Tag: 2011 NFL Playoffs (Page 10 of 13)

      Do the Packers have the killer instinct to go all the way?

      January 11, 2011 /
      Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy walks the sideline in the second quarter against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts on December 19, 2010. The Patriots defeated the Packers 31-27. UPI/Matthew Healey

      Honestly, this has been bothering me since Mike McCarthy took over as head coach of my beloved Packers, so the title of this post could easily read “Does Mike McCarthy have the killer instinct to go all the way?”

      My historical evidence is purely anecdotal, but during the Holmgren/Favre Super Bowl years, it seemed like the Packers didn’t change their offensive strategy until they got up by three scores. Only then would they get a little more conservative and start working the clock with the running game. Several times over the past three seasons the Packers have had semi-control of a game only to let things slip away by playing too conservatively with a substantial amount of time remaining.

      Case in point, towards the end of the second quarter of Sunday’s win over Philadelphia, leading 14-0, Green Bay just stopped the Eagles on a third-and-7. There was almost two minutes on the clock when Jason Avant was tackled on the Packers’ 11-yard line. With two timeouts remaining, McCarthy sat on his hands as the Eagles ran the clock down to 1:15 and kicked a field goal to cut the lead to 14-3.

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      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL

      Report: Haley stripped Weis of play-calling duties during second half

      January 10, 2011 /
      Kansas City Chiefs head coach Todd Haley watches during the third quarter against the Denver Broncos at Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver on November 14, 2010. Denver beat the AFC West division leader Kansas City 49-29. UPI/Gary C. Caskey

      Apparently the Chiefs’ inability to move the ball offensively against Baltimore on Sunday was not coordinator Charlie Weis’ fault, but head coach Todd Haley’s.

      According to Bob Fescoe of 610 Sports in Kansas City, Haley stripped Weis of his play-calling duties during the second half of the Chiefs’ 30-7 loss to the Ravens on Sunday.

      From the Sporting News:

      Jason Whitlock, of Fox Sports, tweeted during the game that the Chiefs’ offensive miscues were a direct reflection of Haley’s play-calling.

      For much of the latter half of the season, rumors persisted that Haley and Weis were having issues working together, and then the announcement came that Weis was leaving Kansas City following the end of the NFL regular season to become new Florida coach Will Muschamp’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

      If the report is true, then Haley has some explaining to do. Jamaal Charles, the Chiefs’ most explosive offensive playmaker, received just three touches in the second half. As John Paulsen put it to me over Skype, “that’s inexcusable.”

      For the game, Baltimore held Kansas City to just eight first downs and 53 yards passing. The Ravens are good, but they’re not that good. If there were an abrupt change in playcallers, then it would make sense that the Chiefs struggled mightily to move the ball during the second half.

      In some respects, I don’t blame Haley for doing what he did. Hey, Weis isn’t going to be around next year and the offense had been a sinking ship ever since he announced that he was heading to Florida, so why wouldn’t Haley try to correct the problem before it was too late? After all, it is his team and he would ultimately be the one who had to answer to why the Chiefs once again lost another playoff game.

      That said, it’s not fair to Matt Cassel and the rest of the players for Haley to make a move like that. The offense had worked under Weis all season and seeing as how the score was only 10-7 at halftime, it’s not like the Chiefs were out of the game. It makes you wonder if that was Haley’s plan from the start and as soon as the offense started sputtering, he was going to remove Weis as the playcaller.

      We’ll see what Haley says in his final press conference later this week.

      External Sports, NFL

      Reggie Wayne vents about only being targeted once during Jets game

      January 10, 2011 /
      Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne (87) dives for a 17-yard gain against the Dallas Cowboys during the fourth quarter in the Cowboys 38-35 overtime win at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis on December 5, 2010. UPI /Mark Cowan

      After hauling in a whopping one catch for one yard in the Colts’ 17-16 loss to the Jets on Saturday night, receiver Reggie Wayne vented to the Indianapolis Star about his role in the game.

      “It’s bull. It’s bull, man,” the five-time Pro Bowl receiver said after being a non-factor in the Indianapolis Colts’ 17-16 loss to the New York Jets in Saturday night’s AFC wild-card playoff game at Lucas Oil Stadium.

      “I give everything I’ve got no matter what. Every day, I give it everything. And . . . one ball, that’s all.”

      “I shouldn’t have even suited up,” Wayne said. “I should have watched the game like everybody else. I was irrelevant.”

      Like all great competitors, Wayne should be frustrated about only being targeted once in the biggest game of the year. Give credit to Darrelle Revis for shutting him down, but one would think Peyton Manning would have looked his way more than once.

      Of course, it was a combination of factors that kept Wayne in check. The biggest reason was Revis’ performance. But Manning should have given his top target more looks in the passing game and Wayne himself could have outperformed Revis to garner more looks from his QB. I’m not saying he doesn’t work hard because he does. But there had to be a reason why Manning only targeted him once.

      Chances are, Wayne’s comments will be water under the bridge by the time the Colts take the field again. But what’s interesting is that Wayne made a play for a contract extension last season, even though he’s signed through 2012. Will his frustrations boil over into the offseason?

      External Sports, NFL

      History isn’t on the Jets’ side as they get ready for Pats

      January 10, 2011 /
      New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan, right, is congratulated by a member of the Jets staff after their 17-16 win over the Indianapolis Colts in their AFC Wild-Card Playoff game at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis on January 8, 2011. UPI /Mark Cowan

      Michael David Smith of the Wall Street Journal discovered an interesting stat that pertains to the Jets-Patriots Divisional Round game this Sunday.

      Earlier this season, the Patriots crushed the Jets 45-3 in a Monday night laugher. So Smith looked back at how many times a team was beaten by an opponent by at least 35 points in the regular season and how they fared when the two teams met again in the playoffs. The results aren’t pretty for the Jets.

      In 1969, the Vikings beat the Browns 51-3 in the regular season and then 27-7 in the playoffs. In 1980, the Eagles rocked the Vikings 42-7 in the regular season and then beat them again 31-16 in the postseason. In 1991, the Redskins shredded the Lions 45-0 and then crushed them 41-10 in the only NFC Championship Game Detroit has ever played in. In 1991, those same Redskins also blasted the Falcons 56-17 in the regular season and 24-7 in the playoffs.

      Last season, the Jets beat the Bengals 37-0 in the regular season finale (albeit mostly because Cincinnati rested its starters in the second half and ran the most vanilla offense you’ll ever see from a team). When the two squads met again in the postseason, the Jets soundly beat the Bengals 24-14 in the Natti.

      Obviously this doesn’t mean the Jets don’t stand a chance this weekend in Foxboro. After all, they did beat the Patriots in Week 2 this season (although that was in New York).

      But considering people already had their doubts about whether or not the Jets could survive this Sunday in New England, the fact that history isn’t on their side doesn’t bode well for Rex Ryan’s boys.

      External Sports, NFL

      Balanced Packers edge out Vick, Eagles to advance to Divisional Round

      January 9, 2011 /
      Green Bay Packers running back James Starks (C) runs the ball against Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jamar Chaney (L) in the third quarter during their NFC Wild Card NFL playoff football game in Philadelphia, January 9, 2011. REUTERS/Gary Hershorn (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL IMAGES OF THE DAY)

      Here are six quick-hit thoughts on the Packers’ 21-16 victory over the Eagles in Sunday night’s Wildcard matchup.

      1. Thanks to Starks, the Packers finally find offensive balance.
      The role that James Starks played in this game cannot be overstated. All season, pundits have criticized the Packers’ inability to run the football and have questioned whether or not they could protect leads in the fourth quarter. But Mike McCarthy made Starks a focal point in his game plan (either that or he just rode the hot hand after Starks busted off a 27-yard run on his first carry…either way, nice work, Mike) and the rookie responded by rushing for 123 yards on 23 carries. From a yardage standpoint, Philadelphia held Aaron Rodgers (18-of-27, 180 yards, 3 TDs) in check. But because the Packers were able to stay balanced, when Rodgers did throw the ball he found open receivers (especially in the red zone). If Starks runs this way next Saturday night in Atlanta, the Pack could be headed for the NFC Championship Game against the Bears. (Oh whatever – I’m just saying what everyone is already thinking…the Seahawks don’t have two miracles in them.)

      2. Rodgers silences critics (however few remain).
      I was shocked with how much attention was paid to Rodgers’ 0-1 record in the postseason. He’s played at a MVP-like level all season and leads one of the most explosive passing games in the league. No, he didn’t have a playoff win coming into this weekend but he does now. He didn’t throw for a ton of yards but he was incredibly efficient. He engineered three big scoring drives in this game and had James Jones not dropped a deep ball right before halftime, Rodgers’ numbers would have been even better than they were. Because of him, the Packers are legit Super Bowl contenders.

      3. Vick comes up short again.
      Right before the Eagles’ offense took over down by five with less than two minutes to play, I texted a friend that if the drive didn’t end in a Michael Vick turnover I’d be shocked. After Vick led the Eagles down to Green Bay’s 38-yard-line, he took an unnecessary shot to the end zone and was intercepted by all-world corner Tramon Williams (what a season this guy is having). As a Falcons backer, I immediately felt the Eagles fans’ pain. I had seen similar outcomes like that before. Vick makes some incredible plays at times but he’s always been careless with the football. He’s always been a quarterback that with the game on the line, you don’t know if he’s going to do the unthinkable or make a boneheaded decision that will leave a bad taste in your mouth for three days following the game. That one throw doesn’t take away the great season he had and he kept the Eagles in this game throughout. (He also played that final drive on a bad ankle and came back strong after suffering a quad injury against the Vikings last week.) But if he wants to be elite and a Super Bowl-winning quarterback, he can’t continuously come up short in the clutch.

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      External Sports, NFL

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