Wild Card Playoff Roundup

Well, a relatively ho-hum opening round of the NFL playoffs this past weekend. A bit of drama on Saturday in the form of fourth quarter comebacks and a relatively boring Sunday with one team playing shockingly well (New York Giants) and another sleepwalking their way to a win (San Diego). Here are some of my observations game by game of Wild Card weekend:

Washington @ Seattle (Final: 35-14 Seattle)

• I truly believe Mike Holmgren has made the Seahawks vastly better than they should be year in and year out. Think about it, two seasons ago they were a balanced offense built around star runningback Shaun Alexander (who scored a then NFL record 28 touchdowns in 2005). Now, Alexander is a shell of his former self (an expensive one at that) and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck with his group of patchwork wide receivers has to carry the offense. Sure, the NFC West is awful, but I don't think Seattle wins it every year with an average coach.
• Joe Gibbs deserves a lot of credit for getting this team to the playoffs and infusing life into journeyman backup Todd Collins and going to him over veteran Mark Brunell when incumbent Jason Campbell went down.
• Seattle has a much better defense than they're given credit for. They have a scary pass rush when they are on. They are going to need another great effort if they want to walk out of Lambeau with a win next week.

Jacksonville at Pittsburgh (Final: 31-29 Jacksonville)

• When is the last time you've seen Pittsburgh's defense fail to get a clutch stop in a playoff game? After a valiant comeback led by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger put the Steelers up 29-28. Jacksonville faced 4th and 2 at Pittsburgh's 43 yard line. In true Steeler fashion, they blitzed. The difference, the Jaguars offensive line picked up the rush perfectly, leaving a lane open for quarterback David Garrard to scramble 32 yards to the Steelers 11. Jacksonville kicked a field goal and forced a Roethlisberger fumble to seal the deal.
• The injuries to Willie Parker and Anthony Smith (among others) caught up to the Steelers down the stretch, yet they still almost pulled out a win despite trailing by 18 in the 4th quarter.
• Jaguars runningbacks Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew (combined 24 carries for 77 yards, 3.2 yards per attempt) disappeared down the stretch. That won't cut it against New England.
• Garrard (season: 64% completion, 16 TDs, 3 INTs) struggled badly until that late scramble. Ending 9/21 for 140 yards, 1 TD, and 2 INTs. That won't cut it against New England.
• Leading 28-10, Jacksonville allowed 19 straight points before rallying in the final minutes. That won't cut it against New England.

New York at Tampa Bay (Final: 24-14 New York)

• In a game that featured one team that led the NFL in turnover margin (Tampa Bay) playing host to a team with a quarterback who led the league in interceptions (New York-Eli Manning), Tampa turned the ball over 3 times versus none out of the Giants.
• New York limited Buccaneers speed wideout Joey Galloway (17.8 yards/reception) to one catch for nine yards.
• Jon Gruden may be the most overrated coach in the National Football League. He won a Super Bowl his first year with the team Tony Dungy built back in 2002, and has not won a playoff game since.
• Giants get a third crack at a Dallas team they hung around with twice this season.

Tennessee at San Diego (Final 17-6 San Diego)

• Philip Rivers (19/30, 292 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) played like the quarterback I thought I drafted for my fantasy team in the 2nd half. The two starting wideouts Chris Chambers and Vincent Jackson (combined 11 catches, 237 yards, 1 TD) finally made some plays on the perimeter. Good news because Pro Bowl tight end Antonio Gates left with an injury and may not play the rest of the playoffs. He'll have to bring that to the RCA Dome if they have any hope of defeating Indianapolis (who they should have lost to at home despite Peyton Manning throwing six interceptions).
  
• LaDainian Tomlinson (42 yards on 21 carries) looked frustrated against a Titans defense that sold out to stop the run. That's not going to cut it against Indianapolis.
  
• Much maligned (especially by me) Chargers coach Norv Turner made a brilliant decision to go for the jugular, going for it on 4th and goal from the 1 yard line in a 10-6 game. Titans didn't have a chance from there.
• There is little to no skill position talent on the Titans roster. Until they can find one game breaker to complement Vince Young, they will never win a playoff game. Regardless of how great a coach Jeff Fisher is.

For the week, I went 3-1 in my picks. I'll go against my buddy Keck once again later this week in Twaro's Take.