hola sports people,
this sports donkey has been m.i.a, carving up all sorts of things on the back end. but since there are some nfl football games upon us this weekend, and because it happens to be what we call the ‘playoffs’, it’s worthy of a quick blurb. but here are the sports donkey projections.
NFC title game: Philadelphia 24 - 20 Arizona
AFC title game: Baltimore 2 - 3 Pittsburgh
I have a hard time believing that we’ll more than likely see a super bowl featuring two birds, or a super bowl that features a keystone state spectacular. if the latter ends up being the case, then why did the rest of the country even tune in this year to watch football? it’s not fair PA, let someone else play. but at the same time, don’t let the ravens play. as long as art modell wanders this earth i will not take relief knowing that he could have the satisfaction of joy once again. i also have a hard time believing that a 9-7 team in a terrible division could represent the NFC in the superbowl. all those talks of how tough the NFC east was, and how solid the NFC south was, and we instead might send a pretty red cardinal into the lion’s den against one ferocious AFC north team. dammit. great job NFC, kudos to screwing this one up.
hey NFC - this is the best thing you could bring to the super bowl?
although my score projections up above are bull sh*t and took me 4 seconds to figure out, i am excited however to watch football - because i should be used to it by now that my teams don’t like playing in january. but even though i don’t like the baltimore modells, and by law i am not supposed to pull for pittsburgh, it’s setting itself up to be one hellacious battle. with pittsburgh winning both match ups by close margins this year, it’s tough to expect them to win that ever so tough “3rd time in one year”. but flacco hasn’t had to do much for that team all year. granted, he’s done a solid job for a rookie, but in this game he’ll have to make some more plays. and heaven forbid pittsburgh forces some early points or an early costly turnover, and we’ll get to see what flacco is made of - i love pulling for former college FCS guys, but as a country we always tend to hype guys up too much when they succeed, then hype them down too much when they lose. Flacco is on cloud nine for being a ‘game manager’. i know i could be a game manager if i had even half of an ed reed in my locker room. Flacco just needs to come down to earth a bit. but at the same time, i’d like to see him forced to go out and win a ball game.
no idea what to expect in the bird game. although i want to try hard to count the cardinals out, they just beat the crap out of my local panthers, and knocked off a solid falcons team previously. the eagles have certainly played inspired ball over the last 7 games, so this could be a good one. i’ll just have to pretend that the cardinals aren’t in this game and i can make more sense of the confusion.
best of luck to all teams, and to all fans. make sure to eat some tasty wings, and drink unnecessary gallons of booze - and pray to god that someone else from the NFC is allowed to represent the conference in the superbowl when this weekend is all said and done.
Tags: AFC, cardinals, eagles, NFC, ravens, steelers, super bowl
The Eagles and Cardinals match-up was definitely lacking a buzz going into the game, but it clearly proved to be one of the better playoff games in recent memories. Although the Cards won 3 games over good competition, this proves that parody is running sports nowadays. At least last year NY proved itself by beating “the best team ever”, according to lame ESPN, by defeating the Pats in the Super Bowl. Not to mention NY has tradition and charisma, so seeing that Super Bowl match up was quite intriguing. The Giants were a team that won 3 straight playoff games on the road, but they were a team that got hot late in the season and really propelled themselves into the playoffs coming off of that hard fought regular season game against the Patriots. Considering the Pats rolled over everyone last year, that NY game gave fans hope that the Super Bowl could actually e a great game. By no means was that NY a fraudulent team, it was a team with a scary defensive front that finally put it together late in the season. Speaking of other underdog stories, the last time the Steelers won the Super Bowl was when they won 3 playoff games on the road. Once again, this team was not a fraud. They were the team to beat the year before, but lost in the playoffs. This team however won 3 straight playoff games in the brutal AFC, then winning a Super Bowl. A feel good story that wasn’t fraudulent.
Fans like dynasties and they like seeing the best team win, because it’s easier to swallow when your team sucks. Fans also love a great underdog feel good story, however, only when it applies to that underdog team actually becoming a dominant team, not the case when a sucky team from our perspective rises up from the ashes and is mediocre, but somehow manages to win a few games at the right time. Not to take anything away from the teams like AZ who found a way to win but it makes you get pissed that your Redskins have excuses but no solutions. “Hey, the cards got to the super bowl” must make Dan Snyder puke.
Is this Cards team a fraud? Yes and No. Lets start off with Yes. If they lose to the Steelers, they will just be another NFC team that couldn’t compete against a more physical team. Pair that up with 2 playoff home games for a team that went 9-7 in the regular season who got blasted by several teams this year. This team clearly has a label of “hot at the right moment”, but something stinks when you get blown out just two weeks prior to a playoff game. AZ brings a hot offense, a team that can only throw, and a defense playing inspired football. The cards are very similar to the state they live in, unique, hot, and their game only translates to their part of the region. You saw what happened when they played in cold weather and couldn’t throw the ball. Them having two home games is what has them in the Super Bowl. Sure, they beat the Panthers, but that was an inspired Cards team that relied on their defense and their offensive line. Winning 1 on the road is doable, but lets be honest, could they have won against teams with better records on the Road? Atlanta, Philly, possibly a NY? Heck, the Falcons didn’t lose at home all year, home field has its advantages. They were an underdog and completely surprised the Panthers. Possibly destiny? Is Jake Delhomme that bad, really? Odds are he isn’t back in Charlotte next year. You can thank the Arizona defense for that. Wow, has that line ever been put in print?
That leads me into this segment pretty nicely. Teams that win championships are teams that have great defenses or have defenses that put together a great stretch at the right time. Do the Colts from a few years back ring a bell? A team that couldn’t stop Mama B on the ground somehow found a run defense. Wow, you stop an offense and then you can allow Peyton Manning to be Peyton Manning, great concept. Defense wins championships, which is why the Cards are in the Super Bowl, and your obvious choice, this is why the Steelers are there.
Back to the No for Arizona. Arizona is not a fraud because they have yet to play the Super Bowl. They can drop the doubters with a win here. They have won 3 playoff games against teams that were favored, including a demolition on the road of a solid Carolina team. They have All-Pro talent and experienced players on both sides of the ball. Their defense is playing like a winner and Warner is a great player to have right now with his playoff experience, so they have a lot going for them. They have the parts, but 1 more win will secure them a spot in history. Any team making it to the Super Bowl had to play their way in, so they earned it and played the system that everyone else does. You can point at them all you want, but they played their games like everyone else.
Looking to the game, The Cards are playing a defense that is head and shoulders above anything they have seen, so if they score 3 points, it won’t be surprising. Then again, if previous MVP and Super Bowl MVP Warner gets time to throw, this game will lean towards the Cardinals. Will that happen, I have a good idea that says no. Woodley, Harrison, Polamlljljluulooouuu will be your difference. However, lets not discount their previous 3 wins. They weren’t favored in any. The Cards offense did what they did, no surprise there. They torched a solid Philly team, so they should be a better test for the Steelers than what they saw from Flacco’s Ravens. Kurt Warner was an MVP candidate, has won the award, and has guided a team to a super bowl win. I don’t think this guy mentally gets rattled about the big stage. Harrison in his face, that is a different story. As for AZ’s previous 3 wins, their defense showed big play ability. The cards have recently been a team that had to outscore their opponents. During this hot streak, there isn’t that type of pressure as seen in the past. This means the Cards can dictate tempo, can establish a running threat. This type of Cards team is not the team we laugh at. If they put up 21 on the Steelers, they have a shot. 21 doesn’t sound like much, but we’re talking about a Steelers team that outlasts teams. 21 means the Cardinals most likely control the tempo, eat up clock, and put Pittsburgh on their heels. Big Ben is a good qb, but he does what he is supposed to do. Sure, he can scramble and make a play he shouldn’t, but he is also a guy who got sacked with 9 seconds to throw a football. 9 seconds, that is not a lie. Although a good qb, Pittsburgh’s offense is mediocre at best, which is all it needs to be. Defenses control games, which is what Pittsburgh does. If AZ’s offense can dictate, then they will be in good shape. If AZ finds themself throwing to get back in the game, they have no shot. They need to be ahead or within 7 to play their game. They also need their defense to hold serve. If Big Ben and that ground game start beating you up, then they got you where they want you. Pair that with stout defense and you are looking at a Pittsburgh 28-6 victory.
The cards do not have history on their side, we laugh at them instead of applaud. Most people think the 3 wins are ok, but want to see what they do in 2 sundays from now. The current 3 playoff wins are their only playoff wins in 739 years, so it is easy to not get caught up in Phoenix football lure. The Steelers have the tradition, the recent history, everything pointing to them being a Super Bowl team. The cards are a team that clearly benefited from a favorable playoff schedule for a 9-7 team, not to mention playing an NFC Championship game at home with that sparkling 9-7 regular season record, wow. Step up AZ and prove that you aren’t a fluke. If you get hammered in the Super Bowl, I predict changes to be made to the playoff format with better record teams getting home games. Parody has been around recently, and I think people are itching for us to somehow position games better to correct this.
solid post, i definitely like and agree with your perspective. i like to joke around on this post, but any team that makes it to the superbowl deserves a lot of credit. and although i don’t think AZ is really that great, they aren’t a fluke either because they are actually playing with defensive consistency, and their offense is dictating tempo like you said. in most games they’ve lost it seemed like they knew they had to go out and hang up 35 to win. philly put up 32 and almost 100 more yards of offense, like 479 total yards so that AZ defense got scorched big time. but, they played very stout defense in the first half to help build that lead. and since the offense is also playing consistent, the two are playing hand in hand. but the AZ defense also needs the occasional turnover to spark it’s momentum. that defense got roasted against philly but it gets overlooked because the AZ offense was so effective. that defense can’t hide behind the offense in the super bowl.
pitt isn’t a power offense by any means, but they’ve played against baltimore, tennessee, and other great defenses all year. so although AZ is playing pretty good defense AT THE RIGHT TIMES, i can see pitt running the score up on their own end because they are used to playing physical battles and power football.
most people want to focus on the AZ offense v. the Pitt defense and figure that’ll determine who wins or loses. so aside from turnovers always playing a role, i think it’s what the pitt offense will do to the AZ defense. Pitt seems to have a knack of scratching and clawing on 1st and 2nd downs, then continue to move chains on 3rd down. they know what it’s like to focus on acquiring 1st downs and eating clock while out muscling teams. so although philly has a better offense than pitt, pitt shows a bit more balance. so if they keep themselves in a lot of 3rd and shorts, and actually run the ball well converting 1st downs before getting to 3rd down, they shoul be able to methodically beat AZ like all other teams.
and as usual, the most underrated portion of any game is who dominates the line of scrimmage. i feel pretty good that pitt will dominate the defensive side of the ball to shut down that poor AZ running game (please, AZ rushes for 3 yards a carry in the playoffs and the media determines that the running game is back…if 3 measly yards is great, they must have sucked during the season). pitt will take away that entire attack because they don’t need extra guys in the box to stop the run. but what makes kurt warner good isn’t that he has to have a ton of time to succeed with throwing the football. he’s so good at determining match ups and quickly going through progressions to get rid of the ball even with guys coming in unblocked. granted he needs a bit of time to succeed on a regular basis- so where philly got scorched and of course carolina, you’ve got a handful of good receivers to cover, so the more time warner has then you know he’ll make a good throw to a wide open guy. but even when he gets rid of the ball quickly, he makes good throws or hits big enough windows. i’m curious to see how that pitt secondary and linebacking core covers the receivers off the snap.
just hoping for a great game, kind of like AZ v. Philly. nothing is worse than not having your team in the game, then the second worse is just a crappy game from the start.