Thoughts and Musings: 2009 Wild Card Edition

BREAKING NEWS: We know nothing about football.

Everybody goes 2-2 except Dave, whose reluctance to tempt Marshall’s wrath cost him dearly at 1-3. Clearly, this bodes well for the coin.

Marsh: Well, probably not the week I had in mind. The Dark-Lord Jones will soldier on. Here’s hoping that Minny knocks the piss outta the Cowboys next week.

• NYJ @ CIN – A terribly uninteresting game. So bad that I stopped watching football and played Call of Duty with Kyle. Then he had to go to work and I was sad again. On another note, Mark Sanchez is an asshole. And in my mind, he will always be an asshole. A spoiled, untalented, poise-filled asshole. Don’t get me wrong, he played a passable game, but it is painfully obvious that the Jets staff is scheming around hiding his deficiencies (poor decision-making, lazy footwork, the tendency to force throws,etc). So to Mark I say: the Jets made the playoffs despite you being their quarterback, not because of it. It might be in your best interest to humble yourself up and make a name for yourself rather than throw your old coach under the bus.
• PHI @ DAL – So for the first time in my life, I’m on the side of craziness. The same side that Philly sport broadcasters, bar flies, and snowball-fighters are on. I think it’s time to trade McNabb. It’s not a trade that is born of frustration or anger, but one of sadness. It’ll be good in two ways. First, it’ll allow McNabb to get a boatlaod of money on an open market, and second, he has to be at least worth a first round pick to whoever wants him. Kevin Kolb should be the starter next year, and if we find out he sucks, it’ll be nice to have that pick in the pocket to draft a replacement.
• BAL @ NE/GB @ ARI: I didn’t get a chance to see these games, as I was up in Yosemite with Elan. It was a nice trip, and when I got back I saw highlights. I usually do comment on highlights I see of the game in the regular season, but I feel that the playoffs should devote a little more of my attention to analysis. Since I didn’t watch the games, I don’t really feel I can analyze them.

Dave: The good news: the Arizona Cardinals found a way to outscore the despised Green Bay Packers. The bad news: the despised Dallas Cowboys crushed Philadelphia again. More on that below.

• NYJ @ CIN: At last, the Bengals have revealed their true form. All season, they were an overachieving squad that subsisted on close victories. Unfortunately, the result of this game is that, by virtue of beating an overrated team, the New York Jets are now overrated themselves. People everywhere seem to be captivated by the momentum the Jets have built for themselves. As always, perspective is needed. The Jets’ victory over the Colts was a product of the Colts not trying. The Jets’ victory over the Bengals in week 17 was a product of the Bengals not trying. And now, the Jets’ playoff victory over the Bengals is a product of the Bengals being an average (at best) team. Sure, Mark Sanchez had a good 15 pass attempts, and Carson Palmer was terrible again, but I highly doubt the Jets will be able to keep any of this up when they go face real playoff teams like San Diego.
• PHI @ DAL: Before I get to the Cowboys being hyped up unlike any playoff team in recent memory, some actual analysis of this game. Typically, when the Eagles lose badly, or lose to an inferior team, their loss follows a certain pattern: on offense, they throw a large number of deep passes that fall incomplete, and on defense, they have their moments but breakdowns in coverage do them in. This game was no exception, as Donovan McNabb’s attempts to go deep to DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, et al, mostly ended in failure. On the other side, Tony Romo was able to connect with Miles Austin, Jason Witten, and (dare I say it?) Roy Williams. Now, of course, thanks to a few impressive victories at the end of the season, the sports media is absolutely fawning over this Dallas team. Just about everybody thinks they’ll beat Minnesota, and quite a few have them going all the way. Oh, and when I say fawning, I mean that sportswriters and pundits everywhere have a mancrush on the Dallas Cowboys. It’s disgusting. What happened to objective analysis? Oh wait, the sports media has never had that.
• BAL @ NE: I don’t have a whole lot to say about this game other than shock at how terrible Tom Brady played. You know Brady’s having a bad game when his numbers are reminiscent of JaMarcus. Still, this game showed just how dangerous Baltimore is. They crushed the Patriots without any passing game at all. Clearly this means that John Harbaugh is a super-genius, since he beat Mr. Genius himself, Bill Belichick.
• GB @ ARI: Some people are calling this game super exciting, but usually when a game is so high-scoring, I cringe a little bit because it always means that somebody’s playing terrible defense. This game was no exception, as the second half in particular was marred by open receivers everywhere. To me, an exciting game is one that features back and forth playing by both the offenses and defenses. To make matters worse, the referees were particularly bad in this one, and on the last play of the game, Aaron Rodgers was facemasked and a penalty should have been called whether anybody likes it or not. A penalty is a penalty every time. Now, if that’s the kind of thing that would be enforced on the kickoff, then Arizona wins anyway, but at least throw the flag.

KYLE: My apologies for not posting lately.  Part of this was due to the fact that I was three thousand miles away staying with my Aunt who does not have the slightest sense of technological know how and therefor does not have internet.  For the rest of that week I hat spotty computer access at best.  I aim to get back on track for the rest of the playoffs though.  Also, I am pleased to see that the Anti-Dave has triumphed for now.