Each year, the NFL regular season seems to end faster than the last. I find myself wondering what happened the previous four months...and then when the dust has settled and the playoff teams are known, it seems not much has changed from recent years.
Basically, you can count on the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts and now the New York Giants to make near annual appearances in the playoffs. You can also count on the Detroit Lions, Oakland Raiders and Buffalo Bills to find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory...or in Detroit's case for the 2008 season, snatch defeat and keep an iron grip on it.
It has been a rather interesting 2008 campaign in the NFL. The Atlanta Falcons rose from the ashes of Michael Vick's connection to the disgusting antics of dog fighting to make the playoffs with a rookie head coach and a rookie quarterback. The Miami Dolphins rebounded from a brutal 1-15 campaign to win the AFC East this season with Bill Parcells running the front office and new head coach Tony Sparano leading his charges to a division title. The nearly impeccable New England Patriots of 2007 suffered a cruel blow when star quarterback Tom Brady was lost for the season in week one with a knee injury.
Now it is time for the playoffs to begin and a few of the teams hosting wild-card games this weekend find themselves the underdog either among the fans or in the Las Vegas gambling parlors. The Atlanta Falcons head to Arizona to take on the Cardinals in Saturday's first game. Many, including myself, believe the Falcons are going to be able to get the win in the desert. Considering Atlanta's balanced offensive attack and Arizona's mediocre defense, the Falcons should be the favored squad.
The Cardinals will need to rely on their potent passing attack. Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner will need to hook up with receivers Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston for big gains and touchdowns to pull off the win. In the end, I think Atlanta's strong, balanced offense will take it to the Cardinals, with Falcons running back Michael Turner scampering for 150 yards and a couple scores. Atlanta wins 27-20.
Saturday's late game is a great matchup between two teams that are firing on all cylinders at the moment. The Indianapolis Colts have rattled off nine consecutive victories, finishing the regular season with a 12-4 record after a lackluster 3-4 start. Despite their great record, they will be going on the road for their first playoff game. The Colts will take the field against the San Diego Chargers, a team that was 4-8 at one point in the year. The Chargers won the AFC West with just an 8-8 record but are playing their best football right now.
There could be plenty of offensive fireworks in this one as quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers will be looking to connect with their wide receivers and tight ends. Each team has a very solid running game, so the defenses will be under the gun much of the game.
Flip a coin in this contest as it is tough to pick a winner. Perhaps you can give the edge to the Colts due to their playoff resume' being a bit longer than San Diego's. The Chargers have had some disappointing playoff appearances in recent years and they have to get over that stigma when even Marty Schottenheimer was the coach. But, if you think about it, late in the game, there aren't many other quarterbacks you would want leading a drive to win a game than Peyton Manning. Indianapolis wins 31-24.
Sunday's NFL games will bring about a local flavor as the Baltimore Ravens will play in warm Miami taking on the Dolphins and the Philadelphia Eagles are headed to a not-sold-out Metrodome in Minneapolis to take on the Vikings
The Ravens might want to exact some revenge from their humiliating loss to the Dolphins in the 2007 season. Miami's victory over Baltimore was their only win of the season, a 1-15 affair that looked as though it was going to be the start of some bad times in South Florida. Enter Bill Parcells and Tony Sparano, along with new quarterback and former Jet Chad Pennington.
The gritty Dolphins found ways to win, were creative with their offensive playbook, especially with their use of direct snaps to the running back. The Dolphins kept their opponents off balance all year long and found their way to an AFC East title. However, judging from the pulse of the fans and media, the Baltimore Ravens should be able to leave Dolphin Stadium with a victory.
Baltimore's defense should make things uncomfortable for not only Pennington but also for the Miami running game. Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown should find openings by the Dolphin offensive line to be on the scant side in this contest. The Raven defense, led by defensive coordinator and soon-to-be NFL head coaching prospect Rex Ryan keep plugging along annually in disrupting opposing offenses. Sunday's game should be no different as Baltimore should keep the Dolphins in the teens in terms of points.
Baltimore's offense needs to be efficient and have the offensive line create a comfort zone of protection for rookie quarterback Joe Flacco. Head coach John Harbaugh probably won't take many risks in the game, just have Flacco engineer time-consuming drives that lead to touchdowns and field goals. Running back Le'Ron McClain will be counted on by the Ravens to lead the ground game with his bruising style of running.
Willis McGahee will need to be more involved and give Baltimore a change of pace, slashing runner at times. As long as the Ravens make few mistakes, run an efficient offense on the ground and mix it up with some passes that lead to first downs...not to mention the dominating defense that could give Miami headaches all day, Baltimore should leave South Florida with a victory...let's say 23-13.
The final game of the weekend has the Philadelphia Eagles heading to the Metrodome to take on the Vikings. Minnesotans aren't too enamored with their Vikings as 3,100 tickets remained for sale as of Friday night. That's the least of Minnesota's worries as they'll need to find a way to counter Philadelphia defensive coordinator Jim Johnson's plans to make quarterbacking a living hell for Vikings QB Tarvaris Jackson. Expect a heavy dose of running back Adrian Peterson as the ground game will need to be Minnesota's bread and butter to grab a win in this one. A harassed Jackson could lead to the kind of mistakes seen in Philly's game last week that made Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo look like he was in his first NFL game.
Although Minnesota's passing attack is suspect, their defense isn't. The Vikings allowed the least amount of rushing yardage of any NFL team in 2008, albeit the loss to injury of defensive tackle Pat Williams will sting. Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook will have to find ways to make the ground attack work, perhaps several passes to Westbrook out in the flat can keep the Vikings defense on their toes on shorter-yardage plays. Running up the gut for the Eagles may be a tough road to hoe, but they will certainly have to attempt it.
Minnesota's pass defense is a bit more run-of-the-mill than their rush defense. Expect McNabb to throw some long balls downfield and at the very least make ample use out of receivers like DeSean Jackson, Kevin Curtis and Hank Baskett. Westbrook should see at least 20-25 carries and probably several receptions.
The key for Philadelphia is to limit mistakes, especially by the offense. The Eagles should stymie the Minnesota passing game and as long as they can limit Adrian Peterson to some degree, Philly should be victorious in the Metrodome...let's say Eagles 26, Vikings 13.
It's a shame Tom Brady was injured......would have changed the whole complexion of the post season