From the Press Box 1.14.12

NFL Divisional Round of the Playoffs

San Francisco 49'ers vs. New Orleans Saints

The age-old question of what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object definitely applies to this matchup. A top five offense going on the road against a top five defense. Drew Brees takes his 5,000+ passing yards and dozen different receiving threats to San Fran against a Jim Harbaugh's physical defense. Good luck to whoever has to cover Jimmy Graham-the guy had more fouls than field goals while playing college basketball and Brees will surely target the tight end throughout the game assuming the Saints running game stalls.

Did I mention the 49'ers have only given up one rushing touchdown all season? My Calculus grade doesn't indicate that I'm a math expert, but that means that they played 15 games WITHOUT giving up a rushing TD. The Saints have a very underrated and unique three-pronged rushing attack but the 49'ers know how to stop opposing teams' ground games.
If you're similar to the middle school kids with ADD and short term memory loss, here are the two things to write down on your hand or forearm with your scented non-toxic purple marker (I'm personally a fan of writing on your forearm because it's less likely to get washed off and people in rough neighborhoods might mistake the writing as tattoos and be intimidated by you).

The Saints are not playing at the Superdome. It's as if the air is filled with krypton and Superman is at risk whenever he leaves his home. If the Saints played all of their game at home, they wouldn't lose more than one or two games each year. But considering the NFL is a fair league where the teams with the best records get home-field advantage in the playoffs, they have to leave the state of Louisiana after the first round. I can't explain but they're a different team when they leave the bayou.
The San Francisco 49'ers have much less playoff experience than the Saints. The 49'ers haven't played past Week 17 since 2002. That's before rookie coach Jim Harbaugh made a name for himself at Stanford. That's before Mike Singletary's fiery press conferences. That's before Alex Smith went #1 overall to the 49'ers. The Saints have had six playoff appearances in that time span, including a Super Bowl victory in the 2009-2010 season.

           San Francisco will have to keep the Saints under thirty points if they want to have any shot at winning and I can't see Alex Smith keeping up with Drew Brees offensively. Get your Mardi Gras beads, jazz music, and jumbalaya ready-Saints win 31-17.

New England Patriots vs. Denver Broncos

                                                                                                                   

              Same song, just a different beat. The Broncos are a much better team a mile up in the air. Plus, playing at Foxborough is one of the worse locations because that means that they have to face the wrath of Tom "I wear Uggs but don't try making fun of me because I have a supermodel wife and three championship rings" Brady and Bill "My wardrobe consists of twelve different grey hoodies" Belichick.
Anyone who claims that Denver will win because of it's defense is either forgetting or blatantly ignoring who they're up against. The name's Brady, Tom Brady, Agent 0012. The Pats have exited the playoffs after their first game each of the past two seasons and they're definitely not going for the three-peat. Tim Tebow got his $250,000 from winning last game and the victory means that the county will get at least one more year of endless talk about him in in the media. However, he is without Eric Decker and will need more than a Hail Mary to win the game (pun intended).

The Fighting Tebow's lose 31-13.

 Jeff Fisher to the Rams

                   This is the kind of decision that makes fans question “experts” and analysts such as Adam Schefter. Now there’s no question that Schefter is good at what he does for ESPN and no bum off the street could just replace him and do the same quality of work. Miami seemed like the more favorable choice.

                   Why did the Big Three—I’m referring to the ones in Miami, not the ones in Boston, the Three Stooges, or the Three Musketeers—choose to land in Miami instead of Cleveland? 80˚ weather on a daily basis in the winter versus 20˚ weather, snow storms, and a terrible sports city.

                    Miami would have the upper hand in most comparisons between two cities. The Dolphins were 6-10 this year, which is by no means good but at least respectable compared to the St. Louis Rams’ record of 2-14. The Patriots’ days are numbered. Tom Brady has maybe four years of high-level performance but lacks excellent wide receivers, running backs, and defense. The New York Jets took a nose dive this season despite their claims to make it to the Super Bowl and whatever other ridiculous claims Rex Ryan made. The Bills started surprisingly well but in the end turned out to be the team everyone expected them to be. Miami could contend for the AFC East title by finding a quarterback to go along with Reggie Bush and Brandon Marshall, who both had 1,000 yard seasons, and improving their pass defense through the draft or free agency.

                  I understand Fisher, but I don’t necessarily agree with him. The Rams at least have a quarterback, Sam Bradford, to build around for the future, but it’s a quarterback who has faced lots of issues with injuries in the past few seasons. St. Louis also has the second overall pick, which they can use on essentially any position other than quarterback or running back and their team would benefit greatly. Or, they could always go the route of trading the pick for a combination of player(s) and picks to fill more of their holes. Although, in case he has lived under the rock for the past five months, I have a wake-up call for Jeff Fisher--the San Francisco 49’ers are really good. Alex Smith is still a relatively young player, Frank Gore is a monster out of the backfield, and don’t even bother trying to run against SF because you won’t get anywhere. The ‘Niners are going to dominate this division for the next five years at least and it will be difficult to build a team quickly that can dethrone them.

                    We’ll see how Fisher feels about the decision next year around Week 8 when the Rams are 2-6 or 3-5 and the temperature in St. Louis drops to half of that in Miami.

UNC Blown Out by FSU

                    North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams has never been embarrassed this badly before in his time at Chapel Hill.

                    90-57.

                    That’s more than just a bad shooting night. Florida State almost scored as many second half points as that Tar Heels did in the game.  Two Seminoles, Deividas Dulkys and Michael Snaer, dropped nearly as many as the #3 team in the country. Florida State shot well, nothing jaw-dropping at 48.4%. The biggest differences were free throws and three-pointers.

                      UNC: 9-20 and 4-21.

                     FSU: 18-24 and 12-27.

                   Good teams make free throws, it’s as simple as that. North Carolina was caught on a bad day on the road against Florida State, who played out of their minds. Most top ranked teams slip up at some point during the season and today just happened to be that day. Had the game been played at Chapel Hill, I don’t think the result would have been worthy of the #1 story on SportsCenter as it is now.

Miami Heat Three-Game Losing Streak

                   After starting 8-1 and managing to win a game in overtime without LeBron or D-Wade playing at all, the Miami Heat have dropped three straight games, two of which were in OT. However, the worst news of last night for Miami was Wade’s ankle injury that leaves him questionable for the upcoming games. With a shortened season, the Heat are 1/5 of the way done before the start of the playoffs. They are still second in the Southeast Conference and have one of the best records in the NBA so they have nothing to worry about. For now. As long as they can pull themselves together and turn things around they are still in great position to make a deep run in the playoffs. LeBron has been scoring like crazy this season and a likely frontrunner for MVP

 Fantasy Basketball

                 I’m in my first legitimate fantasy basketball league (the one for computer lab in junior high where you “reported” your own score and the girls drafted the players with funny foreign names doesn’t county) and the draft was last night. I wasn’t able to draft my team live and I was given the last pick of the first round sadly, but here’s my team:

Rajan Rondo
Pau Gasol
DJ Augustin
Al Horford
Marcus Thornton
Wesley Matthews
Landry Fields
Boris Diaw
Nick Young
Mario Chalmers
OJ Mayo
DeAndre Jordan

The NFL Has Forced Pittsburgh's Harrison's Hand

            It seems like James Harrison is fined by the NFL every other week for some form of illegal contact, whether it's roughing the passer, leading with his helmet on a tackle, or coming in late on a play. He's paid literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for numberous hits, including ones on Drew Brees, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Colt McCoy, Mohamed Massaqoui, and Josh Cribbs. I don't know if Harrison has a personal vendetta against the Browns or simply elevates his game to the next level against a division rival, but he seems to run into the most trouble when Pittsburgh plays Cleveland. The NFL has even gone as far as suspending him for future games.

          Courtesy of http://www.visualcrack.info/league-is-selling-photos-of-james-harrisons-illegal-hit-on-mohamed-massaquoi.html

            Let me make this clear, the NFL has made the right decisions by enforcing its rules that protect quarterbacks and helpless receivers coming across the middle. There have been far too many concussion-related incidents that can not only end a player's career but cause serious psychological issues in the player's future off the field.

   Courtesy of http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/early-lead/post/james-harrisons-hit-on-colt-mccoy-draws-attention/2011/12/09/gIQAz539hO_blog.html

            In typical James Harrison fashion, the Steelers linebacker was involved in a play that would make a weak-stomached fan squeamish. In the first half, Denver Broncos wide receiver Eric Decker, Tim Tebow's favorite target this season (which means the Decker is targeted about three times per game), caught a pass from Tebow that sent him straight into a death trap. Decker was sandwiched between two Pittsburgh defenders, one of whom was Harrison. Roger Goodell and the NFL can pat themselves on their collective back--Harrison seems to have finally learned his lesson. He could have hit Decker high, sending the wide receiver spiralling up in the air, and he would have regained consciousness two weeks later in a hospital bed. However, the NFL has an equally dangerous situation on its hands--hitting players low. Harrison went low, deciding that he had written enough checks to the league, and hit the outside of Eric Decker's knee with his helmet and shoulder. Decker dropped the would-be completion and was visibly in serious pain. He was helped off the field and taken straight to the locker room. The Broncos announced that Decker has a sprained MCL and will be out for the rest of the playoffs.

Courtesy of http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/football/nfl/01/08/broncos.eric.decker.ap/index.html

            I guess risking injury to the knee is the lesser of two evils when compared to risking injury to the head and neck, but it is still a scary predicament that the NFL is in. I wouldn't be surprised if Decker is not back to being completely healthy by next season. But under the current rules, this is the type of injury that will become much more prevalent as the league cracks down on hits to the upper half of the body. The NFL has limited options to protect players from bad hits to their legs--fining hits to the knee will start to ruin the game that so many players and fans love if linebackers can only aim for opposing players' shoelaces and belly buttons to avoid penalties, fines, and suspensions. I'm not sure what the next step is to keep players healthy and not handcuff defenses too much, but there will be more Eirc Decker-like injuries if the NFL doesn't find a solution soon.

Keys to the Bears vs. Broncos Game

            Tim Tebow's impressive 6-1 record this season as a starter will be tested when he faces the Chicago Bears in Denver today. Tebow will have the hardest time scoring today out of any regular season game this season, but the Broncos will have great chances at winning.

Keys to the Game:
Bears: Force turnovers on defense, getting good field position on special teams, have a double-digit lead going into the fourth quarter, scoring on defense/special teams
Broncos: Don't turn the ball over, put pressure on Caleb Hanie, keep the game close in the first three quarters
           
            The Bears defense has wreaked havoc this season, intercepting sixteen passes, forcing eleven fumbles, and recovering nine of them. Tebow will have more pressure than ever to play smart. The few times he throws he will have to place the ball in places where only his receivers can catch the ball. When he scrambles, he'll have to hold onto the ball very tightly because Chicago is the best team in the league at stripping the ball. With Chicago's top two offensive players, Matt Forte and Jay Cutler, out with injuries, the Bears will need the defense to give them the best field position possible so that they can settle for field goals if they can't put the ball in the endzone. Caleb Hanie has struggled in the two games that he has played, completing less than half of his passes. His touchdown to interception ratio is 1:3, throwing three picks in both games. As we saw last year in the playoffs, Hanie does have the ability to perform well, we just haven't seen it in 2011. He may need a few games under his belt to get warmed up, but if that is not the case, a defensive touchdown would be critical to the Bears winning the game. If there was ever a game where Chicago needs  Devin Hester to be a big-time playmaker it's today. If he can get to a least the Bears own forty yard line a two or three times on kickoffs, Chicago will have a much shorter field to work with and will take some of the pressure off of Caleb Hanie. The Chicago Bears will need to have at least a two score lead going into the fourth quarter because of Tim Tebow's ability to lead the Broncos to comeback victories.  The longer the Bears hold onto the ball in the fourth quarter and the more they slow the game down, the less time Tebow will have to put together a potential game-winning drive.

Courtesy of http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/6ilGKu3ghRf/Houston+Texans+v+Denver+Broncos/QxLpplhlnIb/Tim+Tebow

            I think that the Chicago Bears will play the Broncos very tough and Tebow will have one of his worst statistical games this season. Chicago's offense is missing too much of its firepower and will struggle offensively. Caleb Hanie will have his best game this season, throwing for 200 yards, 2 touchdowns, and one interception. The Bears will force three turnovers and have one defense or special teams touchdown. However, the Broncos defense will keep the game close in the first three quarters so that Tebow can win the game in the fourth. Denver Broncos win 24-20 over the Chicago Bears in a close game at Denver.

Monday Night Football: Week 11

Courtesy of http://bleacherreport.com/articles/913212-tim-tebow-sparks-awesome-tebowing-craze-you-must-include-in-your-daily-routine Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

                     If the Denver Broncos manage to beat the New York Jets tonight, I will officially jump on the Tebow bandwagon. I'll buy a Tim Tebow jersey, donate my life savings to his charity, buy a fathead of Tebow, tattoo his number on my bicep, and then spend an hour of my day "Tebowing" in the direction of Denver. Maybe tonight's game against the Jets isn't a good measuring stick for how good Tebow is, or the Broncos are as a team. The Jets are barely above five-hundred but are still making the ridiculous claims of past years that they are "Super Bowl contenders." It amazes me how Tebow, despite being 6 for 15 passing for 69 yards and only 11 rushing yards, is able to keep his team within three points of the Jets and have the ball in the fourth quarter. I don't know what's in Tebow's water, but whatever it is, count me down for a glass, because #15 is a natural winner.

Top NFL Plays of Week 10



3. Yesterday in the Denver Broncos vs. Kansas City Chiefs game, half of Tim Tebow's completions were touchdowns. Considering that he only had two completions make that stat much less impressive, but nonetheless, I think he deserves credit for his sole passing touchdown after lulling the Chiefs' secondary to sleep in a game that featured fifty-five Broncos rushing plays. In the fourth quarter, while the Broncos were only up by three points, Tebow connected with wide receiver Eric Decker for a fifty-six yard score. I give props to Decker for his salute to the American troops in honor of Veterans Day even though the officials did not agree. He was flagged for excessive celebration.


Courtesy of http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/extramustard/hotclicks/11/14/catrinel-menghia-eric-decker-penalized-for-saluting-to-troops/?xid=cnnbin 

2. Chicago Bears speedster Devin Hester scored his third touchdown return of the year against the Detroit Lions on Sunday. As so many great special teams plays often start, Hester bobbled the punt, but doing so caused the Lions punt team to overcommit on Hester, allowing him to run to the outside and sprint down the sideline virtually untouched for his 12th punt return touchdown of his career. What was most impressive about his touchdown is that he returned the punt while he had an unspecified sickness. I would hate to be the opposing team when he's completely healthy!

Courtesy of  http://www.suntimes.com/sports/morrissey/8813736-419/why-teams-still-kick-to-the-bears-devin-hester-is-a-mystery.html

 1. Easily the most spectacular play from last Sunday was Kansas City wide receiver Jonathon Baldwin's catch, that ended up not counting because of a penalty on the play. Matt Cassel underthrew Baldwin, who was streaking down the field, and then amazingly, Baldwin caught the ball blindly behind the back of Broncos saftey Brian Dawkins. Baldwin went down with both the ball and Dawkins, but his efforts were nullified by the penalty.

 Couresy of http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/13/jonathan-baldwin-catch-chiefs-broncos-dawkins_n_1091370.html