Sunday, January 14, 2007
NFL Playoffs Round 2, Sunday
Briefly on today’s playoff games, as we told you yesterday, we see the Bears-Seahawks as the snoozer of the weekend. It seems unlikely that either of these teams could find any way to beat the Saints. Then, again, if you read yesterday's column, the Clarion liked the Eagles.
Today we’ll take the Seahwks, though we’d like’em a lot better with the eight points Vegas as offering to go with’em. The Bears have struggled down the stretch. Rex Grossman is just the latest in a series of lousy Florida quarterbacks, who looked good only in Steve Superior’s system. Does the name Danny Wuerffel ring any bells, people? Bears coach Lovie Smith should have gone to Brian Griese four weeks ago. When he goes to him in the second half today, it will be too late.
The Seahawks are bearing the jinx of the Super Bowl loser, which means they aren’t going far, in fact, even having gone this far is impressive. But surely, their season has seemed jinxed, Hasselback, is clearly a better quarterback than Grossman, but he looks like he is still playing injured. Shawn Alexander doesn’t look 100% either. If both of these guys were healthy, the Clarion would take Seattle in a walkover. Seattle secondary has also been decimated by injury. If the Bears had a quarterback, this might be a concern.
On the other side, the Bears defense is missing stud defensive tackle Tommy Harris, the best player on their D, despite the deserved run the media gives to Brian Urlacher and Mike Brown. The other defensive tackle “Machine Gun” Tank Johnson is distracted by his legal problems. A tank was about the only weapon the 5-0 didn't find when they raided his house. The Seahawks we be able to score just enough to squeak this one out on the road today, before running into fate and destiny in N’Orlins next weekend.
As for the AFC, this is the game of the week and possibly the Super Bowl, period. Before the season the Clarion liked the Patriots, until yesterday we were waffling on between them and the Ravens. With the Ravens summarily dismissed, it is time to hop back on the Pats bandwagon and pretend we never got off. (Though there is a certain fear that Vinateri may show us it was NOT just a Brady-Belichek twosome that won those Super Bowls, but rather a triumvirate of three which is no missing one leg.)
As for today in San Diego, you know the Clarion says bet the better quarterback and the better coach. Note Marty Schottenheimer 5-12 in the playoffs, Belichek and Brady when together are 11-1. Wow!! Marty’s style is so close vest and so unsuccessful, it got its own derisive moniker, “Marty ball.” He plays it too scared and too tight. Today with a young QB, who has never played a down in the playoffs, Marty is going to play it as cautious as ever.
Now we like, Phillip Rivers, a heady player, a coach’s son with all the tools, and we think he is the kind of guy who could eventually win the Super Bowl, this isn’t likely the year. The Chargers do have the best running back in the game. LaDamaian Tomlinson could take over, but this is where the coaching advantage comes into play. Belichek is a defensive mastermind who will design a game plan that stops Tomlinson. He will stack up against the run and force Phillip Rivers to beat the Pats. Not happening today. Not with Tom Brady on the other side of the ball, even without wideouts. The Patriots are getting just enough out of Jabbar Gaffney and the cast of a thousand tight-ends. This will be the hardest hitting and best game of the weekend. Sorry San Diego-ens (Residents of San Diego are called...) at least you have the weather to console you.
San Diego forecast
Non-Californians please note this is considered a miserably brutal forecast by San Diego winter standards.
Today we’ll take the Seahwks, though we’d like’em a lot better with the eight points Vegas as offering to go with’em. The Bears have struggled down the stretch. Rex Grossman is just the latest in a series of lousy Florida quarterbacks, who looked good only in Steve Superior’s system. Does the name Danny Wuerffel ring any bells, people? Bears coach Lovie Smith should have gone to Brian Griese four weeks ago. When he goes to him in the second half today, it will be too late.
The Seahawks are bearing the jinx of the Super Bowl loser, which means they aren’t going far, in fact, even having gone this far is impressive. But surely, their season has seemed jinxed, Hasselback, is clearly a better quarterback than Grossman, but he looks like he is still playing injured. Shawn Alexander doesn’t look 100% either. If both of these guys were healthy, the Clarion would take Seattle in a walkover. Seattle secondary has also been decimated by injury. If the Bears had a quarterback, this might be a concern.
On the other side, the Bears defense is missing stud defensive tackle Tommy Harris, the best player on their D, despite the deserved run the media gives to Brian Urlacher and Mike Brown. The other defensive tackle “Machine Gun” Tank Johnson is distracted by his legal problems. A tank was about the only weapon the 5-0 didn't find when they raided his house. The Seahawks we be able to score just enough to squeak this one out on the road today, before running into fate and destiny in N’Orlins next weekend.
As for the AFC, this is the game of the week and possibly the Super Bowl, period. Before the season the Clarion liked the Patriots, until yesterday we were waffling on between them and the Ravens. With the Ravens summarily dismissed, it is time to hop back on the Pats bandwagon and pretend we never got off. (Though there is a certain fear that Vinateri may show us it was NOT just a Brady-Belichek twosome that won those Super Bowls, but rather a triumvirate of three which is no missing one leg.)
As for today in San Diego, you know the Clarion says bet the better quarterback and the better coach. Note Marty Schottenheimer 5-12 in the playoffs, Belichek and Brady when together are 11-1. Wow!! Marty’s style is so close vest and so unsuccessful, it got its own derisive moniker, “Marty ball.” He plays it too scared and too tight. Today with a young QB, who has never played a down in the playoffs, Marty is going to play it as cautious as ever.
Now we like, Phillip Rivers, a heady player, a coach’s son with all the tools, and we think he is the kind of guy who could eventually win the Super Bowl, this isn’t likely the year. The Chargers do have the best running back in the game. LaDamaian Tomlinson could take over, but this is where the coaching advantage comes into play. Belichek is a defensive mastermind who will design a game plan that stops Tomlinson. He will stack up against the run and force Phillip Rivers to beat the Pats. Not happening today. Not with Tom Brady on the other side of the ball, even without wideouts. The Patriots are getting just enough out of Jabbar Gaffney and the cast of a thousand tight-ends. This will be the hardest hitting and best game of the weekend. Sorry San Diego-ens (Residents of San Diego are called...) at least you have the weather to console you.
San Diego forecast
Non-Californians please note this is considered a miserably brutal forecast by San Diego winter standards.
Labels: NFL, Predictions, sports
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