NFL Hyperbolic Statements-Week 13

A couple teams to watch for and a couple on suicide watch. What I want for Xmas. And cut this guy now...

I Hate You: Shaun Suisham, Redskins. I hate to keep advocating physical violence, but this dude needs a flogging with a broom handle. I looked at his numbers and really they're not that bad, but from my observation this guy misses so many easy kicks. I've been calling for him to get cut for two years. I knew as soon as the 'Skins allowed the Saints to tie the game and went into OT they were going to lose. It's just one of those seasons for both teams. The Saints at 11-0 feel like they're never out of a game. The 'Skins feel like they can never get a break. It reflects in both teams play.

Teams You Should Be Afraid Of: No one is really talking about them because of the ridiculous seasons the Colts and Saints are having, but the league needs to watch out for both the Cardinals and Chargers. Let's not forget that the Cards are the defending NFC champs. They served that notice to the Vikings in a big way Sunday night. The Chargers are another team I would not want to face when the playoffs start. They are quietly 9-3. Both teams have tremendous offensive weapons, fearless quarterbacks, and underrated defenses.

Teams I'm Not Afraid Of Anymore: The Steelers and the Patriots. The Steelers have lost four in a row. Two of those games were against the Chiefs and the Raiders. Yeck. A Super Bowl caliber defense should not give up 21 in the fourth quarter against anyone, never mind the Raiders. The Patriots have gone from offensive juggernaut to one dementional. And on the defensive side they are inexperienced. Furthermore, Tom Brady apparently thinks it's ok to just chuck the ball to Randy Moss even when completely blanketed. Not only that, but Brady seems to be calling out his teammates out for not working hard. According to some sources he may be talking about the aforementioned Moss.

Please God, Please: Can we have a Saints vs. Colts Super Bowl? It seems like it's been a long time since we've seen a real battle of the big boys in the biggest game. Some people like underdogs. I want to see the two most dominant teams with the two nastiest QB's go blow for blow in the Super Bowl. AND how freaking cool would it be for both teams to be 18-0 going into the game?

File This One Under WTF: I am attempting to cultivate my own Buffalo wing sauce. Frank's Red Hot etc. just haven't been cutting it for me. Today as I was cutting up jalepenos and habeneros to put in the food processor, I decided to sample a piece of the raw habenero. Aaahh, Scoville Units!!!! Well, as I write, the sauce is simmering and the wings are roasting. Let's how this turns out.

NFL Hyperbolic Statements-Week 11

Two so-called contenders punk out. The city of Baltimore holds a grudge. And looking forward to watching the Lions? Since we've got a short week, think of this as the Cliff's Notes version of "Statements."

Don't Rest On Your Laurels, Ever: Bengals and Steelers. Following a man-sized win against the Steelers, the Bengals turned into tabbies vs. the pathetic Raiders. The eyepatches did have one advantage; Demarcus Russell was on the bench. But still, if Cincinnatti wanted to think of itself as a contender, they needed to take care of biznass against the Faders. (Wow, two disparaging nicknames for Oakland in one paragraph). Meanwhile, halfway across the country, the Steelers were yacking it up against another AFC West ne'er-do-well. You would think they would come out pissed off and ready to kill the Chiefs after losing an important divisional game to the Bengals last week. I guess that's the difference between these two clubs and the Colts who seem to win under all kinds of circumstances, even when it appears they really don't deserve to win.

State Line of the Week: Robert Meachem, Saints. 2 catches, 10 yards, 2 TD's. Just don't confuse him with Robert Mitchum.

Cosmic Forces At Work: Two games ago, the Baltimore Ravens played the team that replaced them after they left Cleveland and changed names, the "new" Browns. Last Sunday, the Ravens played the team that they replaced in Baltimore, the Colts. Let that one marinate in your skull for a bit. Think of it as a football koan. By the way, the Colts are never referred to by name in Baltimore. The PA announcer introduces them as the Indianapolis professional football team. Bitter, anyone?

File This One Under WTF: Ah, Thanksgiving, that magical time of year that exists only to indulge in copious amounts of food and football. I was even looking forward to the Lions game this year. I was very curious to watch heralded rookie Matthew Stafford, especially in light of his heroic play last Sunday. But now he's injured, out for a couple of weeks at least with a separated shoulder. Now, I've got to deal with the likes of a washed up Daunte Culpepper. Damn! Oh well, the Packers will probably win 35-3 anyway.

SB XLIII: Here's how it goes down...

In the first half, Dick Lebeau will come up with a defensive scheme to flummox Kurt Warner.  Warner won't panic or try anything stupid.  However, the Steelers will make a play or two to take the early lead.  Perhaps it will be a turnover or a sack on a big third down.  Or maybe it will be something more subtle like a punt that pins Arizona back and changes field position.  Half time score: Steelers 10, Arizona 3

Nevertheless, the Steeler won't be able to hold Arizona down forever.  The simple fact is that you cannot game plan for Larry Fitzgerald.  His athletic ability will always trump your scheme.  Once or twice Warner will get the time he needs for Fitzgerald to get open, and a Cardinal comeback will start to look plausible.  However, the Arizona D, which has been playing over it's head all post season, will finally give up the big run that they can't afford or blow a coverage that allows Santonio Holmes to get deep.  When Arizona tries to get the points it needs on one final drive, Pittsburgh's D will shut the door.  

Final Score:  Pittsburgh 24, Arizona 17.  Dan's playoff prediction comes to pass (mostly) with the Steelers walking off as champs.

Championship Sunday Round Up

• I usually know who to cheer for come Super Bowl time. But there are a lot of reasons to like both Arizona and Pittsburgh. Not least of which is that Warner and Roethlisberger are two of my favorite QB's.
• Roethlisberger can be maddening at times, the way he holds the ball ...and holds the ball. But yesterday he was at his slippery best without turning it over. His receivers, including Santonio Holmes in particular, did an awesome job of getting open once the play was busted. It was like sandlot football out there.
• People forget that in Kurt Warner's St. Louis days the running game was there to keep teams honest. They threw a lot obviously, but they also got huge chunks of yards on the ground and often had a team average of over 4.5 yards per carry. When Warner has that to help him, he's even more deadly. As opposed to Big Ben, he gets the ball out quick and is one of the most accurate passers in the game.
• This just in: Larry Fitzgerald is a monster. He's like Randy Moss without the baggage. Plus, as a bonus, he breaks tackles like Jerome Bettis. He is deceptively strong.
• It took Arizona this long to find a consistent winning formula. I don't know how, but the defense is playing much better. These certainly doesn't look like the same squad that surrendered 426 points this season. I kept waiting for an opponent to run all over them. It never happened. That combined with a commitment to the rush themselves are the reasons for their success.
• I can't help but feel bad for Donovan McNabb. The right thing to do is blow it all up now in Philly and get something in a trade for McNabb and even Westbrook. I can see a 5-11 season next year easily.
• I can envision McNabb having a lot of success on a team where he doesn't have to be the man. Minnesota would be perfect.
• Joe Flacco's inaccuracy finally caught up with him. As I said before, it was pretty remarkable how he was able to avoid turnovers with the way he sprays the ball all over the field.
• My thoughts and prayers are with Willis McGahee, who suffered a devastating hit yesterday. He was carted off the field on a stretcher. Fortunately, preliminary medical reports are that he is in good condition, but he will remain in the hospital for observations.
• I guess I have to stick with my pre-playoff Super Bowl Pick. Things didn't pan out exactly as I thought, but the Steelers seem poised to win their second championship in four seasons and their record setting sixth as a franchise. I think it will be a very close game with the Steeler defense making the one play they need. Steelers 24, Cardinals 17.

NFL Divisional Playoffs

I gave you all my thoughts on Giants vs. Eagles and Titans vs. Ravens in my last post. Now for the other two games, which I think are a lot easier to predict. First of all they feature my two Super Bowl teams that I picked at the start of the playoffs. Secondly these second seeds have much more favorable match ups as the Steelers and Panthers face a couple of fraud divisional winners in the Chargers and Cardinals respectively.

Both the Chargers and Cardinals have explosive capabities on offense. San Diego has been rejuvinated by Darren Sproles and the Cardinals passing game has its swagger back. (If I can digress for one minute, it appears that LT is nearing the end of the line. He is banged up and probably won't play Sunday, but beyond that his burst seems gone. I love LT as a player and person. He will probably end up in the HOF, but RB's sure to get old in a hurry once their time is up, don't they?) However, the playoffs are mostly about defense and the Steelers and Panthers have that in spades. They will find a way to make a stop, force a turnover, or get a sack at the right time to win these games.

The Steelers and Chargers played that Ed Hocchuli game early in the season and Pittsburgh won by a point. This will be a much talked about aspect of this weekend's game. Will it have any bearing on this playoff rematch? No, no, and no, so stop talking about it. The Chargers probably have as good a chance to pull an upset as anyone, but I just can't see it happening. I can see Phillip Rivers losing his mind after getting sacked for the fourth time though.

There is no way Arizona will be able to stop Carolina's running attack. If they hold Carolina under 140 yards, I will eat my hat. I know they corralled Michael Turner, but I can't envision them doing that two weeks in a row. Their body of work shows Arizona to be a poor defensive team. They allow 110 yard rushing per game, 16th in the NFL, and 426 points, 5th worst in the league and the worst of any team in the playoffs. One good game does not a season make.

NFL Playoff Predictions

Just to show that I have the cajones, I'm going to predict the entire NFL playoffs as if I were filling out an NCAA tournament bracket. I'm just going to lay it all out there and see what the reaction is. First the AFC. As I've said all year, I just can't see the Titans making it to the Super Bowl. If Roethlisberger takes care of the ball, there is no team that will best the Steeler defense. Beware the red hot Colts, however.

Wild Card Round:
Colts 26, Chargers 17; Ravens 13, Dolphins 7
Divisional Round:
Steelers 24, Colts 17; Titans 14, Ravens 3
AFC Championship:
Steelers 31, Titans 17

Now the NFC. If the Eagles and Falcons win on Wild Card Weekend, it will create some unfavorable match ups for the top seeds. No one wants to see a divisional rival for the third time in the playoffs, especially the top seeds who gain virtually no advatange from homefield or the intimidation. That being said, I think the Giants and Panthers will find ways to win close games.

Wild Card Round:
Falcons 34, Cardinals 7; Eagles 17, Vikings 7
Divisional Round:
Giants 30, Eagles 24; Panthers 27, Falcons 21
NFC Championship:
Panthers 34, Giants 31

The Super Bowl will feature two teams that appeared in the big game on separate occasions a few years ago. Their experiences and the coaching will make it a hard fought well played game. Unfortunately, for Jake Delhomme and John Fox they will have their second Super Bowl loss in six seasons. The teams match up pretty evenly, but the Steelers have a clear advatage at the most important position, QB. Steelers 24, Panthers 10