Well, as usual, I learned during the opening weekend of the NFL playoffs that I have no idea what I'm talking about, as I went 1-3... onwards and upwards though!
Ravens @ Colts - The Ravens pretty much put their game away against the Patriots in all of 7 minutes of football. Before we start thinking too much of the Ravens, let's not forget that the Colts have absolutely owned them of late... winning the last seven! (including a 17-15 victory this season, a 31-3 beatdown last season, and a 15-6 victory in the 2006 playoffs. )! You'd think it would be a good matchup (good offense vs. good defense), but it seems like the Colts should be able to handle this game.
Pick: Colts
Jets @ Chargers - Yes, the Jets can run the ball and play great defense. Once again, I have to believe the Chargers will force Mark Sanchez to throw INTs as the Chargers march on to victory. Somebody please save me from the Jets.
Pick: Chargers
Cards @ Saints - This is my favorite game of the week. Two offensive powerhouses shooting it out in the dome! Plus, the Saints have played like garbage to end the season, so we really don't know what will happen... but there should be lots of scoring.
Pick: Cards
Cowboys @ Vikings - The NFC is much more interesting for me this week because I think any of these four teams can win the NFC. The Cowboys-Vikings game should be a slugfest and I honestly have no idea who will win. If Felix Jones stays healthy for the Cowboys, they should be unstoppable, but I will stay the course and pick the Vikings as I did the previous week, despite the fact that I hate Favre.
Pick: Vikings
Last week: 1-3 (I only hit the Cowboys. The Packers got screwed by that non-call on Aaron Rodgers, but it was a really awesome high-scoring game).
****
NBA
NBA games of the Week-
last week's "Games of the Week" - The Hawks beat the Celtics on Friday and Monday (but no KG either time, and Rasheed missed the second game). Dallas beat the Spurs thoroughly in just about every aspect, powered by Terry's 21 off the bench and 26 by Dirk. The Nuggets beat the Cavs (w/o Carmelo) despite being outrebounded 45-33 by simply forcing the Cavs into 19 turnovers. Orlando beat the Hawks by 30 points by nailing 12 3-pointers and forcing the Hawks to shoot only 39% from the field. The Spurs beat the Lakers, but Gasol didn't play and Kobe got injured during the game.
This week...
Orlando @ Denver - 1/13
Phoenix @ ATL - 1/15
Dallas @ Boston - 1/18
Orlando @ Lakers - 1/18
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14 comments:
Not sure how beating the Ravens by two this year, and by nine in their last playoff matchup, means that the Colts "own" Baltimore. Mind you, I think Indy will win, but let's not get out of sorts here.
I've got Indy, SD, NO, and Dallas.
-Indy "owns" Baltimore by virtue of having beaten them in their last seven appearances. That's the definition of "owning" someone, scores notwithstanding.
That being said, I'm taking the Ravens because I hate how the Colts laid down like bitches to end the season. They deserve to lose so they can re-examine that idiotic policy they've been clinging to for years.
-I'm sticking with the Chargers even though I think the Jets match up well with San Diego. The only teams not beating the Chargers are pass-first teams. Because they Jets can't pass the ball, the Chargers' soft rush D will be exposed. I just hope not too much...
-A month ago, I would've said the Vikings are the best team in the NFL. Now I think the Cowboys are the best team in the NFL. I'm sensing another letdown for Brett Favre-led teams in the playoffs. He's 3-7 in his last 10 playoff games...
-I'm taking the Saints over the Cards. The Saints haven't played a good game in two months and the Cards survived a game they could've (and should've) easily lost. Somehow, I think the Saints figure it out for just long enough to survive.
It was a no-call on Rodgers.
New England's policy of playing everyone didn't at all times didn't exactly work out too well for Welker or the Patriots.
I got Colts, Saints, Cowboys, and...the Jets. I agree with MJ that the Jets matchup very well with the Chargers (great pass defense , great rushing attack). Also teams I like lose .
I'm batting .500 in the playoffs, come on mediocrity...
@Mighty, true, the Patriots were without Welker on Sunday due to a fluke accident in Week 17. Although I correctly predicted that the Ravens would win, my rationale for the prediction was because Tom Brady wouldn't have his best and most reliable receiver. Instead, Wes Welker's injury had nothing to do with New England's loss. Even with Welker, the Patriots would be down 14-0 before Brady even had a chance to run his first play from scrimmage. Therefore, I'm not buying that protecting Welker in Week 17 would've made a difference. Injuries can happen at any time. Welker's injury wasn't even because of a tackle but because he planted his cleat into the turf while no one was around to tackle him.
While I agree that Rodgers had his facemask yanked and that the tackle was in part aided by pulling him by his facemask, the ref responsible for watching the QB is tasked with following the ball in the event of a fumble. Since the ball was jarred loose before the facemask occured, the ref -- correctly, but unfortunately for Rodgers -- followed the ball and missed the penalty. It certainly could've been called but possession would have already changed hands at that point. The only thing that would've happened was that the Cardinals would recover the ball and be flagged for either a 5- or a 15-yard penalty. The game may not have ended on that play but the odds of the Cardinals winning would've jumped dramatically since they would've taken possession at the Packers 17 yard line and the line of scrimmage would've been either the 22 or the 32 yard line.
"The game may not have ended on that play but the odds of the Cardinals winning would've jumped dramatically since they would've taken possession at the Packers 17 yard line and the line of scrimmage would've been either the 22 or the 32 yard line."
Just to clarify, the line of scrimmage would've been at either the Packers 22 or the Packers 32 based on if the facemask penalty was assessed.
MJ nails it on the difficulties the ref faced.
As to injuries, yes Welker didn't affect the game but that's post hoc rationalization. I don't think it's unreasonable to state that the Patriots without Welker were a worse team and that Welker (or any player) has a higher chance of injury (fluke or otherwise) on the field that standing on the sidelines.
What a boils down to are the chances of injuries to key starters outweigh potential degradation of skills by having weeks off. However we're talking about playoff hardened veterans (mainly Manning). I've never played professional football so I'm really talking out of my ass but I don't think Manning or Brady are different players if they had played or had not played the previous week. If anyone wants to procure evidence that Manning or the Colts offense are worse after bye weeks or that Dwight Freeney is a less effective pass rusher with two weeks as opposed to one off- I'll become a believer. In the meantime I think it's much ado about nothing.
The difference is that we're not talking about how they played after a bye week but how they -- in this case, Manning and the Colts -- play after a month off. The starters checked out of the Week 16 game vs. the Jets and barely played in Week 17. Last week was the wild card game. That means that Manning hasn't played a meaningful snap since halftime on Sunday, December 267h. By the time he takes the field again, it will have been three weeks.
If players were meant to take three weeks off and not come back at least slightly rusty, we wouldn't have all the training camp and pre-season games we do.
I'm not saying Manning's skills erode to the point of confusing him with Jamarcus Russell or anything but I will never be convinced that taking the timing and rhythm of 3 months and then putting the brakes on it for 3 weeks is a healthy thing to do for any team.
In the case of the Patriots, perhaps resting players in Week 17 wouldn't have been as big a deal since they had to play a Wild Card game. But for teams like the Colts and Saints that haven't had their starters playing for three weeks, that's not a good thing.
I'm actually with Mighty on this one... if you get the opportunity, you should rest your players. Obviously, it's better as a coach if you're not faced with the scenario, b/c basically people will criticize you no matter which decision you make (rest people, or play people like Welker and risk injury). What MJ says is a fair point (being rusty), but if I was in charge I'd rather rest everyone and assume that everyone can play at top-level again in the playoffs.
Also - maybe i'm misunderstanding the green bay-arizona play, but if they call the penalty on the cardinals, i don't think the cardinals get the ball still. the act of facemask helped cause the fumble, so you can't possibly be given the ball for that, right?
@Gutsy -
If you watch the video, the facemask occured after the fumble (technically an interception since the ball never touched the ground and was caught in the air). Therefore, the change of possession occured before the penalty and thus would've been assessed after determining the new line of scrimmage.
MJ - I watched the video again. I see what you are saying, in that the ball comes out the moment before the facemask is grabbed. I could make an argument that the facemask interferes with Rodgers ability to recover the ball.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foVp8i86Z_Y
Gutsy - I'm not sure that a player has a right to recover the ball. I hear what you're saying but I don't think the rules talk about a player's unimpeded right to go get the ball. Hence, that's why I think that the penalty would be charged against Arizona after the change of possession and would move the line of scrimmage back either 5 or 15 yards from that new spot.
I know what the best argument for Green Bay is... the foul happens BEFORE possession has changed. Again, I don't even know what the rulebook says on fouls during a fumble.
But imagine if Rodgers had thrown the ball downfield and then been facemasked a moment after the ball had left his hand. Then imagine if a Cardinals defender had intercepted the ball by jumping the route. The flag would've been thrown for a facemask but the ball still would've been intercepted.
The point isn't WHEN the facemask occurred, it's that as soon as the ball leaves the QB's hand, technically there is no possession.
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