Month: January 2008

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Lessons Learned

Never before, nor after this post, will you see me talk like this… so take it for what you want.

There are obstacles that everyone comes across over of the course of a lifetime that can either choose to define who we are or can cause us to never recover from what we were. I would probably say I just went through one of those this past week before the start of my semester but I do not look at it as a lost cause. I do not intend to dwell on it much longer and I certainly do not wish any ill-will to those that caused it. Instead, I take it as probably one of the most valuable lessons I could probably learn and I am quite grateful for that I experienced now at quite the young age of 20.

Some would call the incident a careless oversight. Others are looking at it as an overreaction by the other party involved. Certainly there are two sides to every story and for every honest mistake, there is a deliberate action of deceit. Absolutely there is a sense of disappointment at what could have been but it is not the easiest thing to just move from especially since many people have still yet to learn of it and will ask for explanation. I have nothing to hide… those who ask will get as much of the story as they desire.

I do not seek no pity. I do not seek revenge. I do seek to move forward.

This was probably a big mistake blogging about this.

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Divisional Playoff Results – Part 2

Well I went 0/2 today, much to the delight of all Giants’ fans out there but I am going to start with the Chargers/Colts first. Who really saw this upset coming? The verdict was out in the Giants game where they had two quality games against the Patriots and then a solid game against the Bucs last week but the Chargers who were winners of their past 7 games really were not given any respect, myself included. Their defense really buckled down and slowed the Colts offense enough for the battered and bruised Charger offense to squeak out this victory. As if no respect was not enough, the Chargers go on to lose LT and Phillip Rivers for most of the 2nd half and still pull this off. Sure guts and determination can pull out a victory but they will need a complete healthy arsenal if they want to have a shot next week.

Eli Manning did this wrong, Eli Manning did that wrong. That is all we have heard about him for the past few years but man has he turned things around. Everyone questioned Tom Coughlin for playing his starters in the last game of the season with “nothing” on the line… yea, the Giants had the progress of their playoff season on the line. I guarantee it that if Coughlin benches his players that game, they are out of sync for the playoffs, they do not have the confidence they have in Eli now, and they are probably sitting at home next week instead of having a shot at the Super Bowl.

Certainly looking forward to next week now, more on the NFC side. I know all the Giants fan have certainly rallied behind their team and I probably would have to but they are playing the Green Bay Packers. The very same Green Bay Packers who played in the very first NFL game I watched back in 1997. The very same Green Bay Packers who had Brett Favre at their helm back then. The very same Green Bay Packers who went to the Super Bowl (hopefully they will win it instead of losing it like they did in 1997). Green Bay cannot afford to take this Giants team lightly because confidence is a very dangerous opponent to be up against and the Packers will be facing just that in this New York Giants football team.

I will have a more in depth preview on both games on Friday but I will leave on a few factual notes from today…

– Dallas Cowboys become the first NFC team seeded #1 to lose in the Divisional Playoff round since the NFL expanded to a 12 team playoff system
– San Diego Chargers win a road playoff game for the first time since 1982
– New York Giants have not committed a turnover in this playoff season
– Teams scoring first in the playoffs this year are now 2-6 (Giants and Seattle)

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Divisional Playoff Results – Part 1

So as you could have probably deciphered from the previous post that the Packers put a beat down on the Seahawks. Certainly, I failed to account for the weather that certainly affected both teams. The slick ball early on caused two fumbles for the Packers even though the second one was a solid tackle from the defense. On the flip side, Seahawks were never able to get going offensively where balls they should have caught slipped out of their hands and the running game was seemingly stuck in the snow. I was afraid the youth of the Packers would finally catch up with them and it showed a little bit early when Grant fumbled on the first two drives but boy did he make up for it with franchise record for rushing yards in a post season game. Another well played game by Brett Favre and his wide receivers who continue to get a majority of their yardage after catching the ball (YAC!). Now they go on to face the winner of the Giants/Cowboys game (vs. Giants at home, on the road if against Cowboys). Oh by the way, Brett Favre is 0-9 in his career at Texas Stadium.

The game of the weekend as I had earlier predicted certainly lived up to it in 3 of the 4 quarters – Patriots just dominated the 3rd quarter which proved to be the difference maker. Tom Brady looked like he was going for some XBox Live Achievement for consecutive passes completed at one point but finished the day going 26/28 (92.9%) – which is a post season record for highest completion percentage in a game beating Phil Simms’ 86% (I think). Jags did a good job taking Randy Moss out of the game but they were still unable to stop Tom Brady and his passing attack. David Garrard had a great regular season with only 3 interceptions but he also had 3 in 2 post season games and it caught up with him today on his final drive of the game. He’s a smart quarterback who will develop into a star in the league if he continues to play like this. A little disappointed with the lack of a running presence by the Jags with either Taylor or Jones-Drew (combining for 68 yards). Now the Patriots will host the winner of the Chargers/Colts game, both teams who can keep with the Patriots offensively but the question will still remain… Can any defense slow down these Patriots?

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Packers Game

Random sayings by me during the game…

Grant fumble #1: “Well that was a rough way to start the game”
Grant fumble #2: “Things can’t get any worse, can they?”
Green Bay TD #1: “That’s a little better.”
Green Bay TD #2: “That’s a whole lot better.”
Seattle Fumble: “Talk about Seahawks choking already.”
Note: after Seahawks went up 14-0, Packers out gained them 153 to -5 yards to tie the game at 14
Green Bay TD #3: “Well this game is going to be out of hand by halftime, so much for my 27-24 score prediction.”
Green Bay TD #4: “Brett Favre is by far the greatest and most creative quarterback in the history of the game.”
Green Bay TD #5: “Brett Favre’s first touchdown pass to a running back… this entire season.”
Green Bay TD #6: “What happened to the 14-0 deficit for the Packers?

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Divisonal Playoff Prediction

Well here we go, NFL Divisional Playoff Weekend is just about here.

Seahawks at Packers (Saturday @ 4:30 on FOX)
I really want to see how Brett Favre decides to play this football game. He has lost 6 of his last 8 playoff games and could be his last game in Green Bay. Hopefully he does not play like he did in the Dallas game, going back and just slinging every pass 50 yards down the field. The Packers need to continue doing what got them to the playoffs this season – spread out the wide receivers and allow them to gain yards after the catch as well as using Ryan Grant to keep defenses honest. I think if the Packers still to that game plan, Seattle just cannot score enough points to beat them this year, maybe if they had Shaun Alexander of a couple of years ago where they would run over everyone but this year they ranked 20th in the league on the ground and with passing game that is only decent, I think Green Bay squeaks out a win in Lambeau Field. Green Bay 27-24.

Jaguars at Patriots (Saturday @ 8:30 on CBS)
This is probably going to be the best match up of the weekend. The Jaguars are coming off an impressive victory in Pittsburgh and you know the Patriots after their 16-0 regular season performance do not want their season to end with a disappointment. I like the way the Jaguars defense plays and forces the offenses to become one dimensional with their great rushing defense. Yes the Patriots are great a passing team but the Jags have an athletic defense that could pose trouble for the likes of Moss or Welker. I think if the Jaguars just hold their own in the early stages of the game and do not succumb to a deep pass or two early, they are a team that can probably will out a win later in the games where so many other teams have failed. I think that because of their quarterback David Garrard – who is no Eli Manning, no AJ Feeley and certainly no Kyle Boller – he is a much better quarterback and only threw 3 interceptions in the regular season… that is going to be key, protecting the football. For everything that the Patriots have done this year, you certainly cannot count them out but do not overlook the Jaguars because I see them winning this game. Jaguars win 31-24.

Chargers at Colts (Sunday at 1 on CBS)
If you want to see a game with two high powered offenses, this is the game to watch. It is not only Peyton Manning vs. LaDainian Tomlinson, but Manning has so many options in Wayne, Addai, Clark and now add Harrison into that mix as well. Phillip Rivers will be troubled with the apparent loss of Antonio Gates who is still game time decision will not be 100% even if he plays but they have added Chris Chambers since the last time these two teams met and that will provide some balance in the Charger attack. Chargers pulled out a lucky win earlier in the year when Adam Vinatieri missed a chip shot, I have a feeling Manning will not let the game be that close this time around. One thing that is often overlooked about this Colts team is their defense. The D ranked #1 in the league in scoring, allowing just over 16 points a game and while they put up nearly 30 that does not bode well for their opponents. No team has put up over 25 points on the Colts this year and it will still be the case after this game. Colts win easy 35-21.

Giants at Cowboys (Sunday at 4:30 on FOX)
So Eli Manning finally got that monkey off his back last week with an impressive win over the Bucs. The Giants certainly have everything working for them right now – they have the momentum, they have the confidence in their quarterback and everyone seems to be on the same page and traveling to Dallas, they are going to need every bit of that if they wish to pull out a victory. The Cowboys pretty much limped into the playoffs losing 2 of their last 3, scoring only 12 points in the loses. Tony Romo and company should benefit from the extra week’s rest and the home field advantage but the winning streak the Giants have can be very dangerous. Everyone says it is very difficult to beat a team 3 times in one season but I think if they have done it twice already, they sort of know what to do against you and unless the Giants make dramatic changes I do not see how they will avoid making it 3 straight.A healthy TO should provide to be the difference maker in this game, I see the Giants falling just a little short. I know I am going to take beating from some over enthusiastic Giant fans but I will stick by my original prediction, Cowboys win 24-17.