- Well here we are again ! One game away from the main event. If you would have asked me around mid-season for my Conference Championship finalists , I would have never anticipated these match-ups. With the exception of Pittsburgh , who I actually did have as one of the AFC´s contenders , Arizona ,Baltimoreand Philadelphia's were´nt even on my radar. Low and behold here they are , one game away from a trip to sunny Tampa. But as improbable as this semi-final sounds , we still must give credit where credit is due. Arizona is probably the most suspect of the three . A 9-7 division winner ,playing in a division that is suspect in itself and, who only by virtue of winning that weak NFC west , got them into the post season . Lets face it , if they were in any other division , a 9-7 record even doesn´t get them in the playoffs. Be that as it may , they beat an up an coming Falcons team at home in the first round of the playoffs. With Warner hooking up with Fitzgerald and Boldin on touchdowns of 42 and 71 yrds. respectfully. And the defense surprising the Falcons by holding star runningback Michael Turner to just 60 yrds. rushing while intercepting Matt Ryan twice and sacking him in the endzone for a safety. Next up was the second seed CarolinaPanthers in the Divisionals. Going on that dreaded east-coast trip again where they have performed poorly during the season. They manhandled the Panthers on both sides of the ball whipping them 33-13. They held DeAngelo Williams , a 1500 yrd. rusher , to just 63 yrds. rushing while intercepting Jake Delhomme five times and forced a fumble. Arizona´s offense is known for putting up big numbers but now their defense is starting to show that they are also a big part of their success. Pretty impressive for sure , but I am still not sold on them being a championship caliber team. Baltimore squeaked into the playoffs after beating up on Jacksonville, and Miami winning against the Jets knocking the the Patriots out despite their win against the Bills. Baltimore´s relentless defense forced five turnovers on their way to smothering division winner Miami in the first round of the playoffs. In the divisional playoffs Tennessee dented Baltimore´s armor to the tune of 391 yards , but turned the ball over on three occasions inside their 20 , which ultimately cost them the ball game losing 13-10. It´s not by coincidence that the Ravens lead the NFL in take-a-ways with 34. Offensively , Baltimoreis riding on the cannon arm of rookie QB Joe Flacco along a solid running game with LeRon McLain , 902 rushing yards and 10 TD´s , and veteran Willis McGahee , 671 rushing yards and 7 TD´s, sharing the ground attack duties. Flacco makes good decisions with the ball to go along with his accurate powerful right arm. But Baltimore can be vulnerable at times as proven by the Titans 391yards or the Giants 207 yards rushing their 30-10 thumping of the Ravens. And , don´t forget ,Willie Parker is healthy again and had 791 rushing yards and 5 TD´s despite missing five games with injuries. The Philadelphia Eagles are the New YorkGiants of ´07 . Just as the giants had their woes last season , the Eagles have had their share as well. Starting with the halftime benching of QB Donavan McNabb by Andy Reid , citing the seven turnovers in seven quarters being the reason for the benching. Followed by a week of Reid not saying who would start the next game against Arizona, furthering the despair between Reid and the squad. Then the Cardinals flew into town and McNabb , who got the nod , had a superb game throwing for 260 yards and four TD´s . That was the start of winning the their last four out of five regular season games. Their thrashing of their division rival Cowboys 44-6 in the last game of the season propelled them to the post season knocking out the `Boys playoff hopes. McNabb had another good day throwing for two scores and running for another. They carried over their momentum , just as the ´07 Giants had done , to the post season winning big on the road against Minnesota and then following that up with a huge victory over the # 1 seed and defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants . Does the word “Deja-Vous “ ring a bell ? A solid offence with versatile back Brian Westbrook who , without a doubt , will force Arizonato keep 22 eyes on him all game long. A rejuvenated McNabb who is still dangerous and foxy and who is now beaming with confidence. And capable receivers with the ever so dangerous DeSean Jackson leading the way. Along with Jim Johnsons´stout defence , Philly could be very dangerous indeed. Pittsburgh knows whats expected of them and I have no doubt that their no#1 ranked defence knows just how to respond. A healthy Willie Parker is back to take the pressure off of Big Ben and add some power to the ground game . Veteran Hines Ward is another seasoned player who knows how to raise his game this time of year. But again, the big part of this team´s success is their defence. Ranked # 1 over all ( #2 vs. run - #1 vs. pass ) , 2ndin sacks with 51 , and fewest points allowed , 223 , they are an overwhelming force. Flying around the ball putting the big hits on opponents and simply demoralizing offences is their game plan week in – week out .Aaron Smith , James Farrior , James Harrison , and Troy Polamalu to name a few are a total wrecking crew waiting to pummel offences to the ground. And they will definitely be out in force come Sunday. Enough said ´bout those guys !! That being said : . Eagles 29 – Cardinals 24Eagles defence rattles Warner , Boldin not healthy. . Steelers 16 – Ravens 13The first two meetings were close and low scoring , expect more of same. Final thought : As a head coach of a German – American football team over in Germany , I live for stats. I love them to death. But they all go out the window come this time of year. One given: The team that turns the ball over more and has six or more penalties , loses the game 91% of the time!! ENJOY THE GAMES FOLKS !!!!
Continue reading "NFL Championship Match-Ups : "Unlikely Participants ?""
