And the road to the NFL's Final Four begins on Saturday! Eight teams, all are worthy
(yes even you Seattle...and maybe the Jets too, I'll get to them later 
)....lots to
talk about, and with just four games to ramble about, so let's get to it!!!!
Saturday, January 15th:
4:30 pm:
Ravens at Steelers:
Break out the ice packs, the medkits and the body bags! This one is ALWAYS a slobberknocker
(though it sucks that this got the worst time-slot of the weekend, hell its probably the best
game and most intense rivalry of the weekend we got too!), just a shame the NFL screwed
up and didn't put the Seattle/Bears game here...oh well.....not like you won't be watching this
"not for the faint at heart" competition anyway!
How they got there:The Steelers got here pretty simple, defense...timely offense....Mendenhall and the un-sack-ability
of Rothelsberger (any normal QB would have went down a hundred times behind that sh!t o-line in
da 'Burgh!), the Steelers D boasts playmakers like no other team and there's talk of Aaron Smith
coming back too which makes that defense even better...the Ravens got here by being one step
behind the Steelers and then pounding like veal a "not ready for prime time" Chief team, and
exposing Matt Cassel for the piece of football AIDS I knew he was!!
How the Ravens can win:Well they did win once, and almost won the second game too, the Ravens should be able to get
a pass rush on Ben, but he's used to that...keeping Mike Wallace and Mendenhall in check will
help too...this is a big game for Joe Flacco too, does he step up and take the next step to where
the Big Boys play (and no I don't mean WCW), or does he not get it done and show he's still a
step behind the elite QBs (and give the U-Del nation another reason to cry after they blew it in
the one true college football title game)....controlling the game with the running backs and
converting 3rd downs....jesus I'm turning hockey cliches into football ones here! So just to
break the cliche I give the coaching edge to Harbaugh over Tomlin (he gets too conservative at times)
How the Steelers can win:They are the better team...they are home, they have the better QB, and I like the Steelers pass rush
and with Smith and Polamalu coming back and a week off to relax and get ready, that's a big advantage,
more so with the Ravens all beat up even...and I am aware the difference isn't that big...and the
coaching edge to the Ravens can negate that, but the Steelers have been there enough with this
team and always seem to find a way to pull it out.....
What will happen:The better teams do tend to win this time of year, and the Steelers are a better team... they have just
that much more of a playmaking offense and more guys who can do it on defense.... this will be no bore or
blowout and you may need a band-aid or two for just WATCHING it... but somehow... like that always seem
to.... whip out the Horrible hankies... they live on one more week!
8pm:
Green Bay at Atlanta:
Well the night game this week is a DAMN good one....these two teams met up about six weeks ago and it was
as good and well-contested a game as you were gonna see this year... add in the Packers have a running game and
maybe the Saints took some of the aura out of the Georgia Dome by beating them in week 17 (hey at least you get
Wrestlemania in Atlanta this year!)....this one promises to be just as good!
How they got there:The Packers got here thanks to a timely Jay Cutler interception (and ensuing Chris McCabe Giant fan meltdown, as
we joyously invited the Giants to the "no playoffs couch of shame"... and that Eli jersey was never the same since!)
and then a solid job of keeping Mike Vick in the kennel, and when you don't let the dog run loose, you're in control!
(as good as that was I didn't need to hear Clay Matthews saying he sacked Vick for dog lovers everywhere, you did
it cause it's your fvcking JOB you turd!!)....and Atlanta got here through a balanced offense, home field dominance
an MVP-type season from Matt Ryan, and a more-physical defense then you'd think!
How the Packers can win:No defense in the NFL is designed to make more plays and go for six with them then the Packers do (shut up Steeler
fans, they do it better).... no QB is better in football, and more so on the run, then A-Rod is and out of NOWHERE last
week the Packers found a running game, welcome to the spotlight James Starks! With a good running game the
Packers may be the one team left that has no weaknesses.....this is also Atlanta's first "pressure game" under this
current group... how will they respond to the pressure... will the city of Atlanta care? Will Ted Turner nap in the front row??
Oh questions (and the Georgia Dome isn't exactly one of the NFL's feared stadiums to play in)
How the Falcons can win:20-2 in the dome is Matt Ryan.... and a lot of this is gonna be ON HIM, can he and Roddy White and Gonzo make
enough plays without making the critical mistake.... can the Atlanta defense get to A-Rod, and is this running
game a one game wonder? It could be (though the Eagles are good defensively).... Atlanta was 7-1 at home for
a REASON after all....
What will happenI like the Falcons...a LOT... I really do, I think they're a VERY good football team that made the big jump from "okay"
to "contender" and this core is young enough outside of a few that they should be back for a few years.... but I
really felt that if the Packers got in, they are good enough to go all the way....so let me use a TNA phrase in the
land of WCW..."sorry 'bout yo' DAMN LUCK"....A-Rod finds a way late to lead the Packers to one game from the BIG one......
Sunday January 17th:
1pm:
Seattle at Chicago:
And now we shift gears to Sunday... and maybe the LEAST likely playoff game ever.... well for this week.....the
Cinderella Seahawks try to keep the glass slippers on and hope they can dig into the icy turf of Chicago!!!
How they got there:The Bears took as strange a path as any team ever to a bye week....good defense and passing the ball left, right
and sideways tend to NOT mix in the NFL, more so when you look at the sub-par receivers they have in Chicago....
having an all-purpose back like Matt Forte helps, and the defense stayed healthy and was able to cover up for a few
Cutler/Martz mistakes... and not to mention Special Teams play that was truly capable of breaking ANY game open....
and I think we all know how the 7-9 Seahawks got past the Saints by winning the "first to tackle Marshawn Lynch"
match... sadly, the Saints are still trying too.......
How Seattle can win:They DID win in Chicago once before this year.... (go figure their only legit road win of the season), when
Hasselbeck's on he's better then Jay Cutler.... the Bears WILL tackle Lynch a few times so it won't be as easy, but
the Seahawks do boast a defense that can make plays too.... pity this game wasn't on Saturday... word is that Pete
Carrol is good with high-priced athletes in big games on Saturdays (yes I stole the line, eat me
)... but this team is
obviously better then their record, and they better milk this run NOW, they're gonna pay for it next year.....a Jay
Cutler implosion in his first playoff game with the city of Chicago on his ass.... is VERY likely
How Chicago can win:The better team, at home in the nasty weather(22 is the high, geesh it's like that HERE...oi), the Bears will play better... ok.... ACTUAL.... defense on the Seahawks, the special teams can and will make plays... maybe not touchdowns but a short field is still a big plus... and how often does Cinderella have two lightning bolts to toss at
opponents?? And not to mention the Bears won't be caught off-guard (I don't think the Saints were, I think they were just flawed and got chewed out for it) And I need to add the best line of the week from Scott Wedsel on Maddog Radio: "It rains there too much, their uniforms are ugly and Marshawn Lynch is a jerk, I hate Seattle!!"
What will happen:I'm a sick and evil and twisted human being... and "all of this has happened before....all of it will happen again", the Seahawks will walk into the windy city with NOTHING to lose, play loose and free, not make any mistakes and the pressure's gonna get to Jay Cutler... and he's gonna fold... which means Mike Martz won't run the ball even more.... like I said, it's a twisted feeling.... but I'd have considered it more LAST week if I didn't rush and write the damn
thing before Thomas and Ivory got dropped on IR.....least the Blackhawks won
4:30pm:
Jets at Patriots:
The game I need to say the LEAST about... the two teams did it all for me, be it Rex's normal bullsh!t each and every week... Wes Welker's foot-a-palooza comments (sponsored by Dr. Freud himself!)... the whole Hard Knocks stuff and all the crap all year long.... need I say more?? Y'all know the drill and I wanna go get a fvckING SNACK!
How they got there:The Patriots got here through balance on offense, growth and maturity on defense from the young players, the best coach and QB combo in the league, and just being able to spread you out and beat you at whatever you can't stop them from doing! The Jets got here through (least to me) the strangest of formulas.... they don't have
anything I consider a big time team to need.... no big-time pass rusher... no big-time QB, yes they run the ball and they stop the run like no other... yes the secondary is good... but a secondary's only supposed to be as good as your pass rush... it's all madness I tell ya! (and I think Holmes and Edwards are overrated WRs), but yet... here they are... it kinda makes sense... I lived my life being the exception to every rule, why not be haunted by on that IS?
How the Jets can win:Ball control.... the best way to stop Brady is deny him the football.... you can brag all you want about the corners on the WRs all day, but the Patriot backs and tight ends will crucify the jets... getting a little pressure on Brady won't hurt either... and slowing down the running game of Green-Ellis and Joe Theismann's cock-tease won't hurt either! If they can keep it close, the Jets have a sick habit of pulling out games they don't deserve to be in, that can serve them well here.....maybe another gift from Cromartie on special teams too.....
How the Patriots can win:
SLAP THEM IN THE FACE WITH THEIR WOODCOCK!!! (ok, I'm done now I swear!), they have the better QB, they don't lose at home... the better coach, a rested team.... and like I said, the RB-TE dominance over the Jets in the middle should be more a factor then it was last week (the Pats are better in all those spots then the Colts), the Jet offense doesn't seem capable of putting out 60 minute efforts at all this year... cash in and make a play when they're not clicking.... plus isn't Tomlinson due some annual toenail injury about now??? Be the better team which they are and use their own short game to control the clock and not let the Jets be able to stroll down the field in 8-10 minute chunks by owning the ball yourself!
What will happen:I think I kinda made my case already... like with the Packers I think no one's stopping New England in the AFC, and it just happens to be the Jets turn on the rotisserie grill.....too good, too deep, and no big weakness that the Jets can cash in on....and add the mutual hatred here and there will be no quarter given!
Edited by CRASHER, 14 January 2011 - 03:25 PM.
