Happy New Year!

What a year it has been in the NFL.  It seems so distant now, but six months ago we were panicking about the NFL lockout.  Fans were on pins and needles hoping that NFL owners and players would reach an agreement so that America could have its favorite sport.  Fortunately, for fans, sports bars, chicken farms and pizza companies, a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) was reached and not one down of professional football was missed.

The lockout ended just around the time training camps usually start.  Teams rushed to sign rookie contracts, get players to practice and bolster their rosters with free agents.  The Philadelphia Eagles shocked everyone by signing four pro-bowl defensive players.  Nnamdi Asomugha (cornerback), Jason Babin (defensive end), Cullen Jenkins (defensive tackle), and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (cornerback) all became Eagles within three days of each other.

The Eagles offense led by Michael Vick was fast and exciting in 2010.  They put up points and made it to the playoffs.  The defense on the other hand needed some help.  Especially against teams that pass a lot.  With some impressive additions to the secondary and Vick healthy, I thought that Philadelphia would make the playoffs and end up representing the NFC in Super Bowl XLVI.  You know, defense wins championships. 

Sticking with the fact that defense wins championships, I picked the New York Jets to win the AFC and play in the Super Bowl.  With 10 starters returning on defense and cornerback Darrelle Revis not holding out this year, I was sure that this would be the year for the Jets.   

Neither the Eagles nor the Jets made the playoffs.  Both teams finished the season at .500, winning only half of their games.  It was disappointing to see Philadelphia come in third in the NFC East, but there is reason to be hopeful.   In December, the defense started to look like the strong unit that I expected to see all season.  Unfortunately, for the Jets things are gloom.  Their young quarterback, Mark Sanchez, really struggled.  He was finished the season fourth in interceptions (18) thrown this season. 

The road to Indy for Super Bowl XLVI gets tough this weekend when the NFL playoffs start.  Here are the contenders.

AFC

No. 1 New England Patriots (13 – 3)

No. 2 Baltimore Ravens (12 – 4)

No. 3 Houston Texans (10 – 6)

No. 4 Denver Broncos (8 – 8)

No. 5 Pittsburgh Steelers (12 – 4)

No. 6 Cincinnati Bengals (9-7)

NFC

No. 1 Green Bay Packers (15 – 1)

No. 2 San Francisco 49ers (13 – 3)

No. 3 New Orleans Saints (13 – 3)

No. 4 New York Giants (9 – 7)

No. 5 Atlanta Falcons (10 – 6)

No. 6 Detroit Lions (10 – 6)

Get dates and times for NFL playoff games.

The teams to beat are the Patriots and the Packers.  The Patriots are first in the AFC without a deep threat wide receiver.  Tom Brady has been manhandling defenses using two tight ends.  You have to be scared of the Packers because of their depth.  Anything can happen during the playoffs.  Green Bay’s backup quarterback, Matt Flynn, put up 480 yards and 6 touchdown passes in the team’s final game of the season. 

The other team that you have to watch is the San Francisco 49ers.  Jim Harbaugh has done a great job coaching this team.  They are prepared and run the ball well, which will help them use the clock during the playoffs.  If anyone can sneak passed the Packers, it will be the 49ers.

Ciao!

Heels & Helmets

Santa thinks the Lions are looking nice

Santa and his reindeer showed up in Motown early.  It has been a rough decade in Detroit, so Santa had to double and triple check his list to make sure that Lions should get some sparkle over coal.  Despite all of the naughtiness from Ndamukong Suh, Santa decided that overall the Lions were nice. 

I agree.  The Lions are really nice.  They only needed to win on Saturday to clinch their first playoff spot since 1999.  With that in mind, they demolished the San Diego Chargers and extinguished their hopes of going to the playoffs.  Lions QB Matthew Stafford, had three touchdown passes with three different receivers, tight end Brandon Pettigrew, running back Kevin Smith and super star wide receiver Calvin Johnson, known as Megatron.  The Lions are so nice that Megatron matched a single-team record with 15 touchdown receptions.

So, after years of coal in December, Santa finally gave Lions fans a little sparkle during the holidays.  It must feel like the most wonderful time of the year in Detroit.

Ciao! 

Heels & Helmets®

Eagles v. Jets is like Man v. Nature

The Philadelphia Eagles playing the New York Jets at home was like an episode of “Man vs. Nature.”  Man is smart, but you know what happens every time he truly encounters nature?  A natural disaster.

That is exactly what happened yesterday.  The Jets’ came flying in to The Linc with their man-made engines and wings hoping to improve their playoff chances.  Unfortunately, for Jets fans the speed and power of Rex Ryan’s team was simply no match for what nature unleashed on the gridiron in South Philadelphia. 

The Eagles with its natural wings spanning 90 inches soared high and controlled both sides of the ball.  On defense, fumbles and interceptions led to 21 points putting Philadelphia up 28 – 0 in the second quarter.  Like an American Bald Eagle, Michael Vick’s vision of the field was sharp.  He made good decisions on passing and running the ball.  He rushed and scored one touchdown by stretching into the end zone.

Man attempted a valiant attempt to come back, but after halftime it was over.  There was nothing the Jets could do to stop the Eagles.  They kept the Jets offense off of the field and ran up the score.  At the end it was all nature and the Eagles wiped out the Jets 45 – 19.  Yes, a natural disaster. 

Ciao!

Heels & Helmets®

The Tebow difference

Eight weeks ago the Denver Broncos looked lifeless.  They had only won one game and sat last in their division, the AFC West.  After their bye week (Week 6), they returned with a new starting quarterback and transformed into a new team.  The new leader on the Broncos’ offense is Tim Tebow.

I was asked if the difference in Denver’s performance was because Tebow’s style was similar to the wildcat.  While many people refer to wildcat as an offense, it is not actually an offense system.  It is a formation used in an offense system.  In this formation, the ball is snapped directly to the running back.  Tebow can play in a wildcat formation because he is athletic and runs well.  He can throw defenses off by taking the snap and running or lining up as a receiver. 

Denver uses an option offense.  Tebow is a dual threat to defenses because he can pass or rush.  As a result, Denver has an "option" to allow Tebow to rush like a running back.

Tebow is good, but there are a lot of good QBs in the NFL.  Not many of them have completely turned their teams around as a new starter in the middle of the season.  The difference is that he believes that he can win.  It is clear that his belief is contagious in the Broncos locker room.  Since he took over Denver has only lost one game and are now in first in their division. 

All of the wins were not pretty.  Five of them came when the game was tied or the Broncos were down entering the fourth quarter.  Tebow fights until the end and keeps his teammates fired up to get the win.  That is the difference he brought to Denver.

Ciao!

Heels & Helmets®

BCS bowl selections stir up annual controversy

December is here and college bowl game season is officially upon us.  Yesterday, the BCS selected its bowl games participants and like every year the controversy began.  The two big debates are over the rematch that will happen between LSU Tigers (#1) and Alabama Crimson Tide (#2) in the Allstate BCS National Championship Game and the Michigan Wolverines trip to the AllState Sugar Bowl to play Virginia Tech Hokies.  

The championship game will feature schools from the same conference for the first time.  Everyone outside of the Southeastern Conference wanted to see any one-loss team in the championship game except Alabama.  While, I understand the frustration I get the selection.  Alabama only lost one game.  That lost was to LSU and the game was really close.  Neither team scored a touchdown showing how tough their defenses are.  Their defenses got them in the national championship and it will be a good rematch.

I am a B1G TEN girl and this reminds me of 2006 when Ohio State and Michigan were #1 and  #2 respectively.  It was dubbed, the Game of the Century.  Michigan lost by one field goal and did not play Ohio State in the national championship.  Naturally, I wanted that rematch.  I am glad that Alabama will have a chance to see their rival again. 

As for the Sugar Bowl, the major dissension is Michigan representing the B1G TEN in a BCS bowl and not the Michigan State Spartans.  Both schools had two losses during the regular season, but Michigan lost to Michigan State.  The Spartans played for the conference title but lost to the Wisconsin Badgers.  In the minds of some, the Spartans should have been the obvious choice to a BCS game.  The problem is that they lost the B1G TEN title to a team that they previously beat.  Last year, I said that Michigan State got robbed because they shared the title with Ohio State and Wisconsin, but after beating Wisconsin they were not selected to play in the Rose Bowl.  This year they had a chance to be the outright B1G TEN champ and did not deliver.  It does not look favorable to the committee to lose at the end of the year.

I will not pretend that this is only football.  The BCS is not the NCAA.  They are not reserved about their desire to have good games, schools with passionate fans and great experiences for the cities.  The reality is schools like LSU, Alabama, Michigan and Virginia Tech will help the BCS achieve all of their objectives over Boise State. 

I am not in love with the BCS.  I am not even a fan of the arrangement.  I think that it is complex and at times arbitrary.  I would love to see a playoff system that allows us to truly get a college football champion by action on the gridiron.

Check out all of the BCS and non-BCS bowl games.

Ciao!

Heels & Helmets®

Time to give Tebow some credit

Tim Tebow is the current starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos.  He is a polarizing player who many fans love and just as many love to hate.  The way he plays the game and his unabashed expression of his religious beliefs causes great debate among fans.  Some believe that he is not and will not be a “NFL” quarterback because of his inferior passing skills and reliance to run.  Others think he is entertaining and will grow into a great quarterback.  Many people admire Tebow for being confident enough to speak about Christianity, but some think that he is over the top with his relig

Tebow took over the starting QB job last month.  At the time, the Broncos had only won one game.  Since then, Denver has won five out of six games and are on the cusp of reaching the playoffs.  Even with a 5 – 1 record as a starter, there is still a lot of debate about Tebow’s ability.  The critics say that the credit for Denver’s surge should be given to the defense.

Denver’s defense has done a great job and yes, defense wins championships.  However, the quarterback is a key position.  Not just for conducting the offensive game plan but for the leadership.  Just ask Indianapolis Colts fans how important a QB is.  They know that there season would be completely different if Peyton was playing.

Tebow does have some growing to do, but this does not mean that he is not the reason that the team turned things around.   His passing has been average, but he has found a way for the Broncos to win and he has motivated his teammates to desire to win.  He is not Tom Brady, but give the guy some credit for getting Denver above a .500 record.

Ciao!

Heels & Helmets

NFC East is consistently inconsistent

After free agency, before the preseason began, the Philadelphia Eagles leading the NFC East was unquestionable.  Michael Vick was back.  He was healthy and had a year under his belt as a NFL starter again.  On defense, Philadelphia signed the most sought after corner back, NnamdiAsomugha.  This was supposed to be the recipe for success.  The result does not taste too sweet to Eagles’ fans.  It is a very sour 4 – 6 record that has Philly in third place in the NFC.

The bright side for Philadelphia is that they are in the NFC East.  No one in that division has played well consistently this season.   Just when it looked like the Giants were going to pull away and take the lead, they fall to the Philadelphia Eagles.  This puts them on a two-game losing streak.  They are tied with Dallas (Cowboys) for the top spot in the division at 6 – 4.  Dallas is the opposite of New York.  They are on a three-game winning streak.  The teams will play on December 11 at Cowboys Stadium.

The Eagles could still reach the playoffs.  It is amazing that a team that has only won four games going into Week 12 is still in the hunt to win their division.  But, considering the performance from the other teams in the division, it is possible.  They beat the Giants and the Cowboys.  Last year the Seattle Seahawks made the playoffs with just a 8 - 8 record.

With Vick’s return uncertain, I don’t think that the Eagles are going to win their remainig games this season.  I think that the NFC East will come down to Dallas and New York.  In addition to their meeting next month, they will play each other the final week of the regular season in New York.

The final team in the NFC East is the Washington Redskins.  All of the inconsistency in the division is not going to help them.

Ciao!

Heels & Helmets®