Tag: Philadelphia Eagles (Page 11 of 61)

      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

      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

      NFL Week 17 COY power rankings

      January 8, 2011 /

      It’s best to do this now, because surely our opinions will be skewed watching the playoffs.

      1. Bill Belichick, New England Patriots—The Pats just kept getting better as the season wore on, save for that hiccup against Cleveland. This is actually one of Bill’s best coaching jobs.

      2. Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay Bucs—From 3-13 to 10-6. But what might be most impressive is that Morris told everyone this team would win 10 games when he may have been the only one who believed it.

      3. Todd Haley, Kansas City Chiefs—The AFC West winner has a home game Sunday. Did anyone pick KC to finish above third?

      4. Lovie Smith, Chicago Bears—Kudos to Lovie for sending his A-team out there last Sunday, and either way it’s surely been quite a year for his Bears, especially with that defense.

      5. Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles—He hasn’t hung around the city of Philadelphia for 11 years for no reason. The man just knows how to win with the talent he’s given.

      6. Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams—So close to grabbing that last playoff spot, but regardless, this is a team that will be reckoned with, maybe as soon as next year.

      7. Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons—The 13-3 Falcons are sharp heading into the big dance.

      8. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers/John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens—Without Big Ben for four games, and still grabbed the 2-seed in the tough AFC. The Ravens, meanwhile, snuck up on everyone by winning 12 games too.

      9. Mike McCarthy, Green Bay Packers—His team was in every single game and could just as easily be 16-0 than 10-6. Keep an eye on these guys, they could win it all as a 6-seed.

      10. Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints—You just can’t forget about the defending champs and that win in Atlanta a few weeks ago proved it.

      External Sports, NFL

      NFL Week 17 MVP power rankings

      January 8, 2011 /

      Well, I’m pretty sure the announcement for NFL MVP comes down this weekend, so let me begin by saying that I was not influenced by anything that I read when making these picks…..

      1. Tom Brady, New England Patriots—Brady, who is going to run away with this award, played about half a game last Sunday, and still threw for 199 yards with 2 TDs and 0 picks. He hasn’t thrown an interception since like early October.

      2. Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles—Vick did Brady a favor by not being in the lineup against Dallas in Week 17, but he and his coach know what’s more important, and that is for him and some nagging injuries, resting up for the Packers.

      3. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints—He wound up third in yards (4620) and tied for second in TDs (33) but uncharacteristically threw for 22 interceptions.

      4. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—4700 yards, 33 TDs, 17 picks. But most impressive is the way Peyton led his team to the postseason when things looked bleak.

      5. Matt Cassel/Jamaal Charles/Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City Chiefs—Cassel had a dreadful game in Week 17, but we stand by the fact that this was a trio that helped a young KC team win their division and a 4-seed.

      6. Arian Foster, Houston Texans—Not only did he lead the league in rushing (1616 yards), but Foster added a whopping 66 receptions for 604 more yards—giving him 2220 yards from scrimmage and 18 TDs.

      7. Matt Ryan/Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons—Well, at 13-3, someone had to be good for them to get there, especially with all of those come from behind wins.

      8. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers—Finished with 3922/28/11 in 15 games, but what counts is leading his team to the postseason berth they deserve.

      9. Clay Matthews, Green Bay Packers—If they could do last year’s draft over again, do you think Matthews would still be picked at #26?

      10. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers—You know, he led the NFL in passing yards (4710) and had 30 TDs with 13 interceptions. He didn’t have Antonio Gates for a while, and he had Vincent Jackson for maybe two games. That’s why we can’t discount Rivers’ numbers.

      11. Josh Freeman, Tampa Bay Bucs—We had to add one more. This kid is going to be a star. Oh wait, he already is. Freeman started every game and wound up with 3451 passing yards with 25 touchdown passes and just 6 interceptions. By comparison, Eli Manning had more than FOUR times as many picks.

      External Sports, NFL

      Five reasons to tune into NFL Wildcard Weekend

      January 7, 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 NFL Playoffs – we know you don’t need us to tell you to watch. But here are five storylines that will definitely peak your interest as you tune into Wildcard Weekend in the NFL.

      1. Can the Seahawks do the unthinkable?
      Everyone believes it’s a foregone conclusion that the Saints will beat the Seahawks by about six touchdowns. But if the NFL has taught us anything over the years it’s to expect the unexpected. It’s safe to say that the Saints aren’t the same team they were a year ago when they hoisted the Lombardi Trophy. They still have Drew Brees to lead Sean Payton’s explosive passing attack and Gregg Williams’ defense can still bring the heat. But Brees has thrown 22 interceptions this year, Payton lost his inside runner in Pierre Thomas (who was placed on IR earlier this week) and Williams’ defense has been less opportunistic than it was a year ago. (They led the NFC in interceptions last year with 26, but picked off a league-low nine passes this season.) The Seahawks are easily the most overmatched team in the playoffs and the only reason why they’re playing this weekend is because they were fortunate enough to play in the NFC West. That said, you know Pete Carroll will rally the troops this Saturday and give the Saints all he’s got. It still may wind up in a six-touchdown defeat, but on any given Sunday (uh, or Saturday)…

      2. Can Rex Ryan get the Peyton Manning monkey off his back?
      In six games against Ryan-led defenses, Manning is 5-1 with 1,513 yards, 12 touchdown passes and only two interceptions. And the lone loss came in Week 16 last year when the Colts had already locked home field advantage and Curtis Painter played the majority of the second half as Peyton looked on from the sidelines. Ryan hasn’t had an answer for Manning yet and once again he must try to defeat Peyton in his house. Everyone was concerned with Mark Sanchez when these two teams met in the AFC Championship last year, but it was Ryan’s defense that failed as Manning shredded the Jets for 377 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. Whatever Ryan has thrown at an opponent’s offense, Manning has diagnosed it and has figured out a way to beat it. Peyton is a film junkie and will never be caught unprepared. Thus, Ryan better come up with a new wrinkle or two if he wants to put an end to Manning’s hold over him.

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      External Sports, NFL

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