This week, I continue previewing the NFL playoffs.
AFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS
PITTSBURGH 20, BALTIMORE 17
This kind of game defines playoff football. Two great teams. Two rugged defenses. Two offenses with more than enough firepower.
Buckle up. And don’t forget the chinstrap. Be sure to have the massage therapist ready for the post-game rubdown, too.
These teams are evenly matched. They split their two games during the regular season. Both have good running games, led by backs Ray Rice of Baltimore and Pittsburgh’s Rashard Mendenhall.
Both have talented wide receivers. Both teams have battled-tested quarterbacks.
Got defense? Oh yeah. There is plenty of it in this game.
The Steelers led the NFL by allowing only 14.5 points per game. The Ravens were third, surrendering just 16.9 points each time out. Steelers’ safety Troy Polamalu has been banged up but should play. That will be huge for Pittsburgh. He is a big-time difference-maker.
The other big-time difference-maker is Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The guy can carry his team when he has to. He has the ability to win a game through the air. Saturday, he might have to do just that.
I want to pick the Ravens. I know they are good enough to win. But I just cannot do it.
Pittsburgh is at home and is coming off a bye. I’ll take the Steelers to win. But it won’t be easy by any means.
NEW ENGLAND 31, NEW YORK JETS 17
The verbal bluster coming out of New York recently has been embarrassing for the Jets. Seriously, you don’t have much to gain when you talk smack before playing the Patriots. It just isn’t smart. But then again, we are talking about the Jets.
The Patriots have won eight straight games. Quarterback Tom Brady has that Super Bowl look in his eye and, more importantly, is playing at a championship level.
The Jets’ defense has been outstanding all year. But New England just has too many weapons. Beyond Brady, the Patriots average 123.3 yards rushing per game, 9th in the NFL during the regular season.
And I don’t think I have to say much about the production of the Pats’ air attack.
The Jets have had a great season. But it will end on Sunday. Come one, we’re talking about playing the Patriots in Foxboro after a week off. No team is playing better than New England right now. Give the Pats a week of rest and plenty of time to game plan and the chances are you’ll be watching the rest of the playoffs from the living room couch.
It’s time for the Jets to settle in and get comfortable. Come Monday, they’ll be warming up the couch.
NFC DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS
GREEN BAY 23, ATLANTA 20
Call it a hunch. Call it a roll of the dice. I’ll take the Pack on the road against the top seed in the NFC.
I should be more convinced by the Falcons’ terrific season but I am simply not a believer yet. Yes, Atlanta was fifth in the league, averaging 25.9 points per game. Yes, they have a talented young quarterback (Matt Ryan), a bruising running back (Michael Turner) and a game-breaking wide receiver (Roddy White).
But the Packers aren’t exactly lacking explosive players on offense. In addition, they are coming off a road win over the Eagles. Green Bay held Philadelphia to 81 yards rushing, 64 yards below the Eagles’ average entering the game.
Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers is healthy and playing really well. He’ll be the difference as Green Bay marches on.
CHICAGO 22, SEATTLE 10
I learned my lesson last week. I won’t pick the Seahawks to get blown out. I won’t pick them to win, either.
This time around, Seattle won’t have the emotional lift of a home crowd. Seattle won’t fool the Bears by its under-.500 record during the regular season.
I am hardly ready to jump into the driver’s seat of the Bears’ bandwagon. But Chicago will have more than enough to dispatch the Seahawks, especially on defense.
Now is the time for the Bears’ defense to earn its money. Last offseason, Chicago invested a lot of money on the defensive side of the football. The Bears did that for times such as these. And for one week at least, the investment will pay off.
The Bears gave up only 90.1 rushing yards per game (2nd in the NFL) and 17.9 points per game (4th). The Seahawks simply do not have enough offense to overcome that kind of defense.
Seattle’s feel-good story ends in the Windy City.
What are your predictions for this week’s playoff games? I’d love to find out what you think. Thanks for reading and posting.
Best,
Mike
Tags: 2011, Divisional Playoffs, Mike Rice
Haha, just read this on DP and figured that I would share it with you guys!!
The Duke and The Fox want to bring that feeling back.
Nice post Mr. Rice. I want the Ravens to win too so I’ll pick them. 23-21 Ravens. Understand I am not being objective at all here. I’ll pick the Patriots to win too, but I think the game is going to be closer than people think. 27-24 Patriots. I want both the Pack and Chicago to win so we can see the NFL’s longest rivalry have it’s third meeting of the season. I’ll keep your score for the Packers Falcons but I think Seattle will head to Chicago with a confidence and a little help from a Jay Cutler interception I’ll say Chicago 23 Seattle 17.
Steelers 17 Ravens 13
Patriots 34 Jets 20
Falcons 24 Packers 30
Bears 27 -Seahawks 13
Best of luck to the playoff teams. Either way, its shaping to be a good one.
Steelers 24
Ravens 17
Patriots 30
Jets 23
Falcons 23
Packers 20
Bears 27
Hawks 17
Mike the only game we picked different is I like the Falcons to beat GB.
For those who don’t read the DP:
Fox was one of five candidates for the job but the only one whose interview lasted 11 hours. He first met for 5 1/2 hours Wednesday with the Broncos’ search committee of owner Pat Bowlen, president Joe Ellis, executive vice president John Elway, general manager Brian Xanders, head trainer Steve Antonopulos and an executive-firm headhunter.
Fox then went to dinner with Xanders and Elway.
“We went to this local place in Cherry Creek,” Xanders said. “It’s called Elway’s.”
The dinner conversation lasted another 5 1/2 hours.
Xanders dropped Fox off at his hotel about 12:30 a.m. First thing
New Broncos coach John Fox talks to reporters outside the employee parking lot Thursday night at Dove Valley. (Karl Gehring, The Denver Post)
Thursday morning, Elway and Xanders walked into Bowlen’s office and presented their case for why Fox should be their next head coach.
Bowlen then called Fox and offered him the job. Elway and Ellis then went to work on contract details with Bob LaMonte, Fox’s agent. The deal is for four years at between $3 million and $3.5 million a season.
Thats pretty cheap considering Harbaugh got 5 mil a season,and hasn’t done squat in the NFL so far.
Improving the defense will require another adjustment. Fox has predominantly employed the 4-3 defense, while the Broncos spent the past two seasons remolding their roster to fit McDaniels’ 3-4 system. Look for a switch back to the 4-3.
The Fox era has begun.
I guess we draft Bowers if Fairley is off the board,if we are gonna run a 4-3,which I prefer anyway.
Bay,sorry for taking the spotlight this morning,but didn’t know how your arm was doing(BTW hope you are doing better bro)but I woke up early,and am still excited about Fox being our new HC,so I’m funneling down coffee and typing like an sick idiot.LOL.
Didn’t realize until now that I picked all the home teams to win this weekend,so probably not gonna happen,but we’ll see.
Can you imagine:
Bowers-Bannan-Paea-Doom
or
Ayers-Bannan-Fairley-Doom
with
Matthews-Mays-Jones…..LBs
Of course that’s assuming we draft Fairley DT or Bowers DE in the 1st
and Jones LB,and Paea DT/Matthews LB in the 2nd/3rd.
BFE, thanks, I still need all the help I can get, LOL.
I was just reading the last blog and one thing occured to me seeing all those fans who are bashing the Fox hire to no end:
THAT’S ACTUALLY A GOOD THING.
Follow my thoughts for a second, most fans last year were completely elated when McD became the HC and McD is the complete opposite of Fox no matter how you look at it, so here comes my point:
IF THOSE FANS WERE DEAD WRONG IN LOVING MCD, THEY ARE JUST AS DEAD WRONG IN HATING THE FOX HIRE!
Elementary dear Watson! Thanks to all you Fox hiring bashers, by gosh, we do have a chance at getting better, thanks again for helping me with my belief that we have taken the best possible step forward with Fox being clearly the hire that made the most sense among those who were available or willing to interview for us.
You can argue that the 4-3 is better or the 3-4 is better,fact is we’ve ran both schemes before,the Orange Crush was a 3-4,but the dominant D we had in the 2 SBs was a 4-3.
We had Doom get 17 sacks in the 3-4,but Fletcher had 16 sacks in the 4-3.
I think Fox is a master of the 4-3,so we need to let him teach what he knows best,plus Mora runs a 4-3,and if he gets the DC job,it’s a no brainer!
Legwold about what’s in store for Doom with Fox:
Fox has routinely coached teams that got to the opposing quarterback, and that will benefit Dumervil.
In Fox’s five years as New York Giants defensive coordinator, Michael Strahan had seasons of 14, 15 and 22-1/2 sacks for the team. The 22-1/2 is the NFL’s single-season record.
In Fox’s nine years as Carolina Panthers head coach, Julius Peppers finished with at least 10 sacks in six of those years, while Mike Rucker also had at least 10 sacks in two of those season.
So while Fox’s merits may be debated on the offensive front, with a lot of time and energy soon to be expended about who he will pick to call plays on that side of the ball, Dumervil will unquestionably have opportunities to get to the quarterback in Fox’s defense.
Dumervil likely will go back to defensive end since Fox has traditionally played a 4-3 defense. Fox hinted, after his arrival in Denver on Wednesday afternoon, that the Broncos may have to play a bit of a hybrid look on defense as they retool the roster from a 3-4 over time.
“we have taken the best possible step forward with Fox being clearly the hire that made the most sense among those who were available or willing to interview for us”.
I agree 100% bro,and the Fox bashers will also agree when we achieve success.
Seems funny we had to tell all the McD supporters that he was a bust,now we are trying to sell Fox,LOL.
A lot of people don’t think Doom and Ayers can play DE,but you know as well as I do,they both can.If we draft Bowers,well I guess Ayers might have to rotate with him,because I don’t think he can play LB in a 4-3.He is used to being on the end whether it be DE or OLB,that is his strength.
Some things to like about Fox by Lindsay Jones:
“Crash.” Fox played safety at San Diego State University, where he was nicknamed “Crash.” One of his college teammates was former NFL head coach Herm Edwards.
Worked for Noll. Fox got his first NFL coaching job as a defensive assistant for legendary coach Chuck Noll at Pittsburgh in 1989. Fox is the only one of Noll’s assistants still coaching in the NFL.
Learning his craft. Fox coached under Bobby Ross (San Diego) and Jim Fassel (New York Giants), and one of his assistants has gone on to become an NFL head coach (Jack Del Rio, above, with Jacksonville).
Consistency. Until the Panthers’ 2-14 season this year, Carolina was one of only four teams that didn’t have a 10-loss season between 2002-2009. The others were New England, Indianapolis and Denver. The Broncos’ streak also ended in 2010.
Road warrior. During Fox’s tenure at Carolina, his team won four playoff games on the road. Only Joe Gibbs (5) and Tom Landry (7) coached their teams to more road victories in the postseason.
College ranks. Fox’s coaching career took him to seven college programs in the 1980s: San Diego State, Boise State, Long Beach State, Utah, Kansas, Iowa State and Pittsburgh.
He likes Tebow. Among the first players Fox met since becoming the Broncos’ head coach was quarterback Tim Tebow, who came to see Fox at Dove Valley on Thursday. The pair spent time together last spring when Tebow was preparing for the NFL draft and the Panthers were looking for a quarterback.
Like I said, he was clearly the best choice for HC out of the pool we had to pick from, it’s not even a contest, sorry Dennison.
Some say going back to a 4-3 will erase Dooms ability to get to the QB,I had to remind a few people that Doom had 12.5 sacks in ’07 in the 4-3,and like you said Doom will get to the QB in Fox’s scheme!
This is what Doom had to say about the 43 possibility:
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Dumervil said. “I like both. I’ve been playing the 4-3 defensive end all my life. And the 3-4 is fun too.”
Playing the 43 DE ALL HIS LIFE as BFE always points out, so what’s the problem? LOL.
Road warrior. During Fox’s tenure at Carolina, his team won four playoff games on the road.
Yeah I seen on ESPN 2 this morning BoB and BoB in the morning,that Jake Delhome QB for the Panthers had the most road wins in the playoffs with 4 wins.
Klis’ brain at work:
Fox figures to bring some trusted coaches with him from Carolina, most notably Tyke Tolbert (receivers) and Dave Magazu (offensive line). Fox’s right-hand man in Carolina was running backs coach Jim Skipper, but the Broncos may not want to part with Eric Studesville. Another possibility is secondary coach Mike Gillhamer.
As for Fox’s former players, a new collective bargaining agreement would make running back DeAngelo Williams a free agent. Fox’s backs are traditionally bigger and stronger than the Broncos’ Knowshon Moreno.
I guess some of the younger fans don’t remember anything beyond the last 2 years,lol.
DeAngelo Williams would be a monster FA pickup,and maybe a LB,but that’s about it for me from FA,we have tried FA to build our Defense several times and failed miserably,now it’s time to do it the right way,thru the draft,and Fox seems to have an eye for Defensive talent.
This is what Joe Collier says about the Fox hire:
“At Carolina, I thought he did a pretty good job most of the time,” Collier said. “Unfortunately, it looked like they ran out of gas this year.
“But he’s a guy who’s been in the playoffs, and a defensive guy is probably pretty good for what the Broncos need now. It’s getting a guy who understands defense and knows what they need, the kind of players they need.”
What Gradishar says:
“As a former player and fan, I think the fans are trusting what John (Elway), Mr. Bowlen and Joe Ellis are doing,” Gradishar said. “They’ve asked a lot of questions in the process, and my thought would be that his experience in coaching, and his ability to put together an experienced coaching staff was important. He’s seen and judged talent, from going to the Super Bowl to seeing some of the things that happened this year. He’s got a wide spectrum of dealing with issues, from dealing with personnel and coaching, which certainly is valuable in today’s arena.”
Hiring a defensive-minded head coach, Gradishar said, will be good.
“I’m sure from the answers to a lot of questions John asked in the hiring of Coach Fox, they must have been convinced that, from a defensive and head-coaching standpoint, he’s strong in all those areas and that will be important in being able to rebuild a team,” he said.
What Tom Graham says:
Former Broncos linebacker Tom Graham still has a connection with the team. His son, Daniel, is the Broncos’ veteran tight end.
“I think a lot of people are excited about seeing a defensive-minded coach come in here,” Graham said. “Let’s see what that does, let’s see if we can get back to those Orange Crush days when the defense was prominent.”
I’m not gonna predict the games this week. That would definitely be an exercise in futility. All of these teams are evenly matched…cough*cough* Seattle. Should be a great weekend of action. I’m just hoping the Bears meet their demise thanks in part to some timely Cutler red zone miscues. (Buffalo in 08 ring a bell?).
Fox and the 4-3! I really want Fairly. Chances are he’s gonna be #1 overall. That leaves Bowers at #2. Problem is, IMO, with the right coaching, we already have a stout line.
Doom-Bannan-Marcus Thomas(who is primed for a breakout season)-Ayers.
Our LB crew would need the bolster there. Haggan can contribute, Mays showed flashes of potential, Williams can go back to his natural position. Hunter a key reserve. Woodyard, like Thomas, can be primed for a breakout year!So that leaves secondary as our major question mark. Champ? Stay or go. Dawkins, has slowed down. Cox and his issues. McBath is injury
prone. Bruton, awesome ST. Hill and Goody are the aging veterans. With McCarthy, Vaughn and Squid rounding out that group.
I say we trade down. Get Peterson, Jones and Paea. If we trade Orton, that can change the entire complexion of our draft board. But with what we have to work with and what we NEED, that addresses each level of the D.
DEFENSE in 2011
Krieger’s view of the hire, “the anti McD hire”:
After watching their franchise dragged through the mud by a coach who sometimes looked about 12 years old, it should come as no surprise that the Broncos chose the oldest and most experienced of the candidates to succeed him.
It may not be quite Mr. Wilson replacing Dennis the Menace, but it’s close. After two years of amateur hour, the Broncos brought in a pro to clean up the mess.
At 55, John Fox has been an NFL head coach for nine seasons and a defensive coordinator for seven more. He is old enough to have been humbled by the game, to know he doesn’t know everything, which will be a nice change of pace. And frankly, he was the best the Broncos were going to do in their current state.
No knock on Rick Dennison or Perry Fewell, Dirk Koetter or Eric Studesville, but the Broncos just tried the on-the-job training thing and it didn’t work out that well. With limited options, their standards were appropriately modest. They went out looking for a grownup who knows what he’s doing, and they found one.
Amen to that!
BFE, now we are pretty much up to speed, LOL.
LOL
I need to end up with a view from a former Fox player, Bears safety Chris Harris, who played for Fox from 2007-2009:
“He’s a high energy guy, expect to be challenged mentally. He wants mentally tough player, guys who are going to go out there and grind it out,” Harris said. “But his attitude is a fun attitude; he’s very out-going. I have never met a guy who didn’t like Coach Fox.”
Talk about the Anti-McD!!!
I was thinking if we went DT in the draft and Fairley is gone,maybe we trade down like 4 or 5 spots and take Dareus DT Alabama and pick up an extra 2nd or 3rd round pick???
Bowers will be a Beast in a 4-3 tho,but what about Ayers?
I have been wondering about that too, Doom and Ayers in the 4-3 makes it hard to get a third wheel with Bowers, we’ll have to see what Fox thinks about that and we are in good shape there since he has a better eye for defensive talent than most. I can’t even believe I just said that!!! We actually have a HC who is great at evaluating D talent, WOW!!!
Mind boggling isn’t it,LOL.
I guess the Fox bashers on here don’t have the enthusiasm that we do,but they haven’t been thru the things we have over the years either,maybe they’ll come to their senses when we start winning games.
We have relentless energy, they don’t know what they are up against, haha.
Yeah we might be older but we are experienced kinda like McD vs Fox.LOL.
Hey bay!
Like your theory on the seldom bloggers that pop out of the woodwork only to criticize but are never heard from during the season or when the fit hits the shan.
At any rate the decision has been made and I will get behind it 100% and trust it will succeed.
If actions don’t make sense, then I will question and demand more.
You guys drive me nutty! Some want to anoint him a god and savior, others know he is a loser. I want to see him in action before I evaluate his performance. What he has done in the past is irrelavent. The conditions he worked in previously are most likely consideribly different than the environment he will be working in for the Broncos. My guess is he will have a better oppurtunity to perform at his highest level here in Denver with Zander and Elway in place. That allows me to be optomistic about the future. I, like many, would love to see Dennison here as assistant HC/OC. That would give us a safty blanket if Fox doesn’t work out and a great OC for a long time if he does.
I’m not going let you guys get me giddy like a school girl or look at the glass half empty this time. I’m going to do my best to wait it out and see how he does in a cautiously optomistic frame of mind. Change is good, but uncertain. Go Broncos!
A little bit of a safe hire to me. Although he was the best, and most expierienced coach out of the bunch. Only thing I noticed when he was he panthers coach was that they seemed to be very bland and boring both offensive and defensively. Which is the opposite of how Lloyd and tebow play. I think we will need a “rockstar” OC to help grow tebow and let fox focus on the defense. I don’t think fox should bring over his entire staff. He needs to look at fesh faces, cause obviously that group wasn’t getting it done in Carolina. I think moreno ison the outs, I think he is a bust. I think we will try our best to nab Nick Fairley at 2. He will bring a nastiness to our line.
Ayers-Fairley-Bannan-Doom could be one of the most solid d-lines we’ve had since forever.
Dj Williams, Kyle orton, jabber Gaffney will be traded for picks and defensive pawns.
Let’s see where this fox thing takes us.
well i think this will do good things for the organization. at least we shouldnt be giving up 30 something points per game. which means we dont NEED to have the most high powered offense in the league! definately a change of philosophy that im looking forward to. ive been saying for a long time now that you have to have 2 things to be competitive in this league… play good defense and run the ball! PERIOD!! if you can do those things then you will be a competitive football team. i do however, hope that we get an agressive play caller for OC. love running the football, but sometimes i think you need to be able to attack through the air also! basically a good balance on Offense is what im hoping for.
GO BRONCOS
Long time no talk Florio!
I agree about getting a new OC. Fresh face or what not.
The D is where the most attention and stability needs emphasized!
I read someplace back in one of these blogs, I think yesterday, from either bay or bfe, that Fox’s hands were virtually tied in Carolina.
Not only were his hands tied, but that of his staff also. He said in the interview yesterday that he likes working the way the Broncos have this set up now with everyone working together to achieve the same goal and that his plan is set up for that. This is not a one boss set-up but a team effort to achieve the goal, which is going to the SB again and being a dominant force on both sides of hte ball. I like this guy and the way he talks. I can not wait until his press conference to hear what he has to say to Bronco Country!
NAYSAYERS GET LOST! Those of us that believe really do not want to hear it!
GO BRONCOS!!!!!!!!!!!!
ok… let me rephrase… i want an OC/playcaller that will play Tebow the way he needs to be played!
I can’t wait to see the coaching staff. Fox is a alot better than McD. My only conern,(not bashing) is that only Parcells, Coughlin , and Reeves,have done well after a team change when a HC was with a team for 5 years or longer. Most ,& even SB coaches have not pan out with there new team.(Seifer, Mora, Mora Jr,Capers, Moose etc..) Every fan wants there coach to win. Its ok to be concerned. I think Fox is good, and a safe hire. He has his work cut out.
Oh yeah my picks NE 27 NY 17
PIT 16 BALT 13 OT
CHI 27 SEA 13
ATL 24 GB 21 (every one is taken GB so im taken ATL)
Atlanta seeks respect and shall get it by taken out the hottest team in their conference.
I’m sorry but I think the pack is going to put the falcons on ice!
I would not surprise me if GB wins. They are a great team both sides of the ball. I was thinking of taking them but every one (espn, fox etc.. ) is say GB so they might play the no respect card.
PITTSBURGH 20, BALTIMORE 21
NEW ENGLAND 28, NEW YORK JETS 16
GREEN BAY 21, ATLANTA 17
CHICAGO 28, SEATTLE 13
NYJ 31 NE 30
BAL 28 PIT 21
SEA 35 CHI 31
ATL 40 GB 35
I have been wanted a D minded HC to re-establish a semblance of balance on our team, got that.
I have been wanted to go back to the zone blocking running scheme because our RB’s don’t fit the power blocking one, seemed to have gotten that because zone blocking is what Carolina has done the last three years.
I have been wanting to go back to the 43 because we don’t have the LB personnel to do the 34, and it seems as we may get that also since that’s what Fox does.
I have been wanting to put the emphasis on playing the game in the trenches and that’s what Fox believes in.
I have been wanting to run the rock and stop the run and that’s what Fox specializes in.
I don’t want to get anyone giddy here like little school girls, haha, but anyone would have to agree that it is absolutely amazing how close this HC decision has gotten me back to what I believe to be the basics of a good football team. So here I stand proudly lauding the merits of the Fox hire decision and I am in no way going to temper it down until proven wrong.
Way to go Broncos!
WELL—PUT—BAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
imready,I am not trying to do anything to you,all I am doing is posting my opinions and some facts,if you don’t like it,don’t read it,simple!