Divisional Round: Championship Push
This is always my favorite week of the playoffs. It fuels a debate in my mind every year. Is that first round bye, and home field "advantage" really helpful in the road to the super bowl? I could dive into that topic, however I just want you to think about how the week off affects teams, and whether that wild card win is a momentum builder.
Baltimore Ravens @ Denver Broncos on CBS at 2:30 PM MT (Yes, this game is in the Rockies)
This game is the shining example of my point above. No one can dispute the Broncos amazing 11 game win streak to close out the season. It is truly amazing what Peyton has done this year with a new team. And not to be left out is their defense, which has been solid nearly the entire year. All this culminated in the Broncos taking the first seed and winning home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Also earning them a bye, which I feel is the worst thing that could happen to a team like Denver. Momentum was their biggest ally during the 2012 season. Taking the week off will slow them down, that fire and excitement will not be as intense as it was in throughout the last 3/4s of the season. On the other side of this story, we have the Baltimore Ravens, who struggled, and some doubted their validity as a playoff team. This is where wild card weekend is instrumental in many team's success. The Ravens were able to pick up an emotional win behind their longtime leader Ray Lewis. I feel this momentum carries over into an upset win for the Ravens. Ray Rice will not put the ball on the ground this week, and will have a heavy work load and carry this team to a win. Also, Joe Flacco and that hurry up offense actually had success last week. It will be a taller order against the Broncos D, but I look for Torrey Smith to have an amazing game. Ray Lewis, if given another opportunity to make an interception like the one against the Colts, has to come up with the ball. I feel he will. Then you throw in Ed Reed, whose mission in life is to make quarterbacks, especially top tier ones, miserable for 4+ quarters. This is not a popular pick, but it is mine. This will not be a repeat of their previous meeting this season, mostly due to the fact the Ravens are finally healthy.The Ravens will ride Ray Lewis' inspirational ride for at least one more week.
Baltimore 28, Denver 24
Player of the game:
Ray Rice
Green Bay Packers @ San Francisco 49ers on FOX at 6:00 PM MT (Cause I'm in the Rockies)
Saturday nights game is a battle between two teams that have played already this season. The 49ers were able to defeat the Packers in week 1 30-22. These were two very different teams all those weeks ago. While the Packers have come on strong during wild card weekend, the 49ers have not been playing like the same team, especially on defence. The argument could be made that Kaepernick has added a new dimension to their offense. The 49ers have one of the most consistent running back in Frank Gore. He always seems to fall for at least a few yards, and those are on the bad plays. Their passing game has finally seemed to get going this year after that atrocious showing against the Giants in the playoffs last year. Justin Smith's injury has been huge. Aldon Smith has been without a sack since he went out, only proving that the "Cowboy" is the true star of that line. It is possible that he makes his return this week. Then there is the Green Bay Packers. They had an embarrassing playoff appearance last year, and had a 2012 season filled with ups and downs. Its not the regular season anymore. They picked up speed with their win against Minnesota, the offense is finally healthy and firing on all cylinders. The defense is finally playing to its potential. Look for Charles Woodson to have a huge impact from here on out, much like their Super Bowl run a few years ago. This game is literally the old vs. new mentality in the league. The 49ers play stout defense and power football on offense. The Packers have a high flying, high octane offense and a D that plays well enough to keep the other team from scoring as much as their own offense. It took me some time to come to my conclusion on this game, and since it doesn't really matter, because the winner loses to Seattle next week anyways, Green Bay takes the win. This will setup what will be the most talked about championship game in years, all because of a certain hail mary catch(?) during the regular season.
Green Bay 31, San Francisco 17
Player of the Game:
Charles Woodson
Please let me know your thoughts and picks on these games. Looking forward to another weekend of post-season football.
Phinland Pride,
Kyle Gilmore
My main issue with the Broncos 11 game win streak: Who did they beat?! After their first 5 game stretch (in which they went 2-3) they have had the easiest schedule in the league. Granted they have a great quarterback in Manning, but their defense is far from stunning. They played the Chiefs, Raiders and Chargers for 6 of their 13 wins... Not very impressive. They lost to two of the remaining playoff teams in the AFC, this is why I don't see them winning, they might escape this week, but definitely not next. Great article in all Kyle, very interesting perspectives!
ReplyDeleteI am more impressed with their D than their offense. That probably will get me shot, but I think they are your typical bend don't break offense. Much like the packers. They only play well enough to let Peyton outscore the other team. I think the second anyone can disrupt Peyton, the Broncos will fall. Now that Baltimore is healthy, I see T Suggs disrupting the pocket all day. I guess we will find out. Every team left in the playoffs has a D that has the ability to beat you, which does not bode well for a Broncos team who has yet to run into a stout defense, or even a healthy one.
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