NHL Stadium Series Review

Posted on January 30, 2014 by admin

Between last Saturday night and Wednesday night, the National Hockey League (NHL) had 3 outdoor games, called the NHL Stadium Series. Saturday’s game was in Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, between the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings. The games on Sunday and Wednesday were both in Yankee Stadium, with the New York Rangers playing the New Jersey Devils on Sunday, and the Rangers playing again on Wednesday against the New York Islanders.

While I was not at any of these Stadium Series games, I would have much rather gone to the Dodger Stadium, but of course, I’m not a cold weather guy. They had a beach volleyball court on the field by the ice rink, among other things. 54,099 fans showed up to watch the game between the Ducks and Kings, the second in 3 days between these teams. The excitement level was very high, although the fans were so far from the rink.

I’ve never seen a game dominated so much by one team everywhere except shots on goal. After the 1st period, the Ducks led 2-0, but had been outshot 20-7. When I saw the Kings had that many shots, I was wondering when most of them happened, even though I watched the game. The score stayed that way until an empty net goal with 1:29 remaining for the 3-0 final score. Ducks’ goalie Jonas Hiller saved all 36 of the Kings’ shots to earn the shutout.

The game on Sunday between the Rangers and the Devils was an offensive showcase. The Devils took a 3-1 lead 16:07 into the game, but then proceeded to cough up 6 consecutive goals to lose 7-3. Future Hall of Fame goalie Martin Brodeur said the ice was the worst he ever played on, but does that really explain giving up 7 goals on just 26 shots by the Rangers? Patrik Elias and Mats Zuccarello both had 2 goals for New York, in front of 50,105 fans.

Wednesday had the most competitive of these 3 games in the NHL Stadium Series so far. The Rangers returned to Yankee Stadium to play the Islanders in front of over 50,000 fans again. There was no scoring in this game until late in the 2nd period. Brock Nelson scored for the Islanders with 1:27 remaining in the period, but 40 seconds later Benoit Pouliot tied the game for the Rangers. Daniel Carcillo scored in the 3rd period for the Rangers, and they held on for the 2-1 win.

The final game of the NHL Stadium Series will be played at Soldier Field in Chicago, between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks on March 1st. Judging by the crowds and the excitement of everyone involved in these outdoor games, they were a huge success. But I hope the NHL doesn’t play too many of these games in a season so they will lose their novelty.

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The Pro Bowl Is Much Better Now

Posted on January 27, 2014 by admin

This year the National Football League (NFL) Pro Bowl was changed for the better. Instead of dividing up teams by conference, with the National Football Conference (NFC) against the American Football Conference (AFC) each year, teams were chosen in a draft, regardless of conference. The teams were chosen by Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders. Team Rice won 22-21.

I don’t know if it was playing for Rice and Sanders, the players that were drafted late feeling disrespected, or just the fact that commissioner Roger Goodell threatened to eliminate the Pro Bowl after the non-competitive toothless play of 2012, but the 2014 version was much better. Those of us who think defense should still be part of the NFL, really like the difference. This game included total 9 sacks and 8 turnovers.

Even though the teams didn’t combine for 100 points, like they have in past Pro Bowls,there was still plenty of offense. While Team Rice committed 5 of the 8 turnovers, they had 405 yards of offense, and scored on a 20-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Alex Smith of the Kansas City Chiefs to running back DeMarco Murray of the Dallas Cowboys, with 41 seconds remaining. Then they took the lead for good on a 2-point conversion run by Mike Tolbert of the Carolina Panthers.

Quarterback Nick Foles of the Philadelphia Eagles was awarded the Offensive Most Valuable Player (MVP), and linebacker Derrick Johnson of the Kansas City Chiefs was voted the Defensive MVP. Foles, who was on Team Sanders, was 7 of 10 passing for 89 yards, and the touchdown pass to tight end Jordan Cameron of the Cleveland Browns, that gave Team Sanders the 21-14 with 4:41 remaining in the game. Johnson, of Team Rice, had 10 tackles, 9 of them solo, with one for a loss, and also a pass defended.

Interestingly, none of the quarterbacks for the winning Team Rice had a very good game. As a whole, Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints, Phillip Rivers of the San Diego Chargers, and Smith combined to complete just 26 of 54 passes for 291 yards, with 3 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. But overall, they moved the ball better, and came through on the final drive to score the winning touchdown and 2-point conversion to win the game.

I like the changes they made to the Pro Bowl this year. The competitiveness was much improved, and you even had teammates making hits on each other, since for the first time they could be on different teams. The draft idea is good, as well as ignoring conferences for choosing the teams. I know a lot of people claim they don’t like the Pro Bowl, but then why does it get good ratings? Because it’s still football, that’s why. So a big thumbs up to the changes they made this year, and don’t even think of getting rid of the Pro Bowl, commissioner Goodell.

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The Richard Sherman Show

Posted on January 24, 2014 by admin

Most of the football viewing public got their first look at the personality of Seattle Seahawk cornerback Richard Sherman, after the Seahawks beat the San Francisco 49ers 23-17 in the National Football Conference (NFC) Championship game last Sunday in Seattle. He had just knocked away an attempted pass from 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick to receiver Michael Crabtree, which ended up in the hands of Sherman’s teammate Malcolm Smith for an interception, to preserve the win. After the play, Sherman taunted Crabtree, and Crabtree pushed him back in his face mask.

The taunt by Sherman consisted of slapping Crabtree on the butt, then offering his hand to shake after the play, then he later put both his hands up to his throat, as if the 49ers choked, I guess. The Seahawks then ran out the clock to preserve the win, and their place in Super Bowl XLVIII, the second trip in their history. After the game ended, Sherman was interviewed by FOX’s Erin Andrews.

Sherman was basically shouting into the microphone about how he is the best cornerback in the game, and Crabtree is a sorry receiver. Apparently these two have a history. Allegedly, at a charity event last summer, Crabtree tried to start a fight with Sherman. My first reaction when i watched the interview, was that Sherman isn’t very happy about his team winning the game. He acted like someone who felt cheated in a loss. No joy, and no mention of his teammates.

I waited a few days to write this, because I wanted to see the fallout from this interview. Many people thought he went overboard, which I agree with. Others immediately brought up that he’s a an intelligent Stanford graduate. What does that have to do with his interview after the game? Sherman even responded to some people who referred to him as a thug. He said he thinks that’s kind of like calling him the N word. What? While I don’t agree with calling him a thug from his comments, I also don’t agree with what Sherman said. He appears to be making this a race issue with those who didn’t like his rant.

Now let’s look at the accuracy of what Sherman said in the interview. He has been in the National Football League (NFL) for 3 seasons, and has made the All-Pro Team the last 2 years. No other cornerback has made the first string All-Pro Team both years, so he should be considered the best cornerback in the NFL. As for Crabtree, he did have a really good 2012 season, with 1,105 yards receiving and 9 touchdowns, but because of injury, he only played in 5 regular season games in 2013, and his production reflected it. He had over 200 yards receiving in each of the past 2 postseasons, in 3 games each year. Crabtree isn’t a sorry receiver.

I also heard people were defending Sherman, saying that he was in the heat of the moment, just coming off the field. I don’t buy this excuse for 2 reasons. First, the post-game interviews always occur right after the game ends, and rants like Sherman’s are very rare. Secondly, it wasn’t like the interception was the last play of the game. The Seattle offense came onto the field, and ran 3 kneel downs to end the game. Obviously this was personal between Sherman and Crabtree.

I also ran across an interview from last March, where Sherman was asked to respond to remarks from ESPN’s Skip Bayless, that he isn’t in the same class as cornerback Darrelle Revis of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He didn’t take it too well. While Bayless was on-camera with him, Sherman called him an “ignorant, pompous, egotistical cretan” among other comments.

At Stanford, Sherman switched from wide receiver on offense to cornerback on defense, because he didn’t like dealing with then head coach Jim Harbaugh, who is now the head coach of those same 49ers that the Seahawks just eliminated from the playoffs. While Sherman can be entertaining, and is a 2-time All-Pro cornerback, he definitely has anger problems, and comes across badly when interviewed, and those issues come out.

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Super Bowl XLVIII Will Be Denver Broncos vs. Seattle Seahawks

Posted on January 20, 2014 by admin

Super Bowl XLVIII will feature the Denver Broncos against the Seattle Seahawks on February 2nd in MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The Seahawks won the National Football Conference (NFC) Championship by beating the San Francicsco 49ers 23-17 in Seattle. The Broncos earned their place in the title game by beating the New England Patriots in the American Football Conference (AFC) Championship game 26-16 in Denver.

The Seahawk defense needed to come up with a big play to preserve the win, and they did. 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick threw a pass for receiver Michael Crabtree in the right corner of the end zone, but Seahawk cornerback Richard Sherman tipped the ball back to his teammate Malcolm Smith, who intercepted it. The Seahawks then ran out the last 23 seconds to punch their ticket to the Super Bowl.

The second interception thrown by Kaepernick doomed his team, but his rushing yards kept his team ahead for most of the game. He rushed for 130 yards on just 11 carries. He helped with his legs, but ended up hurting his team with a few errant throws in the end.

In addition to Sherman’s tipped pass that resulted in an interception, the other huge Seahawk play resulted in their final touchdown. On 4th down and 7 from the 49er’s 35-yard line in the 4th quarter, a San Francisco player jumped offsides, so knowing they had a free play, Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson threw deep for receiver Jermaine Kearse, who caught the pass for a touchdown, to give the Seahawks the lead they would never relinquish.

In the AFC Championship game, Denver quarterback Peyton Manning threw for 400 yards and 2 touchdowns, as his team never trailed, and won this game rather easily. This will be the 7th Super Bowl for the Broncos, and first since John Elway retired after the 1998 season. The Broncos won Super Bowls after the 1997 and 1998 seasons.

This was the 15th time that Manning’s team has played against the Patriots, with Tom Brady playing quarterback. But this was only the 5th time Manning has won in those games. The last time they played was on November 24th this year in Foxboro, Massachusetts. In that game, Denver held a 24-0 halftime lead, but ended up losing 34-31 in overtime.

On Sunday, the Broncos had a commanding 23-3 lead with just 12:02 remaining in the game. The Patriots then drove 80 yards on consecutive drives, culminating with touchdowns by Brady on a pass and a run, sandwiched around a field goal by Bronco kicker Matt Prater, to cut the lead to 26-10. When New England failed on their 2-point conversion attempt after the 2nd touchdown, to cut the deficit to one possession with 3:07 left, things looked bleak for the Patriots.

Denver receiver Eric Decker recovered the ensuing onside kick attempt, and the Broncos ran out the clock on their last drive. Denver had scored on their 6 previous possessions, but since 4 of those scores were field goals, the Patriots still had a chance until late in the game. To me the story of this game, beside of course Manning’s 400 yards passing, was the Denver defense. They held New England to only 64 yards rushing, and held Brady in check until the 4th quarter.

Super Bowl XLVIII in New Jersey will most likely be the coldest Super Bowl ever. Will Manning be able to throw the ball successfully against the top-ranked Seattle defense, like he has against just about every other team this year? Will Denver’s defense be able to shut down the Seahawk running game, featuring battering ram Marshawn Lynch, who rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown on Sunday? We will find out on February 2nd. I will make my pick in a future article, shortly before the game.

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The Anaheim Ducks Are Having A Record-Breaking Season

Posted on January 16, 2014 by admin

On Wednesday night, the Anaheim Ducks laid the smackdown on the Vancouver Canucks 9-1. This was the most goals ever scored by the Ducks in a game, as well as power play goals. Anaheim went an incredible 6 for 11 on the power play, which was especially impressive for a team that has struggled on the power play most of the year. They have now won 8 straight games and 18 of their last 19 games. Not since the Montreal Canadiens in 1967-68 has a team in the National Hockey League (NHL) won 18 of 19 games.

The Ducks are now 20-0-2 at home this year, tied with the 2009-09 San Jose Sharks for the 3rd best start at home in the NHL in the last 40 years. Only the Philadelphia Flyers in 1979-80 at 19-0-7, and the New York Islanders in 1978-79 at 19-0-4, have played more games to start a season without losing a game in regulation. Anaheim has now outscored their opponents 89-39 at home this season.

In this game, the Ducks received 2 goals each from Corey Perry, Nick Bonino, and Teemu Selanne. Perry now is 2nd in the NHL with 27 goals, trailing only Alex Ovechkin who has 34 goals. Anaheim now has 4 players with at least 15 goals. Besides Perry, Ryan Getzlaf has 23 goals, Andrew Cogliano has 16 goals, and Bonino now has 15. Getzlaf leads the Ducks with 32 assists, with Perry next at 26 assists.

Selanne’s first goal was the game winner, and was his 110th game winning goal of his career. He is now tied with Brett Hull for 3rd on that list, trailing only Jaromir Jagr with 122, and Phil Esposito with 118. Anaheim actually had a 7-minute 2 man advantage in the 3rd period, but were already ahead 7-1 when that power play started.

The Ducks were not even playing their top goalie Jonas Hiller Wednesday night, because he had the flu. Hiller has won 14 games in a row, which trails only Gilles Gilbert of the Boston Bruins in the 1975-76 season, when he won 17 games in a row. Back-up goalie Fredrick Andersen is no slouch either. He stopped 31 of 32 shots in this game, to push his record to 11-2-0 this season. In fact Andersen actually has a better goals against average (1.98 to 2.34) and save percentage than Hiller (.927 to .914).

Anaheim has the best record in the NHL, with 77 team points. The next closest team, the defending champion Chicago Blackhawks, have 71 team points. Teams get 2 points for a win, 1 point for an overtime or shootout loss, and 0 for a regulation loss. The Ducks have such a deep team, that they maintained their winning ways despite several injuries earlier in the season. Now one of coach Bruce Boudreau‘s toughest decisions is who will play and who will not play in each game. Look out for the Ducks as the season continues and into the playoffs.

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Patriots at Broncos and 49ers at Seahawks In The NFL Conference Championships

Posted on January 13, 2014 by admin

The Seattle Seahawks beat the New Orleans Saints 23-15 in Seattle on Saturday, in the first of the National Football League (NFL) Divisional Playoff games. The Seahawks shut down the Saints and their quarterback Drew Brees in the first half, but he finished the game with 309 yards passing and a touchdown pass. Seahawk quarterback Russell Wilson only passed for 103 yards, but that was enough when adding their 174 rushing yards, 140 of which were gained by Marshawn Lynch, along with his 2 rushing touchdowns.

With a 16-0 halftime lead, the Seahawks withstood a late surge from the Saints, which included a recovered onside kick, and one last chance to possibly tie the game. New Orleans receiver Marques Colston who had a great game receiving, with 11 receptions for 144 yards and a touchdown catch, and even recovered the onside kick, made a huge mistake that ended the game. He caught a pass on the last drive, and instead of stepping out of bounds, and saving time for a possible hail mary pass, he attempted an illegal second forward pass on the play. The Saints were penalized with a 10 second time run-off, which used up their last few seconds.

In the later game on Saturday, the New England Patriots routed the Indianapolis Colts 43-22 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. With 43 points you might think Patriot quarterback Tom Brady had a huge passing day, but he only passed for 198 yards and no touchdown passes. Instead, the Patriots rushed for 6 touchdowns, and 234 yards rushing on 46 carries. LeGarrette Blount had 166 of those yards, and 4 of the touchdowns.

The Colts, who scored 45 points last week, in their 28-point comeback win against the Kansas City Chiefs, could not overcome a negative 4 turnover ratio in this game. Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck threw for 331 yards and 2 touchdown passes, but he also tossed 4 interceptions. You can’t give a good team like the Patriots 4 turnovers and expect to win.

The first game on Sunday was the San Francisco 49ers playing at Charlotte, North Carolina against the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers kicked a 24-yard field goal to extend their lead to 10-6, with 3:41 remaining in the 2nd quarter, then it was all 49ers after that, scoring 17 straight points to win the game 23-10.

49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick threw for just 196 yards in the game, but he had a passing and rushing touchdown. After his rushing touchdown, Kaepernick mocked Panther quarterback Cam Newton’s Superman gesture that he does sometimes after touchdowns, which he richly deserved. This game was played pretty evenly other than the 2 interceptions thrown by Newton, while Kaepernick had no turnovers.

In the final game of the NFL Divisional Playoff weekend, the Denver Broncos took a 17-0 lead into the 4th quarter, then needed to hold on to secure a 24-17 win over the San Diego Chargers in Denver, Colorado. The Chargers’ offense finally came alive in the 4th quarter, as their quarterback Phillip Rivers threw for most of his 217 yards passing, and both of his touchdown passes in a furious attempt to win the game.

After the Chargers kicked a field goal with 3:53 remaining, the Broncos ran out the clock by running the ball, and continuing to get first downs, until no time remained. Denver finished with 133 yards rushing to only 65 yards for San Diego, who had been rushing the ball effectively in past weeks. This was the 3rd time these division rivals played this year, with the Broncos winning twice.

Next week both of the Conference Championship Games will be played on Sunday. The first game will feature the Patriots going to Denver to play the Broncos for the American Football Conference (AFC) title. In their 15th time facing each other Peyton Manning will lead his Broncos against Brady’s Patriots. Brady holds a commanding 10-4 lead in their previous games.This is a rematch of their week 12 overtime shootout won by the Patriots 34-31. I’m going with a Patriot upset, based on the way New England has been running the ball, and head coach Bill Belichick’s mastery at getting his teams prepared to play against Manning.

In the later game, the National Football Conference (NFC) title will be decided with the 49ers visiting the Seahawks in Seattle. These NFC West rivals played twice this year already, with each team winning at home. But the Seahawks beat the tar out of the 49ers in week 2, 29-3, while the 49ers won at home 19-17 in week 14. I think the Seahawks will shut down the 49ers’ offense enough to win the game, but not nearly as decisively as they did early in the season.

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Mid-Season Hockey Report

Posted on January 10, 2014 by admin

We are just over half of the way through the National Hockey League (NHL) season, so let’s take a look at how the teams have fared so far. The 2013-14 season is the first year back to 4 divisions in the NHL. As expected, the defending conference champions are at the top of their divisions.

The Chicago Blackhawks, who are the Stanley Cup Champions from last year, are tied at the top of the Central Division in the Western Conference with the St. Louis Blues, but have played 3 more games, so they are really in 2nd place. The team they beat in the finals, the Boston Bruins, lead the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference but only by 2 points over the Tampa Bay Lightning, and 3 points over the Montreal Canadiens.

The other division leader in the Eastern Conference isn’t a surprise either, as the Pittsburgh Penguins lead the Metropolitan Division by a whopping 15 points over the 2nd place Philadelphia Flyers. However, even though the Anaheim Ducks won the Pacific Division in the Western Conference last year, most people are surprised that they not only are leading that division again, but they have the best record in the NHL with 71 team points.

The Ducks have a 9 point lead over the San Jose Sharks, and a 12 point lead over the Los Angeles Kings, who won the Stanley Cup Championship 2 years ago. Even if the Ducks maintain this lead, all 3 teams will make the playoffs, and history has proved that home-ice advantage doesn’t mean very much in the playoffs. The Ducks are solid on offense, and much better on defense, but I’m still leery of their goalie situation.

I discovered an interesting thing when looking at the statistics of all the NHL teams. The Blues have by far the best goal differential with a +63 (160 goals for, and 97 goals against). The next closest team is the Blackhawks at +42. Having a +63 goal differential after just 43 games is quite impressive. Not surprisingly, the Blues and the Ducks have been the hottest teams recently, with the Blues 9-0-1, and the Ducks 9-1-0 in their last 10 games.

At the mid-point of this NHL season, the Penguins are the best team in the Eastern Conference, while the Ducks, Blues, and Blackhawks are playing the best in the Western Conference so far. Who knows what will happen in the second half of the season, but these 4 teams are virtually assured of a playoff spot with their good first half of the season.

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Florida State Wins The National Championship In A Thriller 34-31

Posted on January 7, 2014 by admin

The Florida State University (FSU) Seminoles beat the Auburn Tigers 34-31 in the last Bowl Championship Series (BCS) National Championship game to finish the season 14-0. FSU quarterback Jameis Winston, who won the Heisman Trophy as a redshirt freshman, threw the winning 2-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Benjamin with only 13 seconds remaining in the game, to celebrate his 20th birthday in spectacular fashion.

FSU was playing catch-up for most of the game, falling behind as much as 21-3 in the 2nd quarter. The Seminoles scored a late touchdown on a 3-yard run by Devonta Freeman to cut the lead to 21-10 at halftime. This drive including a fake punt from their own side of the field, that seemed to finally jump start the FSU offense. The only score of the 3rd quarter was a 41-yard field goal by Seminole kicker Roberto Aguayo, which cut the Auburn lead to 21-13.

In the 4th quarter, the Seminoles scored on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Winston to Chad Abram. FSU considered going for a 2-point conversion to tie the game, but an unsportsmanlike penalty after the touchdown, pushed the conversion back to the 18-yard line, so they settled for the 1-point kick, and were still trailing 21-20, with 10:55 left in the 4th quarter.

Auburn added a 22-yard field goal by Cody Parker to push their lead to 24-20, with just 4:42 remaining. Then on the ensuing kickoff, Seminole Levonte Whitfield went 100 yards for a touchdown, to give FSU their first lead since it was 3-0 in the 1st quarter. If you’ve seen the Auburn games against Georgia or Alabama, you knew they had plenty of time to come back, and they did. The Tigers went 75 yards and regained the lead 31-27 on a 37-yard touchdown run by Heisman Trophy Finalist Tre Mason.

Taking the lead was great for Auburn, but there was still 1:19 left on the clock.  The Seminoles drove 80 yards in 7 plays, culminating with the touchdown to Benjamin. Winston finished with 237 yards passing, and both of his passing touchdowns in the 4th quarter. FSU ended up being the only favored team to win in the 5 BCS games, in the 16th and last year of the BCS.

The Seminoles were also the first team in a BCS National Championship Game to win after trailing at halftime, and they were down by 11. They also came back from the biggest deficit in a BCS title game, and became the highest scoring team in college football history. This was the 3rd national title for the Seminoles, also winning in 1993 and 1999 under then head coach Bobby Bowden, who was their honorary captain tonight. Jimbo Fisher won his first national title, since taking over for Bowden in 2010.

Next year will begin the first year of the 4-team playoff for the National Championship. The much maligned BCS era has now come to an end. I’m glad this game was a lot better than the 13-point spread that FSU was favored by. Both of these teams are sure to be very successful again next year, with the Seminoles most likely the preseason #1 as Winston will return to a loaded team on offense and defense.

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The Chargers, 49ers, Colts and Saints Move On From The Wild Card Playoff Round

Posted on January 6, 2014 by admin

The San Diego Chargers and San Francisco 49ers both won their National Football League (NFL) wild card playoff games on Sunday, while the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints also advanced to the divisional round of the playoffs, with wins on Saturday. The only home team to win out of the 4 games was the Indianapolis Colts, and they had to come back from 28 points down to do it.

Let’s start with the first game of wild card weekend. The Colts took on the Kansas City Chiefs. Since the Colts won the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and the Chiefs didn’t win their West division, even though both teams were 11-5, the game was played in Indianapolis. The Chiefs jumped out to a 24-7 lead early in the 2nd quarter, due to an interception thrown by Colts’ quarterback Andrew Luck, and also a fumble. They even scored a touchdown late in the 2nd quarter, and early in the 3rd quarter to take a 38-10 lead.

It was looking bleak for the Colts, even though Luck has brought them back in several games over his 2 years in the NFL, but 28 points? It seemed like the Colts defense couldn’t surrender another point to even have a chance. They did get much better in the second half, but it was Luck and receiver T.Y. Hilton that did most of the damage. Luck finished the game with 443 yards passing, and 4 touchdowns, to go along with his 3 interceptions. Hilton accounted for 224 of those yards, and 2 of the touchdowns.

With 21 points in the 3rd quarter and 14 points in the 4th quarter, the Colts took the lead late in the game and held off the Chiefs’ last drive, to win 45-44. So after the 38-10 start, the Colts outscored the Chiefs 35-6. Indianapolis overcame a -3 turnover ratio, and a great game by Chiefs’ quarterback Alex Smith, who threw for 378 yards, with 4 touchdowns and no interceptions. This was the 2nd biggest postseason comeback in NFL history, behind only the Buffalo Bills stunning 32-point comeback in 1993 against the Houston Oilers.

In the later game on Saturday, the Saints won their first postseason road game ever, beating the National Football Conference (NFC) East winning Philadelphia Eagles 26-24. Despite a rather pedestrian game by Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees, the Saints took a 20-7 lead in the 3rd quarter. But they fell behind by a 24-23 with 4:54 remaining, on a touchdown reception by tight end Zach Ertz from Eagle quarterback Nick Foles, who led the NFL in passer rating this year.

The Saints drove deep into Eagle territory so Shayne Graham could kick the winning 32-yard field goal with no time remaining. Just like the Colts-Chiefs game, the winner was the team that committed more turnovers (Saints-2, Eagles-0). Before Saturday, the team that had at least a minus 2 turnover ratio in a playoff game was 4-133. On Saturday, those teams were 2-0. Also, like the earlier game, the quarterback with the higher passer rating lost (Foles-105.0, Brees-75.7). It just goes to show you that while the quarterback is the key player, and turnovers are important, they aren’t everything.

On Sunday, the Chargers went to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals. The Chargers were the 6th seeded team in the AFC, and the Bengals had won the AFC North division. Other than Charger fans, few people gave San Diego much of a chance, but turnovers were big in this game. Despite throwing for 334 yards, Bengal quarterback Andy Dalton tossed 2 interceptions and also fumbled. The Chargers made them pay for these mistakes.

The underdog Chargers won going away 27-10, despite only 128 yards on 12 of 16 passing by their quarterback Phillip Rivers. They did rush for 196 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Bengals finished with 4 turnovers, while the Chargers had zero. A good running game, along with solid quarterback play, combined with a +4 turnover ratio, will get it done just about every time.

The final game of wild card playoff weekend was between the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers. The game was played in Green Bay even though the Packers were only 8-7-1, and the 49ers were 12-4. This is because the Packers won the NFC North division, and the 49ers were a wild card. The game was played with the temperature at 5 degrees, and slowly dropping. Even so, the weather didn’t seem to affect the game. The game was close throughout, with the Packers tying the game at 20 with 5:06 remaining.

The way that the 49ers were moving the ball, it looked like settling for a field goal on that drive might spell doom for the Packers. The 49ers mostly ran the ball on their final drive to use up time, most successfully with their quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who finished with 98 yards rushing on just 7 carries, to go along with 227 passing yards in the game. This drive ran out the clock, and ended with a 33-yard Phil Dawson field goal to win the game 23-20. Kaepernick is now 3-0 against the Packers and their quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

The NFL divisional playoff round will start on Saturday with the Saints playing the top seed in the NFC, the Seattle Seahawks. These teams played on December 2nd in Seattle, and the Seahawks delivered a severe 34-7 beating to the Saints. Look for a similar result, but probably not by a 27-point margin.

The later game on Saturday will be the Colts visiting the New England Patriots. These teams did not play during the year. But don’t expect any late-game heroics from Luck in cold New England. I expect Patriot quarterback Tom Brady to show Luck how things are done in the playoffs.

On Sunday, the early game will feature the 49ers going on the road to play the Carolina Panthers. This is a rematch of the game won by the Panthers on November 10th in San Francisco 10-9. Look for the 49ers to exact revenge, as Panther quarterback Cam Newton melts under the playoff pressure, whether he thinks he’s Superman or not.

The final game of the divisional playoff weekend has 2 teams very familiar with each other facing off. The Chargers go to Denver to play the Broncos for the 3rd time this season. They each won on the road, with the Chargers beating Denver 27-20. This is my upset special. The Chargers will win their 6th straight game, by knocking Bronco quarterback Peyton Manning out of the playoffs, like they did a few times when he was on the Colts.

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Underdogs Are 4-0 In BCS Games, With The Title Game Left

Posted on January 4, 2014 by admin

The Clemson Tigers beat the Ohio State Buckeyes 40-35, to make it 4 in a row for the underdogs in the 2014 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) games. The National Championship game between Florida State and Auburn is the last ever BCS game, on Monday night. This Orange Bowl game wasn’t decided until Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller’s 2nd interception, with 1:18 remaining.

In a battle of teams dominated by their experienced quarterbacks, Clemson’s Tajh Boyd outplayed Miller. Boyd threw for 370 yards and 5 touchdown passes. He also ran for 127 yards and a touchdown. Miller passed for 234 yards and 2 touchdowns, and rushed for 35 yards and 2 touchdowns. But Miller doesn’t have Sammy Watkins at wide receiver like Boyd does. Watkins finished the game with 16 catches for 227 yards and 2 touchdowns.

In the Sugar Bowl on Thursday night, the Oklahoma Sooners shocked the Alabama Crimson Tide 45-31. Oklahoma, who was a 16-point underdog, gave up an early touchdown, then proceeded to score on their next 5 possessions, to take a 31-17 lead into halftime. Alabama came into the game the best scoring defense in the nation, giving up just over 11 points per game. 3 turnovers by the Tide helped the Sooners score 31 in the first 2 quarters, but that doesn’t really tell the story.

Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops, who was critical of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) earlier in the year, decided to start freshman Trevor Knight against Alabama. This was Knight’s 5th start of the season, and he had career highs in passing yardage and touchdown passes, by halftime. He finished the game with 348 yards and 4 touchdown passes.

Alabama rushed for more yardage in the game (129-81), and also passed for more yardage (387-348), but ended with 5 turnovers, compared with only one for Oklahoma. The Sooners took a bit of a breather in the 3rd quarter, but came back strong in the 4th, after the Tide closed the scoring gap to 31-24. The teams exchanged touchdown passes in the final quarter, and Alabama had one more chance to tie the game with 56 seconds remaining.

On their first play of this short drive, Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron was sacked by Eric Striker, who also forced a fumble, which was picked up by Geneo Grissom, and returned for an 8-yard touchdown, that basically ended the game. Oklahoma had 7 sacks in the game, while the Tide only allowed 10 sacks in their previous 12 games.

Alabama which lost their chance to play for their 3rd consecutive national championship, after losing to Auburn, on a missed field goal returned for a touchdown, has now given up 79 points in back to back losses. It looks like the mighty Tide defense has developed a severe flaw.

With Michigan State beating Stanford in the Rose Bowl, and Central Florida’s stunning victory over Baylor, the underdogs are now 4-0 in the BCS bowl games in 2014. Auburn hopes it’s a clean sweep for the dogs on Monday. Florida State is favored by 13 points in the BCS National Championship Game.

There was another big bowl game Friday night, although not a BCS bowl game. The Cotton Bowl pitted the Missouri Tigers against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Missouri won the game 41-31, in just another bowl game with over 1000 yards of total offense. I’m almost shocked when a defense makes a good play anymore. But when the Cowboys had the ball trailing 34-31 with just over a minute remaining in the game, their quarterback Clint Chelf was sacked and fumbled, and Missouri’s Shane Ray returned it 73 yards for the final points.

Missouri was fortunate to have such a good running game, rushing for 256 yards, because their starting quarterback James Franklin struggled mightily. He was 15 of 40 passing for 174 yards, and one interception, with no touchdown passes. He also had 36 yards rushing on 16 carries, which is a miserable 2.3 yards per carry.

By contrast, Missouri backup quarterback Maty Mauck was given one set of downs, and it resulted in the Tigers scoring on a touchdown pass from Mauck to Marcus Lucas. He also rushed for 73 yards on 3 carries. He must have played more than just that set of downs because 73 yards rushing plus 32 yards passing is much longer than that 80 yard drive. But I was flipping back and forth between the Orange and Cotton Bowls, and didn’t see him in the game again.

The reason I bring this up, is that Clemson eventually took the lead in the 4th quarter, and I kept wondering when Missouri would put Mauck back in the game. This seemed like an easy decision to switch quarterbacks, but they never made the change. It did eventually work out for them, but not because they stuck with Franklin. Head coach Gary Pinkel would have definitely had to answer for this decision if they ended up losing this game.

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