Home Team Rules!

A fantastic round of Wildcard playoff action is behind us and what an exciting weekend it was. Beginning with the Houston Texans getting their very first franchise playoff win and culminating with an exciting 80 yard bomb in Overtime as the Broncos shocked the world. The fans were rocking and not one home team disappointed, they won in Houston, New Orleans, New York and Denver, tough time to be a visitor. Let’s take a look at each game as the NFL steps one week closer to finding out who’s the best! Read more

Cardinals vs Saints – A look at the Divisional Playoff battle!!

The NFC Divisional Round game between the Saints and the Cardinals could be viewed in many different ways. Some may say “it’s gonna be an offensive explosion” while others may feel “these two teams are headed in different directions.” While it’s true, both teams have great offenses and the Saints have looked very ordinary over the last 3 weeks of the season while the Cardinals are once again clicking when it matters, at the end of the season!

Let’s look at some interesting facts about these two teams as they get ready to do battle to move on the the NFC Championship game. The Kurt Warner led Cardinals are 6-1 on the road this year, 6-2 without him. The Cardinals also should be looking to shore up a defense that was torched against the Packers in the WildCard round. The Cards Defense is more improved than a year ago, giving up only 20.3 ppg as opposed to the 26.6 from last season.

The Saints defense finished ranked 25th overall and 20th in scoring. They were however able to score themselves quite a bit with 8 TD’s, Darren Sharper led that charge with 3. The Saints Offense finished ranked 1st in the NFL and this is an interesting tid bit of information – the Saints have re-signed Deuce McCallister and he will be leading the team out of the tunnel! That could be an emotional boost for the Saints and will definitely fire up the home crowd into a wave of emotion.

Here are some things that we see troublesome. Can you turn it back up once you’ve shut it down? The Saints, back when they faced the Patriots on Monday Night Football, looked like the best team in the league. They were clicking and they were unstoppable. Since then however they have shut it down a bit. Rested some players and set the cruise control button. Can they get it jumpstarted enough to face a team that did the same thing last year that they are trying to do this year – get hot at the right time and ride that momentum all the way to Super Bowl XLIV.

In the end this game will come down to defense and who can stop who enough. Both teams are going to get their points but the question will be who can get the key turnover, who can get the key 3rd down stop and who will play with the least amount of mistakes. We know the Cardinals are ready but are the Saints? We will soon find out!

Colts vs Ravens – A look at the Divisional Round Playoff battle

By Contributing Author
Michelle Jarvis

The Indianapolis Colts are no stranger to the pursuit of perfection. Closing out the 2009 regular season with a 14-2 record was the second time in recent franchise history it had been done, most recently in 2005. Their AFC South crown was their 6th in 7 years. The Peyton Manning lead Colts haven’t had a losing season since 2001, when they finished 6-10. Since then the team holds an impressive 73-29 regular season record. Following their recent impressive season, Manning found himself celebrating his 4th MVP award. Aside from Manning, Indy’s prized team’s roster is sprinkled with Pro Bowlers. Reggie Wayne (WR) and Dallas Clark (TE) continue to be frequently mentioned as one of the best at their positions offensively. Opposing offenses spend a good amount of time studying film and preparing for Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis (both DE). Freeney is coming off a statically impressive year; recording 13.5 sacks. Read more