AFC/NFC Championships (a.k.a. Fuck the Super Bowl)

These are the games without all the hype and good commercials and also when we determine which NFC team will get steamrolled in the Super Bowl.

(2) New Orleans vs. (1) Chicago: The last time these teams faced each other, the Bears won 20-17 at Tiger Stadium in a game where Aaron Brooks and Kyle Orton were terrible. So don't take too much from that, but it does concern me how close the game was. Anyway, the Bears shook off last year's loss to Carolina and won their first home playoff game in a long time, which means the pressure's off. That's bad considering how well Rex Grossman does with no pressure. I recall a meaningless Week 17 game against Green Bay in which Grossman scored a rating of 0. Applying the playoff formula (dome teams lose) should assure the Bears a win, but I don't have any reliable stats about how the Saints fare outdoors in January. I am already cringing thinking of Feb. 4 if the Saints win...it's going to sound like "Blah blah blah Hurricane Katrina, blah blah blah Reggie Bush, blah blah blah biggest surprise team BLAH BLAH BLAH!!!" Anyway, it's the playoffs, so defence wins! Bears 26, Saints 21.

NO #1 total offence vs. CHI #5 total defence
NO #11 total defence vs. CHI #15 total offence

NO #5 scoring offence vs. CHI #3 scoring defence
NO #13 scoring defence vs. CHI #3 scoring offence

NO #19 rushing offence vs. CHI #6 rushing defence
NO #23 rushing defence vs. CHI #15 rushing offence

NO #1 passing offence vs. CHI #11 passing defence
NO #3 passing defence vs. CHI #14 passing offence

NO #31 takeaways vs. CHI #28 giveaways
NO #6 giveaways vs. CHI #1 takeaways

NO #28 punt returns vs. CHI #23 punt coverage
NO #7 punt coverage vs. CHI #2 punt returns

NO #14 kick returns vs. CHI #5 kick coverage
NO #16 kick coverage vs. CHI #8 kick returns

Weather forecast at Chicago: Flurries, 32°F

(4) New England at (3) Indianapolis: This is what I like to see...no more #1 and #2 teams. This is what playoffs is all about. The last game between these two was very unusual. First, the Patriots lost at home (Colts 27 Pats 20 was the score,) Vinateiri honked a 37-yarder and a 46-yarder, and Brady threw 4 picks. I am still having a really hard time believing that Indy's defence is that good. I could blame the Ravens loss on poor blocking and poor coaching though. Baltimore seemed to quit as the game went on and the play-calling was rather preposterous. Did anyone get the feeling watching that San Diego game that the Patriots were resurrecting their dynasty? Cripes, I sure did watching that 4th quarter. I'll let the Brady man love continue. Patriots 20, Colts 17.

NE #11 total offence vs. IND #21 total defence
NE #6 total defence vs. IND #3 total offence

NE #18 scoring offence vs. IND #23 scoring defence
NE #2 scoring defence vs. IND #2 scoring offence

NE #12 rushing offence vs. IND #32 rushing defence
NE #5 rushing defence vs. IND #18 rushing offence

NE #12 passing offence vs. IND #2 passing defence
NE #12 passing defence vs. IND #2 passing offence

NE #4 takeaways vs. IND #4 giveaways
NE #17 giveaways vs. IND #22 takeaways

NE #3 punt returns vs. IND #31 punt coverage
NE #26 punt coverage vs. IND #13 punt returns

NE #1 kick returns vs. IND #30 kick coverage
NE #20 kick coverage vs. IND #7 kick returns

NFL Playoffs - Divisional Round

3-1 last week. NFL Playoffs - Divisional Round:

(3) Indianapolis vs. (2) Baltimore: The last time these teams met, the Colts embarrassed the Ravens 24-7 in their 2005 season opener at the RCA Dome. It was the beginning of a 6-10 season for them. This is a completely different Ravens team though. I believe the Ravens are the teams that nobody wants to face in the playoffs. I'm not entirely convinced that the Colts can duplicate their performance on defence (they held the Chiefs to 44 rushing yards.) Plus, I'm thinking the home crowd is going to be relentless on the team that abandoned the city in '84. Ravens 14, Colts 10.

IND #3 total offence vs. BAL #1 total defence
IND #21 total defence vs. BAL #17 total offence

IND #2 scoring offence vs. BAL #1 scoring defence
IND #23 scoring defence vs. BAL #12 scoring offence

IND #18 rushing offence vs. BAL #2 rushing defence
IND #32 rushing defence vs. BAL #25 rushing offence

IND #2 passing offence vs. BAL #6 passing defence
IND #2 passing defence vs. BAL #11 passing offence

IND #22 takeaways vs. BAL #8 giveaways
IND #4 giveaways vs. BAL #2 takeaways

IND #13 punt returns vs. BAL #20 punt coverage
IND #31 punt coverage vs. BAL #24 punt returns

IND #7 kick returns vs. BAL #11 kick coverage
IND #30 kick coverage vs. BAL #11 kick returns

Weather forecast at Baltimore: Cloudy with showers, 42°F

(3) Philadelphia vs. (2) New Orleans: In Week 6, the Saints collected a 27-24 win on a last second field goal set up by an 16-play 8:26 drive. The Eagles could not stop the pass at all as Brees racked up 275 yards and 3 TDs through the air. Losing Lito Sheppard isn't going to make this any easier for them. I'm encouraged that the Eagles aren't as pass wacky as they once were. Last week, they called 37 pass plays and 27 run plays. However, the Saints will likely still control the time of possession and get the last possession and the win. Saints 38, Eagles 35.

PHI #2 total offence vs. NO #11 total defence
PHI #15 total defence vs. NO #1 total offence

PHI #6 scoring offence vs. NO #13 scoring defence
PHI #15 scoring defence vs. NO #5 scoring offence

PHI #11 rushing offence vs. NO #23 rushing defence
PHI #26 rushing defence vs. NO #19 rushing offence

PHI #3 passing offence vs. NO #3 passing defence
PHI #9 passing defence vs. NO #1 passing offence

PHI #14 takeaways vs. NO #6 giveaways
PHI #9 giveaways vs. NO #31 takeaways

PHI #10 punt returns vs. NO #7 punt coverage
PHI #21 punt coverage vs. NO #28 punt returns

PHI #28 kick returns vs. NO #16 kick coverage
PHI #24 kick coverage vs. NO #14 kick returns

(4) Seattle vs. (1) Chicago: The Seahawks visit to Soldier Field in Week 4 resulted in a 37-6 drubbing for their first loss. Hasselbeck and the running game were bruital, Rex Grossman threw 2 TDs and Thomas Jones rushed for 2 more. I've heard a lot about Rex Grossman's extremely poor play lately. It won't matter because the Seahawks are virtually out of their league in this one. The only reason they beat Dallas is because Mike Holmgren craps horseshoes and four-leaf clovers. The balmy 33°F temperature plays in their favour though. Bears 28, Seahawks 7.

SEA #19 total offence vs. CHI #5 total defence
SEA #19 total defence vs. CHI #15 total offence

SEA #14 scoring offence vs. CHI #3 scoring defence
SEA #19 scoring defence vs. CHI #3 scoring offence

SEA #14 rushing offence vs. CHI #6 rushing defence
SEA #22 rushing defence vs. CHI #15 rushing offence

SEA #20 passing offence vs. CHI #11 passing defence
SEA #16 passing defence vs. CHI #14 passing offence

SEA #21 takeaways vs. CHI #28 giveaways
SEA #27 giveaways vs. CHI #1 takeaways

SEA #15 punt returns vs. CHI #23 punt coverage
SEA #17 punt coverage vs. CHI #2 punt returns

SEA #18 kick returns vs. CHI #5 kick coverage
SEA #27 kick coverage vs. CHI #8 kick returns

Weather forecast at Chicago: Rain/snow, 33°F

(4) New England vs. (1) San Diego: The last time these two teams met, the Chargers ran away with it 41-17 There's a thing about San Diego...they have an awesome rushing offence and are almost immune to committing turnovers. When you look at the stats, the Patriots are actually a better team than the Chargers. Dare I give the "defence wins" cliche? I would, but the Chargers defence aren't slouches either. It'll be close. In fact, I'll bite on the upset. Tom Brady is 11-1 as a starter in the playoffs. Patriots 21, Chargers 17.

NE #11 total offence vs. SD #10 total defence
NE #6 total defence vs. SD #4 total offence

NE #18 scoring offence vs. SD #7 scoring defence
NE #2 scoring defence vs. SD #1 scoring offence

NE #12 rushing offence vs. SD #23 rushing defence
NE #5 rushing defence vs. SD #2 rushing offence

NE #12 passing offence vs. SD #13 passing defence
NE #12 passing defence vs. SD #16 passing offence

NE #4 takeaways vs. SD #1 giveaways
NE #17 giveaways vs. SD #15 takeaways

NE #3 punt returns vs. SD #15 punt coverage
NE #26 punt coverage vs. SD #17 punt returns

NE #1 kick returns vs. SD #12 kick coverage
NE #20 kick coverage vs. SD #3 kick returns

Weather forecast at San Diego: Sunny, 59°F

Next week:

New England at Baltimore
New Orleans at Chicago

Atlanta Falcons Year End Report

Another NFL regular season is in the books and once again, the Falcons went home early while 8 teams are left competing for football's ultimate prize.

Meet Bobby Petrino. Well, that was fast. I don't question bringing in a college coach, even after the Nick Saban fiasco, but Rich McKay wanted somebody with head coaching experience. This is good...they'll throughout that West Coast offence garbage and maybe keep running that college option that worked so well early in the season.

Here's some of the good, the bad, and the ugly of the 2006 season:

THE GOOD

Alge Crumpler: The bright spot in the team's passing game. Algernon made the Pro Bowl and caught a career high 8 touchdown passes (and dropped several others, the game in Week 3 against the Saints springs to mind...) and had 38 first downs. If only he were a better blocker...

Jerious Norwood: A 3rd round steal in this year's draft as he (and many other rookie RBs for that matter) managed to outrush Reggie Bush. He had 633 yards for a 6.4 yard per carry average, which was the best in the league among RBs with 20 or more carries. He's the future of this position for the Falcons.

Tyson Clabo: On an O-Line that doesn't know the meaning of the word "blocking," Clabo is the exception. After being undrafted and bounced around on several teams' practice squads and the waiver wire, he earned a starting position this season. Good on ya.

Lawyer Milloy: A veteran presence in the secondary, he surpassed expectations. He has sharp football instincts, and as strong safety, he did his job as he was in on virtually every play and made clean tackles. Unfortunately, he was held without an interception. Hey, at least it worked out way better than the last time the Bills and Falcons did business.

THE BAD

DeAngelo Hall: I know that it's bizarre to put a Pro Bowl selection down here, but he only made it because of 4 INTs and a TD. Those plays were the exception...the norm is for D'Lo to get lit up, give up on plays, and attempt to intercept hail mary bombs when a good DB would simply knock it down. He's a selfish player and deserved every drop of the face-spitting TO gave him.

Edgerton Hartwell: Exposed as a fraud. Jamal Lewis made him look so good in Baltimore that he was signed to the Falcons to a big contract to be a run-stopping middle linebacker. He ended up being injured half the season, and in his absence, Keith Brooking did a better job in the middle than he did. Time to move Jordan Beck up to this position.

Roddy White: Roddy showed flashes of brilliance like in the Dallas game where he racked up 102 receiving yards, but he had a bad case of the dropsies this year. It was bad enough for Jim Mora to sit Roddy's ass on the bench and have Ashley Lelie start in his place (who didn't do a lot better.) As a former first round draft pick in his second year, I expected to see a lot more development than this.

Michael Koenen: I'm kind of reaching with this one, but Koenen was so bad in the placekicking department that the front office had to thaw out Morten "Old Balls" Anderson to take over those duties. After hammering a 58 yarder for the franchise record last season, Koenen missed on tries of 50, 50, 30, 36, 30, and 40 in the first two games of the season. However, I might as well give the blame to the field goal/punt unit as a whole because two of those tries were actually blocked, and the next game, the Saints managed to block a punt for a TD. Three blocks in three games? Come on guys, one is too many for the season!

THE UGLY

Matt Lehr: A friggin' turnstile, and a steroid monkey to boot. When you play left guard, and the quarterback is left hand, which way is he going to go? Maybe to the left? Which means it might be a good idea to block somebody instead of watching as Vick gets sacked yet again. And if you're going to cheat and break the substance abuse policy, you should at least have something to show for it!

Jim Mora: This is more of an afterthought, but he still deserves a mention. His antics both on and off the field were an embarrassment to himself and to the team. I scarcely need to mention that squeaky-clean owner Arthur Blank had no patience for that shit. After going 11-5, he posted an 8-8 season despite starting 6-2 and took the team to 7-9 this year despite starting 5-2.

Michael Vick: He had a career high for passing TDs (20) and rushing yards (1076). So what's the deal? As pictured above, Vick's antics created a sideshow for the Falcons and an unnecessary distraction. The Ron Mexico scandal put him on thin ice, and now that ice has broken. It's time fans stopped saying "All he does is win games," because he no longer does.

NFL Playoffs: Wildcard Round

The early Super Bowl pick: Early in the season, I picked the Cowboys vs. Dolphins. I will go with the Eagles in the NFC, and I will go with the Chargers in the AFC, with the Chargers winning the big game in a rout.

(6) NY Giants vs. (3) Philadelphia: A closely matched game between division rivals. The season series was split between the two with the Giants winning at the Linc. It was especially frustrating for the Eagles because they flushed a 24-7 lead going into the 4th quarter. Not only that, but a personal foul by Trent Cole with 7 seconds left put the Giants into field goal range for the game-tying FG. The tables have turned since then; Jersey/A has no momentum, losing 2 of its last 8 and the Eagles have all the momentum, winning 5 in a row. I'll put this one on coaching: Fat Andy has had playoff success and Tom "Mr. Personality" Coughlin hasn't. And, don't look now, but the Eagles have something that resembles a running game. Eagles 27, Giants 21 in overtime.

NYG #14 total offence vs. PHI #15 total defence
NYG #25 total defence vs. PHI #2 total offence

NYG #11 scoring offence vs. PHI #15 scoring defence
NYG #24 scoring defence vs. PHI #6 scoring offence

NYG #7 rushing offence vs. PHI #26 rushing defence
NYG #14 rushing defence vs. PHI #11 rushing offence

NYG #19 passing offence vs. PHI #9 passing defence
NYG #28 passing defence vs. PHI #3 passing offence

NYG #17 takeaways vs. PHI #9 giveaways
NYG #18 giveaways vs. PHI #14 takeaways

NYG #16 punt returns vs. PHI #21 punt coverage
NYG #3 punt coverage vs. PHI #10 punt returns

NYG #30 kick returns vs. PHI #24 kick coverage
NYG #18 kick coverage vs. PHI #28 kick returns

Weather forecast at Philadelphia: Light rain, south wind at 5 km/h, 50°F

(5) Dallas vs. (4) Seattle: Dallas has skidded into the playoffs winning only one of their last three. Lucky for them, Seattle's skidding too. Well-coached teams have figured out how to beat Tony Romo. The two teams have identical records, with Dallas going 9-7 the hard way (against a GOOD division, that is.) It is irrational for me to pick Seattle since they are outmatched in almost every statistical category I listed below. The last meeting between these two at Qwest Field, as most of you will recall, involved a terrible decision to pass on 3rd and 7 with 14 seconds to go, game tied at 10. The result: interception, and Josh Brown's 50 yard figgie made the Seahawks 5-2. To add to the misery, Jose Baby Cortez had honked a 29 yard attempt wide left earlier and it ultimately cost him his roster spot. Much is being made of Seattle missing its two starting corners. I don't understand why. Trufant is overrated, Herndon just plain sucks, and beside, they have the second best free safety in the NFC (Ken Hamlin.) I guess it might have something to do with T.O. That said, a Cowboys win wouldn't surprise me at all...they were road warriors this season and the Seahawks faltered at home to lesser teams. Seahawks 23, Cowboys 20.

DAL #5 total offence vs. SEA #19 total defence
DAL #13 total defence vs. SEA #19 total offence

DAL #4 scoring offence vs. SEA #19 scoring defence
DAL #20 scoring defence vs. SEA #14 scoring offence

DAL #13 rushing offence vs. SEA #22 rushing defence
DAL #10 rushing defence vs. SEA #14 rushing offence

DAL #5 passing offence vs. SEA #16 passing defence
DAL #24 passing defence vs. SEA #20 passing offence

DAL #9 takeaways vs. SEA #27 giveaways
DAL #21 giveaways vs. SEA #21 takeaways

DAL #21 punt returns vs. SEA #17 punt coverage
DAL #25 punt coverage vs. SEA #15 punt returns

DAL #9 kick returns vs. SEA #27 kick coverage
DAL #2 kick coverage vs. SEA #18 kick returns

Weather forecast at Seattle: Cloudy with showers, south wind at 5 km/h, 39°F

(6) Kansas City vs. (3) Indianapolis: I was surprised that the Chiefs were even in the playoff hunt last week. Indy had the last ranked rushing defence in the league, allowing all 16 of their opponents to rush for over 100 yards and allowed a franchise-worst 5.3 yard per carry average. The Chiefs and Larry Johnson will be able to exploit that to keep the clock on their side and keep the Colts' offence off the field. The Colts have honked out of the playoffs early for the past four years and have everything to lose. The Chiefs, on the other hand, were very lucky to make the playoffs and therefore have nothing to lose. Teams like that are always dangerous. The only thing that worries me is that the Colts were unbeaten at home this season, and the Chiefs are 0-3 at the RCA Dome. Chiefs 31, Colts 28.

KC #16 total offence vs. IND #21 total defence
KC #16 total defence vs. IND #3 total offence

KC #15 scoring offence vs. IND #23 scoring defence
KC #12 scoring defence vs. IND #2 scoring offence

KC #9 rushing offence vs. IND #32 rushing defence
KC #18 rushing defence vs. IND #18 rushing offence

KC #22 passing offence vs. IND #2 passing defence
KC #18 passing defence vs. IND #2 passing offence

KC #11 takeaways vs. IND #4 giveaways
KC #15 giveaways vs. IND #22 takeaways

KC #23 punt returns vs. IND #31 punt coverage
KC #14 punt coverage vs. IND #13 punt returns

KC #24 kick returns vs. IND #30 kick coverage
KC #22 kick coverage vs. IND #7 kick returns

Weather forecast at Indianapolis: They play indoors...

(5) NY Jets vs. (4) New England: I'm sorry, but Jersey/B is a pretender. When you beat Miami 13-10 in a sleeper and beat Oakland 23-3 in the final two weeks, that qualifies as backing into the playoffs. Still, I love a playoff game between division rivals. The Jets won at Gillette Stadium earlier this season in a pretty fantastic 17-14 game that saw both offenses working out of the no huddle quite a bit. But the bottom line is that the Patriots become a different team when the post-season rolls around...every year I predict they'll lose and every year they prove me wrong. Patriots 20, Jersey/B 10.

NYJ #25 total offence vs. NE #6 total defence
NYJ #20 total defence vs. NE #11 total offence

NYJ #7 scoring offence vs. NE #2 scoring defence
NYJ #6 scoring defence vs. NE #18 scoring offence

NYJ #20 rushing offence vs. NE #5 rushing defence
NYJ #24 rushing defence vs. NE #12 rushing offence

NYJ #17 passing offence vs. NE #12 passing defence
NYJ #14 passing defence vs. NE #12 passing offence

NYJ #24 takeaways vs. NE #17 giveaways
NYJ #12 giveaways vs. NE #4 takeaways

NYJ #19 punt returns vs. NE #26 punt coverage
NYJ #9 punt coverage vs. NE #3 punt returns

NYJ #5 kick returns vs. NE #20 kick coverage
NYJ #9 kick coverage vs. NE #1 kick returns

Weather forecast at Foxborough: Sunny, 46°F

Alrighty then, next week we have some fantastic looking games:

Seattle at Chicago
Philadelphia at New Orleans
New England at Baltimore
Kansas City at San Diego