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Wild Card Weekend Could Be Mild
Authored by Jeff Risdon - 2nd January, 2008 - 9:39 pm
With John Herrera standing to his right dressed in black and appearing not unlike an undertaker, Lane Kiffin sat down at the podium for Sunday's postgame news conference.
Baltimore wants Flacco to be their QB of the future. But the Ravens feel they have no choice but to start him now because Boller and Smith are unavailable. Wrong!
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The playoffs are upon us, kicking off this weekend with 4 games. And while there are some intriguing matchups and story lines in these games, for my money some recent off-field developments are far more interesting.
To steal a line, “The Ego Has Landed”. That would be Bill Parcells joining the Dolphins in some made-up job title that is lipstick on the pig of dictatorship. I’ve been a frequent (some would say obsessive) critic of the Tuna over the years, but one thing I rarely criticize is his eye for talent and team-building skills. Take the current Cowboys, which Parcells largely assembled but failed at coaching, or how he stocked the Jets with talent enough that even he could coach it to the playoffs. How he played a truly good man in Arthur Blank and the Falcons as a bargaining chip to use to extract more money from Miami (to help pay for his divorce, in part) disgusts me. I’m also shocked that Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga would choose the path of complete autocracy after the franchise-wrecking Nick Saban (from the Parcells coaching bush) experience.
But desperate times call for desperate measures, and you don’t get much more desperate than 1-15 with at least 15 starters that need upgrading. Parcells will get them back into playoff contention in 2-3 years, just in time for him to quit on them. And if you think he won’t be their head coach by the middle of 2009, I’ve got some Eastern Airlines vouchers I can sell you.
Another headline that grabbed my attention was the firing of Brian Billick in Baltimore. With all that went wrong this season, it’s real hard to argue with the decision of owner Steve Bisciotti. I’m a Billick fan, and I’m sure he will land another head coaching gig whenever he chooses (shameless early rumor-mongering: he takes over for Andy Reid in Philadelphia when Reid steps down). To those who claim his team quit on him or that wonder why a supposed offensive svengali had so much trouble fielding even an average offense, I urge you to consider the hand he was dealt. There’s not a more vocal, intimidating leader than Ray Lewis in all of pro sports, and after the heartbreaking near-miss against the Patriots, Lewis and his defensive mates were clearly spent. As for the offensive offense, let’s see how well another coach can do with the likes of Kyle Boller, Stony Case, Tony Banks, and a decrepit Steve McNair at QB, with a cast of eminently replaceable receivers. Don’t get me wrong--Billick made some lousy decisions and never met offensive expectations, and the team is about to undergo a major rebuild (or they should be!). But for Billick to get fired and Marvin Lewis to keep his job in Cincinnati is laughable.
On to the games, none of which quantify as must-see TV unless you’re a fan of one of the teams playing…
Washington Ethnic Slurs at Seattle Seahawks: No team is as under the radar as the Seahawks, who very quietly won 6 of seven following their bye week and before using lots of backups and a scaled-back attack in Week 17. QB Matt Hasselbeck had his best season throwing to a bevy of talented WRs, the defense is speedy, aggressive and tough, and Seattle wound up 5th in turnover differential. Washington rides into the playoffs on a 4-game win streak led by backup QB Todd Collins and a much-improved pass rush. The emotional crest they are riding following the tragic death of Sean Taylor cannot be underestimated, and how they have rallied around one another and Coach Gibbs makes them a dangerous foe. But they have suffered too many key personnel losses to knock off the Seahawks without Seattle helping them out. The 12th man will help neutralize the adrenaline, and the Julian Peterson/Patrick Kerney combo will show Collins pressure he hasn’t seen in years. Seattle 33, Washington 13.
Jacksonville Jaguars at Pittsburgh Steelers: Jacksonville appears to be peaking at the right time, as their offense has put up over 30 points a game the last month. The dynamic RB combo of Mo Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor are a nightmare matchup, and the emergence of WR Reggie Williams as a legit downfield threat makes the play action all the more dangerous. Jacksonville has won the last three meetings pretty comfortably, including earlier this season at Heinz Field in Week 15. That Steelers team had RB Willie Parker and DE Aaron Smith, their best offensive weapon and their best run stuffer. Both are out with injuries, and the Steelers have not fared well without them. Still, Pittsburgh almost never loses their playoff opener, and the Jaguars haven’t won a playoff game in 9 years. They’ll need Big Ben to be both mistake-free and accurate, and I’m just not sure I want to bet on that prospect. Jacksonville advances with a physical 24-17 win.
NY Giants at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Everything about this matchup screams “Pick the Giants”. I’m going to ignore their better record, their 7-1 road record, their near-upset of the Patriots last week, their mastery over Cover-2 defensive teams lately (they’ve won 9 of the last 11 against the Tony Dungy coaching tree) and the fact that Tampa has less momentum headed into this game than Joe Biden in the Iowa Caucus. I simply do not trust Eli Manning to beat such an opportunistic, disciplined defense under the weight of playoff pressure. I also don’t think the Giants will have much success rattling Tampa QB Jeff Garcia or forcing turnovers. The probable loss of C Shaun O’Hara, on top of the recent loss of TE Jeremy Shockey, really hurts the Giants, while the Bucs have rested their regulars over the past two weeks in preparation for this game. Tampa reaps the rewards of playing in such a crappy division. Bucs 27, Giants 23.
Tennessee Titans at San Diego Chargers: The Chargers are hot, winning 6 in a row and doing it with an amped-up defense and a resurgent Ladanian Tomlinson. They led the league in turnover margin and ranked 1st in average starting field position. Everything they do well is perfectly suited to beat the Titans, who barely squeaked past the Colts’ 2nd team to get into this game. San Diego hasn’t won a playoff game since LT was in 8th grade, but Marty Schottenheimer isn’t the coach anymore, and notice you haven’t heard much noise about how bad Norv Turner’s coaching is lately? The Chargers head to Indy, much to the Colts chagrin, with a dominating 30-10 whipping of the Titans.
A Top 100 overall prospect list and updated mock draft will be posted within the next few days.
