New York Giants (10-6) at Tampa Bay (9-7)

New York Giants Defense
8th Ranked against the Run
11th Ranked against the Pass
New York Giants Offense
4th Ranked in Rushing
21st Ranked in Passing

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defense
17th Ranked against the Run
1st Ranked against the Pass
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Offense
11th Ranked in Rushing
16th Ranked in Passing

The Giants have played the Buccaneers sixteen times in the regular season and have won ten of those contests, nine of them by seven points or less. But although New York has never met Tampa Bay in the playoffs, they are well acquainted with Bucs quarterback Jeff Garcia in post season games. Over the last six years the Giants have made it to the post season four times on a wild card berth including their entry as the fifth seed this year. And of their three previous wild card games, Garcia was the opposing quarterback in two of them.

In 2002 Garcia and a brash young wide receiver named Terrell Owens led the 49ers back from 38-14 deficit late in the third quarter to beat the Giants 39-38 in the second greatest comeback in pro football playoff history. It was a game marked by controversy after which the NFL’s director of officiating Mike Pereira made a rare public statement that a blown call by the officials with no time left on the clock wrongfully deprived the Giants of a shot at a game winning field goal. San Francisco went on to lose their divisional playoff game to Tampa Bay by a 24 point margin.

In 2006, after struggling just to reach a 5-5 record the Eagles lost their five time pro-bowl quarterback to a season ending knee injury. A journeyman backup quarterback came in to pick up the pieces and won four of his next five games including huge wins in three consecutive weeks against their division rivals the Giants, Redskins and Cowboys, to bring the Eagles an NFC East championship. The veteran quarterback continued on to beat the Giants in the first NFC wild card game, which ended after he pulled the Eagles into position to score a game winning field goal with no time left on the clock. His name was Jeff Garcia.

Now for the third time, the Giants will face Jeff Garcia in a wild card game against a team which Garcia has led to a division title. New York comes into this game with a 10-6 record, the same mark they owned when they squared off against Garcia and the 49ers in 2002, the only other wild card game in which Garcia came in having started every game for his team. But Garcia may not have as much momentum as he did when he faced the Giants as the Eagles quarterback last year. At 9-7 his Bucs have the worst record of any division champion in the conference and they are coming into the playoffs on a two game skid.

Momentum is something the Giants have in abundance however. Even though they lost their season finale 38-35 to the undefeated Patriots they showed the league and themselves that they have a lot of guts and determination. New England had to claw their way back from the greatest deficit they had faced at any time during the entire season, and but for a few mistakes the Giants know they could have knocked Goliath out; that will give them a huge dose of confidence going into the playoffs. If New York’s defense can play with the same intensity as they showed against New England and if Giants running back Brandon Jacobs can take time off the clock by pounding out some good yardage on the ground then the Giants ought to able to make the third time the charm and break the Garcia spell finally.

NFL Football Week 18 – The Golden Age of Passing

NFL; In the new millennium the quarterback position has become the most coveted of all destinations in pro football. Where the focus of the game once lay squarely on a teams ability to run the football today’s fans are enthralled by the pass instead. Surrounded by bruising offensive linemen and protected in a soft cottony web of regulations and penalties designed to keep them safe and sound, the new generation of quarterbacks are truly an elite breed. The exalted Heisman trophy, once the domain of fullbacks and halfbacks, and the literal embodiment of which has been a trophy of a stiff armed runner, has been given to an NCAA passer in seven of the last eight years.

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Jacksonville (11-5) at Pittsburgh (10-6)

Jacksonville Jaguars Defense
11th Ranked against the Run
15th Ranked against the Pass
Jacksonville Jaguars Offense
2nd Ranked in Rushing
17th Ranked in Passing

Pittsburgh Steelers Defense
3rd Ranked against the Run
3rd Ranked against the Pass
Pittsburgh Steelers Offense
3rd Ranked in Rushing
22nd Ranked in Passing

In one of two AFC wild card games that are rematches of late regular season contests, Jacksonville will come to Pittsburgh for the first round of playoffs this Saturday. Unlike the Titans meeting with San Diego on Sunday however, the Steelers – Jaguars game really is a virtual repeat of their previous meeting since it takes place on Pittsburgh’s home turf again. Jacksonville came away with the victory in Week 15 on a messy playing field after the Steelers had tied the game late in the fourth quarter.

No opponent has ever beaten the Steelers at home in the post season as well as in a home regular season game in the same year during Pittsburgh’s entire 75 year history. Unfortunately for the Steelers, Jacksonville has not had much respect for Pittsburgh traditions. The Jaguars win three weeks ago broke a seven game home winning streak by the Steelers, and Jags running back Fred Taylor rushed for 147 yards; previous to that the Pittsburgh defense had not allowed any single player to rush for over 100 yards against them in more than three years.

One would fully expect that whatever happened the last time these two met that allowed the Jaguars to run for better than 200 yards on the number one ranked defense in the NFL will have been corrected if it’s possible to do so. What the Steelers will probably be concerned about is whether the problem presented by Jacksonville’s offense is one that can even be solved. It may well be that the Jaguars simply have a big, physical offensive front who are powerful enough to push the Pittsburgh front seven out of the way to make room for the ground attack and that they have enough endurance to keep doing it for the entire game.

What was made clear during their last visit is that the Jaguars aren’t put off by the kind of miserable weather that is often present in the Steelers home venue. Since Pittsburgh apparently won’t have any advantage in case of cold rainy conditions it will probably be better for the Steelers if the conditions are dry even if the temperature drops well below the 62 degree average that Jacksonville is used to playing in.

The reason for that is that Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will probably have to throw the ball a lot against the Jaguars. Willie Parker, the fourth ranked rusher in the NFL is out for the season with a broken leg sustained in the Steelers Week 16 win over the Rams. Pittsburgh backup running back Najeh Davenport filled in nicely to finish that game but whether Davenport can have the same success against a better Jaguars run defense remains to be seen.

Another problem the Steelers need to correct, especially if they plan to attack Jacksonville’s somewhat vulnerable secondary, is the breakdown of the Pittsburgh offensive line under the pressure of the Jaguars pass rush. Roethlisberger was sacked five times by Jacksonville last time they played, while the Steelers didn’t drop Jags QB David Garrard for a loss even once.

This one is there for Pittsburgh to win or lose, but Ben will likely need to hook up with wide receivers Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes and with tight end Heath Miller for some touchdowns. If the Steelers defense, which has been slumbering over the last several games lives up to it’s reputation and comes alive again in the playoffs, and if the front four can open some gaps for Davenport and can protect Roethlisberger then Pittsburgh could outscore the Jaguars.

Tennessee (9-6) at Indianapolis (13-2)

Tennessee Titans Defense
6th Ranked against the Run
11th Ranked against the Pass
Tennessee Titans Offense
5th Ranked in Rushing
27th Ranked in Passing

Indianapolis Colts Defense
17th Ranked against the Run
1st Ranked against the Pass
Indianapolis Colts Offense
16th Ranked in Rushing
5th Ranked in Passing

“This is a playoff game for us, and that’s how we have to play,” says Titans running back LenDale White. True enough, since a loss would make it their last game of the season and give Cleveland the sixth seed and a wild card berth in the playoffs. How difficult a task it will be for Tennessee is anyone’s guess at this point however because the game is certainly not a playoff game or even anything close to it for the Colts. Because of that, Indianapolis will likely be giving some of their better players a lot more time on the sideline than they otherwise would expect to get.

The most obvious candidates for down time are quarterback Peyton Manning who is still very healthy and star wide receiver Marvin Harrison who is just this week beginning to feel strong enough to play. “I think we make a big mistake by thinking we’re going to go in there and beat up on some backups,” according to Titans defensive lineman Kyle Vanden Bosch, who is one of the league leaders with twelve sacks this season. “Indy’s the defending world champs. That says a lot about their depth. They’ve been banged up for a good part of the year, playing with some backup guys.”

One could guess that the Colts having a number one rated pass defense is simply a function of the fact that they have less work to do because their opponents are concentrating on running the football instead. There may be a bit of truth to that however slight, but a few things make that analysis somewhat less solid. For one thing the Colts defense are among the league leaders in keeping others out of the end zone. That usually doesn’t happen to a team that can’t stop the run because red zone incursions by the opposing offense most often end in a touchdown. The second chink in that theory is that the Colts are tied for second in the league with 22 interceptions this year, and they have run back those pickoffs for more yardage than only three other teams in the NFL.

The topic of the Colts run defense holds a great deal of interest for the Titans because Tennessee desperately needs to have success running the football if they hope to get past Indianapolis. Titans quarterback Vince Young has thrown only 9 touchdowns this year, fewer than any other starting quarterback in the league who has played at least thirteen games. At the same time he has been picked off 17 times, and while some other QB’s in the league have been intercepted more, they have also thrown a lot more touchdowns and don’t have a ratio of TD’s to INT’s anywhere near as poor as Young’s.

Luckily for Tennessee they haven’t depended on having an all-pro passer for their recent success. They have won their last two games with a solid running attack and a stiff defense. Behind both White and Young they have picked up no less than 127 yards rushing in every one of their four most recent games, and they have held opposing offenses to about 16 points per game. Tennessee is no slouch at pass defense either – they are the team that the Colts are tied with for second place in interceptions this season, and the Titans have been +6 in the turnover category during the aforementioned four game period.

Although Tennessee hasn’t won in Indianapolis since 2002 they have consistently given the Colts problems whenever the two have played. Without key starters on the field for Indy the Titans should have a decent chance to overcome the advantage that the Colts would normally hold and boost themselves into the playoffs.

Washington 32, Minnesota 21

For the second time in three games, Redskins backup QB turned starter Todd Collins was brilliant completing 22 of 29 for 254 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions as Washington rolled over Minnesota and continued their late season transformation from 5-7 divisional basement dwellers to 8-7 playoff contenders. Now firmly in the drivers seat for the sixth seed in the NFC, the Redskins can earn themselves a wild card and a playoff appearance by defeating the visiting Cowboys in Week 17 regardless of what the Vikings do in Denver.

Redskins running backs Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts combined to rush for 97 yards against Minnesota who own the stingiest run defense in the NFL. Portis was the workhorse for the ‘Skins carrying 20 times for 76 yards and a touchdown, and he padded his all purpose yardage total for the day by catching 5 passes for another 48 yards. Portis even completed a 15 yard touchdown pass to Redskins wide receiver Antwaan Randle El who was a quarterback at Indiana University and is usually the one who is on the throwing end of trick passing plays.

No receiver for the Redskins had more than five catches on the day, but Collins spread the football around well to Santana Moss, Randle El, Portis, Reche Caldwell and Chris Cooley. Moss, who caught just four passes from Collins but led the receiving corps with 71 yards and a touchdown has become the go-to guy for Collins. Moss was the key factor in Washington’s victory over the Giants last week when he pulled in two critical passes in howling winds that had buffeted the football whenever either side attempted to gain yardage through the air.

Redskins tight end Chris Cooley who had been averaging better than 15 yards per catch and 80 yards per game over the past five weeks had only one reception against Minnesota but it was a 33 yard touchdown catch that opened Washington’s lead up to 9-0 midway through the first quarter.

Minnesota running back Tony Richardson who came into the game with only 14 yards rushing this season now has a total of only 13 yards. On his one and only rushing attempt of the game he carried the ball into the end zone – his own. The resulting safety gave Washington a 2-0 lead which they never relinquished. Meanwhile Adrian Peterson, the Vikings league leading rusher was stunted for a mere 27 yards on 9 carries.

Peterson was stuffed in the middle by effective play from Washington inside linebacker London Fletcher who filled any gaps in the line of scrimmage, and Redskins defensive ends Philip Daniels and Andre Carter stood their ground on the outside refusing to let Peterson turn the corner into the secondary.

Even Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson gained more yardage on the ground than any of his alleged running backs, but at least when he was running he wasn’t throwing interceptions. Jackson was picked off twice by Washington accounting for two of Minnesota’s three turnovers.

Next week the Vikings travel to Denver where their ground game should be effective. But even if Minnesota dominates the Broncos, they will need help from Dallas to make their playoff dreams come true. The Cowboys have a great record on the road but Washington has all kinds of momentum and may well upset Dallas who has little to gain by a win over the Redskins.

Cleveland 14, Cincinnati 19

Several teams in the NFL had the chance to secure their appearances in the playoffs by defeating their opponents this week. Jacksonville locked up the fifth seed by beating Oakland, and the Giants clinched a wild card berth when they outscored the Bills in Buffalo. Other clubs like Minnesota who lost to the Redskins last week, lost the opportunity to clinch the last NFC wild card and thus let the opportunity to control their own future slip through their fingers.

Cleveland was the second team to fall into that category, losing to the Bengals in a sloppy performance more characteristic of a team who had nothing to play for than one honing in on the opportunity for only their second post season appearance in the last thirteen years. Prior to this loss the Browns had won seven of their last nine games and had come back from a 2-3 start to put themselves in position to challenge the Steelers for first place in the division.

The loss to Cincinnati not only took the Browns out of contention for an AFC North title, but also took their playoff destiny out of their hands. The Titans beat the Jets later in the day and now Tennessee is the team that can forge their own future. Cleveland must depend on the Colts to stop Tennessee in the season finale, otherwise the Titans will squeeze past the Browns with a strength of victory advantage even if the two have identical season records.

Browns quarterback Derek Anderson bears most of the responsibility for the Browns loss although dropped passes, a missed field goal and a failed attempt at fourth and one in the red zone also contributed to the disaster. In windy conditions, Anderson threw a career high four interceptions, something he has done only once before, and coincidentally it was in Week 16 of the 2006 season against Tampa Bay. ”It’s a tough battle to fight when you’re throwing four picks,” Anderson said. “A couple of them were bad decisions, and a couple of them got hung up in the air.”

And a couple of them went the other way for a total of 13 points for the Bengals. In a stunning collapse just before halftime Anderson threw interceptions on two consecutive plays and within 60 seconds Cincinnati had extended a 6-0 lead that was built on a couple of field goals into a 19-0 deficit that they took into the locker room. Because Anderson was picked off in his own end and because the Cincinnati cornerbacks had come up with good returns on each of them, the Bengals offense had needed to drive a total of only 25 yards for both touchdowns.

And even though the Bengals were awful after that, gaining a total of only 86 yards of offense in the second half the Browns failed to mount a comeback. Cleveland was able to score a couple of second half touchdowns, but two other possessions in which Cleveland had driven all the way into the Bengals red zone ended in the remaining two interceptions of Anderson passes. All told Cleveland outgained the Bengals by more than 100 yards and had 25 first downs to only 15 by Cincinnati. Anderson’s interceptions negated all that.

There were a few individual achievements for the Browns. WR Braylon Edwards collected his 15th touchdown catch of the year, a single season record for the Browns, and Edwards and fellow wide receiver Kellen Winslow became the first receiving tandem in Browns history to have 1000 yards each. But none of that will be any consolation if Tennessee beats the Colts and ends the Browns best season in more than a decade.

NFL Football Week 17 – Individual Performances

San Diego; Well, it has taken him until the final week of the NFL regular season to do it but LaDainian Tomlinson has finally broken out in front of Willie Parker, Adrian Peterson and Willis McGahee to take the lead among all NFL rushers for 2007. Parker is out for the last two games of the season with a broken bone in his leg, and Peterson was held to a mere 27 yards rushing by the Redskins last week in a decisive game that saw Minnesota’s quarterback rushing for more yardage than the running backs, and which brought Washington to the forefront of the NFC wild card race.

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Dallas (13-2) at Washington (8-7)

Dallas Cowboys Defense
4th Ranked against the Run
13th Ranked against the Pass
Dallas Cowboys Offense
12th Ranked in Rushing
4th Ranked in Passing

Washington Redskins Defense
8th Ranked against the Run
17th Ranked against the Pass
Washington Redskins Offense
13th Ranked in Rushing
14th Ranked in Passing

The last time the Redskins faced off against Cowboys QB Tony Romo, he threw 4 touchdown passes to wide receiver Terrell Owens for all of the points scored by Dallas that afternoon. And for Washington, 3rd year quarterback Jason Campbell completed 33 of 54 passes for 348 yards. In all three statistics – completions, attempts and passing yardage – it was by far the best performance of Campbell’s young career. Washington actually led 10-7 at halftime but could not contain Owens later in the game.

Some things haven’t changed since then. The Cowboys were playing .900 ball at that time while the Redskins were just barely keeping their heads above the .500 mark, and both teams are roughly at the same winning percentages coming into this Sunday’s game. Other things will be quite different however. Neither Campbell nor Owens, the two most prolific forces during their last meeting will be playing this week. Campbell’s season ended in Chicago earlier this month when just before halftime Bears defensive end Mark Anderson hit Campbell in the middle of his throwing motion and then fell across the back of his left leg driving Campbell’s kneecap into the ground and dislocating it. And Owens is listed as inactive against Washington owing to a high ankle sprain that, according to Owens is nowhere near as serious as his previous ankle injury.

But each side has fielded new talent to replace the old. At quarterback for Washington is the veteran Todd Collins who replaced Campbell in Chicago and passed for 200 yards in just two quarters of football. Collins has provided a spark that has lifted the Redskins to three straight wins, and if you take the passing that Collins has accomplished on a per quarter basis it would yield an average that would be good for 2nd place in the league for yardage alongside Tony Romo, and would have a touchdown count that would put Collins in the top ten QB’s in the NFL.

Dallas for their part has a good tight end in Jason Witten who is 4th in the league with 94 catches this year, and Patrick Crayton at the wide receiver slot has one of the better averages this year at more than 14 yards per catch. Should the Cowboys get any significant lead however the Redskins will probably get a steady diet of Dallas’ power running back Marion Barber.

The Redskins did some tough running inside themselves with running back Ladell Betts against the Giants a couple of weeks ago and Clinton Portis, Washington’s primary weapon in the ground attack has 10 rushing touchdowns this season. The Cowboys may well attempt to shut down the Redskins ground game with their highly ranked run defense and force Collins to throw by stacking up the defensive tackles, but if they do they will have to make sure that Washington tight ends Chris Cooley and Todd Yoder don’t sneak in behind the linebackers and burn Dallas in the secondary.

The game is of little consequence to Dallas as far as the playoff picture is concerned. They are division champs and have already locked up the top seed which includes a bye week, and have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Redskins meanwhile have very few outs left if they lose this game. Only a Vikings loss to Denver, a game which will be played at the same time that Washington has their hands full of Cowboys would offset a loss to Dallas and get the Redskins into the playoffs.

New York Giants (9-5) at Buffalo (7-7)

New York Giants Defense
12th Ranked against the Run
11th Ranked against the Pass
New York Giants Offense
6th Ranked in Rushing
17th Ranked in Passing

Buffalo Bills Defense
22nd Ranked against the Run
28th Ranked against the Pass
Buffalo Bills Offense
16th Ranked in Rushing
29th Ranked in Passing

The Giants have won six straight games on the road this year; only the Patriots and the Cowboys have a better record when playing away games. Unlike New England and Dallas however, the Giants can’t wait to pack up and leave the Meadowlands. They are an unimpressive 4-3 at home this year, but whether playing for the New York crowd or visiting their opponents the bigger problem for the Giants this year is their lack of execution on offense.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning has been hard pressed to connect with his receivers, and after starting the season as one of the top rated quarterbacks in the league for passing yardage and touchdown throws he has since sunk far down the performance charts. The Bills have struggled over the last six games, posting 17 points or more only once, and that was when they scored 38 while rolling over the winless Dolphins. But a similar cloud has hung over the Giants; in their last seven games they have managed to put more than 17 points on the board only twice.

The key for the Giants will be to stop Bills rookie running back Marshawn Lynch and to put pressure on Buffalo’s rookie QB Trent Edwards. Lynch is one of the top ten running backs in the league in yardage, gaining better than 85 yards per game, and he is also one of the more dangerous outlet receivers for his young quarterback. Edwards started the season with 5 interceptions and 1 touchdown, but over the past three games he had 4 TD’s with no interceptions. Edwards is a sharp, quick passer, and with nothing to lose he may well open up the field against New York and start throwing some touchdowns.

The Giants defense has been putting adequate pressure on their opponents quarterback lately, but Manning and the offense have failed miserably to take advantage of it. With Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey now out with a broken leg and WR Plaxico Burress already hobbled by a sore ankle and a sure candidate for the double team, the Giants will need WR Amani Toomer to have a very good day. A big game is also needed from running back Brandon Jacobs, who has averaged almost 89 yards a game, good for 4th best in the NFL. Without good numbers from Toomer and Jacobs, the Giants are likely to lose at Buffalo.

Washington 22, New York Giants 10

Perhaps the Redskins victory at the Meadowlands this week came down to who wanted it more. It’s been said that the major determining factors in the outcome of a football game are desire and confidence. Now that they are down to the last two games of the season and are still in the hunt for a wild card, Washington seems to have the desire, at least in part due to the galvanizing effect that the murder of rookie safety Sean Taylor has had on the team. “The last two games, when we were 5-7, basically all these games are playoff games for us,” says Redskins quarterback Todd Collins who made his first NFL start in more than ten years when he took the field against the Giants on Sunday. And the confidence part? That’s what Collins has brought to his teammates after coming off the bench last week just before halftime and performing brilliantly to lead Washington past the Bears.

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