The NFL is Poop - Wild Card Playoffs

Arizona Cardinals 30 Atlanta Falcons 24
The Cardinals beat the Falcons by beating them at their own game. And doing it from the get-go. The Cardinals set the tone for this game on their second drive. They tried three passes on their first possession and went 3-and-out. They started their second drive with 3 runs, 6, 9 and 6 yards. After softening up the defense, the Cardinals used a flea flicker for a touchdown. Though that touchdown was more the result of Larry Fitzgerald’s incredible athleticism, than it was duping a defense which was committed to the run. And the Cardinals also got tough on defense bottling up Michael Turner for most of the game. But despite that impressive style of play, the Cardinals were still in trouble in this one until the ball landed in Antrell Rolle’s lap and he returned the fumble 27 yards for a touchdown to give the Cardinals a 21-17 lead. After that the Falcons went 5 possessions in which they lost 6 yards total, got intercepted and sacked in the end zone for a safety.

San Diego Chargers 23 Indianapolis Colts 17
The best game of the weekend but it was also marred by some questionable officiating and some horrible play. Neither team seemed like they wanted to win this game. But beyond the play-by-play of this one is the remarkable downside of the careers of two of the greatest players of this decade. Let’s look at Peyton Manning for instance, sure he had one great year, but take that out, and he’s 3-8 lifetime in the playoffs. That’s an atrocious record. And several of those games were home games, or games the Colts should have won. Yes, he shook the choker label by winning the Super Bowl, but he is far from clutch. And it sure seems like the window is closing on these Colts teams. And the career of LaDanian Tomlinson maybe be on an even sharper slide. For the second year in a row Tomlinson sat on the sidelines looking utterly disinterested while this team won a playoff game. In the NFL, teams have to be quick to get rid of aging high-priced stars (better a year too soon than a year too late) because of the salary cap. Running backs usually fade early, and very quickly (remember Shaun Alexander?). And the great performance of Darren Sproles will give the Chargers even more reason to consider cutting Tomlinson loose (I bet they wish they’d kept Michael Turner). Sproles just goes to show that size is overrated, if a guy is fast but small maybe he can’t carry 20 times a day right up the middle, but if you use him properly he can become a great asset.

Baltimore Ravens 27 Miami Dolphins 9
Absolute domination by the Ravens. And crashing down came the Cinderella season of the Dolphins and especially Chad Pennington. In 2 games against the Ravens Pennington through 5 interceptions, in 15 games against the rest of the league he threw 6. But it started when the Ravens shut down the Dolphins running game (Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown combined for 36 yards) and took the lead. That forced the Dolphins to pass more often than they would like (38 attempts for Pennington). In each of the last 3 seasons a team that played on the first weekend of the playoffs went on to winner the Super Bowl. If that trend continues I think it will be the Ravens. They have a dominating defense, a powerful running game and in Joe Flacco, a Roethlisberger-esque young QB who isn’t great, but doesn’t screw it up and makes enough plays to win.

Philadelphia Eagles 26 Minnesota Vikings 14
And Eagles fans love Donovan McNabb again. It should be pointed out for all the criticism he gets McNabb is 6-0 in his career in his first round playoff game. Coach Andy Reid is 7-0, because he won one game with Jeff Garcia at the helm. Unfortunately for them they’re 1-3 in NFC championship games and 0-1 in the Super Bowl. A lot of people criticize the Eagles for an imbalanced pass-run breakdown but they really started to have success in this game when they abandoned the run. The Vikings completely stuff their rushing game so they started throwing on every down, to great success. After two pretty good drives that didn’t turn into anything because of horrid starting field position, the Eagles broke through when Brian Westbrook sprung free for a 71-yard touchdown. And the Vikings couldn't come back because, frankly, Tarvaris Jackson sucks. This team needs to figure out something fast because 21 of their starters are good enough to be a really good team, but neither Gus Frerotte nor Jackson is good enough to lead them anywhere. If they can get their hands on Donovan McNabb, they'd probably get at least one round further in the playoffs next year.