Monday Morning Quarterback

Why didn't I have confidence in my team? A single loss, caused by my Cowboys, no less, kept me from picking a perfect Wild Card record. In any case, I predicted well. Here are my thoughts on the four wild card battles.


NY Jets 24 Cincinnati 14
Ignore the slightly seemingly close 10 point deficit, the Bengals never had a chance as they were dominated by the Jets on offense, and their defense was effectively flattened by the Jets ground game, as expected. I am happy, simply because after all the hoopla about the surprising Bengals this season, they were finally exposed by New York as a team that wasn't even close to a Super Bowl contender. Now the Jets can move on, but with questions of if the game plan against the Bengals can work against the powerful Chargers. New York showed no real versatility against the Bengals, they did exactly what everyone expected them to do and it worked. However, odds are San Diego will not let that happen. The Jets need to throw a few wrenches (as in, passing plays, despite Sanchez's inconsistent play) in order to have a chance on Sunday.


Dallas 34 Philadelphia 14
Ok, that's it, I'm 100% convinced that my team, MY TEAM, the Dallas Cowboys, are the team to beat now. I thought hauntings of playoffs past may get them yet again this time, but they finally exorcized the ghosts and won a playoff game. This against arch rival Philadelphia no less. And even better, it was an utter demolition job, taking a liking to the previous week's game. What does this spell for the Cowboys playoff hopes? Well, that's certainly up to the Cowboys. They have convinced me over the past four weeks that they can defeat anyone in the NFL, however, memories of 7-6 against Washington and 23-17 against Kansas City, as well as that Denver loss scare me in a way. Is this club mature enough to not dawn on their single victory, and instead continue to steam forward to get closer to the real prize? Once again, no one but that actual team can answer, and until they take the field on Sunday, no one will have a clue. If they show up, and execute the way they've done the last four weeks, defeating the Vikings is very likely. On the other hand, if the egos are too big, it could spell disaster in big D.


Baltimore 33 New England 14
Eerily familiar to the Dallas score, and a pleasant surprise to see the PAtriots officially downed in the first round. Another game that wasn't even close, Baltimore jumped out 21-0 quick and cruised from there, whenever you let a ball control team such as the Ravens get a lead that large, you're sunk. That is exactly what happened to the Pats. Still, the Ravens have a lot of questions about versatility to answer, mainly the same questions the Jets have to answer about a one-sided offensive attack. If Baltimore can play D like they did today and Flacco has a better game, an upset in Indianapolis could very much be in the making. Now, on the other side, MAJOR thumbs down to the Patriots, who I feel quit on the game with seven minutes left. It's the playoffs and you play to the final gun, this isn't a joke. Unfortunalty, the Patriots continue their sore losing ways and continue to tarnish their reputation. Good riddence.


Arizona 51 Green Bay 45 (OT)
There are a LOT of things I want to say about this game and many of them are negative. Look here, this was an incredibly exciting game with an incredibly exciting, and rather ironic finish. However, I felt as though I was watching a NCAA Division III football game between two top offenses. No defense from Green Bay throughout, and barely a resemblence of defense from Arizona early with none late until the final play. Congrats to Arizona's D for showing up for one play at the end to seal the deal. The bad part about all of this was that it wasn't necessarily great offense stealing the show, no offense to the great offensive plays, but receivers were running rampant WIDE OPEN all day for both teams. Cut me a break, I felt like I just finished a game of Madden where my friend and I threw hail mary passes for an hour. Very exciting football game and by far the most entertaining to watch all week, but an incredibly ugly game to watch. Arizona's D has the Saints next, God rest their souls.