NFL 2010: Divisional Championships

NFC

I wont be the first to state this obvious parallel and the sports media have over analyzed this to death already- But for Favre it was another interception thrown in the Overtime of an NFC championship game which effectively pulled his team off the field when they were so maddeningly close to a game winning field goal.
The interception helped the saints take over in a favorable spot and 4 plays later, Garett Hartley kicked in a 40 yard field goal dead center of the upright to stamp Saints first ticket to the Superbowl.

I think it'll go down as one of those "Fuck me" plays which any professional athlete would love to take back.

Going into the game and being an objective viewer I thought the Saints and Vikings were evenly matched and it was plain for everyone to see all though the offense of both teams were comparable, the Vikings defense were far superior constantly applying pressure on D.Brees and virtually stiff ling the Saints scoring in the second half.

Vikings controlled possession of the ball through the course of the game and had the better passing and rushing stats including 3 pounding touchdowns by Adrian Peterson and passing touchdowns by B.Favre and yet the Saints came up on top cos they simply didn’t make any mistakes – The Vikings had 5 turnovers in total, infuriating fumbles by Adrian Peterson and B.Berrian and shot themselves in the foot when Vikings could have easily scored on both occasions and of course the final interception which sealed the Vikings fate. And while Saints didn’t deserve to win, in the end the Vikings, although the better team, deserved to lose.




With the end of Vikings 2010 campaign, questions will invariably arise of Brett Favre's next move. Will he finally call it quits? Or will give another go in attempt to achieve superbowl glory? Will he stick around Minnesota or chase his dream with another franchise? I figure we shall hear more about this sometime during pre-season..





















AFC

The Jets miracle run finally comes to an end. The first half highlighted the best of Jets football, great defense, tough running game and a safety-first passing game including the 80 yard bomb to B.Edwards designed perfectly which caught the Colts off guard.

But Peyton showed his class and why is the MVP of this league, with his surgical flawless passing game which in the end exposed the Jets secondary which had up to that point done a good job on containing R.Wayne and D.Clark, but man-to-man couldn't cover both Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon who had monster games.

On the Jets side of the ball, the injury to Shonne Green and the lackluster performance by T.Jones crippled their running game and thus forcing them to go with the passing game which is clearly not their forte.

Looking to next year, the Jets seem to have all the right pieces and personal to make another run to the playoffs. Sanchez for all his limitations (and we know he can be quite the turnover machine as seen mid season) has matured over the past 4-5 weeks and there are signs, he can under the direction of Rex Ryan, handle the offensive assignments.

Ryan’s #1 priority would be acquiring an extra pass rusher. It just seemed in the second half that they seemed to be lacking that one extra rusher who could get in the face of Manning and disrupt his rhythm.



The return of Leon Washington will no doubt provide them the all purpose physical game. Questions loom over the return of T.Jones and B.Edwards. Jones had a great year but seemed to be a little off thru the post-season. With the presence of Greene, Ryan could pick up another running back and possibly see T.Jones off via trade or free agency. Ditto for B.Edwards with talks surrounding the possibility of trade for B.Marshall.

In any case it appears, although unthinkable beginning of this season, that the Jets seem to appear in a much better shape that the NY Giants.


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NFL - AFC & NFC QB's of the Year

Every year there comes along a football player who impresses me with their sheer natural talent and confidence which comes out of hard work. For the 2008/2009 season, there were two outstanding players - New England Patriots QB Matt Cassel and Baltimore Ravens young QB Joe Flacco.


Both Cassel and Flacco proved to be able players and leaders and though their stats maybe not be the same when compared to the gaudy numbers of say Drew Brees or Jay Cutler (both teams were 8-8 and failed to make the playoffs are were often dogged by inconsistent offense) or Philip Rivers (also 8-8 but clinched divisional berth). The Cassel led Patriots also did not make the playoffs but finished 11-5. The justice of a system which allows 8-8 Chargers to proceed into the playoffs should be questioned and will be a subject of another post. Flacco's Ravens also finished 11-5 and clinched the final wild card spot. As the season draws to a close with the Superbowl two weeks away, only Cardinals QB Kurt Warner and possibly league MVP Colts QB Peyton Manning can stake claim to have the big numbers alongside playoff prowess.

But boy did Flacco have a great year for a rookie QB playing his first year in the NFL. He would've won the rookie of the year if not for a certain other awesome young rookie QB - Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons. But I personally I admired Flacco's game more than Ryan, perhaps cos I had the opportunity to watch Flacco in action more often, being in DC and all.

But there is subtle difference between the drafting of Ryan and Flacco and that being the Falcons had made a conscious decision to start Ryan as their QB when they made their pick. They were in the process of re-building a broken team around Ryan. A process which yielded amazing results within a short span of time, given where the Falcons finished last season.
Kyle Boller was to be the starting QB for the Ravens followed by Troy Smith. Flacco was drafted to be a third string QB with the expectation to be groomed into the starting role in the years to come. A season ending injury to Kyle Boller and freak illness to Smith later, Flacco found himself in the starting position and he came out in flying colors. The Ravens offense was never a threat, but under Flacco they found direction and menace and as the season progressed they gave enough chances for the Ravens defense to close out the games.

Here is a quick look at his season stats and comparison with fellow rookie QB Matt Ryan. And just to get an idea I compared with two QB's who had fantastic year.

Being in a more conservative natured team, with primary emphasis on defense, Flacco's numbers might appear a little pale when compared with QB's in a more pass-happy offense. But nevertheless they gain significance when looked as a whole, since his steady, minimal error approach let the defense do what they do best and together as a cohesive team they got the job done. Compare that with Brett Favre, a legend of the game who had 22 interceptions compared to his 22 touchdowns which killed any NY Jets playoff aspirations. Also keep in mind Flacco had 3 interceptions in the final AFC Championship game. Probably his worst game of the season. So he had season low 9 turnovers going into his final game.

In addition to his numbers - Flacco showed remarkable poise and precision in his passing and play-calling, and displayed those intangible qualities which can never usually be discerned from mere stats ; like how he never seemed to lose his cool when the pressure was brought on. In fact more often than not, he rescued his team with pin-point bullet throws on 3rd and long positions, keeping the play alive and displaying his arm strength. He has good pocket presence. He played well in bad weather and passed every test thrown at him with a quiet temper. In quick time and under the careful guidance of Ravens coaching he has possibly become one of the more exciting players to watch out for and barring any injuries has effectively taken over the starting QB position. I'd be terribly disappointed if the Ravens organization toyed around with the idea of bringing back Boller for the starting position.

Flacco reminds me a younger, better version of Eli Manning. I pray and hope he finds football success soon.
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When Patriots QB Tom Brady suffered a torn ACL in game 1 of the regular season, all eyes fell on unknown back-up Matt Cassel. Patriots were favorites to repeat their Superbowl appearance after running through every team last year. Without Brady they suddenly looked susceptible and beatable. And how could Matt Cassel possibly replace the charismatic Brady? As the season progressed, Cassel blossomed splendidly under the wily coach Bill Belichik's tutorial and progressed as one of the offensive stars of the season nearly leading the patriots into the playoffs with 11-5 record. A more than worthy replacement.

With 21 TD's, total of 3,693 passings Yds, 270 rushing yds, a pass completion of 63.4 pct, and a manageable 11 interceptions, Cassel ensured the Patriots offense kept moving and fantasy owners smiling. However with Brady expected to return next season, Cassel may have to surrender the spotlight and settle for the bench or test free agency waters.

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NFC Championship - 2009

Just finished watching the NFC championship game between Philadelphia Eages and Arizona Cardinals. An exciting game with plenty of ups and downs. Going into half-time, it seemed the Cardinals had it all figured out, their defense stifling McNabb and Co. while Cardinals offense on fire with QB Kurt Warner leading the way making quick, accurate decisions, connecting with star WR Larry Fitzgerald three times, including a monster 60+ yard throw in the 2nd quarter off a trick play.

Eagles came roaring back in the 2nd half with their defense making required adjustments to cover Fitzgerald and DB's blitzing Warner, McNabb led effective drives (finding celek twice) and threw a bomb to rookie WR DeSean Jackson to take the lead, and all the momentum, early in the the 4th quarter. The Cardinals, however proved they had plenty of weapons with rookie RB Tim Hightower shoving, rushing and fighting his way into the Eagles red zone with a little over 2:50 minutes to go. Eagles fell short. They were many missed opportunities for the Eagles who looked to be the dark horse after beating the NY Giants last week. But there was just not enough time left on the clock for Eagles.

Cardinals have faced constant criticism since the beginning of this season which often comes from playing in a decidedly mediocre division (NFC West). They did have it easy getting into the playoffs cos despite getting off to a decent start they faltered towards the end and clinched the playoffs purely by winning their weak division. But they have plenty of fire power. Three match-winning WR's - Boldin, Fitzgerald and Breaston, effective RB's - Hightower, Edge James (who was used sparingly in the regular season but made it count in the playoffs) and Arrington. But probably the key was their QB - Kurt Warner who was competing with former USC super QB Matt Leinart. Second year coach Ken Wisenhunt decided to go with Warner after Leinart had a disappointing game in the 2nd pre-season game. It has definitely proved to be an excellent decision.

Now Cardinals will face the winner between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens.

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