Conquering Revis Island

See, I did think of something eventually. So stop moaning. How many writers do you know who churn out something almost everyday? Exactly, so shut up. Anyway. Ron Rivera has been confirmed as the new Head Coach of the Carolina Panthers. This left many fans in Carolina going.... who? The answer is the man behind the San Diego Chargers defense in 2010, which many people still seem to have a hard time believing was the number 1 rated D in the regular season in terms of total yardage. Rivera played as a linebacker for the Bears and was part of the winning team of Super Bowl 20, learning much about his craft under the guidance of Buddy Ryan. After his playing career was done, Rivera then turned to coaching and has since had -- at least to date -- an exceptionally good run. He has learned as an assistant from both Jimmy Johnson and Lovie Smith & was the defensive coordinator for the Bears in 2006 when they won the NFC Championship and went to Super Bowl 41. His spell in San Diego as the defensive coordinator has also been highly successful in terms of raw numbers. The question now becomes, how will he fit in with Carolina? The Panthers are a 4-3 team, which is markedly different from the 3-4 scheme that Rivera ran in San Diego. He'll have to adjust to the personnel given him and hopefully try to avoid the problem the Redskins encountered when they tried to switch from a 4-3 to a 3-4 in one season. Luckily the Panthers do actually have a pretty good pass rush, which is a boon for an aggressive minded coach like Rivera. Just looking at it on the surface, I think this might turn out to be a good hire. What the Panthers now need is an offensive coordinator who can sort out Jimmy Clausen, and hopefully (please God!) someone who understands that the Panthers offensive strength lies in their ground game. If the Panthers go after an air assault minded coach like Josh McDaniels, I think it might end in tears, at least from an offensive perspective. We'll see. Now, time to get back to form and have another moan. I'm a very cynical individual, as you might have guessed. I believe that fundamentally the world is about balance and that in order to excel in one area, you naturally have to make a sacrifice somewhere else, at least to a degree. This is why I hate hearing about teams/players who are supposedly "unstoppable", like the always "unstoppable" Colts who lost six games in the regular season and then got dumped out of the playoffs by Rex Ryan and the Jets on Saturday. In fact, it's funny I should mention the Jets because that's exactly where I'm headed with this point (odd that, almost like it was planned in advance...). More pointedly, we're all going on a trip to "Revis Island", possibly the most laughable of all the "unstoppable" myths. The first thing I want to quash is the notion of it being an Island in the first place. To me putting a defender on an island means -- as the name would suggest -- that the player is being essentially abandoned to his own devices, with no help from the rest of the team. There's your side of the field, that's the receiver you have to cover, now off you go. No help over the top, no bracket coverage from the inside. And yet a cursory glance back through the unintended video library that is NFL.com shows us that Revis very often receives safety help over the top. Now call me a miserable git who is being far too picky (because I probably am), but that is not this mythical "Island" that we keep hearing about. That's cover two, the same as a lot of teams play. But what makes it even more nauseating is having to listen to people talk about Revis as some kind of Demi-God of defensive football, as if he can supposedly cover a player merely by looking at him. Instead a closer inspection of the film (which never lies) shows that Revis merely attempts to make a mockery of the laws of equilibrium by overplaying the deep ball. There is your shutdown corner. A corner who is most certainly capable of covering over the top and taking away the go route/post route. But unbeatable? Not really. Let's pinch some screen shots from the latest episode of NFL Networks "Playbook" show to make the point. As always we'll start with my cack handed attempt at a disclaimer. The original video can be found here, on NFL.com. The video is naturally produced entirely by them, owned by them etc. The pictures included in this article are merely screen shots, and thanks to some handy work by the Playbook team and some judicious use of the pause button, I've had no need to make any modifications to the pictures. All graphics are those put on in the original video. Right, so let's get to it. The first picture I have for you shows Revis matched up with Reggie Wayne (they've handily been circled in yellow by presenter Brian Baldinger). After the game Wayne had complained about the fact that he was only targeted once. Cue a series of articles and comments from people saying that Wayne should STFU because he was sitting on "Revis Island" the whole game. (For the less Internet lingo savvy of my readers, STFU is a way of writing 'Shut The Fuck Up' on your website without having to swear. Clever huh? ..... ah shit). Anyway, the video evidence suggests differently. It suggests to us that in fact Revis Island was welcoming visitors to come to it's beaches, steal it's coconuts, woo the native women, and then jump back on a speedboat and disappear off into the sunset. As indeed it does every week. What you need to look at on Picture one is that Revis is playing over the top of Wayne. This is basically what Revis does. He starts off a few yards off the receiver. When the receiver comes off the line at him he turns, makes contact with his arm (which he can maintain as long as likes, providing his hand doesn't come off the receiver at any point and he doesn't push him) and then he simply rides the receiver down the field. If the receiver goes inside at the snap, then he assumes a position outside and high of him. If the receiver takes an outside release at the snap, then Revis simply slots in above and to the inside. That happens to make Revis quite vulnerable to being undercut; that is to say, if the receiver breaks underneath Revis then there isn't a lot he can do about it. Remember what I was saying earlier about balance? Revis is playing over the top in order to more effectively take away the deep ball and increase the chances that a poorly thrown pass will either be batted down or picked off. But by over compensating for the deep pass he is setting himself up to be exploited underneath. Just take a look at our second picture. Here you can see at the bottom of the screen that Wayne has Revis thoroughly beaten. The little red blob in the image is the ball which is being thrown to Pierre Garcon on a post route at the top of the picture. This play actually resulted in a touchdown. But the point is that Revis has been beaten. Wayne is standing on the zero of the big 40 and thanks to convenience of the hash markings we can tell that Wayne has approximately 3-4 yards of separation on Revis, which by NFL standards is wide, wide open. Wayne achieves this, as you'll see when you watch the video, by running a deep hooking route. The route in question is most commonly referred to as a deep comeback, with the receiver "breaking down" to slow himself, having travelled around 20 yards. He then turns and loses ground while heading to the outside away from the defender. It is a route that perfectly exploits the way Revis likes to play. When the receiver takes an outside release Revis slots in above him and to the inside. When Wayne breaks down, Revis overshoots and when he finally does turn he has no hope of getting back to the ball. We'll see this happen again in shots 3 and 4. In shot 3 (above) you can see Revis and Wayne circled, with Manning apparently staring right at them. Then Wayne hits the "Comeback" route on Revis and we can see in figure 4 that he is wide open at the top of the screen. Wayne is standing on the 50 yard line which is handy because it makes judging distances easier. Again we can tell using the hash marks that Revis is 3 yards off of Wayne. So hopefully now we've proved two things: 1) That the mythical "Revis Island" is just that; a myth. 2) That the idea of Revis being some kind of all covering, footballing Demi-God is also a myth perpetuated for the purposes of promotion, either by self or by others. I'm not saying that Revis is not a very good corner. He is. We know that much for certain. Unlike many corners for example (*cough* Cromartie) he is prepared to get his helmet in there and hit people. Rex Ryan likes a tough D and he has a tough corner in Revis. Revis is also quick, smart, has good hands and works hard. But he's not unbeatable. He's not invincible. He can be beaten with the Deep Comeback and I imagine the Deep In route (sometimes referred to as a "Dig") would also work pretty well. And he rarely lives on a Island. Just one last thing though before I go. Every time I watch a "Playbook" segment, I admire presenter Brian Baldinger for his knowledge and the way he turns the spotlight onto some of the unsung heroes like offensive linemen, but there are two seriously annoying things about the guy. First off, he is cursed with that same kind of facial appearance that Colts Center Jeff Saturday has, where they both look like they're wearing more eye makeup than Lady Gaga. The second is that every time he goes up to the one of the TV's to start drawing lines and circles, he keeps touching his damn nose! I swear! Every two seconds he's doing it. Watch the video again and keep an eye out for it. I have no idea why the hell it bugs me so much, but is just does. I feel better now I've got that off my chest.

Uhm

I should probably have come up with another article by now, but unlike the multitude of well paid sports writers who work for big networks and big websites, I don't have all day to sit around reading the websites for all the local newspapers in the cities that have NFL teams, looking for some kind of tid bit to throw out there. I also lack access to the all important game film, which leaves me on something of a limb. ............................... so talk among yourselves for a bit till I figure out what to write.

Sundays recap and more uses of the word 'decertify'

Better late than never they always say. Unless of course your commuting a sentence to a prisoner on death row, in which case late is probably worse than never. On that note, let's recap Sunday's action. Baltimore Ravens 30 @ Kansas City Chiefs 7 I needed to check something after the game just to be sure and indeed on inspecting the official game book I was right. Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles did only get 2 carries in the second half. This is the same Jamaal Charles who carried the ball 7 times for 87 yards and a TD in the first half. That's an average of 12.4 yards per carry. This is why I have absolutely no sympathy for the Chiefs, their offensive Coordinator Charlie Weis or Head Coach Todd Haley. I understand, trust me I do, that the nuances of coaching are not always apparent to the naked eye or to the cold data of the end of game statistics. But I also know this much; Jamaal Charles should have carried the ball more than just twice in the second half. It's ludicrous. It's absolutely inexcusable. Coaches are incredibly fond, as are most professional people, of believing that their job is so difficult it couldn't possibly be done by a lay person. Of course in most professions the technical details and tweaks are beyond most untrained individuals. But there also things about coaching, like a number of professions, that are so damn obvious even the least trained and only partially knowledgeable person could point out. Like Jamaal Charles being the Keystone of the Chiefs offense for instance. Or the fact that despite some impressive performances this season, there is absolutely no way in hell that Matt Cassel should be considered a Pro Bowl QB by any sane person. Good, I can live with. But Pro Bowl? Give me a damn break! Actually Cassel did, by going 9/18 for 70 yards and throwing 3 interceptions. Ugh! Charles ended the day with 9 carries for 82 yards and a TD. Yes, he lost yards, thanks to two bad plays. Thomas Jones, the other high quality back for the Chiefs received just 5 carries for 15 yards. It's just such an absolute joke. But it had started with promise (sort of) when the Chiefs got after the Ravens QB Joe Flacco in the first quarter and Tamba Hali (remember him from the preview yesterday?) got the sack and forced fumble. Hali ended the game with 2 sacks, a forced fumble, an additional QB hit and a pass defended. But he's not good enough for the Pro Bowl apparently (I'll let it go in 2012). Linebacker Jovan Belcher also had 1.5 sacks for the Chiefs, along with 2 tackles for loss and 2 further QB hits, while Eric Berry (watch list) recorded 4 of the Chiefs 6 passes defended, including a TD saving dive. But anyway, back to the Chiefs offense. After recovering the fumble the Chiefs got the ball and on the second play of the drive the Chiefs ran the old stretch play to the left, sending Charles rumbling 41 yards for the TD. It was only his second carry of the game. He followed it up later with carries of 11, 8 and 9 yards. Then he rumbled 4 yards and was stripped by Terrence Cody (yes, Mount Cody, the 350 odd pound Defensive Tackle) who fell on top of him to finish the play! But that's ok. Explosive runners like Charles occasionally fumble the ball. That's just one of those things you have to live with. Especially when Charles came back on the Chiefs next possession and put his bad play behind him by running for 11 yards. Then nothing. That was it. Apart from his 2 carries in the second half, that's all Charles got. How is that possible. How is that a back whose shortest run was 4 yards doesn't get to touch the ball more in the second half? And you can argue that the Chiefs ended up behind and needed to get back in the game, but judging by his average Charles was the best shot the Chiefs had! It just makes no sense to me. Like the Ravens obsession with making Joe Flacco throw the ball 25 times before half time every game. At least this time Flacco actually started to make something happen, finishing the game 25/34 for 265 yards and 2 touchdowns. Ray Rice had 17 carries for 57 yards. Willis McGahee added another 44 yards and a TD on 10 carries. Terrell Suggs was the Ravens difference maker on defense. 2 sacks, 2 tackles for loss and 4 quarterback hits helped to keep the Chiefs offense in check, at least outside of that brief period in the first half when Jamaal Charles was absolutely hanging the Ravens D out to dry. Ray Lewis also pitched in as you might expect, with a sack, tackles for loss, a QB hit and forced fumble. All in all, the Chiefs were their own worst enemy. According to the well known and much respected Ancient Greek Writer Pausanias, there was an inscription made in the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo, at Delphi. It simply translates as "Know Thyself". This of course echo's the famous saying by Chinese General, Politician and Strategist, Sun Tzu; "So it is said that if you know others and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles." (Page 82, The Art of War, translated by Thomas Cleary, Shambhala Dragon Editions). The Chiefs may or may not have known the enemy, but they appeared to know little about themselves and as a result a glorious opportunity to energise the Kansas fan base with a playoff win was lost, through no fault but their own. That means that Baltimore now heads to Heinz Field to play Pittsburgh in what promises to be a great rivalry game, while the Jets head to Foxborough for a similarly chop licking encounter. Green Bay Packers 21 @ Philadelphia Eagles 16 The NFL's golden boy is no more. Well, he's not in the playoffs anymore at least. It was a close run thing though. With just a little over 30 seconds remaining, Vick threw the ball up into the endzone where it was picked off by Tramon Williams. One of the key components in the rebirth of the Packers defense this year cemented his reputation by sealing the win. A win that showed the Packers still have some versatility on offense. The worry coming into this game was that they would become one dimensional in the playoffs, unable to relieve the pressure on Aaron Rodgers and the passing game. Rookie RB James Starks put that to bed with 23 carries for 123 tough yards. This helped to keep the chains moving and set up Aaron Rodgers to go 18/27 for 180 yards and 3 touchdowns. Hitting 9 different receivers over the course of the game, Rodgers did enough with the passing game to help secure the win. The Packers also owe a lot to their defense. Clay Matthews and co. pulled off some vital sacks and of course won the game with the sole interception of Vick. In the end the league MVP candidate completed just 20/36 for for 292 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. On the ground he mustered just 33 yards and a sneaked TD on 8 carries. LeSean McCoy was held to 46 yards off 12 carries. DeSean Jackson had 2 catches for 47 yards. The Eagles defense managed only 2 sacks. In a way, it was a bit disappointing. I was kind of expecting the loser of this game to go down in a blaze of glory, on the bad end of a 45-42 shootout. Instead we got quite a conservative score from two teams well known for lighting up the opposition and the Eagles dropped out of the playoffs in something of a damp squib. That now means that the Packers progress to face Atlanta in the Georgia Dome, while Seattle will travel to Soldier Field to face Chicago. Now in other news: -- According to NBC's Mike Florio, Mike Mayock is a Genius. The qualification for this prestigious award? Not writing off the Seahawks as many had done and instead giving them a "fighters chance" in their playoff game against the Saints. My question then is thus; given that I too gave the Seahawks a fighters chance, does that make me a genius in Florio's eyes as well? Especially given that my rookie watch list scored a few more hits than Mayock did with the draft. Wheres my big TV contract? -- We finish today with another article from ProFootballTalk.com, who finally seem to have realised something that I pointed out a long time ago; the NFLPA can prevent a lockout anytime they wish. To quote specifically from their article; "Of course, the ability of the union to decertify and block a lockout also makes a lockout less likely. Union officials continuously gloss over that fact. NFLPA spokesman George Atallah has said that the union prefers to work out a new Collective Bargaining Agreement over decertifying." Whatever the NFLPA may "prefer", the fact still remains that any talk of a lockout is utter nonsense fabricated by the NFLPA. They have within their power the ability to block a lockout at any time and so, if indeed a lockout occurs in 2011, it will be the fault of the players and not the owners. I don't particularly like defending the owners because let's face it, they're the ones who charge you $30 to park and $100 to go and watch pre-season games. But I also appreciate two things: 1) Honesty is more important than prejudices, 2) The reason the owners charge so much money for parking fees is because the players wages are so damn inflated.

Wildcard Weekend (part 2)

New Orleans Saints 36 @ Seattle Seahawks 41 Ho-ly-sh... you get the idea. I said it. I didn't think they'd do it but the Seahawks just came out, let it all go and it paid off big time. They dug into their bag of tricks and came out with some unusual stuff. Fake screens, hook-and-spin routes etc, with a healthy dose of shocking defense by the Saints. But the real point that should be made, the real winner here, was the determination and sheer effort by the Seahawks players. We often talk about these kind of things on blogs, in books and on TV. You see hokey films about pulling together and going all out for one another, but nobody ever seems to put the words into practice. You see people try, then give up. Well the Seahawks didn't. They gave us a shining example of mental strength pushing the body to new levels and how teamwork & hustle can truly make a big difference in football. Marshawn Lynch's TD run was a great demonstration of that as QB Matt Hasselbeck was among those Seahawks racing down the field to help their team mate get the score. We can't forget completely about the losers though. We have to take our collective hats off I think (gentlemen, if you please) to the New Orleans Saints offense. Without his starting running backs Drew Brees was forced to throw 39/60 (sixty!!) for 404 yards and 2 TD's with no interceptions. It was a huge effort and let's not overlook the fact that traditionally speaking, when you score 36 points, you have a tendency to win a lot of games. So I wouldn't begrudge the Saints offense for shooting some killer looks at the defense who were about as stout, rugged and effective as a drill bit made from chocolate. The tackling, the coverage, the whole works. It was just all around poor defense. I dunno, maybe defensive coordinator Greg Williams was distracted this week with potential job offers on the table, but man, that defense just wasn't the same as it was last year. They looked like the 2008 group that stunk it up on a regular basis. So now the Seahawks progress to the divisional round. Up next? If Green Bay wins the other NFC Wildcard game on Sunday, then the Seahawks head to Chicago. If the Eagles win, the Seahawks have a date with Atlanta. In the meantime the Seahawks and their fans have time to boogey: New York Jets 17 @ Indianapolis Colts 16 Some how, some way, the Jets did it. Mark Sanchez was awful. 18/31 for 189 yards and an INT. He was throwing loose passes all over the field and was lucky not to get picked off more than just the once. But fate has a funny way of twisting at this time of year. The Colts ran the ball. And kept running it. I know that I've often suggested that the Colts might benefit from running a little more, but this isn't quite what I had in mind. Actually, scrap that. This is nothing like what I had in mind. 27 runs? By the colts? And Manning threw just 18/26? What? The most mind boggling for me was the Colts approach on third down. When I think of predominantly pass first teams like the Colts running the ball, I'm thinking first and second down. Maybe the occasional sneaky run on third down. But to go for a near all out attack on third down using the run? No, surely not. It doesn't matter if I had one yard to go, two, three, four, or eight, whatever, I would be trusting that down and our offenses continued possession of the ball to Peyton Manning. I certainly wouldn't be overly keen to be handing the ball off to Dominic Rhodes. Joseph Addai I can live with, but I'd much rather see Addai in pass protection or running a route on 3rd down, with my golden boy surveying the field and doing his thing. Not so the Jets, who apparently got sick and tired of Sanchez throwing the ball to invisible receivers and thus decided to break out their rushing attack for a change. You remember right, that same rushing attack that allowed them to somewhat protect Sanchez last season and helped them to get to the AFC Championship game? Yeah that one. LaDanian Tomlinson. That's all I'm saying. Ok, I'll say a little more. 16 carries, 82 yards, 2 TD's. The guy looks fresh and ready to roll in these playoffs. Just when everyone has smacked Tomlinson down once more, along come the Jets to remind everyone that essentially the offensive line dictates a big part of how many yards a running back gets. Thus guys like Tomlinson have little to fear. He still has the burst to hit a hole and fall forwards for yards, possibly for another 2 or 3 years providing there is no major upheaval in the Jets O-line. Now finally I'd like to end on a complaint, or two, because God knows I love me a moan. The first issue in question is the "roughing the kicker" called against the Colts. I appreciate that under the letter of the law, that was a penalty. I'm not disputing that. But what I will dispute is that in the offseason that rule needs to be changed. If that degree of contact is what constitutes "roughing" in the modern world, then for the last 10 years or so, anytime I've ever got off a bus during the rush hour I've committed numerous fouls for "roughing". In my opinion, the Colts rusher was making an active attempt to pull up at the end and avoid any serious, hard hitting collision with the kicker. Or to put it another way, he could have just drilled the guys standing leg and left him in a crippled heap, but he didn't. Contact like this, while only a very small part of the game, helps to enforce the wider image that the NFL is turning "soft". If the league is going to continue to be as successful as it has been, it needs to hold onto the fans it has and that means reversing this trend of perceived or actual "softness" in the game. The second thing I want to bitch about is the Colts calling a timeout with 29 seconds left as the Jets were driving for the winning field goal. My question is simply; why? On the sidelines, Manning looked pissed off and I can sympathise with that. It set up a pass by Sanchez to Edwards on the next play, which set the Jets up for a 32-yard field goal to win the game. It just blows the mind sometimes. Do the Colts not have a plan for this? Why do team keep making these critical errors in time management, week after damn week? Given the huge salaries involved, as an owner I would be chewing glass right about now, wondering what in the hell I was forking out the big bucks for given that I could probably hire a high school coach to come in and manage the clock better than that, at far less expense. But enough complaining, at least for now. As the number six seed, the Jets will now go on to play Tom Brady and the Patriots. Maybe Rex was right? Maybe he does have a Super Bowl winning team at hand. I'll wait and see how Sanchez gets on first if that's ok everyone. And onto the preview of Sunday's games. Baltimore Ravens @ Kansas City Chiefs (1:00pm ET, CBS) (6:00pm GMT, Sky Sports 2) The Ravens at the Chiefs, as running game clashes with running game. What intrigues me, because I'm a sad git who gets intrigued by otherwise uninteresting things, is the style clash that will take place between the three main runners on Sunday. First we have Jamaal Charles of the Chiefs. Charles is all about the speed. In the open field he can light teams up just as easily as Chris Johnson of the Titans. Typically with Charles you'll see the Chiefs run a "stretch" style play, where the offensive line all moves in one direction at the snap, looking to get the jump on their respective D-linemen and seal them inside using what we call a "reach" block. The idea is to cutoff the defense, pin them inside and then let Charles go flying around the outside and up the field with his speed. Thomas Jones of the Chiefs is very different. Coming from the Jets last year and, if we're honest, getting a little long in the tooth right now, Jones is more of you inside style rusher. Typically you'll see the Chiefs start off moving in one direction, similar to the stretch play above, but with a tight end and/or a fullback coming back against the flow to help kick out defenders on the backside and create a void up the middle for Jones, where he can use his power, toughness and, let's face it, big brass balls to drive right through the heart of the defense and off to pay dirt. My favourite though is Ray Rice of the Ravens. Why? Because (shut up, I know) normally with running backs, their success is tied very closely to their offensive line. Or to put it another way, unless you happen by chance to be a ghost it's physically impossible to run through a wall of 300 pound offensive and defensive linemen standing shoulder to shoulder. This is the major problem that Chris Johnson has had in Tennessee this year. Every time they call a run the Titans O-line seems to get wadded up in a bunch, which is a win for the defense. With no gaps between the linemen, it makes it very easy for the linebackers to read the play. All they have to do is flow towards the gaps at the two ends of the bunch and boom, dead play. Coincidentally the Ravens D happens to be quite good at doing just that. But the thing with Ray Rice is, he seems to possess an extraordinary vision on such plays for finding the tiny little cracks in the defense. His lateral quickness combined with that vision allows Rice to to squirm through creases that other running backs can't, if they even see them in first place. Credit to Rice for that. But the question still lingers, who might win such a battle? Well if I'm honest, the Ravens appear have the advantage. We know both teams can run the ball and that both teams struggle a little when throwing, but the Ravens D gives them the clear edge. That's not to say that the Chiefs have a weak defense, but they're simply not the Ravens. They can both bring pressure on the quarterback and both teams have playmakers in the back end, but critically in what could prove to be a ground and pound game, the Ravens run defense has the edge. The Ravens finished the regular season as the number 5 defense against the run. The Chiefs came in at number 14. So if it turns out to be a grind 'em down style field position battle, you probably have to give Baltimore the advantage. There is hope however for the Chiefs. An early score could tempt the Ravens into throwing a little more and as we've seen this season they're pass protection still leaves something to be desired. That gives Tamba Hali the open shot he needs to get in and cause some havoc. Hali topped the AFC for sacks in the regular season with 14.5 (only DeMarcus Ware finished ahead of him in the NFC, with 15.5). Add to that the hidden effect of numerous QB hits and pressures which go largely unnoticed on the stat sheets (someone at one of the big networks needs to fix this), and you have a recipe for forcing Joe Flacco into some bad throws. The Chiefs have the people in the secondary to make Flacco pay, and so the Chiefs could be set up to pull off the next huge upset in the 2010 season Wildcard weekend. We'll see. The winner has a date lined up with the Steelers... Green Bay Packers @ Philadelphia Eagles (4:30pm ET, FOX) (9:30pm GMT, Sky Sports 2) The Packers and the Eagles clash in what bizarrely many people are touting as the true NFC Championship game. I think the Falcons and Bears might have something to say about that (and the Seahawks I guess). Still though, it is a hell of a clash to be having in the wildcard weekend. Michael Vick, the NFL's golden ticket for redemption (and advertising revenues) up against Aaron Rodgers, the successor to Brett Favre. So how good are these teams? The Eagles destroyed the Redskins in a style that you would expect of a great team. They also produced the miracle at the New Meadowlands, coming back from almost certain defeat at the hands of what was a very strong Giants team (10-6 with one of the better defenses out there) to storm to victory. The Packers caliber is much more subtle. Consider that the Patriots are widely touted as the best team in the NFL right now, and that the Packers managed to run their game against the Patriots very close, all without the aid of starting QB Aaron Rodgers. 'The Pack' are also one of those rare teams that has great strength on both sides of the ball. They have a great offense that is more than capable of getting into a shootout with any team in the league. But on defense they are also pretty sound. The development of corners Tramon Williams and Sam Shields has had a huge impact for them. When you then consider that their front seven is up there among the best, easily at home alongside the Ravens and the Steelers, and you have a seriously solid all around team. Not quite the same story in Philadelphia. The Eagles have Mike Vick. They have DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy and James Harrison (don't knock the guy). But on defense it begins to get a little flimsy. While Trent Cole, Juqua Parker and Darryl Tapp form the backbone of a formidable pass rush, the Eagles have still been found wanting on the back end this season, and their rush defense has at times been very poor. All things considered I think the Packers have the edge going into this game, but as we've seen this season, not least in this wildcard weekend, anything is possible on any given Sunday. Could the X factor that is Michael Vick tip the balance? Will Aaron Rodgers simply stroll onto the field and tear apart the Eagles secondary? Maybe DeSean Jackson will have a few big run backs in the kicking game? Guess we'll all just have to grab a beer (Amaretto for me please), sit back, relax and tune in to what is proving to be one of the most intriguing seasons in recent memory. I'll be back tomorrow for a full recap.

Wildcard Weekend (part 1)

So now we know where three teams will be headed in 2011. The Titans have confirmed Jeff Fisher will be their coach for at least another year. The Dolphins have signed Tony Sparano through 2013. Not, however, before arranging a meeting with Eric Mangini to come on board as a "consultant", cancelling a press conference along the way that would have been used to confirm Sparano as the 2011 coach of the Dolphins. The meeting with Mangini didn't go ahead in the end and Sparano has been confirmed, but the damage to the reputation of both the coach and owner has been done. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross now looks like a jackass. And he's pulled Sparano down with him, effectively sending the message to the players that "we couldn't get the guy we wanted and we couldn't find anyone else who would take the role, so we're bringing back Sparano for you. Enjoy." Of course the guy they "wanted" was Jim Harbaugh, who will now be coaching the 49ers for 2011. Harbaugh's first order of business? Quarterback. With both Alex and Troy Smith up for free agency, that leaves David Carr as the only guy signed for 2011. With Harbaughs college QB Andrew Luck staying on for another year, that means the 49ers might be looking for a trade. One option is Josh Johnson of the Buccaneers, who Harbaugh has worked with previously. I really like Johnson so you won't hear any complaints from me. The other possibility, outside of the draft of course, is a free agent. Topping that list might be Donovan McNabb who is expected to be released by the Redskins. Please Jim; don't. McNabb has done well, but he's not exactly Mr. Consistent and seems to have a real problem dealing with pressure. Please, let's just go somewhere else, with a young guy who you can mold. Please. Just before we have a look at this Saturday's wild card games, just time to point you in the direction of the latest work from NFL.com's Albert Breer. Good stuff. Now, games, which after all is what football is all about. New Orleans Saints @ Seattle Seahawks (4:30PM ET, NBC) The stage is set for an epic disappointment. Quite whose, we don't yet know. It could be the Seahawks, their hopes raised after stumbling to victory over the Rams. On the back of Mike Williams and a semi-resurgent Marshawn Lynch, the Seahawks have become the first 7-9 division champion, and the first team outside of a strike shortened season to make the playoffs with a losing record. It all looks so hopeful. It's a big achievement, especially after such miserable seasons as the Seahawks have endured in recent years (as a 49er fan I can only say one thing. Good). Maybe this is their time to shine again? Or maybe it's their time to get their dreams crushed, as the Saints roll into town and flatten their helpless and hapless opponents in a demonstration of such sheer dominance and offensive power that the French nation promptly surrender to Coach Payton before he turns on them (a bit of good ol' fashion British light hearted humour/Xenophobia/racism there). Conversely, it could be the Saints in for a shock. God knows it would be a shock to all of us if Seattle wins, but they have a few things in their favour. Last year the Saints finished the regular season with a +11 turnover differential. This year the Saints finished at -6. That's not helped by the loss of running backs Pierre Thomas and Chris Ivory. The expectation now is that with the loss of his run game, Drew Brees will have to throw even more, possibly close to 50 times in this game. With Brees's recent problems with interceptions, that could be a potential gold mine waiting to be tapped for Seattle. Then we have the crowd. The noise in Qwest Field is pretty legendary, and in a playoff game there is likely to be little respite for the Saints. That throws up issues of false starts at critical moments and a breakdown of communication, especially during audibles. The Saints are used to very loud stadiums, but not when their offense is on the field. Finally; just the sheer surprise factor of the Seahawks. They have nothing to lose and everything to gain, the exact opposite of the defending champion Saints. If the Saints are too cocky it could be their downfall. Too conservative and the same applies. Meanwhile the Seahawks can dig deep into the playbook on both sides of the ball and just go all out for the win. If they crash and burn, who cares? If Seattle gets hammered 45-0 I wont batter an eye lid (just laugh. Heartily). On paper I would expect the Saints to do just that. It's not like Seahawks fans realistically expect their team to beat the Saints. And if they lose by just 3 points? That's still a loss, so all that conservative play just went out of the window for nothing. If the Seahawks just come out, have fun and let it all hang loose, who knows? I should also probably take the time right now to point out that I wont be doing picks this week, or for the rest of the season (possibly not even for the whole of next season). My regular season record was just over .500, my playoff record from last year was terrible (including 0-7 from the Divisional round onwards if I remember rightly) and just generally I find it much more enjoyable watching games when I'm not secretly cheering on one side or the other because I picked them. And that's before we get onto the issue of teams not doing as their told (Texans, Panthers, Titans etc. Hate those guys). I doubt it'll be a great loss to the world. New York Jets @ Indianapolis Colts (8:00PM ET, NBC) Surprise, surprise, Rex Ryan has been writing checks with his mouth that his team potentially wont be able to cash. The way to the Super Bowl would see the Jets likely take on Peyton Manning, arguably the best QB in the league today, followed by Tom Brady, arguably the best QB in the league today, and then possibly followed by Ben Roethlisberger, arguably the best QB in the league today. That's a hell of a lot of good quarterbacks to be facing, even for the Jets defense. While they have the potential to be very solid, they've also had their fair share of struggles this season, including against the Browns, a team not noted for the wild success of its offense. Let us not forget also that all of these teams must be overcome with Mark Sanchez at the helm for the Jets offense. Now just to recap, that means Mark Sanchez versus (potentially); -- The Colts defense, which was already good and has only got better lately. The Colts D gave up the highest percentage of passes completed in the regular season, but were in the top half of the table for least passing yards allowed. This is also a defense that gave up less touchdowns than the Jets. -- The Patriots defense, which gave up one more TD than the Jets D (25 to 24), but recorded over double the number of interceptions (25 to 12). -- The Steelers defense, which; conceded the second least yards per game (behind the Chargers), the least total points (232 compared to the Jets 304), the least points per game (14.5), conceded the second least (tied) percentage of 3rd down conversions (32%), recorded the most sacks (48), gave up less touchdowns (15) than it had interceptions (21), and gave up the fewest rushing yards (1,004) which was about 437 yards better than the second placed team (Chicago). In other words, it's going to be bloody hard for the Jets to make a dent in a very strong playoff group. The added pressure of Rex Ryan telling the world that he doesn't think Brady works as hard as Manning or can cope as well without his coaches as Manning, only helps to set up a great (and embarrassing) down fall in the divisional round. That's providing of course that they can topple the Colts. That would be the Indianapolis Colts who struggled at times, especially in the middle of the season, but otherwise did very well for themselves. Despite the hiccups, the Colts offense still finished with the 4th most points in the regular season and picked up more first downs per game than any other team. In particular Manning and the Colts love games like this. Racking up the points on offense entices the opposing side into a shoot out. That's where Freeney and Mathis come in. If the back end can hold up long enough (helped dramatically by playing less experienced QB's like Sanchez) that opens the door for a furious pass rush. When your rushing attack stinks, as the Jets has lately, that only increases your appearance of one dimensionality further. The Jets have fought and battled at times and somehow came through with the record that they did. If they want to go any further, it's going to take a tremendous effort. All I know is it's going to be a hell of a lot of fun to watch! Tomorrow I'll be back to recap the Saturday action and to look forward to Sunday's game.

Sharks in the water

Sparano is safe. For now at least it seems the Dolphins have decided to stick with Tony for another year. That leaves the door open for the 49ers to pounce uncontested on Jim Harbaugh. That is of course if they can convince Harbaugh to leave Stanford, which is something that his QB Andrew Luck is not quite ready to do just yet, returning for another year with the Cardinal (must... resist... temptation... to pluralise....). With Sparano returning, we've also now learned that Dan Henning, the offensive coordinator, won't. Henning oversaw a sketchy offense in Miami this year. Chad Henne seemed to regress as the season went along and there was almost no talk of running backs Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams who faded into the dust it would seem. The Cowboys meanwhile have now officially promoted Jason Garrett to the position of permanent Head Coach (God help him), having conducted all the necessary token interviews of black coaches. The Vikings Head Coach for 2011, Leslie Frazier, is also quite busy. Reports from the press indicate that the Vikings have interviews lined up with former 49ers Head Coach Mike Singletary, possibly just to come in as a linebackers coach, along with an interview for former Broncos top man Josh McDaniels to be the offensive coordinator. Two hires that sound surprisingly wise for the Vikings. Wise is not the choice of words I would use though for the latest outburst from Chad Ochocinco. According to ProFootballTalk.com, Ochocinco went for the publicity jugular by saying that race is the determining reason why a guy like Favre would be paid $4 million to come back for another season, but why nobody would give Owens or Ochocinco $4 million. At first I was like "no way, no way did he say something that stupid!!". Then I watched the video..... What the hell Chad? The only thing I can think of was that he was going for the shock factor. In fact, this next video might suggest that's precisely what Ochocinco was going for. At least, I hope it was. On a side note, NFL.com really needs to get one of its web designer/engineer type people to check out Versus.com's site, with particular attention to the video. Look!! The videos load at a normal rate without constant lag! I can click anywhere along the time bar and the video instantly jumps to, and plays from, that point without having to reload the entire damn video! There are less adverts, and God knows the Versus network must need the revenue money more than the NFL. And I can embed the videos! That means I can show people their content which is more likely to drive pageviews back to their site! It's a miracle isn't it NFL.com? To provide a decent (and profitable) service for your fans/customers/potential customers without being assholes. You should try it sometime.

Hop on the Coaching Carousel

Well, Wade Philips has found a new home. The Texans have finally decided that their defense needs a kick up the butt and that Philips is the man to do it. In fairness, despite his lack of success as a Head Coach, Philips still did pretty well handling his defense. And really, anything has to be better than what the Texans produced in 2010. What's even more scary is that just a slight improvement on defense should give the Texans a legitimate shot at making the playoffs in 2011. Like the Saints of 2008, they currently have an electric offense married to a sub standard defense. When the Saints brought in Greg Williams for 2009 and made some improvement on that side of the ball, suddenly they found themselves winning the Super Bowl. Could Houston finally make it over the brink in 2011? Watch this space. Speaking of the Saints, Drew Brees is going to be working extra hard for his money this week against Seattle. Both running backs Pierre Thomas and Chris Ivory are done, resting now and forced to watch nervously from the sidelines on injured reserve. That means it's down to Reggie Bush and Julius Jones to carry the load for the Saints. Which can't hurt the Seahawks chances of pulling off an upset. Please, don't tell me that Seattle is going to make the divisional round. Surely not. They can't. Just, no. Now, remember yesterday I said that the Dolphins might be in the hunt for Jim Harbaugh, along with the 49ers? Well the bidding war begins! Harbaugh has apparently met with the 49ers and I'm guessing it wasn't to share tips on making the perfect coffee blend. The 49ers have already interviewed Hue Jackson, the Raiders offensive coordinator, in part to comply with the Rooney Rule. That means the 49ers are now free to seal the deal with Harbaugh, which NFL.com reports could be worth around $5 million. The Dolphins on the other hand have a number of problems. Firstly, they still haven't provided a formal offer. Having reportedly thrown $7 million the way of Jon Gruden, who turned it down to stay on as an analyst at ESPN, the Dolphins certainly don't have an issue when it comes to laying down the goods to finance their new coach. Secondly, unlike the 49ers, the Dolphins have yet to interview a minority candidate in order to comply with the Rooney Rule. Even if they agreed to terms with Harbaugh privately, they would still have to wait while the full interview process was carried out to comply with the rule. That might be too long for Harbaugh, who is looking to cause as little disruption to his staff and players at Stanford as possible. Now I'm sure there was something else? Oh that's right, thirdly... THE DOLPHINS STILL HAVEN'T FIRED SPARANO!! The poor guy. Everyday he's picking up the newspaper or checking out the sports news and reading about all these great lengths that owner Stephen Ross is going to find a new coach, and they still haven't had the decency to formerly fire the guy! I mean c'mon, at least give the guy his payoff and let him go enjoy a holiday somewhere. EDIT: Bugger, I just remembered what I originally meant to write a post about. Vince Young will be leaving the Titans before the 2011 season. It appears owner Bud Adams has had enough and has been advised that given the choice of dumping either the superb moustache of Jeff Fisher or the bad work ethic of Vince Young, then it should be Young who goes. With a sizeable roster bonus due in March, it's likely that Young will be cut before then.

Happy Birthday to me

To start with today, technically it's my birthday now (January 5th) so Happy Birthday to me. Now to truly begin, it occurred to me that the other day I praised Michael Lombardi for the greatly improved quality of his articles on NFL.com, but I never mentioned who I thought was the best, most consistent writer over the course of the year. That award would go to Jason Whitlock of FOXsports.com. Whitlock may not be every body's cup of tea so to speak, but personally I find his articles and attitude very engaging. I like the fact that he doesn't pull any punches and unlike many who write for the major networks, he has no problem blowing up the leagues official line on various subjects, especially when they're trying to curry favour with the fans. So if Whitlock is the best and Lombardi is the most improved, who might be an upcoming face to look out for next year? That would fall to Albert Breer, also of NFL.com. For an example of his work, check out this recent article. Next, coaching news. To go along with the firing's of Mike Singletary, Wade Phillips, Brad Childress & Josh McDaniels, as well as the end of John Fox's tenure in Carolina, we now have the release of Eric Mangini by Cleveland and most recently the surprise (at least to me) firing of Tom Cable by the Raiders. Next in line could be Coach Tony Sporano of the Dolphins, with multiple news outlets suggesting that the Dolphins are extending feelers towards Stanford Head Coach Jim Harbaugh. Apparently Dolphins owner Stephen Ross was present at the Orange Bowl to watch Stanford put down Virginia Tech. If Sporano goes that would make eight teams with new Head Coaches for 2011. What was that we've told for the last month or more by the networks about a lack of coaching changes being made due to CBA uncertainty? Busted. Marvin Lewis of the Bengals will be keeping his spot though, with a two year extension apparently signed. To be honest, the Singletary, Childress and Philips firings I could see coming, but I'm not sure about some of the others. Josh McDaniels had his difficulties but he was putting together quite the offense I thought. Certainly no worse than the Texans under Gary Kubiak, and with more promise for the future in their roster. John Fox leaving was practically a gimme, but Eric Mangini? I know I'm not a huge Mangini fan, which makes this all the more surprising, but I kind of got the impression that in his second year Mangini was just starting to get his head around this whole head coaching thing. His demeanour, the way he spoke in interviews, the changes made to the team. I was shocked that Mangini wasn't allowed to come back for another crack of the whip in 2011. And I never thought I'd say this but.... I think Mangini might be a hot candidate for making a Super Bowl in the 20-teens. There, I said it. But now we really get down to it with Tom Cable. Are you kidding me? Tom Cable?! The same Tom Cable who looked to be turning the corner with the Raiders (finally)? The same Tom Cable who was just starting to figure out where his team was at on offense? The Tom Cable who was getting Jacoby Ford more and more involved? The same Tom Cable who was fashioning a strong ground game around Darren McFadden and Michael Bush? I feel sorry for Tom and I hope he gets a good gig for 2011. He, like Mangini, appeared to have finally found his feet and style as a Head Coach, which is the first step towards big things. Cable could be another hot shot for a Super Bowl coach in the coming 20-teens.

Week 17 recap

Computer fixed. Check. Brain fixed. Almost. Quick recap. Let's do this. Miami Dolphins 7 @ New England Patriots 38: This game basically sums up why the Patriots are the favourites to win the Super Bowl right now. No Wes Welker? No problem, just roll out Julian Edelman. Who also then takes a punt back 94 yards for a touchdown. Then of course you have Brandon Tate. And let's not forget Alge Crumpler. Oh yeah, and then there's the rushing game to support the passing game and see out the clock in the 4th quarter. And then five sacks, an interception and a forced fumble for the defense. So yeah, the Patriots are looking pretty good right now. Buffalo Bills 7 @ New York Jets 38: The Jets rediscovered themselves on Sunday, and they did it without Mark Sanchez. They ran the ball, including 32 carries for Joe McKnight who put up 158 yards. They played a bit of option football with Brad Smith, further disproving the absolute crock of shit that the option can't work in the NFL ("because offenses are too quick/smart etc". Yeah right). They even played proper Rex Ryan defense, without Darrelle Revis, coming up with 3 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 4 interceptions. Before anyone gets too excited, I should point out that Brian Brohm played most of the game at QB for the Bills, going 10/23 and throwing 3 interceptions. Cincinnati Bengals 7 @ Baltimore Ravens 13: With Owens and Ochocinco done, these last two games have been the opportunity that both Carson Palmer and Marvin Lewis have been looking for to say "see, it wasn't us! It was those guys who ruined the team!". Unfortunately after a fine showing last week, the novelty wore off and the Bengals went back to being craptastic. Carson Palmer was 32/45 for 305 yards... but for just 1 TD and 2 interceptions? That's not good enough. The Bengals D tried, coming up with 4 sacks including 1.5 for rookie DE Carlos Dunlap and a 0.5 sack for DT Geno Atkins (watch list). But it was to no avail as the Bengals offense floundered. Once again. Pittsburgh Steelers 41 @ Cleveland Browns 9: Boys/Men, you get the analogy I'm guessing. Colt McCoy (watch list) was a mere 20/41 for 209 yards, 1 TD and 3 INT's. The Browns had no running game and as the Steelers gradually squeezed their foot down on the Browns throat, it prevented the Browns doing anything other than just airing it out and hoping for something good to happen. Nothing did. Oakland Raiders 31 @ Kansas City Chiefs 10: The Raiders must be a little bit gutted, destroying the Chiefs while knowing they then have to watch them disappear off into the sunset (and the playoffs). Michael Bush carried 25 times for the Raiders, posting 137 yards and a TD. Jacoby Ford ran in another and Jason Campbell threw in a third. It was on defense where the Raiders made the biggest impact though. 7 sacks, including 3 for Kamerion Wimbley (I keep telling people to watch out for that guy) and two team interceptions, one of which was run back for a TD. The Chiefs pass rush was pretty mean itself though, putting up four sacks, including 2.5 for Tamba Hali who finished the season with 14.5 sacks and a big, fat, Pro Bowl snub. Such an injustice. Minnesota Vikings 13 @ Detroit Lions 20: Joe Webb got his chance to shine... and didn't. 20/32 for 145 yards and an interception. Nice. To be honest, neither team lit it up, though Jared Allens 36 yard interception return for a TD was pretty funny. Carolina Panthers 10 @ Atlanta Falcons 31: So who had money on the Panthers, eh? That's right, nobody. The Falcons churned out another solid display, which is more than can be said for Jimmy Clausen. With a chance to get a good game on tape for his next Head Coach to watch, Clausen instead posted 19/33 for 182 yards, a TD and an INT. I think back to when I saw Clausen being interviewed before the draft by Jon Gruden (who did the same to Tebow/McCoy/Bradford for some TV segment). Throughout the whole thing Clausen looked and sounded for all the world like he didn't care, like he'd already conceded that his career was over before it had even begun. That might just prove to be true unfortunately. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23 @ New Orleans Saints 13: Don't the Buc's look different from a year ago? Sadly things didn't go their way in the other games, so a 10-6 record wasn't good enough to make the playoffs, thanks to a tough NFC South division that ended with three teams over 10 wins (and then the Panthers...). Josh Freeman was an impressive 21/26 for 255 yards and 2 touchdowns. Drew Brees? 22/38 for 196 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. Jacksonville Jaguars 17 @ Houston Texans 34: So all the Jaguars had to do was beat the Texans and hope that the Titans could handle Indianapolis. In the end, both of those proved to be optimistic. RB Rashad Jennings (c'mon son!) carried 22 times for 108 yards and a TD. Sadly Trent Edwards (he of former Buffalo Bills fame/shame) went 12/25 for 140 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. The defense produced 0 sacks, 0 interceptions and 0 forced fumbles. Jack Del Rio must be wiping his brow having been confirmed as the Jaguars Head Coach for 2011 (which, all things considered, is probably for the best). The Texans didn't hang around though. Matt Schaub posted 18/22 for 253 yards and a touchdown. Arian Foster carried 31 times on the ground and posted 180 yards and 2 touchdowns! Even Derrick Ward scored a touchdown, along with 63 yards on 4 carries. The Texans offense is truly one of the best in the NFL. Period. Mission for the 2011 draft? D#!!! (that's close enough to a fence symbol). Dallas Cowboys 14 @ Philadelphia Eagles 13: There's a hell of a lot of smug NFL coaches and front office types around the league right now (and to a degree they've earned that smugness). Because (shut up, I know) while indeed it is possible to run the option in the NFL, the knock against rush heavy quarterbacks like Michael Vick has always been that they'll get too beaten up over the course of a season. Well, Vick was absent for this one, and has recently told the press he feels he's now at 75%. Vick at 75% is still pretty darn good, but not as good as Vick at 100%. Anyway, the game. Kevin Kolb had the opportunity to show all the Vick apologists of the world that it was the Eagles team that makes Vick so good, not the other way around. Sadly then Kolb threw just 18/36 for 162 yards, 1 TD and 3 interceptions. James Harrison carried 21 times on the ground for 99 yards, which pales in comparison to the normal average for Eagles backs when Vick is in the game. Even the defense sucked. Unlike the Cowboys D who rustled up 6 sacks, including two for Anthony Spencer and 3 for DeMarcus Ware (who also recovered a fumble and took it for a TD), as the pass rushers of the NFL played "who can pick up the most sacks in one game this week?". The Cowboys offense was nothing special. Stephen McGee was 11/27 for 127 yards and 1 TD. At least, unlike Kolb, he took care of the ball. New York Giants 17 @ Washington Redskins 14: Beware the Grossman!!! (look it up). 26/44 for 336 yards and 2 touchdowns!! We'll over look the interception shall we (yeah! Along with the two fumbles. That didn't happen). A pretty boring game other than that. Eli was 17/29 for 243 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. Mario Manningham was the standout receiver of the day with 4 catches for 101 yards and a TD. On defense, remember those two fumbles that didn't happen? Forced by Osi Umenyiroa (or not) to go with his two sacks. San Diego Chargers 33 @ Denver Broncos 28: It was the day of the watch listers, with some doing better than others. Tim Tebow (watch list) went just 16/36 for 205 yards, 2 TD's and 2 INT's. On a better note, he led the Broncos in rushing with 13 carries for 94 yards and a TD (all team highs on the day). But it was Chargers RB Ryan Matthews (watch list) that really grabbed the spotlight. Finally. After a disappointing season he carried 26 times for 120 yards and 3 TD's. Somehow the Chargers still found time to give Phillip Rivers 37 passes, of which he completed 21 for 313 yards and an interception. Arizona Cardinals 7 @ San Francisco 49ers 38: Mwwhahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!! (shut up, I know the 49ers are 6-10. Let me have my moment of delight). The Cardinals tried two quarterbacks in this one, both of them equally bad. Richard Bartel was 16/28 for 150 yards and an interception. John Skelton was 14/25 for 92 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. The Cardinals ground game was barely worth the dignity of being called such. Alex Smith did a little better for the '9ers, despite contriving to complete only 15/29 passes for 276 yards and 2 touchdowns. Brian Westbrook rolled back the years (and concussions) to carry the ball 13 times for 79 yards and 2 touchdowns. The '9ers defense came up with 6 sacks, including 3 alone for 2011 Pro Bowl defensive end Justin Smith who decided to join the game of "who can pick up the most sacks in one game this week?". Chicago Bears 3 @ Green Bay Packers 10: This game is proof that low scores don't always equal bad games. With the win the Packers clinch a playoff spot. Aaron Rodgers was 19/28 for 229 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. Scarily he also led his team in rushing... with 7 carries for 21 yards (both team highs!) Bears QB Jay Cutler managed just 21/39 for 168 yards and 2 touchdowns, in what many of us hope will be a foretelling of the Bears divisional round playoff game (I still think they got a little lucky along the way). The Packers D pitched in big for this battle, producing 6 sacks, including two for DE Erik Walden who also had ten tackles. Tennessee Titans 20 @ Indianapolis Colts 23: They may have squeaked it for a change, but once again the Colts are the AFC South champions. Manning was 27/41 for 264 yards and 2 TD's. The rushing attack combined for 25 carries for 101 yards. The defense had one sack. It almost wasn't enough. Kerry Collins was 28/39 for the Titans, producing 300 yards and 2 touchdowns. Chris Johnson however was held to just 39 yards off of 20 carries as the Titans O-line continued to suck it up without retired center Kevin Mawae. The Titans came close, but as ever with the Colts, sloe often isn't good enough. St. Louis Rams 6 @ Seattle Seahawks 16: So there we have it, a 7-9 division winner. Now as much as I hate the Seahawks for winning the NFC West and as well reasoned as many of the arguments are against the Seahawks getting a home game to start the playoffs, I think on balance the system should stay as it is. Let's get a reality check here; this is the first time ever, ever, that a team with a losing record has made the playoffs. That should tell you everything you need to know. Yes it's unfortunate, but it's probably a once in a lifetime occurrence and I don't feel it warrants changing the rules. And who knows, we all wrote of the Cardinals in years past and yet they went to a Super Bowl. Maybe the Seahawks could too? (you're right, I don't think they will either). The Rams had their chances though. My god they had their chances. But sadly their receivers collectively conspired to drop just about every damn ball thrown their way. Sam Bradford ended the night 19/36 for 155 yards and an interception. Charlie Whitehurst did better for the Seahawks, completing 22/36 for 192 yards and a TD. But don't get too excited. He was hardly Drew Brees out there. Credit to Seahawks DE Raheem Brock who had 2.5 sacks and to Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch who carried 20 times for 75 yards which, with the Seahawks O-line, is like 150 yards. So that's it, all 16 games done and dusted, now let's look at the playoff picture. In the NFC, the Seahawks will host the Saints and the Eagles will host the Packers in the wildcard round. That means that if the Eagles win, they play the Bears and the winner of the Saints/Seahawks will play the Falcons. If the Packers win, they play the Falcons and the winner of the Saints/Seahawks will play the Bears. In the AFC, the Colts will host the Jets and the Chiefs will host Baltimore. If the Colts win then they travel to Pittsburgh for the divisional round, with the Patriots hosting the winner of the Ravens/Chiefs, but if the Jets win then they play the Patriots and the winner of the Ravens/Chiefs will head to Pittsburgh. Hope that clears all that up for you.

Panic over

I'm sure you were all calling the helplines for councelling, wondering how you would cope in the big wide world of football without me.... Back on Planet Earth it turns out that while having a few friends over, some gutless idiot decided to try and jam his flash drive into the USB port and broke it, shorting out the computer. I'm still waiting for the perp to own up. Once I've checked everything over I'll be back to have a look at the weekends action. Till then, amuse yourselves. Buy an executive toy or something.