Playoffs

Christmas was fun and I thoroughly enjoyed my time off of work with the exception of the ruined kitchen floor. But that is why one has insurance.

Anyway, we can now focus more on the last vestiges of the football season. I have to admit, I was a little surprised that Arizona beat Atlanta. Having watched a couple of Arizona games, I would have thought that Atlanta’s running game would have eventually crushed them. But instead, it was Atlanta that failed to recover and Arizona’s defense finally showed up after taking the last few games off.

I was not surprised that San Diego beat Indianapolis although I was hoping that Indy would win. For whatever reason, Indy simply cannot win in San Diego, especially when the Chargers are on a roll that was needed even to make the playoffs.

I was not surprised in the least that Baltimore whipped up on Miami. They are still trying to remember how to win and going against the nasty Baltimore defense was just too much for the Fish.

I thought Minnesota might put up a slightly better fight, but it took no one by surprise that the Eagles beat the Vikings. They have a good defense and a great running game, but the Minnesota O-line and the quarterback were simply not seasoned enough to contain the Philadelphia blitzing packages and I think everyone knew that.

So on to next weekend’s games. If Roethlesburger had not suffered the concussion in the game against Cleveland, I’d say that the Steelers should shred San Diego. They still might, but a wounded quarterback will make a tasty target for the Charger defense. Still, I would expect the Steelers defense to beat up on Philip Rivers pretty hard and the Steelers running game will wear down San Diego.

The Baltimore-Tennessee game should be very interesting. Tennessee’s defense is good enough to hold Baltimore’s mediocre offense in check while Baltimore’s defense should get after Kerry Collins and contain the Tennessee running game. This game will probably come down to one or two little plays and may be decided by a field goal.

I’m sure New York wanted Arizona very badly rather than division rival Philadelphia. They know their opponent and New York is better than Philadelphia, but division rivals have a habit of pulling the unlikely upsets. I would expect New York to win, but I wouldn’t be shocked if Philadelphia prevailed.

Carolina-Arizona will probably be a laugher. Arizona’s defense was pretty good against Atlanta, but I can’t see them being able to contain Steve Smith. Once Carolina jumps out to a lead, Arizona will likely abandon the running game and it will be tee-off time against Kurt Warner. Carolina should have very little to worry about in terms of getting to the NFC title game.