I'm sure that title has been used in many publications, but how else can you describe the exciting turnout from the 4 NFL playoff games that occurred this Saturday and Sunday?
The weekend began Saturday with the Cincinnati Bengals facing off against the NY Jets. The Jets started off the game slowly, but their defense was able to hold the Bengals to the only touchdown they received in the 1st quarter until late in the 4th quarter. The Jets run game decided to put on a repeat performance of the previous week and provide opportunities for 24 points.
Final score: Jets 24, Bengals 14
I know I picked the Bengals, but I did put a disclaimer, saying that if the Jets actually won, I wouldn't be surprised in the least bit. I didn't expect the Bengals' offense to be entirely suffocated the way they were last week, yet I did look for the Jets to come out and play as hard as they could. They are the dark horse this NFL postseason.
The Jets will play against the San Diego Chargers Sunday at 4:40pm EST.
Next, the Philadelphia Eagles were set to play the second rematch of the weekend against the Dallas Cowboys. After Philly fans claimed that the Eagles didn't try last week and will come out harder this week, their words seemed to have been true. I mean, the Eagles DID tie the game at 7 all when Michael Vick entered the game for a play.
Just because Dallas had not won a playoff game in 13 years, however, didn't guarantee the Eagles a win. The Cowboys had something to prove: that their late-season run was not a fluke and that they CAN, in fact, win a playoff game.
Final score: Cowboys 34, Eagles 14
Easy as that. The Eagles defense looked entirely weak, as Dallas got about 200 rushing yards and 244 passing yards on them.
Now that that the 13-year playoff curse is off the Cowboys, is it possible that they can use this to go all the way? Well, they'll have to go through the Minnesota Vikings Sunday afternoon at 1:00pm EST.
Today's Sunday match-ups weren't about to disappoint either.
The Baltimore Raven and the New England Patriots was a no-brainer. The Pats were just too much for the erratic Ravens, whose impeccable defense was only a fable from about 3 years ago...
...Not so fast.
The Ravens were up 24-0 by the start of the 2nd quarter. I woke up from my slumber, only to get up close and squint at the television just to make sure that the score was indeed, 24-0. I know I picked Baltimore to win, but I mean, who expects the Patriots would be losing in Foxboro in a playoff game to the Ravens.
Despite looks of the Patriots still hanging around, and the Ravens not scoring another touchdown until the 4th quarter and missing the 2-point conversion on their final touchdown, New England lost. Yes.
Final score: Ravens 33, Patriots 14.
I wonder what Pats coach Bill Belichick is going to blame this one on. It's clearly not the turf this time... Nonetheless, after exacting revenge on the Pats, the Ravens will be put to a much bigger test in the Indianapolis Colts Saturday at 8:15, whom they also almost beat this season in a field goal-filled battle. We'll see how well resting the players fared for the Colts (I will be somewhere to watch this game for my birthday party and a Zeta Founders Day gift).
Finally, the Green Bay Packers and the Arizona Cardinals wanted to blow all of the previous games out of the water and make all kinds of history with their game.
Arizona had taken complete control of the first half of the game, and it seemed like another Dallas/Philly game to be seen. Now, I chose the Packers for victory today, so I had some inkling of faith that this wasn't how the game would turn out. The Packers were MUCH better than this, being the second hottest NFC team going into the playoffs behind Dallas.
So the 3rd quarter begins and the Cardinals went up 31-10 to make matters worse for my pickings. But Green Bay didn't lay down.
I'm in the middle of the meeting while getting scores to my phone, and lo-and-behold, the Packers have almos tied this game up, down only 31-24! Arizona went up 38-24, but Green Bay found its way to a tie. Arizona went up again 45, but the Packers tied it AGAIN with 1:52 left... Overtime.
It looked as if the Packers were going in for the win, and I would have 3 out of 4 picks correct, but then "The Legend of Kurt Warner" continued, as the Cards batted the ball from Rodgers' hands and took it to the end zone.
Final score: Cardinals 51,Packers 45
This game turned out to be the highest scoring NFL playoff game in history. I really did think the Packers could have won the game, riding on that momentum and Aaron Rodgers' leadership of the team. The Cardinals, as victors, will be facing the New Orleans Saints Saturday at 4:30pm EST.
I certainly hope you all are ready for another week of predicted wildness. Here are my Reckless Picks. Ready?
Chargers over Jets
Cowboys over Vikings - disclaimer: I wouldn't be surprised if the opposite occurred
Colts over Ravens
Cardinals over Saints
Yea, pretty random again. I just like to pick for the heck of it *shrug*.
Finally, quote of the day: "There was sarcasm in my Shaq-tweet. He is as powerful as Shawn Bradley." In reference in a Twitter comment about Shaq's "double-double"... I died. Most overrated stat in basketball.
Oh and don't forget, if there's something you'd like to tell me about the site in general or ask a question, you can put it in the guestbook to the right.
And I thought I should share, that I have been accepted as the Washington Capitals writer for one of the top sites for in-depth hockey news and discussion, The Hockey Writers, also known as THW! I'm beyond excited to write to cover a team that I have followed for many years now. However, don't worry, I will still be active here on Crashing the Net :-).
Catch yall later ;-)
Showing posts with label New England Patriots. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New England Patriots. Show all posts
Monday, January 11, 2010
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
NFL Week 1
Of course I'm happy that the Cowboys won, and the Redskins lost, but tell me why I'm still blown at the Bill and Patriots game? LOL!
The complete weekend/weekday opening football is over. I can say with confidence that this has been an entertaining first week for the NFL.
Cowboys 34, Buccaneers 21
To begin, the first game I watched was the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (because the Cowboys won, they deserve the "boys" back in the name versus the typical Cow[boy]s). Dallas ended up winning 34-21, but they could have won by more. I was displeased with the Cowboys first half performance. The offense did absolutely nothing, and was not helped by a missed pass interference that should have been called on Ronde Barber.
Dallas' defense wasn't doing much better in the first half as well, with Cadillac Williams on the Bucs giving them hell.
The second half was much better for the Cowboys though. Tony Romo turned out to have a pretty nice day with 344 yards passing and all of his passes for touchdowns went deep - over 40 yards... Imagine the winning score for Dallas, had they a better first half and didn't give up 14 points in the 4th quarter...
For the Bucs though, Williams was real nice out there, and Byron Leftwich had a pretty good showing as well, especially for being Byron Leftwich.
Giants 23, Redskins 17
Just about the Washington Redskins game, the New York Giants won 23-17, but the game was not as close as the score suggested.
By the 2nd quarter, the Giants ended up with a 17-0 lead, with the latest touchdown coming from a fumble recovery by the Giants.
The Redskins had a slightly better showing in the second half, but could not create any sort of rhythm on offense against the Giants' defense.
Point in case: after a 35-yard run by Clinton Portis on the Redskins, the Skins could only follow up with 50 more rushing yards the whole game.
Of course, the reaction suggests that Jason Campbell still can't get the Skins over the hump, but aside from the fact that a small (REALLY small) part of me actually hopes he succeeds in a way, I think he did all right with what he was faced with.
The Skins are not the team to beat in the NFC East in my eyes. They were facing a team that could very well take the division. After this, the Skins go on to play a stretch of games where they play teams that have failed at being any kind of good the past few seasons. The Giants will move on the the Cowboys.
Patriots 25, Bills 24
Most people are going to say the New England/Boston Patriots won this game in dramatic fashion 25-24, but I'm going to go out on a limb, and say the Buffalo Bills lost this one in ultimate screw-up fashion.
I'll admit, I missed the first part of the game because of the Juan Martin Del Potro and Roger Federer's tennis match where Federer lost in 5 sets was on where I was eating dinner. Granted, it was the US Open final, and the underdog ended up winning in a long match, but I still feel as though NFL football should have been on the TV.
Nonetheless, technology proved to be a savior, and I got first half stats before being able to return to my place of living to watch the second half. The Bills were leading 14-10 at halftime, and when I finally got back to my room, they were up 17-10.
Terrell Owens only had one catch at this point as well. Which led me to believe that the Bills could really win this game since they were able to utilize their other parts of the offense. It really looked good there.
It looked even better when Buffalo got the 24-13 lead and it was about 2 minutes to go in the game.
Until they gave up another touchdown and fumbled the ball deep in their territory after the kickoff, giving the Pats excellent field position to get the last and final touchdown... all of a sudden, it was 25-24 Patriots.
It wasn't quite over as the Bills began their final drive with about 50 seconds to go. That is ample time to create a situation to at least get into decent field goal position.
However, poor time management and multiple sacks proved costly for Buffalo.
Therefore, the Patriots did not win the game (also provided that Tom Brady wasn't as great as he normally is), but the Bills CHOKED. Somebody please perform the Heimlech Manuever - the Bills keep chocking. This is now the 12th straight time the Patriots defeated the Bills.
Tsk tsk... And I was really pulling for Buffalo...
Chargers 24, Raiders 20
This game was another situation where there was an underdog team winning, had the lead way late into the game, and then lost it even later to lose. The Oakland Raiders also choked to lose 24-20 to the San Diego Chargers.
Despite the score at the end of the first half, the Raiders seemed to dominate on defense early on, creating multiple turnovers and only allowing the Chargers 77 rushing yards. New addition Richard Seymour ended up with 2 sacks and 6 tackles, showing that he was ready to play and improve the Oakland defense.
Oakland lost the lead in the 4th quarter, but regained it, scoring a late touchdown with about 2:40 to go in the game. All they had to do was to continue their showing on defense that they had in the beginning of the 1st quarter.
Yet, the Raiders failed when it mattered, giving the Chargers 14 points in the 4th quarter and allowing Phillip Rivers to complete 6 out of 7 passes on the game-winning 84-yard drive.
The winning drive for San Diego left only 18 seconds on the clock, with which Oakland had to work. JaMarcus Russell threw a desperation pass, only to have it intercepted.
Oakland not only choked like Buffalo, but they ALSO have been defeated by their opponent 12 times in a row. The hell is THAT about?!
Side(line) Notes - haha!
Some other notes about the weekend/weekday...
Donovan McNabb got injured, which, to be honest, is no surprise to me. He is one of the more fragile quarterbacks; as good as he is and as much as I would pick McNabb over a lot of quarterbacks.
In response, the Philadelphia Eagles quickly sign Jeff Garcia and try to make roster space for him. Garcia knows the offense, having been in Philadelphia before and his last time with the Eagles, he led them to the playoffs. So it would be a good move to have him around.
Just to note though, there's another guy who, by Week 3, could play a little bit, and his name is Mike Vick. However, the choice to sign Garcia clearly states that the Eagles are not ready to have Vick play - I don't blame them after his unsatisfying performaces in the preseason, and the fact that he does need re-adjustment time to the NFL.
But if Vick could play for the Eagles, and actually be successful with them, that would be a pretty nice comeback story for the ages. I believe that regardless of other people's opinions about that...
...Props to the Green Bay Packers though for the comeback win. I couldn't write about it (Come on now! I already did four games and I'm only human!), but that was a REALLY fun game to watch. As for the Bears; step your game up. In fact, all these teams playing and choking - step your game up!..
... And of course, congrats to Juan Martin del Potro on his first US Open win, and on defeating the guy who won the last 5 US Opens... I think his name is something like Roger Federer. You might have heard of him. It is an amazing accomplishment for del Potro - just too bad it competed with Monday Night Football on my end.
... Finally, Mark Sanchez played pretty well Sunday. The End (watch ESPN for the rest of that, they'll be all up on the Sanchez coverage, trust me).
*RIP Patrick Swayze... To Wong Foo (Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar) - most underrated movie ever - sooo funny.
The complete weekend/weekday opening football is over. I can say with confidence that this has been an entertaining first week for the NFL.
Cowboys 34, Buccaneers 21
To begin, the first game I watched was the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (because the Cowboys won, they deserve the "boys" back in the name versus the typical Cow[boy]s). Dallas ended up winning 34-21, but they could have won by more. I was displeased with the Cowboys first half performance. The offense did absolutely nothing, and was not helped by a missed pass interference that should have been called on Ronde Barber.
Dallas' defense wasn't doing much better in the first half as well, with Cadillac Williams on the Bucs giving them hell.
The second half was much better for the Cowboys though. Tony Romo turned out to have a pretty nice day with 344 yards passing and all of his passes for touchdowns went deep - over 40 yards... Imagine the winning score for Dallas, had they a better first half and didn't give up 14 points in the 4th quarter...
For the Bucs though, Williams was real nice out there, and Byron Leftwich had a pretty good showing as well, especially for being Byron Leftwich.
Giants 23, Redskins 17
Just about the Washington Redskins game, the New York Giants won 23-17, but the game was not as close as the score suggested.
By the 2nd quarter, the Giants ended up with a 17-0 lead, with the latest touchdown coming from a fumble recovery by the Giants.
The Redskins had a slightly better showing in the second half, but could not create any sort of rhythm on offense against the Giants' defense.
Point in case: after a 35-yard run by Clinton Portis on the Redskins, the Skins could only follow up with 50 more rushing yards the whole game.
Of course, the reaction suggests that Jason Campbell still can't get the Skins over the hump, but aside from the fact that a small (REALLY small) part of me actually hopes he succeeds in a way, I think he did all right with what he was faced with.
The Skins are not the team to beat in the NFC East in my eyes. They were facing a team that could very well take the division. After this, the Skins go on to play a stretch of games where they play teams that have failed at being any kind of good the past few seasons. The Giants will move on the the Cowboys.
Patriots 25, Bills 24
Most people are going to say the New England/Boston Patriots won this game in dramatic fashion 25-24, but I'm going to go out on a limb, and say the Buffalo Bills lost this one in ultimate screw-up fashion.
I'll admit, I missed the first part of the game because of the Juan Martin Del Potro and Roger Federer's tennis match where Federer lost in 5 sets was on where I was eating dinner. Granted, it was the US Open final, and the underdog ended up winning in a long match, but I still feel as though NFL football should have been on the TV.
Nonetheless, technology proved to be a savior, and I got first half stats before being able to return to my place of living to watch the second half. The Bills were leading 14-10 at halftime, and when I finally got back to my room, they were up 17-10.
Terrell Owens only had one catch at this point as well. Which led me to believe that the Bills could really win this game since they were able to utilize their other parts of the offense. It really looked good there.
It looked even better when Buffalo got the 24-13 lead and it was about 2 minutes to go in the game.
Until they gave up another touchdown and fumbled the ball deep in their territory after the kickoff, giving the Pats excellent field position to get the last and final touchdown... all of a sudden, it was 25-24 Patriots.
It wasn't quite over as the Bills began their final drive with about 50 seconds to go. That is ample time to create a situation to at least get into decent field goal position.
However, poor time management and multiple sacks proved costly for Buffalo.
Therefore, the Patriots did not win the game (also provided that Tom Brady wasn't as great as he normally is), but the Bills CHOKED. Somebody please perform the Heimlech Manuever - the Bills keep chocking. This is now the 12th straight time the Patriots defeated the Bills.
Tsk tsk... And I was really pulling for Buffalo...
Chargers 24, Raiders 20
This game was another situation where there was an underdog team winning, had the lead way late into the game, and then lost it even later to lose. The Oakland Raiders also choked to lose 24-20 to the San Diego Chargers.
Despite the score at the end of the first half, the Raiders seemed to dominate on defense early on, creating multiple turnovers and only allowing the Chargers 77 rushing yards. New addition Richard Seymour ended up with 2 sacks and 6 tackles, showing that he was ready to play and improve the Oakland defense.
Oakland lost the lead in the 4th quarter, but regained it, scoring a late touchdown with about 2:40 to go in the game. All they had to do was to continue their showing on defense that they had in the beginning of the 1st quarter.
Yet, the Raiders failed when it mattered, giving the Chargers 14 points in the 4th quarter and allowing Phillip Rivers to complete 6 out of 7 passes on the game-winning 84-yard drive.
The winning drive for San Diego left only 18 seconds on the clock, with which Oakland had to work. JaMarcus Russell threw a desperation pass, only to have it intercepted.
Oakland not only choked like Buffalo, but they ALSO have been defeated by their opponent 12 times in a row. The hell is THAT about?!
Side(line) Notes - haha!
Some other notes about the weekend/weekday...
Donovan McNabb got injured, which, to be honest, is no surprise to me. He is one of the more fragile quarterbacks; as good as he is and as much as I would pick McNabb over a lot of quarterbacks.
In response, the Philadelphia Eagles quickly sign Jeff Garcia and try to make roster space for him. Garcia knows the offense, having been in Philadelphia before and his last time with the Eagles, he led them to the playoffs. So it would be a good move to have him around.
Just to note though, there's another guy who, by Week 3, could play a little bit, and his name is Mike Vick. However, the choice to sign Garcia clearly states that the Eagles are not ready to have Vick play - I don't blame them after his unsatisfying performaces in the preseason, and the fact that he does need re-adjustment time to the NFL.
But if Vick could play for the Eagles, and actually be successful with them, that would be a pretty nice comeback story for the ages. I believe that regardless of other people's opinions about that...
...Props to the Green Bay Packers though for the comeback win. I couldn't write about it (Come on now! I already did four games and I'm only human!), but that was a REALLY fun game to watch. As for the Bears; step your game up. In fact, all these teams playing and choking - step your game up!..
... And of course, congrats to Juan Martin del Potro on his first US Open win, and on defeating the guy who won the last 5 US Opens... I think his name is something like Roger Federer. You might have heard of him. It is an amazing accomplishment for del Potro - just too bad it competed with Monday Night Football on my end.
... Finally, Mark Sanchez played pretty well Sunday. The End (watch ESPN for the rest of that, they'll be all up on the Sanchez coverage, trust me).
*RIP Patrick Swayze... To Wong Foo (Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar) - most underrated movie ever - sooo funny.
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