Tag: Giants

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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.

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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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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.

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Weekend Wrap Up

Let me quickly get this one out of the way. Nothing new was revealed from the Roger Clemens – 60 Minutes interview, really what a waste. Probably just wait a couple of weeks for the congressional thing to see what comes out of it but Clemens continues to deny things and McNabee has gone into hiding. Somebody is wrong here but I was shocked to hear Clemens say he had never heard of Andy Pettitte doing anything. It is just so hard to know who is telling the truth nowadays.

Now back to the good stuff. I went 1/2 yesterday and even though I got both correct today, the two games today seemed to be opposite of what I expected.

The Giants seemed to thoroughly dominate the Bucs right from the start. Eli Manning played a well controlled game (185 yards, 2 TDs) and got plenty of help from his defense as well. This game probably saves Coughlin his job and might even secure the extension. Huge game next week now in Dallas, I probably would have picked Dallas without a doubt but momentum can be a huge thing going for the Giants right now.

Norv Turner validated tonight why he was brought here to coach a team that went 14-2 last year by finally winning a playoff game for the first time in 13 years. The Titans pretty much owned the first half on both sides of the ball that included two drives of 60+ yards but only 6-0 and that ended up costing them the game. Holding LT to only 6 yards in the first half and only 42 for the game but his crucial touchdown in the 4th secured the victory. Next stop: Indianapolis Colts. Good Luck.

Weekend in Review (score wise)
Predictions: Redskins 24-14, Jaguars 27-24, Giants 31-10, and Chargers 24-10
Actual: Seahawks 35-14, Jaguars 31-29, Giants 24-14, and Chargers 17-6

I will take a 3 for 4 week in the first week. Great match ups next week all around.

  • Holmgren goes to Green Bay to face the team he coached.
  • Giants and Cowboys are always an intriguing divisional matchup.
  • Colts/Chargers is a match up of two high powered offenses
  • Jags are as good as any team in the league right now and may have everything needed to stop the Patriots.

Before I leave, I’ll leave you all with this that AP put in the Seattle game recap for this week:

The Seahawks will travel to Green Bay next Saturday, a rematch of a 2004 wild-card game remembered for Matt Hasselbeck’s proclamation of “We want the ball and we’re going to score!” after the Seahawks won the overtime coin flip. Instead, Hasselbeck threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown.

I love playoff football.

A loving brown guy signing off…

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NFL Playoffs Predictions

Before I call it a night, I wanted to get my playoff predictions in for the first round at least. Feel free to post your predictions in comments section.

The four games this weekend are Washington at Seattle and Jacksonville at Pittsburgh on Saturday while New York Football Giants at Tampa Bay and Tennessee at San Diego are on Sunday.

I think the Redskins are a great feel good story after the death of Sean Taylor. They won their last 4 games to get into the playoffs and look for them to ride that at pull off an upset at Seattle. The Seahawks to me never really got things going on the ground with Shaun Alexander who only got 700 yards on the season while the Redskins have really come together. Look for Clinton Portis to get a pair of rushing touchdowns and I will take Washington in this one, 24-14.

Jaguars at Steelers is probably the marquee match up this weekend. The Jaguars pulled out a gutsy 7 point win in Pittsburgh about 3 weeks ago in the snowy and awful conditions. I think the Steelers will be better prepared for the Jaguars this time but the loss of Willie Parker has to hurt their chances. Big Ben has been a total monster this season with 30+ TD passes but I do not think that will be enough as the balanced Jaguars attack will once again tame the Steelers. Jaguars by 3, 27-24.

If Eli Manning plays anything close to the way he played last week against the Patriots, the Bucs have no shot this week. That being said, it is still Eli Manning we are talking about. He has led the Giants to 3 straight playoffs but he has yet to do anything once he has gotten there. I really think this is his breakout year in the post season. His confidence has been building, his teammates are supporting him, and we have not heard anything from Tiki Barber which is always a good sign for the state of affairs in the Giants locker room. I think Eli throws 3 TD passes and Jacobs runs in for another as Giants win in a rout, 31-10.

Finally, Titans at Chargers. Who would have thought after the 1-3 San Diego start that they would be hosting a playoff game? Give credit to Norv Turner for really turning that club around and going 10-2 to finish off the season. They have beaten the Titans already earlier on this season and do not overlook the squeaker they had past the Colts in the middle of the season. Certainly this could post an intriguing Pats/Bolts matchup but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Vince Young for the Titans is still banged up and will not be 100% even though he’ll start and Chargers ‘lightning’ offense should be more than enough to control this game from the start. 24-10 Chargers.

Let the playoff season begin…