are the Packers good guys? Listen to Aaron Rodgers talk, or Clay Matthews, or Greg Jennings or Charles Woodson. They’re all gentlemen. They don’t brag, they don’t say stupid things, they don’t play dirty and heck, they even covered the spread 31-25.
The Steelers aren’t really bad guys either. But their persona is at least somewhat bad, with Roethlisberger’s indiscretions (to say the least), Harrison’s illegal hits to the head and his stolid defense of them, and Hines Ward’s chippy blocks. But those things don’t really make them bad. It just makes them what they are, a really tough football team.
But they weren’t so tough yesterday. And that’s why they lost.
They didn’t play like the Steelers at all. I’d characterize their performance as uncharacteristic except for the fact that good teams can make you look bad. That’s what good teams do and that’s what the Packers were yesterday, a really good team.
Yeah, yeah, I know, the turnovers lost it for the black and gold. But it’s not as if they weren’t forced. You could also say the breaks and even the early officiating, went against the Steelers, but, in a way, the Packers forced those things too.
From the very start of the game, the Pack won the toss and elected to receive, thus throwing down the gauntlet right away, much as the Jets did against the Steelers, albeit with a very different result. The Jets proceeded to get run over by the Steelers running game and Rashard Mendenhall after they issued their challenge.
I recall thinking that the election to kick was brilliant but only if the Pack could shut the Steelers down on that first drive. This time the Steelers went 3 and out. The Packers were saying, “We’re not the Jets”. And the Steelers had to accept it after their offense sputtered.
The two teams slugged it out in the early stages, like two heavyweight fighters feeling each other out. But the Packers landed a couple of lefts and a couple of rights, some Starks runs and a few Rodgers completions, and the Pack hit the board first, taking full advantage of the weakness in the Steelers secondary and making Jordy Nelson look like Randy Moss in his heyday.
At this point, a really good team comes back immediately. Roethlisberger certainly tried, maybe a little too hard. On first and ten, deep in his own territory, he threw a floater and Green Bay’s Nick Collins not only picked it off but then made a nifty runback for the touchdown. To use a boxing analogy again, that was like scoring a knockdown…7-0 became 14-0.
Only then did the Steelers start to turn things the other way, driving the ball for 6 minutes or so, mixing the run and the pass, and getting on the board with a field goal to make it 14-3. They had a good round but were still trailing. Then they had another good round by forcing a 3 and out of their own.
The Steelers were on the move again, or should have been. But after about a 4-minute promising drive, Big Ben got picked again when free safety Jarrod Bush out-wrestled a Steeler for the ball and killed another drive. The Pack had scored a big counterpunch.
Right around then, all the hard play going on got reflected in injuries. The Steelers lost WR Sanders. The Pack lost Donald Driver, an even more fearsome receiver. Then Pack All-World corner (and more) Charles Woodson broke his collarbone stretching out for the INT but hitting the ground hard instead.
But the Pack wasn’t comfortable yet at just 14-3. Rodgers hit Greg Jennings over the middle for the third Packers touchdown of the day. It was a nice catch between defenders and Jennings held on tight after he got hit. Now it was 21-3 and at this point a lesser team than the Steelers would have been feeling a little groggy.
But the Steelers aren’t chopped liver either. In less than a minute, Roethlisberger found Antawn Randle El for a nice long one and Hines Ward a few times, the last one for a TD making it 21-10 just before the second half. The Black and Gold were serving notice they’d be showing up for the second half.
And show up they did. They dominated the third quarter. After forcing a Packers punt, they ran and passed their way back into the game, punctuated by a tough, hard (redundant) Rashard Mendenhall run, making it 21-17. After forcing still another Pack 3 and out, they drove down the field again but the Packers held on.
At this point, a coaching decision once again had a big impact. After the Steelers drive stalled, they elected to try the 52-yard field goal. But the move made no sense, risking the kicking of Shawn Suisham rather than the Steelers defense pinning the Pack down deep in their own end.
Coach Mike Tomlin gave the Pack a reprieve. The Steelers’ momentum stalled.
The Pack had managed to keep their head in front throughout, like Affirmed holding off Alydar down the stretch. Then, when things started to look their bleakest, the Pack’s Clay Matthews forced the Mendenhall fumble.
The fumble ignited the Pack. Rodgers hit a few passes and it was soon 28-17. The Steelers came back once again to make it 28-25 (after a 2-point conversion was good) but the Pack held on once more, driving for a field goal, forcing the Steelers to have to drive the length of the field for the TD to win.
After having gallantly held on, the good guys could have still lost this thing. But they didn’t. They held on.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
It'll Be Steelers Again
Okay, after studying this thing to death for 2 or 3 days, I can confidently say the Steelers should win this 45th Super Duper Bowl. Although they are still 2 ½ point underdogs in this contest, and most observers have picked the Packers to win, football games are dictated by matchups, and this particular matchup favors the team from Pittsburgh.
Most prognosticators are infatuated with Aaron Rodgers and his remarkable performances and numbers, much as they were quite taken by Tom Brady earlier in the season. Both those QB’s, and both those teams, can just eat an opponent up, and do more often than not.
When they cannot eat up their opponents though, when the opponent has a sound defensive plan against the pass, as the Bears did in their three contests against the Packers and as the Jets did in their playoffs victory, those QB’s and those teams have looked very vulnerable.
The Steelers will be able to run the ball, conspicuously to the left side, or the Packers right side, away from both AJ Hawk and Clay Matthews. The Steelers offensive line will be good enough in the running game to allow Ben Roethlisberger to pass just enough to keep the Pack defense honest. The Steelers will run left, run left, and run left some more.
Aaron Rodgers will get his passing yards to all those great receivers. The Pack will matriculate the ball down the field and, more often than not, fail to score the touchdown. Their running game will not go. Nobody runs on this Steelers defensive unit, especially not the Packers.
The Steelers offense can be compared closely with the offense of the Atlanta Falcons in that they have a big running back, a smart quarterback and a couple of good receivers. The Falcons played the Packers twice. In the first contest, a very meaningful one for both teams, Michael Turner ran successfully all day long, very conspicuously, to the Packers right side. The Falcons prevailed 20-17 in that one on a very late field goal.
In the second contest, the even more important playoff game, the Packers romped. In that contest, the Falcons, after taking a lead early, couldn’t stop Aaron Rodgers and the Pack passing game at all. To make matters much worse, Falcons QB Matt Ryan was intercepted for another TD, and the rout was on. The Falcons abandoned their running game. They had to.
The Steelers won’t have to abandon the running game. The Steelers pass defense is much better than that of the Falcons. They may be stopped early in the game but they’ll keep running. They may fall behind (in fact, it’s likely that they will fall behind), but they won’t fall behind by enough to force them to abandon their game plan. Very likely, they’ll give up two or three field goals, and one, possibly even two touchdowns, but the total Pack scoring will be relatively low, from 20 to 23 points.
The MVP of this game will very likely be Rashard Mendenhall. If the Steelers have success early in the game, as they did against the Jets, the game could conceivably get totally out of hand. If the Packers fall behind and get a little antsy, even an Aaron Rodgers could get picked a couple of times. And if they don’t get antsy, they still won’t have much success.
It’s likely though that the Pack will have at least some success early. The Steelers will likely be playing catch-up, something they’re well equipped to do. They’ll grind it out and keep their composure. The mistakes will be few and far between. They’ll own the second half and especially the fourth quarter. They can play conservatively and win this game. The Packers cannot.
The Packers pass the ball. That’s what they do. But how did they fare against the Bears, a team that plays defense much as do the Steelers? Not too shabby really, they lost the first one, and then won the last two. But they only scored ten points in their first win and 21 in the playoff victory, in which Cutler, the Bears QB, had to leave the game.
The Steelers are not the Bears. Their styles of defense can be compared but the players really can’t be. The Steelers play that defense better. The Steelers are better offensively than the Bears too. They can beat you with the run and they can beat you with the pass. And if you do manage to score, it’ll be an aberration.
The Packers are a very good team. There can be no question about that. They actually tied the Steelers in scoring defense this year. But they have no running game. The Steelers do. That will make the difference, as it does so often in playoff games, and especially in Steelers playoff games.
If the Packers have any advantage, it is that they have proven tough enough to win three playoff games on the road, at Philadelphia, at Atlanta and at Chicago. The road means nothing to them, and they could consider Super Bowl site Dallas as just another playoffs road game. The Steelers have been a good road team as well though, having lost only one road game all year. But their most recent wins were at home.
There are always a million intangibles of course. Turnovers should be even. Statistically, the two teams are very close. The Packers are probably healthier, especially with the question surrounding the Steelers first-string center Pouncey, but his replacement, Doug Legursky, has been tough, especially in the running game. Coaching should be a wash. Both teams have brilliant head coaches and coordinators, especially on the defensive side.
Another important intangible though is the effect that experience will have on this game. The Steelers have a huge edge in experience, and successful experience at that. The Packers have a big-time heritage for sure but their recent legacy has been pretty slim.
It’ll be 24-20 or so in favor of the Steelers.
Most prognosticators are infatuated with Aaron Rodgers and his remarkable performances and numbers, much as they were quite taken by Tom Brady earlier in the season. Both those QB’s, and both those teams, can just eat an opponent up, and do more often than not.
When they cannot eat up their opponents though, when the opponent has a sound defensive plan against the pass, as the Bears did in their three contests against the Packers and as the Jets did in their playoffs victory, those QB’s and those teams have looked very vulnerable.
The Steelers will be able to run the ball, conspicuously to the left side, or the Packers right side, away from both AJ Hawk and Clay Matthews. The Steelers offensive line will be good enough in the running game to allow Ben Roethlisberger to pass just enough to keep the Pack defense honest. The Steelers will run left, run left, and run left some more.
Aaron Rodgers will get his passing yards to all those great receivers. The Pack will matriculate the ball down the field and, more often than not, fail to score the touchdown. Their running game will not go. Nobody runs on this Steelers defensive unit, especially not the Packers.
The Steelers offense can be compared closely with the offense of the Atlanta Falcons in that they have a big running back, a smart quarterback and a couple of good receivers. The Falcons played the Packers twice. In the first contest, a very meaningful one for both teams, Michael Turner ran successfully all day long, very conspicuously, to the Packers right side. The Falcons prevailed 20-17 in that one on a very late field goal.
In the second contest, the even more important playoff game, the Packers romped. In that contest, the Falcons, after taking a lead early, couldn’t stop Aaron Rodgers and the Pack passing game at all. To make matters much worse, Falcons QB Matt Ryan was intercepted for another TD, and the rout was on. The Falcons abandoned their running game. They had to.
The Steelers won’t have to abandon the running game. The Steelers pass defense is much better than that of the Falcons. They may be stopped early in the game but they’ll keep running. They may fall behind (in fact, it’s likely that they will fall behind), but they won’t fall behind by enough to force them to abandon their game plan. Very likely, they’ll give up two or three field goals, and one, possibly even two touchdowns, but the total Pack scoring will be relatively low, from 20 to 23 points.
The MVP of this game will very likely be Rashard Mendenhall. If the Steelers have success early in the game, as they did against the Jets, the game could conceivably get totally out of hand. If the Packers fall behind and get a little antsy, even an Aaron Rodgers could get picked a couple of times. And if they don’t get antsy, they still won’t have much success.
It’s likely though that the Pack will have at least some success early. The Steelers will likely be playing catch-up, something they’re well equipped to do. They’ll grind it out and keep their composure. The mistakes will be few and far between. They’ll own the second half and especially the fourth quarter. They can play conservatively and win this game. The Packers cannot.
The Packers pass the ball. That’s what they do. But how did they fare against the Bears, a team that plays defense much as do the Steelers? Not too shabby really, they lost the first one, and then won the last two. But they only scored ten points in their first win and 21 in the playoff victory, in which Cutler, the Bears QB, had to leave the game.
The Steelers are not the Bears. Their styles of defense can be compared but the players really can’t be. The Steelers play that defense better. The Steelers are better offensively than the Bears too. They can beat you with the run and they can beat you with the pass. And if you do manage to score, it’ll be an aberration.
The Packers are a very good team. There can be no question about that. They actually tied the Steelers in scoring defense this year. But they have no running game. The Steelers do. That will make the difference, as it does so often in playoff games, and especially in Steelers playoff games.
If the Packers have any advantage, it is that they have proven tough enough to win three playoff games on the road, at Philadelphia, at Atlanta and at Chicago. The road means nothing to them, and they could consider Super Bowl site Dallas as just another playoffs road game. The Steelers have been a good road team as well though, having lost only one road game all year. But their most recent wins were at home.
There are always a million intangibles of course. Turnovers should be even. Statistically, the two teams are very close. The Packers are probably healthier, especially with the question surrounding the Steelers first-string center Pouncey, but his replacement, Doug Legursky, has been tough, especially in the running game. Coaching should be a wash. Both teams have brilliant head coaches and coordinators, especially on the defensive side.
Another important intangible though is the effect that experience will have on this game. The Steelers have a huge edge in experience, and successful experience at that. The Packers have a big-time heritage for sure but their recent legacy has been pretty slim.
It’ll be 24-20 or so in favor of the Steelers.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust
Week 17 was another one of those monkey weeks for me as I finished 8-7 for the week to finish the regular season with a not quite heroic 101-86-4 record for the year. I won’t even look at what percentage of wins that is but it’s a hell of a lot better than .500. And hey! We are using point spreads here. None of that ESPN-ish winners picks on this site. We’re all grown up now.
Anyway, as for last week, there is an excuse or two to offer. I would have sworn the Bengals would have tried a little harder last week. And that goes for Indianapolis too. I was really disappointed in both teams really, Indianapolis because it was bad enough they had already thrown the towel in on an undefeated season and the Bengals because they had been one of my feel-good teams this year along with the Niners. I expected more from them.
Then the Eagles threw in a real dud against the Cowboys. I still can’t figure out whether the NFC East title meant anything at all to them. But did they really figure the Giants had any chance whatever against the Vikings? I don’t think so. So they had no real shot at the 2 seed and, as far as I know, the NFL isn’t handing out championship belts to just any old division winner. So the Eagles had nothing to gain and everything to lose by throwing all their cards on the table. As Romo had a lot of time to throw, I have to think they were just dogging it. Even Romo was surprised.
But that doesn’t mean I think they’ll beat Dallas. I think they’ll lose by around six. Sometimes you can do all your shrewd little ruses and outsmart yourself. I think that’s what will happen to the Eagles. They’ll come out with fire but they’ll be in the Cowboys gigantic home, and there’ll be cheerleaders and that low scoreboard and Jerry Jones….the first bad thing that happens to the Eagles will just incite that crowd and before you know it, things will start turning bad.
The Eagles are pretty young too. It’s usually experience that pulls teams through these postseason wars and the Eagles just don’t have that much of it. So they’ll bring the heat and maybe get burned and then there’ll be Marion Barber bein’ pesky and Demarcus Ware making things tough on Donovan and maybe some of these young Eagles guns will get the dropsies or fumble or just not be as good as they usually are.
The Cowboys have had enough bad things happen to them. They’ll play a conservative game for them but they’ll frustrate that Philly offense and hang around till the pressure gets to those Birds, whose offense just isn’t that versatile. I figure there’ll be a turnover or two at just the wrong time and the Boyz will prevail.
The over-under’s at 45 and the Eagles get 3 ½ but it won’t be enough. I think it’ll be 26-20, Cowboys.
But the game most New Yorkers (and Jerseyans) care about is the Jets game. It’s difficult to say what will happen under these peculiar circumstances, playing the same team again, one that you beat handily but they didn’t give it their best. They didn’t start their Cedric Benson. They gave 3 of their defensive injured another week off.
Interestingly enough, these 3 injured defensemen ain’t just chopped liver. I know. The Bengals were my fantasy defense. They lost Geathers first as I recall, then the other two shortly thereafter. Robert Geathers is their best defensive lineman. When they lost the defensive tackle as well, Domata Peko, the whole left side of their defense was decimated. (They play a 4-3). Peka is 6-3 and 325 and is key to the Bengals run defense. The other injured Bengal was Chris Crocker, their free safety, and we all saw what happened to the Giants when they lost their safety. All three are returning. They’ll be full-strength for the first time in weeks. They’ll be psyched in Cincinnati. Count on it.
So count on the Jets not having quite as much success on the ground. They’ll get some yards but it won’t even approach what they had last week. There could be a lot of three and outs. And then Sanchez will throw. He’ll throw some safe stuff and he’ll be careful with the ball. And sooner or later he’ll find Braylon Edwards, who might even make a catch.
Speaking of versatile offenses, the Jets don’t have one. They’ve been running their way to mini-celebrity in the City and that’ll continue but they just won’t be very good at it tomorrow. Cotchery, Dustin Keller, Braylon Edwards, they just aren’t that formidable.
Speaking of formidable, though, that would be their defense. They won’t go away. And Cedric Benson may be their #1 running back but I just don’t think he’ll make that much of a difference. They’ll fare better than last week, probably running at the middle of the Jets defense, hoping to take advantage of good ol’ Sione Pouha. (I love that name).
So what we’ll see tomorrow is the same kind of offense from both sides. It’ll be one of those battles for field position, 3 yards and a cloud of dust….stuff like that.
The over-under is 34. The Jets are getting 2 ½. I figure that’ll be just about right. The Jets will cover but they may not win. That’s the bad news. Carson Palmer being who he is and Mark Sanchez being who he is, you have to like the Bengals chances late in the game.
The most likely scenario is another Falcons affair, a late Bengals touchdown to put them ahead by one. The good news, besides covering the spread, is that they’ll look pretty good and won’t totally embarrass themselves. Hell, they might even win.
But I don’t expect it.
Other games:
Pats 27-24 over Baltimore. Ravens cover
Packers 30-27 over Cards in a pickem game.
Anyway, as for last week, there is an excuse or two to offer. I would have sworn the Bengals would have tried a little harder last week. And that goes for Indianapolis too. I was really disappointed in both teams really, Indianapolis because it was bad enough they had already thrown the towel in on an undefeated season and the Bengals because they had been one of my feel-good teams this year along with the Niners. I expected more from them.
Then the Eagles threw in a real dud against the Cowboys. I still can’t figure out whether the NFC East title meant anything at all to them. But did they really figure the Giants had any chance whatever against the Vikings? I don’t think so. So they had no real shot at the 2 seed and, as far as I know, the NFL isn’t handing out championship belts to just any old division winner. So the Eagles had nothing to gain and everything to lose by throwing all their cards on the table. As Romo had a lot of time to throw, I have to think they were just dogging it. Even Romo was surprised.
But that doesn’t mean I think they’ll beat Dallas. I think they’ll lose by around six. Sometimes you can do all your shrewd little ruses and outsmart yourself. I think that’s what will happen to the Eagles. They’ll come out with fire but they’ll be in the Cowboys gigantic home, and there’ll be cheerleaders and that low scoreboard and Jerry Jones….the first bad thing that happens to the Eagles will just incite that crowd and before you know it, things will start turning bad.
The Eagles are pretty young too. It’s usually experience that pulls teams through these postseason wars and the Eagles just don’t have that much of it. So they’ll bring the heat and maybe get burned and then there’ll be Marion Barber bein’ pesky and Demarcus Ware making things tough on Donovan and maybe some of these young Eagles guns will get the dropsies or fumble or just not be as good as they usually are.
The Cowboys have had enough bad things happen to them. They’ll play a conservative game for them but they’ll frustrate that Philly offense and hang around till the pressure gets to those Birds, whose offense just isn’t that versatile. I figure there’ll be a turnover or two at just the wrong time and the Boyz will prevail.
The over-under’s at 45 and the Eagles get 3 ½ but it won’t be enough. I think it’ll be 26-20, Cowboys.
But the game most New Yorkers (and Jerseyans) care about is the Jets game. It’s difficult to say what will happen under these peculiar circumstances, playing the same team again, one that you beat handily but they didn’t give it their best. They didn’t start their Cedric Benson. They gave 3 of their defensive injured another week off.
Interestingly enough, these 3 injured defensemen ain’t just chopped liver. I know. The Bengals were my fantasy defense. They lost Geathers first as I recall, then the other two shortly thereafter. Robert Geathers is their best defensive lineman. When they lost the defensive tackle as well, Domata Peko, the whole left side of their defense was decimated. (They play a 4-3). Peka is 6-3 and 325 and is key to the Bengals run defense. The other injured Bengal was Chris Crocker, their free safety, and we all saw what happened to the Giants when they lost their safety. All three are returning. They’ll be full-strength for the first time in weeks. They’ll be psyched in Cincinnati. Count on it.
So count on the Jets not having quite as much success on the ground. They’ll get some yards but it won’t even approach what they had last week. There could be a lot of three and outs. And then Sanchez will throw. He’ll throw some safe stuff and he’ll be careful with the ball. And sooner or later he’ll find Braylon Edwards, who might even make a catch.
Speaking of versatile offenses, the Jets don’t have one. They’ve been running their way to mini-celebrity in the City and that’ll continue but they just won’t be very good at it tomorrow. Cotchery, Dustin Keller, Braylon Edwards, they just aren’t that formidable.
Speaking of formidable, though, that would be their defense. They won’t go away. And Cedric Benson may be their #1 running back but I just don’t think he’ll make that much of a difference. They’ll fare better than last week, probably running at the middle of the Jets defense, hoping to take advantage of good ol’ Sione Pouha. (I love that name).
So what we’ll see tomorrow is the same kind of offense from both sides. It’ll be one of those battles for field position, 3 yards and a cloud of dust….stuff like that.
The over-under is 34. The Jets are getting 2 ½. I figure that’ll be just about right. The Jets will cover but they may not win. That’s the bad news. Carson Palmer being who he is and Mark Sanchez being who he is, you have to like the Bengals chances late in the game.
The most likely scenario is another Falcons affair, a late Bengals touchdown to put them ahead by one. The good news, besides covering the spread, is that they’ll look pretty good and won’t totally embarrass themselves. Hell, they might even win.
But I don’t expect it.
Other games:
Pats 27-24 over Baltimore. Ravens cover
Packers 30-27 over Cards in a pickem game.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Colts-Saints by any Measure
It’s amazing that after all these weeks, we still don’t really know which teams are the best. The quality of teams is entirely dependent upon injuries and current form, so the “best” becomes a moving target. Some teams come on at the end, as the Giants did in 2007. The Cowboys, if they can keep it up for another couple of weeks, may be that team this year, as unlikely as that may seem.
But, in the NFC, there’s slim pickin’s. The Saints proved their vulnerability to the Cowboys. The Vikings were shellacked by the now 6-8 Panthers. The Eagles beat a pretty good Niners team and the Giants pasted the Skins. But it would be hard to rate any of the NFC teams with the AFC Colts or Chargers. The closest candidate might be the Eagles.
Week 15 was a horror for some of those NFC teams, and myself for that matter. Nothing figured. If a monkey made my weekly picks, he would’ve killed me.
Minnesota was vastly disappointing. I know this because my best early-year fantasy pickup was Sidney Rice. His QB, Favre, had no time at all. Period. And the great Adrian Peterson did nothing against the now 6-8 Panthers, who proved their inconsistency once again, in a good way.
The Saints looked awful but that might have been the Cowboys doing. Drew Brees had no time to throw. DeMarcus Ware was everywhere. Brees, my fantasy QB, had his first truly bad performance. But if anybody ever had an excuse, it was Mr. Brees. The Cowboys were gangbusters.
The Eagles played a nice game vs. Mike Singletary’s 49ers, and in so doing, to my mind climbed up a few notches. Much as baseball pitchers can have quality starts, teams can have quality wins…good offense, defense and special teams. And it was their 5th win in a row.
The Packers have a great aerial attack and they showed that once again against the Steelers. But their defense leaves a whole lot to be desired, so they lost to Big Ben and the Steelers in the final seconds….just a horrible loss.
While I’m happy the Giants did play better, can they do it two weeks in a row against those same Panthers that kicked butt against Minnesota? While the Skins win proves they can perform with their backs against the wall against a team in turmoil (bye bye Coach Zorn), can they show up again this Sunday?
Personally, I don’t think so. They’ll have to show me.
The Cards kept the lowly Lions in the game till the very end. The Cards will drive you crazy…totally schizo for two years running, but they did do just enough to hold on. And you get the feeling that they’re always a little better than your eyes are telling you.
So, if I had to rate the NFC right now, it’d be Saints, Eagles, Cards, Cowboys, Vikings and Packers. Sorry Giants, you just missed my cut, and you’ll probably miss the actual playoffs cut too. It’s interesting to note that the QB’s involved are Brees, McNabb, Warner, Romo, Favre and Aaron Rodgers, quite the respectable group.
In the AFC, the Colts beat the Jags but sure gave up a lot of points in doing so. The Pats just did what was absolutely necessary against the Bills. Then there are the Bengals and the Chargers, but not in that order.
The Bengals had a lot to play for but the Chargers didn’t let the Bengals take it away from them sheerly on intensity. That’s really saying a lot. Phillip Rivers did his weekly thing with Vincent Jackson and Antonio Gates and their defense did just enough.
There are really only four legitimate AFC playoff teams. The rest are pretenders, the strongest being the Ravens, but all are moderately to seriously flawed. But, with feet held to the fire (I’d feel sorry for the fire), the best AFC teams are the Colts (big surprise), Chargers, Patriots and Bengals; then there are a host of “coulda-beens” headed by Baltimore, and then the Broncos, but Pittsburgh and five other teams are 7-7, and still eligible.
Even the Jets are still in the hunt.
Incidentally, the four best AFC teams are qb’d by Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers, Tom Brady and Carson Palmer. The Ravens, led by Jersey Joe Flacco and the Broncos, led by Kyle Orton, would seem to be a step behind but the Steelers, should they make the dance are lead be Big Ben Roethlisberger.
The others don’t deserve mentioning, though some might make a case for the Texans’ Matt Schaub. I wouldn’t.
I like using the differential between points scored and points against as a measuring stick . In the AFC, the Colts have the best differential at 146. Second best is, a surprise, the Ravens, at 125, then the Pats at 121. Every other differential is ridiculously small by comparison.
In the NFC, the Saints differential is 185! The Vikings have a 127. Pack 100 and the Eagles a very nice 113. The Cards, on the other hand, have only a 55. If you’re curious, the Giants have a 44, the Cowboys 70. I won’t bore you with the rest.
They say defenses win championships. In the AFC, the Ravens, of course, have a great defense, which contributes mightily to their point differential. They have fewer points (225) scored against them than any other team except the Jets, who lead at 221. But they’ve scored only 282.
In the NFC, the best pure PA stat belongs to the Cowboys, at 250. The next best defense as measured by PA belongs to the 49ers, a non-contender. The other NFC teams really aren’t that great defensively, including the Saints at 298. The Giants have a horrible 342, hardly the stuff of contenders.
Then there’s that axiom “You are what your record says you are”. The Colts are 14-0. The Saints are 13-1. It would seem pretty clear by that measure.
But, in the NFC, there’s slim pickin’s. The Saints proved their vulnerability to the Cowboys. The Vikings were shellacked by the now 6-8 Panthers. The Eagles beat a pretty good Niners team and the Giants pasted the Skins. But it would be hard to rate any of the NFC teams with the AFC Colts or Chargers. The closest candidate might be the Eagles.
Week 15 was a horror for some of those NFC teams, and myself for that matter. Nothing figured. If a monkey made my weekly picks, he would’ve killed me.
Minnesota was vastly disappointing. I know this because my best early-year fantasy pickup was Sidney Rice. His QB, Favre, had no time at all. Period. And the great Adrian Peterson did nothing against the now 6-8 Panthers, who proved their inconsistency once again, in a good way.
The Saints looked awful but that might have been the Cowboys doing. Drew Brees had no time to throw. DeMarcus Ware was everywhere. Brees, my fantasy QB, had his first truly bad performance. But if anybody ever had an excuse, it was Mr. Brees. The Cowboys were gangbusters.
The Eagles played a nice game vs. Mike Singletary’s 49ers, and in so doing, to my mind climbed up a few notches. Much as baseball pitchers can have quality starts, teams can have quality wins…good offense, defense and special teams. And it was their 5th win in a row.
The Packers have a great aerial attack and they showed that once again against the Steelers. But their defense leaves a whole lot to be desired, so they lost to Big Ben and the Steelers in the final seconds….just a horrible loss.
While I’m happy the Giants did play better, can they do it two weeks in a row against those same Panthers that kicked butt against Minnesota? While the Skins win proves they can perform with their backs against the wall against a team in turmoil (bye bye Coach Zorn), can they show up again this Sunday?
Personally, I don’t think so. They’ll have to show me.
The Cards kept the lowly Lions in the game till the very end. The Cards will drive you crazy…totally schizo for two years running, but they did do just enough to hold on. And you get the feeling that they’re always a little better than your eyes are telling you.
So, if I had to rate the NFC right now, it’d be Saints, Eagles, Cards, Cowboys, Vikings and Packers. Sorry Giants, you just missed my cut, and you’ll probably miss the actual playoffs cut too. It’s interesting to note that the QB’s involved are Brees, McNabb, Warner, Romo, Favre and Aaron Rodgers, quite the respectable group.
In the AFC, the Colts beat the Jags but sure gave up a lot of points in doing so. The Pats just did what was absolutely necessary against the Bills. Then there are the Bengals and the Chargers, but not in that order.
The Bengals had a lot to play for but the Chargers didn’t let the Bengals take it away from them sheerly on intensity. That’s really saying a lot. Phillip Rivers did his weekly thing with Vincent Jackson and Antonio Gates and their defense did just enough.
There are really only four legitimate AFC playoff teams. The rest are pretenders, the strongest being the Ravens, but all are moderately to seriously flawed. But, with feet held to the fire (I’d feel sorry for the fire), the best AFC teams are the Colts (big surprise), Chargers, Patriots and Bengals; then there are a host of “coulda-beens” headed by Baltimore, and then the Broncos, but Pittsburgh and five other teams are 7-7, and still eligible.
Even the Jets are still in the hunt.
Incidentally, the four best AFC teams are qb’d by Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers, Tom Brady and Carson Palmer. The Ravens, led by Jersey Joe Flacco and the Broncos, led by Kyle Orton, would seem to be a step behind but the Steelers, should they make the dance are lead be Big Ben Roethlisberger.
The others don’t deserve mentioning, though some might make a case for the Texans’ Matt Schaub. I wouldn’t.
I like using the differential between points scored and points against as a measuring stick . In the AFC, the Colts have the best differential at 146. Second best is, a surprise, the Ravens, at 125, then the Pats at 121. Every other differential is ridiculously small by comparison.
In the NFC, the Saints differential is 185! The Vikings have a 127. Pack 100 and the Eagles a very nice 113. The Cards, on the other hand, have only a 55. If you’re curious, the Giants have a 44, the Cowboys 70. I won’t bore you with the rest.
They say defenses win championships. In the AFC, the Ravens, of course, have a great defense, which contributes mightily to their point differential. They have fewer points (225) scored against them than any other team except the Jets, who lead at 221. But they’ve scored only 282.
In the NFC, the best pure PA stat belongs to the Cowboys, at 250. The next best defense as measured by PA belongs to the 49ers, a non-contender. The other NFC teams really aren’t that great defensively, including the Saints at 298. The Giants have a horrible 342, hardly the stuff of contenders.
Then there’s that axiom “You are what your record says you are”. The Colts are 14-0. The Saints are 13-1. It would seem pretty clear by that measure.
Monday, December 7, 2009
On A Wacky NFL Week 13
What an NFL Sunday! The Giants inexplicably (or is it?) beat the hated Cowboys (ask Tuck), the world-champion Steelers lose once again, the Saints flash the luck of the Irish coming back to beat the tough but sorry Skins and my Niners and Singletary lose in Herm Edwards style in Seattle.
Then the Pats and Tom Brady not only lose but look bad doing so as they practically give the game away to the Dolphins in Miami. And did anybody else think the Arizona Cards would shock the powerful Vikings? I know I didn’t.
And it’s not over yet. The craziness continues tonight as the Ravens take on the Packers in Green Bay, a big game for each team that will go a long way towards determining their respective playoff chances.
The G-Men-Boyz game was classic. They looked beaten during the week. I thought they’d crumble. I thought that big lug Jacobs would give us more of the same, that their defense would even be worse than usual after having demoted Osi, and that Barber and Jones and Choice would run over them. I thought they’d be soft and fold.
Wow! It didn’t work out that way.
Jacobs actually ran hard into the middle of the Cowboys line, the offensive line gave Eli some time to throw and charged straight ahead on the runs, and then ,when it looked as if the G-Men, after playing so well all afternoon, would blow it by settling for that late field goal, Domenick Hixon finally showed some creativity, not to mention speed, by returning the ensuing punt about 80 yards to put the game out of reach.
The defense squashed the run so effectively that the Boyz just stopped trying. And Romo picked them apart but it didn’t prove fatal. The defense held. The demotions worked. The Giants coaching staff looks brilliant. And Osi came through with a big fumble recovery and runback. New blood came through as Clint Sintin, the high draft choice linebacker, came through in some big spots and Hakeem Nicks caught another touchdown pass.
The game even had a fight (what more could we ask). That nasty Flozell Adams, the same guy who hurt Tuck on a dirty play earlier in the year, seemed to think it’d be cute to push Tuck to the ground from behind. Tuck didn’t think so.
The Steelers without Polamalu aren’t the same team. After Big Ben put them ahead with time running down, they let a rookie quarterback take the Raiders right down the field…no trouble at all, thank you very much, and I guess it doesn’t matter what Mike Tomlin says. It does show how delicate the sanctity of a defense can be, even if it’s just one long-haired freak (a really good one though) who’s missing.
The Saints were just great. So were the Skins for that matter but they have a choking kicker and a safety of their own who really contributed nothing to safety yesterday. Double moves by two different Saints wideouts sucked him in totally, two mistakes that were good for 14 Saints points.
You have to wonder whether the Saints can keep winning this way though. Their secondary, that was great against Brady and New England, got torched for about 400 yards by Jason Campbell. Luckily for them, they had Brees and Colston and especially Meacham, who literally stole 7 points and scored 7 more on his double-move.
As disappointed as Skins fans may have been (after all, it’s been like this all year for them), they couldn’t have been more crestfallen than Niners fans, who could only watch as Mike Singletary mistook Alex Smith for Peyton Manning or Dan Marino, at any rate a much better quarterback (and team) than the one he had out there.
With 51 seconds left in a tie game, from deep in their own end, the Niners came out throwing. It didn’t work very well…surprise! They had to punt, and since they had left time on the clock and had given the Seahawks great field position, all it took was one nicely placed Hasselbeck pass to put the Hawks in field position for the game-winning field goal. Sickening….and season-killing.
A team has to know who they are. The Niners are, or should be, a conservative team that wins games with its strong defense, much like the Broncos, who absolutely slaughtered the Chiefs yesterday as their quarterback amassed all of 187 yards. The Niners seem to think that, since they finally signed Crabtree and since they have an All-Star tight end, they can be the Cardiac Cards from yesteryear. They aren’t. And, for the rest of this year at least, they’ll be something else…irrelevant.
When I picked the Pats to beat the Dolphins last week, I was aware that the Pats always had big trouble winning at Miami. But I told myself it had nothing to do with this game. Surely the Pats would come back strong against the Fish, after the thrashing they had taken on national TV last week against the Saints.
Once again, a team has to know who they are. The Pats seem to think they’re Tom Brady. They were ahead by 14 but twice failed to put the game away from inside the Fish 10-yard line. Last time I looked, they had a pretty fair running game. They didn’t really use it yesterday. After the game, Brady had what seemed like gall to me as he blasted his team for not fighting hard enough at the end of games. To me, it seemed as if they were trying to pad some individual stats on the way to a win they thought they had.
Last night’s game seemed to say a lot about who the final NFC Super-Bowl representative would be. I thought it would be the Vikings or Saints. The Vikes have Brett Favre and Peterson.. The Saints have all kinds of weapons. But the Cards have defense. Hmm.
Tonight we’ll see what the Pack can do.
Then the Pats and Tom Brady not only lose but look bad doing so as they practically give the game away to the Dolphins in Miami. And did anybody else think the Arizona Cards would shock the powerful Vikings? I know I didn’t.
And it’s not over yet. The craziness continues tonight as the Ravens take on the Packers in Green Bay, a big game for each team that will go a long way towards determining their respective playoff chances.
The G-Men-Boyz game was classic. They looked beaten during the week. I thought they’d crumble. I thought that big lug Jacobs would give us more of the same, that their defense would even be worse than usual after having demoted Osi, and that Barber and Jones and Choice would run over them. I thought they’d be soft and fold.
Wow! It didn’t work out that way.
Jacobs actually ran hard into the middle of the Cowboys line, the offensive line gave Eli some time to throw and charged straight ahead on the runs, and then ,when it looked as if the G-Men, after playing so well all afternoon, would blow it by settling for that late field goal, Domenick Hixon finally showed some creativity, not to mention speed, by returning the ensuing punt about 80 yards to put the game out of reach.
The defense squashed the run so effectively that the Boyz just stopped trying. And Romo picked them apart but it didn’t prove fatal. The defense held. The demotions worked. The Giants coaching staff looks brilliant. And Osi came through with a big fumble recovery and runback. New blood came through as Clint Sintin, the high draft choice linebacker, came through in some big spots and Hakeem Nicks caught another touchdown pass.
The game even had a fight (what more could we ask). That nasty Flozell Adams, the same guy who hurt Tuck on a dirty play earlier in the year, seemed to think it’d be cute to push Tuck to the ground from behind. Tuck didn’t think so.
The Steelers without Polamalu aren’t the same team. After Big Ben put them ahead with time running down, they let a rookie quarterback take the Raiders right down the field…no trouble at all, thank you very much, and I guess it doesn’t matter what Mike Tomlin says. It does show how delicate the sanctity of a defense can be, even if it’s just one long-haired freak (a really good one though) who’s missing.
The Saints were just great. So were the Skins for that matter but they have a choking kicker and a safety of their own who really contributed nothing to safety yesterday. Double moves by two different Saints wideouts sucked him in totally, two mistakes that were good for 14 Saints points.
You have to wonder whether the Saints can keep winning this way though. Their secondary, that was great against Brady and New England, got torched for about 400 yards by Jason Campbell. Luckily for them, they had Brees and Colston and especially Meacham, who literally stole 7 points and scored 7 more on his double-move.
As disappointed as Skins fans may have been (after all, it’s been like this all year for them), they couldn’t have been more crestfallen than Niners fans, who could only watch as Mike Singletary mistook Alex Smith for Peyton Manning or Dan Marino, at any rate a much better quarterback (and team) than the one he had out there.
With 51 seconds left in a tie game, from deep in their own end, the Niners came out throwing. It didn’t work very well…surprise! They had to punt, and since they had left time on the clock and had given the Seahawks great field position, all it took was one nicely placed Hasselbeck pass to put the Hawks in field position for the game-winning field goal. Sickening….and season-killing.
A team has to know who they are. The Niners are, or should be, a conservative team that wins games with its strong defense, much like the Broncos, who absolutely slaughtered the Chiefs yesterday as their quarterback amassed all of 187 yards. The Niners seem to think that, since they finally signed Crabtree and since they have an All-Star tight end, they can be the Cardiac Cards from yesteryear. They aren’t. And, for the rest of this year at least, they’ll be something else…irrelevant.
When I picked the Pats to beat the Dolphins last week, I was aware that the Pats always had big trouble winning at Miami. But I told myself it had nothing to do with this game. Surely the Pats would come back strong against the Fish, after the thrashing they had taken on national TV last week against the Saints.
Once again, a team has to know who they are. The Pats seem to think they’re Tom Brady. They were ahead by 14 but twice failed to put the game away from inside the Fish 10-yard line. Last time I looked, they had a pretty fair running game. They didn’t really use it yesterday. After the game, Brady had what seemed like gall to me as he blasted his team for not fighting hard enough at the end of games. To me, it seemed as if they were trying to pad some individual stats on the way to a win they thought they had.
Last night’s game seemed to say a lot about who the final NFC Super-Bowl representative would be. I thought it would be the Vikings or Saints. The Vikes have Brett Favre and Peterson.. The Saints have all kinds of weapons. But the Cards have defense. Hmm.
Tonight we’ll see what the Pack can do.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Cold Hands, Hot Foot
What was Sunday's Giants victory over the Green Bay Packers really about? To me, after watching the tape, it was all about many cold hands and one foot. Whose hands? Well, Plaxico Burress's were in evidence all night. There was also, of course, Amani Toomer. And the hands that didn't LOSE a fumble all night, and, actually, for three games now, those of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. There were also the hands of Eli Manning, using one glove only, throwing lots of completions right on the button. There were illegal hands to the face too, but more than any others, today I would like to pay tribute to the hands of TE Kevin Boss and special teamer Domenick Hixon. Boss recovered Jacobs's fumble at the goal line. Hixon recovered still another R.W. McQuarters fumble amongst several furiously groping men in green.
The foot, of course, belonged to Lawrence Tynes, who, after failing to put the ball through the uprights on two previous occasions, finally solidly kicked the hell out of that last kick, putting out of his mind the things that went before, like a bad snap, like a scolding from his coach. That singlemindedness put the Giants back into the Super Bowl. It also solidified his career, I'm sure, but that's quite beside the point.
Was there ever a game that was more fun to watch? The lead changed hands seemingly all night long before finally evening up at 20 with almost the entire fourth quarter (and ultimately overtime) to go. The Giants dominated, it seemed, all night long, time of possession, yards on the ground, yards in the air, receptions, quarterback pressures, yet here they were, tied with a team that still, after all, boasted the world's finest quarterback and about five dangerous receivers.
But the "hands of the night" award was fated to go to arguably the MVP of the Giants post-season run, namely cornerback Cory Webster, who snagged Favre's errant pass to his favorite receiver, Donald Driver, and streaked down the sideline, setting up the G-Men for that last miracle kick. I don't say "miracle" lightly either. It was in zero-degree weather, the man missed two shorter kicks earlier and he had to listen to some vitriol from Coughlin on at least one of them.
All was forgiven in the aftermath of the victory, of course. Coughlin joked that they just had to move the ball back a little farther. Also forgiven in those joyous post-game moments, I'm sure, were the R.W. McQuarters two fumbles and Sam Madison's impossibly poorly-timed unsportsmanlike penalty that killed still another Giants drive.
What's abundantly clear after these three playoff wins is that this really is a team. You can't pick one player on whom to focus. The quarterback, of course, gets most of the credit, but what's new? And who's more deserving? Eli had been the whipping boy all year for talk-radio, especially one mean-spirited cretin who can't pronounce most English words over one syllable, for former Giants running backs, for TV pitchmen disguised as football analysts....for most of the NY print-media. He's certainly answered all his detractors, controlling the game, setting a selfless example, and showing the same coolness in the pocket that so annoys all of those pickers of bones. Where was Eli to be found, directly after the game? Looking for someone in the stands, concern written all over his face. It's easy to play for a guy like Eli.
But, even given Eli's performance, what about the coaching staff, in fact, the entire management team ! There is a GM who seemingly picked all the right players, a head coach who has his team ready to play each week, an offensive coordinator choosing all the right plays, a defensive coordinator who no quarterback can quite figure out, and owners who just keep smiling.
And what about these new players? Tight end Kevin Boss, in addition to recovering that critical fumble on Sunday, has been a huge 6'7" presence, he gets open, and he catches everything coming his way. Ahmad Bradshaw missed eleven games and came back running hard and fast. Steve Smith, the wide receiver, has been a magnificent third option behind Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer. Justin Tuck stops the run and pass. Even players we never heard of like that cornerback Pope have stepped in without missing a beat. Domenick Hixon, Madison Hedgecock, the list goes on and on.
The veterans have performed as well as, if not better than, ever. Michael Strahan, Burress and Toomer, the entire offensive line, the leader of the defense, Antonio Pierce, who made a miraculous game-saving stop on a screen pass in Sunday’s game, wrapping up the running back and his blocker until help could arrive. The veteran offensive line has stood up to the rigors of the Patriots, Bucs, Cowboys and now Packers. Feagles, the punter, is a marvel at 41 years of age. And of course there’s Tynes.
If I were the Patriots, I’d be a little nervous. For, as perfect as they have been, for eighteen games now, can they continue that perfection for another game against a team that’s only been perfect for four? Even though the Pats beat the Giants in that last game of the season, they only won barely, and that on a rather unfortuitous quirk of fate, a blown coverage after an injury to a cornerback.
And the Giants are now a curious mirror of the Pats. There is balance everywhere, an offense with two good running backs, a strong offensive line, and a bevy of receivers. There is a defense with a gunslinger mentality, a reflection of its new leader. Its special teams have truly been special down the stretch. But, most of all, they play as a team, they win as a team. Sound familiar?
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