The Playoffs: Wild Cards

Happy New Year and yes, I did take Week 17 off. There was way to much Holiday Spirit going around for me to sit down and blog. But it is a new year and with 2013 comes the beginning of the NFL Playoffs which will take us all the way to the Super Bowl on February 3rd. The first round of the playoffs is known as the Wild Card Round. Basically in this round the #6 seed (the Wild Card team) plays the #3 seed and the #5 seed (The Wild Card team) plays the #4 seed. If you want to learn more about what it means to be a Wild Card team in the NFL you can click here.In case you were wondering here is a snapshot of who is in the playoffs.

AFC teams are on the left, NFC on the right and they meet in the middle for the Super Bowl

- It should be noted that 3 out of 5 rookie quarterbacks have made it to the post season: Russell Wilson for the Seattle Seahawks, Andrew Luck for the Indianapolis Colts, and RG3 for the Washington Redskins.

- Texans quarterback, Matt Schaub, not only finally got to play in his first playoff game, but he managed to win his first playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals (the Wild Card team). The Texans started off the season tied for the best record in the NFL only to see their star fade at the end of the season when they went from being a potential #1 seed with a bye week to the #3 seed who needed to get past the Bengals to keep their post season alive. Schaub had some help from running back, Arian Foster, who rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown. Maybe more importantly, Foster was able to help his team hold possession of the ball for 38 minutes and 49 seconds. The Texans beat the Bengals 19-13 and face a real challenge when they take on the New England Patriots next week.

- The Minnesota Vikings (the Wild Card team) may have the bionic man on their side in Adrian Peterson, but it wasn't enough to take down the Green Bay Packers who they had played (and beat) just one week before. This week Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers were on their home field and they were ready for the Vikings. To top it all off, the Vikings starting QB Christian Ponder was inured and they had to start their back-up, Joe Webb, who had seen one snap back in Week 5 against the Titans. The Packers won 24-10 and go on to face the San Francisco 49'ers next week.

-What I really love about the NFL are the stories off the field that make what happens on the field that much more exciting. And it was an emotional one when the Indianapolis Colts (the Wild Card team) travelled to Baltimore to take on the Ravens. A few months ago the Ravens' emotional center, Ray Lewis, went out with what was thought to be a season ending triceps injury. Well, it would take much more that that to end Ray Lewis' time on the field and he was back on the defense this week but only after announcing earlier this week that he would be retiring after this season after 17 years with not only the NFL, but the Baltimore Ravens. All that means that this game against the Ravens would be the last home game for Ray Lewis and it was a memorable one. The famed Baltimore defense, led by Lewis, held  Andrew Luck and the Colts to just 9 points and walked away with the 9-24 win. Not only was Ray Lewis' storyline an emotional one but there was also the issue of Indianapolis Head Coach, Chuck Pagano. Pagano, who missed much of the season to undergo treatment for Leukemia, spent 4 years as an assistant coach for the Baltimore Ravens. After the game Ravens players could be seen lining up to give their old coach a hug. Actually Pagano got a sideline hug while the game was still going on by Ravens' defender Terrell Suggs. The Ravens head to Denver next week to take on Peyton Manning and the Broncos.

- With Andrew Luck out of the playoffs, there were 2 rookie quarterbacks left in the race and they faced off against each other with Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks (the Wild Card team) taking on RG3 and the Washington Redskins. All eyes were on RG3 who missed last weeks game with a knee injury and it was thought by many that he was not ready to play today. Those "many" were right. Despite a quick score on their first drive, RG3 did not look like his old agile self and in the 4th quarter RG3 fumbled a ball and went down again on that bad knee. The Seahawks recovered the fumble and walked away with the 24-14 win, their first road playoff win since 1983. The Seahawks head to Atlanta next week to take on the #1 seed Atlanta Falcons.

I'll be back next week with a recap of the Divisional Round of the playoffs. In the meantime, please let me know how you have liked the blog this season. What can I do more of? What can I do less of? Should I bother doing this again at all? I want to know! Hope everyone has a good week back at work...I don't know about y'all but it feels like years since I put in a full week, this one is going to be a doozy.

Week 16 Sunday Recap: Who's in and Who's out

Merry Christmas Eve and happy Week 16 in the NFL! I was under the impression that this was the last week of the regular season, but as luck would have it, there is one more so I will save my retrospective post on how far we have come for next week. This week it is all about who is in and who is out and as much as that may sound just like something Heidi Klum might say I was hard pressed to find one runway or sassy designer on my TV this past Sunday...sometimes things sound the same but aren't the same at all. In fact, I only wish trying to figure out who was in and out of the playoffs was as easy as Michael Kors saying yes or no. Instead we are dealing with math and the combinations of so many scenarios that make me want to bury my head in my pillow. Anyone who thinks that guys who are into sports are dumb is unbelievably wrong. It takes an very sharp analytical brain to figure this mess out. Those of you who know me know that anything to do with analytics, statistics, or anything else in the neighborhood basically drives me to drink, so here is my very dumbed down run down of who is in and who is out. On a side note I am thinking of writing to the NFL and suggest they adopt the Project Runway model of selection for next year's playoffs, I think it would make things easier for everyone.

I'm sorry Steelers that means you're out. Auf wiedersehen.

- The Pittsburgh Steelers are out. They were knocked out of playoff contention by the Cincinnati Bengals who kicked a field goal with 4 seconds remaining in the game for the win. Cincinnati sacked Roethlisberger 4 times and Pittsburgh was only able to complete 2 of 14 3rd downs. So the "used-to-be" terrible Bengals are on their way to the post season and the 2-time Super Bowl champ, Ben Roethlisberger, is on his way home to his newborn baby.

- Not only are the Ravens in the playoffs but they are the Champions of the AFC North and they got there by beating the New York Giants 14-33. The Giants still have a chance but losing against the Ravens didn't help their cause. They will need to win next week against the Eagles and then will need some other teams to help them out as well in order to make it to the post-season. Not what you would expect from the defending Super Bowl Champs or a Manning brother. Aside: Apparently Eli's big brother, Peyton Manning, gave his brother some game notes on the Ravens after he played and beat them last week with his team the Broncos. Either Eli didn't listen, or Peyton played a pretty mean Christmas joke on his little brother because Eli looked like he didn't know where he was on Sunday night.

You're in Baltimore, Eli and they are KILLING you!

- The Indianapolis Colts are in and in a big way. Rookie QB, Andrew Luck, broke Cam Newton's rookie passing yards record and led his team to a 20-13 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Not only do the colts have life in the playoffs but they will take to the field with their head coach, Chuck Pagano, back by their side. Pagano was diagnosed with cancer early in the season and has missed much of the season while undergoing chemotherapy treatments. Pagano is now in remission and you have to think that having their healthy coach back on the sidelines will fuel the Colts' fire going into the playoffs.

- The Seahawks are in as they continue their hot streak of completely killing their opposition. The Seahawks have not lost at home yet this season, and as the rain poured down in Seattle they kept the streak alive with a 13-42 win over the San Francisco 49'ers, who are thought by many to be the best team in the NFL right now. Rookie QB, Russell Wilson, threw for 171 yards and 4 touchdowns. "Impress Him" Fact: Seattle has outscored its last 3 opponents 150-30. That is incredible. If I were an NFC team I would be praying that Seattle does not win home field advantage in the playoffs.

As the Wise Man, Tim McGraw, once said "Bring on the Rain".

- The Miami and Dolphins and the New Orleans Saints both pulled off respectable victories against the Buffalo Bills and the Dallas Cowboys respectively. But wins by the Bengals and the Vikings put both teams out of playoff contention. The Cowboys HAVE to win their game against the Redskins next week in order to make it to the playoffs.

- The Green Bay Packers are in and with the 49'ers loss may have a chance to win the No. 2 seed in the playoffs with a win over the Minnesota Vikings next week. What's the big deal about being the No. 2 seed? I'm glad you asked. The No. 2 seed gets a bye the first round of the playoffs. And in case you were wondering, the No. 1 seed gets a bye AND home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

While the AFC is pretty much decided the NFC will be figured out next week. So until then here is wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas!