Wild Card Review

The NFL Playoffs kicked off this weekend with the #3 and #4 seed division winners hosting the Wild Card teams in each conference. None of the match-ups this weekend featured a game where the home team had a better record than the road team. The 11-5 Jets played at the 10-6 Colts, the 12-4 Ravens played at the 10-6 Chiefs, the 11-5 Saints will played at the 7-9 Seahawks and the 10-6 Packers will played at the 10-6 Eagles.
My predictions for this week didn't turn out very well, as I only picked the correct winner in one of the four games (Baltimore), and even in that one I wasn't even close on the score.  Home field is supposed to be a big advantage in the playoffs, yet only one home team won this week... and it's not the one we all expected!  As they say, that's why they play the games.  If it was easy to predict the winners then teams wouldn't bother to show up and we'd all win a lot of money in Vegas.

Here are some things that I noticed this week:

• If Seattle (7-9) is the worst team in history to make the playoffs, then does that make their win over the defending champion Saints the biggest upset of all time?  Nobody can honestly claim they saw this one coming.  Not even fans from Seattle.
• New Orleans knew the playoffs started this weekend, right?  This wasn't just a meaningless end of the season game?  It sure didn't look like it.  After getting out to an early 10-0 lead they quickly fell apart. 
• Who knew the Seahawks were even capable of putting up 41 points in a game?  If you give up 4 TDs to Matt Hasselbeck and let Marshawn Lynch run wild against you then your defense can't be trying very hard.
• On Lynch's 67 yard TD run, the Saints defense showed some of the worst tackling you'll see in a playoff game.  They looked like they had no interest in tackling him on a run that essentially clinched the game for Seattle.  Sure, Lynch broke some tackles, but several Saints defenders stood around either assuming their teammate would make the tackle or not caring.
• The crowd noise at Qwest Field, which is considered to be the loudest stadium in the league, was insane.  Credit the Seattle fans for being the "12th man" in support of their team.  The noise may have helped lead to a couple of false start penalties by the Saints, but that's not really what cost them.  Drew Brees and the offense weren't the problem.
• I really wanted the Jets and Colts to both lose, but apparently that's not actually possible.  You can't even tie in the postseason (right Donovan McNabb?), so one of these teams had to win. 
• As a Patriots fan it was hard to root for either, but it does work out in our favor that the Jets won, so they will now have to travel to New England next week.  Baltimore is the team that should scare the Pats the most, after last years postseason meltdown and the fact that they barely beat them earlier this year, so the loss by the Colts means the Ravens will play the Steelers instead.
• The Jets offense used the right game plan against the Colts - run the ball and control the time of possession to give Manning less opportunities to score.  LT and Greene each had around 20 touches and the Jets had the ball for about 6 minutes more than the Colts.
• Reggie Wayne took another trip to his least favorite vacation spot in the world - Revis Island.  He was held to one catch for only one yard.  With some of Manning's most trusted targets sidelined for the game (Clark, Collie) they couldn't afford for their best receiver to have a dud. 
• When Adam Vinatieri's 50 yard kick was blasted through the goal posts we all thought that he had added another chapter to his legendary kicking career.  Not this time.  They left less than a minute on the clock, but the Jets got great field position after returning the kick-off to the 46 yard line.  A few plays later they were in field goal range to kick the game winner as time expired.
• The best part about seeing the Colts lose - the Manning Face!
• The Ravens were the one team I picked to win this week that actually came through!  I thought it would be closer, but the Chiefs ended up getting crushed.
• Matt Cassel was terrible (70 passing yards, 3 Interceptions, 20.4 QB Rating).  So much for him making the leap to elite level.
• "Where's Waldo" may now be replaced with "Where's Bowe."  The man that lead the league in TD catches this year didn't catch a single ball all game.  I don't think that he was even targeted.
• Jamaal Charles looked great early in the game, but when they fell behind by so much he essentially was taken out of the game plan and ended up with only 9 carries.
• Ray Rice didn't particularly dominate in any phase of the game, but contributed a fair amount with both rushing and receiving to end up just short of 100 total yards.
• Despite having a winning record in his playoff career, Flacco generally hasn't played well in his short postseason career.  Even in the win against New England last year his stats looked similar to what Cassel did this week.  He came through this time (265 passing yards, 2 TDs, 115.4 QB Rating). 
• Having Anquan Boldin as a target this year certainly helps.  Their offense has become just as dangerous as their defense.
• Those that doubted the Packers chances pointed out that their lack of a running game would be the Achilles heel that costs them in the post season.  So of course James Starks runs for 123 yards in a win against the Eagles.  So much for that theory.
• Aaron Rodgers finally got his first playoff victory, earning the right to be included in the discussion for the league's best QBs.  He still needs to win a Super Bowl in order to make it to the Brady/Manning/Brees level though.
• DeSean Jackson left the game in the first half after getting his knee twisted under a pile of players.  When he was out of the game the Eagles struggled to move the ball without their deep threat.  He later returned to catch a couple of passes, but seemed to lack some of his usual explosiveness.
• Michael Vick also suffered an injury later in the game.  It wasn't enough to take him out of the game, but perhaps it took away from his game a bit, as he didn't attempt to break off any of his trademark scrambles after he got hurt.
• Pro Bowl kicker David Akers, one of the most reliable kickers in league history, missed 2 of his attempts in the game.  Considering they lost by 5 points, those field goals may have helped.  Even if he only converted one of them, he'd get a chance to win the game in the end instead of the Eagles being forced to go for another TD.  Vick threw an Interception in the endzone when he tried to force a pass as the clock ticked away.
• I joined a Fantasy Football salary cap league for the playoffs.  Anyone who picked Matt Hasselbeck, Marshawn Lynch, James Starks, Pierre Garcon, and Brandon Stokley probably had a great week.  Wait, nobody took any of those guys?  With popular picks like DeSean Jackson, Dwayne Bowe, Reggie Wayne, Greg Jennings, and LeSean McCoy all contributing well below their season averages (or in some cases, nothing!), there were a lot of disappointed owners in these leagues.  Don't even get me started on the Saints defense!  They seemed like such a no brainer pick heading into the weekend.

The Playoffs continue next week with the top seeds hosting games after their week of rest.  The Jets travel to New England to face the Pats, the Ravens play at the Steelers, the Packers go to Atlanta and the Seahawks will play in Chicago.