NFC Championship Predictions

Minnesota Vikings	0	0	10	7	--	17
New Orleans Saints	0	13	0	7	--	20

In a game that features two great offenses it’ll be the defenses that steal the show. We’ve both quarterbacks throwing two touchdowns, Minnesota stuffing the New Orleans rushing attack and the difference being a Saints field goal.

		Vikings	Saints
	First Downs	19	17
	- Rushing	7	4
	- Passing	11	12
	- Penalty	1	1
	3rd Down Eff	4/12	6/16
	4th Down Eff	0/1	1/1
	Rushes-Yards	31-114	32-49
	Avg Rush	3.7	1.5
	Comp-Att-Int	16-29-1	20-31-1
	Passing Yards	207	261
	Sacks-Yards	1-6	3-21
	Fumbles-Lost	2-1	0-0
	Punts-Avg	5-38.0	5-41.6
	KR-Avg	5-21.6	4-23.3
	PR-Avg	5-10.6	5-7.4
	Penalties-Yard	3-30	2-20
	Time of Possession	28:29	31:31

AFC Championship Predictions

New York Jets	0	3	14	0	--	17
Indianapolis Colts	14	3	0	6	--	23

The team that “let up” in their regular season match-up allowing the Jets to make the playoffs will suffer the wrath of their own creation when the New York defense puts a halt to the Indy offense. Not! Indianapolis will struggle against a stout Jets defense but in the end Peyton Manning will have too many weapons at his disposal and despite a great effort of ball control offense and strong defense the Colts sneak out with a six point win.

TEAM STATISTICS

		New York Jet	Indianapolis Colts
	First Downs	16	17
	- Rushing	9	4
	- Passing	7	12
	- Penalty	0	1
	3rd Down Eff	6/17	5/14
	4th Down Eff	1/2	0/0
	Rushes-Yards	42-165	31-115
	Avg Rush	3.9	3.7
	Comp-Att-Int	12-27-1	18-32-0
	Passing Yards	110	248
	Sacks-Yards	1-6	0-0
	Fumbles-Lost	3-2	2-2
	Punts-Avg	6-42.0	5-38.0
	KR-Avg	6-23.2	4-28.0
	PR-Avg	5-10.0	6-10.8
	Penalties-Yard	4-35	8-44
	Time of Possession	32:20	27:40

There's No Crying In Football

The Dallas Cowboys should be embarrassed about their playoff performance against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday afternoon but if you were to listen to Dallas linebacker Keith Brooking its the Vikings who should be ashamed. Brooking says that Minnesota ran the score up on Dallas in their 34-3 divisional playoff win.

"I thought it was totally classless and disrespectful," Brooking said. "This is the NFL, that's not what this is about. I don't think there's a place for that ... I was looking for Childress. I didn't think it was right."

Brett Favre did throw late touchdowns with the game already in hand but before we feel sorry for Mr. Brooking let's remember a few things. First, this is the NFL. It isn't college, high school or junior high. These guys actually get paid to play football and that changes the dynamics of the situation. Don't get mad at the other team when you're the one who failed to do his job, Mr. Brooking. Second, the last I checked it was the Dallas defense's job to stop the Minnesota offense and not the Vikings job to shut themselves down. This is the playoffs and playoff teams are supposed to be the cream of the crop playing at their peak. If you don't like the other team scoring on you then stop them from doing so. Finally, I'm pretty sure that on that last drive the Dallas defense was trying to tackle Brett Favre so why would the not expect Favre to try to complete passes and score.

Lose The Super Bowl, Lose Your Job!

The Arizona Cardinals accomplished something last week that they’d never done before. For the first time in their history they reached the Super Bowl. The Cardinals made their historic run through the NFC Playoffs by sending by beating the Falcons and Eagles at home and the Carolina Panthers on the road before falling to Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl. Now, two guys who helped Arizona march through the post-season won’t be there in 2009.

Offensive coordinator Todd Haley just took the challenge of resurrecting the Kansas City Chiefs from the dead and don’t think for a second that he wont try and sweet free agent and Pro-Bowl quarterback Kurt Warner with him. Under Haley the Cardinals were third in the NFL in scoring and set a franchise record with 427 points scored.

Defensively they weren’t quite as good but still good enough to win an NFC Championship. Apparently that wasn’t good enough for Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt who after seeing one Super Bowl coordinator willingly leave kicked the other out the door on Saturday. Defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast was a holdover from the Dennis Green era but reaching the Super Bowl wasn’t good enough to save his job this year.

Regardless of whether its fair or not when you lose in such dramatic fashion as the Cardinals did someone has to be the goat.

NFC Wild Card Final Thoughts: New York Giants/Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I didn’t have the chance to post a preview for this game but if I had I would have picked the Bucs to win. Of course I would have been wrong thanks mostly to these three factors.

An efficient Eli Manning – Who would have thought that we’d use the word efficient when describing Eli Manning in the playoffs?

Full Story

Blogging the NFL – Conference Championships

Hit of the Week
Kudos go out to Reggie Bush and the New Orleans Saints for reaching the NFC Championship Game but Bush paid the price to get there. After getting absolutely smoked by the Eagles’ Sheldon Brown Bush bounced back to rush for 52 yards and a touchdown.


Contest Standings

Name	Second Round Picks	Super Bowl Pick	Sleeper Pick	Total Points
true2osu	3-1	Philadelphia	#4 New England	118
ffnstuff	3-1	San Diego	#5 NY Jets	90
dolphinfan	2-2	San Diego	#4 New England	88
notafan	1-3	Philadelphia	#3 Philadelphia	73
rob	1-3	San Diego	#2 Baltimore	73
Matt Jordan	1-3	New Orleans	#5 NY Jets	70
chiefsfan	2-2	Baltimore	#6 NY Giants	70
Kenny	N/A	San Diego	#2 Baltimore	40

true2osu keeps the lead after the second round but Matt Jordan still has a Super Bowl pick alive and could have been in control of the contest had his picks come through. Two people, including myself, still have sleeper picks alive. Conference Championship Games are worth 30 points each. Make your picks here!

You’ve Got to Be Kidding
All the names of the five finalists for the Miami Dolphins coaching job have been released and there is a shocker as well as a possible exception. The shocker is that former Alabama coach Mike Shula was not only interviewed but remains a candidate.

My initial thought was that he was interviewed as a favor to his dad who still has a lot of pull in the organization. Obviously the legend is endorsing is son but so is Dan Marino. Having two hall-of-famers in his corner is enough to make him a finalist.

While I have tons of respect for the Shula family and don’t think that Mike was given a fair shake at Alabama I don’t see him being the answer in Miami. However, I wouldn’t mind seeing him as the offensive coordinator.

The other four candidates are former Atlanta Falcons head coach Jim Mora, Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey, Dolphins defensive coordinator Dom Capers and San Diego offensive coordinator Cam Cameron.

The exception is current San Diego Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer who could become an immediate candidate should he be fired by the Chargers. I say go ahead and interview him but do we really want a head coach who hasn’t won a play-off game in twenty years?

Should the Chargers let Schottenheimer go it would eliminate Cam Cameron as a Candidate as he would be the most likely choice for the Chargers. It also may be the reason why Marty's son, Brian, withdrew his name from the Dolphins.

Conference Championship Winners
NFC - New Orleans Saints at Chicago Bears – Bears
AFC - New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts – Patriots

Eagles/Saints Preview

Offensive Chart

Team	Pts/G	Pass Yds/G	Rush Yds/G
Eagles	24.9	269.3	124.0
Saints	25.8	281.4	110.1

Defensive Chart

Team	Pts/G	Pass Yds/G	Rush Yds/G
Eagles	20.5	191.7	136.4
Saints	20.1	178.4	128.9

Passing Leaders

team	Name	Comp	Att	Yds	TD	INT
Eagles	Donovan McNabb	180	316	2647	18	6
Eagles	Jeff Garcia	116	188	1309	10	2
Saints	Drew Brees	356	554	4418	26	11

Rushing Leaders

Team	Name	Rush	Yds	Y/G	TD
Eagles	Brian Westbrook	240	1217	81.1	7
Saints	Deuce McAllister	244	1057	70.5	10
Saints	Reggie Bush	155	565	565	6

Receiving Leaders

Team	Name	Rec	Yds	Y/G	TD
Eagles	Reggie Brown	46	826	51	8
Eagles	Donte’ Stallworth	38	725	81.9	5
Saints	Marques Colston	10	1038	74.1	8
Saints	Devery Henderson	32	745	57.3	5

Defensive Leaders

Team	Name	Tackles	Sacks	INT
Eagles	Jeremiah Trotter	88	0	1
Eagles	Brian Dawkins	76	1	4
Saints	Scott Shanle	74	4	0
Saints	Scott Fujita	64	3.5	2

Prediction
The city of New Orleans is hungry for this game and the Super Dome will be crazy. I’ve had the pleasure to witness a game there in person and I can tell you that it will be deafening. The problem for the Eagles will be their inability to stop the run. I’ll take the Saints.

Are you watching the play-offs? Come talk about it with us!

Colts/Ravens Preview

Offensive Chart

Team	Pts/G	Pass Yds/G	Rush Yds/G
Colts	26.7	269.3	110.1
Ravens	22.1	214.7	102.3

Defensive Chart

Team	Pts/G	Pass Yds/G	Rush Yds/G
Colts	22.5	159.3	173
Ravens	12.6	188.2	75.9

Passing Leaders

team	Name	Comp	Att	Yds	TD	INT
Colts	Peyton Manning	362	557	4397	31	9
Ravens	Steve McNair	295	468	3050	16	12
Ravens	Kyle Boller	33	55	485	5	2

Rushing Leaders

Team	Name	Rush	Yds	Y/G	TD
Colts	Joseph Addai	226	1081	67.6	7
Colts	Dominic Rhodes	187	641	40.1	5
Ravens	Jamal Lewis	314	1132	70.8	9

Receiving Leaders

Team	Name	Rec	Yds	Y/G	TD
Colts	Marvin Harrison	95	1366	85.4	12
Colts	Reggie Wayne	86	1310	81.9	9
Ravens	Mark Clayton	67	939	58.7	5
Ravens	Todd Heap	73	765	47.8	6

Defensive Leaders

Team	Name	Tackles	Sacks	INT
Colts	Cato June	96	1	3
Colts	Gary Brackett	87	0	0
Ravens	Ray Lewis	80	5	2
Ravens	Bart Scott	78	9.5	2

Weather
Overcast with rain showers at times. Low 49F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.

Prediction
The cold weather and rain won’t be good for the Colts offense. Neither will the Ravens defense. Look for Baltimore to try to grind it out against the Colts. I’ll take the Ravens to win.

If you are watching the game come on over to the forum and talk about it with us.

Blogging the NFL – Divisional Play-Offs

Coaching Carousel
Some way some how Tom Coughlin survived this season as the New York Giants head coach despite finishing the season 2-7. In fact the Giants gave Coughlin a one year extension through 2008. Is this an example of blind faith?

The Pittsburgh Steelers are reportedly very close to hiring their next head coach. In fact rumors are flying that there will be an announcement as early as tomorrow. Longtime assistant Russ Grimm has been speculated to be the leading candidate.

Who hasn’t interviewed for the Miami Dolphins head coaching position? No one can deny that Miami has done one of the most extensive searches of the off season. The number of interviewed candidates is up to 12 and the most recent big name to come up is Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Mike Martz.

The plan is to narrow the list down to five and then two before making an offer to anyone.

The Arizona Cardinals appear to be focusing in on Houston Texans assistant head coach Mike Sherman. They are bringing the former Packers head coach in for his second interview but are also supposedly waiting to see what the Pittsburgh Steelers do with Russ Grimm and Ken Whisenhunt. I wouldn’t eliminate Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Norm Chow from the equation yet either.

The Oakland Raiders are rumored to be interested in former offensive coordinator Marc Trestman.

Browns Moving to the West Coast?
Offensively speaking of course. Cleveland is hot on the trail of former Atkanta Falcons offensive coordinator Greg Knapp who is a West Coast offensive guy.

Harrison Out Again for Pats
The New England Patriots will be out Rodney Harrison again this weekend when they travel to play against the San Diego Chargers. This will be the second consecutive play-off game the Patriots safety will miss with a sprained knee. At this point Harrison is looking like a very bad investment for New England.

Seattle has Jackson Back
Seattle will need to use every offensive weapon in their arsenal to upset the Chicago Bears and it appears they are close to getting there. Leading receiver Darrell Jackson has been upgraded to questionable for Sunday’s game.

Divisional Play-Off Winners
Indianapolis at Baltimore – Ravens
Philadelphia at New Orleans – Saints
Seattle at Chicago – Bears
New England at San Diego – Chargers

If you are registered for the NFL Play-Offs Contest don’t forget to make your picks before kick-off of the Colts/Ravens Game on Saturday. You can make your picks here!

Tony Romo Costs Me First Place in the Play-Offs Picks Contest

I would like to thank Tony Romo for costing me a perfect first round and first place in the standings. Your dropped snap on the field goal attempt was unacceptable! Of course I couldn’t do any better but I’m not the one suiting up, you are! Honorable mention goes to Terry Glenn for the horrible job he did in protecting the ball resulting in a fumble at the worst possible moment on the worst possible place on the field.

Dallas had that game wrapped up and yet they found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

NFL Play-Off Contest Standings

Name	First Round Picks	Super Bowl Pick	Sleeper Pick	Total Points
true2osu	4-0	Philadelphia	#4 New England	54
notafan	4-0	Philadelphia	#3 Philadelphia	53
rob	4-0	San Diego	#2 Baltimore	53
dolphinfan	3-1	San Diego	#4 New England	44
Kenny	3-1	San Diego	#2 Baltimore	40
Matt Jordan	3-1	New Orleans	#5 NY Jets	40
chiefsfan	2-2	Baltimore	#6 NY Giants	30
ffnstuff	2-2	San Diego	#5 NY Jets	30