Tag: 2011 NFL Playoffs (Page 7 of 13)

      Wes Welker stirs up war of words between Jets

      January 15, 2011 /

      Bill Belichick had asked his players not to respond to the verbal jabs that Jets head coach Rex Ryan and his players were taking at the Patriots. But apparently Wes Welker couldn’t help himself.

      Welker was obviously poking fun at the Rex Ryan foot-fetish story with his barrage of foot references in the above press conference. I thought it was rather humorous, although you knew the Jets weren’t going to stand idle and not respond.

      Ryan’s response (from the New York Daily News):

      “With Wes Welker, well, I think this is a huge rivalry type game and anything goes. I can take it,” Ryan said Friday. “I’m not going to discuss it, but I can take it.”

      Bart Scott’s response (from FOX Boston):

      “Be very careful what you say about our coach. His days in a uniform will be numbered. Put it like that.” Scott’s ties to Rex Ryan go beyond New York. The two were part of the Baltimore Ravens organization previously.

      Nick Mangold’s response (also from FOX Boston):

      Offensive lineman Nick Mangold took a different approach to responding to Welker’s press conference, trying to fight humor with humor. Mangold Tweeted , “Wes Welker is a great player. He’s really taken advantage of watching film. If we don’t keep a Spy on him, he could really open the Gate.”

      This is exactly why Belichick didn’t want any of his players to respond to the Jets’ antics.

      External Sports, NFL

      Barstool Debate: Who is going to win — the Packers or the Falcons?

      January 14, 2011 /
      Atlanta Falcons Matt Ryan dumps a short pass off to running back Jason Snelling in the second quarter against the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday December 19, 2010 at Qwest Field in Seattle. Ryan completed 20 of 35 passes for 174 yards and three touchdowns and one pass intercepted. The Falcons are going back to the playoffs after beating the Seahawks 34-18. (UPI /Jim Bryant)

      Saturday marks a special day in my relationship with my co-worker Anthony Stalter. No, it’s not our anniversary or anything – my favorite team is the Green Bay Packers and he’s an Atlanta Falcons fan, so the fact that the two teams are squaring off in the playoffs is a pretty big deal in our world. In fact, since he lives in St. Louis and I live in Southern California, we’ve both agreed to purchase a 12-pack of Bud Select 55 (not a plug, but it could be!) and pretend that we’re splitting a case while watching the game together.

      As I just tweeted, everything that happens today is just a preamble to Saturday’s game, so let’s talk a little trash as we try to run the clock out on the work week.

      JP: First of all, let’s see who’s the bigger fan. I was born outside of Milwaukee and grew up loving the Packers, even when players like Lynn Dickey, Eddie Lee Ivory and Paul Ott Carruth were the big names (and an 8-8 record was a successful season). Then came Brett Favre (ironically via a trade with the Falcons) who was my favorite player for 16 freaking years before he retired his way to our arch-rival. Blood had been spilled. My autographed photo of Favre is sitting, face-down, in the garage, waiting for his inevitable “mea culpa” visit to Lambeau in a couple of years. What’s my point? I’m a fan of the Packers, not of any one player. Now, tell us how you became a fan of the Falcons…

      AS: I grew up in Chicago so many people assume that I’m a Bears fan (why they would think that, I have no idea). But my folks are from New York so they had no loyalty to the home team. To my family’s disappointment, I didn’t become a Jets fan. When I was real young, I liked certain players instead of teams. But when I was 9, the first playoff game I remember watching from start to finish was the 1991 Wildcard matchup between the Saints and Falcons. When you’re a kid, you usually don’t focus on defensive players, but I was enamored with Deion Sanders. He was the most athletic player I had ever watched. Chris Miller also hit Michael Haynes on a 61-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter, so that particular game was thrilling. I’ve been hooked on the Falcons ever since, even though it hasn’t been easy being a fan of theirs over the years. Up until last year, they never had back-to-back winning seasons so I’ve endured a lot of losing. From Jeff George to Jamal Anderson to Michael Vick (ugh, talk about highs and lows), they’ve put me through a lot. But just like you when it comes to the Packers JP, the Falcons will forever be my team. Since I have never lived in Atlanta, DirecTV’s “Sunday Ticket” is the world’s greatest invention. I never miss a snap of the Falcons’ games, even when I have to watch them again later so I can fulfill my responsibilities to TSR.

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      External Sports, Fantasy Football, Humor, NFL

      Reggie Jackson wants the Jets to “shut up, play football”

      January 14, 2011 /
      New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan, Mark Brunell and Mark Sanchez (R) smile on the sidelines in the fourth quarter against the Buffalo Bills in week 17 of the NFL season at New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on January 2, 2011. The Jets defeated the Bills 38-7 and advance to the playoffs. UPI /John Angelillo

      Former Yankee great Reggie Jackson doesn’t want to hear any more squawking from Jets players this week. He just wants them to shut up and play some damn football already.

      From NESN.com:

      “Shut up, play football,” Jackson said on The Michael Kay Show on ESPN Radio. “What are you talking about Bill Belichick and these people for? Spend your time looking at film, spend your time knocking down a pass. What are you doing? You’re not affecting [Tom] Brady. You’re wasting time.”

      Jackson, who said he’s hoping the Jets win, said he also wasn’t a fan of Rex Ryan’s jab at Brady, specifically the coach’s joke that Brady should have been watching football rather than a Broadway show last Saturday.

      “This guy is an automatic Hall of Famer,” Jackson said of Brady. “Making fun of him is like making fun of Mariano Rivera. What are you doing? What are you doing?”

      Jackson’s parting words for Cromartie were rather emotional.

      “Go look at the hardware, dude,” Jackson said. “Walk through the lobby [in New England] and look at the stuff that’s there. You don’t have that — you don’t have anything close to that. You might want to shut up, you might learn something. Read, you might figure something out. Watch film, you might get educated. If not, you have a chance to get embarrassed on Sunday.”

      I don’t disagree with anything Mr. October had to say, but I also think all of this is being a tad overblown.

      Look, this is what the Jets do under Ryan. They psyche themselves up before a big game by talking trash and making it an “us vs. the world” thing. Ryan does this because his players usually respond by playing hard for him on Sundays, so it’s worth it to him to stir the pot from time to time.

      Let’s not forget that Tom Brady was the first person this year to say that he hates the Jets. Granted, he didn’t follow that up by calling Antonio Cromartie an a-hole, but Brady is on record as saying that he hates them, too. Big whoop.

      As far as Cromartie is concerned, he has a track record for losing focus during games so if talking trash gets him angry and propels him to play at the top of his game, then that’s good for New York. Besides, what’s the worse that could happen for the Jets? They lose 46-3 this time? Who cares.

      That said, as Reggie Jackson alluded to in his comments: Let’s play some damn football already.

      External Sports, NFL

      2011 NFL Divisional Round Playoff Predictions

      January 14, 2011 /
      e second half of their NFL Wildcard game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, 09 January 2011. EPA/LARRY W. SMITH fotoglif882326

      I started off the NFL playoffs by hitting 3 of 4 last week in the Wildcard Round. I nailed the Seahawks, Jets and Packers, but I talked myself out of the Ravens earlier in the week. If the regular season is any indication, then I have a 1-3 weekend coming up…

      The sides this weekend are way too hard to predict. I honestly would be guessing at whom to take with the spread, which is why I focused on the totals in the Divisional Round. But for those that are interested, I did offer a glimpse as to which team I would lean towards.

      Enjoy and as always, Merry NFL Playoffs.

      Ravens @ Steelers, 4:30PM ET, Saturday
      Trying to decide between these two teams is like asking a parent to pick which identical twin he or she wants to keep and which one it wants to give away. (Kind of morbid I know, but it’s all I could think of on a Friday afternoon when my mind is on this weekend’s games. So back off.) Earlier this week, I loved the under in this matchup because you have to figure that the defenses and kickers will be busy. But then I saw a couple of trends that made my jaw drop. The over is 9-1 in the Steelers’ last 10 home playoff games and 5-1-1 in the last seven meetings between these two teams in Pittsburgh. The total has also gone over in 18 of Pittsburgh’s last 21 games in January. This matchup has 13-10 written all over it but with those stats, how could you not take a chance on the over with it sitting at 37? If I had to choose a side, I would go with the Ravens +3.5. But that’s only because I think this is will be a field goal game either way and therefore the hook would come in handy.
      THE PICK: OVER 37

      Packers @ Falcons, 8:00PM ET, Saturday
      This is the best matchup of the weekend in my opinion because it might as well be a conference championship game. That’s how good both of these teams are and the only reason the Packers are a No. 6 seed is because they had to overcome injures all season. While everyone focuses on Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan, I think the key to this game will be the two defenses. The Packers haven’t given up more than 17 points in three weeks and the Falcons haven’t given up more than 18 points in four weeks. Both defenses are playing at a high level right now and given what’s at stake, I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a relatively low-scoring game. The Falcons have to get Michael Turner going in order to slow the tempo of the game down and keep Rodgers on the sidelines. They can’t get into a shootout and considering neither of these teams turns the ball over much, I like the under.
      THE PICK: UNDER 44

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      External Sports, NFL

      Eight key players to watch in the NFL Divisional Round

      January 14, 2011 /

      This series is brought to you by T.G.I Fridays®, encouraging you to Rush in and Tackle their new Game Time Menu!

      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.

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      External Sports, NFL

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