Tag Archives: nfl football

2022 NFC Championship Preview: Philadelphia Eagles v San Francisco 49ers

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We have entered the home stretch to find out who will represent the NFC in Super Bowl LVII. On one hand you have the 49ers riding an underdog wave of the next “Rudy” in 3rd string QB Brock Purdy. On the other, the final steps of validation for Jalen Hurts who leads a talented Eagle roster at home in this contest. However here at Taylor Blitz Times the excitement generates from the two best offensive lines and the NFL’s #1 & #2 ranked defenses taking the stage.

Did you know the difference between the NFL’s #1 and #2 ranked defense is less than a yard this season? San Francisco 300.59 ypg to Philadelphia 301.47?? Yet a tell tale sign is how those defenses fared coming down the stretch. In the last 7 games the edge goes to the Eagles (286.2 ypg) to (331 ypg).

The Eagles rushing attack led by Miles Sanders (1269 yds 11TD) and Hurts (760 yds rush/ 13TDs) is the 5th best in the NFL. With design runs whether they come from RPOs, sweeps or scrambles should be able to maintain their 147.5 yards per game average. The graphic below shows the 49ers are 1-3 when allowing just 100 yards.

Christian McCaffrey has to have a career game to keep the 49ers in it. Yes the Niners have other backs and Deebo Samuel but they will need their best play makers to win on bubble screens and jet sweeps. McCaffrey will need to make Eagle defenders miss and silence a raucous Philly crowd.

Otherwise this game lands in the hands of a 3rd string QB whose Cinderella story is coming to an end. Not only will the hostile crowd be at full throat but the Eagles vicious pass rush will be loose. The Eagles have a historic pass rush which has recorded 70 sacks. Just 2 shy of the record set by the 1984 Chicago Bears. We haven’t seen this many since the 1989 Minnesota Vikings (71) and its a sack by committee defense. Hassan Reddick (16 sacks) Brandon Graham, Josh Sweat and Jay Hargrave each finished with 11! Where are you sliding the line to?

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith (6) celebrates his touchdown with wide receiver A.J. Brown (11) and center Jason Kelce (62) during the NFL divisional round playoff football game against the New York Giants, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

The line of scrimmage is where this game will be won or lost and the edge has to go to Philadelphia. Once T Lane Johnson made it back last week and showed he can gut it out the Eagles looked like the team that was 14-1 with Jalen Hurts in the lineup. This game looks to be close for a quarter and a half with the Eagles pulling away 38-16.

As we clearly stated in our 2020 NFL draft preview, Jalen Hurts deserved to be the 2nd quarterback drafted after Joe Burrow. In the next 10 hours we will find out if they can rematch their 2019 college football playoff.

The Eagles are going to be headed to Super Bowl LVII.

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2023 NFC Wildcard: San Francisco 49ers v Seattle Seahawks

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Ahhhhh yes!! The NFL playoffs are upon us and the first matchup has two divisional foes that can’t stand one another. The 49ers are coming in hot having won 10 straight including a 21-13 win in Seattle just a month ago. The 49ers bring the NFL’s #1 ranked defense which plays at a blinding pace. Everywhere you look there is speed and Seattle has to establish Kenneth Walker early in this game and match the 49ers intensity & emotion in the first quarter.

However when you think back to the 1st game between these two, Walker and Rashad Penny combined for 25 yards on 10 carries. Which puts the ball sqarely on Taylor Blitz Times comeback player of the year Geno Smith. However a closer look shows how much the team has slowed after a torrid start.

In the 1st 10 games, Seattle scored over 27 points 5 times while only twice in the last 7. They haven’t scored 27 in any of the last 5.

Smith went 399 of 572 for 4,282 yards 30TDs and 11 ints. Do you realize 7 of the picks thrown were in the last 7 games as well? Two came in the finale against the Rams to even make it into the postseason.

Geno isn’t the most fleet of foot for an NFL QB and he will be hounded all day by a DE who is in Nick Bosa. Yes Mr 18 1/2 sacks coming out of his sprinter’s stance could be a step slower with today’s rain but will be a serious factor in determining today’s outcome.

Nick will chase Geno Smith all day today.

Seattle can’t overload to stop Bosa as fellow All Pros Fred Warner and Talanoa Hufanga will come on timely blitzes. Hufanga sacked Smith and forced a fumble the last time these teams played. He will be near the line of scrimmage to stop Walker and the running game and will be there to shut the door if Smith tries to scramble.

Offensively the 49ers need to stay aggressive in the running game and run “Power” and get away from bubble screens which can backfire with a wet football. These are needed to keep Seattle away from rookie QB Brock Purdy and dictate tempo and play with a lead.

With McCaffrey playing his first playoff game, he will be featured heavily today. A long time Taylor Blitz Times favorite should have 100 yards and 2 TDs today. With Kittle and Deebo Samuel as quick pass options and available for jet sweeps.

Misdirection plays will have a chance to break open today. Especially toward the end of a long drive. We know Coach Shanahan will stay patient and continue even with moderate success early. Its 3, 5, 5, 4 and boom 25 yards and a TD.

Seattle could get knocked out of this game early. They have to steal possessions with early turnovers to neutralize the crowd and gain strategic control of this football game.

Geno Smith can make plays to keep you in a football game but not the great play needed to win an important game.

San Francisco should roll today on a wet field 34-20. This is with Seattle scoring late to make it look closer.

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Ken Riley Belongs In The Pro Football Hall of Fame

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Ken Riley has made it to the finalist stage for enshrinement. For those who want to know who he was and why he deserves enshrinement, I offer you this.

The Chancellor of Football's avatarTaylor Blitz Times

There are several teams that have their best talents go unrecognized by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  The prevailing theme that has emerged are the lack of members from franchises that haven’t won a Super Bowl or an NFL championship in their existence. Even those that compiled impressive numbers during their careers. Enter Ken Riley of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Riley was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the last year of the American Football League in 1969. He teamed with fellow CB Lemar Parrish and FS Tommy Casanova to form one of the best secondaries of the 1970’s. Over a 15 year career ending in 1983, Riley intercepted 65 enemy passes. Good enough for 4th all time at the time of his retirement, and still ranks 5th just behind Rod Woodson.

A quiet player drafted out of Florida A & M, his career was overshadowed by other teammates and…

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Going Over a Kliff in Arizona This Friday

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If ever there was a portrait of a coach who lied on his resume and is now being found out, its Kliff Kingsbury.

Never has an NFL coach stepped to the podium with more excuses as to why his team can’t get off to fast starts in ball games. Wasn’t this the anointed offensive guru as he was touted when he was brought to the desert? Yet for all his “brilliant” play calling, the Cardinals couldnt muster a touchdown against the NFL’s 31st ranked defense that had given up the most points in the NFL last Sunday in Seattle.

Before the season I predicted he would be the first coach fired early in the season after going 0-6. Well the Cardinals won 2 games and Matt Rhule beat him to the punch being let go last week by Carolina. However the anemic showing in Seattle has stoked the flames under his seat. In fact Arizona 98.7 FM, which is the Cardinals flag ship radio station, openly asked if he was now “coaching for his job”? To which he had all the standard cliche answers which do not engender confidence he knows what he’ll need to do to turn it around.

The Cardinals offense has been flat on its back for more than a year.

We are 6 games into the season and the Cardinals have only scored 2 1st half TDs by the offense. If you go back to the last 10 the offense has only generated 4.

Lets take a look at a few things:

  • Kingsbury’s Cardinals are 8-18 in the 2nd half of seasons including playoffs
  • Arizona couldnt score more than 20 points in both losses to top 10 defenses in Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

Keep in mind they have 2 games late against San Francisco with the #1 defense in all of football. At what point will this get better?

On top of the embarrassing situation with Kyler Murray not getting into his play book or film study, the team has no identity and this “Air Raid” offense has been ineffective. Constant bubble screens and gimmick plays that keep blowing up and placing the Cardinals behind the down marker.

It looks like they are waiting for DeAndre Hopkins to be the band aid when he comes back. He and Kyler can “make a few plays” to mask how deficient this offense has been. These first 6 games have illustrated how over his head Kingsbury has been in the NFL.

With a Thursday night matchup with New Orleans, here is a national stage where hopefully Hopkins can make some big plays to turn the tide. Yet will he be in game shape?

If not… and the Cardinals who currently are on an 8 game home losing streak make it 9, Kingsbury will be fired tomorrow. The media and the conversation in front of a national audience will be his death knell. Is Kingsbury coaching for his job?? You better believe it

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2021 AFC East Preview: Division of Game Changers

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Welcome to the 2021 season where Bill Belichick has taken his Patriots down to Miami a full week early to thwart the 2-7 record his team has in away games with the Dolphins. This move mirrors the desperation of not naming an offensive coordinator or defensive coordinator in what looks to be an unceremonious end to Bill Belichick’s career. This will be his last year.

Where does this team turn when they start 0-4?? At Patriots, at Steelers, home to Baltimore then off to Green Bay. Yikes!

Yet elsewhere in the division it’s full speed ahead as Josh Allen and the Bills have become the talk of the league having made several upgrades heading into 2022.

AFC East Champions

  1. Buffalo Bills 13-4**
  2. New York Jets 9-8
  3. Miami Dolphins 6-11
  4. new England Patriots 5-12

The 1st of which is signing former Super Bowl MVP Von Miller to bolster the reigning #1 defense and help school former 1st round DE Greg Rousseau. This should free up DT Ed Oliver from interior double teams as all 3 -1st rounders should be after QBs all season. Schematically this defense played well but needs playmaking game changers and this pass rush has to be that. Just look back to the last :13 in Kansas City.

Jan 23, 2022; Tampa, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Rams outside linebacker Von Miller (40) forces a fumble by Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) during the second half in a NFC Divisional playoff football game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Hall of Fame pass rushers shouldn’t fall from the sky and the Bills got the biggest defensive acquisition in football. Miller has 4.5 sacks and 3 forced fumbles in Super Bowl competition. In the ’15 AFC Championship he had 2.5 sacks of Tom Brady and another 4 hits on him to rattle TB12. Then last year it was Von’s sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery on Brady that gave the Rams strategic control of the game sending them to the NFC Championship Game.

However the most improved team in the division is the New York Jets. Drafting Zach Wilson home run speed in OSU WR Garrett Wilson and grabbing CB Sauce Gardner and DE Jermaine Johnson with their #1 picks. Its Wilson taking the top off defenses that will allow Braxton Berrios to continue to be dynamic in the slot. However if 2nd round pick Breece Hall hits at running back this offense has the potential to be one of the best in football. They will mirror Joe Burrow and the weapons  in Cincinnati but they may be one year away from hitting full stride.

Miami will be the middle of the pack team they have been with Tua at quarterback. They did get Tyreek Hill who should turn heads early in the season with bubble screens and turning short gains into big ones early in the season. Yet look to defensive coordinators to figure out Tua’s arm can’t threaten downfield and his affectiveness to be minimized by midseason.

This season of dynamic playmakers begins and ends with Bills QB Josh Allen who could be league MVP with another great season. Completing 409 of 646 for 4,407 yds 36TDs with 15 interceptions had him in last year’s race. His 763 yards rushing will hopefully be lower and he needs to  slide more and not take so many hits. With Diggs (102 rec. 1,225 yds/ 10TDs) back and the emergence of Gabriel Davis (NFL playoff record 4 TDs in KC) this team has no obvious weaknesses. Barring injury this group of playmakers should be playing in early February in Super Bowl LVII.

It all begins by showcasing it Thursday Night against the defending Super Bowl champion Rams on the road. Time for the rubber to hit the road!

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Ryan Tannehill Not Wanting to Mentor Malik Willis Is The Height of Arrogance: Final Revision

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“With the 86th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Tennesee Titans select Malik Willis! Quarterback form Liberty” Along with the trade of wideout A.J. Brown to the Eagles the team subtly announced they were moving on from Ryan Tannehill.

It seems like everyone realizes this except the incumbent starter who scoffed “Its not my job to mentor Malik Willis” Really?

The old NFL logo

Hold on a second… I keep seeing people backing Ryan McInterception on “its not his job to mentor Malik Willis.”

Lets take playing football out of the equation… Are you telling me no one in your position pulled you aside and took you to lunch? Talked shop about how to work with clients or internal / shipping issues at work? Really? You did everything by yourself? The height of arrogance.
Don’t mouth this nonsense and then share/ profess the Christian values later talking about “pay it forward”… This is literally the definition of paying it forward.
God works in mysterious ways… what happens if Willis beats Tannehill out?? Anyone can handoff to Derrick Henry 30 times a game. Isnt’ this what happened in 2012 when a rookie Russell Wilson beat out Matt Flynn who had just signed a $20 million free agent deal??
Tannehill’s horrendous 3 interception performance at home in the AFC Divisional Playoff loss to Cincinnati is why they drafted a QB in the first place. The Titans don’t expect to be explosive on offense. Why do you think they traded WR AJ Brown to the Eagles?
Keep in mind how insturmental Steve Deberg was to mentoring both Joe Montana and John Elway when they were drafted. Drew Bledsoe explained how his relationship was and they showed how he mentored Tom Brady in the first episode of “Man In the Arena.” Check that out on ESPN +.
Even to conclude the sideline meeting before Brady took the field for the game winning drive in Super Bowl XXXVI what does history have gunned down in videos and books?? Drew Bledsoe emphatically showing support “Fuck that go out and sling it!” Mentoring him to seize the moment feeling that Charlie Weis was being too cautious in his instruction before taking the field.
The starting quarterback is supposed to be the face of the franchise and a leader of men. How can you be a leader in the quarterback room without being a mentor?? No one said to give away all the trade secrets but you counsel your understudy on things he should know.
At some point its about giving back and no one told Tannehill to coach Willis but to point a few things out and help show how to be a pro. Its what football players have done since the game began.
Malik Willis go and be a sponge and learn how to be a pro and go out and sling it with confidence!
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