Tag: 2011 NFL Playoffs (Page 8 of 13)

      Five Questions: Jets vs. Patriots

      January 14, 2011 /
      New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) calls a play in the huddle in the first quarter against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts on December 6, 2010. The Patriots defeated the Jets 45-3. UPI/Matthew Healey

      Matchup: Jets (11-5) @ Patriots (14-2)
      Kickoff: 4:30PM ET, Sunday

      1. Can the combination of Sanchez and Schottenheimer top Belichick?
      Earlier this week, Jets’ coach Rex Ryan essentially told the media that this game will come down to whether or not he can raise his level of coaching to match that of Bill Belichick. I understand what he was saying, but I disagree with him. This game won’t come down to Ryan – it’ll come down to whether or not Brian Schottenheimer can raise his game. While Ryan certainly has his hands full trying to figure out a way to slow the Patriots’ offense, Schottenheimer must design a game plan that will top Belichick’s defense. Outside of a couple of throws, Mark Sanchez did not play well last weekend in Indianapolis. It was the Jets’ running game and defense that propelled them to victory. So first off, can Sanchez play better? If he can, will his offensive coordinator put together an intelligent game plan so that he can exploit the very few weaknesses that the Patriots have?

      2. Will the Pats overlook the Jets?
      There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Patriots are the better football team in this matchup. They have a tremendous coaching staff, they’re always prepared and they have the best quarterback in the league in Tom Brady. But in Week 9, the Pats were beaten by the Browns because they started reading their own press clippings. They did it again in Week 15 after rattling off five in a row and were set to face an Aaron Rodgers-less Packers team at home. Matt Flynn nearly beat them that night, as New England’s defense looked flummoxed in a narrow 31-27 victory. With all the trash talk the Jets have been doing this week, it’s highly unlikely that the Patriots will overlook their most hated rivals. But they also beat this team 45-3 just over a month ago and it’s human nature to think that things will play out the same way. Belichick needs to remind his team that the Jets have already beaten them once this season and they’re not going to be caught unprepared like in the last meeting.

      3. Can the Jets get their running game going again?
      The Jets beat the Colts last week because they were able to run the football in the second half and leave Peyton Manning on the sidelines. They have to do that again if they’re going to pull off another upset. It’s a pipedream to think Sanchez will out-duel Brady, so the Jets need their defense and running game to be as good, if not better than they were against the Colts. A couple of costly turnovers by Sanchez hurt the Jets in their 45-3 loss to the Patriots in December. He must protect the football so the Jets don’t fall behind early and are forced to throw in order to get back into the game. New England has given up 108.0 yards per game this year and an average of 104.0 YPG over the past three weeks. LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene won’t be able to run all over the Pats this weekend, but they might be able to control the tempo again like last Saturday.

      4. How will Woody’s injury affect the Jets?
      Damien Woody was arguably the Jets’ best run-blocker, so losing him for the season could be catastrophic. New York needs to be able to run the ball on Sunday if it’s going to pull off an upset and without Woody that could be difficult. Plus, you have to figure that Belichick will figure out a way to exploit the injury and cause some havoc for Sanchez. There’s no other way to put it: Wayne Hunter (Woody’s replacement) must step up this weekend.

      5. Can the Pats stop Keller again?
      I the Jets’ 28-14 victory over the Patriots in Week 2, Dustin Keller caught seven passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns. In the teams’ second meeting, he caught just three passes for 27 yards and was only targeted four times. You can probably bet that Sanchez will look his tight end’s way more this weekend in effort to spread the ball around and keep New England’s defense guessing. Keller has long been a hidden weapon in the Jets’ passing game and he’s killed teams over the middle this season. New England can’t fall asleep on this guy because he can hurt defenses.

      External Sports, NFL

      Five Questions: Seahawks vs. Bears

      January 13, 2011 /
      Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler stands on the field before game against the Washington Redskins at Soldier Field in Chicago on October 24, 2010. UPI/Brian Kersey

      Matchup: Seahawks (8-9) @ Bears (11-5)
      Kickoff: 1:00PM ET, Sunday

      1. Will inconsistency doom the Seahawks again?
      There have been seven separate occasions this year when the Seahawks have played at home and then gone on the road the following week. In those seven games, they went 0-7 and lost by an average margin of 23.6 points. Last week the Hawks played at home and pulled off the upset of the year by knocking off the defending champs. But they won’t have home field advantage or the element of surprise this week when they travel to Solider Field. Can Seattle finally put together back-to-back solid performances and pull off another upset? Or will their issues with consistency burn them again?

      2. How will Cutler play in his first-ever postseason game?
      The Seahawks do have one distinct advantage over the Bears this weekend, which is that their quarterback has postseason experience and Chicago’s doesn’t. Matt Hasselbeck has played in a Super Bowl. Before this season, Jay Cutler never had a winning seasons at either the college or pro level. Will his lack of inexperience cost the Bears this Sunday or will he rise to the challenge like he did against the Eagles and Jets earlier this year? Seattle ranks 29th in total defense and 30th against the pass. This is a unit that Cutler has to torch. He can’t throw three interceptions and have Devin Hester and his defense bail him out. He’s had a great season but now is the time to elevate his game.

      3. Will the Seahawks kick to Hester?
      The answer to this question should be no, but sometimes special teams coaches and punters think that they’re smarter than everyone and kick to him anyway. If he gets an opportunity to return a punt, it’s not a question of “if” he’ll put the Bears in good field position but, “at what yard line are the Bears going to start in their opponent’s territory?” Brian Schneider has a tough job this week in trying to figure out a way to neutralize Hester the best he can. If it were me, I’d be telling punter Jon Ryan to get as much distance on the kick as possible but to make sure the ball eventually lands out of bounds. There’s no reason to give Hester a chance to return the ball, even for a team like Seattle, which has had good special teams play this season.

      4. Will Martz stay balanced?
      This is right around the time of year when Mike Martz wants to go back to proving to people how smart he is. But he must keep his offense balanced. Following back-to-back losses to the Seahawks and Redskins in Weeks 6-7, Lovie Smith tightened the reins on Martz during the Bears’ Week 8 bye. The team also shuffled its offensive line around to take advantage of his personnel’s strengths and hide their weaknesses. The result was a six-game winning streak for Chicago, which only ended when the Bears ran into the buzz saw that is the New England Patriots. Martz is a better playcaller when his offense remains balanced. Cutler is a better quarterback when Matt Forte runs the ball more than six times a game. Now isn’t the time for Martz to go off script: he needs to stick to the game plan and to continue feeding Forte in order to keep defense’s on their heels. There’s also no need to try to throw vertical every down when Cutler is more efficient throwing short-to-intermediate passes. Even though they’re playing a Seattle team that only won seven games this season, the Bears still need to be at their best, and that includes Martz.

      5. Can Seattle attack Chicago’s weakness?
      The Bears rank 10th in total defense, second in rushing defense and fourth in scoring. But if there’s one area where they can be attacked it’s in the secondary. The Bears have given up an average of 224.2 yards per game through the air this season, which ranks them 21st in the league in that category. That said, they’re actually pretty good defending the deep pass. They’ve only allowed nine pass plays of 30-plus yards this season, which leads the NFC. But Hasselbeck actually fared well against Chicago earlier this season while completing 4 of 7 passes for 85 yards with one touchdown and a 139.9 rating on throws traveling at least 15 yards. Hasselbeck understands the Tampa 2 defense that Chicago runs better than any quarterback in the league because he has loads of experience and has played against that scheme many times before. The Bears may humiliate inexperienced quarterbacks, but chances are Hasselbeck will hold his own this Sunday. But can his offensive line protect him from Chicago’s nasty front seven? And can he beat the Bears without the threat of a running game?

      External Sports, NFL

      Five Questions: Packers vs. Falcons

      January 12, 2011 /

      Matchup: Packers (11-6) @ Falcons (13-3)
      Kickoff: 8:00PM ET, Saturday

      1. Can the Falcons deal with the Packers’ newfound offensive balance?
      In the first game between these two teams, the Falcons did a nice job of forcing Aaron Rodgers to throw underneath. On the three plays that went for 30 yards or more, two of them happened because Atlanta defensive backs failed to wrap up Green Bay receivers. (The other play was a great flea-flicker play call by Mike McCarthy on a 3rd and 1.) But in that first meeting, the Falcons also didn’t have to game plan for running back James Starks, who shredded Philadelphia for 123 yards on 23 carries. Atlanta knew it didn’t have to worry about stopping the run and therefore could commit extra defenders into coverage. The Falcons won’t be able to do that again this time if Starks gets going, so they’ll have to deal with both him and Rodgers (one of the most effective quarterbacks in the league). The Packers definitely have the upper hand when it comes to showing the Falcons different looks because Starks didn’t play in the first game.

      2. Can the Packers slow the Falcons’ running game?
      Green Bay’s front seven needs to attack Atlanta’s running game like New Orleans did in Week 16. The Saints didn’t do anything special in that game to slow Michael Turner. They simply attacked the line of scrimmage and forcefully filled Turner’s running lanes. One thing the Falcons had success with in the first meeting with the Packers was running the ball downhill. They didn’t try to go north south with Green Bay; they attacked the outside linebacker position opposite Clay Matthews by moving their lineman downhill. Then fullback Ovie Mughelli did a great job of blocking the first defender in the hole and Turner was patient before heading up field. The Packers can’t allow the Falcons front five and Mughelli to dictate where they the play to go. They must attack and play on the other side of the line of scrimmage.

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      External Sports, NFL

      Five Questions Ravens vs. Steelers

      January 12, 2011 /
      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.

      External Sports, NFL

      2011 NFL Power Rankings: Divisional Round

      January 12, 2011 /
      Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 09 January 2011. The Packers won, 21-16. EPA/JUSTIN LANE fotoglif882812

      My biggest blunder from last week’s power rankings was that I had the Seahawks at No. 12 and the Saints at No. 5. And for obvious reasons, I don’t feel too badly about that misstep.

      Let’s get nasty for the Divisional Round…

      1. New England Patriots
      Wildcard Ranking: 1
      Rex Ryan is making this weekend’s game about him and Bill Belichick, which is understandable given that they’re the two head coaches. But while Ryan stands at the podium every day telling the media that the game will come down to which head coach gets the upper hand, Brian Schottenheimer is in the corner sweating bullets. That’s because this game won’t come down to Ryan v. Belichick. It’ll come down to Schottenheimer v. Belichick and you couldn’t dream up a bigger mismatch.

      2. Atlanta Falcons
      Wildcard Ranking: 2
      While doing my daily web suffering this week, I get the sense that the Falcons are the true underdogs this Saturday against the Packers. Even though Atlanta is a 2-point favorite, the majority of fans believe that if the Packers play their game, they won’t be beaten. But everyone needs to keep in mind how difficult it is to play on the road – especially in consecutive weeks. The Falcons are also well rested and they don’t make many mistakes to cost themselves opportunities. Thus, regardless of if the Packers have the better overall stats or people believe that they’re the better team, they still have to play a near-perfect game this weekend in order to leave Atlanta with a victory.

      3. Pittsburgh Steelers
      Wildcard Ranking: 3
      The Steelers better hope that Troy Polamalu is healthy enough to make it through the entire game this Saturday because that’s a completely different defense with him standing on the sidelines. It’ll also be interesting to see if Baltimore’s defense can shut down Mike Wallace like it did Dwayne Bowe last Sunday in Kansas City. Because you get the feeling that Wallace is rising to that elite receiver status.

      4. Baltimore Ravens
      Wildcard Ranking: 4
      Pass protection is the key for the Ravens this weekend. If they can keep Joe Flacco upright, the Steelers can be had through the air. Pittsburgh’s cornerbacks don’t match up real well with the Ravens’ receivers, but Baltimore’s O-line must hold up under the pressure that they’ll face from the Steelers’ front seven. The Chiefs were able to get to Flacco a couple of times last week and they managed to strip him once. The Ravens won’t make it out of Pittsburgh this weekend if Flacco is constantly under pressure again.

      5. Green Bay Packers
      Wildcard Ranking: 6
      Thanks to James Starks, the Packers have finally found a running game, which isn’t good news for the Falcons. When these two teams met earlier this season, Green Bay predominately threw the ball because it didn’t have much of a choice. But if they can stay balanced like they did last week in Philadelphia, then Atlanta won’t be able to sit back in coverage like it did last time and force Aaron Rodgers to throw underneath. Starks has added another dimension to this already potent offense.

      6. Chicago Bears
      Wildcard Ranking: 7
      Boy did the Bears luck out or what? At the start of last weekend, it looked like they would either face the Eagles or Saints in the Divisional Round and then – surprise! – Seattle knocks off New Orleans and Green Bay knocks off Philadelphia. Now the Bears will host the Seahawks while the Falcons have to deal with the Packers. Of course, Seattle has already beaten the Bears in Chicago this year, so nothing is guaranteed. And if Seattle plays as hard as it did last weekend, then anything can happen. That said, unless the Seahawks can move Qwest Field to Solider Field this Sunday, I doubt they have two upsets in them this postseason.

      7. New York Jets
      Wildcard Ranking: 9
      The Jets may be winning the war of words but it’s not like the Patriots are interested in that game. The one they’re focusing on is this Sunday in Foxboro and the last time the Jets paid a visit, things went very well for the home team. The Jets must run the football like they did in the second half against the Colts last Saturday. Without that type of running game, they stand no chance this weekend because Mark Sanchez isn’t going to get the best of Bill Belichick.

      8. Seattle Seahawks
      Wildcard Ranking: 12
      The Seahawks proved last week what they could do when nobody believes in them and they seemingly have no shot at winning. But now they have to go on the road and face a Bears team that is well rested after taking last week off. Six times this year, the Hawks played at home and then had to travel the next week. And in those six road games, they lost by an average margin of 23.3 points. Inconsistency is the one thing this team must overcome if it wants to advance to the NFC title game.

      External Sports, NFL

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