Covenant of the Gridiron 1.07.08: Wildcard Weekend Breakdown

Posted by Derek Robbins on 01.07.2008

The NFL playoffs finally get under way! Were the Washington Redskins able to continue riding their emotional high to victory over Seattle? Did San Diego win their first playoff game since 1994? Were the Bucs or the Steelers able to hold homefield advantage? 411's Derek Robbins answers all this in more in this week's Covenant of the Gridiron!

Hello and Welcome to Covenant of the Gridiron! This week I'll be breaking down the wild card weekend, but before I get to that, I have a couple of things I'd like to hit on. As always, it would seem.

-I beat the Event Battles in Super Smash Brothers Melee for the final time ever this past week. I've beat them time and time again, but I figured I should do it one final time due to the fact that I'll probably never play melee again after Brawl's release in February.

-I'm pretty pissed that the St. Louis Cardinals signed Matt Clement. He may not have been the best pitcher in the world, but I liked him. Now I have to cheer against him because he's down in meth land with that jackass of a "genius" Tony LaRussa? Man…being a Cubs fan can be tragic at times.

That's that! Let's get started on the actual breakdown, shall we?

By the by, I was 4-0 in my predictions this week! HAHAHA. Perfect Playoff here I come!

NFL Wild Card Weekend

Washington Redskins 14 at Seattle Seahawks 35

Going into this game, I felt that the national media wasn't really giving Seattle much of a chance. Why? I have no idea. They haven't been the flashiest team all year, but they are very defensively oriented. I think the reason their defense doesn't get the credit it deserves is because Seattle's Quarterback and Running Back are such big stars…that their defense is naturally over-shadowed. I felt that Offensively and Defensively Seattle had this game in the bag, and I looked like I was right until the fourth quarter when Washington took a lead after some costly Seattle mistakes. No matter, Seattle stormed right back and two of their three third quarter touchdowns were off of Washington's mistakes. Todd Collins (29/50 266 yards 2 TD 2 INT) threw two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns and it really drained any momentum that Washington had. Sure…Washington was playing with fire coming into this game and had a pretty decent shot at winning, but I also felt that Seattle felt disrespected coming into this one, and I think Seattle's angst over-came Washington's fire. Hey, I'm not going to take away from Washington's season…they had a LOT of adversity in making the playoffs, but…I never felt they were very good. If Washington wants to actually make some noise in the postseason they need to make some changes, particularly at the head coach position as I just feel that Joe Gibbs is…well, he's getting a little old. This game had some flashes of being entertaining, but was mostly a dud throughout. It'll be interesting to see if Seattle can "over-come the odds" and defeat Green Bay next week. Will they be able to "Take the ball and score?" Who knows. Valiant effort by Washington, but this just wasn't enough boys. Congratulations to the Seahawks for a much-deserved victory.

What can be drawn from this? The Washington Redskins probably need to…start changing some things if they wish to be true contenders in the post-season. The Seattle Seahawks managed to get a win here, but it'll be interesting to see if their defense can hand them another in Green Bay. It certainly won't be easy.

Jacksonville Jaguars 31 at Pittsburgh Steelers 29

The Jacksonville Jaguars are a team that I don't really think gets much respect. They are always in their games, no matter the outcome, and have been one of the best teams in the league this year. Honestly, an argument could be made that Jacksonville was the third best team in football, and yet…still no love. Only 55% of Sportsnation (That's ESPN users) predicted a Jacksonville win. Considering that the Steelers limped into the playoffs and the closest thing they had to a ‘big' win down the stretch was against a woeful Rams team, one would think that the odds would be more in Jacksonville's corner…but that wasn't the case. I was looking QUITE vindicated in thinking that Jacksonville would roll over Pittsburgh as at the end of the third quarter Jacksonville was winning 28-10 and they were looking to cruise to a victory. Then, something amazing happened…Pittsburgh scored 19 points in the 4th quarter and managed to pull AHEAD of Jacksonville. This was mostly due to Jacksonville's mistakes and an un-characteristically sloppy David Garrard (Three interceptions on the season, Two on the day.). Luckily for Jacksonville they were able to put a drive together at the end of the game – which was highlighted by an impressive 32 yard run by Garrard – and squeak ahead. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. This year was a breakout year for David Garrard and I think from now on he'll be looked at as one of the better QBs in the league. He wasn't so impressive in this game, but when he needed to make plays he MADE them. Jacksonville should have won this game and it's a good thing that they did, because…blowing a lead like that in the fourth quarter in a playoff game is about un-excusable. I have to give Pittsburgh credit though. In those situations, a lot of teams would have simply played dead and just let the winning team simply win. Pittsburgh fought til' the end and saved this from being a dud of a game. I may have felt Pittsburgh was an over-achieving team this season, but…it's hard to come out of this loss angry. Pittsburgh played well and I think they're in a good position to improve for next year. I also need to give some credit to Ben Roethlisberger as he had a costly fumble at the end of the game and STILL stuck around to congratulate David Garrard for winning. I mean, Garrard was being interviewed and Ben was just hanging there. That's classy. Good win for Jacksonville, and something to build on next year for Pittsburgh. Can Jacksonville beat New England? Ahhhhh…we'll see.

What can be drawn from this? The Jaguars, in my opinion, are the only team that can take down New England in the post-season. I don't think they'll be able to do it, but it'll be good to see them try. The Pittsburgh Steelers put on a good show in defeat and it's hard to come away angry from this one. Then again, I may just be so used to my team's failure (Cubs fan!) that drawing positive feelings out of defeat is easy, but I still feel Pittsburgh fan should be proud of the way his team fought in this game.

New York Giants 24 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14

The New York Giants barely lost to the Patriots last week and I felt that the loss would motivate them to BIG things in the playoffs. It didn't seem like a lot of people felt that way, as I believe the general consensus was that Tampa Bay was going to win…but the main thing with Tampa Bay coming into this game was that Tampa had not really used their starters down the stretch. This kind of "lax" strategy appeared to pay off as in the first quarter Tampa absolutely beat the snot out of the Giants. I had actually regretted choosing New York to come out on top as…well…it was ugly. The Giants weren't even able to get a first down! But after that first quarter, something changed…the Giants came to life and in the remaining quarters New York outscored Tampa 24-7. I have to be honest about this game, neither team was able to run particularly well and both defenses are pretty good…so I felt this game would come down to the play of the two quarterbacks. The veteran Garcia versus the...well, often harshly judged Eli Manning. I am a huge Garcia fan, but the man simply didn't look sharp today. Like Garrard from Jacksonville, he had very few interceptions in the regular season (4)…but managed to have two today. Eli on the other hand looked really well. Even though he had fewer than 200 passing yards, he was very efficient in completing 74% of his passes and not turning the ball over once. A lot of people tend to hem and haw over Eli's play, but it's hard to deny that he brought his A-game today and was an asset to their play. Sometimes the Giants win in SPITE of Eli, but today they won thanks to him. The Buccaneers were a good team this year, I just think their play down the stretch didn't get them ready for post season play and it cost them here. Maybe next year, guys.

What can be drawn from this? The Giants looked impressive in victory today. It will be interesting to see if they can go into their third match-up of the season against Dallas looking this good. It's VERY hard to beat a good team three times in one season, so I'm curious if Dallas can do it. The Buccaneers aren't a bad team, but I think next year they won't play the stretch run so…lax.

Tennessee Titans 6 at San Diego 17

I have to be brutally honest with you. Going into the playoffs, I felt that the Tennessee Titans were a lot like the '00 Baltimore Ravens. No, I didn't think they were going all the way…I just felt that they were a horrible offensive team with a good defense. The difference between the '00 Ravens and the '07 Titans is that the '00 Ravens could SCORE with their defense and the '00 Ravens had a guy in Trent Dilfer that could manage a big game. Look, if you take away Tennessee's running game…Vince can't win the game. Then again, the Titans just can't score *period*, so the only chance they had of winning this game was if it was a low-scoring affair and after the first half I was thinking: "Wow, this COULD be Tennessee's game!" It was only 6-0 sure, but everything seemed to be running in the Titan's favor. San Diego looked average offensively and even though they looked good defensively…the first half gave you the impression that San Diego may not be able to score the entire game. Of course, that's what half-time planning is for as San Diego came out the second half and dominated the game. The Titans couldn't do anything offensively (Surprise!)…so it was up to their defense to prevent San Diego from scoring…and honestly, no matter how good your defense is, it's hard to keep a team like San Diego down. To nobody's surprise, San Diego managed to score 17 un-answered points in the second half to put away Tennessee once and for all. First of all, I need to give props to Jeff Fischer. He's one of the best coaches in the league and I felt he pushed this average team to playoff aspirations. You can call me a Tennessee hater if you wish, but looking at this team…I just didn't see the playoffs. Fischer really pushed them over the edge and gave them a chance to compete. All things said, I think Cleveland would have given San Diego a run for their money…(as their defense actually has played quite well as of later) but now we'll never know. It doesn't matter, San Diego is going to the next round and if they play at their best they can beat most any team out there. Tennessee is going home. They've been improving year to year, so perhaps next year they can pose a threat. Before that happens they need to find a way to consistently score on offense. Trust me…if you plan on having an offense this putrid, you at least need a defense that scores. I think it's harder to get a scoring defense than a scoring offense, so they should shoot for the offense first and hope the defense remains as strong as it is. Then next year, well…it'll be different.

What can be drawn from this? The San Diego Chargers advance to next round where they look to upset the Colts. Honestly, I think they can do it. If they play as well as they have been playing the past few weeks they could possibly beat anyone. As for the Titans? They're on the cusp, they just need to change a few things around. They have the right head coach for the job, they just need to mix a couple of things up.

- I wonder if they'll be feeling like this after next week against Indy? Hm.

Ranking the Playoff Teams

Since there aren't any bad teams left, I'm simply going to rank the remaining playoff teams. Those who have been eliminated will not be ranked. So, sorry Tennessee, Tampa Bay, Washington, and Pittsburgh fans. As always, one is the best and eighth is the worst. Also, the parentheses outside of their win/loss record is where they were ranked last week

1-)New England Patriots (16-0)(1) – It must feel good being number one. I am wondering if we'll be seeing early season "Kick everyone's asses" New England or later season "Keep it close" New England in the post-season. If history has taught us anything, New England always plays close games in the post-season so I wouldn't be terribly surprised if they continued their trend of "barely" winning games.

2-) Dallas Cowboys (13-3)(2) – Boy, Dallas…this'll be their first playoff game since Romo botched that snap a year ago. I'm quite curious how this one will play out as New York appears to be playing their best ball of the season at the RIGHT time. Honestly, the Dallas/New York matchup is the game that I am looking forward to the most next week. Still though, if each team plays to their potential…Dallas should win. They've been "the man" all season in the NFC. And as they say, to BE THE MAN…you have to BEAT THE MAN.

3-) Indianapolis Colts (13-3)(3) – They lost a game in which they didn't even put their best foot forward, it's really hard for me to punish them for that. They come into the postseason as the defending champions and if San Diego were to upset them on their way to the AFC Championship game it would instill a lot of faith into that team. Ah, but beating defending champions will do that.

4-) Green Bay Packers (13-3)(4) – It's really hard to bet against Bret Favre when it comes postseason time. He's a living legend and the Packers playoff chances ride on his ability to lead them to victory. Their defense is good, but I feel like if Favre is Bret Freakin' Favre…the Packers can really go as far in as they want.

5-) Jacksonville Jaguars (12-5)(5) – Ahhh, perhaps this team will finally get some respect now that it has gone on the road and defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers? Next week they face a HARD opponent in the New England Patriots…but if they can come through and win, they'd probably be the favorite to make a Super Bowl run. I think David Garrard is pretty capable and this season certainly has boosted his confidence.

6-) San Diego Chargers (12-5)(6) – The Chargers started the season, and everyone was questioning Norv Turner. Now that Norv Turner has won the Chargers first playoff game since 1994…will he be questioned as much? Probably show, but Norv deserves some credit for turning San Diego's season around after an atrocious start.

7-) New York Giants (11-6)(7) – Aha! Told you that they'd be amped to play against Tampa Bay and they hardly disappointed me. Now they're going against a Dallas team they've lost to twice in a row, but with a WHOLE lot more confidence. Though a victory from them would be nothing short of surprising, I'm very impressed with the way New York has played the past couple of weeks. Tom Coughlin made the RIGHT move by playing everyone two weeks ago against New England and that really showed this week.

8-) Seattle Seahawks (11-6)(10) – Seattle certainly had every right to feel disrespected going into this postseason. Almost everyone had the Seahawks going down to an average at best (but hot) Washington team. I think this inspired Seattle to play better, and we'll have to see if that fire carries over to their game with Green Bay. For some reason, the disrespect card can really fuel NFLers.

- They may be my lowest ranked team left, but I wouldn't be surprised if they could pull something off against Green Bay. Their defense is tenacious and if the weather is bad...anything could happen.

Wildcard Weekend Awards

Team that proved the most this weekend New York Giants. This one seems pretty obvious to me. The Giants had momentum (By losing, that shows you how good New England was) going into the playoffs and had been a relatively good team all season. Yet, they were still written off against a Tampa Bay team who had done nothing over the past few weeks. By beating Tampa Bay in relatively convincing fashion, I think New York has shown those nay-Sayers out there that they AREN'T a bad team. I honestly root for Eli Manning because so many people cheer against him for whatever reason.

Worst Performance by a team Tennessee Titans: A controversial choice I am sure, as they lead for most of the first half…but the problem is, no team REALLY played that badly this week, so I had to choose one and Tennessee simply fit the bill. Their offense couldn't do anything all day, and their defense, while good…couldn't create the points necessary to beat San Diego. I felt San Diego didn't play the best game today and STILL Tennessee couldn't do anything about it.

Best Play of the week David Garrard's run on 4th and 2 for 32 yards. This was an absolutely clutch play that determined the game. If Garrard DIDN'T make that first down, the game was over. It was great to see him go that much farther and guarantee the win for Jacksonville. It would have been one of the more embarrassing losses for Jacksonville as a franchise, so it's a darn good thing that Garrard was able to pull this one out. Big props to the O-line for some fantastic blocking

MVP of Week 1 Eli Manning - Say what you will about Eli Manning, but in his game against the Bucs…it really came down to which quarterback brought their A-game and Manning BROUGHT his. He was really efficient and aided in a very good showing by the Giants. With a win over Tampa and a not-so-bad performance against New England under his belt…I think Eli goes into the game against Dallas with a bit of confidence.

- Love him or hate him, Eli and the Giants were darn impressive this week.

Wrap Up and Picks for Divisional Championships

Here is a comment from Jim

I think it'd be cool if the Giants rematched the Pats in the big game. After one of the best games of the regular season on Saturday, a rematch on the biggest sports stage in the world would be something to see. As a Ravens fan, I have nothing left to cheer for (except, of course, for the early exit of the Steelers. GO JAGS!) so I think I'll root for this, even though it probably won't happen. I wouldn't mind seeing Farve in the big game for perhaps the last time either. I just hope it's not the Pats and the Boys, that'd be way too predictable and boring.

To be honest, it'd be a good game. The Giants would be playing full of confidence if they made it that far, and I think they'd actually believe that they COULD un-seat New England. I believe that'd help them mentally in the game. I bet you're happy that the Steelers are gone, even though it was a bit close there…As for the big game? I do think it'll probably be Dallas and New England, but maybe we'll get lucky and there'll be an upset of some sort along the way? I honestly really want New England to go the distance because I am tired of those '72 Dolphins.

Here's one more from Josh


Well, I think we can safely say, Tennesee will NOT beat the Chargers, and Although PIT/JAC is a crapshoot. I say the following PIT > JAC SD > TEN SEA > WAS NYG > TB Jacksonville however has beaten the Steelers before, so like I said a Crapshoot. Everything else is pretty Straight Forward, although WAS does seem to have that "Garcia" Factor. But I always enjoy your columns, and will be happy to read them come Playoff Time =)

You did a good job this week, man. 3-1! That's better than a lot of people. Thanks for the compliment. As for Jeff Garcia exiting early? Haha…I love the man to death, but I am happy that the Giants are advancing. Nobody has more shit talked about them than the Giants and I think they really deserved this win.

Here are my picks for next week!

New England Patriots over Jacksonville Jaguars – This game will be a close one. Jacksonville really hasn't had a game this year where they've looked terrible and I think this will continue here. Since their defenses are about par and New England's offense is much better…I've gotta go with New England here. Plus, the week of rest probably did the Patriots a bit of good as they COULD be returning to early season form. Of course, I wouldn't hold my breath on that.

San Diego Chargers over Indianapolis Colts – Is this one a controversial choice? You bet'cha. I think the Chargers have been playing so well down the stretch that their momentum could carry them through this game. I think if San Diego brings their best, it's better than Indy's best…and I think we've been seeing a very good San Diego lately. The Colts are a great team and are the favorites for a reason, but I think that San Diego's defensive power will carry them through this one. I'm just not sold on the fact that the hobbled Harrison is 100%. I feel it is also a good time to mention that history isn't too fond of every one and two seed making it to the conference finals.

Green Bay Packers over Seattle Seahawks – God love the Seattle Seahawks. They got no respect going into their game and they'll probably get even less going into this one. If the weather is particularly bad, the Seahawks can win as Green Bay is overly reliant on the pass…but I have a problem betting against Favre in a home game in the post-season. Also, I don't know the forecast. I'll tell ya' what, if you're BETTING money on this game, find out what the weather is going to be like on game day. If it's good? Go Green Bay. If it's bad? Go Seattle. Just listen here, don't be surprised if the Seahawks emerge from this one victorious.

Still though, since I don't know the weather: Packers!

Dallas Cowboys over New York Giants – Man, after all the love I've given New York this week, I absolutely hate going against them. But I must. The Giants have been beaten twice this year by this Cowboys team…and there's no reason to expect this meeting will be any different. The Cowboys are good offensively and defensively and if they are at their best they WILL beat New York. I still expect the Giants to give it one hell of a shot…I just think they'll fall short. I'll tell ya' this though…I'm rooting for New York to win. I like teams shoving it in peoples' faces.

- Could Scoebe kick a game winner again next week against New England? With the Patriots' habit of playing in close games lately, never say never.

And that, as they say…is that. I will be back next week for the divisional playoffs!

Til' the Crossroads