New Orleans at San Francisco, 4:30ET FOX
This game was looking like it was going to be inevitable after about week 12 in the NFL season, as neither team was going to catch the Pack for the top seed. The only question was where it was going to be played. Good thing for the 49ers that this game is at Candlestick as we have seen what Brees and his arsenal of weapons have done in the SuperDome as of late, dismantling the Falcons, Panthers, and Lions the last three weeks. However, the Saints must now prove that they can win on the road. The last two postseason that the Saints have gone on the road to play outdoors, they have come away with defeat: at Seattle last year and in the NFC Championship game against the Bears back in 2006. The 49ers definitely have the defense to slow down the Saints. On the defensive line, rookie Aldon Smith has made a huge impact right away, while Justin Smith has had an All-Pro caliber year. However, the strength of this defense is at linebacker with Patrick Willis and Navarro Bowman. However, the greatest strength of the Saints is their aerial attack, while the weakest asset of the Niner defense is the secondary. The 49ers must generate pressure on Brees and not allow him to step up in the pocket, which is when he is most dangerous. The 49ers have the formula for keeping the Saints offense off of the field, with a power running game led by Frank Gore. If the 49ers are able to control the time of possession and keep Brees on the sideline, they have a very good chance at winning, especially since the Saints run defense is nothing to really worry about it. However, I just do not see the 49ers being able to stop the passing attack of Brees. The running game will likely be hampered, which will force the Saints to throw even more than what they have been. If there is a weakness in the 49ers defense it is in the secondary. I expect the Saints to throw all over the field on the 49ers and go up in the ball game early. Going up early will force the trailing 49ers to throw the ball more than intended and get away from their initial game plan of controlling the clock and running the football. Expect this game to be close at halftime but the Saints to pull away in the second half. New Orleans 31, San Francisco 14
Denver at New England, 8:00ET CBS
As soon as Demariyus Thomas stiff armed Ike Taylor and ran toward the endzone, my first thought was how awful of a game Denver and New England would be to showcases on Saturday night. My next thought was that it can’t be any worse than last year’s Saturday night primetime matchup with the Packers routing the Falcons. Then as the week went on, I began to warm up to this game and actually began to think that this may be a good game. The first time these two teams met, the Patriots dominated in almost every facet, and that could very well happen again on Saturday night. However, remember last year when the Patriots dominated the Jets in a Monday Night Football game, and everyone cast the Jets aside. They met again in this very round, and the Jets pulled off the upset followed by the famous CANT WAIT speech from Bart Scott. The Patriots have one of the worst defenses in football, so the points will be there for the taking for this Tim Tebow led offense. Due to the recent success passing the ball, the Patriots will be forced to play more honest, and this may allow the Broncos running game with Willis McGahee to gain some positive yards and keep Tom Brady off of the field. While all the focus of this game will be on Tebow, the game will be won or lost for Denver based on the play of their defense. Tom Brady tore the Denver defense to shred in the Week 15 matchup between these two teams. Denver has the playmakers on defense with Elvis Dumervil, Von Miller, and Champ Bailey to make plays and disrupt the Patriots offense. If they are able to force Brady into a turnover or two, and also get one or two more stops more than the last game, the Broncos will be right there with New England. In the end, Brady and the Patriots offense will be too much for the Broncos, but don’t expect Denver to go away easily. New England 30, Denver 20
Houston at Baltimore, 1:00ET CBS
Yes, this game is still happening this weekend despite receiving basically no attention at all this week from the media. Overshadowed by the other three games, this game may end up being the closest of the four games this weekend. Both teams have strong defenses and somewhat inconsistent offenses at times. Joe Flacco has been somewhat inconsistent this year, especially in losses against lower level teams like the Chargers and the Seahawks. However, Flacco is still three for three in the opening game of the postseason in his three years in the league. He is often times compared to his draft class mate Matt Ryan. While not as good of a pure passer as Ryan, Flacco has been more successful at making runs in the postseason. Now the Ravens hope that he can go one step further and take them to the Super Bowl. Torrey Smith will be huge in this game. In the Ravens losses this season, Smith has been invisible, but Smith is probably the number one playmaker through the air for Baltimore. With one of the best running backs in the game for the Texans to worry about in Ray Rice, the passing game should be effective. Jonathan Joseph will probably be locking down Anquan Boldin, which should open up for Smith to do his damage. On the other side, TJ Yates will go against the stiffest test of his young career against Defensive MVP candidate Terrell Suggs and the Ravens defense. The Ravens will be focusing on shutting down Arian Foster, which is going to force Yates to make some plays with his arm. He will need to look the way of stud receiver Andre Johnson, who may need a Calvin Johnson vs. Saint like performance to keep the Texans in the game. However, if there is one weakness in that Ravens defense it would be in that pass defense. The only question is if Yates can deliver the goods. With both defenses and the running back play being a wash, I will go with the experience of Joe Flacco in the preseason over rookie TJ Yates making only his eighth career start. Ravens 24, Texans 13
I will have a more in-depth preview of my Green Bay Packers and their opponent the New York Giants coming up later today.
No comments:
Post a Comment