Wednesday late evening Edition
Wednesday Watercooler: Part 1
Every Wednesday it’s time to gather around the Watercooler and discuss the more football news, rumors, and topics from around the NFL from this fan’s perspective. Comment if you like, post a question, this is your forum to speak your mind.
Next Up Divisional Playoffs
It’s that time of year and as a football fan, excited is an understatement. I am a big sports fan, but with the NFL playoffs underway, that is the hot topic on the table. Last weekend there were no surprises, at least not from this fan’s perspective; I went 4-0 with my picks as all home teams were victorious. This weekend, that feat may prove to be much more difficult. With the top 4 teams from the byes set to host this round of games, picking road teams could be unwise.
In the AFC, the big dog this weekend is the New England Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady. With only 12 games under his belt this season, Brady was among the hottest quarterbacks down the stretch; his last 7 starts, 16 touchdowns with one interception. Brady, with 4 Lombardi trophies has proven to be among the greatest ever under center, he’s at home this weekend, so it’s hard to pick against him and the Pats. So I won’t.
The Patriots have just been too good for so long, Tom Terrific and company appear to be locked on a mission to reach yet another AFC title game. Their opponents the Texans are just going to be in the wrong place at the wrong time come Saturday night.
The matchup doesn’t have the makeup of a barn-burner, but Brady and the Patriots make so few mistakes, as the game moves into the later phases the efficiency of the Patriots offense will force the Texans into taking more risks and likely make mistakes. This one could eventually get away from O’Brien and company.
The early matchup has a lot of my interest, simply because no one is talking about the Atlanta Falcons, yet quarterback Matt Ryan has to be considered an MVP candidate this season. Quiet comes the Ice-man.
The Falcons and Seahawks could be the barn-burner some of us fans enjoy and are looking forward too. The Falcons have the weapons with wide receiver Julio Jones and their two-back committee with Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman. Let’s face the Seahawks defense is not quote the same as it used to be, especially away from Centurylink Field.
Ryan and company earned the bye this season and will enjoy some home cooking on Saturday when they take the field at the Georgia Dome. This could be a huge difference in this matchup. Back in their week 6 battle with the Seahawks the Falcons fell short by two points, but in that contest Ryan passed for 335 yards passing and three touchdowns. One big key for Ryan was his favorite weapon (Julio) Jones, who posted a 7 catch (on 9 targets), 139 yards receiving, and a touchdown.
A couple of new catalysts that could prove to be huge in this matchup is the arrival of Falcons wide receiver Taylor Gabriel and the return of running back Tevin Coleman. In Gabriel’s last 8 games he posted 27 receptions for 472 yards and six touchdowns. Coming back from injury, Coleman has been a scoring machine recording 5 touchdowns in his last six games.
The Seahawks will have some weapons to boast on Saturday as well with quarterback Russell Wilson, tight end Jimmy Graham, running back Thomas Rawls, and wide receiver Doug Baldwin, but they may have trouble matching the firepower the Falcons will be rolling out.
If this game were played in Seattle, I would likely sing a different tune, but I see both defenses bending quite a bit in this one with the Falcons offense doing more damage. Not to take anything away from Wilson and company, but Ryan (4,944 yards passing, 38 touchdowns, 7 interceptions in 2016) has just been cool as ice this season.
These are my picks for Saturday’s contests....(to be continued)
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