First up on Saturday is last years Super Bowl runner up Atlanta Falcons visiting the NFC's top season team in the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles who were pegged as the team to beat almost all season long until their MVP candidate QB Carson Wentz went down with a season ending knee injury are underdogs at home in this game. The Falcons last weekend won on the road and are looking to forget last years epic collapse and with a win on Saturday will be just one win away from returning to the Super Bowl. Philadelphia on the other hand is looking to keep home field advantage with a win and maintain home field advantage for the NFC Championship game. This game has the markings of a shootout and how each QB plays will determine the outcome of this game. Weather for this game will be in the mid 40's and windy.
The second game on Saturday has the AFC seasons best team, the New England Patriots, hosting the surprising and getting stronger each week Tennessee Titans. New England who had the best record in the AFC during the season is looking to repeat as Super Bowl Champions. The Patriots who have been dealing with off field turmoil as it relates to the Owner, Head Coach, and MVP QB Tom Brady are also having to deal with both the OC and DC being interviewed by many teams for a coaching job. The Titans on the other hand have been a team all season long that doesn't quit, keeps grinding and playing very physical on both sides of the ball. This game could be low scoring and will be decided on who can run the ball the best and not turn the ball over. Weather could also determine the outcome of the game as forecasts show rain and in the 50's.
Sunday kicks off with the Pittsburgh Steelers hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jacksonville has already beaten the Steelers in Pittsburgh this season. The Jaguars have a dominant and physical defense and will need the defense once again to play out of this world to have a chance in this game. Pittsburgh hopes to have WR Antonio Brown back from a calf injury and will need him to be almost 100% to have a chance to win. Both teams have very good defenses and Pittsburgh has the better offense. This should be a low scoring affair and turnovers will be a factor. Weather will also be a huge factor as game time temps will be in the low 20's with snow in the forecast.
The Sunday late game has the New Orleans Saints traveling to the Minnesota Vikings. Both these teams met early in the season with the Vikings cruising to an easy victory. This time should be a much closer game and the weather will not be a factor as the game is being played indoors. The Vikings are relatively healthy and have all 3 QB;s available for this game although Case Keenum is definitely the starter. The Vikings defense has been stellar all year and has allowed only 17 points in its last 3 games. The Saints have a RB duo that can shred defenses and future HOF QB Drew Brees leading the offense. The Saints are also banged up and injuries could come back to haunt them on Sunday. Look for this game to be a bit higher scoring then most think it will be and special teams and turnovers will be the keys to which team will win.
Once again officiating in these playoff games was atrocious at best! The NFL needs to do something quickly to address this issue that continues to plague the game. The officiating groups for the playoffs are made up of selected individuals who have never officiated a game as a group all season long. Also, the officials need to either call the games the same for both teams and let the teams know if they are going to call every little thing or if they are going to let them play. Letting the players celebrate TD's again was a saving grace for the NFL but allowing teams to celebrate a turnover the same way needs to be looked at after the season. The NFL also needs to address all these cheap shots and targeting hits that are causing serious injury as well as making a better attempt to address players and concussions on the field. Teams that continue to try and get around the concussion protocol that protects players need to be more then just fined, draft picks need to be taken away also as a way to enforce the protection of a player vs. winning at all costs.
As the Coaching Carousel is alive and well in the NFL, it seems teams continue to try to circumvent the Rooney Rule when they interview for their Head Coaching position and this time it seems the Oakland Raiders did so and have even admitted to doing it. They are now back peddling and trying to say they interviewed 2 minority candidates but even though they did, it was window dressing as they already had a deal in place before Christmas to hire Jon Gruden to a 10 yr./100M contract. It is time for the Raiders to pay the piper and for the NFL to make an example of the Raiders and not only fine them but to take away at least 2 top draft picks in the upcoming draft as a penalty for deliberately violating the NFL's Rooney rule.
It has been another very successful and fun filled season for Cooper and we want to thank all who follow Cooper and My Blog for the past few years. We look forward to the playoffs and making our picks as well as the follow up of the playoff games.
Cooper went 3-1 on Wild Card weekend and CupofJoeintheD also went 4-0. We will continue to post His record for the NFL Playoffs and Super Bowl. twitter; @cupofjoeinthed email; cupofjoeinthed@gmail.com www.cupofjoeinthed.blogspot.com
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Cooper NFL Analyst after making His Divisional Round picks
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