Well here we are in January of the new year, and the NFL playoffs are starting, the Bucs of course are an afterthought.
Damn I miss the 80s!
Nothing to worry about, the Glazers are performing their coaching search (again, so soon?) and hopefully Mark Dominik is checking out free agent wide receivers, running backs and linebackers to invoke the owners promise to “spend what must”.
In the mean time, deserving teams (kind of like our Bucs last year, thanks again refs in Detroit game, Blount in Atlanta, and Maurice Stovalls two hand touch attempt on Eric Weems) are at it in the playoffs. Lets take a look at what we can expect from each team.
NFC
1) Green Bay Packers- What can you say, their weakness is their 32nd ranked defense, but is it really a bad D? Or is it just because they score so easy and so often that it has that effect? Tampa Bay and Kansas City showed they can be beat, and the Bucs effort was IN Lambeau, so its possible. But the loss to KC may have been the best thing for Green Bay. Showing someone their weakness shows them how to improve opon it. They are not exactly riding high, but they are Crusising on all cylinders, and with home field and only needing to win one game to get to the NFC Championship game, you’d have to say they are a lock to be in the final 4.
2) San Francisco 49ers- Maybe the biggest surprise team along with the Lions, but the 49ers are the one team in the NFC that makes their forte in defense. They are the 4th ranked defense, and the highest of all the NFC teams. San Francisco has the old playoff formula down to a pat, so its a test of new systems in the NFL and old. The 49ers run the ball, and play D. And with a home game and a bye to start the season off with, its not too hard to see them in the NFC Championship game with a good old 90s SF vs GB game for the ages– Offense vs Defense.
3) New Orleans Saints- Unlike Green Bay who is cruising, the Saints are surging. They are playing at a high level both offensively and defensively lately, crushing divisional teams like Atlanta and Carolina. The Saints are the NO.1 passing Offense but 25 on defense. But will their better defensive play help at a time like now?
4) New York Giants- Talk about peaking at the right time! The G men are winning big games at the end just like they did in 2007 when they shocked the world as the wild card SuperBowl winner, years before the Packers did it. In fact, its become en vogue to win as a wild card, proving in todays NFL, its not the wins in September that count in as much as the December ones. Eli Manning is hot, as is Victor Cruz, and the Giants can run the ball too. But like the rest of the NFC, they are 27th in defense, and that is a concern. Still, its January, and that could be Giant time. They’ll get their first test against a roller coaster Falcon team that got blown out by the Saints, then destroyed the Bucs.
5) Atlanta Falcons- With their 12th round defense, they still represent the 2nd best D for the NFC in the playoffs. But what they lack on D is a pass rush with only John Abraham offering any concern. Matt Ryan is always capable at QB, and the Falcons may offer up the best duo of receivers with Julio Jones and Roddy White, who tends to drop the ball a bit. He will need to hold onto the ball against the Giants, but Michael Turner could be the best running back in the NFC Playoffs next to Frank Gore. If the Falcons want to advance, they better lean on Turner.
6) Detroit Lions- The surprise team that came on strong last year is built around offense, QB Mathew Stafford and WR Calvin Johnson are awesome together, but as a fantasy owner who had Megatron, I know first hand they Lions dont always rely on No. 81, they have a ton of other weapons too. And they are just gifted enough to upset a team like New Orleans, but can they do it in Green Bay or in San Francisco? Thats the question. EIther way, Detroit fans are happy their team is in!
AFC
1)New England Patriots- The AFC’s top seed is a polar opposite of the conference, which boasts the best defenses in the NFL Playoffs, top three, and 6 of the top D’s in the NFL are AFC teams. The Pats are 31st just ahead of the Packers, and a Green Bay/New England SuperBowl would crush the old “Defenses win championships” mantra. The Patriots have Tom Brady, second most yards in the NFL. Does Brady ever stop? Not with Wes Welker to throw to, and a slew of good running backs who never get tired because they all interchange. Is their D a situation like the Packers where the offense scores too easy and fast? We will see, but not for two weeks because the Pats have homefield throughout the playoffs, and that could be the key to an AFC Championship invite.
2)Baltimore Ravens- Maybe the class act of the AFC and whole league, the Ravens have the 3rd ranked defense, have the running back in Rice, and the QB in Flacco to go all the way and bring Baltimore another Super Bowl championship. As sound as they seem, they have fallen at times unpredictably, like the 34-14 drubbing to the Chargers, or 26-13 to Tennessee in week 2. Losses to the Jags and Seattle dont help. But they dominated their division, sweeping everyone. How do you not see this team in the AFC Championship game. Answer? You don’t, they’ll be there.
3)Houston Texans- The best season in Houston Texans history, and its a bust because they lost their top QB Matt Schaub and then their back up too. You dont advance in the Playoffs without a QB, but Texans players will gain from having playoff experience, and they will be back next year to fight every team in their division. They have the No.2 defense in the league, and a win is not automatic because they will not give up a lot of points. Go into Houston expecting to win, and you may find yourself playing NFL.com’s new playoff fantasy football game!
4)Denver Broncos- I could just write two words and be done with this paragraph. Tim Tebow. How Tebow goes is how the Broncos’s go. He is their main guy, their main weapon, while they have other ones, Tebow’s performance will dictate how the others come along. The Broncos defense doesnt get anywhere near enough respect coming in at No. 20, and the coaching staff gets even less for what theyve done to accelerate Tebows acclimation and integration into the NFL. Tenacity is a strenth of the Broncos, they fought back from a losing record to win the division, even at 8-8 they are dangerous in the first round, especially going up against the most injured team in the playoffs….
5)Pittsburgh Steelers- They were the one team that could have finished anywhere from 2nd seed to 5th. They got down to 5th, and earned a trip to Tebow-land to get involved in that lose/lose situation. either way you come out looking vulnerable, at least in the NFL old timers eyes. The Steelers Terrible towel should be replaced with white ones with a red cross on them, they are so injured. Their leading rusher, gone. QB injured. You name it, they are hurt. Still, they come into the playoffs with the absolute No.1 ranked defense in teh NFL, and in the playoffs, thats what gets it done. Look for Big Ben to hit his tight end and keep the chains moving.
6) Cincinnati Bengals- Last but not least, the surprise team of the AFC makes the grade by falling into the playoffs. This team is kind of like the 2010 Bucs, winning games against losing teams, but they got swept by the Ravens and Steelers, unable to show the league or their fans they can win a big game. They played the Ravens close though, one score losses each game shows they are on their way, but probably not this year. THing about the playoffs is everyone is a good team. Kudos to the coaching staff of Marvin Lewis who went
with Andy Dalton, no one thought losing Carson Palmer would pay off with wins in the short term. Except maybe the Bengals, with their 7th ranked defense, that could be their best weapon, that, and the luck of the draw, getting Houston first up!
Who do you think will make it all the way to Indianapolis?
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