I think this is quite an appropriate post for it being my first hockey post on the blog. This is probably one of the greatest individual goals you will ever see in the National Hockey League. Rick Nash just simply owns the Phoenix defense and makes a mockery of their goalie. Enjoy.
Conference Championship Predictions
Well here we go again… it is Conference Championship weekend – the Final Four of the National Football League. 3/4 the first week but a very disappointing 1/4 last week – only 50% for the playoffs… gotta pick it up with a perfect week this week.
San Diego Chargers at New England Patriots (3:00 PM – CBS)
Not too many people expected the Chargers to pull off the upset over the Colts last week without the help of Rivers and LT for the entire second half but give credit to Norv Turner and his team for sticking together and pulling out a gutsy playoff victory. Let me just say that the Chargers will not be able to repeat the same kind of result this week unless they do have quality contributions from Rivers, LT and Gates. The Patriots have proven all year long that you might slow them down for a little bit by taking away Moss or taking away their running game but that only works for so long. They just have so many weapons on offense that they can give any defense nightmares. Now the Chargers do have quite an athletic defense that has the ability to stay with the Patriots playmakers and with the weather forecast for heavy gusts, the Patriots short passing game that they run so well will probably be in full use. Chargers need to be able to apply some sort of pressure onto Brady if they want to have any chance this game. Brady was sacked on the first play of the game last week but then he was barely touched for the entire game after that. If San Diego can bring pressure often, I can see them keeping this game close in the 4th quarter otherwise it is an easy path for the Patriots to the Super Bowl. Patriots 31-21.
New York Giants at Green Bay Packers (6:30 PM – FOX)
Now this is the Eli Manning everyone had been waiting for. Who really expected this Manning brother to be in the Conference Championship game while is brother was sent home packing? Give all the credit in the world to Tom Coughlin for playing his starters in the last game of the regular season against the New England Patriots – these guys really came together on the field then and that has led to 2 straight victories on the road for the Giants. Now they head to Green Bay where the high temperature for Sunday is forecasted to be about 4 degrees. Brett Favre is a career +40 in win/loss ratio at home and only has a handful of losses when the temperature drops below freezing. Everyone questioned the Packers running game at the start of the year and whether it would be good enough to provide a balance to defenses to keep them honest with their prolific passing attack. Ryan Grant proved that last week with a franchise record for rushing yards in a playoff game – one that seemed very unlikely after he fumbled the ball twice on the Packers first two possessions of the game. The Gaints’ pass rushers need to be able to do what most teams have not been able to do all year and that is bring pressure on Brett Favre and force him to make mistakes. He has really cut down on his interceptions and if he manages the game again the way he did last week vs. Seattle, the Giants are in for a long day in Green Bay. I think you have to tip your hat to Eli Manning for finally bringing his game to that next level and I certainly think he is going to have another efficient game this week, I just do not think that will be enough for the battered Giants team to pull out a victory at Lambeau Field. Packers 35-20.
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)
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?
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?