NFL Playoffs - 'Niners Roll, Ravens Shock Broncos

The Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs proved true to form as there were surprises abound in the two games played.
Unlike the defensive games last week in the Wild Card round, this weekend's first two games saw offensive explosions as the Baltimore Ravens beat the host Denver Broncos, 38-35 in overtime while the host San Francisco 49ers ran all over the Green Bay Packers in a 45-31 victory.

BALTIMORE 38, DENVER 35 (OT) - The Ravens rode the hot arm of quarterback Joe Flacco, who had 331 pass yards and three touchdown passes, including a 70-yard TD strike to Jacoby Jones to tie the game at 35-35 with just 31 seconds left in regulation.

Jacoby Jones celebrates huge TD catch.

The Ravens and Flacco proved to be up to the task going against the legendary Broncos' QB Peyton Manning, who had 290 passing yards along with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
The second interception was costly in the second quarter of the overtime as Manning threw on the run and Ravens' DB Corey Graham stepped in for the pick. Graham also had an interception, which he returned for a touchdown, in the first quarter with the game tied at 7-7.
The Ravens drove down the field and kicker Justin Tucker nailed a 47-yard field goal to win the game.
The Broncos and Ravens went back and forth with Denver kick returner Trindon Holliday taking both a punt and kickoff back for touchdowns, a first in NFL playoff history. Ravens running back Ray Rice had 131 rushing yards and a touchdown in the win.
The Broncos became yet another number-one seed to lose in the Divisional Round of the playoffs as has been the trend over the past few years.

SAN FRANCISCO 45, GREEN BAY 31 - 49ers' QB Colin Kaepernick was a one-man wrecking crew Saturday night in San Francisco as he ran for an NFL playoff record (for quarterbacks) with 181 yards rushing and two touchdowns and also threw for two scores to wide receiver Michael Crabtree to lead the way.

49ers QB Colin Kaepernick races 56 yards for a TD.

Green Bay jumped out to a 7-0 lead when Sam Shields intercepted Kaepernick and raced 52 yards for a touchdown.
Kaepernick ran 20 yards for the first of his two rushing TD to tie the game. But then the Packers and 'Niners went back and forth the rest of the first half, which San Francisco led 24-21 at the break.
Kaepernick later raced 56 yards for a touchdown to put the 'Niners ahead for good at 31-24. San Francisco added a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter to open a 21-point lead.
For the game, the 'Niners outgained Green Bay 579 to 352 in total offensive yardage as Kaepernick accounted for 444 of those yards. In addition, running back Frank Gore gained 119 yards on the ground as well as his team ran for 323 yards against the Packers' defense.
Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers had 257 yards passing with two touchdowns and one interception in the loss.

NFL PLAYOFFS - Divisional Round Preview

After last week's Wild Card action, the next level of competition is now here and the four home teams are favored to advance to next week's Conference championship games.

That being said, look for some surprises in this round as in year's past. Last year the New York Giants stunned the mighty Green Bay Packers in Lambeau Field. And of course, twice in this round the heavily favored San Diego Chargers lost at home to inferior teams (Patriots in 2006 and Jets in 2009) as did the Indianapolis Colts (lost to San Diego) AND Dallas Cowboys (lost to NY Giants) in 2007.
Don't forget 2008, when the NFC was turned upside down with both the Carolina Panthers (losing to Arizona) and the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants (losing to Philadelphia) going down at home in this round.
Heftyinfo was 4-for-4 last week picking the games and here's the capsule style previews for this weekend's Divisional Round games.

NFC PLAYOFFS

Green Bay at San Francisco - The Packers get a shot at redemption against one of the best defenses in the NFL. The 49ers lost at home last season in the NFC title game, so there are no guarantees here.

Seattle at Atlanta - The Falcons have become the San Diego Chargers and Dallas Cowboys of the post-season in recent years by losing early on in the playoffs. The Seahawks are still riding the magic carpet with a rookie quarterback.

AFC PLAYOFFS

Baltimore at Denver - The Ravens are trying to win it all for retiring linebacker Ray Lewis. The Broncos, led by Comeback Player of the Year Peyton Manning, are just plain good.

Houston at New England - The Patriots thoroughly crushed the Texans on Monday Night Football five weeks ago. Can they do it again?

Heftyinfo selections for Divisional Round of NFL Playoffs . . .

San Francisco over Green Bay
Atlanta over Seattle
Denver over Baltimore
New England over Houston

Last Week's Record: 4-0

PLAYOFFS RECORD: 4-0

FINAL College Football Top Ten

Final 2012 Heftyinfo College Football Top Ten      

1. ALABAMA  (13-1)
2. Oregon (12-1)
3. Texas A & M (11-2)
4. Georgia (12-2)
5. Notre Dame (12-1)
6. Stanford (12-2) 
7. Florida State (12-2)
8. South Carolina (11-2)
9. Clemson (11-2)
10. Florida  (11-2)

NFL Playoffs - Wild Card Round Review

The Wild Card Round of the NFL Playoffs are in the books and it's the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans (in the AFC) moving on along with the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks (NFC) to the Divisional rounds next weekend.

AFC WILD CARD 

Houston 19, Cincinnati 13 - The host Texans outlasted the Bengals as running back Arian Foster ran for 140 yards and a touchdown and QB Matt Schaub threw for 262 yards to go with four field goals by kicker Shayne Graham. The Houston defense limited Cincinnati to just 198 yards in total offense.

Baltimore 24, Indianapolis 9 - The Ravens beat down the visiting Colts behind a stingy defense that held them to just three field goals. Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis led the way with 13 tackles.
The Ravens offense saw QB Joe Flacco throw for 282 tards and two touchdowns, including one to wide receiver Anquan Boldin, who made five catches for 145 yards, a team playoff record.

NFC WILD CARD

Green Bay 24, Minnesota 10 - The Packers served notice on their home field they are healthy and ready to compete for a Super Bowl title with a domination of the Vikings on Saturday night.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers passed for 274 yards and a score while the defense, which was lit up twice this season by Vikings' running back Adrian Peterson for 409 yards in those game, held him to 99 yards on 22 carries. In addition, Minnesota QB Joe Webb (filling in for injured starter Christian Ponder) completed just 11 passes in 30 attempts for 180 yards with an interception and one touchdown.

Seattle 24, Washington 14 - The visiting Seahawks overcame an early 14-0 deficit and manhandled the Redskins to advance to the next round in the playoffs.
Washington jumped out in the first quarter behind a pair of touchdown passes from QB Robert Griffin III prior to suffering another knee injury that forced hm out of the game in the second half.
The Seahawks rallied behind running back Marshawn Lynch (132 yards and a touchdown) and QB Russell Wilson, who had 187 passing yards and a touchdown pass to go with 67 rushing yards.

Next Week's games will feature the Baltimore Ravens at Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers on Saturday, January 12 while the Seattle Seahawks play at the Atlanta Falcons and the Houston Texans play at the New England Patriots on Sunday, January 13.

Blast (or not) From The Past

Here are some sports team logos from long ago . . . (none of these teams won a championship ... EVER ... go figure)

A little history here ... The logos shown were former NHL hockey and NBA basketball teams that either went belly up or moved to different cities.
The Buffalo Braves (NBA) moved to San Diego (1979) and became the Clippers and are now known as the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Cleveland Barons (NHL) merged with the former Minnesota North Stars in 1978 and are now the current team known as the Dallas Stars, which did win the Stanley Cup in 1998-99. Neither the Barons or North Stars ever won a Stanley Cup title.
The Oakland Seals (NHL) eventually became known as the California Golden Seals and later moved to Cleveland, where they were known as the Barons until they (see above) in the 1970's.
The Kansas City Scouts played in the NHL during the 1974-75 season (expansion team along with the Washington Capitals that year) and lasted just one season.
The Kansas City-Omaha Kings (NBA) moved to Sacramento in 1985 and are still there to this day.
The Atlanta Flames came into the NHL in 1972 (along with the New York Islanders) as expansion team and eventually moved to Calgary in 1980, where they still reside and did win the Stanley Cup in 1988-89 as the Calgary Flames, but never won a championship when they were in Atlanta.

BUFFALO BRAVES

CLEVELAND BARONS

MINNESOTA NORTH STARS

OAKLAND SEALS/CALIFORNIA GOLDEN SEALS

KANSAS CITY SCOUTS

KANSAS CITY-OMAHA KINGS

ATLANTA FLAMES

NFL Playoffs - Wild Card Round Preview

The NFL Playoffs kick off this weekend with the "Wild Card" round games.

In the AFC, it will be the Cincinnati Bengals playing the Houston Texans while the Indianapolis Colts travel to play the Baltimore Ravens.
The NFC will see the Green Bay Packers hosting the Minnesota Vikings, a team that beat them last Sunday to qualify for the playoffs. The other NFC tilt will feature the Seattle Seahawks facing the Washington Redskins.
Following is a brief breakdown for each game along with the Heftyinfo predictions for the entire playoffs.

Saturday Games

Cincinnati Bengals (10-6) at Houston Texans (12-4) - The Texans have been slumping the past few weeks while the Bengals have been hot, winning seven of their last eight games to make the playoffs after a 3-5 start to the season.
The Bengals have a solid defense and recorded 51 quarterback sacks this season while Houston's strong defense is led by J.J. Watt, who led the NFL with 20.5 sacks.
Cincinnati relies on the tandem of QB Andy Dalton and wide receiver A.J. Green to ignite the passing game while Houston has a nice balance with running back Arian Foster (15 TD) and QB Matt Schaub throwing to WR Andre Johnson and tight end Owen Daniels.

PICK  - Houston

Minnesota Vikings (10-6) at Green Bay Packers (11-5) - The Vikings just beat the Packers  last weekend in Minnesota to make it to the post-season. The Packers blew a chance to get a "bye" in the playoffs and will likely be on the road the rest of the way as they try to get back to the Super Bowl.
Running back Adrian Peterson leads the Vikings offense and just missed breaking the single season rushing record of 2,105 yards as he gained 2,097 yards this season.
Green Bay has QB Aaron Rodgers and a plethora of wide receivers leading their attack and will challenge the Vikings defense.
On defense, the edge is with Minnesota as the Packers are vulnerable stopping the run, in particular stopping AP as he ran for 210 yards and then 199 last week in the two regular season games between these teams.
Another factor is the kicking game where the Vikings have record setting rookie kicker Blair Walsh, who nailed ten field goals beyond 50 yards this year. Green Bay kicker Mason Crosby struggled this season, accumulating the most missed field goal attempts in the league.

PICK - Green Bay

Sunday Games

Indianapolis Colts (11-5) at Baltimore Ravens (10-6) - The last time these two teams met in playoffs in Baltimore was six years ago, when QB Peyton Manning was leading the Colts to a Super Bowl title run.
This year's Colts team features rookie QB Andrew Luck and his two favorite wideouts, rookie T.Y. Hilton and veteran Reggie Wayne.
The Ravens are led by running back Ray Rice and QB Joe Flacco, who had 22 TD passes and threw just ten interceptions this season.
The Colts defense can get after the opposing quarterbacks, led by veterans Robert Mathis and  Dwight Freeney. The Ravens have several All-Pros on their defense, including veteran linebacker Ray Lewis, who announced he is retiring effective the end of the Ravens season. Safety Ed Reed is always a factor for opposing teams to worry about.

PICK - Baltimore

Seattle Seahawks (11-5) at Washington Redskins (10-6) - A lot has gone right for the Seahawks this year, including the emergence of rookie QB Russell Wilson, who can run and pass just like his opponent this weekend, RG3, who is also known as Robert Griffin, III.
These two rookie signal callers (along with Indy's Andrew Luck) have turned the NFL upside down by leading their teams to the playoffs.
Washington led the entire league in rushing with Alfred Morris (another rookie) going for over 1,600 yards while the 'Hawks counter with veteran Marshawn Lynch, who seems to get better the more he carries the ball as the game goes along.
Both teams play solid defense, but Seattle has been more steady all year long in this area. Their ball hawking style on defense rates better than the Redskins, who can be torched in the secondary on occasion.

PICK - Seattle


The Heftyinfo Playoff predictions

AFC Wild Card Round - Texans over Bengals, Ravens over Colts   

NFC Wild Card Round - Packers over Vikings, Seahawks over Redskins

AFC Divisional Round - Broncos over Ravens, Patriots over Texans

NFC Divisional Round - Falcons over Seahawks, 49ers over Packers

AFC Championship - New England Patriots over Denver Broncos

NFC Championship - San Francisco 49ers over Atlanta Falcons

SUPER BOWL 47 - New England Patriots over San Francisco 49ers

Last Week's Record: 13-3

FINAL SEASON RECORD:  160-95-1












 

It's Your Move House Republicans

Now that the United States Senate has passed their version of a "fiscal cliff" bill, it is now up to the Republican majority ruled U.S. House of Representatives to do the same with the measure and send it along to President Barack Obama so it can become law.
The taxes would finally go up on the top income earners (reportedly anyone making $400,000 plus) in the United States and the Middle Class would still have a tax break at the current rates.
Actually, this is NOT a tax increase because the Bush tax cuts were set to "sunset" or expire two years ago.
The current 35 percent rate would go up to 39 percent (where it was under President Bill Clinton) on the top two percent of people in this country and there are also some concessions from both sides over spending cuts in different areas, including military budget spending as well as so called entitlement programs.
So now, it is wait and see as the GOP twiddles their collective thumbs under the leadership of Speaker John Boehner and leaders Eric Cantor and Paul Ryan (remember him?) over this issue.
It is a new year and maybe the Republicans can get over the fact they are resentful they lost big time in the elections two months ago.
As Boehner would say, "The American people have spoken."
Now do something for those people.