Tag Archives: nfl football

Super Bowl XXI Giants v. Super Bowl XXV Giants

by

0

SUPER BOWL XXV CHAMPION 1990 NEW YORK GIANTS <————————————Click Link

Troy Polamalu 2010 AP Defensive Player of the Year

by

1

Honestly, aside from Bob Sanders in 2006 and 2007 has there been a defensive player that has meant more to his team?  For a franchise known for blood thirsty linebackers it’s ironic that the Steelers most valuable defender is a safety with pretty hair from Southern Cal.  Oh sure I mention this in jest but let’s have some fun with this.  For starters when someone says “Steelers defense” what comes to mind?  You think of menacing images of Joe Greene, toothless Jack Lambert, a scowling Gregg Lloyd, a taunting Joey Porter, or even James Harrison….hell Brett Keisel with that beard even.   Well I guess I do because linebackers are the essence of football in my mind.  They intimidated the opposition with looks that could kill.  Yet the soft spoken Polamalu is not only overdue in winning this award it’s deserved.

They are just a different ball club when he is on the field.  He missed two games this year; the teams went 1-1 without him, and are a .500 team in the games he’s missed over his career.   Pittsburgh is just a different ball club with him on the field.  His intensity and big plays have earned him this reward.  It gives us another storyline going into Super Bowl XLV with Troy edging out Clay Matthews but Troy has been deserving of this award for a long time and Matthews will have many more opportunities.

Someone is going to argue that it’s not a lifetime achievement award yet face it he made the single best defensive play of the season.  How decisive was it.  Consider that the Ravens and Steelers were embroiled in a week 13 battle for first place in the AFC North.  It was late in the 4th quarter, with 2 minutes to go when Polamalu’s sack and subsequent forced fumble was returned to the Ravens 12 yard line.  The Steelers scored a few plays later to escape with a 13-10 win with only 22 seconds to go.  He set up the Steelers ONLY TD of that game.  They won the division while the Wildcard Ravens had to fight through the wildcard round finally succumbing to the rested Steelers in the divisional playoff.  Had the sack not taken place, Pittsburgh goes on the road and probably falls to a rested Baltimore Ravens bunch in the divisional round.

That sack could be the difference between Pittsburgh’s season being over or a chance at a record seventh Super Bowl.  If you can name a player with a signature play holding that much significance, show me.

New York Jets and the Future of Mark Sanchez

by

0

The New York Jets became the first team in a decade to lose back to back conference championships since the 2002-’03 Philadelphia Eagles. So the question becomes where Rex Ryan and his team go from here? 

They are primed to make another Super Bowl run with Sanchez at the helm. With every other young quarterback who make the playoffs, the team scales down their play calling to minimize mistakes.  They use the punt as an ally and play to the strengths of their defense while running the football.  From Bob Griese to Roger Staubach, to Terry Bradshaw, to Tom Brady, to Ben Roethlisberger, many a young quarterback has won championships with this formula.  Mark Sanchez may just be the next in line.  He’s shown a flair for the dramatic with several late game touchdown throws this year against Jacksonville and Cleveland respectively.  This is a crossroads season where the Jets can ask a little more of Sanchez throwing the football to supplement Shonn Greene and Tomlinson’s running.

On the same day that “Twitter Gate” vilified Jay Cutler for appearing to quit on his Bear teammates in the NFC Championship, the camera caught a poignant moment where Sanchez was consoling WR Jericho Cotchery at the end of the AFC Championship game. Let’s face facts; Mark Sanchez is a good young leader with a good head on his shoulders, one “that isn’t ready for the NFL.” voiced former USC coach Pete Carroll erroneously, who subsequently went 7-9 with the Seattle Seahawks this year.  Yet there was Sanchez, the Jets season extinguishing as the clock wound down, having a face to face with a receiver several years his senior. Undoubtedly, he was telling his teammate something positive as the two stood facemask to facemask, Sanchez talking and tapping Cotchery’s helmet as the wideout nodded in agreement.  Displaying a leadership quality that shows not only that he’s ready for the NFL, but one that suggests he’s about to take a championship step forward in leading the Jets there.

Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes have a good chemistry with their young QB.  In fact on the day Edwards arrived in New York from Cleveland, it was Sanchez who was there to greet him at former Jet Kerry Rhodes house.  All of which was caught on an ESPN telecast.  Edwards has ideal size for a possession receiver and Holmes is more explosive after the catch. Throw in Cotchery and if they can find a way to utilize Brad Smith a little bit more, this team could surprise in the air.  Detractors of Edwards were silenced as he played motivated, inspired football.  Holmes will benefit from a full Jets training camp to be more productive as well.

Rex Ryan’s scheme on defense is in tune with his players and the personnel they have selected.  Can they coax another year out of Jason Taylor or injured NT Kris Jenkins?  In Jenkins case they showed they could get by without him.  Injuries are starting to mount for Jenkins who will need serious spot deployment to make it through a long season healthy.  Taylor is definitely at the point where it’s a gamble to ask for another season from him as well.  I would look to replacing Taylor and have him mentor an understudy.  They could be impenetrable if they can reach the playoffs with Jenkins in the middle. With one of the best CB tandems in football in Revis and Cromartie, a young stud outside linebacker to go with Bart Scott, David Harris, and Calvin Pace could vault the Jets into the best defense in football.

Why so high on Sanchez? Having run the gauntlet in this year’s playoffs in facing Manning, Brady, and Roethlisberger, the kid held his own. If Roethlisberger wins his 3rd Super Bowl this week, that’s a total of 7 Super Bowl wins between his three opponents.  He faced three Hall of Fame quarterbacks and beat two of them. Sanchez threw 3TDs in the upset of the Patriots and brought the Jets back from a 24 point deficit in the AFC Championship.  Sanchez has now engineered 4 playoff road wins which ties the NFL record.  So is he Mark Sanchez or Mark Sanchize?? I don’t know but let’s ask these questions;

  • Can the New York Jets duplicate the feat by those same Philadelphia Eagles of ’02-’04 and the ’74-’76 Raiders who lost 2 straight conference finals yet win in a third consecutive attempt??
  •  If Mark Sanchez improves again this season, how many games do the Jets win next season??
  • What happens next year if the Jets get homefield advantage and have to only play two playoff games instead of three to get to the Super Bowl??
  • A Mexican American quarterback as an icon would be great for the league and a link to not only Jim Plunkett but to the  legendary Joe Kapp in terms of hispanic Super Bowl quarterbacks of yesteryear.

Thanks for reading.

NFC Championship Preview

by

2

Chicago Bears hosting the Green Bay Packers for the right to go to the Super Bowl.  If images of Vince Lombardi and George Halas aren’t coming to mind we may need to introduce you to table tennis as a favorite sport.  This is the essence of pro football with the backdrop of history, weather, most hated rival playing for the conference crown; how can this get any better?  It can’t, plain and simple.  One of the beautiful points to this championship for affecionados like me is to remind younger fans of the super rich heritage of the NFL.  No the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dallas Cowboys, nor San Francisco 49ers have the most championships in NFL history, that distinction belongs to these two teams.  The fact that fans have gone their entire lifetimes without seeing these two play with stakes this high makes this game special.  I know, I know…Jef get to the game at hand..

When we take a look at Aaron Rodgers what do you see?  Easily football’s finest young quarterback who is ascending to a place that was once reserved for only Tom Brady and Peyton Manning in most circles. Last weeks 31 of 36 for 366 yards and 3TDs in a 48-21 win over Atlanta was his calling card to greatness. He didn’t stand in the pocket and give a Joe Montana performance, he was flushed from the pocket on numerous occasions and completed passes while being chased from the pocket that realistically the defense should have been able to make a few stops.  There were throws that defied logic and its time to talk about Rodgers on the move as one of the best in the business.  His feet are always ready to deliver the football which is key to his game.  So in two playoff games Rodgers has led the Packers to 48 and 45 (last year’s loss to the Cardinals) point totals. Yikes, what will he look like in a year or two?

Over this season has there been a team that has evolved on offense more than the Chicago Bears?  Coming into the season I thought the marriage of Cutler and Mike Martz’s system would be able to get the most of Jay’s long ball arm.  They just had to rope the penchant for Martz to pass too often trying to show off his genius that nearly got Kurt Warner killed when he coached the Rams.  Evidenced by the dismal 9 sacks in the first half performance against the Giants and Cutler didn’t make it back for the second half.  Yet Lovie Smith and Martz have roped in the offense and over the second half of the season ran the ball more than they passed it.  Last week’s playoff game against Seattle, the running attack was supplemented with a variety of screens to further slow the pass rush.  Mike Martz can be a brilliant play caller.

Aaron Rodgers surveying the Bears defense

Jay Cutler has been the beneficiary of this more balanced play calling and has matured amidst detractors who refuse to notice. He’s never played a playoff game how will he perform? Hmm…play action down the middle for a 58 yard touchdown to Greg Olsen on his first pass attempt.  The last time the NFL saw that happen in a playoff game take a guess who was calling the plays?  Mike Martz when Kurt Warner hit Isaac Bruce for a 77 yarder td on the Rams first play in the ’99 divisonal tilt against Minnesota.  That withstanding, Cutler played under control threw for 2TDs in the game and ran for 2 more becoming the first QB since Otto Graham in 1955.  However a closer look and we saw a confident more determined quarterback, one who put his head down and smashed into the endzone on one run, and forcefully ran for a 4th and 1 near the goalline to set up the Bears 2nd TD.  This was not the same Cutler we saw on that fateful Monday Night against the Giants ducking for cover and unsure of himself.  He’s grown in stature as a pro quarterback over the second half of this season.    Advantage Packers in quarterbacking in this game…

The team that establishes the run best will take control of this football game.  The Packers have found a new workhorse in these playoffs with rookie James Starks.  However this is somewhat overblown.  He rushed 25 times for 66 yards for a paltry  2.6 yds avg.  against Atlanta in which the Packers put up 48 points. This is the issue when dealing with a rookie.  Do I believe in his performance against Philadelphia in the wildcard or this latest outting?  Enter Matt Forte for Chicago, he only rushed 25 times for 80 yards, a slightly better 3.2 yds avg. v. Seattle, yet he supplemented this with 3 receptions for 54 yards more.  Seeing that we have two highly ranked defenses in this game one of these offenses has to give.  Advantage Bears slightly…Martz needs to slip Forte on screens at the right time to slow down a certain Mr. Matthews to aid his passing attack.

Alright its cold out and we have football’s #5 and #9 ranked defenses in the Packers and Bears respectively.  Both stout against the run. Each with defensive stalwarts rushing the passer, the aforementioned Clay Matthews and a one Mr. Julius Peppers. The Packers have the better secondary in Charles Woodson and Tremond Williams, who just played his way onto the Pro Bowl roster with his performance last week.  Third cornerback, rookie Sam Shields from Miami, is coming on.  The Packers must get in front and make the Bears pass into their secondary.  The Bears have the better front seven and perhaps the best in football.  Julius Peppers tilts the field and this matchup in the Bears favor.  In their prior meeting at Soldier Field, the Packers had four penalties attributed to trying to slow down the athletic Peppers.  His presence takes attention away from a lethal Urlacher and Lance Briggs.  Add to that an awakening Tommie Harris and Idonijie #71 will be single blocked on the side away from Peppers.  Look for Idonijie and Peppers to corral Rodgers where Atlanta could not.  Advantage Chicago based on crowd noise and front seven strength across the board.

Which leads to special teams.  Sigh, do I really have to tell you about history’s finest ever kick returner Devin Hester from Miami? Of course its easy to say that he did return a punt for a touchdown in the Soldier Field meeting between these two teams, but its deeper, systemic if you will.  Thanks to Peppers and company, the Bears are the fifth best team in not allowing their opponent to convert on 3rd down at 35%. When opponents are stopped inside their own 40 yard line, teams can’t ask their punter to punt out of bounds in fear of a shanked kick, giving the Bears even better field position.  They are forced to kick it to Hester in that instance and here in late January amidst swirling winds he will get several shots in this game.  Advantage Bears.

For the Packers to win Aaron Rodgers and that superb receiving corps have to have a game like they did in Atlanta and Arizona last year to win.  The problem is those were heremetic, antiseptic dome games, not windy Soldier Field in late January.  The Bears want to put bruises on the body and the psyche of Rodgers.  The Bears should play to the strength of their defense and special teams while taking calculated shots with Cutler’s arm when they get near 50 yard line.

Prediction 2010 NFC Champion Chicago Bears  23-16

Shocker!!

by

0

How does a team go from losing a battle for first place in a division 45-3 to winning an AFC Divisonal Playoff over the New England Patriots 28-21?  Emotion.  Well emotion and tight coverage.  The defense that we were promised between Antonio Cromartie and Darrelle Revis finally showed up.  The coverage was so tight the defenese was able to get to Tom Brady sacking him 5 times and had him uncomfortable and double clutching all night.  A defense missing Kris Jenkins and Jim Leonard hadn’t looked this powerful in many weeks.  They backed up the bravado and talk that had dominated the week leading up to the game.

Tom Brady couldnt find an open reciever for much of the night and he was getting hit like he had been by the Giants in Super Bowl XLII.  The Patriots handicapped their own efforts by beginning the day with Wes Welker on the bench for disciplinary reasons.  This backfired and kept them from establishing a rhythm although they moved the football on their opening drive they struggled in close.  First they forced Brady into an interception by linebacker David Harris.   The lack of a running game came that plagued New England all year showed up at the goal line on the next drive.  They tried to pass into the endzone resulting in an endzone drop by TE Alge Crumpler.  The chance to get their crowd into the game and raise self doubt in the Jets had come and gone.  All of this before we get to New England’s ill advised fake punt which led to a Sanchez to Braylon Edwards to make it 14-3 and an eery blanket of silence cascaded over Gillette Stadium.  More important the self doubt started to permeate that Patriot sideline.

The Jets were highly motivated to make amends for the embarrassing defeat a month ago.  The emotion of disliking your divisional rival.  Rex Ryan and his team turned the tables on the favored Patriots starting with all the trash talk that roped the Patriots into some uncommon ground.  No not this week, go all the way back to when Rex was at the podium and made the declaration that they were going after the Patriots.  That he hadn’t come to New York to “kiss Belichick’s rings” and the barbs didn’t stop there.  Getting under the skin of Bill Belichick is what Rex was trying to do when he said this game was personal about wanting to beat Bill and the Patriots.

With tactical dominance established defensively, the Jet were able to let their offense settle down and get into the game.  Mark Sanchez came of age with a solid performance throwing for 194 yards on 16 of 25 passing and 3 touchdowns. Dare we say he outperformed Tom Brady?  Yes he did and a rushing attack that complemented Sanchez with over 120 yards rushing kept the clock moving.  Once they started to believe as an overall unit the game was effectively over.  The Jets received an emotional pep talk from Dennis Byrd before the game and carried his jersey out to the pregame coin toss.  They channeled that along with wanting to make amends for their embarrassing defeat a month ago.  Add to that the doubting press, and an angry Jet closed ranks and took the field with something to prove.  Did they?? LOL  See you in Pittsburgh for the AFC Championship.