DAY 1 OF WILDCARD WEEKEND WILDLY ENTERTAINING
Question: When was the last time the previous season's Super Bowl teams both lost playoff games on the same day? Answer: Never, not in 44 years. When was the last time the defending Super Bowl champs surrendered a 10-point playoff game lead & lose? Answer: Never, not in 37 opportunities. I didn't make any wagers today but if I had, I might have needed the paramedics. The 10 1/2 point favorite New Orleans Saints were beaten soundly by the 7-9 Seattle Seahawks. The Saint defense decided to rest on their Super Bowl laurels, cause they sure didn't come to play this afternoon. Matt Hasselback was superb in dissecting the Saint pass defense. He completed 22 of 35 for 272-yards & 4 touchdowns & as great as he was, it was Marshawn Lynch's 67-yard run with less than 4-minutes to play that drove a stake thru the champs' heart. Lynch broke 8 tackles & made one of the all-time great stiff arm moves on his game-clinching run.
Seattle tight end John Carlson caught 2 touchdowns, one on a superior move, the second because he was a great actor. Carlson feigned a block, falling to the ground & when his defender moved on to chase Hasselback, Carlson scrambled to his feet & quickly found himself all alone in the endzone. Two fantastic "touch" throws accounted for the other scores, one to Mike Williams & the other to sneaky veteran wide receiver Brandon Stokely.
But the Saints didn't go quietly. Drew Brees had a big day throwing the ball, 404-yards & 2 touchdown passes of his own. But it was his offensive line's inability to handle Seattle's pass rush, even when they only sent three. They recorded but one sack but forced brees to throw before he wanted or off-balance. The Seahawks' pass rush also created an intentional grounding call. As I predicted, the Saints had zero success running the ball plus Julius Jones lost a fumble, the very reason Seattle released him in week three.
I told you on Friday the loss of safety Malcolm Jenkins would hurt their already questionable defense, but what we saw this afternoon was a pretty poor effort. Did some of the Saint defenders take the 7-9 'Hawks too lightly? It certainly appeared so. So now the resurgent Seahawks will move onto to the divisional round of the NFC playoffs, this time on the road. Think they'll duplicate today's upset? Jeez, even with today's victory, Seattle is still one game under .500.
The Jets' 17-16 win over the Indianapolis Colts on the last play of the game wasn't as shocking, but it surely was exciting as both teams scored in the game's last minute. The Colts led 7-0 at the half on a 57-yard scoring strike from Peyton Manning to Pierre Garcon. I told you Friday Darrelle Revis & Antonio Cromartie should shutdown Indy's Reggie Wayne & Garcon. I was half-right. Wayne caught one pass for one measly yard. But Garcon lit up Cromartie like a child-support lawyer(too obscure? Cromartie has 7 kids with 5 different woman & owed nearly $200K in back support a year ago). I thought Blair White & Jacob Tamme would be Manning's bread & butter. They caught 11 passes between them for 100-yards. Adam Vinatieri kicked field goals of 47, 32 & 50, the last one with 53-seconds left.
In the end it wasn't the vaunted Jets' defense or QB Mark Sanchez, it was their ability to run the ball effectively in the second half. LaDainian Tomlinson showed he still had some tread left on his tires rushing for 82-yards & two scores. Shonn Greene added another 70. The touchdown drive that started in the 3rd quarter & culminated with Tomlinson's 1-yard plunge into the endzone took 9:53 off the clock. If Peyton doesn't have the ball, Peyton can't score. The Colts secondary, shredded by injuries, just couldn't shutdown Braylon Edwards, Santonio Holmes or Dustin Keller on crucial 3rd down calls. The trio caught 11 passes for 150-yards. Sanchez continues to torture his coaches, I wonder if this kid will ever become a front line NFL QB. About the only thing he did consistently was over throwing wide open receivers. The Jets were kept off the scoreboard just before half when he was too tall on three consecutive passes in the redzone, the last one intercepted. Bottom line, the Jets won, they defeated their old nemesis Manning, but whoever they play next week, they'll have to play a helluva lot better.
All-Pro safety Ed Reed traveled with the Ravens to Kansas City on Saturday & will play. His brother is currently missing after jumping into the Mississippi River trying to elude police. The authorities called off the search for Brian Reed this evening.
We'd like to wish a very happy birthday to our favorite ex-Chiefs' cheerleader Kim S. She was with Kansas City from 1997 to 2003 & all she wants for her birthday is a Chief's playoff win over the Ravens. Happy Birthday Kim, hope you get your wish.
Seattle tight end John Carlson caught 2 touchdowns, one on a superior move, the second because he was a great actor. Carlson feigned a block, falling to the ground & when his defender moved on to chase Hasselback, Carlson scrambled to his feet & quickly found himself all alone in the endzone. Two fantastic "touch" throws accounted for the other scores, one to Mike Williams & the other to sneaky veteran wide receiver Brandon Stokely.
But the Saints didn't go quietly. Drew Brees had a big day throwing the ball, 404-yards & 2 touchdown passes of his own. But it was his offensive line's inability to handle Seattle's pass rush, even when they only sent three. They recorded but one sack but forced brees to throw before he wanted or off-balance. The Seahawks' pass rush also created an intentional grounding call. As I predicted, the Saints had zero success running the ball plus Julius Jones lost a fumble, the very reason Seattle released him in week three.
I told you on Friday the loss of safety Malcolm Jenkins would hurt their already questionable defense, but what we saw this afternoon was a pretty poor effort. Did some of the Saint defenders take the 7-9 'Hawks too lightly? It certainly appeared so. So now the resurgent Seahawks will move onto to the divisional round of the NFC playoffs, this time on the road. Think they'll duplicate today's upset? Jeez, even with today's victory, Seattle is still one game under .500.
The Jets' 17-16 win over the Indianapolis Colts on the last play of the game wasn't as shocking, but it surely was exciting as both teams scored in the game's last minute. The Colts led 7-0 at the half on a 57-yard scoring strike from Peyton Manning to Pierre Garcon. I told you Friday Darrelle Revis & Antonio Cromartie should shutdown Indy's Reggie Wayne & Garcon. I was half-right. Wayne caught one pass for one measly yard. But Garcon lit up Cromartie like a child-support lawyer(too obscure? Cromartie has 7 kids with 5 different woman & owed nearly $200K in back support a year ago). I thought Blair White & Jacob Tamme would be Manning's bread & butter. They caught 11 passes between them for 100-yards. Adam Vinatieri kicked field goals of 47, 32 & 50, the last one with 53-seconds left.
In the end it wasn't the vaunted Jets' defense or QB Mark Sanchez, it was their ability to run the ball effectively in the second half. LaDainian Tomlinson showed he still had some tread left on his tires rushing for 82-yards & two scores. Shonn Greene added another 70. The touchdown drive that started in the 3rd quarter & culminated with Tomlinson's 1-yard plunge into the endzone took 9:53 off the clock. If Peyton doesn't have the ball, Peyton can't score. The Colts secondary, shredded by injuries, just couldn't shutdown Braylon Edwards, Santonio Holmes or Dustin Keller on crucial 3rd down calls. The trio caught 11 passes for 150-yards. Sanchez continues to torture his coaches, I wonder if this kid will ever become a front line NFL QB. About the only thing he did consistently was over throwing wide open receivers. The Jets were kept off the scoreboard just before half when he was too tall on three consecutive passes in the redzone, the last one intercepted. Bottom line, the Jets won, they defeated their old nemesis Manning, but whoever they play next week, they'll have to play a helluva lot better.
All-Pro safety Ed Reed traveled with the Ravens to Kansas City on Saturday & will play. His brother is currently missing after jumping into the Mississippi River trying to elude police. The authorities called off the search for Brian Reed this evening.
We'd like to wish a very happy birthday to our favorite ex-Chiefs' cheerleader Kim S. She was with Kansas City from 1997 to 2003 & all she wants for her birthday is a Chief's playoff win over the Ravens. Happy Birthday Kim, hope you get your wish.
Comments