PREGAME
Congratulations in advance to the Eggles, since I picked the Giants to win. I'll try not to dwell on my horrid Marty Schottenheimeresque postseason record any longer, but I can't make any promises.
Word from Brian Burwell is that Giants DC Steve Spagnuolo is still very much in the Rams' head coaching mix and that Billy Devaney's previous contacts with him are enough to push him into the second interview round. All fine and well, but I don't see the Rams waiting another 3 weeks to hire him, either. What a barrel to put a guy over... LOSE today or sacrifice another year in quest of your career goal.
FIRST QUARTER
It's not raining in New Jersey, but it's windy enough to blow the ball off the tee. And apparently that wind is at Ahmad Bradshaw's back, as he opens the game with a 65-yard kick return where the only Eggle who got close to him was David Akers, who forced him out to save a TD. Inexcusable, Bradshaw.
First offensive play, Steve Smith is open by five yards, already open more times than Steve Smith was last night (figure it out yourself), but the wind, which in fact is in the Giants' face, knocks the pass down short of him and he can't come up with it.
Brandon Jacobs up the middle for 7, after which Derrick Ward's dive after catching a swing pass comes up a yard short. Questionable spot, but the Giants go for it on 4th - the wind is too stiff to kick into - and Jacobs gets it over the left side.
Eli Manning throws a total wounded duck to somebody named Darcy Johnson at the 12. No, seriously, who the hell is that? That's a first down.
Jacobs up the middle for a couple, then the Eggles stuff him on 2nd down. 3rd and 8 from the 10.
Stewart Bradley takes Ward down in the left flat at the 4 to force 4th down. Nice tackle. Stewart's emerging as one of the league's up-and-comers.
John Carney's 22-yard FG gives the Giants the initial lead, 3-0.
Kickoff into the wind is very short. Quintin Demps breaks a tackle and gets out to the 33.
Yeah, let's cut right to another commercial break, shall we?
Giants blitz on 1st down; Donovan McNabb rolls away from it to his right and hits DeSean Jackson for 10 on the sideline. Another questionable spot.
Brian Westbrook gets buried trying to sweep left, losing 3.
Giants blitz heavy again and swallow up a dink pass to Correll Buckhalter for another minus 3.
Looked like yet another blitz and McNabb overthrows Kevin Curtis to force a punt.
Referee Mike Carey flags Philly for a false start on the punt.
Not a great start at all for the visitors, as Giants fans start an "Eagles suck!" chant.
Nice return by Domenic Hixon comes back on a couple of penalties. The Giants will be backed up by a piss-poor unnecessary "roughness" call on Kenny Phillips, who dared to give an Eggle a tiny shove out of bounds while blocking him. If that was roughness, I should get 15 yards every time I shave.
A GIANT DISASTER in the making. Eli Manning play-actions, rolls left and overthrows Hixon BADLY. Assante Samuel picks it off and returns it to the 2 yard line. A terrible throw, but Giant OC Kevin Gilbride better do a lot better job accounting for the wind. You've got freaking Brandon Jacobs, use him!
Westbrook's tough postseason on the ground continues as the Giants stuff a sweep left for -1.
McNabb has to throw the 2nd down pass away but the Giants get flagged for holding.
First and goal inside the 2, Westbrook gets maybe one on a leap.
McNabb daringly lunges the ball across the goal line to give the Eggles a 7-3 lead. Not a great postseason so far for the Manning family.
From halfway deep in his endzone, Bradshaw brings the kickoff out to the 20.
Quintin Mikell meets Ward in the backfield and stuffs him for no gain.
Ward again, up the middle for a couple.
Good pocket for Manning on 3rd down, and he hits Smith for 12 and the first down. Nice pass this time.
Ward gets nothing trying to sweep right from his 34. Troy Boy points out the great, awesome, most incredible fullback ever, Madison Hedgecock, getting beaten on the play.
Broderick Bunkley stuffs a run for 1, and it's 3rd and long again.
Manning gets a lot of time on 3rd down but is hit as he throws and he air mails one out of bounds. MVP of this game so far is the wind.
Giants corral Jackson at the 20 for no return on the punt. And Philly still committed an illegal block! Send them back to the 10.
Michael Johnson drops Westbrook for -1 to start the next possession. Maybe Westbrook should just try running in the wrong direction.
Eggle false start moves them back to the 5.
Buckhalter gets 4 on a draw. 3rd and 10.
McNabb nearly gets stripped in the pocket and fires it away deep and out of bounds. Spagnuolo seems to be blitzing on every play.
Hixon brings the punt back across midfield and gets DRILLED by Sean Considine at the 46. ANOTHER illegal block in the back means Hixon took the big hit for nothing. Giants are backed to their 36.
Jacobs rumbles for 12 off Chris Snee's good block on Bradley as the quarter ends.
SECOND QUARTER
Eli gets the wind at his back now near midfield, with the Giants trailing 7-3.
Jacobs cuts back for a couple to start the quarter.
Sweep left doesn't get much of anywhere. 3rd-and-7. Eggles are really getting the Giants into predictable passing situations.
I wrote that down before Joe Buck said it.
Manning rolls left and throws deep just beyond Smith's reach. Punt on the way by supposed Pro Bowler Jeff Feagles. Not a bad punt, though, Terrell Thomas dives and bats it back across the goal line and it's recovered at the 5. Not where Philly wants to be with the wind in their faces.
Westbrook up the middle for 1. The ball comes loose but he was down.
Under extreme pressure, McNabb clearly intentionally grounds the ball from his own end zone for a safety for New York. Eggles 7, Giants 5. Justin Tuck smoked Jon Runyan to get the pressure.
And let's give Feagles and Thomas credit for pinning the Eggles deep and setting that safety up. What a stupid decision to throw from that part of the field, btw, Marty Mornhinweg.
And now Philly has to free kick into the wind, but Sav Rocca gets 50 yards on it and Bradshaw only returns it to about the 32.
Ward gets about 4 off the right side.
Manning drops back under no pressure and hits Kevin Boss for 5.9999 yards, good enough for a 1st.
Ward gets through the first wave of a blitz on a sweep right and gets 3.
Manning under no pressure again, but is nearly picked off again as Mikell steps in front of Boss. Wouldn't have counted anyway; illegal use of hands on Bradley. Nearly tore the helmet off a lineman's head.
From the Eggle 49, Manning wobbles a corner route to Boss for 21.
Jacobs can't get the right corner on 1st down, slowed down by Juqua Parker and finished off by Mikell. 2nd-and-11 as Manning calls NY's first timeout.
All of Manning's passes are wobbling like a warped 78-rpm record today. Giants pick up a blitz here but he overthrows Hixon near the goal line.
Another one of those plays where the snap comes AFTER the play clock runs out, but the Eggles bat down a lame screen pass to force 4th down.
Where Carney misses a 46-yard attempt wide right. Eggles take over in nice field position at the 36, then.
Tuck and I think Kevin Dockery stuff Buckhalter for no gain. Have the Giants NOT blitzed on a play today? McNabb hits Brett Celek for 5. 3rd down.
Eggles get a timeout from the bench just as the play clock runs out. What's with all the play-clock racing in these playoffs? Aren't these the best teams? Shouldn't they be able to get plays off in time?
They get this one off, a short pass to L.J. Smith for 5. First down at the 46.
That puts the Eggles across 20 total yards for the half. And they're winning!
Westbrook around right end for 2. If he can do that again, he'll finally have positive yardage for the day.
He does, and more, going off right guard for 7. I think that's 8 rushes for 6 yards now for Westbrook.
3rd-and-1. You know the Eggles are passing. No, shockingly, they run, Buckhalter dives up the middle for 2. First down in Giant territory with 5:00 till halftime.
McNabb falls but gets the handoff to Westbrook for 2.
McNabb gets forever to throw on 2nd down but fires it way too hard for Jackson to catch at the 32. Third down from the Giant 41.
Blitz gets to McNabb and he stupidly yaks up a lob that Dockery picks off for the Giants. Jackson never had a chance.
Giants from the 20. Jacobs motors off right tackle and rips away for 24. Good block by Hedgecock; better block by Shaun O'Hara.
5 more for Jacobs right after that.
Manning audibles to play-action, gets FOREVER to throw and hits Boss for 25. Boss got wide open because Stewart Bradley fell.
Rough first half for Bradley, who gets thumped by Jacobs on a 4-yard cutback run as the 2:00 warning arrives.
This is getting ridiculous how poorly officials are monitoring the clock. The last play didn't count because they ruled the clock reached 2:00 before the snap, when it didn't! How hard can it be to judge these clocks? Are they running around the stadium? Are they camouflaged? Do they display in Wingdings font and are hard to read?
At the 26, Philly's offside anyway; 1st-and-5 at the 21. Followed by an incomplete pass to Boss.
Manning passing again, for Boss again, and Mikell breaks it up and deflects it tantalizingly into the air, but no one can field the pop up. 3rd-and-5 from the 21 as the Giants call their 2nd timeout.
A clear illegal formation on the Giants is not called - both tackles were two yards off the LOS - but Manning hits Ward for only 4. 1:38 left. The clock's stopped forever; did the Giants call their last timeout?
35-yard FG by Carney put the Giants ahead 8-7. I KNEW Reid should have gone for two after that first TD! :)
Demps returns the kickoff to the 25, where the Eggles take over with 1:24 left in the half.
Celek DROPS a pass at the 30.
Jackson gets 13 off a shallow drag pattern. He gets out of bounds at 1:13.
Useless short pass to Avant over the middle for 5. Costs them 2 seconds a yard.
Westbrook takes a similar pass and gets out of bounds at the Giant 49 at 0:47.
McNabb steps up under pressure and hits Avant over the middle for 15. Philly spends its last timeout at 0:40.
The Eggles haven't moved the ball all half, and NOW the Giants let them move 40 yards with relative ease. That's not the kind of defensive strategy I'm looking for, Steve Spagnuolo.
Giant secondary continues to let Eggle receivers pop open right in front of them. Jackson rolls out of bounds with a 9-yard sideline catch. McNabb has to throw the next pass away to set up 3rd-and-1.
Inside handoff to Westbrook down to the 20. McNabb spikes with 0:18 left. Given the wind, a shot at the end zone seems too risky.
Giants rush only three. There's a flag as McNabb scrambles down to the 12 with 0:10 left. Illegal use of hands on Antonio Pierce adds another 5.
Shows what I know. Eggles have a legitimate shot at a TD here.
From the 7, McNabb fires just wide for Jackson, who can't keep his feet in. That was meant to be a throwaway that only Jackson would have a shot at.
David Akers hits a 22-yard FG as the clock runs out to give Philadelphia a 10-8 lead at halftime.
The wind is going to be the key factor in the 2nd half, and the Giants may regret they didn't decide to defer the opening coin toss so they could have the wind in the 4th quarter. Then again, it hasn't bothered McNabb a lot (though he hasn't thrown anything deep), and Manning looks like crap throwing in either direction. Like Minnesota next week, let's see if Philly can't burn Spagnuolo's heavy blitzing in the 2nd half with a big draw or screen to Westbrook. What lousy strategy by Spagnuolo at the end of the half, by the way. We've stopped you all day, Philadelphia, but here! Have 70 yards and free points while we sit back, quit applying pressure and watch you do it! Whichever QB avoids the monster mistake in the 2nd half will be the one to lead his team to the NFC Championship, and I agree with Terry Bradshaw that that guy looks like Donovan McNabb right now. The Giants' one saving grace is that they're running well. The Eggles should stuff the box to shut that down and dare Manning to beat them.
Because I don't think he can.
0-for-3, baby!
THIRD QUARTER
Did Aikman just say he'd "ride him until he just couldn't go?"
Demps returns the kickoff all the way out to the 47 while I'm snickering like an 11-year-old.
McNabb hits Avant for a big 2.
That big mistake I mentioned at halftime may have happened right away. Chase Blackburn bats down the pass from McNabb and 500-pound Fred Robbins makes a nice lunge at it for a Giant INT. Miraculously, it's one-third-his-weight Kevin Curtis who makes the tremor-stopping tackle at the 33. That's quite a play by Curtis, who even had the presence of mind to try to hack the ball loose.
Jacobs goes over the right side for 11. Boss and Kareem McKenzie set up a nice wall for him.
Similar play for 5 more, down to the 17.
EMPTY BACKFIELD, Ward DROPS the smoke pass. Parker jumped into the backfield and likely distracted Ward.
Empty backfield again as Considine breaks up a pass to Boss.
You're running so well and then go empty backfield twice on 3rd-and-5. Why are offensive coordinators so stupid? Hmm, Kevin Gilbride?
Carney's 35-yard FG puts the Giants back in front, 11-10.
Eggles played a lot of that last series without Mikell or Assante Samuel, both being attended to by trainers, so maybe that influenced Gilbride to attack through the air more.
Demps is out to the 25 with the kick return.
Another DROP by Celek off a bootleg to start this drive.
5-yard run by Buckhalter comes back for a hold. 2nd-20 from the 15. Penalty on Todd Herremans.
Eggles try to set up screen but let Robbins have a clean run at McNabb. Rushed dumpoff is incomplete. 3rd-20.
Big right side overload blitz on 3rd-and-long, but McNabb wiggles away from it and hits a wide open Avant for 21.
WHY THE HELL ARE YOU BLITZING ON 3RD-AND-20, SPAGNUOLO?
Now Curtis DROPS A BEAUTIFUL LONG BALL down the sideline from McNabb. Should have been at least a 30-yard gain. The ball actually went off Curtis' face mask. Giants take some of the sting off with their umpteenth illegal use of hands penalty today. 1st-10 from the 41.
Circle route to Buckhalter for a couple, and he pays for it by getting POPPED by Pierce. Pierce then gets hit even harder by Barry Cofield, his own man.
Curtis gets 16 over the middle to the Giants' 41.
James Butler stuffs a Buckhalter sweep left for no gain.
Giants bring the dog and rush a McNabb pass that Avant can't one-hand. 3rd-and-10. Justin Tuck is down and staying down as we go to break.
4-man rush by the Giants gives McNabb all day, and Buckhalter all day to sneak away from Pierce, and the two Eggles connect for a BIG 18-yard gain. Avant is down for Philadelphia now to induce another commercial break.
Hey, I'm finally back in real time. Watch 24 tonight or Jack Bauer will kill you, probably by using his Jack-Fu to break your neck with his big and second toes.
Westbrook up the middle for 5, then he has a step on Phillips at the near pylon on the Eggles' sideline for a TD, but McNabb overthrows him. 3rd down. Pressure up the middle forces an incompletion behind Westbrook and another FG attempt.
David Akers hits from 35 to give the Eggles a 13-11 lead.
Bradshaw gets a little seam and returns the kickoff to the 32.
Jacobs off right guard for 3.
Manning is a Bulgeresque 8-18-87 with an INT. Sweep left to Jacobs gains a couple. 3rd-5. Watch out for Boss, right?
Eagles blitz big - this is a good time for it, but Manning beats it with a long toss to Hixon for about 35 yards. Perfectly timed throw as Hixon beats Joselio Hansen on the play.
As with many long plays, though, the offense can't get lined up in time and has to blow a timeout. That and the complete inability of referees to figure out when clocks run out are two things that HAVE to be addressed by the NFL this offseason.
Manning gets all day on 1st-and-10 but guns it well too high for Hixon in the flat. Ball at the Eggle 30.
Chris Gocong and Mikell stuff a sweep right for Jacobs for no gain. How much has he done on sweeps today? How about having Ward run that play?
I jinxed Ward, he DROPS a short pass forced by a Mikell blitz. Carney will try a 47-yarder with the wind at his back.
Carney's kick is fairly low and misses wide left. Philly will take over at their 37.
Westbrook up the middle for 5.
McNabb rolls right but can't find anyone open and chucks it out of bounds. 3rd-and-5.
Giants blitz but McNabb beats it by firing to Curtis at the 50.
Corey Webster breaks up a slant to Webster but is flagged for DPI. The crew meets, though, and correctly overrules the flag. Completely clean play by Webster. 2nd-10.
Philly is 6-for-10 on 3rd down today, not a vote of confidence for coach Spagnuolo.
Now Philly blows a timeout, I know not what for unless it's for Reid to yell at the referees for taking back that last flag. That's more of a college basketball move, though.
Apparent false start not called, but the face mask by Pierce on LJ Smith is. Big mistake puts Philly all the way down on the Giant 29.
Now Curtis shakes a tackle by Blackburn and gets all the way down to the 14. The defending Super Bowl champions are in major trouble right now.
Flare to Celek, who barrels up the sideline for about 5.
Westbrook powers up the middle for 3. 3rd-and-1 from the New York 6.
Pitch left to Westbrook, and he gets down to the 1. That side of the Giant defense looked confused, too. They certainly weren't playing very close up on the line on that side, considering it was third-and-1.
The Eagles will start the fourth quarter in golden position. The Giants may have to make a two-score comeback with a stiff wind in their face.
FOURTH QUARTER
Indeed, they do. McNabb play-action finds Celek wide open behind the defense in the left corner of the end zone. The TD puts the Eagles ahead 20-11.
So, it's looking like McNabb vs. Warner again in a replay of the 2002 NFC Championship.
Jacobs bolts up the middle for 11 to get the Giants' comeback attempt started. They're at their 35.
He bounces left for 4 with the next handoff.
Jacobs gets maybe 1 up the middle. I've got it as 3rd-and-5. Somehow the scoreboard has 3rd-and-3. Biggest play of the game either way. Giants rush to the line and Ward appears to wriggle for the first down off an inside handoff. Measurement coming. He should actually be short by the length of the ball, after seeing the replay.
Fourth and about 4 inches. Coughlin challenges the spot, which is only going to waste his second timeout. I agree with Troy that the Giants will have to go for it. But the challenge will succeed only in blowing a Giant timeout and letting the Eagles muster up for the big 4th down play.
Carey confirms the call and charges New York a timeout. Fourth and inches.
THEY TRY TO SNEAK IT WITH MANNING AND DO NOT EVEN COME CLOSE. GREAT stuff there by Bunkley and Mike Patterson.
The Eagles have the ball and have silenced the Meadowlands crowd. Westbrook up the middle for 3 to the NY 42.
Curtis gets 2 or 3 on a short pass. Huge stop here for the Giants. Expect a big blitz.
3rd-and-5. With the Giants only rushing 4, Westbrook is all alone in the flat for a screen pass but Corey Webster undermines him short of the first down. Huge, huge play.
Hixon fair catches the punt at the 11 as the Giants are alive for the time being.
Pause here to reflect on something Joe Buck said right after the Giants failed on 4th down: "Broderick Bunkley is having a terrific year." That statement earns me my mock draft street cred back, because I was for drafting Bunkley #12 overall in 2005 instead of taking Jay Cutler or trading down for Tye Hill. Hopefully that makes up some for liking the Jimmy Kennedy pick in '03, anyway.
The way the Manning brothers are performing this postseason, I'm definitely betting on the Williams sisters in the Oreo contest.
Ward bounces off a tackle for 14 and runs through a couple more for 8 to get the Giants in motion.
Any chance he'd like to play in St. Louis next year in the #2 role? I doubt it.
Ward up the middle through a big hole for another first down.
Ball at the 39. Manning to Amani Toomer for 7 or 8. Giants try to hurry up, but a shotgun draw handoff to Jacobs is lucky to break even. 3rd-and-3.
Wildcat snap to Ward, but he's awful slow getting going, and Parker jumps the play to dump him for no gain. Giants will go for it again on 4th-and-2, 6:40 left.
Jacobs goes right up the middle and doesn't even appear to get the first yard. Making a late run for game MVP, Bunkley clogs up the middle and makes the stop along with Bradley.
Eagles ball near midfield. It is fucking amazing what an amazing clusterfuck my playoff predictions have been this year.
ONE FOR FUCKING SEVEN, COMING RIGHT UP!
Buckhalter loses a couple back to the 50.
McNabb goes up top to Jackson up the Philly sideline, burning Corey Webster FOR 49 YARDS DOWN TO THE ONE YARD LINE.
Westbrook gets upended for no gain at the one, not that Philly really cares at this point. They're going to freaking Arizona next week for the freaking NFC Championship.
Westbrook loses at least a yard up the middle, but again, Philly doesn't care. The clock is running.
4:20 left. Eli's going to take the Giants to two scores in 4:00? I don't think so.
Short pass to Baskett on 3rd down is incomplete. I would have run again. Keep the clock moving!
19-yard Akers FG extends Philadelphia's lead to 23-11.
Looks like Spagnuolo'll be free for that interview next week, huh.
How do the Steelers not get caught looking ahead in the 2nd game? All the other one and two seeds are gone; if they win, they'll be in the final 4 with two six seeds and a four.
Giants at their 27, 3:51 left.
STUPID screen to Hixon for 3. That'll be a big help.
Toomer's wide open up the sideline for a catch at the 50, though. Sorry, I just noticed the Giants are on what I usually consider the visitors' sideline. Thought all stadiums did that the same way.
The pathetic Eli Manning should be even sorrier, though, air-mailing a POOR pass way over Smith's head and right to Mikell for a game-sealing INT.
I'll feel free to ignore the rest of this game. Both the NFC teams with bye weeks were total fiascoes this weekend, which the Giants and Panthers deserve for ruining my FFL championship game. Now there's some karma for you.
Bill Bidwill has now fucking lucked his way into a HOME GAME for the NFC Championship against the Eggles, a game that should bear out to be a classic matchup between the Eggle secondary and the Cardinal passing game. As hard as it is to win three road games in the playoffs, and as much as the Cardinals likely deserve to be the favorites for next Sunday's game, here's where I jinx the Eggles by picking them to win next week's game and advance to the Super Bowl, particularly if Anquan Boldin is still unable to go. I can't believe the Eggles will be as poorly prepared for next week's game as the Panthers were last night. They WILL have a plan to shut down or slow down Larry Fitzgerald, and they are too stiff up front defensively for the Cards to be able to run well enough to take heat off their passing game. And if anybody's going to get a pass rush that tests Kurt Warner this postseason, it's Jim Johnson. Now, Clancy Pendergast could very easily come up with a plan to shut down Westbrook that's as brilliant as his scheme that shut down Steve Smith last night. And who knows, Arizona may even actually sell out that Pink Taco Dome and make life very hard on the Eggle offense. But Kurt doesn't need any luck, because I'm guaranteeing his passage to Tampa for Super Bowl 43 by picking the Eggles, whose defense is carrying them and who I like in next week's game.
I've been voting for safeties a lot for game MVPs this month, and Quintin Mikell deserves a look for 7 tackles and an INT, but my MVP's going to Broderick (Should Be A Ram) Bunkley, who had five tackles and stuffed the two big 4th downs to seal New York's fate. LVPs are obviously Eli Manning, along with Kevin Gilbride for some brutal play-calling.
The big decision for the Giants in the offseason is what the hell to do with the Plaxico Burress situation. His absence clearly hurt them down the stretch and they are a very mediocre team without him. It will help to have Tuck and Umenyiora back and completely healthy next year, but the Giants need to restore that big, game-changing target to their passing game to bounce back from this fiasco today.
Chargers-Steelers coming right up.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Frazier an HC finalist (and new #1 in coaches' poll)
This just in from stltoday:
Leslie Frazier interviews with the Rams Tuesday, and this is a final interview, not an initial interview. I guess Billy Devaney listening in to Frazier's interviews in Atlanta is supposed to be enough for the Rams to go on.
The Rams will interview Rex Ryan in Baltimore tomorrow (as will the Jets).
Jim Schwartz and Mike Munchak of the Titans have both dropped off the Rams' wish list. I know that loss to Baltimore today soured me on the "Who me? Blitz?" Schwartz, though I'd cop to that being short-sighted to a large extent. There's no reason not to interview those two, UNLESS you are trying to make a quick move for Frazier or Ryan, which may be what's happening.
It also looks like the Giants will have to lose for the Rams to interview Steve Spagnuolo.
The feeling I'm getting is that the pace is really picking up at Rams Park (L.A. Office Park in all actuality and probability), and that it's between Frazier and Haslett for the spot unless Ryan knocks it out of the park tomorrow, or doesn't get a lucrative offer from the Jets tomorrow.
New coaches' poll:
1. Frazier
2. Ryan
3. McDaniel
4. Haslett
5. Moss
Schwartz and Munchak drop off since the Rams dropped them off their list.
Grimm (Arizona) and Spagnuolo may last too long in the postseason to get interviews.
I honestly don't know what's happened with Jason Garrett, Ray Sherman or Todd Bowles.
I doubt any of them are still considered serious candidates, though Sherman was supposed to get an interview next week at last word. They're not actually considering him a FINALIST, are they?
No way. I'll stick to my guns - it's Frazier or Haslett unless Ryan has a brilliant interview tomorrow, which hasn't been his strong point in the past.
Leslie Frazier interviews with the Rams Tuesday, and this is a final interview, not an initial interview. I guess Billy Devaney listening in to Frazier's interviews in Atlanta is supposed to be enough for the Rams to go on.
The Rams will interview Rex Ryan in Baltimore tomorrow (as will the Jets).
Jim Schwartz and Mike Munchak of the Titans have both dropped off the Rams' wish list. I know that loss to Baltimore today soured me on the "Who me? Blitz?" Schwartz, though I'd cop to that being short-sighted to a large extent. There's no reason not to interview those two, UNLESS you are trying to make a quick move for Frazier or Ryan, which may be what's happening.
It also looks like the Giants will have to lose for the Rams to interview Steve Spagnuolo.
The feeling I'm getting is that the pace is really picking up at Rams Park (L.A. Office Park in all actuality and probability), and that it's between Frazier and Haslett for the spot unless Ryan knocks it out of the park tomorrow, or doesn't get a lucrative offer from the Jets tomorrow.
New coaches' poll:
1. Frazier
2. Ryan
3. McDaniel
4. Haslett
5. Moss
Schwartz and Munchak drop off since the Rams dropped them off their list.
Grimm (Arizona) and Spagnuolo may last too long in the postseason to get interviews.
I honestly don't know what's happened with Jason Garrett, Ray Sherman or Todd Bowles.
I doubt any of them are still considered serious candidates, though Sherman was supposed to get an interview next week at last word. They're not actually considering him a FINALIST, are they?
No way. I'll stick to my guns - it's Frazier or Haslett unless Ryan has a brilliant interview tomorrow, which hasn't been his strong point in the past.
NFC Divisional Playoff: Cardinals 33, Panthers 13
PREGAME
Man, do I get a dinner break or anything? Arizona will hope to catch a big break here and hope that Steve Breaston can pick up the slack for injured Anquan Boldin. Weirder things have certainly happened (said Mr. 1-for-5 so far in this year's playoffs). Good luck, Kurt.
Kenny Albert with Moose and Goose on the game call. I thought the call of the first game by Gumbel and Dierdorf was great, though I have had to endure a lot of Matt Vasgersian this season, which may skew my viewpoint.
FIRST QUARTER
Moose quickly wins the Worst Dressed Announcer award, with a brown checked jacket, multistriped shirt and polka-dotted tie. Who's dressing him, Bozo the Clown?
Or worse, Craig Sager?
Cardinals kick off as Carolina won the toss. Mark Jones picks through traffic and isn't brought down till midfield. Nearly took it back all the way after getting a great block from Frank Omiyale.
Panthers only get one from DeAngelo Williams on first down, and a useless quick out to Steve Smith for two on 2nd down, but Brad Hoover takes a swing pass and fights through a couple of Cardinals for 7 and the first.
Williams breaks out with an inside handoff for 30 yards down to the 10. Classic counter play off a solid block by Hoover. Cards got caught with 8 in the box.
Jonathan Stewart charges up the middle for a 10-yard TD, and this game may already be over at the 11:56 mark. Nice defense, Arizona. 7-0 Panthers.
Smart play by JJ Arrington on Carolina's stupid kickoff, which rolls out of bounds.
Referee for this game is Gene Steratore.
Cards at their 40. Warner overthrows Fitzgerald on a deep corner route.
Big hole for Edgerrin James on the left side, but it closes quickly and he nets only 3.
3rd-7, Cards go 4 wide, Carolina rushes 4 and the Panthers leave Fitzgerald ALL ALONE over the middle and he takes a short pass all the way down to the Panther 26. 31 yards.
James loses at least one on a sweep left, shut down by Thomas Davis.
Big rush by Carolina on 2nd down, and beating Lyle Sendlein for a sack of Warner, it's.....
FREAKING D-LEW. 3rd and 16.
Stupid freaking screen to Arrington is blown up beautifully by Julius Peppers for a 7-yard loss. Peppers completely beat Mike Gandy on the play. Jones fair-catches the punt at the 9.
I would say this is already a must-stop for Arizona.
Draw to Williams loses a yard, stuffed by Darnell Dockett.
Williams up the middle for 7 makes it 3rd-and... 2? What kind of spot did he get last play?
Cards maintain a pulse and do a great job stacking up Williams on 3rd down. I think he lost yardage again(?). Punt scoots out of bounds at the AZ 43, so Kurt's still in business.
8 over the middle to Fitzgerald.
James gains maybe 1 on a handoff that was almost blown. I think Kurt expected him further outside.
3rd and 1. Plenty of time for Warner as he rolls out and hangs one up for Fitzgerald, a classic play where the QB just tosses it up and lets his WR go up and get it. Fitzgerald skies for the catch at the 10-yard line for 50 yards!
James bounces outside for 4. Literally. He bounced off a lineman and found an opening.
Off play action, Warner finds fullback Tim Castille at the 3. Probably Kurt's 4th read. 3rd-and-goal.
Cards passing all the way and Tim Hightower comes out of the backfield clean for a 3-yard TD reception to tie the game at 7. Jon Beason blows the coverage while Ken Lucas is uselessly six yards deep in the end zone in zone coverage. Poor, poor reactions by both of those guys.
And a super, super statement by the Cardinals in fighting back, because it looked like they were in danger of getting blown right out of the stadium right away.
Line drive kick through the end zone starts Carolina at their 20.
And the Cards come up with another big play. Delhomme gets FOREVER to throw but never gets rid of the ball, and Antonio Smith both whacks it out of his hand and pulls it in for the turnover. Another fucking brilliant playoff prediction by me. I'm going 1 for fucking 6.
From the Panther 13, Warner hits James with a screen pass he takes inside the 5, and James takes a draw play inside of a penetrating D-Lew for a 5-yard TD. Arizona 14, Carolina 7.
Honestly, I'm not retarded at this stuff. Week 10 this season, I went 14-0. I went 13-3 week 17. I finished high in all of the online football pools I was in, including the confidence pool at KPNT.com, which I either won or finished 2nd in for the season, darned if they're saying. I won our office pool twice. That I'm staring 1-for-6 in the fucking postseason in the face is the exception, not the rule. Trust me.
Panthers return the kickoff to the 23. Delhomme finds Muhsin Muhammed WIDE OPEN at the 38 for a sliding catch and a first down. Better throw there is a bigger gain. Stewart gets squat off left tackle.
Play action bomb for Steve Smith pays off in a clear DPI on Antrell Rolle inside the 15. Rolle tackled him before the ball arrived and never looked for the ball. Brutal, obvious call. Carolina can't get downfield quickly enough, though, and have to blow a timeout.
As in Tennessee, it's raining at tonight's game. From the 15, Stewart takes a pitch left for 1 as the first quarter runs out. Cards 14, Pants 7.
SECOND QUARTER
One thing I don't like about Carolina's offense is something they got wrong in Super Bowl 38 against the Patriots. They don't stick with the successful RB. Why are they using the bruising inside runner, Stewart on so many outside runs, when Williams would be far better suited for that? Use Williams more and Stewart less; Williams is clearly the better runner anyway. Just like in SB38, it didn't matter how many big runs DeShaun Foster got, Carolina was still handing it off to Stephen Davis most of the time with much less success.
That analysis has to wait as Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie picks off Delhomme at the goal line and returns it to the 20. Delhomme was trying to force a TD pass to Steve Smith. Panthers let Arizona score again, this game may be over.
Delay of game puts Arizona back at the 15, but a completion to Breaston for 13 and a run up the middle take care of that. James cuts a stretch handoff back up the middle for 6.
And guess who jumps offsides to give up the first down? D-Lew! THAT'S the D-Lew we know and love!
Draw play to James from the 41 gains 6, lucky for Carolina Davis got a piece of him, because he was the only guy on that side of the field. Well setup play.
Draw to Hightower for nothing. What was I just saying about Carolina using RBs wrong? Keep feeding James!
No matter; unsportsmanlike conduct on Richard Marshall gives Arizona 15. Stupid retaliation-type penalty in response to a late block by Early Doucet.
Where the hell has Early Doucet been all of 2008? I didn't even know he was a Cardinal! All you people who wanted him over Donnie Avery and others want to man up?
Warner scrambles for 3 and James goes over right guard for 3 more. 3rd-and-4.
With Tyler Brayton coming in unblocked, Warner has to throw it away deep. Saves a FG attempt for Neil Rackers. Rackers hits from 49 to put Arizona ahead 17-7.
Directional kick and good coverage hem Jones in at the 20. Carolina's in pretty sore need of a score here.
After a ridiculously long conference, the officials call Arizona for a neutral zone violation. 1st and 5.
Panthers pick up the blitz but Delhomme overthrows the deep corner for Muhammed.
Pitch left to Williams, who I was about to complain wasn't getting the ball enough, but Karlos Dansby slashes through to shut it down for a loss. 3rd-7.
Pass is knocked down by Bryan Robinson. Cardinals blitzed a couple out of a 3-4 look.
Breaston returns the punt to the 38.
It looks like only one team came to play tonight, and shockingly, it's the Cardinals. What the hell is Carolina's excuse? Where are all the fucking DeAngelo Williams TDs like the ones that killed my fantasy championship game? Why the hell aren't they getting the ball to Steve Smith? The flameout the Panthers are pulling off right now ranks as one of the biggest postseason CHOKES of recent years.
I apologize for the cussing, but it is royally pissing me off that I'm going 1-for-6 predicting playoff games because of things like an 8-0 team at home that destroyed me in FFL laying down and choking to the freaking Bidwill Cardinals. If the Eggles win tomorrow, which is HIGHLY possible, Bidwill is HOSTING THE NFC CHAMPIONSHIP!
Sweet play by the Cards, as Warner fakes a screen pass and hits Fitzgerald up the sideline for 25. They're at the Panther 42. More teams definitely need to run that play. Incomplete pass and a short James run set up 3rd-and-7. You can tell by the lessening detail that I'm struggling to keep up.
Fitzgerald WIDE OPEN again for 17. What the hell are the Panthers doing on defense? The Cards DON'T HAVE ANQUAN BOLDIN TONIGHT, how can you leave Fitzgerald open by five yards EVERY PLAY?
James left for a couple.
Warner hits Breaston, criss-crossing with Fitzgerald and ultimately covered by a LB, at the 13 to make it 3rd-and-1.
And Warner trips over his guard and barely gets the ball to fullback Terrelle Smith. The bad timing messes up the play and Carolina stuffs it. 4th down.
As Rackers hits from 30 to put Arizona ahead 20-7, Moose boldly assures us in hating the decision to kick the FG that "it'll be 21-20 quick". Based on what, the extreme poise and efficiency Delhomme is showing out there tonight?
Jones sprints right up the middle with the kick return to the 37. Oh, those NFC West special teams.
Yeah, Moose, it'll be 21-20 quick. Fucking stupid Delhomme throws the ball RIGHT TO Gerald Hayes to give the Cardinals the ball back at midfield. Second time tonight Delhomme hasn't even looked for the underneath coverage.
Can I ask again where Steve Smith's been all night?
Can I ask why DeAngelo Williams has touched the ball only six times?
Hightower blasts around right end for 14. This game is over, in most unexpected fashion.
Cards at the Panther 30. James bounces outside left for 1.
GAME OVER, as the Panthers continue to REFUSE to cover Fitzgerald. They fucking have a LINEBACKER covering him on a drag route as he catches it at the 10, outruns a safety and dives for the pylon. 29-yard TD, Fitzgerald, Arizona leads 27-7. This game is DONE, FINISHED, OVER.
Way to fucking show up, Carolina. Thanks for playing like a bunch of god damn morons on both sides of the ball and making me 0 FOR TWO today, 1 for 6 in the postseason.
Assholes. Great coaching job, John Fox. Moron.
Rackers kicks this one to the up man, and Carolina starts from their 26.
Delhomme to Duane Jarrett for 5. Whoopee!
False start. Way to have your team ready, Fox. 2nd-and-9.
Darnell Dockett beats Jordan Gross, who a lot of Rams Nation seems to want to sign this offseason, for a sack. Way to have your guys ready to play, Fox.
Delhomme gets FOREVER to throw on 3rd-and-12, and goes deep for Smith, but he's double-teamed and DRC breaks up the pass. Still no catches for Smith, and DRC is on the short list for MVP right now, along with Fitzgerald. Delhomme is in the clear lead for LVP, along with Carolina's whole coaching staff for an awful game plan on both sides of the ball and terrible preparation.
Assholes.
2:00 warning.
Cards have it at their 27 after the punt. James runs left for 4, then 2, as the Panthers cagily call timeouts after each run.
3rd-and-5. Bubble screen to Arrington; he gets out to the 40 with a first down. Panthers have a man down. Landon Johnson got a whiplash-inducing shot from one of his own teammates. Though he's sitting up, they're going to take him out on the court. Our prayers go with him.
Might as well do the halftime analysis now.
CAROLINA SUCKS.
Quit trying to zone-cover Fitzgerald, you idiots. Get the ball in Williams' hands, you idiots. Run some plays that'll get Steve Smith open, you idiots.
As for Arizona, don't get too conservative, keep mixing some Fitzgerald in with the running game and get ready to enjoy your appearance in the NFC Championship.
And the way I'm picking, your Super Bowl matchup with the Ravens.
Warner found Arrington at the 35 with :03 left to set up a long FG attempt for Rackers. How would this be for a coups de grace?
Not quite; Rackers is a little short from 53. The Panther fans boo their team off the field, down 27-7 at halftime.
I would normally rip home fans for booing their team during a playoff game but the Panthers deserve it. They have been unprepared and played like crap in every phase of the game except maybe kickoff returns. What the hell were John Fox and staff doing the last two weeks? Circle-jerking?
THIRD QUARTER
To put the frosting on his awful ensemble I described earlier, Moose has a green silk hankie in the pocket of his brown checked jacket. He IS being dressed by Craig Sager.
Everything went right in the first half for the Cardinals, who get the ball to start the second half, too. Arrington's return is to the 26.
James for 4-5 over the right side.
Play-action, Warner overthrows Fitzgerald on the side line as he's being hit. 3rd-5, more like 6.
Warner hits Jhereme Urban, whose first name the Carolina PA clearly pronounces as "Jermaine", for 8. It's "Jeremy", you dummy. The P.A. guy is as prepared tonight as the rest of the Panther organization.
Defensive holding on - guess who, D-Lew! - sets the Cards up at the 45.
Quick pass to Jermaine Urban loses 3.
Warner gets splattered by Chris Harris (America's Most Wanted?) on a huge blitz up the middle but got rid of the ball to preserve 3rd-and-13.
Big pressure from Brayton again from the outside forces a poor pass from Warner. Brayton got his arm as he threw. Rare defensive stop for the Panthers.
Jones fair catches the punt at the 10 despite having a little room.
Hey! It's DEANGELO WILLIAMS! Counter play for 15.
Quick screen to Muhammed for 4. Hell, he's only got two catches now.
Gerald Hayes hits the backfield unblocked and drops Williams for a loss. The Giants couldn't have done this ONCE the week I needed them to hold Williams under 16 fantasy points and they gave up 35 instead?
Antonio Smith stunts and belts Delhomme on 3rd down to force an awkward incompletion and a punt. Carolina looked like the Rams blocking that stunt. No, that's not a compliment.
Warner to Fitzgerald in the flat for 6. Puts the Cards at the 31.
And now a TERRIBLE play by Kurt, throwing it RIGHT TO Jon Beason at the 40 for an INT. That's just like Delhomme's second INT. C'mon, Kurt!
First down Panthers at the Arizona 31. Williams gets nothing up the middle. He's feast or famine tonight, isn't he?
ANOTHER lengthy conference by the Gene Steratore crew on a pre-snap penalty ends up as a false start on Carolina. 2nd and 16.
And Delhomme answers Warner's mistake with another colossal fuck-up. It's a screen for Steve Smith. Adrian Wilson is blitzing, gets a great leap and throws off the timing of the play. Delhomme pulls the ball down to avoid Wilson, then fires for Smith, who by now is blanketed by Cardinal DBs. It goes off one's hands and into Rolle's for an INT, and he returns it a long way, to about the Panther 32.
Good night, Panther fans! Drive safely.
DRC got the deflection on the INT a minute ago. He'll be hard to deny for game MVP.
James for 1.
Bubble screen to Fitzgerald for 10. Ridiculous.
Delhomme is sitting on the sideline with an expression like he's just been in a train wreck. Which he has.
False start on the fullback Smith, 1st-15.
Fitzgerald has 6 catches for 188. It's like he's playing the Rams out there! Also not a compliment for the Panthers.
No gain for James.
Warner to Breaston at the 15. 3rd-and-10.
TE Steve Spach illogically runs a poor pattern. Warner was looking for a lot flatter route to the sideline and fires it out there incomplete.
30-yard FG by Rackers puts Arizona up 30-7. Second half is going perfectly for the Cards so far. Their lead is in no danger whatsoever from worthless Delhomme and his worthless teammates.
Maybe those of us so sure the Cardinals would get wiped out on the east coast again should have considered their internal clocks might be in better tune for a night game on the east coast. This was like a 3:00 start in Arizona.
Panthers at their 33 after the kickoff, 4:32 left in the 3rd. Wow, Delhomme throws a pass that is NOT intercepted, to Jarrett across midfield. Don't go TOO soft on D, Cardinals.
6-yard comebacker to Muhammed.
Delhomme goes deep for Muhammed from the AZ 42, but he's well-covered by Roderick Hood and the pass is too far. 3rd-and-4.
DROP by Muhammed on 3rd down, coverage by Hood. Panthers will obviously go for it.
Muhammed appears to stumble and make a bad cut and Delhomme overthrows him badly. Cardinals ball.
Oh, and Steve who?
Hightower right for maybe 1. They're just grinding clock now, and thinking ahead to (if they know who I picked) the Eggles at home next week.
Pitch right to Hightower for 7. Stay in bounds next time, son.
They run a goofy-looking screen, more of a lateral handoff, to Doucet, who gets DESTROYED by Wildcat Chris Harris for a loss. Best hit of the postseason, I think. Punt goes into the end zone.
Inside handoff to Williams for 4.
Cards are late getting substitutions on the field, and only line up 2 d-linemen, allowing Delhomme to ACTUALLY FIND STEVE SMITH for a 36-yard catch-and-run. He hits Dante Rosario for 14 as the third quarter runs out with Arizona flexing a 23-point lead.
FOURTH QUARTER
Congratulations to the Punt Pass & Kick winners. Can any of you suit up at QB for the Panthers?
Panthers start the quarter at the Arizona 26.
Cards big blitz and Delhomme hits Rosario at the 14.
Draw to Williams for a couple. Panthers obviously in no-huddle.
Williams runs a wheel route into the end zone but Dansby has it covered for an incompletion.
Delhomme gets behind center with 8 seconds left on the play clock and STILL can't get the play off in time. Delay of game.
MORON.
3rd-and-13 at the 17. Cards rush 4, and dropping back into coverage, Ralph Brown intercepts the ball thrown RIGHT TO HIM intended for Steve Smith. Delhomme is a pile of crap, but every NFL team playing against Steve Smith in the future needs to save a copy of this game tape. The Cards have completely eliminated him.
Cards bang out ten on the ground before Spach goes down after taking a knee to the knee. I... will... always be... your friend... He's able to walk off the field, though. Live long and prosper.
Cardinals THROWING on first down and Warner throws it away into the flat. Carolina wants grounding there and appears to have a case. Kurt wasn't out of the pocket.
2nd-10 from the 30, James over the right side for 3.
OH NOOOOOOO, Spach is now being carted off as Warner's pass for Fitzgerald is behind him and incomplete.
Jones returns the punt to the 32. 11:30 left.
Stewart weaves his way with a screen pass for 12.
Out pattern for Jarrett is jumped by DRC, nearly for another interception.
With Wilson coming on a blitz, Delhomme throws his FIFTH interception now, to Hood at the 50.
Delhomme is so bad it isn't even funny.
I plan to ignore the rest of this game. Congratulations to Kurt Warner on his return to the NFC Championship game.
We are clearly headed for a Cardinals-Ravens Super Bowl. No one else in football is hotter, though the Eggles may have something to say about that tomorrow. The Cardinals certainly have to be taken 100% seriously at this point, and you certainly have to give them a chance if they're in the Meadowlands next Sunday, unless they're playing in an ice storm that day or something. Obviously, they're rooting for the Eggles tomorrow, but be careful what you wish for with that secondary. That would be a great matchup, Arizona's passing game vs. Philly's safeties. I'll really need to see tomorrow's game to decide how much I like Arizona's chances of
MVP of the game goes to Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who had a pick, created another and smothered Steve Smith whenever Smith ventured over there. (A lot better rookie performance against Smith than say, oh, TYE HILL.) Cardinals DC Clancy Pendergast deserves part of the game ball for a terrific scheme that made Steve Smith as useless as Drew Bennett and made Delhomme look like Marc Bulger on a bender.
Carolina's coaching staff should be ashamed of themselves. They prepared horribly for this game, getting away from everything they do well on offense and not having any apparent plan to stop or slow down the things Arizona does best on offense. John Fox's coaching for this game was so bad as to make Scott Linehan look good. Their biggest offseason need looks like it's a playmaker in the secondary. This is a solid team - on paper - that should have played a LOT better than it did tonight. So somebody in their front office better be kicking butts on that coaching staff all offseason.
Well, let's see if I can miss both fucking games tomorrow, too. My apologies in advance to the Giants and Chargers.
Short FG for Rackers in garbage time makes it 33-7.
Meaningless TD for Smith with less than a minute left makes is 33-13 while the Fox crew natters on about what a great competitor he is. Where was it the first, oh, FIFTY-NINE minutes of the game? Carolina attempts a meaningless two-pointer and meaninglessly misses it.
Good riddance to bad Carolina rubbish.
Man, do I get a dinner break or anything? Arizona will hope to catch a big break here and hope that Steve Breaston can pick up the slack for injured Anquan Boldin. Weirder things have certainly happened (said Mr. 1-for-5 so far in this year's playoffs). Good luck, Kurt.
Kenny Albert with Moose and Goose on the game call. I thought the call of the first game by Gumbel and Dierdorf was great, though I have had to endure a lot of Matt Vasgersian this season, which may skew my viewpoint.
FIRST QUARTER
Moose quickly wins the Worst Dressed Announcer award, with a brown checked jacket, multistriped shirt and polka-dotted tie. Who's dressing him, Bozo the Clown?
Or worse, Craig Sager?
Cardinals kick off as Carolina won the toss. Mark Jones picks through traffic and isn't brought down till midfield. Nearly took it back all the way after getting a great block from Frank Omiyale.
Panthers only get one from DeAngelo Williams on first down, and a useless quick out to Steve Smith for two on 2nd down, but Brad Hoover takes a swing pass and fights through a couple of Cardinals for 7 and the first.
Williams breaks out with an inside handoff for 30 yards down to the 10. Classic counter play off a solid block by Hoover. Cards got caught with 8 in the box.
Jonathan Stewart charges up the middle for a 10-yard TD, and this game may already be over at the 11:56 mark. Nice defense, Arizona. 7-0 Panthers.
Smart play by JJ Arrington on Carolina's stupid kickoff, which rolls out of bounds.
Referee for this game is Gene Steratore.
Cards at their 40. Warner overthrows Fitzgerald on a deep corner route.
Big hole for Edgerrin James on the left side, but it closes quickly and he nets only 3.
3rd-7, Cards go 4 wide, Carolina rushes 4 and the Panthers leave Fitzgerald ALL ALONE over the middle and he takes a short pass all the way down to the Panther 26. 31 yards.
James loses at least one on a sweep left, shut down by Thomas Davis.
Big rush by Carolina on 2nd down, and beating Lyle Sendlein for a sack of Warner, it's.....
FREAKING D-LEW. 3rd and 16.
Stupid freaking screen to Arrington is blown up beautifully by Julius Peppers for a 7-yard loss. Peppers completely beat Mike Gandy on the play. Jones fair-catches the punt at the 9.
I would say this is already a must-stop for Arizona.
Draw to Williams loses a yard, stuffed by Darnell Dockett.
Williams up the middle for 7 makes it 3rd-and... 2? What kind of spot did he get last play?
Cards maintain a pulse and do a great job stacking up Williams on 3rd down. I think he lost yardage again(?). Punt scoots out of bounds at the AZ 43, so Kurt's still in business.
8 over the middle to Fitzgerald.
James gains maybe 1 on a handoff that was almost blown. I think Kurt expected him further outside.
3rd and 1. Plenty of time for Warner as he rolls out and hangs one up for Fitzgerald, a classic play where the QB just tosses it up and lets his WR go up and get it. Fitzgerald skies for the catch at the 10-yard line for 50 yards!
James bounces outside for 4. Literally. He bounced off a lineman and found an opening.
Off play action, Warner finds fullback Tim Castille at the 3. Probably Kurt's 4th read. 3rd-and-goal.
Cards passing all the way and Tim Hightower comes out of the backfield clean for a 3-yard TD reception to tie the game at 7. Jon Beason blows the coverage while Ken Lucas is uselessly six yards deep in the end zone in zone coverage. Poor, poor reactions by both of those guys.
And a super, super statement by the Cardinals in fighting back, because it looked like they were in danger of getting blown right out of the stadium right away.
Line drive kick through the end zone starts Carolina at their 20.
And the Cards come up with another big play. Delhomme gets FOREVER to throw but never gets rid of the ball, and Antonio Smith both whacks it out of his hand and pulls it in for the turnover. Another fucking brilliant playoff prediction by me. I'm going 1 for fucking 6.
From the Panther 13, Warner hits James with a screen pass he takes inside the 5, and James takes a draw play inside of a penetrating D-Lew for a 5-yard TD. Arizona 14, Carolina 7.
Honestly, I'm not retarded at this stuff. Week 10 this season, I went 14-0. I went 13-3 week 17. I finished high in all of the online football pools I was in, including the confidence pool at KPNT.com, which I either won or finished 2nd in for the season, darned if they're saying. I won our office pool twice. That I'm staring 1-for-6 in the fucking postseason in the face is the exception, not the rule. Trust me.
Panthers return the kickoff to the 23. Delhomme finds Muhsin Muhammed WIDE OPEN at the 38 for a sliding catch and a first down. Better throw there is a bigger gain. Stewart gets squat off left tackle.
Play action bomb for Steve Smith pays off in a clear DPI on Antrell Rolle inside the 15. Rolle tackled him before the ball arrived and never looked for the ball. Brutal, obvious call. Carolina can't get downfield quickly enough, though, and have to blow a timeout.
As in Tennessee, it's raining at tonight's game. From the 15, Stewart takes a pitch left for 1 as the first quarter runs out. Cards 14, Pants 7.
SECOND QUARTER
One thing I don't like about Carolina's offense is something they got wrong in Super Bowl 38 against the Patriots. They don't stick with the successful RB. Why are they using the bruising inside runner, Stewart on so many outside runs, when Williams would be far better suited for that? Use Williams more and Stewart less; Williams is clearly the better runner anyway. Just like in SB38, it didn't matter how many big runs DeShaun Foster got, Carolina was still handing it off to Stephen Davis most of the time with much less success.
That analysis has to wait as Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie picks off Delhomme at the goal line and returns it to the 20. Delhomme was trying to force a TD pass to Steve Smith. Panthers let Arizona score again, this game may be over.
Delay of game puts Arizona back at the 15, but a completion to Breaston for 13 and a run up the middle take care of that. James cuts a stretch handoff back up the middle for 6.
And guess who jumps offsides to give up the first down? D-Lew! THAT'S the D-Lew we know and love!
Draw play to James from the 41 gains 6, lucky for Carolina Davis got a piece of him, because he was the only guy on that side of the field. Well setup play.
Draw to Hightower for nothing. What was I just saying about Carolina using RBs wrong? Keep feeding James!
No matter; unsportsmanlike conduct on Richard Marshall gives Arizona 15. Stupid retaliation-type penalty in response to a late block by Early Doucet.
Where the hell has Early Doucet been all of 2008? I didn't even know he was a Cardinal! All you people who wanted him over Donnie Avery and others want to man up?
Warner scrambles for 3 and James goes over right guard for 3 more. 3rd-and-4.
With Tyler Brayton coming in unblocked, Warner has to throw it away deep. Saves a FG attempt for Neil Rackers. Rackers hits from 49 to put Arizona ahead 17-7.
Directional kick and good coverage hem Jones in at the 20. Carolina's in pretty sore need of a score here.
After a ridiculously long conference, the officials call Arizona for a neutral zone violation. 1st and 5.
Panthers pick up the blitz but Delhomme overthrows the deep corner for Muhammed.
Pitch left to Williams, who I was about to complain wasn't getting the ball enough, but Karlos Dansby slashes through to shut it down for a loss. 3rd-7.
Pass is knocked down by Bryan Robinson. Cardinals blitzed a couple out of a 3-4 look.
Breaston returns the punt to the 38.
It looks like only one team came to play tonight, and shockingly, it's the Cardinals. What the hell is Carolina's excuse? Where are all the fucking DeAngelo Williams TDs like the ones that killed my fantasy championship game? Why the hell aren't they getting the ball to Steve Smith? The flameout the Panthers are pulling off right now ranks as one of the biggest postseason CHOKES of recent years.
I apologize for the cussing, but it is royally pissing me off that I'm going 1-for-6 predicting playoff games because of things like an 8-0 team at home that destroyed me in FFL laying down and choking to the freaking Bidwill Cardinals. If the Eggles win tomorrow, which is HIGHLY possible, Bidwill is HOSTING THE NFC CHAMPIONSHIP!
Sweet play by the Cards, as Warner fakes a screen pass and hits Fitzgerald up the sideline for 25. They're at the Panther 42. More teams definitely need to run that play. Incomplete pass and a short James run set up 3rd-and-7. You can tell by the lessening detail that I'm struggling to keep up.
Fitzgerald WIDE OPEN again for 17. What the hell are the Panthers doing on defense? The Cards DON'T HAVE ANQUAN BOLDIN TONIGHT, how can you leave Fitzgerald open by five yards EVERY PLAY?
James left for a couple.
Warner hits Breaston, criss-crossing with Fitzgerald and ultimately covered by a LB, at the 13 to make it 3rd-and-1.
And Warner trips over his guard and barely gets the ball to fullback Terrelle Smith. The bad timing messes up the play and Carolina stuffs it. 4th down.
As Rackers hits from 30 to put Arizona ahead 20-7, Moose boldly assures us in hating the decision to kick the FG that "it'll be 21-20 quick". Based on what, the extreme poise and efficiency Delhomme is showing out there tonight?
Jones sprints right up the middle with the kick return to the 37. Oh, those NFC West special teams.
Yeah, Moose, it'll be 21-20 quick. Fucking stupid Delhomme throws the ball RIGHT TO Gerald Hayes to give the Cardinals the ball back at midfield. Second time tonight Delhomme hasn't even looked for the underneath coverage.
Can I ask again where Steve Smith's been all night?
Can I ask why DeAngelo Williams has touched the ball only six times?
Hightower blasts around right end for 14. This game is over, in most unexpected fashion.
Cards at the Panther 30. James bounces outside left for 1.
GAME OVER, as the Panthers continue to REFUSE to cover Fitzgerald. They fucking have a LINEBACKER covering him on a drag route as he catches it at the 10, outruns a safety and dives for the pylon. 29-yard TD, Fitzgerald, Arizona leads 27-7. This game is DONE, FINISHED, OVER.
Way to fucking show up, Carolina. Thanks for playing like a bunch of god damn morons on both sides of the ball and making me 0 FOR TWO today, 1 for 6 in the postseason.
Assholes. Great coaching job, John Fox. Moron.
Rackers kicks this one to the up man, and Carolina starts from their 26.
Delhomme to Duane Jarrett for 5. Whoopee!
False start. Way to have your team ready, Fox. 2nd-and-9.
Darnell Dockett beats Jordan Gross, who a lot of Rams Nation seems to want to sign this offseason, for a sack. Way to have your guys ready to play, Fox.
Delhomme gets FOREVER to throw on 3rd-and-12, and goes deep for Smith, but he's double-teamed and DRC breaks up the pass. Still no catches for Smith, and DRC is on the short list for MVP right now, along with Fitzgerald. Delhomme is in the clear lead for LVP, along with Carolina's whole coaching staff for an awful game plan on both sides of the ball and terrible preparation.
Assholes.
2:00 warning.
Cards have it at their 27 after the punt. James runs left for 4, then 2, as the Panthers cagily call timeouts after each run.
3rd-and-5. Bubble screen to Arrington; he gets out to the 40 with a first down. Panthers have a man down. Landon Johnson got a whiplash-inducing shot from one of his own teammates. Though he's sitting up, they're going to take him out on the court. Our prayers go with him.
Might as well do the halftime analysis now.
CAROLINA SUCKS.
Quit trying to zone-cover Fitzgerald, you idiots. Get the ball in Williams' hands, you idiots. Run some plays that'll get Steve Smith open, you idiots.
As for Arizona, don't get too conservative, keep mixing some Fitzgerald in with the running game and get ready to enjoy your appearance in the NFC Championship.
And the way I'm picking, your Super Bowl matchup with the Ravens.
Warner found Arrington at the 35 with :03 left to set up a long FG attempt for Rackers. How would this be for a coups de grace?
Not quite; Rackers is a little short from 53. The Panther fans boo their team off the field, down 27-7 at halftime.
I would normally rip home fans for booing their team during a playoff game but the Panthers deserve it. They have been unprepared and played like crap in every phase of the game except maybe kickoff returns. What the hell were John Fox and staff doing the last two weeks? Circle-jerking?
THIRD QUARTER
To put the frosting on his awful ensemble I described earlier, Moose has a green silk hankie in the pocket of his brown checked jacket. He IS being dressed by Craig Sager.
Everything went right in the first half for the Cardinals, who get the ball to start the second half, too. Arrington's return is to the 26.
James for 4-5 over the right side.
Play-action, Warner overthrows Fitzgerald on the side line as he's being hit. 3rd-5, more like 6.
Warner hits Jhereme Urban, whose first name the Carolina PA clearly pronounces as "Jermaine", for 8. It's "Jeremy", you dummy. The P.A. guy is as prepared tonight as the rest of the Panther organization.
Defensive holding on - guess who, D-Lew! - sets the Cards up at the 45.
Quick pass to Jermaine Urban loses 3.
Warner gets splattered by Chris Harris (America's Most Wanted?) on a huge blitz up the middle but got rid of the ball to preserve 3rd-and-13.
Big pressure from Brayton again from the outside forces a poor pass from Warner. Brayton got his arm as he threw. Rare defensive stop for the Panthers.
Jones fair catches the punt at the 10 despite having a little room.
Hey! It's DEANGELO WILLIAMS! Counter play for 15.
Quick screen to Muhammed for 4. Hell, he's only got two catches now.
Gerald Hayes hits the backfield unblocked and drops Williams for a loss. The Giants couldn't have done this ONCE the week I needed them to hold Williams under 16 fantasy points and they gave up 35 instead?
Antonio Smith stunts and belts Delhomme on 3rd down to force an awkward incompletion and a punt. Carolina looked like the Rams blocking that stunt. No, that's not a compliment.
Warner to Fitzgerald in the flat for 6. Puts the Cards at the 31.
And now a TERRIBLE play by Kurt, throwing it RIGHT TO Jon Beason at the 40 for an INT. That's just like Delhomme's second INT. C'mon, Kurt!
First down Panthers at the Arizona 31. Williams gets nothing up the middle. He's feast or famine tonight, isn't he?
ANOTHER lengthy conference by the Gene Steratore crew on a pre-snap penalty ends up as a false start on Carolina. 2nd and 16.
And Delhomme answers Warner's mistake with another colossal fuck-up. It's a screen for Steve Smith. Adrian Wilson is blitzing, gets a great leap and throws off the timing of the play. Delhomme pulls the ball down to avoid Wilson, then fires for Smith, who by now is blanketed by Cardinal DBs. It goes off one's hands and into Rolle's for an INT, and he returns it a long way, to about the Panther 32.
Good night, Panther fans! Drive safely.
DRC got the deflection on the INT a minute ago. He'll be hard to deny for game MVP.
James for 1.
Bubble screen to Fitzgerald for 10. Ridiculous.
Delhomme is sitting on the sideline with an expression like he's just been in a train wreck. Which he has.
False start on the fullback Smith, 1st-15.
Fitzgerald has 6 catches for 188. It's like he's playing the Rams out there! Also not a compliment for the Panthers.
No gain for James.
Warner to Breaston at the 15. 3rd-and-10.
TE Steve Spach illogically runs a poor pattern. Warner was looking for a lot flatter route to the sideline and fires it out there incomplete.
30-yard FG by Rackers puts Arizona up 30-7. Second half is going perfectly for the Cards so far. Their lead is in no danger whatsoever from worthless Delhomme and his worthless teammates.
Maybe those of us so sure the Cardinals would get wiped out on the east coast again should have considered their internal clocks might be in better tune for a night game on the east coast. This was like a 3:00 start in Arizona.
Panthers at their 33 after the kickoff, 4:32 left in the 3rd. Wow, Delhomme throws a pass that is NOT intercepted, to Jarrett across midfield. Don't go TOO soft on D, Cardinals.
6-yard comebacker to Muhammed.
Delhomme goes deep for Muhammed from the AZ 42, but he's well-covered by Roderick Hood and the pass is too far. 3rd-and-4.
DROP by Muhammed on 3rd down, coverage by Hood. Panthers will obviously go for it.
Muhammed appears to stumble and make a bad cut and Delhomme overthrows him badly. Cardinals ball.
Oh, and Steve who?
Hightower right for maybe 1. They're just grinding clock now, and thinking ahead to (if they know who I picked) the Eggles at home next week.
Pitch right to Hightower for 7. Stay in bounds next time, son.
They run a goofy-looking screen, more of a lateral handoff, to Doucet, who gets DESTROYED by Wildcat Chris Harris for a loss. Best hit of the postseason, I think. Punt goes into the end zone.
Inside handoff to Williams for 4.
Cards are late getting substitutions on the field, and only line up 2 d-linemen, allowing Delhomme to ACTUALLY FIND STEVE SMITH for a 36-yard catch-and-run. He hits Dante Rosario for 14 as the third quarter runs out with Arizona flexing a 23-point lead.
FOURTH QUARTER
Congratulations to the Punt Pass & Kick winners. Can any of you suit up at QB for the Panthers?
Panthers start the quarter at the Arizona 26.
Cards big blitz and Delhomme hits Rosario at the 14.
Draw to Williams for a couple. Panthers obviously in no-huddle.
Williams runs a wheel route into the end zone but Dansby has it covered for an incompletion.
Delhomme gets behind center with 8 seconds left on the play clock and STILL can't get the play off in time. Delay of game.
MORON.
3rd-and-13 at the 17. Cards rush 4, and dropping back into coverage, Ralph Brown intercepts the ball thrown RIGHT TO HIM intended for Steve Smith. Delhomme is a pile of crap, but every NFL team playing against Steve Smith in the future needs to save a copy of this game tape. The Cards have completely eliminated him.
Cards bang out ten on the ground before Spach goes down after taking a knee to the knee. I... will... always be... your friend... He's able to walk off the field, though. Live long and prosper.
Cardinals THROWING on first down and Warner throws it away into the flat. Carolina wants grounding there and appears to have a case. Kurt wasn't out of the pocket.
2nd-10 from the 30, James over the right side for 3.
OH NOOOOOOO, Spach is now being carted off as Warner's pass for Fitzgerald is behind him and incomplete.
Jones returns the punt to the 32. 11:30 left.
Stewart weaves his way with a screen pass for 12.
Out pattern for Jarrett is jumped by DRC, nearly for another interception.
With Wilson coming on a blitz, Delhomme throws his FIFTH interception now, to Hood at the 50.
Delhomme is so bad it isn't even funny.
I plan to ignore the rest of this game. Congratulations to Kurt Warner on his return to the NFC Championship game.
We are clearly headed for a Cardinals-Ravens Super Bowl. No one else in football is hotter, though the Eggles may have something to say about that tomorrow. The Cardinals certainly have to be taken 100% seriously at this point, and you certainly have to give them a chance if they're in the Meadowlands next Sunday, unless they're playing in an ice storm that day or something. Obviously, they're rooting for the Eggles tomorrow, but be careful what you wish for with that secondary. That would be a great matchup, Arizona's passing game vs. Philly's safeties. I'll really need to see tomorrow's game to decide how much I like Arizona's chances of
MVP of the game goes to Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who had a pick, created another and smothered Steve Smith whenever Smith ventured over there. (A lot better rookie performance against Smith than say, oh, TYE HILL.) Cardinals DC Clancy Pendergast deserves part of the game ball for a terrific scheme that made Steve Smith as useless as Drew Bennett and made Delhomme look like Marc Bulger on a bender.
Carolina's coaching staff should be ashamed of themselves. They prepared horribly for this game, getting away from everything they do well on offense and not having any apparent plan to stop or slow down the things Arizona does best on offense. John Fox's coaching for this game was so bad as to make Scott Linehan look good. Their biggest offseason need looks like it's a playmaker in the secondary. This is a solid team - on paper - that should have played a LOT better than it did tonight. So somebody in their front office better be kicking butts on that coaching staff all offseason.
Well, let's see if I can miss both fucking games tomorrow, too. My apologies in advance to the Giants and Chargers.
Short FG for Rackers in garbage time makes it 33-7.
Meaningless TD for Smith with less than a minute left makes is 33-13 while the Fox crew natters on about what a great competitor he is. Where was it the first, oh, FIFTY-NINE minutes of the game? Carolina attempts a meaningless two-pointer and meaninglessly misses it.
Good riddance to bad Carolina rubbish.
AFC Divisional Playoff: Ravens 13, Titans 10
PREGAME
We're just a few minutes away from a potential battle for Rams' head coach between Rex Ryan of Baltimore and Jim Schwartz of Tennessee. This bears to be a very interesting game for Rams fans to keep an eye on. If Schwartz can't make Joe Flacco look like Ryan made Chad Pennington look last week, he drops down the list.
Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf on the call for CBS.
FIRST QUARTER
Oh, how creative. The Titans gave their fans TOWELS to wave around. Bet no team ever thought of that idea, huh. Though I'm riding Tennessee in the football pool, I half hope Baltimore wins and stomps one of those things in the ground after the game. Poor recognition of karmic risk by the Titans' PR people, remembering what Titans did to a Pittsburgh towel after their regular season meeting.
I believe the Titans deferred and kick off. They bury Tom Zbikowski WITH A DEEP KICK and the Ravens will start from their 20. Why has no Rams special teams coach in the 14 years they've been here appreciated the value of a simple deep kick?
LeRon McClain left for 6 while I was whining about the Rams' kickoff game.
Tony Brown, one of the league's underappreciated DTs, drops McClain for a 4-yard loss.
Draw to McGahee for 3. Boy, they're sure protecting Flacco early. If he's that big a liability in Cam (Camtastic) Cameron's mind today, you can forget the Ravens right now.
Terry McAulay is today's referee. The Titans commit a dumb penalty on the punt return and start back at their 22.
Kerry Collins to Justin McCareins for about 15, as Samari Rolle slipped to give McCareins extra yards.
Chris Johnson runs into a big pile of Haloti Ngata for a loss. 2nd-11.
Johnson up the middle again, not surprisingly, for nothing again. Race Bannan on the tackle. 3rd-10.
Delay of game on the Titans. That's a crisp offense Mike Heimerdinger has running right now. BTW, can that guy ever hope to be hired as a head coach anywhere with the last name "Heimerdinger"?
Collins' 3rd-down pass is incomplete, beyond Justin Gage, who appeared to have a little trouble changing direction on the slick turf.
I should have mentioned at the top that it's raining in Tennessee. Defensive battle is well underway. There's going to be more 123-kicking today than at a Rockettes practice.
Ravens from their 20 after Craig Hentrich's punt finds the end zone. Flacco can't find anybody open and impressively runs through a couple of Titans for a 2-yard gain.
McClain runs into a pile for a small loss. 3rd-8. McClain averaging a foot a carry right now.
Illegal shift on Baltimore erases a play that would have been a first down. Cortland Finnegan tipped a high pass right to him on the sideline, but it went to Marcus Smith. 3rd-14, though.
Draw to McGahee as Camtastic Cameron continues to just waste our time. Let's just say I'm real happy I went with Tennessee at this point.
Titans take over at their 35.
Here's why the Titans drafted Chris Johnson. He gets a pass in the flat, puts a fake on Bart Scott and speeds downfield for 28. That's followed by a short pass to Alge Crumpler for a couple. I'm not sure why Mike Martz didn't accomplish with Trung Canidate what the Titans already have with Chris Johnson. If he's interviewed here, that's a question for Billy Devaney to ask.
After a short Johnson run, Collins overthrows an open Gage by a mile on a fly route down the Tennessee sideline. Samari Rolle bailed him out with an illegal contact penalty, though, on the Ravens' side of the field.
Titans at the Raven 28, where Lendale White gets stuffed by Terrell Suggs. But Collins next hits Gage on a curl-in inside the 10, beating Fabian Washington. 1st-goal at the 8.
Chris Johnson sweeps right for an 8-yard TD to put Tennessee ahead 7-0, though I swear his knee touched down at the 2. Shades of Eddie George in SB34. Baltimore is not tackling nearly as well as they customarily do.
Rob Bironas kicked the PAT even though Frank Walker jumped so far offside for the Ravens, he ran past the ball after Bironas kicked it. Not sure why Bironas had to kick it again, but he did. He'll kick off from the 35 after that penalty.
Also, this game may already be over. Not with the complete lack of trust Cameron has in his QB. They'd better get it moving on the ground.
Bironas blasts the kickoff into the crowd. Ravens will start at their 20 again.
Flacco saves a sack with a backward pass to McClain, who makes up for completely failing to pick up Jevon Kearse by taking off for 8. Neal gains 1 to make it 3rd-and-1.
Boy is Flacco strong, moving the pile for 3 yards on the QB sneak for Baltimore's first 1st down.
Quick slant to Derrick Mason for 8, and add 15 for Jason Jones hitting Flacco in the head. Just like that, Baltimore's across midfield.
McClain cuts a run back nicely for 6, but Mason's called for holding. 1st-18 from the Raven 47.
Flacco has all day after a play-fake but Mark Clayton can't stay in bounds with the catch.
McClain DROPS a screen that looked promising. 3rd-18.
Ravens waste a timeout with the play clock running down.
Kyle Vanden Bosch jumps roughly a mile offside to make it 3rd-13.
Flacco steps up in the pocket and hits the incredible Derrick Mason perfectly up the Ravens sideline for a TD to tie the game at 7. Atrocious coverage of Mason. The CB gave him up after about 5 yards with nobody else remotely in his area to cover, and Chris Hope was woefully late in deep support. Atrocious, atrocious, atrocious.
Cameron saves his butt by trusting his QB a little bit.
Chris Carr across the 27 with the kick return.
Neat cutback right by Johnson for 9. He has cartoon-quick feet.
Johnson explodes up the middle for 32 more as the first. quarter ends. Terrific pancake block by Michael Roos set that up. Titans will start the 2nd quarter at the Baltimore 32.
SECOND QUARTER
Quick 7 yards to McCareins. I spend the next five minutes fighting the Blogger editor again over line feeds and boldface mode.
Screen pass is incomplete with Bart Scott blitzing in untouched.
3rd-3, it's a stupid TE screen to Bo Scaife that appears to lose 5. Jim Leonhard one of many Ravens all over it.
I haven't followed the Titans much this year, which hurts me in understanding what's happening next. Rob Bironas is one of the NFL's best kickers but Jeff Fisher, as he's done several times this year, is bypassing a makeable (48 yard) FG attempt to go for it on 4th down. And EIGHT?
Collins muffs the shotgun snap on 4th down and the ball caroms around until he falls on it for an 8-yard loss. Good thing Fisher didn't go for that FG, eh?
Baltimore at their 38. Jacob Ford jumps about TWO miles offside. I have never seen as many ridiculous offsides than I have already in this game. That is at least the NINTH penalty of this game, btw.
Flacco to Mason for 12.
McClain off right guard for 3. He stays down injured.
2nd-7, Flacco rolls left and gets FOREVER to throw again. Hayes hits him from behind to force an incomplete pass.
Flacco pumps deep on 3rd down and tries to throw short but David Thornton knocks it down.
All the same, Baltimore's line is giving Flacco a TON of time to throw today.
Sam Koch's punt checks up brilliantly at the 2 to pin the Titans deep.
O-line false start makes it 1st-11 at the 1 now for Tennessee.
HOO, Johnson hesitates IN THE ENDZONE but emerges over the left side for a couple.
Johnson DANCES IN THE ENDZONE AGAIN and has to make a desperation dive just to get across the goal line. OK, he had to dance because Terrell Suggs completely dominated Alge Crumpler.
Fullback Ahmad Hall takes a swing pass out across the 12 for a FIRST DOWN, unforgivably bad defense by Baltimore. Ray Lewis blew Hall's helmet off his head with a thuggish, penalizable forearm shiver but he stayed upright. Lewis took a swing at Hall after the play and didn't get a penalty for that, either.
Then Tennessee gets a penalty for a blow to the head while the Ravens are maliciously trying to bend Johnson in half backwards after a short run. Exact same call they should have called on Lewis the previous play!
I hate this sequence of refereeing. They're letting Baltimore play rough and not giving Tennessee the same benefit.
Looks like it's 1st-and-13 at the 9 - CBS apparently has no idea (try reading the scoreboard!) - and Johnson gets most of it on a sweep right. 2nd-3.
White up the middle for 1.
On 3rd down, Collins hits Gage over the middle with a quick pass at the 30 for a first down.
Gage wide open deep over the middle for 25, beating a blitz. C'mon, Rex Ryan!
Collins is 9-for-11.
Johnson jukes out of a 4-yard loss and gains 4 off the left side. I like this kid.
Blitz up the middle is picked up handily as Collins hits Scaife for 8. How 'bout it, Rex?
Suggs sacks Collins at the 40 - gotta get rid of that ball, Kerry - but stays down injured as the Titans fans CLASSLESSLY cheer. 2nd-16 as we go to break.
Hey, Miller Lite, what kind of wuss is going to spend nine hours watching football this weekend when there's FOUR games on? I'm in it for 13-14, baby!
5:30 till halftime. Gage open again on a curl-in for 13. Hey Ryan, your defense is getting chewed up here.
Collins gets surprised by a shotgun snap again - does the CENTER not know the snap count? White does not get the first down on the draw, but it's all coming back for an illegal shift. 3rd-8.
Big blitz by Ryan in a non-blitz situation pays off, as Collins chucks a dying quail that Rolle picks off at the 10.
Baltimore at their 12 with 4:07 left. McClain up the middle for 2.
Kearse grabs McClain's shoulder pad in the backfield for a loss. 3rd-10.
Titans bring the blitz in a non-blitz situation now, and Flacco nearly burns them with a sideline bomb to Mason, who barely misses keeping his feet in bounds in catching the rocket pass.
Penalty spoils midfield field position for Tennessee. They'll start at their 28 with 2:24 left.
White off right guard for a couple as we reach the 2:00 warning.
Collins to Gage again, for 18 out to the 48. Rex Ryan is turning Justin Gage into Larry Fitzgerald.
And he's turning Kerry Collins into Drew Brees, 12-for-15 after throwing a 1st down pass away out of bounds.
With Ray Lewis blitzing, Collins hits Scaife for 14 to the Raven 39. Hmm, who saw that play coming last week?
Collins to Fitz-, um, Gage, for 11 more. They're at the Raven 27 with 0:51 to go.
Good coverage this time as Rolle has Gage blanketed in the end zone. Collins had to rush the throw after Lewis knocked Crumpler ON HIS ASS on the blitz.
Timeout, Ravens?, with 0:45 left.
Collins hits Scaife at the 22 with 0:36 left. Should be 3rd and about 5.
DRAW to White, who gets the first down, BUT LOSES THE BALL and Jim Leonhard recovers it.
That's a blown snap on 4th down, an INT and a fumble for the Titans this half in certain scoring position. How much credit ought we give Rex Ryan for that?
Flacco kneels out the clock, and it's 7-7 at halftime. Certainly not unexpected.
I am shocked at the success Tennessee is having passing so far. Baltimore, as I worried last week, has to blitz to get any kind of pressure on Collins. He's hitting Gage moreso than his TEs, but even the Raven blitz isn't getting enough pressure on Collins thanks to topnotch blocking. Ryan better come up with some creative schemes after halftime - they have been absolutely vanilla so far compared to last week - or he doesn't need to bother interviewing with Billy Devaney tomorrow as far as I'm concerned. Tempting though it may be, I would encourage Tennessee not to abandon the run. If they stick with it, Johnson's going to break one big. I look for them to smoke Raven blitzes with draws in the 2nd half. And I can't believe the Ravens are going to keep pulling these red-zone turnovers out of their ass. Tennessee's dominating this game on offense but they've gotta FINISH.
Tennessee's not getting that much pressure on Flacco, either, JIM SCHWARTZ, but they are shutting down the run. I'd like to see Baltimore get Willis McGahee in the game more as a change of pace, and they need to get the ball to Todd Heap, who hasn't even gotten a LOOK yet. Cameron's gotta put some speed on the field in McGahee, trust Flacco and open up the offense. Too many two-receiver routes are getting shut down by the Titan secondary right now (despite their terrible coverage on the Mason TD).
THIRD QUARTER
Chris Carr all the way out to the 40 with the kick return.
Collins had 177 yards passing at halftime.
White to the left for maybe 1.
Short sideline pass DROPPED by McCareins.
Ravens blitz big and Gage DROPS the too-short-anyway pass over the middle.
Hentrich's punt bounces into the end zone, and Baltimore was holding for the FOURTEENTH penalty of the game. Both teams need to clean that up in a hurry.
Ravens from their 10. McGahee's in to start the half, but can only stutter for 1 up the middle.
Mason makes a diving catch of a low pass for 10. First down. Great catch!
The Ravens unnecessarily rush the next play and McGahee loses one around right end.
Smoke route to Mason gets a whole yard back.
With KVDB clinging to his foot, Flacco finds Heap over the middle for 15 but the TE bobbles and DROPS the pass.
Well, at least they're trying to do what I tell them.
Poor punt will start the Titans at their 46.
White takes a pass over the middle, breaks a tackle and runs away for about 20. Big play, and Baltimore is already in need of a big play on D.
Maybe a yard for White, who's going to get a lot of action with Johnson apparently injured on the sideline. Ankle injury; no idea when it happened, but it may really hurt. The Titans, I mean, not just Johnson.
White over the left side for a couple.
3rd-7, Collins hits Scaife on the sideline but a good two yards short of the first down.
Tennessee brings Bironas in for a FG two yards shorter than the attempt they bypassed in the 1st half, but Baltimore is now challenging the 3rd down catch. Apparently the wind is figuring in big in Fisher's kicking decisions, and it's at the Titans' backs right now.
Good challenge by Harbaugh. The referee didn't get a good look at the catch because he had to dodge the players, and replay reveals Scaife was bobbling it. Bironas' try will be from 51.
And he misses wide left. Ravens take over at their 41. Harbaugh's challenge may be a turning point in this game.
Inside handoff to McClain loses a couple, stuffed by Jacob Ford.
Play action bomb is beyond Clayton, with Finnegan almost coming up with it. 3rd-11.
Ravens have to blow a timeout again with the clock running down. This has to come back to bite them, doesn't it?
Great coverage downfield and a creative staggered 4-man rush by Schwartz, and Flacco has to dump it off for a meager gain.
Titans jump a mile offside on the punt, but it's still 4th-and-2.
Koch's punt finds the end zone to start Tennessee at their 20.
Play-action bomb for Gage is well-overthrown, and Washington had it well-covered anyway. 2nd-10.
Johnson is parka-bound on the sideline and is apparently done for the day after averaging over 6.5 a rush in the first half. White gets stuffed for no gain on 2nd down. He is averaging 1.38 a carry.
3rd-10, Collins' back-foot slant pass attempt is knocked down by Rolle.
Pausing for a second to note the high quality of Dierdorf's analysis today. He's been all over everything.
After I spend five minutes re-establishing my freaking Internet connection, Baltimore takes over at their 39. Well set-up screen to Lorenzo Neal for 7.
With the WRs wandering around like they have no idea what's happening, Baltimore has to blow ANOTHER time out. Cam-tastic! One TO left for the last 21:30.
Inside handoff to McGahee for 4 and a first down at the 50.
McGahee again, up the middle for 6.
McGahee loses a foot off the left side. Titans ignore the fake end-around. 3rd-5.
Mason, who's been a true football hero the last four weeks, DROPS the third down pass. Yeah, Nick Harper got a hand in there, but there's little excuse for Mason not to bring that down.
Titans start from their 15. Circle route to White for 5.
Sideline pass to Gage for 6 and a first.
White off the right side for a couple.
Wild throwaway by Collins with the Titans flagged for holding anyway. Jarret Johnson was right in Collins' face. Samari Rolle goes down and limps off the field, I'm guessing a groin injury from his gait.
2nd-19. Draw to White gets about 5.
I called Rolle's groin injury correctly!
Big blitz by Baltimore in a non-blitz situation, and Collins throws it well short of McCareins' corner route to force another punt.
Big return by Leonhard on that punt, 29 yards all the way to the Tennessee 41. This game is slowly tilting in the Ravens' favor. I'm not going 1-for-4 AGAIN this week, am I?
Flacco overthrows Clayton at the 30. Now Jevon Kearse is down. What is the Tennessee crowd booing for? Are they that big a bunch of idiots? Maybe there was a dirty play TV missed.
2nd-10. With Flacco getting all day to throw yet again, both Finnegan and Hope fall on a lob to Clayton that should have been picked off. Clayton catches it at the 4-yard line instead. Play of the game so far. Albert Haynesworth now limps off injured for the Titans, who are in Titanic trouble.
First and goal. McClain dives for a couple down to the 3. He limps off now. This game has gone beyond hard-hitting. How can either team expect to win next week, no matter where they're playing?
Big play by Keith Bulluck, getting his name called for the first time all day, penetrating into the backfield to drop McGahee for a 4-yard loss. Third and goal, Ravens, from the 7 as the third quarter ends.
What an amazing game.
FOURTH QUARTER
A very exciting play gains just 4. The Titans flush Flacco, he scrambles and hits McGahee at the 10; he then cuts back across the middle and looks dangerous but they bring him down.
Matt Stover hits from 22 to put the Ravens ahead 10-7. Time for Collins to get cracking.
Chris Carr is a heckuva good kick returner, bringing this one out to the 36. He does a nice job of running patiently while also spotting openings upfield and hitting them.
Collins to White for 14 out to midfield. Looks like that was an intended screen that Baltimore initially blew up.
White around right end for 11. Are the Ravens tiring out?
Collins pumps and throws a deep incompletion. Sloppy, Walker had a chance to pick it off.
Pretty readable draw to QUINTON GANTHER loses at least one. Remember back to August, when Ganther was running all over the Ram defense like he was Walter Payton?
3rd-11. Ravens rush 4, and Gage burns them with that curl-in again, making a leaping catch for 15. Looked like he was playing the high post on that play.
White gains 1 around right end after nearly getting hauled down by Lewis for a big loss.
2nd-9 at the Raven 25. Ravens blitz big and force Collins to throw it away.
The Ravens blitz big again in a non-blitz situation and Collins burns them with a slant to Gage down to the 14. Sorry, but Rex Ryan is not impressing me today. He impressed me a lot more against Miami last week.
White's stuffed up the middle yet again, 2nd-9.
Collins hits Crumpler with a short pass, and HE LOSES THE BALL in midair after getting upended by Leonhard at the 5. THE RAVENS RECOVER AT THE ONE.
That's the FOURTH TIME the Titans have been in scoring position today and come away with nothing. That's way too many. The Ravens get a first down here, it's over.
After a false start, Flacco sneaks for a couple. 2nd-8 from the 3. Ryan Fowler nearly drops McClain for a safety. 3rd-10 from the 1. Look for another sneak. 11 rushes for McClain today for 12 yards.
On 3rd down, Flacco drops deep and appears to step on the back line... maybe not, a blocker crossed my line of vision. I'm really surprised Tennessee does not challenge. They must have a better angle. Also, the announcers think nothing's fishy; they wouldn't miss that. 7:34 left in the game, and Koch will be punting from the back of the end zone. Brandon Jones muffs the return but recovers it and is taken down at the 42.
To overstate the obvious, Tennessee HAS to come away with points here.
Collins to Brandon Jones for 11. Carry that ball tighter, Brandon.
Nice cutback by White, who roars inside the 20.
White off left tackle for 3, down to the 16.
Bart Scott DRILLS White in the flat for a loss on a swing pass. 3rd-10.
Ravens rush 3, and Collins finds Gage underneath. Lewis and two DBs appear to stop him a foot or two short. Yep, 4th and a couple of feet. On comes Bironas with 4:35 left.
He ties the game 10-10 with about a 29-yard FG. More overtime on the way this postseason?
Zbikowski's only out to the 24 with the kick return, as I'm almost caught up with live time again.
McGahee bounces outside for about 6. 4:00 left.
Same play, with McGahee gaining 2.
3:00 left. With a big fat zero showing on the play clock, Flacco hits Heap over the middle for 23 to the strains of a remarkably loud HEAP cry from apparent Ravens fans.
HOW CAN THE OFFICIALS MISS THE PLAY CLOCK RUNNING OUT AT SUCH A CRUCIAL JUNCTURE?
False start, Ravens, making it 1st-15 from the 50. Flacco goes deep for Mason down the Tennessee sideline in double coverage, and his one-handed catch attempt fails with 1:58 left. 2:00 warning.
Baltimore has the wind at their back, iirc, and are 16-17 yards from a reasonable FG attempt for Stover.
The Freak is offsides to make it 2nd-10 at the Titan 45 for Baltimore.
Inside handoff???? to McGahee, but he finds a lot of room on the left side for about 11. Gumbel points out the Ravens will go to kickoff specialist Steven Hauschka for anything over 45 yards as Dierdorf confirms Baltimore has the wind at its back.
McGahee up the middle for 1. 1:18 left.
The Titans now stuff McClain at the 33 and call timeout. They have two left. Looks for all the world like the Ravens are happy to settle for a 50-yard attempt by Hauschka here. Really?
1:04 left. Play-action pass to Clayton at the 25 sets up a very makeable FG for Stover. 4th-and-short, 0:57 left, I assume the Ravens are kicking. The Titans use their 2nd timeout.
And here's Stover, putting the Ravens ahead 13-10 with a 43-yard kick. Another freaking great week for me in the football pool coming right up.
Ravens kick off with 0:53 left. Griffin returns it out to the 35. Titans need at least 35 yards. They start with a STUPID 5-yard pass OVER THE MIDDLE to Jones. Gage fails to come up with a sliding sideline catch at the Raven 40 with 23 seconds left, and Tennessee is already under the gun. 3rd-5.
Collins IDIOTICALLY goes OVER THE MIDDLE AGAIN and is extremely lucky not to get it picked off. FOURTH AND FIVE! Ravens get to Collins with a three man rush, and he throws it a mile over the open receiver downfield.
I cannot believe I have been so fucking lousy at predicting this year's playoff games. Lotsa luck, Carolina, Giants, San Diego! Looks like we're in for a Ravens-Eggles Super Bowl the way my fucking picks are going.
Baltimore 13, Tennessee 10, and the SIX seed has advanced to the AFC Championship.
Obviously we don't know where Baltimore's going next week yet, but right now I don't like their chances of slugging it out with either the Steelers or Chargers after the extremely physical contest they had today. So, book the Ravens to the Super Bowl, I guess; fuck if I can ever pick any of their games right.
Tennessee didn't lose this because of weakness at any particular position, even given Collins' shitty second half; turnovers did them in completely. They really should have had another 17-20 points. Least Valuable Player of this game, though, is Chris Hope, burned on both of Flacco's big passes. Also give a nod to Terry McAulay or whichever official was responsible for not noticing the play clock RUN OUT during Baltimore's final drive. Usually this is where I'd suggest how to improve the losing team for next year; Tennessee mostly needs to find better luck. In particular, they needed somebody to step up after Johnson was injured, and really didn't get that. But without poor luck with fumbles, injuries and officiating mistakes, they're hosting the AFC Championship next week. If they stumble on a good back-seven player in the draft, a safety in particular, they should jump.
Hmm, did somebody make a suggestion about Terrible Towel karma before the opening kickoff?
With a nod toward John Harbaugh for challenging the catch before the long FG miss by Bironas and having a team that clearly believes they can beat anybody, the game MVP goes to Jim Leonhard for a truly amazing game. He recovered the Lendale White fumble, forced the Crumpler fumble, and his blitz forced Collins' INT. Ed Reed was completely silent today, but the MVP of the game is still a Raven safety. Brilliant game by Leonhard.
As for the Ryan-vs.-Schwartz faceoff, Ryan won it, decisively. Schwartz doesn't like to blitz, and he didn't even though he wasn't putting a lot of pressure on the rookie Flacco. Lack of pressure left his secondary exposed in ugly fashion on the two big plays. I don't need to see any more of that stuff here in Rams Nation - I like a defense that'll get after it like Ryan's did, though I also thought Ryan unnecessarily exposed his guys too often with 3rd-and-long blitzes after playing the first half way too vanilla. He certainly does have them in a successful mindset where turnovers are concerned, though. I'd take him as Rams HC.
No rest for those of us without lives; on to Kurt and the Panthers.
We're just a few minutes away from a potential battle for Rams' head coach between Rex Ryan of Baltimore and Jim Schwartz of Tennessee. This bears to be a very interesting game for Rams fans to keep an eye on. If Schwartz can't make Joe Flacco look like Ryan made Chad Pennington look last week, he drops down the list.
Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf on the call for CBS.
FIRST QUARTER
Oh, how creative. The Titans gave their fans TOWELS to wave around. Bet no team ever thought of that idea, huh. Though I'm riding Tennessee in the football pool, I half hope Baltimore wins and stomps one of those things in the ground after the game. Poor recognition of karmic risk by the Titans' PR people, remembering what Titans did to a Pittsburgh towel after their regular season meeting.
I believe the Titans deferred and kick off. They bury Tom Zbikowski WITH A DEEP KICK and the Ravens will start from their 20. Why has no Rams special teams coach in the 14 years they've been here appreciated the value of a simple deep kick?
LeRon McClain left for 6 while I was whining about the Rams' kickoff game.
Tony Brown, one of the league's underappreciated DTs, drops McClain for a 4-yard loss.
Draw to McGahee for 3. Boy, they're sure protecting Flacco early. If he's that big a liability in Cam (Camtastic) Cameron's mind today, you can forget the Ravens right now.
Terry McAulay is today's referee. The Titans commit a dumb penalty on the punt return and start back at their 22.
Kerry Collins to Justin McCareins for about 15, as Samari Rolle slipped to give McCareins extra yards.
Chris Johnson runs into a big pile of Haloti Ngata for a loss. 2nd-11.
Johnson up the middle again, not surprisingly, for nothing again. Race Bannan on the tackle. 3rd-10.
Delay of game on the Titans. That's a crisp offense Mike Heimerdinger has running right now. BTW, can that guy ever hope to be hired as a head coach anywhere with the last name "Heimerdinger"?
Collins' 3rd-down pass is incomplete, beyond Justin Gage, who appeared to have a little trouble changing direction on the slick turf.
I should have mentioned at the top that it's raining in Tennessee. Defensive battle is well underway. There's going to be more 123-kicking today than at a Rockettes practice.
Ravens from their 20 after Craig Hentrich's punt finds the end zone. Flacco can't find anybody open and impressively runs through a couple of Titans for a 2-yard gain.
McClain runs into a pile for a small loss. 3rd-8. McClain averaging a foot a carry right now.
Illegal shift on Baltimore erases a play that would have been a first down. Cortland Finnegan tipped a high pass right to him on the sideline, but it went to Marcus Smith. 3rd-14, though.
Draw to McGahee as Camtastic Cameron continues to just waste our time. Let's just say I'm real happy I went with Tennessee at this point.
Titans take over at their 35.
Here's why the Titans drafted Chris Johnson. He gets a pass in the flat, puts a fake on Bart Scott and speeds downfield for 28. That's followed by a short pass to Alge Crumpler for a couple. I'm not sure why Mike Martz didn't accomplish with Trung Canidate what the Titans already have with Chris Johnson. If he's interviewed here, that's a question for Billy Devaney to ask.
After a short Johnson run, Collins overthrows an open Gage by a mile on a fly route down the Tennessee sideline. Samari Rolle bailed him out with an illegal contact penalty, though, on the Ravens' side of the field.
Titans at the Raven 28, where Lendale White gets stuffed by Terrell Suggs. But Collins next hits Gage on a curl-in inside the 10, beating Fabian Washington. 1st-goal at the 8.
Chris Johnson sweeps right for an 8-yard TD to put Tennessee ahead 7-0, though I swear his knee touched down at the 2. Shades of Eddie George in SB34. Baltimore is not tackling nearly as well as they customarily do.
Rob Bironas kicked the PAT even though Frank Walker jumped so far offside for the Ravens, he ran past the ball after Bironas kicked it. Not sure why Bironas had to kick it again, but he did. He'll kick off from the 35 after that penalty.
Also, this game may already be over. Not with the complete lack of trust Cameron has in his QB. They'd better get it moving on the ground.
Bironas blasts the kickoff into the crowd. Ravens will start at their 20 again.
Flacco saves a sack with a backward pass to McClain, who makes up for completely failing to pick up Jevon Kearse by taking off for 8. Neal gains 1 to make it 3rd-and-1.
Boy is Flacco strong, moving the pile for 3 yards on the QB sneak for Baltimore's first 1st down.
Quick slant to Derrick Mason for 8, and add 15 for Jason Jones hitting Flacco in the head. Just like that, Baltimore's across midfield.
McClain cuts a run back nicely for 6, but Mason's called for holding. 1st-18 from the Raven 47.
Flacco has all day after a play-fake but Mark Clayton can't stay in bounds with the catch.
McClain DROPS a screen that looked promising. 3rd-18.
Ravens waste a timeout with the play clock running down.
Kyle Vanden Bosch jumps roughly a mile offside to make it 3rd-13.
Flacco steps up in the pocket and hits the incredible Derrick Mason perfectly up the Ravens sideline for a TD to tie the game at 7. Atrocious coverage of Mason. The CB gave him up after about 5 yards with nobody else remotely in his area to cover, and Chris Hope was woefully late in deep support. Atrocious, atrocious, atrocious.
Cameron saves his butt by trusting his QB a little bit.
Chris Carr across the 27 with the kick return.
Neat cutback right by Johnson for 9. He has cartoon-quick feet.
Johnson explodes up the middle for 32 more as the first. quarter ends. Terrific pancake block by Michael Roos set that up. Titans will start the 2nd quarter at the Baltimore 32.
SECOND QUARTER
Quick 7 yards to McCareins. I spend the next five minutes fighting the Blogger editor again over line feeds and boldface mode.
Screen pass is incomplete with Bart Scott blitzing in untouched.
3rd-3, it's a stupid TE screen to Bo Scaife that appears to lose 5. Jim Leonhard one of many Ravens all over it.
I haven't followed the Titans much this year, which hurts me in understanding what's happening next. Rob Bironas is one of the NFL's best kickers but Jeff Fisher, as he's done several times this year, is bypassing a makeable (48 yard) FG attempt to go for it on 4th down. And EIGHT?
Collins muffs the shotgun snap on 4th down and the ball caroms around until he falls on it for an 8-yard loss. Good thing Fisher didn't go for that FG, eh?
Baltimore at their 38. Jacob Ford jumps about TWO miles offside. I have never seen as many ridiculous offsides than I have already in this game. That is at least the NINTH penalty of this game, btw.
Flacco to Mason for 12.
McClain off right guard for 3. He stays down injured.
2nd-7, Flacco rolls left and gets FOREVER to throw again. Hayes hits him from behind to force an incomplete pass.
Flacco pumps deep on 3rd down and tries to throw short but David Thornton knocks it down.
All the same, Baltimore's line is giving Flacco a TON of time to throw today.
Sam Koch's punt checks up brilliantly at the 2 to pin the Titans deep.
O-line false start makes it 1st-11 at the 1 now for Tennessee.
HOO, Johnson hesitates IN THE ENDZONE but emerges over the left side for a couple.
Johnson DANCES IN THE ENDZONE AGAIN and has to make a desperation dive just to get across the goal line. OK, he had to dance because Terrell Suggs completely dominated Alge Crumpler.
Fullback Ahmad Hall takes a swing pass out across the 12 for a FIRST DOWN, unforgivably bad defense by Baltimore. Ray Lewis blew Hall's helmet off his head with a thuggish, penalizable forearm shiver but he stayed upright. Lewis took a swing at Hall after the play and didn't get a penalty for that, either.
Then Tennessee gets a penalty for a blow to the head while the Ravens are maliciously trying to bend Johnson in half backwards after a short run. Exact same call they should have called on Lewis the previous play!
I hate this sequence of refereeing. They're letting Baltimore play rough and not giving Tennessee the same benefit.
Looks like it's 1st-and-13 at the 9 - CBS apparently has no idea (try reading the scoreboard!) - and Johnson gets most of it on a sweep right. 2nd-3.
White up the middle for 1.
On 3rd down, Collins hits Gage over the middle with a quick pass at the 30 for a first down.
Gage wide open deep over the middle for 25, beating a blitz. C'mon, Rex Ryan!
Collins is 9-for-11.
Johnson jukes out of a 4-yard loss and gains 4 off the left side. I like this kid.
Blitz up the middle is picked up handily as Collins hits Scaife for 8. How 'bout it, Rex?
Suggs sacks Collins at the 40 - gotta get rid of that ball, Kerry - but stays down injured as the Titans fans CLASSLESSLY cheer. 2nd-16 as we go to break.
Hey, Miller Lite, what kind of wuss is going to spend nine hours watching football this weekend when there's FOUR games on? I'm in it for 13-14, baby!
5:30 till halftime. Gage open again on a curl-in for 13. Hey Ryan, your defense is getting chewed up here.
Collins gets surprised by a shotgun snap again - does the CENTER not know the snap count? White does not get the first down on the draw, but it's all coming back for an illegal shift. 3rd-8.
Big blitz by Ryan in a non-blitz situation pays off, as Collins chucks a dying quail that Rolle picks off at the 10.
Baltimore at their 12 with 4:07 left. McClain up the middle for 2.
Kearse grabs McClain's shoulder pad in the backfield for a loss. 3rd-10.
Titans bring the blitz in a non-blitz situation now, and Flacco nearly burns them with a sideline bomb to Mason, who barely misses keeping his feet in bounds in catching the rocket pass.
Penalty spoils midfield field position for Tennessee. They'll start at their 28 with 2:24 left.
White off right guard for a couple as we reach the 2:00 warning.
Collins to Gage again, for 18 out to the 48. Rex Ryan is turning Justin Gage into Larry Fitzgerald.
And he's turning Kerry Collins into Drew Brees, 12-for-15 after throwing a 1st down pass away out of bounds.
With Ray Lewis blitzing, Collins hits Scaife for 14 to the Raven 39. Hmm, who saw that play coming last week?
Collins to Fitz-, um, Gage, for 11 more. They're at the Raven 27 with 0:51 to go.
Good coverage this time as Rolle has Gage blanketed in the end zone. Collins had to rush the throw after Lewis knocked Crumpler ON HIS ASS on the blitz.
Timeout, Ravens?, with 0:45 left.
Collins hits Scaife at the 22 with 0:36 left. Should be 3rd and about 5.
DRAW to White, who gets the first down, BUT LOSES THE BALL and Jim Leonhard recovers it.
That's a blown snap on 4th down, an INT and a fumble for the Titans this half in certain scoring position. How much credit ought we give Rex Ryan for that?
Flacco kneels out the clock, and it's 7-7 at halftime. Certainly not unexpected.
I am shocked at the success Tennessee is having passing so far. Baltimore, as I worried last week, has to blitz to get any kind of pressure on Collins. He's hitting Gage moreso than his TEs, but even the Raven blitz isn't getting enough pressure on Collins thanks to topnotch blocking. Ryan better come up with some creative schemes after halftime - they have been absolutely vanilla so far compared to last week - or he doesn't need to bother interviewing with Billy Devaney tomorrow as far as I'm concerned. Tempting though it may be, I would encourage Tennessee not to abandon the run. If they stick with it, Johnson's going to break one big. I look for them to smoke Raven blitzes with draws in the 2nd half. And I can't believe the Ravens are going to keep pulling these red-zone turnovers out of their ass. Tennessee's dominating this game on offense but they've gotta FINISH.
Tennessee's not getting that much pressure on Flacco, either, JIM SCHWARTZ, but they are shutting down the run. I'd like to see Baltimore get Willis McGahee in the game more as a change of pace, and they need to get the ball to Todd Heap, who hasn't even gotten a LOOK yet. Cameron's gotta put some speed on the field in McGahee, trust Flacco and open up the offense. Too many two-receiver routes are getting shut down by the Titan secondary right now (despite their terrible coverage on the Mason TD).
THIRD QUARTER
Chris Carr all the way out to the 40 with the kick return.
Collins had 177 yards passing at halftime.
White to the left for maybe 1.
Short sideline pass DROPPED by McCareins.
Ravens blitz big and Gage DROPS the too-short-anyway pass over the middle.
Hentrich's punt bounces into the end zone, and Baltimore was holding for the FOURTEENTH penalty of the game. Both teams need to clean that up in a hurry.
Ravens from their 10. McGahee's in to start the half, but can only stutter for 1 up the middle.
Mason makes a diving catch of a low pass for 10. First down. Great catch!
The Ravens unnecessarily rush the next play and McGahee loses one around right end.
Smoke route to Mason gets a whole yard back.
With KVDB clinging to his foot, Flacco finds Heap over the middle for 15 but the TE bobbles and DROPS the pass.
Well, at least they're trying to do what I tell them.
Poor punt will start the Titans at their 46.
White takes a pass over the middle, breaks a tackle and runs away for about 20. Big play, and Baltimore is already in need of a big play on D.
Maybe a yard for White, who's going to get a lot of action with Johnson apparently injured on the sideline. Ankle injury; no idea when it happened, but it may really hurt. The Titans, I mean, not just Johnson.
White over the left side for a couple.
3rd-7, Collins hits Scaife on the sideline but a good two yards short of the first down.
Tennessee brings Bironas in for a FG two yards shorter than the attempt they bypassed in the 1st half, but Baltimore is now challenging the 3rd down catch. Apparently the wind is figuring in big in Fisher's kicking decisions, and it's at the Titans' backs right now.
Good challenge by Harbaugh. The referee didn't get a good look at the catch because he had to dodge the players, and replay reveals Scaife was bobbling it. Bironas' try will be from 51.
And he misses wide left. Ravens take over at their 41. Harbaugh's challenge may be a turning point in this game.
Inside handoff to McClain loses a couple, stuffed by Jacob Ford.
Play action bomb is beyond Clayton, with Finnegan almost coming up with it. 3rd-11.
Ravens have to blow a timeout again with the clock running down. This has to come back to bite them, doesn't it?
Great coverage downfield and a creative staggered 4-man rush by Schwartz, and Flacco has to dump it off for a meager gain.
Titans jump a mile offside on the punt, but it's still 4th-and-2.
Koch's punt finds the end zone to start Tennessee at their 20.
Play-action bomb for Gage is well-overthrown, and Washington had it well-covered anyway. 2nd-10.
Johnson is parka-bound on the sideline and is apparently done for the day after averaging over 6.5 a rush in the first half. White gets stuffed for no gain on 2nd down. He is averaging 1.38 a carry.
3rd-10, Collins' back-foot slant pass attempt is knocked down by Rolle.
Pausing for a second to note the high quality of Dierdorf's analysis today. He's been all over everything.
After I spend five minutes re-establishing my freaking Internet connection, Baltimore takes over at their 39. Well set-up screen to Lorenzo Neal for 7.
With the WRs wandering around like they have no idea what's happening, Baltimore has to blow ANOTHER time out. Cam-tastic! One TO left for the last 21:30.
Inside handoff to McGahee for 4 and a first down at the 50.
McGahee again, up the middle for 6.
McGahee loses a foot off the left side. Titans ignore the fake end-around. 3rd-5.
Mason, who's been a true football hero the last four weeks, DROPS the third down pass. Yeah, Nick Harper got a hand in there, but there's little excuse for Mason not to bring that down.
Titans start from their 15. Circle route to White for 5.
Sideline pass to Gage for 6 and a first.
White off the right side for a couple.
Wild throwaway by Collins with the Titans flagged for holding anyway. Jarret Johnson was right in Collins' face. Samari Rolle goes down and limps off the field, I'm guessing a groin injury from his gait.
2nd-19. Draw to White gets about 5.
I called Rolle's groin injury correctly!
Big blitz by Baltimore in a non-blitz situation, and Collins throws it well short of McCareins' corner route to force another punt.
Big return by Leonhard on that punt, 29 yards all the way to the Tennessee 41. This game is slowly tilting in the Ravens' favor. I'm not going 1-for-4 AGAIN this week, am I?
Flacco overthrows Clayton at the 30. Now Jevon Kearse is down. What is the Tennessee crowd booing for? Are they that big a bunch of idiots? Maybe there was a dirty play TV missed.
2nd-10. With Flacco getting all day to throw yet again, both Finnegan and Hope fall on a lob to Clayton that should have been picked off. Clayton catches it at the 4-yard line instead. Play of the game so far. Albert Haynesworth now limps off injured for the Titans, who are in Titanic trouble.
First and goal. McClain dives for a couple down to the 3. He limps off now. This game has gone beyond hard-hitting. How can either team expect to win next week, no matter where they're playing?
Big play by Keith Bulluck, getting his name called for the first time all day, penetrating into the backfield to drop McGahee for a 4-yard loss. Third and goal, Ravens, from the 7 as the third quarter ends.
What an amazing game.
FOURTH QUARTER
A very exciting play gains just 4. The Titans flush Flacco, he scrambles and hits McGahee at the 10; he then cuts back across the middle and looks dangerous but they bring him down.
Matt Stover hits from 22 to put the Ravens ahead 10-7. Time for Collins to get cracking.
Chris Carr is a heckuva good kick returner, bringing this one out to the 36. He does a nice job of running patiently while also spotting openings upfield and hitting them.
Collins to White for 14 out to midfield. Looks like that was an intended screen that Baltimore initially blew up.
White around right end for 11. Are the Ravens tiring out?
Collins pumps and throws a deep incompletion. Sloppy, Walker had a chance to pick it off.
Pretty readable draw to QUINTON GANTHER loses at least one. Remember back to August, when Ganther was running all over the Ram defense like he was Walter Payton?
3rd-11. Ravens rush 4, and Gage burns them with that curl-in again, making a leaping catch for 15. Looked like he was playing the high post on that play.
White gains 1 around right end after nearly getting hauled down by Lewis for a big loss.
2nd-9 at the Raven 25. Ravens blitz big and force Collins to throw it away.
The Ravens blitz big again in a non-blitz situation and Collins burns them with a slant to Gage down to the 14. Sorry, but Rex Ryan is not impressing me today. He impressed me a lot more against Miami last week.
White's stuffed up the middle yet again, 2nd-9.
Collins hits Crumpler with a short pass, and HE LOSES THE BALL in midair after getting upended by Leonhard at the 5. THE RAVENS RECOVER AT THE ONE.
That's the FOURTH TIME the Titans have been in scoring position today and come away with nothing. That's way too many. The Ravens get a first down here, it's over.
After a false start, Flacco sneaks for a couple. 2nd-8 from the 3. Ryan Fowler nearly drops McClain for a safety. 3rd-10 from the 1. Look for another sneak. 11 rushes for McClain today for 12 yards.
On 3rd down, Flacco drops deep and appears to step on the back line... maybe not, a blocker crossed my line of vision. I'm really surprised Tennessee does not challenge. They must have a better angle. Also, the announcers think nothing's fishy; they wouldn't miss that. 7:34 left in the game, and Koch will be punting from the back of the end zone. Brandon Jones muffs the return but recovers it and is taken down at the 42.
To overstate the obvious, Tennessee HAS to come away with points here.
Collins to Brandon Jones for 11. Carry that ball tighter, Brandon.
Nice cutback by White, who roars inside the 20.
White off left tackle for 3, down to the 16.
Bart Scott DRILLS White in the flat for a loss on a swing pass. 3rd-10.
Ravens rush 3, and Collins finds Gage underneath. Lewis and two DBs appear to stop him a foot or two short. Yep, 4th and a couple of feet. On comes Bironas with 4:35 left.
He ties the game 10-10 with about a 29-yard FG. More overtime on the way this postseason?
Zbikowski's only out to the 24 with the kick return, as I'm almost caught up with live time again.
McGahee bounces outside for about 6. 4:00 left.
Same play, with McGahee gaining 2.
3:00 left. With a big fat zero showing on the play clock, Flacco hits Heap over the middle for 23 to the strains of a remarkably loud HEAP cry from apparent Ravens fans.
HOW CAN THE OFFICIALS MISS THE PLAY CLOCK RUNNING OUT AT SUCH A CRUCIAL JUNCTURE?
False start, Ravens, making it 1st-15 from the 50. Flacco goes deep for Mason down the Tennessee sideline in double coverage, and his one-handed catch attempt fails with 1:58 left. 2:00 warning.
Baltimore has the wind at their back, iirc, and are 16-17 yards from a reasonable FG attempt for Stover.
The Freak is offsides to make it 2nd-10 at the Titan 45 for Baltimore.
Inside handoff???? to McGahee, but he finds a lot of room on the left side for about 11. Gumbel points out the Ravens will go to kickoff specialist Steven Hauschka for anything over 45 yards as Dierdorf confirms Baltimore has the wind at its back.
McGahee up the middle for 1. 1:18 left.
The Titans now stuff McClain at the 33 and call timeout. They have two left. Looks for all the world like the Ravens are happy to settle for a 50-yard attempt by Hauschka here. Really?
1:04 left. Play-action pass to Clayton at the 25 sets up a very makeable FG for Stover. 4th-and-short, 0:57 left, I assume the Ravens are kicking. The Titans use their 2nd timeout.
And here's Stover, putting the Ravens ahead 13-10 with a 43-yard kick. Another freaking great week for me in the football pool coming right up.
Ravens kick off with 0:53 left. Griffin returns it out to the 35. Titans need at least 35 yards. They start with a STUPID 5-yard pass OVER THE MIDDLE to Jones. Gage fails to come up with a sliding sideline catch at the Raven 40 with 23 seconds left, and Tennessee is already under the gun. 3rd-5.
Collins IDIOTICALLY goes OVER THE MIDDLE AGAIN and is extremely lucky not to get it picked off. FOURTH AND FIVE! Ravens get to Collins with a three man rush, and he throws it a mile over the open receiver downfield.
I cannot believe I have been so fucking lousy at predicting this year's playoff games. Lotsa luck, Carolina, Giants, San Diego! Looks like we're in for a Ravens-Eggles Super Bowl the way my fucking picks are going.
Baltimore 13, Tennessee 10, and the SIX seed has advanced to the AFC Championship.
Obviously we don't know where Baltimore's going next week yet, but right now I don't like their chances of slugging it out with either the Steelers or Chargers after the extremely physical contest they had today. So, book the Ravens to the Super Bowl, I guess; fuck if I can ever pick any of their games right.
Tennessee didn't lose this because of weakness at any particular position, even given Collins' shitty second half; turnovers did them in completely. They really should have had another 17-20 points. Least Valuable Player of this game, though, is Chris Hope, burned on both of Flacco's big passes. Also give a nod to Terry McAulay or whichever official was responsible for not noticing the play clock RUN OUT during Baltimore's final drive. Usually this is where I'd suggest how to improve the losing team for next year; Tennessee mostly needs to find better luck. In particular, they needed somebody to step up after Johnson was injured, and really didn't get that. But without poor luck with fumbles, injuries and officiating mistakes, they're hosting the AFC Championship next week. If they stumble on a good back-seven player in the draft, a safety in particular, they should jump.
Hmm, did somebody make a suggestion about Terrible Towel karma before the opening kickoff?
With a nod toward John Harbaugh for challenging the catch before the long FG miss by Bironas and having a team that clearly believes they can beat anybody, the game MVP goes to Jim Leonhard for a truly amazing game. He recovered the Lendale White fumble, forced the Crumpler fumble, and his blitz forced Collins' INT. Ed Reed was completely silent today, but the MVP of the game is still a Raven safety. Brilliant game by Leonhard.
As for the Ryan-vs.-Schwartz faceoff, Ryan won it, decisively. Schwartz doesn't like to blitz, and he didn't even though he wasn't putting a lot of pressure on the rookie Flacco. Lack of pressure left his secondary exposed in ugly fashion on the two big plays. I don't need to see any more of that stuff here in Rams Nation - I like a defense that'll get after it like Ryan's did, though I also thought Ryan unnecessarily exposed his guys too often with 3rd-and-long blitzes after playing the first half way too vanilla. He certainly does have them in a successful mindset where turnovers are concerned, though. I'd take him as Rams HC.
No rest for those of us without lives; on to Kurt and the Panthers.
The return of Mad Mike?
The hot news from the Rams' coaching search isn't a head coaching candidate, it's an offensive coordinator candidate... Mike Martz. In a continuing part of his public campaign to hang on to the head coaching job, Jim Haslett has indicated he'd like to bring Martz aboard as OC. (Way to treat Al Saunders, btw, Haslett, though I certainly agree he merits replacing.) For his part, Martz is VERY receptive to the idea, going as far to say he'd be happy to return to St. Louis as OC, but ONLY if Haslett is head coach.
And though Bernie Miklasz's argument that Martz is a questionable OC selection given the Rams' organizational commitment to the running game has merit, everybody from Haslett on up has to realize what a public relations coup it would be to welcome Martz back. Martz may just be the guy to resurrect the Ram offense. He could fix the very, very broken Marc Bulger. He could make it feasible for Torry Holt to stay around, or Isaac Bruce to even come back, though those both sound like wishful thinking.
The key thing. Where Mike Martz goes, offenses get better. That includes San Francisco this year. He fixed the Ram offense once and got the team to two Super Bowls.
Bringing Mike Martz aboard might be the one way the Rams front office can get the fans to swallow the idea of keeping Jim (2-10, 5 wins in his last 28 games) Haslett as head coach.
And though Bernie Miklasz's argument that Martz is a questionable OC selection given the Rams' organizational commitment to the running game has merit, everybody from Haslett on up has to realize what a public relations coup it would be to welcome Martz back. Martz may just be the guy to resurrect the Ram offense. He could fix the very, very broken Marc Bulger. He could make it feasible for Torry Holt to stay around, or Isaac Bruce to even come back, though those both sound like wishful thinking.
The key thing. Where Mike Martz goes, offenses get better. That includes San Francisco this year. He fixed the Ram offense once and got the team to two Super Bowls.
Bringing Mike Martz aboard might be the one way the Rams front office can get the fans to swallow the idea of keeping Jim (2-10, 5 wins in his last 28 games) Haslett as head coach.
Latest coaches' poll
The Rams' coaches' poll, not the NCAA coaches' poll... and right now, I'm the only voter...
1. Jim Schwartz (reported interest only)
2. Rex Ryan (interview Sunday likely)
3. Leslie Frasier (interview expected)
4. Russ Grimm (RIO)
5. Mike Munchak (RIO)
6. Steve Spagnuolo (RIO)
7. Josh McDaniel (interviewed Friday)
8. Jason Garrett (RIO)
9. Jim Haslett (received a bye)
10. Winston Moss (will return for 2nd interview)
11. Todd Bowles (interview expected)
12. Ray Sherman (interview expected next week)
99. Jim Fassel (interviewed Thursday)
Thankfully, Fassel's interview is widely being considered a courtesy, or
a favor, more than anything. I doubt he's considered a serious candidate.
Haslett's moving up because he's indicated he'll go after Mike Martz, who
is totally receptive to the idea, to return as Rams OC. More on that on the way.
Schwartz and Ryan are at the top because they have architected great defenses
over many years. Schwartz is a respected leader and an innovative thinker. The
Rams' HC position badly needs both. Ryan's obviously part of a coaching family
and that background plus the success and respect he's gotten in Baltimore can't
be ignored.
The more you read on Frasier the more you'll like him as a HC candidate. He has
truly been successful everywhere he's been. And I'm keen on the idea of having
a former DB as a head coach. Tom Landry was a DB. So were Tony Dungy, Jeff Fisher
and Bill Cowher. Yeah, I know, so was Herm Edwards, but I've never heard anyone
question Edwards' leadership skills, he got the Jets to the playoffs, and KC's
clearly in a rebuilding phase.
I also like the track record of former offensive line coaches, so I stay high
on the prospects of Grimm and Munchak, who have played on excellent offensive lines
and put together top ones at Pittsburgh and Tennessee, respectively.
Spagnuolo, McDaniel and Garrett are the hot names, but don't have the long track
record. Are these guys Sean Paytons or Eric Manginis in the making, or are they
Lane Kiffins?
Raheem Morris is no longer on the list because it was reported that the Rams won't
interview him after all. Whatever the reason, that's a shame for the Rams. It's also
a shame they never even indicated interest in Mangini, or Ron Meeks, apparently. As
a former Browns ball boy, though, Mangini was probably destined to end up with Cleveland.
Eager to find out how Frasier's interview goes, or went, I don't know when it was
scheduled to occur. He's the most intriguing name on the list right now to me.
1. Jim Schwartz (reported interest only)
2. Rex Ryan (interview Sunday likely)
3. Leslie Frasier (interview expected)
4. Russ Grimm (RIO)
5. Mike Munchak (RIO)
6. Steve Spagnuolo (RIO)
7. Josh McDaniel (interviewed Friday)
8. Jason Garrett (RIO)
9. Jim Haslett (received a bye)
10. Winston Moss (will return for 2nd interview)
11. Todd Bowles (interview expected)
12. Ray Sherman (interview expected next week)
99. Jim Fassel (interviewed Thursday)
Thankfully, Fassel's interview is widely being considered a courtesy, or
a favor, more than anything. I doubt he's considered a serious candidate.
Haslett's moving up because he's indicated he'll go after Mike Martz, who
is totally receptive to the idea, to return as Rams OC. More on that on the way.
Schwartz and Ryan are at the top because they have architected great defenses
over many years. Schwartz is a respected leader and an innovative thinker. The
Rams' HC position badly needs both. Ryan's obviously part of a coaching family
and that background plus the success and respect he's gotten in Baltimore can't
be ignored.
The more you read on Frasier the more you'll like him as a HC candidate. He has
truly been successful everywhere he's been. And I'm keen on the idea of having
a former DB as a head coach. Tom Landry was a DB. So were Tony Dungy, Jeff Fisher
and Bill Cowher. Yeah, I know, so was Herm Edwards, but I've never heard anyone
question Edwards' leadership skills, he got the Jets to the playoffs, and KC's
clearly in a rebuilding phase.
I also like the track record of former offensive line coaches, so I stay high
on the prospects of Grimm and Munchak, who have played on excellent offensive lines
and put together top ones at Pittsburgh and Tennessee, respectively.
Spagnuolo, McDaniel and Garrett are the hot names, but don't have the long track
record. Are these guys Sean Paytons or Eric Manginis in the making, or are they
Lane Kiffins?
Raheem Morris is no longer on the list because it was reported that the Rams won't
interview him after all. Whatever the reason, that's a shame for the Rams. It's also
a shame they never even indicated interest in Mangini, or Ron Meeks, apparently. As
a former Browns ball boy, though, Mangini was probably destined to end up with Cleveland.
Eager to find out how Frasier's interview goes, or went, I don't know when it was
scheduled to occur. He's the most intriguing name on the list right now to me.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Rams interview second candidate for head coach
A second candidate has been interviewed for the Rams' head coach position!
It was Jim Haslett.
He interviewed with the owners present, so that was likely his chance to "close the deal".
In more interesting news, Jim Thomas also reported that the Rams have received permission from New England to interview their OC/wunderkind Josh McDaniels. The Rams' bite seems to be catching up with their bark as far as claims they'd consider some of the coaches expected to draw the highest interest and paychecks.
I'm down on hiring offensive coordinators for head coach after the Linehan disaster and the Martz flameout before it, so I don't have McDaniels terribly high on my rankings of Rams' candidates. Probably 6th-8th.
I'd like his chances if they did hire him, though.
It was Jim Haslett.
He interviewed with the owners present, so that was likely his chance to "close the deal".
In more interesting news, Jim Thomas also reported that the Rams have received permission from New England to interview their OC/wunderkind Josh McDaniels. The Rams' bite seems to be catching up with their bark as far as claims they'd consider some of the coaches expected to draw the highest interest and paychecks.
I'm down on hiring offensive coordinators for head coach after the Linehan disaster and the Martz flameout before it, so I don't have McDaniels terribly high on my rankings of Rams' candidates. Probably 6th-8th.
I'd like his chances if they did hire him, though.
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