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For New England
Patriots, Dallas
Cowboys, Philadelphia
Eagles, New York Giants
, Oakland Raiders,
Chicago Bears, San
Francisco 49ers
or any other NFL TEAM.
By: Keith Dobkowski, NFL News Writer
January 12, 2005
It all seemed simple enough. There was the Philadelphia Eagles
and everyone else. The Eagles were going to the Super Bowl and
everyone else was not. This theory held true for the preseason
and then fifteen weeks into the regular season. The Eagles were
not only the best team in the NFC but possibly the only shot the
NFC had at winning the Super Bowl.
And who would have imagined that the most important play all
year in the NFC would not come from a quarterback, wide receiver
or running back, or winning team, but rather from a safety. Not
from a hard hit causing a fumble or an interception returned for a
touchdown, but rather a simple tackle due to pure speed.
On the day that Roy Williams, safety for the losing Dallas
Cowboys, caught Terrell Owens from behind for a tackle; the
tackle turned the entire NFC upside down. As we well know,
Owens caught his spike thus breaking his leg and tearing
ligaments in his ankle. The Eagles lost the two games that
followed and find themselves’ limping, no pun intended, into the
postseason.
Many may want further breakdown of the AFC cause it is so
obvious that the Super Bowl champ will come from that
conference. Yet the many so easily forget how the Patriots could
not play with the St. Louis Rams a few years back and how the
Los Angeles Lakers and their four hall of fame players were
supposed to dominate the Eastern Conference last season, but it
was the Detroit Pistons walking away with the title. As New York
Jets Coach Herm Edwards so perfectly put it, “you play to win the
game.” So without further ado, the NFC Playoffs…
Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles
The Vikings are coming off a great win at Green Bay. The defense
stopped the Packers and intercepted Brett Favre several times.
Any sign of life from this struggling defense was welcome. Now
the question is whether the Vikings defense can slow down
Donovan McNabb. The cornerbacks will not face the same
challenge they did in week two as Terrell Owens will be on the
sideline. Instead the cornerbacks will line up against a slow
Freddie Mitchell and a scared Todd Pinkston. This should allow
the Vikings to play closer to the line and bring a safety up as well
to help contain both McNabb and running back Brian Westbrook.
The Vikings had success against Favre by blitzing often. However,
Favre is a pocket passer while McNabb is a running threat. With
the weakened receiving core, the Vikings should play to keep
McNabb in the pocket.
The offense is all Daunte Culpepper. Culpepper would have been
the talk of the league had Peyton Manning thrown say 30
touchdowns instead of 49. With Randy Moss back, though gimpy,
the Vikings have the best duo in the league. Moss has the speed
and jumping ability to catch any ball and turn it into a touchdown.
Against the Eagles, Moss will have to do so often. The Vikings
must score early and often against the Eagles. Sporting a 17-0
lead like they did against the Packers may be enough to win the
game.
The Eagles are either in shambles or incredibly well rested. They
enter the postseason coming off a two straight losses and the
loss of their playmaker Owens. Then again the Eagles have been
here the last three years and have not lost. They will have a
mental edge and believe that even without Owens, the game is
still theirs.
McNabb had a career year completing nearly 70% of his passes,
up 15 percentage points from last season. For most of the year
Owens was his main target as they averaged one touchdown per
game together. Since Owens went out McNabb has seldom
played. He did play enough though to see Pinkston get cold feet,
which is not reassuring entering the playoffs. Look for McNabb to
run more and find tight end L.J. Smith often. Brian Westbrook will
be featured in both the pass and run. Together, McNabb, Smith
and Westbrook will keep the ball in the middle of the field and eat
up the clock. This will keep the score down and the ball out of the
Vikings hands.
On defense the Eagles will play a two or possibly a three-deep as
the Vikings don’t run. Lito Sheppard, a pro-bowler this year, will
line up against Randy Moss for most of the day. If Sheppard can
keep Moss out of the end zone more than once, the Eagles
should win. Because the Vikings don’t run and Culpepper plays
better when teams blitz him, the Eagles, a non-blitzing team,
should not change tactics.
This game was turned on its face the day Owens got hurt. The
Vikings have a good chance to win but won’t. They have been
ineffective for the second half of the season and have unable to
put two good games together.
Eagles 17, Vikings 10
St. Louis Rams at Atlanta Falcons
The Rams went to Seattle and came back with a season sweep.
Three games and three victories over the Seahawks have now led
the Rams to Atlanta. The keys to this game will be the Rams
offensive line. If the line can keep Mark Bulger protected the
Rams will be able to spread the field and score. If Bulger is hit
and rattled, he has a tendency to throw the ball into tight
coverage where interceptions are more likely. To combat a heavy
rush the Rams should hand the ball off often to power rusher
Stephen Jackson and hall of famer Marshall Faulk. They will try to
control the line of scrimmage by establishing the run early. This
will lessen the pass rush and lead to better opportunities
downfield.
On defense the Rams have just one goal. Slow down Michael
Vick. That obviously is much easier to say than do. The Rams
must adjust their defense to play a basketball style box-in-one.
The Rams must keep Vick in the pocket and assign coverage of
Vick to their fastest linebacker. Adam Archuleta, who plays both
safety and linebacker, is the perfect Ram for this duty. One of
Vicks weaknesses is accuracy therefore the Rams do not have to
play a two-deep coverage and can bring Archuleta closer to the
line to mirror Vick. The Tampa Bay Bucs, who have had great
success against Vick, have often employed this strategy.
The Falcons offense is a lot more than Vick. They have a good
running game anchored by Warrick Dunn and his 1100 yards. Vick’
s favorite target has been tight end Alge Crumpler. But that’s
enough about people that are not Michael Vick. Vick is the most
dangerous weapon in the league. He is the NFL’s fastest player
and touches the ball on every offensive play. Vick’s ability to
create whether with his feet or arm cannot be matched. And Vick’
s speed does not just create a long run threat, but allows Vick to
create more time to throw.
The Falcons defense has been steady all year. They do not give
up a lot of points thus always keeping the offense in the game.
With the line led by Rod Coleman, the Falcons often invade an
opponent’s backfield. The defensive line is very strong and that
enables coach Jim Mora Jr. the ability to show several defensive
alignments. Mora is known for his defensive creativity and it led to
the Falcons’ emergence and division crown.
This game, like most with the Falcons, will be close and come
down to a last minute score. The Falcons have been playing this
way all year and have no reason to stop doing it now.
Falcons 24, Rams 21
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