Championship Weekend in the NFL

It is Division Championship weekend in the NFL, and the QB matchups of Manning vs. Brady and Kaepernick vs. Russell for this weekend have many believing this could be one of the greatest football weekends in playoff history. In the AFC, we have a familiar matchup of the two best teams and two of the best QB’s in NFL history. While in the NFC, we have two of the younger but most exciting QB’s currently playing in the league. Many feel that these two QB’s are the future of the NFL and play with the QB style that all teams will be looking for. Besides the QB’s, both games feature very good teams that deserve to be competing for a shot to play in the Super Bowl. It looks to be an exciting weekend in the NFL!

Some things to watch for:

Patriots at Broncos
If you remember the first time they met this season, the Broncos jumped out to a big lead, and then the Patriots came roaring back to win in overtime. The game was a tale of two halves and of turnovers. New England could not hang onto the ball in the first half, and Denver took full advantage of their mistakes. The story totally flipped in the second half with Denver turning the ball over and the New England offense scoring at will. The AFC division title game, should feature a little more consistency by both teams.

New England has changed their identity a bit since the last meeting. New England has suffered many injuries to starters, but continues to find new players to fill in and continue their success. Many reporters have said this is Belichick’s best year of coaching, and it is difficult to argue this point. Yes, they still have their star QB in Tom Brady, but they have also really improved their running game. The Patriots bring a trio of backs and try to use their powerful back Blount to finish the game out. Brady has been very successful throwing short passes and then establishing play action off the run game. If the Patriots can continue their success running the ball, they will be very difficult to beat, as they will be able to keep the Denver offense off the field and eat up clock.

For Denver, last year was a year of getting comfortable with their new personnel. This year, there are no excuses. Anything less than the Super Bowl would be a disappointment for the Broncos. Their record-setting offense this year did not carry over to an underwhelming performance in the first playoff game against the San Diego Chargers, and they have their work cut out for them against the very talented Patriots. Denver has home field advantage and they will to make the most of this by trying to disrupt Brady and the Patriots offense, while at the same time keeping the pedal to the floor and continuing to score touchdowns. Denver’s defense has also been hurt by injuries this year, but do not look for them to point fingers. They will look to make New England try to earn each first down and shut the run game down for the Patriots.

49ers vs Seahawks

Anyone that followed this NFL season is excited for this game for many different reasons. This game features two talented teams with talented QB's, but inter-division teams that split on the season is what has people so excited. This game has truly become a rivalry from top to bottom, and while the players respect each other, it's fairly clear they do not like each other. The coaches also have a history dating back to their days at USC and Stanford. With each team winning when they faced each other at home this season, the playoff rematch is going to be high intensity, extremely emotional, and fun to watch!

The Seahawks have a distinct advantage playing at home, and only one team has been able to overcome that advantage in the last two years. Seattle is able to feed off the crowd and take advantage of the lack of communication they are able to create with a loud atmosphere. The Seahawks defense has been stifling at home and creates pressure that allows their talented defensive backfield to take advantage of poor decisions by opposing team QB's. Offensively, Seattle has been riding the shoulders of Marshawn Lynch and QB Russell Wilson. Wilson has struggled throwing the ball in the playoffs, but he has not panicked and is willing to punt and allow his defense to come out and play. Many times in a game, the opposing defense thinks they have Wilson sacked and he finds a way to escape and create a big play that makes the difference in the game. His composure is admirable and will help his team against the 49ers!

San Francisco took the Wild Card path to this point and won their first two games on the road at Green Bay and Carolina. The 49ers believe they are a different team than the team that lost in Seattle during the regular season. Michael Crabtree has returned and emerged as a reliable WR to compliment Anquan Boldin. Their TE Vernon Davis was injured and ineffective but has returned, plus their QB who struggled earlier in the season is now playing with the confidence that took the team to the Super Bowl in 2013. San Francisco also has a very talented defense. San Francisco will bring in one of the best LB groups ever assembled and a very aggressive defensive line.

This game will be a little different than most big games. Usually we say that the team that turns the ball over will have an uphill battle. In this game, it will not only be turnovers, but it could be as simple as which team even allows a big play. Field position will be critical, and if an offense takes great field position with a big play, this could be the difference in the game. Watch how the two defenses try to keep the QB's from having an opportunity to create big plays with their legs. This will lead to the teams throwing against man-to-man coverage and trying to take three yards and a cloud of dust with the run game.

Between the dynamics of the QB's, the talents of star players, and the rivalries between teams and coaches, there are plenty of reasons to be excited for the Division Championship games! Enjoy this great weekend in the NFL!

Things to Watch in the NFL Playoffs

There has been some great football in the NFL playoffs so far, and the Conference Championship games should continue the playoff excitement! These are a few things to watch for in the games this weekend:

San Francisco at Atlanta:

Both of these teams have worked to overcome media obstacles this season. San Francisco has been continually answering the question of whether their QB switch was the correct move or not. Colin Kaepernick clearly showed last weekend that Coach Harbaugh made the right decision in his selection. In that game, Kap became only the second player in NFL history to rush and pass for more than 150 yards in a playoff game.

Atlanta was saddled with the reputation of facing extreme difficulty in winning their first round game. This game looked to be the same as previous years when the Falcons were losing with less than a minute left in the game. This time around however, Matt Ryan was able to lead the team into field goal position with three long completions, and they made a game winning field goal with six seconds left.

So with those obstacles aside, what will we see in this game? Both teams bring a very physical style of play, but have very different styles of offense and defense. San Francisco relies on pressure from their defensive line, while LB’s Bowman and Willis make all the tackles. Atlanta will try to create pressure by disguising their looks and bringing different blitz schemes at Kap. Offensively, San Francisco relies on a balanced attack of run and pass, but they include their extremely athletic QB in the run game. Atlanta will include a balanced attack but will not feature Matt Ryan as a runner. Atlanta will look to stretch the field a little bit more with their star WR’s Jones and White. Both teams have all league TE’s in Gonzalez for Atlanta and Davis for San Francisco. These two players are the security blankets for the QB when they get into trouble.

San Francisco is favored, but they have three major elements to overcome. First: Travel. The trip from west coast to east coast will take a toll, and this is an advantage for Atlanta. Second: Visiting team. Atlanta has a very loud atmosphere inside their dome, and San Francisco makes a lot of their offensive calls at the line of scrimmage. Third: Underrated opponent. They are facing a very athletic, talented team. Atlanta is a team that has really flown under the radar this season, which is odd to say for a team that has the best record in football. Atlanta has the tools offensively and defensively to cause havoc for the 49ers.

Baltimore at New England

I believe the spread is more than nine points, which is absurd for a Divisional Championship game. We are seeing Tom Brady, one of the greatest offensive players of all time vs. Ray Lewis, one of the greatest defensive players of all time. Everyone is focused on these two players, but the really interesting matchup is going to be New England’s much improved defense vs Joe Flacco, Ray Rice, and the Ravens' new look offense. Baltimore fired their offensive coordinator during week 15 of the NFL season, and the team seems to really be responding.  That will make for some interesting football!

New England just lost star TE Rob Gronkowski for a second time, and we will see the effects against a veteran-led Ravens defense that played very well against Denver. New England does a great job of answering the call and has done an excellent job of instilling a run game in their offense this year. That run game has allowed Tom Brady to unleash one of his strengths--a play action passing attack. Look for New England to try to open the run with the short passing game, establish their run game, then try to finish the Ravens off with the play action pass.

Baltimore is trying to rally around their emotional leader on his last run at a Super Bowl title. Ray Lewis came back from injury and announced his retirement, effective at the end of the season. Since this announcement, the Ravens have beaten a solid Colts team and upset the #1 seed Broncos at Denver. Baltimore was able to get the win with a solid defensive performance and some huge plays from Flacco to Torrey Smith. Baltimore struggled in their special teams vs Denver, allowing a kickoff return for TD, and a punt return for a TD. Facing New England, Baltimore will have to be clicking on all cylinders. If Baltimore hopes to win, they need Ray Rice to have a great game, they need other players to step up and make big plays, and they need their special teams to be EXCELLENT.

The Divisional Championships should give us another great weekend of NFL football! Looking forward to some excellent matchups and prime performances. Nothing better than playoff time in football...enjoy!

NFL Game to Watch: Colts vs. Patriots

Andrew Luck

There has been a lot of talk about Andrew Luck in his rookie NFL season with the Indianapolis Colts. He has performed extremely well so far, winning four consecutive games and six out of nine games so far in his first season with the Colts. This week might be the greatest test for Luck, and that’s why I think the Colts traveling to New England to face Tom Brady and the New England Patriots is the game to watch.

Very few people are picking the Colts to beat the Patriots this weekend, but you have to sense that Luck likes being in this situation. The Colts have already doubled their win total from last year with Luck under center, and he is meeting or exceeding expectations every week. Even with a 6-3 record, the Colts are recognized as a better team, but not a contender, and a contender has to go into New England and beat the Patriots. The Patriots are also 6-3, but they are 5-1 at home, and that could make a difference in the outcome. The Colts have scored 186 points and given up 206 points this season, compared to the Patriots who have scored 299 points and given up 201. Tom Brady and the Patriots’ offense bring a much more balanced attack for the Colts’ defense to deal with, and they won’t be able to just focus on Brady’s passing game. 

Tom Brady

So how do the Colts establish that they are contenders? Luck needs to be able to get first downs and keep the New England offense off the field. When the Colts have the opportunity to score points in the red zone, they need to walk off the field with TD's rather than FG's. The Colts' defense has to mix up their looks to try and confuse Tom Brady, while at the same time find ways to get pressure on him. Look for the Colts to try to make the Patriots one dimensional and take away their running game. 

With both teams coming off of wins last week, watch how Luck handles the pressure of matching the New England offense, especially in the hostile atmosphere of Gillette Stadium. It will be interesting to see if Brady can stay patient and keep a balanced attack, or if the Patriots will try to strike quickly and put pressure on the rookie. This should be a great match up between two talented offenses, and it will give us an idea if Luck can make the Colts contenders.