After surviving an injury plagued regular season, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are primed for a run at the Super Bowl.by Armaan Ahluwalia
It's approaching fast, only a few more weeks till the Super Bowl in Dallas and we are left with 8 teams who could possibly all take home the title. If the divisional round is anything like the wild card games we are in for a treat as the wild card was exciting and full of surprises.
Ravens at Steelers
The first game of the weekend is on saturday at 5pm atlantic time which has the Baltimore Ravens heading to Heinz field in the keystone state to battle it out with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
This happens to be the 3rd time that these teams will meet this year. This game is becoming a trend as they end up seeing each other in the playoffs. Both of these teams are tough physical teams and expect a shoot-out. When they played earlier this year both games were decided by 3 points, and they both were defensive battles going down to the wire with less than 20 points being scored in both games.
With Baltimore coming off a huge victory at Arrowhead Stadium, where they looked sharp they are in good standing to compete with the tough Steelers. I would expect this game to be decided by at the max 7 points, as both teams have stellar defenses. The matchup to watch when the Steelers have the ball will be the Steelers offensive line which has been weak vs the strong defensive front 7 which will give them lots of problems. When the Ravens have the ball the matchup to look out for will be Joe Flacco vs. Troy Polamalu. Polamalu has given Flacco huge amounts of problems over the years as he is one of the best safetys in the league and is all over the field and reads QB’s like no one else.
This game could go either way, I know that is such a cliche but these teams are so evenly matched its amazing. Both offences have weapons with Big Ben, Mike Wallace, Hines Ward, and Rashard Mendenhall. On the Ravens they have Flacco, Ray Rice, Anquan Boldin, and Todd Heap. Their defenses are both evenly matched with the Ravens having the slight advantage. When it comes down to it, it will be the Ravens defense vs. the Steelers offense. I like the Steelers to pull out of this one with Big Bens experience in the last 2 minutes of the game being the game changer.
This happens to be the 3rd time that these teams will meet this year. This game is becoming a trend as they end up seeing each other in the playoffs. Both of these teams are tough physical teams and expect a shoot-out. When they played earlier this year both games were decided by 3 points, and they both were defensive battles going down to the wire with less than 20 points being scored in both games.
With Baltimore coming off a huge victory at Arrowhead Stadium, where they looked sharp they are in good standing to compete with the tough Steelers. I would expect this game to be decided by at the max 7 points, as both teams have stellar defenses. The matchup to watch when the Steelers have the ball will be the Steelers offensive line which has been weak vs the strong defensive front 7 which will give them lots of problems. When the Ravens have the ball the matchup to look out for will be Joe Flacco vs. Troy Polamalu. Polamalu has given Flacco huge amounts of problems over the years as he is one of the best safetys in the league and is all over the field and reads QB’s like no one else.
This game could go either way, I know that is such a cliche but these teams are so evenly matched its amazing. Both offences have weapons with Big Ben, Mike Wallace, Hines Ward, and Rashard Mendenhall. On the Ravens they have Flacco, Ray Rice, Anquan Boldin, and Todd Heap. Their defenses are both evenly matched with the Ravens having the slight advantage. When it comes down to it, it will be the Ravens defense vs. the Steelers offense. I like the Steelers to pull out of this one with Big Bens experience in the last 2 minutes of the game being the game changer.
Steelers 14 – Ravens 10
Packers at Falcons
The other Saturday game features the Packers and the high flying Falcons who own the #1 seed. The Pack are coming off a huge victory in the city of brotherly love over Vick and the high octane offense which had many people picking them all the way to the finals. That soon changed as the defense had other ideas and stopped Vick and company.
This game has a few advantages for the Falcons as they have home field advantage where Matty Ice Ryan has an almost perfect record. The Packers have been relying on their passing game and Aaron Rodgers who has been great for their them in key situations. The key match-ups in this game are as follows. When the Packers have the ball it will be the Falcons secondary vs. Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers picks apart defenses and it doesnt matter who they are, it will be interesting to see if they can apply enough pressure to break down Rodgers. When the Falcons have the ball the matchup to watch will be Matt Ryan vs. Clay Matthews. Ryan will need to stand up right for the Falcons to have a chance against a good secondary and front 7. Basically a good overall defense, he needs to be standing not picking himself up from the turf. Dom Capers has done a great job of using BJ Raji and Matthews who got after Vick a very mobile QB.
This game will be a mid range shootout, in the sense that their will be some scoring but it wont get Packers – Cardinals crazy. I like the Packers to upset the Falcons in this one as the Packers defense gave Philli way to much trouble. Look for the cheese heads to ground yet another high flying team which gets in their way.
This game has a few advantages for the Falcons as they have home field advantage where Matty Ice Ryan has an almost perfect record. The Packers have been relying on their passing game and Aaron Rodgers who has been great for their them in key situations. The key match-ups in this game are as follows. When the Packers have the ball it will be the Falcons secondary vs. Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers picks apart defenses and it doesnt matter who they are, it will be interesting to see if they can apply enough pressure to break down Rodgers. When the Falcons have the ball the matchup to watch will be Matt Ryan vs. Clay Matthews. Ryan will need to stand up right for the Falcons to have a chance against a good secondary and front 7. Basically a good overall defense, he needs to be standing not picking himself up from the turf. Dom Capers has done a great job of using BJ Raji and Matthews who got after Vick a very mobile QB.
This game will be a mid range shootout, in the sense that their will be some scoring but it wont get Packers – Cardinals crazy. I like the Packers to upset the Falcons in this one as the Packers defense gave Philli way to much trouble. Look for the cheese heads to ground yet another high flying team which gets in their way.
Packers 27 – Falcons 23
Seahawks at Bears
The first Sunday game travels to Chicago where the Bears take on the surprising Seahawks. The Seahawks came off a jaw dropping performance against the heavily favoured Saints. The game took place at Qwest field where it has gained a reputation of being one of the loudest stadiums in all of the NFL. That combined with Hasselbeck’s great performance and Marshawn Lynch who just destroyed the Saints defence with his 67 yard run throwing players off of him and breaking tackles left, right and center.
The matchups to watch in this game will be Devin Hester vs. the Seahawks Special Teams. The electric Hester is a game changer and can make for great field position which will help the offense. The other matchup will be the Bears front 7 vs. Marshawn Lynch. Lynch is a powerfull runner and will be relied upon to carry the load.
The Seahawks beat the defending champ Saints last week, but that was at Qwest field. This week they go to a hostile Bears stadium where its not the same crowd cheering for you. This would be a stretch for the Hawks to win, but who knows if they could pull it off? I like the Bears, Cutler, Forte and Hester to pull away into the Championship game.
The matchups to watch in this game will be Devin Hester vs. the Seahawks Special Teams. The electric Hester is a game changer and can make for great field position which will help the offense. The other matchup will be the Bears front 7 vs. Marshawn Lynch. Lynch is a powerfull runner and will be relied upon to carry the load.
The Seahawks beat the defending champ Saints last week, but that was at Qwest field. This week they go to a hostile Bears stadium where its not the same crowd cheering for you. This would be a stretch for the Hawks to win, but who knows if they could pull it off? I like the Bears, Cutler, Forte and Hester to pull away into the Championship game.
Bears 31 – Seahawks 17
Jets at Patriots
The final game in the week has to be one of the most anticipated games of the divisional round. It has the New England Patriots facing off against the New York Jets for the 3rd time this year in Foxborough, Mass. The last time these teams met the Jets got hammered. Like they had nothing, they lost 45-3. That is brutal. For a team looking good they got beat down hard. The Pats havent looked back and finished the year 14-2 and dominating playoff teams on the way to their #1 spot. Antonio Cromartie has been adding some fuel to the fire as he called Tom Brady and Ass—- in the press this past weekend going out saying that he taunted the Jets in their big loss. This is making for a much better atmosphere in New England as both teams get ready to battle.
The matchups will be key to this game as when the Pats have the ball the matchup will be Tom Brady vs. Cromartie/Wilson/Revis. I put all of them in there because well Revis is always a battle but is almost a sure victory and Cromartie will be a good contest and they might take advantage of rookie Kyle Wilson which could make a difference. When the Jets have the ball it will be LT/Greene vs. Pats front 7. This will be key because if the Jets win this they will not have to use Mark Sanchez who is still learning and is a little bit inexperienced.
In this game I like the Patriots to come out at home and beat the Jets, but this game will not be like that last as the Jets defense will come to play and the offense will not be that big of a disappointment. Brady will be, well Brady.
The matchups will be key to this game as when the Pats have the ball the matchup will be Tom Brady vs. Cromartie/Wilson/Revis. I put all of them in there because well Revis is always a battle but is almost a sure victory and Cromartie will be a good contest and they might take advantage of rookie Kyle Wilson which could make a difference. When the Jets have the ball it will be LT/Greene vs. Pats front 7. This will be key because if the Jets win this they will not have to use Mark Sanchez who is still learning and is a little bit inexperienced.
In this game I like the Patriots to come out at home and beat the Jets, but this game will not be like that last as the Jets defense will come to play and the offense will not be that big of a disappointment. Brady will be, well Brady.
Patriots 24 – Jets 20
In other news, coaching positions are slowly starting to fill up as teams make their decisions for the future. So far Leslie Frazier – Vikings, Jason Garrett – Cowboys, Jim Harbaugh – 49ers, Ron Rivea – Panthers, Pat Shurmur – Browns, and just a few hours ago John Fox signed with the Broncos.
In other news, coaching positions are slowly starting to fill up as teams make their decisions for the future. So far Leslie Frazier – Vikings, Jason Garrett – Cowboys, Jim Harbaugh – 49ers, Ron Rivea – Panthers, Pat Shurmur – Browns, and just a few hours ago John Fox signed with the Broncos.
Armaan Ahluwalia is a writer for the Dalhousie Gazette. Check out his blog at www.1inthestands.wordpress.com and follow him on twitter @therealbrindian.
No comments:
Post a Comment