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Wild Card weekend picks

By Sean Napfel, on January 7th, 2011%

The 2011 NFL Playoff Schedule has been released by the NFL along with FOX, NBC and CBS. Every year there are usually some teams that seems to get the short end of the stick as far as scheduling goes, but this year it doesn’t seem as though that has happened to anyone. Here is the NFL Playoff Schedule & TV Schedule for Wild Card Weekend:

Saturday, January 8th

- New Orleans Saints AT Seattle Seahawks – 4:30 PM ET on NBC

This is one of the more interesting games, simply because the (11-5) New Orleans Saints will have to travel to play the (7-9) Seattle Seahawks. This game looks be be heavily one sided in favor last year’s Super Bowl Champion Saints. However, with the game being played in Seattle, anything can happen.

- New York Jets AT Indianapolis Colts – 8:00 PM ET on NBC

This is another game in which the team with the better record (NY Jets) will have to play on the road. The Jets, who are (11-5) on the season will travel to Indianapolis to play the (10-6) Colts. This game could go either way. The Jets were (6-2) on the road during the regular season, while the Colts were (6-2) at home.

Sunday, January 9th

- Baltimore Ravens AT Kansas City Chiefs – 1:00 PM ET on CBS

Once again, a game in which the team with the better record will have to travel. The Ravens who were (12-4) during the regular season, and barely missed winning their division, will have to travel to Kansas City to play the (10-6) Chiefs. This game may actually favor the Chiefs who are (7-1) at home, while the Ravens were only (5-3) on the road.

- Green Bay Packers AT Philadelphia Eagles – 4:30 PM ET on FOX

Green Bay will travel to Philadelphia to face an Eagles team coming off 2 consecutive losses. While the Packers had to fight hard up until the 4th quarter of the regular season, the Eagles got to rest their starters in their final game against the Dallas Cowboys. The Packers defeated the Eagles 27-20 in week 1 of the regular season. However that was a game which was started by QB Kevin Kolb, who went down with an injury. Philadelphia was only (4-4) at home this season, while the Packers were (3-5) on the road. Expect a high scoring game that slightly favors the Packers.

- New Orleans Saints AT Seattle Seahawks – New Orleans 34 – Seattle 17

- New York Jets AT Indianapolis Colts – Indianapolis 28 – New York Jets 21

- Baltimore Ravens AT Kansas City Chiefs – Baltimore 17 – Kansas City 14

- Green Bay Packers AT Philadelphia Eagles – Green Bay 30 Philadelphia 24 –

Do you guys agree or disagree? I’ll be back next week before the divisional round to give my thoughts.

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Holiday 3-pack

By Sean Napfel, on December 23rd, 2010%

Happy Feet

Deadspin.com uncovered and posted videos this week that appear to show Jets coach Rex Ryan’s wife, Michelle, in what at first glance would seem to be a compromising position … that is until you realize she likely made the videos herself (if it is, indeed, her).

You see, the videos, which apparently first appeared on YouTube a few years back. In all of them, a women who looks much like Michelle Ryan shows off her feet – whether bare or in shoes or having lotion rubbed on them (hot! … or not). In some of the videos the male cameraman can be heard making spicy comments, in a voice that sounds much like Rex Ryan’s. But that’s a discussion for another day. …

A day like Wednesday, Dec. 22, when ESPN and the entire Jets press corps had already picked up on the story and hounded the (shall we say robust) coach during his usual, mid-week press conference.

“It’s a personal matter and I’m really not going to discuss it, OK?” – Rex Ryan

Probably a good call … although I might recommend not taping it and posting it on the Internet, too.

Get the hell out, Dodge!

New York Giants’ punter Matt Dodge has seen better days. As you’ve probably seen by now (likely ad nauseam), Dodge’s last-play punt against the Eagles Sunday was returned for a touchdown by DeSean Jackson – breaking the game’s tie score, and giving the Eagles a miraculous, come-from-behind victory. The Giants had previously held a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter. Always a dangerous return man, Dodge was instructed to punt the ball out of bounds instead of giving Jackson a shot at it.

Obviously, this didn’t happen. …

But (astoundingly) it gets even worse for Dodge. According to a report by Philadelphia radio personality Howard Eskin, Dodge was seen crying in the locker room after the game by Giants coach Tom Coughlin, and was immediately told to leave – the clear impression was that he was being cut on the spot and kicked out of the locker room.

On Wednesday, Dodge went on the radio himself, refuting the claim that Coughlin kicked him out or implied he was going to be cut. The fact that  Dodge is still on the team seems to support this take.

But, there’s still got to be a, “get the hell out of Dodge,” joke in here somewhere, right?

How much do I dislike Matt Dodge? Even before this debacle, I cut him in my Madden 11 franchise!

Poking fun at Rex

Jets coach Rex Ryan probably expected to encounter some good-natured ribbing and/or some mean-spirited remarks from his own players, opposing players, other coaches, and/or fans.

He probably didn’t expect to be the butt of an owner’s jokes.

Colts’ owner Jim Ersay had a funny line about Rex’s foot fetish on his Twitter page and what may be the consequences from the NFL for launching his comedic tweets at Ryan. Irsay said:

“I’m being shut down by Commish for my Tweets!  My Punishment:  Solitary Confinement with Mel Kiper, Drew Rosenhaus and a Life insurance agent.”  - Colts’ owner Jim Irsay

That’s pretty funny!

Happy Holidays everybody. I’ll catch you on the other side.

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We're all Saints

By Sean Napfel, on February 10th, 2010%

A little more than four years ago, we weren’t sure what was going to happen to New Orleans. Most of the city was underwater and most of its population had been evacuated. Many of those who hadn’t left were huddled in the stadium the city’s football team called home.

The New Orleans Saints had evacuated too and, like many of the city’s residents, wouldn’t be back for quite a while. Many wondered if the Saints should come back at all, just like many wondered if the city could ever — should ever — rebuild.

We’re thankful they did.

The world is full of tragedies; we see them every day. We see them as they happen, thanks to the immediacy of the media. What we often don’t see is how they turn out.

The Saints are aptly named because for the people of New Orleans, they’ve been a Godsend.

Quarterback Drew Brees and coach Sean Payton have become heroes in that city, but they reached that status long before Sunday’s Super Bowl victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

They were heroes because they came to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. In spite of Hurricane Katrina. Perhaps in some ways even because of Hurricane Katrina.

They weren’t blindsided victims of the storm. They knew what they were getting into and went anyway. They not only wanted to help rebuild a football team. They wanted to help rebuild a city. And of course, there is much work still to be done in New Orleans.

Even Colts fans can appreciate what the Saints winning the Super Bowl means to the city of New Orleans and to the nation as a whole. The NFL is to be commended for not giving up on New Orleans.

When the Superdome was repaired and the Saints returned to play their first post-Katrina game, the big banner across the concrete exterior of the stadium read, “We Are All Saints.”

That was true then. It is true today.

**I have another part to this post about how the media portrayed the Saints during the Super Bowl run but it is doubtful I get it posted tonight. I’ve had some technical difficulty so hang tight.**

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Super Bowl XLIV Prediction

By Sean Napfel, on February 7th, 2010%

Let me first start by saying: Happy Super Bowl Sunday! A snow storm can stop a lot of people from doing a lot of things, especially me. However, it cannot stop me from giving my prediction for the big game.

Super Bowl XLIV should be very entertaining. You have the best offense in the NFL in the Saints, and you have the MVP of the league in the Colts’ Peyton Manning.

Defense will be optional, but I do like the fact the Saints cause a lot of turnovers.

The Colts will be affected by the health of Dwight Freeney, which will definitely make Drew Brees’ day a lot easier.

Although the Saints are opportunistic on defense, they did give up 475 yards to the Minnesota Vikings, and Peyton has already carved up the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets in the playoffs.

So, that begs the question, “Who dat gonna win Super Bowl XLIV?”

The Indianapolis Cols, dat who…

Indianapolis 31, New Orleans 24

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