NFL Divisional Round Preview

One Playoff round down. Next up is the Divisional round. I went 4-0 with my picks last week.

To touch quickly on Robert Griffin's injury: I think it is a damn shame what happened. I do think Griffin will be ready for next year. AP did it and I can see Griffin doing it as well. As far as what Mike Shanahan's role was, I don't think we will ever know. Dr. James Andrews and Shanahan apparently had different views on how healthy Griffin was. Once the offense started slowing down in the first half, I probably would have pulled Griffin. Griffin was of no help to the Skins offense once the knee started bothering him. I hope RG3 recovers, because he is a joy to watch on the field.

Now, onto the Preview. Same format as last week.

JC's Take: Stars, Goats & Notes From Week 14 of the NFL

Team of the Week: Dallas Cowboys
-For the second week in a row, a NFL team had to deal with a horrible tragedy less than 48 hours before their game on Sunday. And for the second week in a row, that team went on the field Sunday and pulled out an emotional victory. The Cowboys came back from down 9 midway through the 4th quarter to pull off a 20-19 win in Cincinnati. It was a game the Cowboys needed to stay alive in the Playoff race. You could see the emotion from the Cowboys players before, during, and after the game. Cameras caught players crying just going through sprints and runs in the early pre-game. But Dallas came up with a strong defensive effort, shutting down a good Bengals offense. And the Cowboys did just enough on offense to get them the win.

JC's Take: Stars, Goats and Notes From Week 13 of the NFL

Team of the Week: Seattle Seahawks
-Seattle has the suspensions of Cornerbacks Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman facing them right in the face. So what do they do? They went into Chicago and beat a very good Bears team, putting them in pretty good shape to make a run at the Playoffs. And the NFC West crown is not out of the question as well. The Seahawks came back in the 4th quarter to take the lead late. After Chicago was able to tie the game, Seattle received the ball first in over time. Russell Wilson drove the offense right down the field against a very good Chicago defense and scored the game winning touchdown on a pass to Sidney Rice. Seattle now has a one game lead for the last Wild Card spot. While Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin get all of the attention, Russell Wilson is quietly putting together a good season in Seattle. No matter what the stats say, anytime you have a winning record this late in the season is a good thing. And kudos to Pete Carroll for doing a great job coaching up this group.

JC's Take: Stars, Goats & Notes From Week 12 of the NFL

Team of the Week: Washington Redskins
-Three weeks ago, Mike Shanahan was talking about players playing to be on the team next season. Many people questioned Shanahan giving up on the season so early. Two wins later, Washington now sits at 5-6, one game out of a Wild Card spot and two games back in the NFC East, with a big game coming up against the Giants next Monday night. The Redskins went into Dallas on Thanksgiving and lit up the Cowboys. Robert Griffin made some big time throws and he looks like every bit a QB that the Redskins expected him to be. Griffin has a rocket for an arm and the velocity on some of his passes is amazing. You never know what Giants team to expect week in and week out, so that is why next week is so big for the Redskins. Even if Washington doesn't get to the Playoffs this year, the future looks bright for them. Had it not been for injuries to Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan on defense, they might be in better shape.

NFL Week 9 Picks

I showed some signs of improvement last week. Hopefully things get fully better this week.

Last Week: 9-5
Year to Date: 73-44

Kansas City Chiefs vs San Diego Chargers
Things just aren't right in San Diego. They put together a woeful performance last week against Cleveland. Philip Rivers had a terrible game, Ryan Matthews fumbled again, and the Chargers offense failed to put together a meaningful drive. Now there are people in San Diego questioning what has gone wrong with this  Chargers team the last few years. Norv Turner has had so much talent and has yet to put together a Super Bowl team in San Diego. The Chargers run defense faces another challenge this week in Jamaal Charles. Charles may be the only real threat that the Chiefs have on their team. They are forced to start Matt Cassel after Brady Quinn was hurt last year. At this point, the Chiefs may wish they had the QB situation Maryland has, starting a linebacker at QB. Kansas City had high hopes this year but the season may be one of their worst in recent memory. Kansas City may not win another game this year. Even with San Diego's recent struggles, they should still win here.

San Diego 21  Kansas City 13

NFL Week 1 Review

Team of the Week: San Francisco 49ers
In the first week of the season, I like to look for teams that make a statement. And I think San Francisco made the biggest statement. They went into Lambeau on opening day and handled the Green Bay Packers rather easily. The score makes the game seem closer than it actually was. The 49ers shut down the Packers offensive attack. They had constant pressure in Aaron Rodgers face all day and made the Packers run game non-existent. San Francisco was a botched punt return away from going to the Super Bowl last year, and they returned the majority of their starters on both side of the ball this year. The offense has more weapons. Randy Moss played well yesterday and Alex Smith continues to be a solid game manager. He won't put up spectacular stats but he is a solid starter who plays well with the talent around him. San Fran looks like the team to beat in the NFC.

Game of the Week: Minnesota 26  Jacksonville 23 (OT)
-Who would have thought that quite possibly the least intriguing game of the week would wind up being the best one? Minnesota took a five point lead in the 4th quarter before Blaine Gabbert of all QBs lead a 6 play, 76 yard TD drive in just under one minute to give Jacksonville a lead. Minnesota then went 32 yards in three plays and allowed Blair Walsh to tie the game on a 55 yard field goal. Then we saw the new OT rules come into effect but the Jags could not convert after Minnesota's field goal. It may be the most interesting game these two teams play all year.

The Jon Gruden "Let Me Tell You About These Guys" 3 Stars
3. Matt Ryan
Ryan needed to shake off a bad Playoff performance last year against the Giants, and he did just that against the Chiefs. Ryan threw for 299 yards and 3 touchdowns in Atlanta's win over Kansas City. The NFC South, in my opinion, is the Falcons division to lose. As the Saints showed yesterday, they may not be as good as people think. And Carolina stumbled out of the gate against Tampa Bay. Ryan has plenty of weapons surrounding him so there is no excuse for bad play. The Falcons face a big test next week with the Denver Broncos coming to town.

2. Adrian Peterson
AP tore his ACL in Week 17 last year. Nine months later, Peterson was back on the field and looked pretty much like his normal self in the Vikings overtime win over Jacksonville. Peterson ran the ball 17 times for 84 yards and 2 touchdowns. To come back from an ACL tear and perform as well as Peterson did was quite admirable. The Vikings offense will go as far as Peterson will take them this year.

1. Robert Griffin
For anyone who would listen to me, I have been telling them constantly that I think Robert Griffin will be a very good QB this year and in the future. I think he is a better version of Mike Vick. His arm strength and mobility are very good. But I did not expect to see the performance I saw from Griffin against the Saints. The kid just kept making play after play. He easily outplayed Drew Brees. When the Saints cut the lead to 8, Griffin lead the Redskins down field in 3 minutes to give the Redskins the double digit lead again. The Redskins will cause some problems in the NFC East this year.

The Matt Millen "What Were They Thinking" Goats of the Week

3. Mario Williams
Williams was brought in to be a pass rushing force for the Bills this year. What was his stat line against the Jets? One tackle. Williams could not get anything going all game against a vastly inferior opposition from the Jets offensive line. And after the game? Williams complained about being held and getting hands to the face all game. Mario, I love you for choosing the Bills. But you are paid to beat the opposition. Not complain when you can't.

2. Titus Young
The Lions were expecting a breakout season from Young. But instead of having a big first game, what does Young do? He goes and gives a headbutt to Rams CB Janoris Jenkins. Not only that, but he did it right in front of his own head coach Jim Schwartz. Schwartz benched Young for the rest of the game and you have to wonder if this will affect Young's playing time going forward. The Lions have had multiple mental lapses during the off-season and it wasn't a good way to start for Young and the Lions. The Lions won but they should have easily beaten the Rams.

1. Cleveland Browns Offense
The Browns defense did everything they possibly could to keep the team in the game. They picked off Mike Vick 4 times and even helped the offense out by returning one for the touchdown. Brandon Weeden looked like a rookie QB nowhere near ready to start a game. What was Brandon Weeden's final stat line? 12-35, 118 yards, no touchdowns and 4 interceptions. That gave him a QB rating of 5.1. Cleveland only mustered 210 yards of total offense. Their longest drive was 6 plays for 53 yards that ended with an interception. It is going to be a very long season for Cleveland fans.

Other Week 1 Notes
-I've gone this far without mentioning Peyton Manning. Well, he looks just like he did two years ago. It seriously looked like he didn't miss a beat. Manning made quick decisions with the ball and looked like his old self calling audibles at the line of scrimmage. I specifically liked how he called two audibles near the goal line when it looked like Troy Polamalu was blitzing. He called a timeout after still not seeing what he liked. Then they converted on the next play. If the Broncos defense could have gotten off the field on third down, they would have won the game by a wider margin. But the Broncos showed last night that they will be the team to beat in the AFC West.

-Yes it is only Week 1, but it looks like the toughest division to call will be the NFC East. The Eagles looked terrible against a weak Browns team. The Cowboys went into New York and defeated the Giants. And the Redskins went into New Orleans and beat the high powered Saints offense. These teams are going to beat up on each other this year. It would not surprise me if the winner of the division ended up 9-7. I still like the Giants. They've shown their ability to pull out tough games late in the season and Eli Manning knows how to win big games late. The Redskins will pull off a couple upsets along the way. The Eagles and Cowboys will play really good one week then terrible the next like they have in the past. I don't see any team pulling away with this division.

-It is only Week 1, and we are starting to get people asking whether or not Joe Flacco is elite again. Yes, Flacco had a good game against a good defense in Cincinnati. But everybody has surprisingly good games. Flacco has still not won his team a Super Bowl like Eli Manning has. To be, Flacco is a solid starting QB who will have good games like he did this Monday and bad games like I'm sure he will throughout the season. I can name at least 10 QBs I would rather have besides Flacco, so I would in no way say that he is an elite QB.

The Booker T FAB FIVE
1. San Franciso 49ers
2. New England Patriots
3. Atlanta Falcons
4. Houston Texans
5. Chicago Bears

The King Booker Peasant 5
28. Buffalo Bills
29. Seattle Seahawks
30. Indianapolis Colts
31. Miami Dolphins
32. Cleveland Browns

3 Games I'd Like To See Next Week
Chicago Bears vs Green Bay Packers: Packers have a legit shot of starting 0-2
Detroit Lions vs San Francisco 49ers: The Handshake Part 2
Denver Broncos vs Atlanta Falcons: Lets see how Peyton performs on the road

Until Next Time,
Justin C
Follow Me On Twitter @JCWonka

2012 NFL Mock Draft

The NFL Draft is now less than two weeks away, so I think its only appropriate to finally do a mock draft. There are people that have been doing these since the end of the season, but to me that is way too early. Constantly updating one and changing it can be a hassle. I think doing a mock draft within a week or two of the actual Draft is just the right time to do it.

NFL Off-Season Preview: NFC East Addition

And so here we are. The last of my off-season previews. For are last stop, we take a look at the division of the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants.The Giants played the best football in the last month of the regular season and rode that momentum to a great post-season and eventually a Super Bowl win. The Giants have a couple key free agents this off-season, but they should be geared up for another run. The Philadelphia Eagles were billed the "Dream Team" heading into the season, but they struggled early on and couldn't come back late. The Dallas Cowboys? They had high hopes coming into the year, but two losses to the Giants in December kept them from making the Playoffs. And the Washington Redskins just traded away three 1st round Draft Picks for one player. This division usually gets the most talk from the national media because of the big time players in it, and they usually don't disappoint when it comes to making buzz.

New York Giants

2011 Record: 9-7

I sang the praise of the Giants for the last month of the season. Other than that stinker at home against Washington, they played very well. I didn't think, however, that the Giants would carry that momentum all the way to the Super Bowl. I thought the Packers would get the better of them. I thought the Giants could score an upset, but I didn't think it would happen. But the Giants shut down the Packers offense, got some good breaks against San Francisco, and scored late again against the Patriots to win the Super Bowl. Eli Manning in the process cemented his claim as an elite quarterback in the NFL. The Giants defense is what stepped up towards the end of the season. Once the pass rush was finally healthy, they were difficult to stop. Jason Pierre-Paul grew into one of the best pass rushers in the league. If the core group of the Giants can stay together, then there is no reason to think a repeat isn't possible.