No Regrets

If you expect me to apologize, I’m not going to. If you expect me to take back what I said, you’re wasting your time. If you think my opinion has changed at all, you’re more delirious than Ricky Bobby after his crash. There was no reason for anyone to believe that the Seahawks would play as well as they did against New Orleans, and if you still say that you thought Seattle was going to win the game then you are lying to yourself. You simply got lucky that they performed out of their minds because they gave no indication that they were capable of doing anything more than lose by two scores at best. Nothing they did all season suggested that they had any chance to pull this game out. Granted it is the NFL, and (especially after Any Given Sunday being on TV last week) I should’ve known that anything is possible (KG, respect), but come on.

Take a look at Hasselbeck’s stats from the regular season. He played in 13 games for the Seahawks (14, but two of those games were three quarters against Atlanta, and one quarter against Tampa, so 13 games in total). Here they are:

59.9 CPT, 3001 yards, 12 TD, 17 INT, 73.2 QB rating

He threw for 300 yards or more only twice, never threw for more than 2 TD’s in a game (only threw two TD three times), and only finished with a QB rating over 100 three times (only had a rating over 80 one other time, all other games had a sub-80 rating). One thing I didn’t factor in, arguably his best game (32/44, 366 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 104.9 rating) came at New Orleans. But still. Matt Hasselbeck randomly started playing like the Seahawks Super Bowl year without any warning (22/35, 272, 4, 1, 113.0). If you picked Seattle to win, you are an idiot that got lucky (I’m looking at you, Ubacca). I stand by that, no apologies. With all that said, I will no longer refer to them as the Stinkhawks.

Also, the Saints 6-2 road record during the season was very deceiving. They were lucky to beat Dallas and San Francisco, while barely escaping Cincinnati and losing to Arizona (combined record: 21-43). They routinely played down to their competition.

One more observation: Roman Harper has supplanted Brandon Meriweather for the honorary Safety-Who-Takes-The-Worst-Angle-At-Plays Award.

Another thought: can someone please explain to me Jim Caldwell’s thinking when he called that timeout with :29 left? No reasonable explanation can be given. He gave the Jets an extra TO and you can argue allowed them to make the Braylon Edwards play and make it a chip shot for Nick Folk instead of a 40-something yarder. My friend Bob and I share the common belief that Caldwell is a robot, and we joked that the person controlling him hit the wrong button. If you think you have a better explanation I’m all ears, but for now I’m sticking with that.

RAVENS at STEELERS

What we learned about Baltimore: Didn’t learn much new about the Ravens. They did manage to make Matt Cassell look like a Ryan Leaf reincarnate, which was impressive, but I thought all season that Cassell’s success was a byproduct of the system he was in and the responsibility he was given to simply manage games. Once they got up on the Chiefs and forced Cassell to bring KC back, it was more painful to watch than a Shaq instructional free throw video. They aren’t going to be able to do the same to Roethlisberger who can move and make plays out of the pocket with his arm and legs. Regardless, with Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and others, the defense is as tough, experienced, and stingy as any other, and it’s going to be a grind against Pitt.

What we know about Pittsburgh: Their O-line is about as sturdy as the construct that Marv built to get out of the basement in Home Alone 2. Roethlisberger is going to have to run around and make plays out of the pocket, but that’s nothing he’s not used to. While their offense will struggle, expect Troy Polamalu and the defense to make the Raven’s offense do the same. You simply can’t run the ball against them. Can’t do it. They only allowed 62.8 yards per game rushing this season. And I still don’t completely trust Flacco to go out and win games with all the pressure on his shoulders. Despite his 4-2 playoff record (all on the road), I don’t think he can do it, especially with his receivers against the Pittsburgh D.

X-Factor: Mike Wallace- Wallace is going to need to be the playmaker for Steeler’s offense and help Roethlisberger out by stretching the field and winning 50/50 balls over Ed Reed and that secondary. If he can make some big plays then Pitt will prevail.

Chances Mike Tomlin throws on some pads and jumps into the game himself: 63% (I’ve always wanted to see him do this, you can see him itching to almost every game).

Prediction: Steelers 16, Ravens 13

PACKERS at FALCONS

What we learned about Green Bay: This team is fun to watch but simultaneously just as frustrating. It’s hard to argue the fact that they are playing their best (with wins over the Giants, Bears, Eagles in the last three weeks), but at the same time they never seem to get their best outcome. They always seem to leave points on the board, whether because of stupid mistakes, penalties, and even play-calling (I’m not a Mike McCarthy fan at all and I honestly think he holds this team back). They should’ve taken a stranglehold on the Eagles last week, but didn’t, and ultimately got a little lucky to win. They did the same in their regular season matchup with the Falcons (when Rodgers fumbled on the goal line) and ended up on the short end. You could say that the Packers lack the intangibles necessary to win in the playoffs and win close games. At the same time, maybe I’m swayed by my man crush on Rodgers, but he is a stud, and he will have no problem moving the ball up and down the field against Atlanta if his O-line holds up well enough.

What we know about Atlanta: They just a really solid team all around: a balanced offense with a power running game, weapons in the passing game (White, Gonzalez) and an accurate QB; above average defense against the run and an improving passing defense; dynamite special teams, one of the best in the NFL. This was a weak year for the NFC record wise though (maybe because each of the top teams had tough schedules and slip ups against weaker teams), and at 13-3, I never felt that Atlanta went out and beat up the competition to earn the top seed (I mean, obviously they did, but I hope you can understand what I’m saying). It’s almost as if they got the #1 seed by default. Yeah, they’re really good and nearly unbeatable at home in the last two seasons, but I don’t think of them as a dominant team at all.

X-Factor: James Starks- he’s going to need to run the ball successfully as he did against Philly for Rodgers to have enough success to pull this game out. If he can run, it makes the Packers’ offense two-dimensional (which they haven’t been in forever) and opens up the play-action game for Rodgers. If he can’t, the Falcons can rush three and drop eight comfortably, getting coverage sacks in addition to the few that John Abraham will get for just being a beast.

Over/under on number of points McCarthy costs the Pack with his poor play calling/time management: 7.5 (still like the Pack though).

Prediction: Packers 24, Falcons 20

SEAHAWKS at BEARS

What we know about Chicago: I’ve already talked enough about the Seahawks. I’m not sold on the Bears as a legitimate contender. I never was this season, even when other people started to say “are you taking them seriously now?” after they beat Philly. No, no I’m not. They got more consistent late in the season, but took a step back again after getting savaged by New England. They were lucky to beat Detroit (twice) and Buffalo, and suffered early season defeats to Seattle and Washington. They’re really a Jekyll and Hyde team, which is not surprising when Jay Cutler is your quarterback. One thing is for sure: they completely shut down the opposition’s run game, and I fully expect that anomaly of a game (and run) that Marshawn Lynch had last week to not be duplicated. He will return to regular season Lynch. As a result, Hasselbeck will not be able have the same week passing the ball. He sold his soul to beat the Saints, but his soul is only worth one game.

X-Factor: Leon Washington- you thought I was going to say Devin Hester, didn’t you? That’s too easy. Chicago has the best special teams in the league, and I expect their defense to dominate (for the most part). The Seahawks are going to need a big special teams play, like a kickoff return, to ignite the scoring and give them momentum to make it close where they will have a chance to squeak it out.

Chances that this is the least cared about game of the four: 1000%

Prediction: Bears 28, Seahawks 14 (I really hate taking that whiny crybaby Cutler in a playoff game).

JETS at PATRIOTS

What we learned about the Jets: Clearly going to address the off-the-field action here. First off, I don’t really care what Cromartie said, he has nine kids by eight different women, and can’t even remember his kids’ names. His IQ is lower than the number of interceptions he had this year. But I expect more from Rex Ryan. Apparently he thinks we live in the stoneage and isn’t up to date with modern technology. Umm, Rex, you ever heard of DVR you fat turd? Just because Brady was at a Broadway play while you were playing the Colts (gaining sophistication and culture you will never have) doesn’t mean he’s not going to watch film of that game for at least 50 hours and pick your defense apart as a result. They are trying to start a rivalry by shooting off at the mouth, but really there is no rivalry. The fact is that the Jets were lucky to beat a depleted and honestly not-very-good Colts team that they are designed to beat. Without Cromartie’s kick return or possibly Caldwell’s timeout, they don’t win that game. Sanchez looked like an absolute bum ‘til the final drive. Their defense is not going to stop Brady and the Pats’ offense, and really they need Greene and Tomlinson to do twice as well as they did against Indy to control the ball and have a chance.

What we know about the Patriots: They haven’t scored less than 30 points since they lost to Cleveland on Nov. 7 (8-0 since). Only GB managed to contain their offense somewhat, and they still scored 31. The defense has been improving all year, giving up just 3, 7, 27, 3, and 7 points respectively in their last five games. With two weeks off and a week to prepare for the Jets, I don’t see how the Belicheck/Brady falters here.

X-Factor: Vince Wilfork-Wilfork needs to be the absolute monster of a human being that he is in the middle of that D-line. He will be responsible for shutting down the Jets running game inside and force them to stretch to the outside. If he does it would be a huge advantage for the speedy Pats D against two power runners.

Chances the Jets continue to run their mouth/make excuses after getting beat: 1000%

Prediction: Patriots 31, Jets 17

Straight gut homie.

P.S. Wes Welker is the man.