Following multiple victories for road teams in the wild card playoff round, the National Football League playoffs shift to the conference divisional round.
The Green Bay Packers, New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens took care of business on the road to move on to the NFL playoffs as the favored defending Super Bowl champions, New Orleans Saints, came up short against the unfavored Seattle Seahawks.
In the American Conference Football league, the New York Jets defeated the Indianapolis Colts, 16-14, to move on and face their AFC East division rivals, the New England Patriots.
The Jets are clearly not favored across the board to beat the unstoppable Patriots in New England but Jets' coach Rex Ryan continues to preach his team is going to win the Super Bowl this year.
I am a Jets fan and optimistic about the Jets' chances to pull a upset but anything is possible when a team has its back against the wall and nothing to lose. My prediction is a Jets upset over the Patriots.
As for the other AFC playoff game, the Ravens face their AFC North rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Like the Jets, the Ravens are a dangerous match-up for the Steelers because both teams know each other inside and out and the Ravens have nothing to lose.
The Ravens are a dark horse to me because this team is capable of anything with the outstanding defense it has but its offense is always a question to some and the offense is the obstacle in the way of Raven from becoming a championship team.
I pick the Ravens to beat the Steelers this week because I have faith in the Ravens offense coming through in this game.
Now moving on to the National Conference League, the Packers who are clear favorites to reach the Super Bowl, head into Atlanta to face the Falcons.
Despite being the No. 1 team in the NFC, no one is sold on the Falcons because the team is not taken serious. The Falcons have been successful in past seasons and continued the success this season behind quarterback Matt Ryan.
On the other hand, the Packers were picked before the NFL season to win the Super Bowl but the team lost key players through injuries which set the team back. The Packers managed to rally back and make the playoffs in the final weeks of the season.
Packers quarterback, Arron Rodgers, was one of the key players to sit out with concussions but now he looks to be healthy and on top of his game.
The match-up will be a exciting, hard fought match and football fans should not be disappointed in this game. I pick the Packers in this game because I feel the Packers are a runaway freight train on its way to the Super Bowl.
In the other NFC playoff match, the surprisingly Seahawks, with first year coach, Pete Carrol, head on the road to face the Chicago Bears.
No one expected the Seahawks to be playing this far into the NFL postseason following a horrible season last year but the Seahawks found a way to make the postseason with their 7-9 season record.
No one had the Seahawks winning at home against the Saints but the Seahawks disproved everyone and won the game.
Once again no one will have the Seahawks beating the Bears on the road this weekend. I predict the Bears winning easily because of their great defense and good offense.
In summary: I predict the Jets and Ravens to be playing in the AFC championship game and the Packers and Beats to be playing in the NFC championship game following this weekend.
Showing posts with label nfl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nfl. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
NFL MVP race heats up
With two weeks remaining in the NFL regular season, the talk about who deserve the NFL's Most Valuable Player award begins.
The two candidates who are clear favorites are New England Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady and Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback Michael Vick.
The Patriots have clinched themselves the American Football Conference East and the Eagles have clinched the National Football Conference East while both teams have guaranteed spots in the postseason.
With no questions asked, both quarterbacks have been a big factor for their team's success this season and have performed spectacular in several games.
Brady has had a great season as he has been averaging 254-yards per game and has 3561 pass yards on 31 touchdowns thus far in the season with two games left on the schedule.
As well as Brady, Vick is having a great season as he is averaging 250-yards per game and has 2755 passing yards on 20 touchdowns thus far in the season with two games left as well.
The two are putting up great stats as well as spectacular games.
Against the Detroit Lions in week 12, Brady threw 341-yards on 21 of 27 completed passes with four touchdowns to win the game 45-24. He repeated his performance a game later against the Jets when he poured 326-yards on 21 of 29 completed passes with four touchdowns to win the game 45-3.
Brady's performance has lunched the Patriots to a 12-2 record thus far while on a six game winning streak.
On the other hand Vick has done his own work to keep the race between the two quarterbacks close.
Against the Chicago Bears in week 12, Vick passed for 333-yards while completing 29 passes on 44 attempts for two touchdowns but lost the game 31-26.
In last week's game against the New York Giants, Vick threw for 242-yards while completing 21 passes on 35 attempts for three touchdowns and rushed 10 times to get 130 rushing yards for one touchdown to win the game 38-31.
The win against the Giants won the AFC East for the Eagles and gave the team a 10-4 record thus far for a three game winning streak.
Either player is worth winning the award without any disappointment from the fans.
Personally I would like to see Vick win the award after overcoming his legal issues and serving time in prison for his actions. But Brady is most likely going to win the MVP award because his team is performing beyond expectation.
The two candidates who are clear favorites are New England Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady and Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback Michael Vick.
The Patriots have clinched themselves the American Football Conference East and the Eagles have clinched the National Football Conference East while both teams have guaranteed spots in the postseason.
With no questions asked, both quarterbacks have been a big factor for their team's success this season and have performed spectacular in several games.
Brady has had a great season as he has been averaging 254-yards per game and has 3561 pass yards on 31 touchdowns thus far in the season with two games left on the schedule.
As well as Brady, Vick is having a great season as he is averaging 250-yards per game and has 2755 passing yards on 20 touchdowns thus far in the season with two games left as well.
The two are putting up great stats as well as spectacular games.
Against the Detroit Lions in week 12, Brady threw 341-yards on 21 of 27 completed passes with four touchdowns to win the game 45-24. He repeated his performance a game later against the Jets when he poured 326-yards on 21 of 29 completed passes with four touchdowns to win the game 45-3.
Brady's performance has lunched the Patriots to a 12-2 record thus far while on a six game winning streak.
On the other hand Vick has done his own work to keep the race between the two quarterbacks close.
Against the Chicago Bears in week 12, Vick passed for 333-yards while completing 29 passes on 44 attempts for two touchdowns but lost the game 31-26.
In last week's game against the New York Giants, Vick threw for 242-yards while completing 21 passes on 35 attempts for three touchdowns and rushed 10 times to get 130 rushing yards for one touchdown to win the game 38-31.
The win against the Giants won the AFC East for the Eagles and gave the team a 10-4 record thus far for a three game winning streak.
Either player is worth winning the award without any disappointment from the fans.
Personally I would like to see Vick win the award after overcoming his legal issues and serving time in prison for his actions. But Brady is most likely going to win the MVP award because his team is performing beyond expectation.
Monday, January 25, 2010
New Orleans vs. Indianapolis: A dream matchup
In the National Football League it's very rare that the best two teams end up in the Super Bowl. However, this year that's exactly what happened.
All season long the Colts and Saints dominated the rest of the NFL going undefeated for several weeks and humiliating their opponents in blow out games.
Now everyone will get the championship game they've been waiting for. Even better is that both these teams are extremely likable, so with no clear villain fans can just look forward to a great competitive game and be excited no matter the outcome.
There's no doubt the the city of New Orleans deserves to celebrate a championship team, but at the same time, who doesn't like Peyton Manning?
So, for fans of good competitive football, this year's Super Bowl is win-win.
All season long the Colts and Saints dominated the rest of the NFL going undefeated for several weeks and humiliating their opponents in blow out games.
Now everyone will get the championship game they've been waiting for. Even better is that both these teams are extremely likable, so with no clear villain fans can just look forward to a great competitive game and be excited no matter the outcome.
There's no doubt the the city of New Orleans deserves to celebrate a championship team, but at the same time, who doesn't like Peyton Manning?
So, for fans of good competitive football, this year's Super Bowl is win-win.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Vick is out. Football becomes entertaining once again.
With Michael Vick finally out of prison, sports fans can now be excited to watch football again.
For those of you too young to remember, Vick was and probably still is the most explosive quarterback in the league today.
His speed and agility was key in Atlanta's success a few years back. No one was able to stop him. Defensive linemen were too slow to catch him, linebackers weren't quick enough to adjust when he would run one way and then fake to the other side.
Watching him is like watching Dwayne Wade this season. He did things you never thought you'd see a QB do.
As we all know, Vick was arrested on dogfighting charges and spent his last 21 months in a Kansas prison facility. He has two more months left that will be spent in home confinement.
Vick, at one time the highest paid player in the league, will have to report to a probation officer sometime this week and will have to work a construction job at $10 per hour to pay off any remaining debts after they already took most of his possessions and left him bankrupt.
I don't think what this guy did was right and he should have learned his lesson in prison. But, the fact of the matter is that Vick has paid his debt to society and should be reinstated to the NFL.
What Vick has done on the field is something that will not be forgotten and teams are now trying to mimic what Vick has done.
The whole wildcat offense we saw practically every Sunday last year was because of Vick. No QB has the explosiveness to put on a show like him. Football was exciting when Vick was around. Fox sports practically showed Falcon games because of this one man.
He still has to finish off his legal issues before he can even think about going back to the NFL. That is, if Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner decides to reinstate him.
I'm not saying what Vick did is ok but he did comply with the law and his debt to society is almost paid. I do hope that he learned something from all this whole experience.
If Vick does return to the NFL, hopefully this season, he'll probably return to boos from the fans, but hopefully he'll be able to shrug it off so we can finally see what we've been missing out on these past two seasons.
For those of you too young to remember, Vick was and probably still is the most explosive quarterback in the league today.
His speed and agility was key in Atlanta's success a few years back. No one was able to stop him. Defensive linemen were too slow to catch him, linebackers weren't quick enough to adjust when he would run one way and then fake to the other side.
Watching him is like watching Dwayne Wade this season. He did things you never thought you'd see a QB do.
As we all know, Vick was arrested on dogfighting charges and spent his last 21 months in a Kansas prison facility. He has two more months left that will be spent in home confinement.
Vick, at one time the highest paid player in the league, will have to report to a probation officer sometime this week and will have to work a construction job at $10 per hour to pay off any remaining debts after they already took most of his possessions and left him bankrupt.
I don't think what this guy did was right and he should have learned his lesson in prison. But, the fact of the matter is that Vick has paid his debt to society and should be reinstated to the NFL.
What Vick has done on the field is something that will not be forgotten and teams are now trying to mimic what Vick has done.
The whole wildcat offense we saw practically every Sunday last year was because of Vick. No QB has the explosiveness to put on a show like him. Football was exciting when Vick was around. Fox sports practically showed Falcon games because of this one man.
He still has to finish off his legal issues before he can even think about going back to the NFL. That is, if Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner decides to reinstate him.
I'm not saying what Vick did is ok but he did comply with the law and his debt to society is almost paid. I do hope that he learned something from all this whole experience.
If Vick does return to the NFL, hopefully this season, he'll probably return to boos from the fans, but hopefully he'll be able to shrug it off so we can finally see what we've been missing out on these past two seasons.
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