It’s been a long and exciting season guys, and extremely fun analyzing games and then putting my thoughts down for the world to see (ok maybe not the world, but 7 readers in 2 countries is a start)! But even FMQB needs a break now and again. Wonder where I should go for my vacation? Hawaii might be nice, catch the Pro Bowl while I’m at it. Or how about an Italian cruise…Short column this week guys, then back to full strength for the Super Bowl! On a side note, Happy 25th post to everybody! Thanks to my loyal readers!

 

Speaking of Pro Bowl:

Matthew Stafford became the 5^th player in NFL history to throw for 5000 yards in one season, and did not make the Pro Bowl. Not even as an Alternate!!! With Eli busy with something else this week, Cam Newton took his place on the Pro Bowl roster. Newton deserves a Pro Bowl, but wow, talk about talent in the NFC if a 5000 yard passer is the FIFTH best QB in the NFC.

 

This Breakup is Gonna be Ugly:

You know how people in relationships will pick a fight to finally end things when things aren’t going great? Can everybody see that this is what is going on between Jim Irsay and Peyton Manning right now? Manning spoke early this week about how the Colts’ organization wasn’t a great place to be right now, and he had no clue what the future held for him. Irsay has come back two days in a row now chastising Manning for opening his mouth and not keeping it in house. There is apparently a rift between the Owner and Star QB. Earlier in the year, I was praying that Manning stay in a Colts uniform, but at this point I’m starting to lean towards hoping he goes to another team. I would love to see him in a Jets uniform, both Mannings in the New York market. And then see Peyton stick it to Irsay as he wins a Super Bowl with the Jets. I fully expect Andrew Luck to be the starting QB for the Colts in September.

 

Stolen Stats: In the spirit of full disclosure, this week’s stats were all stolen from other columns, but very interesting nonetheless.

 

Stats of the Championship Round #1: Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are the first head coach-quarterback combo to reach the Super Bowl five times.

 

Stats of the Championship Round #2: Peyton Manning is 9-10 as a playoff starter; his kid brother Eli is 7-3 in the playoffs.

 

Stats of the Championship Round #3: The Giants are on a postseason streak of 6-0 on the road.

 

Stats of the Championship Round #4: Neither of the NFC championship teams made the playoffs last year

 

California Fans must be Blinded by the Sun:

White is the new black, 30 is the new 20, and California Fans are the new Eagles fans. What is up with all the drama with fans from California teams this year? During the baseball season a Giants fan was beaten to near death by a Dodgers fan just for wearing the wrong jersey. 49ers fans have been even worse. Apparently all Saints fans were given phone numbers to call in case 49er fans got to rambunctious. And for the Championship game, with the addition of doubled security, undercover cops dressed up in Giants uniforms to try and catch rowdy fans in the act. Are fans really THAT bad in San Francisco to go to those measures? Apparently. After Williams basically single handedly lost the game for the 49ers by surrendering 10 points due to his fumbles, he got death threats on Twitter…Really people, DEATH threats? He’s a young player, and you can argue that neither fumble was his fault. If this is what California fans are like, no wonder LA hasn’t gotten a team yet.

 

Quote of the Week:

“Wow they’re actually letting them play in the night?” FFMQB (referring to the NFL giving Candlestick Park the night game after the MNF power outages).

 

Week 9 Prophecy:

On November 11^th, after Week 9, FMQB marveled over the initial meeting between the Giants and the Patriots. I will leave you with part of my column from that week. Read below my post from 3 months ago, and how cool it is that this game actually happened!

 

Aww Shucks:

Close your eyes and say the words “Manning game winning drive.” I just about guarantee you aren’t picturing the guy in New York, but his brother instead. At the beginning of this season, Eli Manning proclaimed that he should be considered one of the Elite quarterbacks of the league (FMQB had him at #8). I don’t know if it’s his pouting, or his “Aww Shucks” attitude to life, but people don’t seem to take him seriously. Well the league is beginning to take notice at his clutch performances. Los Tramposos have won 6 games this year, and 5 of those wins have been because of Manning’s game winning drives. This is extremely impressive, showing the individual fortitude like that to win when the game is on the line. As most FMQB fans know, that means a lot to me. This past weekend he scored with 15 seconds left in the game, driving against the Super Bowl contending Patriots, in New England, trumping Tom Brady once again. Every other columnist has compared this game to Super Bowl XLII, so I will skip that analysis here. But it was eerie how Eli went to an unknown receiver who wore #85 on the clutch play of the drive. And then a quick drop and throw to the back left corner of the endzone for the game winning TD. More on Eli later…

 

Patriots vs Giants: Rematch of Super Bowl XLII. These 2 teams always put on great games together for some reason, even though they play once every 4 years.

 

“I dub thee, Sir Eli-te”

Ok, I’ll admit that I crown people way too fast (Tebow, Cam Newton, etc). But just remember one thing, before the season, Eli Manning said he should be in the conversation of top 5 QB’s in the league and everybody laughed at him. So here comes the “crowning” part. Suppose Eli wins the Super Bowl this year. What happens then? He all of a sudden becomes the better Manning quarterback, has more rings than his dad and older brother, people will view him like Terry Bradshaw (never had great stats but could win in the clutch). I think this would be enough to put him in a top 5 QB list in the league. Only 6 active QB’s have won a Super Bowl (Eli, Peyton, Brees, Rodgers, Roethlisberger, and Brady). Should Eli win, only Brady would have more rings than him. What’s even more surprising is he’s only 30!

Here’s how iconic sports have become. Out of the hundreds of thousands of plays ran in football, you can say two words (one of them being the word “the”), and everybody knows what play you are referring to: The Fumble, The Drive, The Catch, The Catch II, The Immaculate Reception, The Tackle, The Holy Roller, The Helmet Catch, and my favorite, simply The Play! Well with another playoff classic happening on Saturday, Vernon Davis’ catch in the endzone is now being hailed “The Grab.” We’ll see if it sticks. Did anybody notice how eerily similar The Grab was to The Catch II? Davis even came out crying like TO!

 

49ers vs Saints analysis:

Two words describe this game best, “Instant Classic.” Battling back and forth the entire game, there were 4 lead changes in the last 4:02 seconds. Early turnovers really hurt the Saints and kept the 49ers in the game, but the 4^th quarter started an offensive score-fest that I didn’t think the 49ers could keep up with statistically the best offense in regular season history. They took the lead with a little under 2 minutes left, but sure enough the Saints scored on a broken tackle with over 1:30 left. I’ll admit, I don’t think that Alex Smith is that good (and still not convinced). I did not think that Alex Smith had the onions to drive them down and score a TD. Sure enough he put together a remarkable drive, capped off with a thrilling catch in the endzone in traffic by Vernon Davis. After 6 horrible seasons, 1 game (or 1 season for that matter) doesn’t convince me that Alex Smith is all of a sudden great. But this was Alex Smith’s coming out party, and the whole nation watched it. Congrats to a guy who hasn’t had much to cheer about the last 7 years.

 

I Don’t Want a Pop-Tart Mommy, I want a Turnover:

This was definitely a weekend of turnovers. Both the Saints and Texans would have won, comfortably, had it not been for bad turnovers. Just shows that no matter which stat you look at, the turnover differential in the game tends to be the most important.

 

Mad Props to South Dakota:

Did anybody else see that the winners of the oldest age group that participated in the Punt Pass and Kick contest were both from South Dakota?!?! And then the announcers gave SD some major love too. Mad Props SD!

 

Broncos vs Patriots analysis:

There’s really not too much analysis for this game, other than the fact that Tom Brady came out with a chip on his shoulder. Somehow the 9-7 sophmore QB with a horrible passer rating got 90% of the attention coming into this game, while the 3 time Super Bowl winner and 2 time MVP got the other 10%. Well Brady showed the media up, throwing 5 TD’s in the first half (an NFL postseason record) and tying Steve Young’s 6 TD performance for most TD’s in the playoffs. I was disappointed in this game, mainly because I thought the Broncos would come out fighting, and because I thought that this would be the most exciting game of the weekend. Tebow has been named the starter for next year, but have teams already figured out their option style offense? We’ll find out in 7 months.

 

Stolen Stat #1:

The Patriots tight ends had 261 total yards and four touchdowns…In one game!

 

Stolen Stat #2:

The Broncos lost 4 of their last 5 games, yet made it to the Divisional Round of the playoffs.

 

Stat of the Week #3:

Proving the “Nevermore’s” Theory, the Ravens are 7-0 against teams making the playoffs this year, and only 6-4 against non-playoff teams.

 

Fictional Quote of the Week:

“I got a fever, and the only cure is more cowbell….and a Championship win” Eli Manning (sitting in practice because of a stomach bug).

 

Texans vs Ravens Analysis:

There’s one thing I learned from the first Sunday’s game: The Texans are legit. Even with a slew of turnovers giving the Ravens the ball already in the endzone, the Texans had multiple shots at the end to win the game. Matt Schaub would have won the game, so would better ball control. I expect the Texans to be deep in the playoffs again next year with all their pieces. The Ravens didn’t look that great to me. They scored 17 points (all off turnovers) in the first quarter, and only had one more FG the rest of the game. Arian Foster was also a beast. He was the first 100yd rusher given up by the Ravens in the postseason (16 games), and he had 95 of them by halftime! Jacoby Jones definitely had some butterlies, making an idiotic play on the ball during a punt after it had bounced. The next punt he also fumbled the ball but recovered it. Flacco did not live up to his “if we win this game none of the credit will go to me” comment, completing 50% of his passes for 176yds.

 

Giants vs Packers Analysis:

Before we get off to it, *tap tap tap*, that’s the sound of me patting myself on the back for picking the winner of this game! Even though having a bye, being fully rested, and having home field advantage, I felt like the Giants were the hot team coming into this game. And like FMQB says “the only thing worse than playing the #1 team in the playoffs is playing the Hot team!” The Giants pass rush has picked the right time to show up this year, Hakeem Nicks is turning into a playoff monster, and Eli Manning is proving that he is the “Eli-te” QB he asked to be. Even though being down, the ball was bouncing the Packers’ way in the first half (see Jennings’ “non-fumble”). But as soon as Bradshaw ripped off that 30yd run to give the Giants a shot at the endzone for a hail mary, and Eli miraculously connected on it! That’s when you knew the Packers were going to lose. Even the Giants secondary played brilliantly. I pointed out to FFMQB that you could literally see Rodgers go through 4 progressions, see nobody open, panic, and not know what to do. He’s had so many weapons all year that he probably never even got through his progressions. So props to the entire Giants defense, that’s what sealed the deal, although Manning, Nicks, and RBs were great too. Triple threat team, no end in sight.

 

Championship Preview:

 

Giants vs 49ers- This matchup screams 1980s! Phil Simms vs Joe Montana, Bill Walsh vs Bill Parcells. These 2 teams combined for 5 Super Bowl wins in the 80s. Plus the last time these 2 teams met in the playoffs, it was that crazy 2003 playoff game that had Michael Strahan telling TO to look at the scoreboard when the 49ers pulled within 17 points of the Giants. Little did Strahan know that the 24 point comeback would tie the postseason record as the 49ers came back to win that game. The Giants had a chance to win, but mishandled the FG snap and the holder heaved a hail mary. I remember that game vividly, hopefully this game would be similar. Plus Eli and Alex would be back to back #1 overall picks (2004 and 2005) playing each other. Two killer defenses vs two offenses that are also very adapt.

 

Final Score: Giants 27, 49ers 20

Chance of Giants pulling the upset: 80%

 

Ravens vs Patriots- Three years ago this would have been a defensive matchup, but now it’s Brady’s high flying offense vs the Ravens stingy defense. And then Flacco’s “managing of the offense” vs the Patriots Donut Defense (the one with all the holes in it). It should be an interesting matchup because the Ravens will be able to score on offense against the worst defense in the league. So it will all come down to how much their D can contain Tom Brady, or at least keep up with him. The matchups will come down to whether their LB’s can effectively cover the Patriots TE’s. I don’t give that matchup to the Ravens aging LB’s, so watch for another big game by Hernandez and Gronkowski. But Brady hasn’t been practicing all week, will that make him rusty at all? Ed Reed has also been a thorn in Brady’s side, but was hurt in the Texans game, we will see how effective he can be.

 

Final Score: Ravens 24, Patriots 38

Chance of Ravens pulling the upset: 35%

 

Hopeful Super Bowl Matchups:

There are so many story lines hidden within all the possible matchups of the Super Bowl, that each one would be intriguing. Here are the possibilities we could see.

 

49ers vs Ravens: Rematch of a regular season snoozefest, but would pit both Harbaugh brothers against each other to see who gets their first Super Bowl. Ironic that in a season of offensive stats-mania that 2 defensive teams would be in the big game.

 

Giants vs Patriots: Rematch of Super Bowl 42, and a killer game in the regular season. The Giants have won the past 2 matchups in close fashion, it should be an interesting game.

 

Giants vs Ravens: Rematch of Super Bowl in 2000 in which the Ravens D killed Kerry Collins and the Giants. This was the game that Ray Lewis was put on the map, if he won the big game against the Giants again would he think about retirement?

 

49ers vs Patriots: Interesting matchup between offense and defense. Tom Brady’s favorite team growing up was the 49ers, would he have it in him to crush them in the Super Bowl?

 

Super Bowl Prediction:

If the Giants win Sunday, then the Giants will win it all. The only chance the AFC has is if the 49ers win on Sunday, in which case either the Patriots or Ravens have it in the bag. But overall, c’mon, do we really expect Alex Smith and Joe Flacco to lead their teams to victory? My vote goes to Brady and Eli! My ultimate prediction? Patriots vs Giants in the big game, and the Giants will win the Super Bowl!

 

Terrell Owens Back To Dallas!

Ok not the Jerry Jones Dallas, more like the Tom and Jerry Dallas. TO has actually signed a contract and become part owner of an IFL team who’s season starts in February, so we will see TO back on the football field! Part of me thinks this is some sort of publicity stunt, but it would be fun to see. To be 100% honest, how does nobody pick him up this year? I know he brings drama, he’s old, and was coming off a knee injury. He had 983 yds and 9 TD’s with the Bengals last year, that’s a heck of a season!

 

Forget LA, the Rams are Moving To London!

The Rams just signed a 3 year deal to play in London for 3 straight years. The first game is against the Patriots this year (sorry England fans, but you don’t get a very competitive game). How do the Rams commit to 3 straight years where they have 9 road games and 7 home games?!?! This is why it’s so frustrating to be a fan. You get excited for a new coach and all of a sudden we disadvantage ourselves by only having home field advantage 7 times in a season.

 

Cheat Sheet:

Kudos to those of you who could actually picture “The Plays” happening above, but for a quick cheat sheet, here are what “THE” plays were:

The Fumble: AFC Championship Game in the 80’s where Cleveland’s Earnest Byner fumbled on the 2 yd line while trying to punch in the game clinching TD. Elway and the Broncos then led a 98 yd drive to win the game and go to the Super Bowl.

The Drive: Ironically the year before “The Fumble,” these same 2 teams in the AFC Championship game. Elway led the Broncos 98 yards (again) to win the game with 37 seconds left.

The Catch: Playoff game in the 80’s between the 49ers and Cowboys. Joe Montana led the 49ers down to the endzone at the end of the game. This unique camera angle makes it look like Montana is throwing the ball away, but all of a sudden Clark’s hands come and snatches the ball out of the air for the game winning TD.

The Catch II: Crazy playoff game in the late 90s between Steve Young’s 49ers and Brett Favre’s Packers. With only seconds left, Young heaves a ball to a rookie Terrell Owens, who makes the catch as he gets nailed by 3 different Packers. TO comes up crying tears of joy.

The Immaculate Reception: Playoff game between the Steelers and Raiders. It’s 4^th down and Bradshaw throws to one of his receivers who gets hit as the ball arrives. The ball goes flying back, but RB Franco Harris stoops down and snags the ball an inch from the ground and runs 30 yards for a TD to win the game.

The Tackle: My personal favorite as it still gives me chills! Super Bowl in 1999 between the Titans and Rams. Rams scored with under 2 minutes left, but Steve McNair drives the Titans down to the 10 yard line with one play left. A quick slant to Kevin Dyson gets stopped at the 1 yard line by Mike Jones as time expires. My vote for radio call of all time “Kevin Dyson, reaches for the goal line, NO!”

The Holy Roller: Odd play between the Raiders and Chargers in a playoff game. The ball is fumbled, and ends up being kicked and swatted at 7 or 8 times as it rolls 30 yards into the endzone before it is recovered by the Raiders for a TD.

The Helmet Catch: In Super Bowl 42, called the greatest play the Super Bowl has ever produced. On the final drive of the game, Eli Manning gets rushed and grabbed by 3 Patriots and somehow gets out of it. Then heaves a 40 yard pass in which Rodney Harrison and David Tyree both jump up for. Tyree somehow catches it on his helmet with Harrison’s hand in the middle of everything.

The Play: College football game between rivals Stanford and Cal. Stanford scores with no time left except to kick the ball off. Standford kicks off, and Cal produces roughly 8 controversial laterals before a Bears player was free and running to the endzone. But with the game seemingly in hand, the Stanford marching band was already coming onto the field. To add insult to injury, the Bears player leaps into the endzone only to knock down the trombone player as he’s celebrating. Another great call of all time “The Band is out on the FIELD!”

 

Next Week: If Eli wins the Super Bowl this year, who would be the “Better Manning?”

 

 Wild Card Recap:

Bengals vs Texans

There were two things I took out of this game. #1: The Bengals had no purpose being in the post-season at all. And #2: The Texans looked very young, very spry, and very passionate as a football team. Andy Dalton was a cool story this year, being a rookie who led his team to the playoffs. I would like to point out that none of his INTs were his fault. But other than Dalton, the Bengals looked atrocious. You’re playing against a 3^rd string rookie QB who has lost 3 straight games, how do you now put 10 guys in the box vs the leading rusher from last year? Arian Foster ran all over the Bengals when they should have known it was coming. Andre Johnson looked rusty to say the least. But the most impressive part of this game was the Texans defense. The best word to describe it perhaps, is “crisp.” Plus that INT return for a TD that should have just been a batted down ball was sweet. I figured the Bengals would come out and take the Texans by storm, but they forgot to show up on Saturday.

Lions vs Saints

Everybody knew what to expect in this game, a shootout. Well the two teams didn’t disappoint. Drew Brees threw his 8^th straight 300 yard game, and had a whopping 466 yds passing with 3 TD’s. Probably the most surprising was the fact that the Saints rattled out 167yds on the ground! Talk about a balanced offense. Normally I would take time to bash the Lions right now, but I honestly liked what I saw. They definitely showed promise, showed fight, and proved that they should be in the playoffs for a reason. FMQB was a FG away from getting the score dead on! The Saints looked like a Super Bowl team on Saturday night.

Falcons vs Giants

There are two things that a great team needs to win in the playoffs: Good Defense, and a Strong Rushing attack. Well the Giants have one, but being dead last in the league for rushing doesn’t help their chances. Perhaps they took the Falcons off guard by running it 31 times for 172 yds. The Giants looked like they were built for the playoffs on Sunday, showing no mistakes. For the Falcons to only put up 2 points against a 9-7 team, that’s just pathetic. They went for it on 4^th and 1 twice, and were stopped both times. If you can’t gain 1 yard, then you have no business winning this game.

Steelers vs Broncos

I’ll admit, I thought the Secretariats had zero chance in this game. Well Tebow’s 4^th quarter magic came in the 2^nd quarter and they built an early lead. With the Steelers coming back in regulation, I had the feeling that Big Ben would find a way to win. But the second we hit OT, my gut told me that Tebow had one more piece of magic in him. I didn’t realize it would be the first play of OT though! With the 3 blowouts before this game, Tebow and Big Ben made up for it with one of the more exciting games in recent playoff history. Big Ben looked hurt after the 2^nd quarter, but managed to muster up 2 late game TD drives to tie the game. The Steelers D also looked very old and very slow (case in point, Ike Taylor not being able to stay with Demaryius Thomas. McGahee’s fumble should have been the game clincher for the Steelers (by the way, I loved how after every single play on that drive, the camera cut to McGahee sitting on the sideline). Tebow had a goofy game in my opinion. He didn’t look that great to me, but then every 3^rd play he’d have a 30 yard completion. He completed under 50% of his passes, yet had 316 yards on only 10 completions! He had 2 passing TD’s and a rush TD. Overall we had another crappy statistical, yet entirely magical game from Tebow.

Stolen Stat of the Week:

The Lions had 882 yards passing in 6 days, and lost both games.

Stat of the Week #2:

The only drive of the 2^nd half that the Saints did not score on, they were in the victory formation. 5 TD Drives.

Stolen Sat of the Week #3:

After giving up just two passes of 40 or more yards in the regular season, the Steelers allowed passes of 80, 58, 51 and 40 yards by Tim Tebow of all QB’s.

Stat of the Week #4:

In last year’s Wild Card round, 3 road teams won (ironically the only loss was the Saints at the 7-9 Seahawks). This year, all 4 home teams won.

Stat of the Week #5:

FMQB correctly predicted the exact points scored by both winning teams in the NFC last week. But botched both AFC team predictions.

Playoff Overtime rules:

Let’s pause a second to overview the new playoff overtime rules. They were enacted last year, but there were no OT games for it to be tested. Finally we had an OT game this year, and I was psyched to see the new rules in action! Well my hopes in seeing the rules were dashed after there was a TD on the first play of the game (by the way, the new OT system was enacted for 11 seconds, it took longer for the ref to explain the new rules and do the cointoss)! But along with the excitement of that play, came the excitement of a change in the NFL rules. Let’s blow past the fact that Sunday’s rule change was an utter failure (the purpose of the rule was to give each team a chance at possessing the ball, so much for that happening). The NFL took a step in the right direction by implementing this rule, but it needs to go all-in and adopt the college playoff system, perhaps a hybrid where teams receive the ball at the 50 instead (kickers are too good in the NFL). They also need to adopt this format for the regular season as well, not just the playoffs. But I will give the NFL props. A chipshot FG shouldn’t win the game, so they changed the rule so the other team would have an opportunity to beat it. I am excited to “actually” see this format in action. I think it’s safe to say that Sunday night was the most exciting utter failure of a rule change!

For a full breakdown on the new OT rules, go here.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5022064

Preview of the Divisional Round:

They call it the “Wild” Card round for a reason, because this is typically the round with upsets, crazy games, and crazy plays where teams try to justify that they are indeed good enough to get into the playoffs. But the Divisional round is truly where everything happens. Rare are the 41-10 games anymore, these final 8 teams are the best of the best, and the best games happen in this round. Honestly, there are 4 great weeks in the football season: Week 1, Week 17, the Super Bowl, and the Divisional playoff round. Teams are playing for a shot at a Super Bowl berth, and everything is on the line!

Saints at 49ers:

There is a strange subplot to this story that may unravel as the game goes on. The last time these two teams met, it was Week 1 of the Preseason, and Jim Harbaugh’s first game coaching in the NFL. Apparently there is an unwritten rule that in the preseason, the two head coaches call each other to discuss strategy. Well Jim never called Sean Payton, to which defensive coordinator took issue with and blitzed Alex Smith nearly every play. A) This is just ridiculous, and B) What does Jim Harbaugh do to piss off other coaches?!?! Good bulletin board material nonetheless…Anyway, there’s a game to be played on Saturday too. I think the Saints are the first team to win on the road this year. The 49ers will put on a better show than expected, but even a killer defense won’t be able to stop Drew Brees.

Final Score: Saints 27, 49ers 16

Chance of Saints pulling the upset: 85%

Broncos at Patriots

Here’s a rematch between the much hyped Game of the Season in Week 15. Except this time the game is in Foxboro. In the earlier matchup, the Patriots offense seemed to overmatch the supposedly staunch Denver defense. Rob Gronkowski seemed like he could do whatever he wanted in that game. But Tebow came on strong, even holding the lead early in the second quarter. I do believe the Broncos have a small chance at an upset, but only if the Tebow magic starts flying again. The Patriots will still win this game, but the Broncos will put up a better fight then they did in Week 15. 

Final Score: Broncos 27, Patriots 34

Chance of Broncos pulling the upset: 30%

Texans at Ravens

I can already tell you the story of this game. The Ravens will go into halftime with a 10-7 lead as both offenses struggle to find their own against stingy defenses. In the second half, the Nevermores will have a decent 17 point outing, and the Texans will mount a comeback only to fall short. In my mind, this is the one playoff game I could go without watching this weekend, but I’m hoping for a closer game than expected. The Texans have never defeated the Ravens in their history (0-5). The first matchup this season was a 29-14 Ravens win.

Final Score: Texans 24, Ravens 27

Chance of Texans pulling the upset: 40%

Giants at Packers

There are 3 teams that can take out the Packers right now in the playoffs. The Saints, Patriots, and Giants. Ironically, there is a chance that the Pack could play all 3 on their Super Bowl run. People aren’t going to give the Giants much hope, but I honestly feel like this is a 50-50 game, it was only a FG game this season. Defensively the Giants have what it takes to stop the Packers, and Victor Cruz is going to go nuts on the worst pass defense in the league. Of course the Packers will keep up with them offensively, but I’m suspecting another close game. So here’s my crazy prediction of this week! I am going to predict that the Giants pull the upset and defeat the Packers at home. For some reason, for as long as I remember, these teams that go 13-0, 15-1, etc. always set themselves up for disappointment. (Vikings in 1998, Chiefs, Colts of late, Patriots in 2007). Not one of these teams seem to go all the way. So my thought is that the Packers will not win 3 in a row, and their loss could very well be on Sunday.

Final Score: Giants 31, Packers 27

Chance of Giants pulling the upset: 50%

Non-NFL Talk:

I just want to take a second as I have a beef about college football. First of all, the only game I watched all year was the “Game of the Century” between #1 LSU and #2 Alabama. After the 9-6 snoozer I practically vowed to never watch college football again. But as a sports fan I had to watch the national championship game touted as “The Rematch of All Rematches”, and we got more of the same. The same 5 field goals were scored in the national championship game, plus one TD (to which the extra point was missed). For a whopping final score of 21-0. You can’t tell me that LSU had a better chance at scoring than Oklahoma St, Stanford, or Oregon. The game was the 3^rd lowest in ratings (in an era where football is king). Maybe the BCS will understand that we need a playoff system now. I’m just saying, March Madness is huge in this country, yet nobody talks about college basketball. With how big college football is, why not have a December madness? It would be HUGE! My lobby is for either 4 or 8 teams. That’s only 2-3 games the national champion would have to play to earn the title. Anyway, this game is the reason I don’t watch college football…On a side note, how about the SEC, winning the past 5 national championships (Florida, LSU, Alabama, Auburn, and Alabama). Talk about a power conference.

C’mon Jeff Fisher:

I’m calling you out coach, make up your mind! You interviewed with the Dolphins 2 weeks ago, and a 2^nd interview with the Rams last week. Just make a decision already, and move to the Gateway to the West!

Out of Luck:

Ok so I promised only one crazy prediction this week, but I’m going to throw out one more. The Colts just got a new GM and still plan to draft Luck with the #1 overall pick. As much as I hate to see Manning get traded, I feel that it’s coming this offseason. I see him going to one of 3 teams. Miami, Cleveland, or my new wild card, the New York Jets. How epic would it be if Manning went to the Jets, played Brady twice a year, and he could easily take that team to the Super Bowl with that talent. Plus having Eli and Peyton both in New York would be a riot! He wouldn’t stand for all the Rex Ryan personality BS, but he could pull that team together and make a run. If Manning gets traded somewhere, only if he wins a Super Bowl will his legacy not be tarnished.

A Big Letdown:

Keep in mind, that there are only 7 games left in the football season. I was actually discussing this with my boss, but the playoffs and Super Bowl build you up into the most excited you will be as a football fan, and then all of a sudden there is no football…for 7 months. So cherish these last few games, because after this weekend we’re down to 3 left.

FMQB is looking into the future today, in this week’s column I will talk about all 20 teams not in the playoffs, and preview the 4 playoff games of this weekend. The playoffs are the most exciting time in the football season, you lose and your season is over. Quick recap on Week 17, and then it’s playoff time!!!

Stat of the Week #1:
In a 6 day time span, we saw the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Quarterbacks to throw 5000 yards in one season ever.

Stat of the Week #2:
In about a 12 minute span, Jimmy Graham surpassed the yardage total for Tight Ends in a season, only to be passed by Rob Gronkowski

Stat of the Week #3:
Matt Flynn became the Packers Franchise Leader in Passing Yards and TDs in one game. This is a franchise who has had Bart Starr, Brett Favre, and Aaron Rodgers.

Stat of the Week #4:
The Bills started the season 5-1 and the Dolphins started 0-7. The Dolphins finished ahead of the Bills in the final standings.
Stat of the Week #5:
In NFL History, the #32 defense in the league has never made the playoffs, and the #31 defense has only been in 4 times. This year, both the worst and second worse defenses are not only in, but they have both #1 seeds!!!

C’mon Man!

C’mon Colts, you couldn’t beat the Jaguars to keep Peyton’s legacy? Thought it was funny how as soon as you could tell the Colts were going to lose, the Rams decided to play aggressive and almost came back against the #2 seed in the NFC. We should have done that all year. I am a little disappointed that the Rams can’t get Luck or a slew of picks, but I’m also a little happy that we’re not forced into that decision. I had nightmares of us trading Luck, and having him turn into the greatest QB of all time with 5 Super Bowls and stats galore. The Rams would have been forever jinxed, like the Vikings were with the Herschel Walker trade.

 
Playoff Preview:

Bengals at Texans– The battle of the rookie quarterbacks! To be honest, the AFC matchups in Wild Card weekend are horrible. I don’t see this game being very good at all, and either way, either the Bengals or Texans are going to be in the final 8 after Saturday, which just seems wrong. It seemed like the Texans were immune to the injury bug this year, or more like the injury plague, with their star QB, WR, and LB going down. But it caught up with them the final 3 weeks and they haven’t won a game since they clinched their first berth in team history, actually the Texans last win was a 1 point victory over the Bengals. The first matchup between these teams had TJ Yates leading a game winning drive and scoring with 2 seconds left in the game. Maybe the rematch won’t be so bad afterall!

Final Score: Bengals 24, Texans 23

Percentage of Bengals pulling the upset: 75%

 
Lions at Saints- This is by far the most exciting matchup this week! The battle of the 5000 yard passers. Both teams could easily throw up 45 points, and have defenses that could allow that too. Welcome to the Wild Wild West, because this is going to be a shootout! In their first meeting, the Saints won 31-17, but the Lions were without Suh. The QB’s combined for 750 yards that game, and I can easily see more fireworks for the playoffs.

Final Score: Saints 45, Lions 31

Percentage of Lions pulling the upset: 30%

Falcons at Giants- I can literally see this game going either way. Minus the other NFC matchup, this is easily the most exciting playoff game. Matt Ryan vs Eli Manning. Julio Jones vs Victor Cruz. Giants defensive line is already talking smack about the Falcons offensive line, which will make the game pretty chippy. I feel like both teams are very wishy washy, so I could see a 17-13 game, or a 35-32 game; either team winning! Definitely excited for this matchup to see what happens.

Final Score: Giants 24, Falcons 23

Percentage of Falcons pulling the upset: 50%

Steelers at Broncos- The lingering question this offseason is if Tim Tebow can overcome a 4 game losing streak, or if teams have finally figured out their run first offense. And by 4 game losing streak, I’m saying the Steelers are going to trounce the Broncos. Even with Mendenhall out, I see Roethlisberger getting back into shape a little bit and throwing for 2 TDs. The Steelers have the #8 rushing defense, and should be able to contain Tebow like the Chiefs did last week. Tebow says he’ll be aggressive, but I see him waiting until the 3^rd quarter to do it, and when he does start, he will throw a couple interceptions which will rock his confidence. I foresee another 8-20 day for Tebow, 1 rushing TD and 2 INTs.

Final Score: Steelers 19, Broncos 6

Percentage of Steelers pulling the upset: 80%

 

Next Week’s Matchup:

If the following picks are correct, next week would have Bengals at Patriots, Steelers at Ravens, Giants at Packers, and Saints at 49ers. 2 blowouts, 2 fantastic games, should my crystal ball be right…

Season Recap:

AFC:
Indianapolis Colts (2-14): This team can go nowhere but up. Colts fans have a lot to look forward to with the #1 Draft Pick (and QB of the century) and Peyton Manning coming back. This team should have at least 7 wins next year, and possibly contend for the AFC South again.

Cleveland (4-12): The Browns were honestly a disappointment this year. FMQB had high hopes for the Browns this year, but being stuck in the surprisingly toughest division in football at this point, and having their franchise QB not pan out, I see another disappointing year next year. Sorry Cleveland fans.

Jacksonville (5-11): The only bright spot for the Jaguars this year was an incredible season by rushing champion Maurice Jones-Drew. This was even more impressive with him facing 10 men in the box most of the time. Blaine Gabbart is not their hopeful QB of the future, and they have a head coaching vacancy. Look for another year or two of heavy rebuilding. Still my #1 pick to move to LA, but analysts say that wont happen.

Buffalo (6-10): This team became the biggest surprise of the season, but soon became the second biggest disappointment. After a 5-1 start including knocking off the mighty Patriots, the Bills finished the season 1-9. Had they gone 4-5 even, they would have had a shot at the playoffs. I see the Bills doing worse next year, as they wont sneak up on anybody and wont improve via free agency.

Miami (6-10): Starting off woeful, the Dolphins managed to finish up with a strong 6-3 finish with an interim coach and their backup QB. I see the Dolphins making a play for a great QB, and I see them being back in the playoffs in 2 years. Look for an 8-8 season next year, they are also in a tough division.

Kansas City (7-9): Kansas City has a promising season next year. Although in a division that is fighting for mediocrity, they should hire Romeo Crennel as their head coach, have 2 strong QBs to choose from, and wont have a poor opening like this season.

Oakland (8-8): I had high hopes for the Raiders, but it truly looks like they will be going downhill from here. An impressive shot at the playoffs this year came up short. Carson Palmer went 4-6 and was unable to limp in. The only bright side is the Raiders will have either Palmer or Campbell to choose from, but they paid a crazy price for them. The Raiders don’t have a pick until the 5th round this year!

San Diego (8-8): I am honestly surprised that Norv Turner is still the head coach after this season. In a division that should have been easy to win, the Chargers blew a 4-1 start. Either way, look for them to be back in the playoffs next year.

New York Jets (8-8): Probably the third biggest disappointment this year (any guess on who #1 is?), the Jets went from back to back AFC Championships to missing the playoffs. Mark Sanchez looked atrocious this year, and couldn’t even manage the game behind a strong defense. The Jets famous “talk” has started to become a tiresome nuisance, and nobody cares what Rex Ryan says anymore. Over/Under March before he predicts a Super Bowl win again.

Tennessee (9-7): Honestly a surprise this year! New head coach, new QB, and a star running back who wasn’t producing somehow was a tiebreaker away from a playoff birth. Hasselbeck played extremely well for a new offense. Look for this team to be even better next year!

NFC:
St. Louis (2-14): I’m not saying this just as a Rams fan, but I’m honestly excited about next year. We’re chasing after top head coaches (Jon Gruden, Jeff Fisher), and we’ll have a healthy roster again. Bradford was basically hurt or playing hurt for half the season, and he won rookie of the year last year for a reason (rhyme not intended there). Amendola was hurt in Week 1 and out for the year (our top receiver last year) and our impressive rookie Greg Salas was also out for half the year. The Rams also placed 10 players from our secondary on IR this year, that’s unbelievable! We have the most Salary Cap room of any team, and this is the first year we’re forced to spend it under the new labor agreement. We have the #2 pick in the draft, and could go with either a WR or Offensive Lineman. Our O Line was horrible this year, and apparently 2 players were shifted from their natural positions. So drafing a left tackle (ala Matt Kalil) would put the other 2 players in their normal spots, thus fixing 3 OL needs with only one pick. Or we could go Oklahoma State’s WR phenom Blackmon, who is being touted as a poor man’s version of Calvin Johnson. That would put Amendola, Brandon Marshall, Salas, and Blackmon as our top receivers. I am truly excited about becoming healthy and getting some good players next year, I think the Rams can look at an 8-8 season.

Minnesota (3-13): The Vikings were a disappointment this year. Nobody expected a deep playoff run, but many were hoping that Donovan McNabb would revitalize his career here. Then flashes of a speedy Ponder had fans excited for the future. Issue after issue arose this year, including Chris Cook’s domestic incident, Bryant McKinnie’s eating himself out of the league, McNabb’s utter failure, and Peterson getting seriously injured in Week 16. There are way too many holes for this team to fill, and the Vikes play in the new toughest division in Football. Unfortunately we’re going to have to wait about 4 more years to see this team return to any kind of greatness.

Tampa Bay (4-12): Definitely the fourth worse disappointment this year. They somehow started off at a strong 4-2 start, only to lose their last 10 games in a row. That is utterly horrible. They have fired their head coach, and I don’t see Josh Freeman as the QB to lead this team. Stuck in another very difficult division, I don’t see the Bucs competing for anything in the next 5 years.

Washington: (6-10): Kyle Shanahan has guaranteed a NFC East title next year, I honestly don’t see them coming anywhere close. They are in another very tough division that for some reason this year was battling for mediocrity. I don’t see the Redskins competing with the Eagles, Giants, and Cowboys anytime soon without a franchise QB. The constant indecision at the QB position with this franchise has locked them into several 5 win seasons. At least Dan Snyder isn’t afraid to spend money.

Carolina (7-9): The Panthers definitely ended the season on the biggest upswing of any team. And think about it, there were 3 or 4 games in the beginning of the season that the Panthers had an easy shot at winning. Win 2 or 3 of those and you’re in the playoffs. Cam Newton took the league by storm and shocked many people who saw him as the next Jamarcus Russell. They are in a very tough division, but I can easily see the Panthers nailing the #6 seed next year. They have a new coach and new QB, their success should last for awhile.

Seattle (7-9): Seattle also has quite a bit to look forward to. A bad 2-6 start ended in close miss to get to .500. Should the Seahawks make a run at a real QB (sorry Tavaris, you couldn’t do it in Minnesota I don’t know why they thought Seattle would be any different), I can easily see a 9-7 team next year. Being in the NFC West doesn’t hurt their chances.

Dallas (8-8): Probably the fifth most disappointing team this year (don’t worry, I’m getting there lol). Dallas had Romo hurt last year, and was expecting a deep playoff run this year. Because of a lot of 4^th quarter shananigans and missed field goals, the Cowboys could easily be 12-4 this year. Tony Romo also had an amazing year considering he was playing hurt for half the season. Dallas will be in the playoffs next year as long as the key pieces stay put.

Philadelphia (8-8): Ok here we are! The Eagles were easily the biggest disappointment this season. If it wasn’t for their slow start, they would be in as they barely missed out this year. “Shady” McCoy proved himself to be a Top 5 RB in the league which is definitely promising, but the wheels totally came off the Nightmares this season. They thought that signing 8 superstars would make up for the other 45 players on the team, which just isn’t feasible. Asoumugha was benched for a drafted cornerback, Vick was hurt half the season and only had one rushing TD, and Desean Jackson’s contract issues affected his play on the field. Vince Young played more like a practice squad QB than a backup, and he jinxed them with the “Dream Team” name. The Eagles will have better days to come, but they need to add to their core 8 players and get some help. At least they’re keeping Andy Reid.

Arizona (8-8): After starting 1-6, nobody expected much from the Cardinals either, but they surprised everybody with a crazy 7-2 run at the end to finish at a respectable 8-8 (including wins over the Cowboys and 49ers). This saved Ken Whisenhunt’s job, and gave them something to look forward to next year. Kevin Kolb will be better (even though Skelton looked pretty dang good too), Beanie Wells has turned into a great RB, Fitzgerald isn’t losing anything anytime soon, and their special teams won them 2 games. Arizona will be a .500 or 9-7 team for years to come, but in the NFC West that most likely means playoff births!!!

Chicago (8-8): Where are we on disappointments, #6? The Bears were the sixth most disappointing team this year. Coming off an NFC Championship, they were somehow quietly winning games while the Packers, Saints, and Lions took the limelight. But at the time of Cutler’s injury, the Bears had a stronghold on a Wild Card spot, and would have been a scary team to play in the playoffs. Forte getting hurt (and not getting a contract resolved) definitely made a huge impact. With as many times as Cutler gets hit, the Bears need a strong backup QB, Caleb Hanie could have won 2 out of the last 6 games and made the playoffs, but he couldn’t even do that! Mike Martz is out as Offensive Coordinator, and their once staunch defense is getting old. Although I dislike Cutler, I give him a lot more credit on his abilities than most people. I can see the Bears being in the playoff hunt for one more year, but their window is closing fast.

Props:

I want to give out a quick pat on the back to Matthew Stafford. He became the 5^th QB in NFL history to surpass 5000 yds in one season, and he didn’t even make the Pro Bowl! In his first full season as QB, he led the Lions to their first playoff berth since 1999. Stafford is also five years younger than any other QB that has ever thrown for more than 40 TD’s in a season. I know FMQB says this a lot (sorry TJ Yates), but I think we can legitimately say we have a star in the making.