Wild Card Weekend

Before I dig into this post, you need to know a couple things. First of all, I plan to watch a lot of playoff football in the next couple weeks. So plan on reading some blogs about it. Secondly- I am not a football expert. I know the rules, positions, statistics, basic strategy, etc. But this isn't going to be one of those blogs with crazy football insight or scout speak. It's going to be one man's gut reactions to what he sees (and what the announcers tell him he sees). So with that in mind- Wild Card weekend!

-New Orleans at Seattle
This is definitely the game that I watched the most of, although that doesn't necessarily mean much- being easily distracted and having young children is a really bad mix for watching football. It doesn't help that I have a hard time slipping into old school dad mode, where nothing comes before football. But enough about that.

First of all- hats off to the Seahawks. I don't know how long their playoff ride will last, but anytime an underdog wins, it's a big deal. The fact that they had a losing record and beat the defending Super Bowl champs makes it even bigger. It's not quite a 16 seed beating a 1 seed in the NCAA tournament- but I think it's pretty close.

That said- this game was just as much a Saints loss as it was a Seahawks win. The defense looked really bad- 12 year veteran Brandon Stokely (12 year veteran is a synonym for 'cagey', which is itself a synonym for 'old and slow') beat 3 Saints on a deep touchdown, and Marshawn Lynch almost broke an entire defense worth of tackles on his way to a 67 yard dagger touchdown run in the 4th quarter. Matt Hasselbeck was only sacked once.

It was almost like New Orleans took this game for granted, and was never able to really capture a sense of urgency. One play symbolizes this to me. It's easy to miss because it happened early in the game, but it was a 3rd and 2 (or 3ish) inside the red zone on the Saints first possession, and a scrambling Drew Brees threw an incomplete pass to Reggie Bush (Bush dropped the ball). Brees is no Vince Young, but I feel like Brees could have ran for the 1st down instead of throwing an awkward pass to Bush. I almost feel like they didn't take that play as serious as they could have- maybe with more urgency, he would have put his head down and tried to make the 1st down. I don't know for sure. But to me, that play was huge, because instead of taking the opening kick and marching methodically for a touchdown, they had to settle for a field goal. If there is one thing I've learned, it's that you don't allow an underdog to hang around because they start to believe that they can win. You need to bury them, and bury them quickly. It's surprising that the defending champs weren't able to do this.

Next week, I think that the clock strikes midnight on Cinderella. I really don't see the Bears making the same mistakes. True, their offense is nowhere near as prolific as the Saints is- but then, their defense is much more likely to make life miserable for the Seahawks. I see the Bears winning and advancing to the conference finals.

-New York at Indianapolis
I only saw bits and pieces of this game because we were busy making some preparations for my in-laws 30th anniversary celebration. Nonetheless, I have stuff to say, doggone it!

First of all, I do feel bad for Peyton Manning. He's a great QB, a hard worker, and judging from his numerous commercials, a fun guy. Yet, all his qualities and successes haven't added up to significant post season success. Yeah, he has a Super Bowl ring and another appearance- but his list of failures is just as long. The loss to the Jets just adds to that legacy blemish.

I really don't like the Jets. I didn't like them before the season (without even watching Hard Knocks) because I hate the whole 'self promotion' thing. I am much more of the idea that you talk after you win, not before. The circus that came during the season for the Jets (Braylon Edwards DUI, Trip-gate, Foot fetish, etc.) just added to my disdain for them. Police your own, Jets- I am not naive enough to believe that all football teams are made up of saints (only the one in New Orleans), but you have to be able to keep things under wraps. The problem with talking loud and often is that eventually you have to stick your foot in your mouth because you say something stupid.

That said, the Jets win didn't surprise me- only the manner in which it happened. Nick Folk kicks the game winning field goal- really? I had Nick Folk as my fantasy kicker last season. How does he win a playoff game with a field goal? Did that just happen? Where was this last year during my playoffs? Huh?

Peyton and the Colts gave it their all, but they had too many injuries at key positions to pull it out. It was still a very gutsy performance by the men in blue, and I tip my proverbial hat to them. For the Jets- I hope that they have enjoyed their postseason, because it will be over after next weeks visit to the Patriots.

What stood out most to me about this game was the sequence late in the first half where the Jets were trying to get the ball to Dustin Keller and Mark Sanchez overthrew him- three straight times. Three. Straight. Times. You may get away with that against a banged up Colts team- but not against the Patriots. Sanchez still has time to develop into a really good QB- but he's definitely not there right now. Probably because he spends too much time throwing 2-liters and overacting.

-Baltimore at Kansas City
First of all, hats off to the Chiefs- they had a great season with a young team. And in no way is my perception of their success biased by the presence of Dwayne Bowe on my fantasy team this season. No really, it's not.

Ever since the 90's, when I first started paying attention to football, I've had this sort of mystical perception of the Kansas City Chiefs franchise. It's probably because they only play the Lions once every blue moon, and Arrowhead stadium seemed to be one of the most intense and passionate stadiums. Whatever the case- I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the Chiefs.

Speaking of soft spots in hearts, the Ravens found the soft spot in the Chiefs', plunged their hands in, and ripped it out and then ate it. Baltimore was simply dominant- witness their 4th quarter 10+ minute drive to squelch any hope that the Chiefs may have had. Both teams were in the playoffs- but the Ravens are obviously in a completely different league when it comes to postseason football.

I found it interesting that Joe Flacco has never played in a home playoff football game. Barring a major upset by the Jets, he won't play in any this season either.

Next weeks Baltimore-Pittsburgh game will pay homage to the olden days, when football was a man's sport. I look forward to watching it in my Snuggie.

-Green Bay at Philadelphia
Living in the Upper Peninsula is basically like living in Wisconsin as far as football goes. Our local newspaper covers the Packers like a local team. The locals root for the Packers. Even my Alma Mater has the same uniform colors as the Packers. So it is tough to openly root against the Packers. I have to be very subtle and subversive. Like that episode of Saved By The Bell where Valley steals the Bayside mascot, I have to be super sneaky.

PACKERS SUCK

Wait, that's not it.

(PACKERS SUCK)

That's better. Now, onto the game!

As much as it might pain me to admit it, the Packers are starting to live up to their preseason hype, and this 6 seed is going to send shockwaves through the rest of the playoffs. I don't see any remaining NFC team that scares them- they beat the Bears in the last week of the season, gave the Falcons all they could handle and more...and who is scared of the Seahawks? Actually...what is a Seahawk?

They found a running game against the Eagles, Aaron Rodgers threw 3 scoring passes, and the defense played very well. If you're a Falcons player, you probably would rather face the Seahawks than the Packers right now (although I doubt any NFL player would be brazen enough to actually say something like that out loud).

For the Eagles- tough way to lose. The magic just seemed to run out at the end- and if you've watched any of the Tinkerbell movies, you know that magic runs out, and you need to have a special blue stone that shines in the moonlight and makes more of it. It will be interesting to see if Vick's tail off at the end of the season will make the Eagles think twice about committing to him long term.

Another thing about Vick- Madden 11 basically treats him like he isn't even there! Seriously- every time he runs or makes a big play, he gets the generic QB treatment. I get that he was out of the NFL for a couple years, and was expected to be a back up when the game was being made. But this is Mike Vick, man- he was on the cover of your game, for crying out loud! How does he rate the same in-game commentary track as such legends as Rusty Smith or Dan LeFevour (sorry Dan- I love you man, but I can't think of any other QBs in the game right now that merit the generic QB commentary track).

That's all I have for now- tune in next week after another round of The Playoffs.