Month January 2012

2012 Wild Card Preview: Atlanta vs New York

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This is the third of four posts this week examining the Wild Card matchups in the NFL Playoffs. Check back tomorrow for the final preview:

Sunday’s Wild Card games get going when the Atlanta Falcons head up to New York to take on the Giants at 1 pm ET on FOX. The Giants ended the year with a huge win-or-go-home victory over the Dallas Cowboys to the NFC East and earn a playoff spot while the Falcons have won five of their past seven, with their only losses coming at New Orleans and at Houston. However, they haven’t beaten anyone that good in that stretch either. The teams did not face each other during the regular season so both will be preparing using lots of video team instead of analyzing a previous meeting. Here’s a look at the matchup:

Offense: Eli Manning has had a much better season than experts have given him credit for. He threw for just under 5000 yards with 29 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. The interceptions number is a bit high, but he’s had one of his best years this season and has come through in pressure situations. The emergence of star wide receiver Victor Cruz has helped Manning tremendously as well. Neither Ahmad Bradshaw or Brandon Jacobs were particularly adept at running the ball this year (the Giants as a team were dead last in the NFL in yards per carry) so the onus will on Eli Sunday to lead his team to victory.

For Atlanta, quarterback Matt Ryan and running back Michael Turner offer the Falcons a two-headed offense that can beat both through the air and on the ground. Ryan through for over 4000 yards and 29 touchdowns and threw just 12 picks while Turner rushed for 1340 yards and 11 touchdowns himself. The Falcons will show the Giants a couple of different looks and have the luxury of attacking New York’s secondary or trying to wear down its defensive through a hard-nosed running game. Continue reading “2012 Wild Card Preview: Atlanta vs New York” →

2012 Wild Card Preview: Detroit vs. New Orleans

Danny Vinik Leave a comment

This is the second of four posts this week examining the Wild Card matchups in the NFL Playoffs. Check back during the next few days for more previews:

The New Orleans Saints and Detroit Lions open up the NFC Wild Card games on Saturday at 8 ET on NBC in New Orleans. The Saints haven’t lost since week eight and has won by more than 20 points in its past three games. The Lions have won three of their last four, but gave up 45 points in a loss to the Green Bay Packers Sunday in a game that Aaron Rodgers didn’t play. In their one meeting this year, New Orleans defeated Detroit 31- 17 behind 342 yards and three touchdowns from Drew Brees. Here’s a look at the matchup:

Offense: For New Orleans, this is all about Drew Brees, who sent an NFL record with 5476 passing yards in the season and is neck and neck with Aaron Rodgers for the MVP award. While running back Darren Sproles and Pierre Thomas combined to rush for just 1165 yards, they averaged nearly six yards a rush. Brees moved the ball around to his receivers, with Jimmy Graham and Marques Colston his favorite targets.

Detroit’s Matthew Stafford wasn’t too shabby either, throwing for more than 5000 yards as well and 41 touchdowns. Stafford looked to wide receiver Calvin Johnson the most as the two connected on 96 passes for 1681 yards and 16 touchdowns. On the ground, the Lions weren’t as effective as running backs Jahvid Best and Kevin Smith combined for just 746 yards, less than four yards a carry. Continue reading “2012 Wild Card Preview: Detroit vs. New Orleans” →

Rangers Defeat Flyers in Great Winter Classic

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The fifth edition of the NHL’s Winter Classic may have been its best yet as the Philadelphia Flyers took on the New York Rangers in the league’s annual outdoor game at Citizen’s Bank Park in Philadelphia. While the game time had to be pushed back two hours because of the weather, the players were ready to go as soon as the puck dropped.

Both teams came out of the gate flying with back and forth action throughout the entire first period that ended scoreless, despite good chances from each team. The period was very physical, with both teams looking to leave their mark on each other.  Throughout HBO’s “24/7: Flyers/Rangers” documentary, an inside look at both teams, the anticipation for this game was building. Players made it clear on the show that there was no love lost between the two of them and it didn’t disappoint.

Just over half way through the second period, the Flyers got on the board with Brayden Schenn recording his first career goal off a bad rebound from Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Less than two minutes later, Claude Giroux doubled the lead with his 18th goal of the year and Philadelphia seemed to be in control. But just 30 seconds later, Mike Rupp cut the lead to one again and celebrated with a Jaromir-Jagr esque salute that drew the ire of many Flyer players.

Unfortunately for Philly, Rupp wasn’t done celebrating as just over two minutes into the third period, he snuck a shot past Flyers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky that he should have handled easily. Just a few minutes later, the Rangers big offseason signing Brad Richards broke the tie with his 14th goal of the year. A horrendous penalty call on the Rangers in final minutes of the game gave the Flyers an undeserved chance to tie up the game, but they couldn’t capitalize on it. Continue reading “Rangers Defeat Flyers in Great Winter Classic” →