The highlight of Thursday night’s football action may have been Teddy Bridgewater’s gutsy and emotional effort in carrying Louisville to a conference title, and there will be plenty of focus on the world of college football as teams battle for conference championships this weekend.
Don’t underestimate the slate of games that the NFL boasts this weekend, though. We’re set up for another great weekend of action, and we know exactly what match-ups you should be focused on all weekend long.
Top Match-ups to Watch
Minnesota QB Christian Ponder vs. Green Bay’s Secondary
After having a relatively average rookie season for the Vikings in 2011, Minnesota was desperately hoping that Christian Ponder would have shown some significant improvement from 2011 to 2012. Unfortunately, that hasn’t yet been the case. Twice this season he’s ended a game with under 70 yards passing, and has only eclipsed 300 yards passing in a game once.
Ponder has been hesitant to throw the ball deep all season long, but at least at first glance one might expect that to change against the Packers. Green Bay has a very young pair of safeties in Jerron McMillan and M.D. Jennings, and you’d think teams would be able to exploit that.
The results have been quite surprising, however, especially considering how abysmal Green Bay’s pass rush has been. The Packers’ young secondary has given up hardly anything deep, even with opposing quarterbacks having all day to throw. Will Ponder be the first player to stretch the field against the Packers, or will it be more of the same for the Vikings offense?
Chicago WR Brandon Marshal vs. Seattle DBs Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner
Seattle’s defense was dealt a tremendous blow when it was reported last week that both Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner would be suspended four games for using performance enhancing drugs (reportedly Adderal). Both players are appealing their suspensions, meaning that the Seahawks will at least have their services against Brandon Marshall and the Bears before they’re forced to sit out four games.
It’s unfortunate timing for Chicago, as Sherman and Browner have two of the league’s best corner backs all season long. They already combined to hold Calvin Johnson to three catches in week eight, and will look to have the same sort of success against Brandon Marshal.
The success of the Bears passing game will largely depend on whether or not their rushing attack has any early success. Cutler and Marshall were productive working off of play action against the Vikings and will likely try to repeat that against the Seahawks. Seattle’s defense hasn’t been great against the run of late, and they’ll likely have to commit extra men to stopping the run. Will Sherman and Browner be able to hold their when isolated on Marshall?
San Francisco OT Anthony Davis vs. St Louis DE Chris Long
The focus in this game is largely going to be on Colin Kaepernick, and for good reason. He’s exceeding expectations that even the most passionate Kaepernick believer had for him pre-draft, and it could prove to be the spark the 49ers need to get the team going on a post season run.
The key to this game may not just be at quarterback, however. In the last match up between these two teams, Chris Long was nearly unstoppable rushing the passer, and it was a big reason the much more talented 49ers squad was only able to secure a tie. He recorded 9 hurries and a sack in that game, and will be looking to have the same sort of impact this time around as well.
San Francisco can’t afford to slide too much help over to help Anthony Davis slow Long down. Dedicating two people to blocking Long would mean that Robert Quinn would be in a one on one match up on the opposite side of the line, and Quinn himself recorded two sacks in the last game. So sure, watch the young quarterback continue to make his presence felt in the NFL, but don’t forget to check out the men responsible for protecting him, either. It’s very likely that will be where this game will be decided .
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Rookie Watch
St Louis CB Janoris Jenkins
It wasn’t too long ago that Janoris Jenkins was being forced to sit out a game by coach Jeff Fisher for violating team rules. When that story broke, those who doubted Jenkins’ ability to succed in the NFL based on his track record simply wrote it off as another example of why he was doomed to failure.
And while we won’t truly be able to declare Jenkins as a hit or a miss for years, what we can see for sure is that without a doubt, Jenkins has the physical gifts and talents of a player who deserved to be selected in the first round. He bounced back from the suspension by intercepting fellow rookie Ryan Lindley twice, returning both interceptions for touchdowns.
If the front seven of the Rams generates the type of pass rush they’re capable of, Jenkins could have another chance at intercepting multiple passes again on Sunday. Kaepernick has done a pretty good job of taking care of the ball to this point in his career, but if Long and Quinn are playing to their potential there’s a chance that Kaepernick will have to make some rushed decisions. Will Jenkins take advantage?
Jacksonville WR Justin Blackmon and Buffalo CB Stephon Gilmore
Just a few short weeks ago some of Jacksonville’s fans were already preparing to write off Justin Blackmon as a bust. Then when Chad Henne stepped into the starting role, Blackmon exploded put up 236 yards in one game. Since that point he hasn’t repeated the same sort of dominating performance, but he has looked like a valuable part of the Jaguars’ offense.
On the opposite side of the field this week will be fellow rookie Stephon Gilmore. Like Blackmon, Gilmore’s rookie season has had plenty of ups and downs, but for the most part Gilmore looks to be a player that should develop into a strong player over time. He was big liability giving up deep passes early in the season, but he’s looked much improved over the second half of the year.
The two rookies likely won’t be matched-up too often this weekend, but their individual performances will go a long way in determining who wins this match-up. Will the suddenly hot Jacksonville team stay on a roll, or will Buffalo finally slow them down?
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Fantasy Quick Hits
In fantasy football, there is a fine line between patience being a virtue, and patience torpedoing your championship hopes. For owners of Cam Newton, and to a lesser degree Jamaal Charles, we’re about to find out which category they fall into. Both players have had disappointing seasons so far, but have outstanding end of the year match-ups that could bring you a title.
Buffalo head coach Chan Gailey said this week that CJ Spiller would be seeing an increased workload. Then again, we’ve been hearing that sort of talk for quite some time now. Spiller could easily be one of the top fantasy players in the game, but for whatever reason Gailey just refuses to see him as an every down player.
Titus Young’s outbursts have pushed Ryan Broyles up the depth chart, and Broyles could be a decent flex play for the rest of the season. Defenses are going to be focused solely on stopping Calvin Johnson, freeing up lots of room for Broyles to work with.
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