NFL Week 17 Reviews
Green Bay over Chicago. This was a game that had a playoff type advantage. The Packers needed a win to go into what they did, it just wasn’t pretty. Normally, the high-powered offense was kept in check for the majority of the game. Part of this can be attributed to the Bears knowing them so well, and maybe there was more pressure on them because they needed to win to get in. Aaron Rodgers was a bit out of sorts, just missing wide receivers, but connected when he had to go with Greg Jennings on big plays in the fourth quarter. The Packers’ defense was outstanding sacking Jay Cutler six times and constantly pressuring them. Clay Matthews continued his quest for player-of-the-year defense by sacking Cutler twice by himself. He had a lot of help from a defense that has been superb all year. The Bears should be commended for playing to win the game. There was no incentive as they were locked into the second seed. But the same thing that hurt them earlier in the season hurt them again. The offensive line couldn’t protect Jay Cutler. His defense was impressive in holding the Packers to 10 points, but they’ll need more points from their offense or special teams to advance to the playoffs.
Seattle over St. Louis in the play-in game. This best part of the game had a playoff type atmosphere. The worst part of this game was the teams themselves. I kept waiting for one of the teams to show up and say, I deserve to go to the playoffs. I never got it. All I got was punt, punt, and more punts. The Rams never allowed Sam Bradford to throw the ball beyond 10 yards until the fourth quarter, when he did, they dropped it. The only thing I can say about Seahawk quarterback Charlie Whitehurst is that he can take a hit and he didn’t throw an interception. The Seahawks not only became the first team to win the division with a 7-9 record, but they will be the only team in NFL history to trail at least 14 points at home.
Pittsburgh over Cleveland. The Steelers dominated from start to finish fattening up their stats and earning a valuable playoff break. Troy Polamalu’s jump was the play of the game, although it didn’t get to McCoy, it sure scared him for the rest of the game. The Browns, after being competitive for most of the season, turned bad again in recent weeks, which is why Mangini was fired.
New England tearing Miami apart. The Patriots seem to enjoy hitting their opponents even when they don’t have to. The Dolphins’ only highlight was an excellent catch by Davone Bess, who acted as if his catch had won the Super Bowl. The Dolphins trailed 38-0 at the time.
Atlanta crushing Carolina. The Falcons took care of business by defeating the Panthers early on. The Panthers fired John Fox before the game. Steve Smith asked Fox to take him with him during the game.
New York Jets over Buffalo. The Jets had a good playoff setup by destroying the Bills. Rex Ryan then bragged that the Jets will win the Super Bowl again. Was Rex a parrot in his previous life? The Bills actually had a good season. They were 11-5 against the spread.
Oakland over Kansas City. The Raiders finished at five hundred or higher for the first time in eight years. Al Davis thinks the NFL is screwing him up by keeping the Raiders out of the playoffs. He doesn’t know that the Raiders are in the AFC West, not the NFC West. The Chiefs didn’t play like a division winner, now they play in the tough postseason for the Baltimore Ravens. You can say one and go.
Tampa Bay over New Orleans. The Buccaneers finally proved they can win against a team with a winning record three hours after they found out they didn’t make the playoffs. The Saints acted like they wanted to win this game until they saw Atlanta score at will and started pulling their starters.
Detroit over Minnesota. The Lions finished the season by winning four games in a row. Won’t they be surprised to find that they can’t carry those wins over to the next year? The Vikings ended a terrible season by losing again, and the next stop was getting a veteran quarterback going to training camp and, far more important, a stadium.
Baltimore over Cincinnati. It wasn’t exactly a great playoff effort, but Ed Reed had two more interceptions to have 8 and lead the league, not bad for a guy who missed all of training camp and the first 6 games. The Bengals played their last game under Marvin Lewis. He had the longest tenure in his history being there for 7 years. How did that happen?
Dallas beats Philadelphia. Spree! The Vaqueros barely beat the Águilas 3rd and 4th string. Now Jerry can save money by having a lower draft pick. The irony for the Eagles is that Kevin Kolb started the first game and the last game. For those Eagle fans who were in a coma during that time, they missed Michael Vic’s entertaining show.
The New York Giants beat Washington. The Giants won finishing with ten wins. Then the Redskins’ scoreboard operator couldn’t wait to let them know that Green Bay won and knocked them out of the playoffs. The Redskins can now finally stop listing Donovan McNabb as their string quarterback.
San Francisco over Arizona. Alex Smith played well in his last game as a 49er. The Cardinals defense was told not to hit him because he will likely be their starting quarterback next year.
San Diego over Denver. The Charger finished with the number one offense and the number one defense. They will spend the entire offseason figuring out how to improve their special teams and beat the Vikings in Los Angeles. The Broncos gave up the most points in the league. The new vice president, John Elway, won’t mention that to Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh when he speaks with him this week.
Indianapolis over Tennessee. The Colts don’t believe in destroying teams. They live by the standard NFL line, a win is a win. The Titans’ season will be remembered for collapsing Vince Young and punching Cortland Finnegan in the face over and over again.
Houston beating Jacksonville. The Texans won their last game, but now they will name former Cowboys coach Wade Phillips as defensive coordinator. Talk about the blind leading the blind. The Jaguars were in a position to make the playoffs, which will be their selling point for the two season ticket holders.
http://MrCleo3586.info