Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas performs during half-time at the NFL’s Super Bowl XLV football game in Arlington, Texas, February 6, 2011. REUTERS/Brian Snyder (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL ENTERTAINMENT)
I’m just saying…
- Christina Aguilera had at least two weeks to prepare for the National Anthem and she still managed to change a word and skip an entire verse. Did someone forget to rub her the right way before she went out to midfield? Because you know you have to do that with her, right?
- What a game by Jordy Nelson: Nine catches, 140 yards receiving and one touchdown. Now imagine how good his numbers would have been had he not dropped two first down passes right in his hands.
- Speaking of drops…James Jones is lucky the Packers held on to the win because his drop in the third quarter was setting up to be the turning point in the game. Nobody can make a potential touchdown disappear faster than James Deandre Jones.
- I want to commend Bruce Arians for his decision to be aggressive when the Steelers were backed up to their own 7-yard line late in the first quarter. Rashard Mendenhall had just ripped the Packers for 24 yards on two carries in the previous series, so naturally Arians wanted to prove how smart he was by taking a shot downfield. Nick Collins and the Packers want to thank you for the gift, Bruce.
At last year’s Super Bowl, Yardbarker asked athletes and celebrities to spell “Roethlisberger” and many failed miserably. Believe it or not, many athletes and celebs struggled more this year with the name “Polamalu.”
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It’s the NFL and it’s Championship Sunday – we know you don’t need reasons to actually watch the games. But here are five storylines to keep an eye on as we draw closer to kickoff.
1. Are the Jets worn out?
Very few pundits thought the Jets would beat Peyton Manning on his home field and nobody thought they would upset Tom Brady in Foxboro. But after two straight upsets, Gang Green now has everyone’s attention and you get the sense that people are actually starting to get behind Rex Ryan’s team. Compared to the last two weeks, the Jets have been awfully quiet over the past five days as they prepare for the Steelers. Are they focused or have they worn themselves out? Playing on the road is draining enough during the regular season. What happens to a team when they have to play three-straight road games in the playoffs when a Super Bowl is on the line and they’re constantly underdogs? This time last year, the Jets fizzled out. Do they have enough left in the tank this year to pull off one more upset?
2. Will Rodgers continue his onslaught on opposing defenses?
After they crushed the Giants and beat the Bears in their final two regular season games, then went on the road and contained Michael Vick in Philadelphia, the Packers already had plenty of believers last week when they traveled to Atlanta. And after Aaron Rodgers put on a clinic against the Falcons, there’s a large contingent that believes the Pack are Super Bowl bound. But Rodgers has a tough test this Sunday against the Bears, whose defense might as well be cement to Atlanta’s Charmin extra soft. In their Week 17 loss at Lambeau, Chicago held Rodgers relatively in check but he still competed 19-of-28 passes for 229 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Rodgers can make plays with both his arm and legs and he has a knack for getting the ball out of his hand quickly and accurately. Can the Bears pressure him in the pocket and if so, can their corners play as physical as they did last week against Seattle in order to disrupt Rodgers’ rhythm with his receivers? Or will the gunslinger elevate his play one last time in order to make Green Bay’s improbable Super Bowl dreams a reality?
Pittsburgh Steelers Hines Ward (C) celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens during the second half of their NFL AFC Divisional playoff game at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, 15 January 2011. The Steelers defeated the Ravens 31-24, and will advance to the AFC Championship game. EPA/DAVID MAXWELL fotoglif902601
One factor that the Jets have to their advantage this week is that they’ve already beaten the Steelers in Pittsburgh once this season (22-17 in Week 15). But things could prove to be more difficult for New York this time around.
Below are three keys for the Steelers to avoid another upset.
1. The O-line must rebound.
The play of the O-line continues to be the biggest question mark surrounding this team. Flozell Adams was sick last week with the flu and could barely stand up, which is why he struggled so much against the Ravens. Ramon Foster deserves praise for moving to tackle when Adams left the game, but he continues to be a marginal blocker. Jonathan Scott gave up a handful of pressures and a sack against Baltimore and while Maurkice Pouncey played well overall, he had trouble moving the Ravens’ big defensive tackles at the goal line. In fact, the entire Steelers’ O-line had trouble at the goal line, which includes Chris Kemoeatu (who also made some stupid decisions after the whistle had been blown). What’s interesting is that the Steelers gained 377 total yards against the Jets in Week 15, which included 146 on the ground. They also had touchdown drives of 96 and 74 yards, so they’ve already proven that they can move the ball on Rex Ryan’s stingy defense. But can the O-line elevate their game after last week’s performance? They better, because Ryan has proved over the past two weeks that he can put together some of the best defensive game plans in the NFL.
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It’s the playoffs, where team matters more than individual players. But there are several key players that hold their team’s hopes in their hands this weekend and we’ve listed eight of them (one for each team) below.
In no particular order…
1. Terrell Suggs, Ravens
The Ravens have been waiting for this guy to return to form and he finally has. Suggs looks hungry, motivated and determined to get the Ravens to a Super Bowl. If Baltimore’s front seven is able to take away Rashard Mendenhall and force the Steelers to be one-dimensional this Saturday, then Suggs needs to get after Ben Roethlisberger. Mike Wallace is a true homerun threat and can score from anywhere on the field, so Suggs and Co. can’t give Big Ben time to throw. Getting pressure on the quarterback is always vital in football, especially in the postseason where one or two plays can decide the outcome of a game.
2. Troy Polamalu, Steelers
I realize this is an obvious one but I don’t care: Polamalu is the key to whether or not the Steelers will be playing in the Super Bowl in a couple of weeks. He’s vital to their defense because when he’s not on the field, it’s a completely different unit. When the Steelers and Ravens met in Pittsburgh late in the season, it was his forced fumble of Joe Flacco that set up Pittsburgh’s offense to score the eventual game-winning touchdown. He’s a playmaker in every sense of the word but he’s also been battling an Achilles/ankle injury so he’s not 100 percent. If he’s able to fly around the field and create havoc like he normally does, then Baltimore will have a tough time moving the ball this weekend.
3. James Starks (Packers)
The football world is now enamored with this young man – and for good reason. The past two games, Starks has given Green Bay something it’s been searching for all year: balance. The Packers have already proven that they can win when Aaron Rodgers has to throw the ball but it’s much tougher on a defense when they can’t sit back in coverage on most downs. In the first meeting between the Packers and Falcons, Atlanta didn’t have to respect the run. But after Starks rushed for 123 yards on 23 carries last weekend against the Eagles, the Falcons may not have the luxury of dropping extra defenders into coverage.
Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger talks to Baltimore Ravens’ quarterback Joe Flacco after the Steelers defeated the Ravens 13-10 at M & T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on December 5, 2010. UPI/Kevin Dietsch
Matchup: Ravens (13-4) @ Steelers (12-4)
Kickoff: 4:30PM ET, Saturday
1. Can Polamalu stay healthy?
When Troy Polamalu intercepted at least one pass during a game this year, the Steelers were 6-0. I could go on about how important he is to Pittsburgh’s defense but I don’t need to – everyone knows how vital he is to the Steelers’ success. He’s been battling an Achilles/ankle injury for the past month and he didn’t practice all last week. He’ll be held out of early practices this week too, as the Steelers want to limit the risk of further injury. He’s not going to miss a playoff game, but can he make it all four quarters of what should be the most physical battle of the year?
2. Can the Steelers’ O-Line hold up?
Just because Pittsburgh scored 68 points in its final two games doesn’t mean that its concerns along the offensive line have disappeared. (Plus, those 68 points were collectively scored on Carolina and Cleveland.) Baltimore has a superior defensive line, led by tackle Haloti Ngata and while Ben Roethlisberger usually does a great job of holding up against pressure, no quarterback wants to throw with defenders in his face. The Steelers’ O-line will be tested this Saturday.
3. Can the Ravens slow Mike Wallace?
The Ravens have allowed an average of 10.2 yards per competition through the air this season, which ranks them eighth in the league. They generally don’t give up big plays but if there were ever a homerun threat they needed to be weary of this weekend, it’s Mike Wallace. The second-year pro is averaging 21.0 yards per catch this season, so he’s doing most of his damage downfield. In the season finale against Cleveland, Wallace only caught three passes but they went for 105 yards and one touchdown (off a 56-yard bomb from Big Ben). The Ravens held Kansas City wideout Dwayne Bowe to zero catches last weekend, but can they have similar success against Wallace?
4. Can the Steelers protect the ball?
Pittsburgh hasn’t turned the ball over much this season. In fact, the Steelers are second to only the Patriots in turnovers per game at +1.1. But the Ravens defense is playing at a Super Bowl level right now and in the past two games, they’ve forced 10 turnovers (five fumbles and five interceptions) and have held their opponents to 14 total points. It goes without saying that teams usually don’t win when they lose the turnover battle, but it may be especially true this Saturday in Pittsburgh. The Steelers can’t give Baltimore extra opportunities.
5. Can the Ravens avoid a collapse?
In back to back games in early December, the Ravens had dominated this same Steelers team for three quarters before Pittsburgh mounted a comeback in the fourth. A week later in Houston, the Ravens needed a Josh Wilson pick-six in overtime to beat the Texans after they coughed up a three-touchdown lead early in the third quarter. The Ravens also blew a lead in Atlanta when they were up with 22 seconds remaining and gave up a late Roddy White touchdown to lose. Baltimore is one of the hottest teams in the league and a legit Super Bowl contender but neither side of the ball can get complacent this Saturday. Given what’s at stake and whom they’re playing, chances are they won’t but they can’t forget what happened last time these two teams met.
With the way Mark Sanchez has played over the past two weeks, the Steelers could probably hold the Jets to under 10 points with only eight on defense. But they don’t want to make it a habit of not having safety Troy Polamalu around.
Polamalu has dealt with a lower-leg injury for several weeks and will not play on Sunday against the Jets. With him in the lineup, the Steelers are allowing an average of just nine points per game over the last four weeks and he leads the team with six interceptions. There may not be a defender in the league playing better than Polamalu is right now.
That’s why the trop from him to either Will Allen or Ryan Mundy is significant. Again, with the way Sanchez’s confidence has deteriorated over the past couple of weeks, the Steelers can win without Polamalu on Sunday. But when he was out of the lineup for most of last year, the Steelers failed to make the playoffs at 9-7 and also suffered a five-game losing streak during the season (something that most likely wouldn’t have happened had they had their defensive unit intact).
It’ll be interesting to see if the Steelers rush Polamalu back for next Thursday’s game against the Panthers. They may hold him out until Week 17 against the Browns, or may even rest him until the playoffs. Either way, they’ll need him back for the postseason or else we could be looking at an entirely different Pittsburgh defense for the playoffs.
Every week we have different candidates here, because the 2010 NFL season has been wacky. And that’s okay, as it makes ranking MVP, Coach of the Year and Rookie of the Year candidates more fun. Anyway, here we go….
MVP Power Rankings
1. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—Okay, so Philip Rivers and Kyle Orton have more yards per game, but they play for 2-4 teams. Manning’s Colts are 4-2, and check out these numbers through six games—1916 yards, 67.3 completion percentage, 319.3 yards per game, 13 touchdowns (leads NFL) and just 2 interceptions, for a QB rating of 103.4. As usual, Manning sort of defines what the term MVP is all about.
2. Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers—I heard someone on NFL Network the other day call Matthews the “best defensive player in the NFL.” Not bad for a linebacker in his second year, who was selected after 25 other players in the 2009 draft. Anyway, Matthews has 9 sacks to lead the NFL, and 21 tackles through five games…and the Packers sorely missed him last Sunday in a loss to Miami when Matthews sat out with a hamstring injury.
3. Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers—We’re leaving Antonio on here this week because he left the game against the Rams last Sunday with an ankle injury, leaving Philip Rivers without his favorite target. And then the Chargers lost the game. To the Rams. Gates only had 2 catches for 12 yards in that one, but on the season he still has 31 receptions for 490 yards and 7 TDs (which leads all tight ends and receivers).
Honorable mention: Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles (thanks to Kevin Kolb’s performance last Sunday, Vick got bumped off the list); LaDainian Tomlinson, New York Jets; Brandon Lloyd, Denver Broncos; Kyle Orton, Denver Broncos; Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers; Osi Umenyiora, New York Giants; Arian Foster, Houston Texans
Coach of the Year Power Rankings
1. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers—If you start the season without your star quarterback for four games, and have the likes of Charlie Batch, Dennis Dixon, and Byron Leftwich at the helm, coming out of that 2-2 would be a huge moral victory. Well, Tomlin came out of that stretch 3-1 and it could have been 4-0 if not for that last-gasp drive by Joe Flacco and the Ravens a few weeks ago. Of course, the D led by a healthy Troy Polamalu and hard-hitting-to-a-fault James Harrison, has helped, but let’s give Tomlin some huge and well-deserved props here.
2. Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams—Has anyone noticed that the Rams are 3-3, having already equaled their win total from 2008 and 2009 combined. And they’re giving up less than 19 points per game after allowing 27 per game last year—something that has much to do with the Rams’ defensive whiz of a coach.
3. Tom Coughlin, New York Giants—How do you go from the scorching hot hot seat to a coach of the year nomination? Ask Tom Coughlin, who the New York media had being replaced by Bill Cowher a few weeks ago when they lost badly to the Colts, and then beat themselves badly in a loss the Titans at home. The Giants rallied around Coughlin and squashed the previously unbeaten Bears, then crushed the upstart Texans in Houston 34-10, before not allowing the dreaded trap game against Detroit ruin his team’s winning streak. So from 1-2 to 4-2, and tied with the Eagles for the division lead. That’s why Tom Coughlin is on here.
Honorable mention: Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks; Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Bucs; Todd Haley, Kansas City Chiefs; Rex Ryan, New York Jets; Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles
Rookie of the Year Power Rankings
1. Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions—Suh leads all NFL defensive tackles with 5 sacks, and he also has 21 tackles through six games, plus an interception—a pretty rare feat for a DT. Is there any doubt that this young big man is the real deal?
2. Jahvid Best, Detroit Lions—Injury may have slowed Best down, but how about the fact that to go along with 249 rushing yards, Best has 31 catches for a league-high 285 receiving yards among running backs. That’s 534 all-purpose yards through six games.
3. Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams—He’s way down the list of quarterbacks stat-wise, but Bradford is averaging 226 yards per game and has 7 TD passes. We’ll let the 8 picks slide for now, because let’s face it—the kid is helping to lead the Rams to respectability.
I gave the Cowboys and Vikings a mulligan after their opening week performances, but I wouldn’t be able to look myself in the mirror if I ranked them in the top 10 again this week.
So I dropped them sons of bitches like a Ryan Grant fantasy owner.
1. Green Bay Packers Previous Week: 1
No letdown for the Pack last week at home against the Bills. Their defense held Buffalo scoreless in the second half and Aaron Rodgers rebounded from a shaky Week 1 performance to throw two touchdown passes. Although…Brandon Jackson only rushed for 2.6 yards per carry? Ayeeh.
2. Indianapolis Colts Previous Week: 2
I didn’t want to drop the Colts too far down after their loss to the Texans in Week 1 and I’m glad I didn’t. That was child’s play for Peyton and the defense on Sunday night against the Giants.
3. New Orleans Saints Previous Week: 4
The Saints’ offense seems to lack the explosiveness it had last season and now Reggie Bush is out for six weeks with a leg injury. Still, Drew Brees and company are 2-0 and did well not to dump that game last night in San Francisco.
4. Baltimore Ravens Previous Week: 3
It’s a little jarring that Joe Flacco looked so bad against a defense that Tom Brady absolutely shredded in Week 1, but give credit to Cincinnati’s defense for stepping up. Flacco and the Ravens will get back on track this weekend against the Browns.
5. Houston Texans Previous Week: 7
The Texans were about five minutes away from the media crucifying them for being their inconsistent selves. But what a performance by Matt Schaub, who put the game on his shoulders and willed Houston to a victory in Washington. If he plays even half as well as he did last weekend then the Texans are going to win a lot of ballgames.
The AFC North is chockfull of good storylines this year, from Big Ben’s suspension to two rising offensive stars in Baltimore to the new receiving duo of Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens in Cincinnati.
Oh, and Mike Holmgren is now in charge of a Browns team that is sure to be improved.
Here’s how I see things shaking out in the AFC North in 2010. Be sure to check out the link entitled “2010 Question Mark” under each team’s preview, which is a breakdown of one or two potential weaknesses that could derail that squad’s hopes this season.
1. Ravens
What to Like: Ray Rice is knocking on the door of superstardom and as long as Cam Cameron doesn’t get cute and start limiting his running back’s chances, then I think Rice could produce MVP-type numbers this year. He can do it all: run between the tackles, run outside, be a big-time factor in the passing game – everything. Staying on the offensive side of the ball, Joe Flacco is in store for big things heading into his third season. He made great strides in his development last year and the front office finally went out and got him a No. 1 target in Anquan Boldin. While Boldin can’t stretch the field like he did earlier in this career, he’s a consistent playmaker and will be a great weapon on third downs. On the other side, veteran Derrick Mason continues to be a consistent, steady presence for Flacco. Defensively, Ray Lewis once again anchors a defense that allowed only 300.5 yards per game last season. That was good for third in the NFL and if Terrell Suggs can get back to being the dominant player he was not too long ago, then the Ravens’ D shouldn’t take a step back. What Not to Like: Suggs has to step up or there will be serious concerns about the pass rush. Trevor Pryce was okay in that department last year, but not great. The team added Corey Redding in the offseason, but he has proven to be a pretty average player over the years. The bigger problem for this team is in the secondary, where Ed Reed isn’t healthy and the secondary was dealt a huge blow when Domonique Foxworth went down for the season with a knee injury in camp. Fabian Washington didn’t play particularly well last season and if the Ravens can’t drum up a pass rush, Chris Carr will likely struggle playing on an island. He’s more suited to play as a nickel, so there are serious concerns about the makeup of this defensive backfield heading into the season. Keep Your Eye On:Tom Zbikowski
If you notice, the only name I didn’t mention from the list of problems the Ravens will potentially have in their secondary is Tom Zbikowski. That’s because he’s the most underrated player on the Ravens’ defense and arguably the toughest outside of Lewis. With Reed out, the youngster from Notre Dame will be counted on once again this year to make a major contribution. The Final Word: The lack of a pass rush and the secondary outside of Zbikowski is worrisome, but this is practically the same team that went into Foxboro last year and gave the Patriots the beating of a lifetime on their home turf. Plus, the offense is improved with the acquisition of Boldin and I think Flacco is in store for a huge season. He’s starting to see the entire field and now has two full years of starting experience under his belt. He also has a running back in Rice that he can lean on in case he starts to struggle in the passing game. This is the team to beat in the North this year and I wouldn’t be completely shocked if the Ravens showed up in Dallas come February.
