The NFL postseason is upon us once again, beginning with Wildcard Weekend. Remember last year's Wildcard Weekend? Sure you do.
You remember Tony Romo botching that chip shot field goal hold.
You remember when Tony Dungy and Herm Edwards dressed up like each other and made out after the game.
Sure, you remember all that stuff. Well, now, put it all out of your minds. Forever. It's time to make some new wildcard memories. Let's look at Saturday's games.
WASHINGTON REDSKINS (9-7) AT SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (10-6)
Only 2 years ago, a team that had been written off at the beginning of December won their last 4 games to sneak into the playoffs, then won 3 road playoff games and the Super Bowl, against these very same Seattle Seahawks no less.
Could history repeat itself?
SEAHAWKS O V. REDSKINS D
Seattle is a team that hasn't had a lot of success running the ball, and probably won't have success doing that against the Redskins defense, who is ranked 4th in the league against the run. That means they'll have to throw the ball effectively in order to win. The Redskins aren't a team that gets beat with a lot of deep balls, so it'll have to be dink and dunk all day long for the Seahawks. Fortunately for them, their offense is the old West Coast offense, which is built to exactly that.
ADVANTAGE- SEAHAWKS
REDSKINS O V. SEAHAWKS D
Seattle has a very talented defense that has guys going to the Pro Bowl all over the place. They thrive on forcing mistakes and on pressuring the QB. Washington's pretty good at limiting their mistakes, so the Seahawk defense may get a little frustrated. Still, I just don't see the Redskins being able to generate enough offense to win this game.
ADVANTAGE- SEAHAWKS
VARIOUS AND SUNDRY
Nobody's hotter than the Redskins right now, and that does count for something. Seattle's looked kind of wobbly the last few weeks. If this game is in Washington, the Hawks would be in trouble. But it's in Seattle, where the Seahawks are 7-1 and where they've won 3 playoff games in a row. That counts for something too.
ADVANTAGE- PUSH
MY PICK
My initial reflex was to pick the Redskins, just because, like Hansel, they are just so hot right now. Looking at the matchups though, I've got to go with the Seahawks. I'm taking the Pro Bowl selections at face value and saying that when the Redskins have the ball they will just be completely overmatched by Seattle's defense. I'm also thinking that Seattle's offense matches up well with the Redskins defense, so I've got to go with the home team.
SEATTLE 20, WASHINGTON 16
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (11-5) AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS (10-6)
We've got a real easy reference point in looking at this game. These same teams met on the very same field just three weeks ago. The Jaguars won that meeting, 29-22, and the game wasn't as close as that score would indicate. Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones Drew made mincemeat out of the Steelers #1 ranked defense, leading them to 224 rushing yards, and Ben Roethlisberger was sacked 5 times.
STEELERS O V. JAGUARS D
Pittsburgh's going to be missing their best offensive player, Willie Parker. He's out for the year with a broken leg, and that means that Najeh Davenport will be taking his place. Davenport is a totally different kind of running back than Parker. He's a big Jerome Bettis type back who has to be able to pound it inside to be successful. That won't fly against the Jags, not with John Henderson plugging up the middle. That's going to put a lot of pressure on Ben Roethlisberger to be able to win this game with his arm, and that's not when he's at his best. He's at his best when he is able to throw deep off against a defense loaded up to stop the run. If he's forced to try and win the game himself, he gets exposed.
ADVANTAGE- JAGUARS
JAGUARS O V. STEELERS D
Sorry, the Steelers can talk as much as they want about how Fred Taylor isn't going to gash their defense (like Hines Ward said he won't), but the fact is that the Jaguars ran for over 200 yards against them just a couple weeks ago and they are totally inside the Steelers heads. David Garrard can beat you too, and he'll be just as dangerous. I don't care that the Steelers have the #1 defense in the league, the Jaguars depantsed them last time they played, and that means more than anything.
ADVANTAGE- JAGUARS
VARIOUS AND SUNDRY
I had to look for a long time for a recent photo of the Steelers doing anything good. That tells me they haven't been playing well lately. Everyone is scared to death of the Jags right now and without Willie Parker the Steelers don't scare anyone.
ADVANTAGE- JAGUARS
MY PICK
I'm seeing the Jaguars putting a big time hurt on the Steelers.
JAGUARS 31, STEELERS 10
You remember Tony Romo botching that chip shot field goal hold.
You remember when Tony Dungy and Herm Edwards dressed up like each other and made out after the game.
Sure, you remember all that stuff. Well, now, put it all out of your minds. Forever. It's time to make some new wildcard memories. Let's look at Saturday's games.
WASHINGTON REDSKINS (9-7) AT SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (10-6)
Only 2 years ago, a team that had been written off at the beginning of December won their last 4 games to sneak into the playoffs, then won 3 road playoff games and the Super Bowl, against these very same Seattle Seahawks no less.
Could history repeat itself?
SEAHAWKS O V. REDSKINS D
Seattle is a team that hasn't had a lot of success running the ball, and probably won't have success doing that against the Redskins defense, who is ranked 4th in the league against the run. That means they'll have to throw the ball effectively in order to win. The Redskins aren't a team that gets beat with a lot of deep balls, so it'll have to be dink and dunk all day long for the Seahawks. Fortunately for them, their offense is the old West Coast offense, which is built to exactly that.
ADVANTAGE- SEAHAWKS
REDSKINS O V. SEAHAWKS D
Seattle has a very talented defense that has guys going to the Pro Bowl all over the place. They thrive on forcing mistakes and on pressuring the QB. Washington's pretty good at limiting their mistakes, so the Seahawk defense may get a little frustrated. Still, I just don't see the Redskins being able to generate enough offense to win this game.
ADVANTAGE- SEAHAWKS
VARIOUS AND SUNDRY
Nobody's hotter than the Redskins right now, and that does count for something. Seattle's looked kind of wobbly the last few weeks. If this game is in Washington, the Hawks would be in trouble. But it's in Seattle, where the Seahawks are 7-1 and where they've won 3 playoff games in a row. That counts for something too.
ADVANTAGE- PUSH
MY PICK
My initial reflex was to pick the Redskins, just because, like Hansel, they are just so hot right now. Looking at the matchups though, I've got to go with the Seahawks. I'm taking the Pro Bowl selections at face value and saying that when the Redskins have the ball they will just be completely overmatched by Seattle's defense. I'm also thinking that Seattle's offense matches up well with the Redskins defense, so I've got to go with the home team.
SEATTLE 20, WASHINGTON 16
JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (11-5) AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS (10-6)
We've got a real easy reference point in looking at this game. These same teams met on the very same field just three weeks ago. The Jaguars won that meeting, 29-22, and the game wasn't as close as that score would indicate. Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones Drew made mincemeat out of the Steelers #1 ranked defense, leading them to 224 rushing yards, and Ben Roethlisberger was sacked 5 times.
STEELERS O V. JAGUARS D
Pittsburgh's going to be missing their best offensive player, Willie Parker. He's out for the year with a broken leg, and that means that Najeh Davenport will be taking his place. Davenport is a totally different kind of running back than Parker. He's a big Jerome Bettis type back who has to be able to pound it inside to be successful. That won't fly against the Jags, not with John Henderson plugging up the middle. That's going to put a lot of pressure on Ben Roethlisberger to be able to win this game with his arm, and that's not when he's at his best. He's at his best when he is able to throw deep off against a defense loaded up to stop the run. If he's forced to try and win the game himself, he gets exposed.
ADVANTAGE- JAGUARS
JAGUARS O V. STEELERS D
Sorry, the Steelers can talk as much as they want about how Fred Taylor isn't going to gash their defense (like Hines Ward said he won't), but the fact is that the Jaguars ran for over 200 yards against them just a couple weeks ago and they are totally inside the Steelers heads. David Garrard can beat you too, and he'll be just as dangerous. I don't care that the Steelers have the #1 defense in the league, the Jaguars depantsed them last time they played, and that means more than anything.
ADVANTAGE- JAGUARS
VARIOUS AND SUNDRY
I had to look for a long time for a recent photo of the Steelers doing anything good. That tells me they haven't been playing well lately. Everyone is scared to death of the Jags right now and without Willie Parker the Steelers don't scare anyone.
ADVANTAGE- JAGUARS
MY PICK
I'm seeing the Jaguars putting a big time hurt on the Steelers.
JAGUARS 31, STEELERS 10
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