First, I would like to say my thoughts and prayers go out to Gabrielle Giffords and all of the people affected by this unspeakable tragedy in Tucson, Arizona. This horrific event seems like the latest in a clear trend of right-wing driven violence: the shooting at the Holocaust museum, the killing of a police officer in Pennsylvania, the cutting of a gas line at Tom Periello's brother's house, and now this horrific shooting at a grocery store.
I realize this is supposed to be a football diary, but I would like to expand on the afore-mentioned comments a bit. On Saturday morning, on my facebook page I posted something to the effect of 'my thoughts and prayers go out to Gabrielle Giffords at this time.' This set off an absolute firestorm between my liberal and conservative friends where each accused the other's political party of essentially causing this event to take place.
Naturally, I believe (no, actually, I KNOW) that the conservative elements in this country are at least partially culpable in fomenting the more violent aspects of the right-wing fringe. It was kind of an amazing discovery to find out just how delusional my conservative friends are. It makes me very sad.
In any event, without further ado, here are my reactions to this weekend's games.
Seattle 41, New Orleans 36
If there is such a thing as the "Madden Curse" it was swiftly visited upon the New Orleans Saints on Saturday in the Emerald City. Minus several key starters on defense, the Saints gave up 425 yards to the Seahawks' 27th ranked offense. By the end of this affair, the Saints also had a skeleton crew on offense: Marques Colston wasn't 100% due to knee surgery and both of the Saints' starters at running back (Reggie and Julius) got knocked out of the game.
And here's a bit of added irony for you: after 10 straight games in which he threw an interception, Drew Brees was finally flawless and the Saints scored more points in this game than any other all season long. And they still lost. So who in New Orleans is to blame for this debacle? The blame must go squarely on Sean Payton for two main reasons:
- Sean Payton stubbornly refused to rest his starters in a totally meaningless game against Tampa Bay last week (The Falcons were NEVER NEVER NEVER going to lose at home against the sputtering Panthers). Malcolm Jenkins, the Saints defensive MVP, got injured so badly against Tampa Bay that he didn't even suit up for the playoff game against the Seahawks. Tony Hargrove and Danny Clark got injured as well.
- Sean Payton stubbornly refused to allow Adrian Arrington play against the Seahawks even though he had just torched the Buccaneers' defense the previous weekend and would have given Drew Brees all sorts of options downfield.
But who knows, maybe the Seahawks would have won this game anyway. Quite frankly, it was the Seahawks, not the Saints, who were playing with something to prove. With some excellent trick plays and gutsy calls, the Seahawks never stopped going for the gold on offense. And then there was the 67-yard Marshawn Lynch rumble, which featured some of the worst tackling I've ever seen by the New Orleans Saints.
New York Jets 17, Indianapolis 16
Did the New York Jets win this game, or did the Indianapolis Colts lose it? I'm leaning toward the latter, because the Colts gained the lead on a 50-yard field goal with only 53 seconds to go and all they had to was provide decent coverage on the ensuing kickoff and play prevent defense the rest of the way. Instead, they allowed a 47-yard kickoff return from Antonio Cromartie, which set up the Jets near midfield. Addtiionally, the Colts made the unimaginable mistake of taking a timeout at the 30-second mark, which had the effect of allowing Mark Sanchez to set up a downfield throw to Braylon Edwards which he, of course, connected on. This, in turn, allowed the shaky Nick Folk to make the chip shot field goal as time expired and the rest is history.
Of course, it's not as if the Jets were ever out of this battle. Their defense continually found ways to limit the Colts' 4th-ranked offense to field goals instead of touchdowns and the dividends this paid were huge. Darrelle Revis limited perennial Pro Bowl wide receiver Reggie Wayne to just 1 yard on 1 catch. And LaDainian Tomlinson collected 99 yards from scrimmage with two rushing touchdowns to boot.
Baltimore 30, Kansas City 7
The turning point of this game occured in the second quarter. With the Chiefs running the ball at will, Jamaal Charles coughed up the pigskin, the Ravens recovered and marched downfield for a touchdown just before halftime. In my humble opinion, the Chiefs totally panicked in the second half, abandoning their running game and letting the largely untested Matt Cassel throw the ball. And throw the ball he did... right into the outstretched arms of Ravens' defenders.
Next up for the Ravens are the Steelers in a delicious rubber match. I cannot dream of a more exciting divisional playoff game.
Green Bay 21, Philadelphia 16
It wasn't Michael Vick's fault, it wasn't Jason Avant's fault (several drops), it wasn't Andy Reid's fault. No, I think this game can be summed up by the following phrase: Wide. Right. (Buffalo fans are familiar with that phrase.) David Akers missed two very makeable field goals, one from 41 yards, the other from 32 yards, and that was the difference in this game.
Both quarterbacks played very well I thought - especially Aaron Rodgers, who completed 67% of his passes with three touchdowns and no interceptions. And Green Bay's rookie running back James Starks shredded the Eagles' surprisingly weak run defense for 123 yards on 23 carries for over 5 yards per carry. If Green Bay can maintain this type of balanced offense going forward, I believe they will win the Super Bowl.
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Here are my predictions for the divisional round:
Chicago 30, Seattle 16
There's no way the Bears' excellent defense is going to allow Matt Hasslebeck and Marshawn Lynch to rack up as many yards as they did against the Saints. The only wild card in this matchup is Jay Cutler. If the Seahawks can generate a pass rush against the Bears, they have a shot, but I don't see the Bears losing at home twice in a row against Seattle (Seattle defeated the Bears during the regular season by a field goal).
Green Bay 24, Atlanta 20
I'm picking Green Bay to go all the way and I believe they are a better team overall than the Falcons. The Packers will need to shut down the Falcons' run game and establish a run game of their own, however.
New England 27, New York Jets 19
Although I would love to see the Jets advance here, I don't see it happening against the Patriots. If the Jets do end up winning, it will be because Mark Sanchez has a career day.
Baltimore 24, Pittsburgh 13
The only question is whether or not the Ravens can come up with the same type of defensive effort they displayed against the Chiefs. I believe they can, and I believe Joe Flacco has arrived.
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I am now 2-2 on my picks (as is over half the country, I imagine). I guess I never imagined that both of last year's Super Bowl finalists would exit the tournament on the same day. A rematch of last year's Super Bowl sure would have been fun, but it is not to be.