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Rex Ryan and Humble Pie
Jan 13th
With T-Rex “talking the talk” this week, you can’t help but think a massive portion of humble pie is due his way. And no, not the late 60s-early 70s outfit that are probably most famous today for winning Stillwater’s groupies in Almost Famous (though they are included here for your pleasure, Steve Marriott pictured courtesy of Dina Regime.)
With the bluster, trash-talking and attention that Ryan generates he reminds me very much of soccer manager Jose Mourinho. The manager (or coach in this instance) draws the attention away from his team and players and onto himself. It’s an admirable quality when he’s your manager but there’s no mistake that he’s a nuisance if he’s the opposition manager.
I like Rex Ryan, and I think the game is richer and certainly more entertaining for having him in it. But he’s heading for a fall this weekend.
Or if he’s not, then I’ll be the one eating up humble pie come Monday.
NFL 2010 Divisional Round Predictions
Jan 12th
The Jets @ Colts was always going to be close but who thought that the Seahawks would get the win over the Saints? The run by Marshawn Lynch for the go-ahead score was amazing to watch both for the commitment from the ‘Hawks and the shambles that was the Saint’s defense.
This week sees the number 1 and 2 seeds get involved and in every case we have rematches of games that happened earlier in the season. In three cases, the games were decided by 3 points: In Week 6 the Seahawks got a win at Soldier field; week 12 saw the Packers lose in the Georgia Dome; In week 13 the Ravens lost to the Steelers (but beat them in Pittsburgh in week 4 – again by 3 points). The Jets got creamed by the Pats when they were last at Foxboro (week 13, 45-3) but beat them 28-14 back in week 2 at the New Meadowlands.
These are intriguing matchups.
For a list of the games, visit http://www.nfl.com/schedules.
NFL 2010 Divisional Weekend: Green Bay Packers @ Atlanta Falcons
Jan 11th
When Tramon Williams jogged casually out of the end zone, looking for someone to celebrate his game winning interception last week against the Eagles, he didn’t know the play was still going. When he finally went to the ground (and was covered immediately by team-mates) to end the play he’d put Michael Vick and the Eagles out of the play-offs. The Pack’s reward is another rematch, in the shape of a trip to take on the Atlanta Falcons for a place in the Conference Championship.
Matt Ryan Drops Back
Ranked #1 and having looked good right across the season, the Falcons were the class of the NFC. Going 7-1 at home and 6-2 on the road, they set the bar high for everyone else to follow. And yet when you look purely at the stat tables, you wonder how they did it. They rank 16th in both offence and defence. When you look at the wins, you see that at home they were in close games but away they frequently blew out their opponents. They did have a favourable schedule, but they made the most of these games.
More >
NFL 2010 Wildcard Weekend: Baltimore Ravens @ Kansas City Chiefs
Jan 9th
Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens
All 5 Meetings:
2009 – Chiefs 24-38 Ravens
2006 – Ravens 20-10 Chiefs
2004 – Chiefs 27-24 Ravens
2003 – Chiefs 17-10 Ravens
1999 – Chiefs 35-8 Ravens
The Ravens and Chiefs have only met 5 times, Kansas leads the series 3-2. They have never met in the post-season.
With the regular season finished and the play-offs on the horizon we now know the teams who will be battling it out to reach the Holy Grail of American Football, the Super Bowl. There are two matches from the AFC this Sunday, and I’ll be taking a look at the Baltimore Ravens who travel to the Arrowhead Stadium to take on the Kansas City Chiefs.
NFL 2010 Wildcard Weekend Predictions
Jan 7th
It’s probably fair to say that week 17 shook down pretty much how most people expected it and it’s left us with some great looking games for this week. In both conferences there are very strong teams ranked 5 and 6 travelling to teams that could be considered weaker based on their records. It’ll make for some good games.
Last year we had pretty poor form with our post-season predictions. We’re hoping to do better this year.
For a list of the games, visit http://www.nfl.com/schedules.
Prediction Results – 2010 Regular Season
Jan 5th
So the regular season is over and frankly none of us covered ourselves in glory this year. It’s been a great season for the spectacle, but a difficult one to predict.
I’m last, and am unlikely to change that in the post-season. Craig’s good run over the last three weeks means he comes in equal with Graham. Craig also had the season high 13-3 in week 13. Graham was probably the steadiest across the season, not getting a 6-8 like Craig and I managed.
We’ll be back later this week with out thoughts on the four wildcard games, hopefully including detailed looks at each game. Check the Predictions Box to the right –>
For the full scores and results, have a look at nfl.com
| Andrew | Graham | Craig | |
| Week 1 | 8-8 | 10-6 | 7-9 |
| Week 2 | 9-7 | 7-9 | 8-8 |
| Week 3 | 9-7 | 7-9 | 10-6 |
| Week 4 | 9-5 | 9-5 | 9-5 |
| Week 5 | 6-8 | 8-6 | 7-7 |
| Week 6 | 7-7 | 8-6 | 9-5 |
| Week 7 | 11-3 | 7-7 | 9-5 |
| Week 8 | 6-7 | 9-4 | 7-6 |
| Week 9 | 9-4 | 8-5 | 10-3 |
| Week 10 | 8-6 | 9-5 | 6-8 |
| Week 11 | 12-4 | 12-4 | 10-6 |
| Week 12 | 10-6 | 11-5 | 12-4 |
| Week 13 | 11-5 | 12-4 | 13-3 |
| Week 14 | 11-5 | 11-5 | 9-7 |
| Week 15 | 7-9 | 9-7 | 10-6 |
| Week 16 | 9-7 | 8-8 | 9-7 |
| Week 17 | 10-6 | 11-5 | 11-5 |
| Total | 152-104 | 156-100 | 156-100 |
| Total % | 59 % | 61 % | 61 % |
NFL 2010 Wildcard Weekend: Green Bay Packers @ Philadelphia Eagles
Jan 5th
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
Previous 5 Meetings:
2010 – Packers 27-20 Eagles
2007 – Eagles 13-16 Packers
2006 – Packers 9-31 Eagles
2005 – Packers 14-19 Eagles
2004 – Packers 17-47 Eagles
In the regular season Green Bay lead series 24-13 but in the post-season the Eagles are 2-0 against the Pack.
Now this is the sort of game that we think of when the hype gets going for post-season! This great-looking game will close out Wildcard Weekend.
The Green Bay Packers travel back to Philadelphia for a rematch of the week 1 game. All the way back in September the Packers got a costly win with both Ryan Grant and Justin Harrell being lost for the season. That was the start of a long season on injuries and setbacks, with 15 players being put on IR throughout the season and Aaron Rodgers suffering two concussions and missing game time.
But despite those setbacks their 10-6 record could easily be better; those six losses have been very close. 4 of them being by just 3 points (two in overtime) and the other two by 4 points. That’s a total of 20 points which is less – for those of you keeping track of the Seahawks’ bashing – than each of the 9 losses that Seattle suffered on their way to the play-offs. This is a team that could easily be 12-4 and in prime position. As it is, they’re a very dangerous wildcard. More >
NFL 2010 Wildcard Weekend: New Orleans Saints @ Seattle Seahawks
Jan 4th
Reggie Bush, New Orleans Saints
Previous five meetings
2010 – Seahawks 19-34 Saints
2007 – Saints 28-17 Seahawks
2004 – Seahawks 21-7 Saints
2003 – Saints 10-27 Seahawks
2000 – Saints 10-20 Seahawks
The series is tied 5-5, these teams have never met in the post-season.
At 7-9, and with a net points difference of nearly -100 you can argue that the Seahawks have no place in the post-season. But quite simply – they did exactly what they needed to do: they won their division and have earned this. Yes there are better teams that are clearing lockers, more deserving teams, but – as they say – them’s the breaks. And let’s face it, whoever qualified from the NFC West was always going to be poor, whatever their record. (Sorry NFC West fans). While we’re crunching numbers… when the Seahawks have lost, they’ve lost big. By an average of 21 points (a range of 15 to 34). These aren’t close losses like many games the Redskins (for one) have hung about it, but blowouts. More >
NFL International Series: 2010 Teams Retrospective
Jan 4th
When the teams for the Wembley Games are announced, there’s always a lot of talk and hype around what great teams they are, the Super Bowls they’ve won; the players they have or have had in the past, the rich and storied history of the clubs.
NFL International Series 2010
Well for both the 49ers and the Broncos, 2010 will be a season that they’ll want to forget. Both teams have fired their coaches in the past few weeks, both have changed quarterbacks (several times in the 49ers case) and both will see big changes across the board after their poor showings and records this year.
NFL 2010 Week 17 Predictions
Dec 30th
Sam Bradford
Week 17 and two conferences are still undecided. The Colts can wrap up the AFC South if they beat visiting Tennessee. The NFC West sees a play-off berth at stake: The winner of St. Louis in Seattle will head into the post-season. Needless to say this is the primetime game.
The Steelers will win the AFC North with a win, but a loss gives the Ravens a chance to get past them. Both teams have already secured post-season spots, but with the #2 seed a bye-week to play for there’s lost to watch.
The Green Bay Packers, New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (in that order on tie-breaker) are tied on 9-6 and battling for the 6th seed in the NFC. If one team is alone in winning, they’ll secure the place. As things stand, it’s for the Packers to lose. They have Chicago visiting. Although the Bears have secured the division, they need a win to guarantee a bye-week. I think the Eagles can catch them, but I’m not looking at all the tie-breakers.
For a list of the games, visit http://www.nfl.com/schedules.