Time for the first playoff edition of Protecting the Shield! As always, our overrated and underrated stories of the week, 3 stars, and random observations looking back at the Wild Card Round and ahead to the Divisional Round...
Overrated Story of The Week: The Philly Soap Opera
-Well, 10 days ago everything was right in Philadelphia. The buzz about Roy Halladay was still fresh, Villanova and Temple were in the Top 25, the Union's inaugural season is soon approaching (bonus points for anyone who tells me what sport!), and the Eagles were the favorites in the NFC. Today, the Eagles are out of the playoffs after 2 losses in Dallas and the yearly calls to blow the Eagles up are echoing throughout the media and the fans. I can't tell you how many times I turned on the radio or TV this week and heard folks speculate on Donovan McNabb's next location. One question though - why?
Sure, the Eagles under McNabb and Reid haven't won the big one... yet. But, they've been the most consistently excellent team of the past 10 years. 7 playoff appearances in the past 9 years doesn't lie. How many teams do you think would trade for that kind of production? And yet, every year, the up and down roller coaster of emotions continues. Fire Reid! Trade McNabb! Why? Would you rather have Tom Cable and JaMarcus Russell? Or Jim Zorn and Jason Campbell? I understand the frustration of being close every year and not getting there, but it could be much worse for Philly fans. With young players like McCoy, Maclin, and Jackson impressing, the Eagles aren't going anywhere anytime soon. So Eagles fans shouldn't panic, and folks shouldn't be calling for the Reid and McNabb era to end just when the promised land is still in sight.
Underrated Story of The Week: The Ravens Impress
-The other sky is falling scenario from the weekend focused on the Patriots home blowout vs Baltimore. Everyone wants to talk about the Pats' crappy defense, Randy Moss' indifference, and Tom Brady's age... but nobody wants to talk about how impressive the Ravens looked. Let's be real, we knew the Patriots were a pretender, but for them to be blown out at home was a surprise. Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and co. made Tom Brady looked like Trent Dilfer and Ray Rice might be the next Emmitt Smith. There's talk that a defense and running game isn't worth winning any more, but if any team can prove that new age theory wrong, it is the Ravens. With the Colts off of their sabbatical break, will they be ready to face a rejuvenated, physical Ravens team? This bunch might be the Wild Card team that makes the surprise run this season.
3 Stars:
3rd Star: The Sanchise (QB-NYJ)
-Well, Mark Sanchez came through when it mattered most after playing just terribly in the regular season. But, a 139+ passer rat ing on the road in the playoffs is mightily impressive. A shoutout to Iowa rookie Shonn Greene for his 133 yard performance as well. But, let's get real, they ain't beatin San Diego.
2nd Star: Ray Rice (RB-Ravens)
-Could the comparisons to Emmitt Smith be appropriate? Ok, so he's probably not going to set the all-time rushing record, but Ray Rice looks set to become the breakout star of the postseason. His long TD run was a highlight of the round, made more so by the radio call of the great Kevin Harlan featured by our friends from Hot Clicks. (check out that sweet article about the Top 10 Wild Card Games... oh, wait, that's us! Thank you Jimmy Traina!)
1st Star: Anyone that played offense for Green Bay and Arizona
-As we spotlighted in our Top 10 Wild Card Games countdown, this offensive slugfest was an all-time classic. The box score has too many amazing stats to put in this space, but Warner, Fitzgerald, Rodgers, and Jennings were playing at an all-world level. As a Saints fan, I'm kinda hoping it doesn't carry over to next week...
4 Random Observations Looking Back & 4 Looking Forward
1) Who is the most disappointed this week? It has to be Cincinnati. What happened? Well, Shayne Graham didn't exactly help matters and Carson Palmer looks like Matt Leinart. The disappearance of Palmer is perhaps the strangest story of the postseason.
2) You have to hand it to the Cowboys for finally putting it together. After Wade Phillips has heard he can't get the job done for so long, it is nice to see him finally get the monkey off of his back.
3) Are the Pats done? Probably not - especially with more good draft picks in the pipeline. But, the mystique of the Patriots is certainly gone. They'll contend next year for the AFC East title again, but their unquestioned elite status at the very top is in the past.
4) The Cards/Pack game saved the WC round. While some people complained about a lack of defense, I think most folks enjoyed the game. In truth, isn't that the best thing about football? We can see a 51-45 game, or a 7-6 game, and be entertained either way.
5) Dal/Min: Of course, the glamour matchup of the round in most people's eyes. Will the Vikings OTs be able to save Favre from DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer? Doubtful. The Cowboys are firing on all cylinders and are the physical team that can stand up to the Vikings.
6) SD/NYJ: The biggest mismatch of R2. The Jets have developed into a nice story, but San Diego is such a clutch playoff team... wait, they aren't, oh yea... actually this could go either way. Everyone will focus on if Phil Rivers succeed against a hot Jets defense, but the story might be San Diego shutting down the Jets run game.
7) Bal/Indy: Again, the Colts December vacation strategy hasn't exactly done wonders in the past and the Ravens are coming in flying high. Don't forget Baltimore had every opportunity to beat Indy earlier this season but couldn't cash in. Will the Colts be able to adjust against such a physical team after a month off? I'm not so sure.
8) Ari/NO: For fear of jinxing the Saints, I'll only say this: they might need 60 points to win on Saturday.
Check back on Friday for our full division round preview! And in the meantime we'll continue to give our thoughts for stories around the world of sports. Bye for now...
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