Wild Card Recap

To keep things a bit current and exciting, I'm going to delve into the world of NFL recaps. This would be my first attempt at football analysis, and I hope I don't butcher it too much to keep these blogs going at least through the Super Bowl.

The 2009-10 NFL season is winding down and we've just finished the first round of the playoffs. Two more rounds of playoff games and then the Super Bowl in February. I'll try to keep these short so I don't bore you with all the little details. And by no means am I an expert, just merely a passionate observer/part time player of the greatest sport in the history of the world.

Saturday
AFC - New York Jets at Cincinnati Bengals - 24-14 Jets.
NFC - Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys - 34-14 Cowboys.

Let's start off with a little context. Both of these games were rematch games from the final week of the season (literally one week before), which is a rarity. Only the Jets needed to win to get into the playoffs. Cincinnati had less to play for among the other three teams; Dallas and Philadelphia played for the title of NFC East division winner and had already locked up playoff spots. I will admit I did not watch both games in their entirety, there was just not enough interest. As I think about it more, I'm going to call them the "Remixes of the Week". The games kinda sorta played the same way from the week before, a couple adjustments here and there, but in the end, the winners from Week 17 won, the losers lost....just not as badly. New York and Dallas won by a combined score of 61-0 against the other two in Week 17. You would think that to lose that badly regardless of your playoff position, you would have learned your lesson. Clearly not.

Cincinnati played nearly identical to New York but had a couple more turnovers that attributed to their loss. Couple that with missing two field goals and leaving points on the field, Cincinnati has to look pretty much at themselves and say they gave it away. To give the Jets credit, they got hot at the right time. And their rookie QB in Mark Sanchez, played mistake-free and allowed their running game to control the clock and tempo of the game.

Dallas and Philadelphia are two teams that I really don't give a damn about since I'm a Redskins fan. BUT, I do enjoy their styles of play and love watching NFC East games regardless. Their game pitted some interesting storylines. Can Dallas win a playoff game? Will McNabb rise up in the postseason and lead the Eagles to another NFC championship? Well, one answer was quite evident. The Cowboys clearly outplayed the Eagles and maintained control from the onset. Watching the game was not as fun from a unbiased fan. The Eagles could not establish a running game and turned the ball over way too much. When you were on the field on offense for only a third of the time, you're going to lose the game. How 'bout dem Cowboys?!?! Haha.

Sunday
AFC - Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots - 33-14 Ravens
NFC - Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals - 51-45 Cardinals in Overtime

Now, here were two games that were exciting in their own right, but personally I found a lot more enjoyment in these two games over the first two. Not to sound too much like an ass or as a hater, but Tom Brady needs to be taken down a couple notches. The whole Patriots organization can go jump off a cliff. (Gosh, Thomas. Tell them how you really feel...) Baltimore, give them their due, played near perfect football from the start. First play from scrimmage, Ray Rice runs 83 yards for a TD. Madden himself couldn't have orchestrated a better play. On the ensuing possession, Brady gets stripped of the ball which leads to another Ravens TD. In the first quarter alone, three Brady turnovers, the other two being interceptions, forcibly took the game out of the Patriots hand and despite the final score, was never as close as it should have been. At least you still have a Pro Bowl game to play in, Brady.

If you ever played Madden NFL football without a defensive strategy, then the Arizona/Green Bay game was right up your alley. Nearly a hundred points, a thousand yards and damn near perfect passing stats, you'd find all these and then some. Arizona was the Super Bowl runner-up and defied the football gods by returning to the playoffs the following year. After this past Sunday, you have to fear a Mr. Kurt Warner. 29 for 33, 379 yards, 5 TDs, just nuts on offense. His counterpart, Aaron Rodgers had a good day statistically as well going 28 for 42, 422 yards, 4 TDs and 1 int. Crazy, crazy stuff. But yes, the teams can play defense, just didn't on Sunday. The game was thought to be over by the third quarter, but Green Bay came back to tie the game. Arizona misses a field goal in the final minute from 34 yards out. Green Bay wins the coin toss in overtime and in a shocking finish, Rodgers gets the ball stripped by Arizona linebacker Karlos Dansby who runs it in for the game-winning TD from 17 yards. Just crazy. Got to give the defense credit. They won it for them when it counted. Green Bay, a Super Bowl favorite, just made a very bad mistake at the worst time possible.


Next week: Divisional Playoffs
Arizona Cardinals at New Orleans Saints
Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts
Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings
New York Jets at San Diego Chargers

Stay tuned for the recaps next week. Take that, ESPN!