I realize that, for a blog that’s supposed to cover the other 31 teams, I’ve been silent on the subject of the labor negotiations, the CBA, the implications of an un-capped 2010, and the current draft projections for Jacksonville. Free Agency starts this Friday, and I haven’t said a word. And you know what? You’re welcome.

Frankly, you don’t want to hear from me about these things. First, Aaron has a better handle on this than I ever will. Second, I’d only be spitting back what I hear from @caplannfl, @doug_farrar, @SalaryCap101, @GAtallah (even @Adam_Schefter), and that’s boring.  Third, I recognize that this is where folks get down to brass tacks, and where the league actually lives or dies, but I hate this time in football.
continue reading "Free Agency (aka “CHICAGO OR BUST”)"

So I’ve slept on it, and here’s what I come away with from yesterday’s games:

Colts 30, Jets 17

• The Jets ground game was MIA.  Yes, they ran the ball alright in the first half, but not nearly well enough to allow any serious play-action in the second.  I figured that the only way the Jets were going to win this game was by pounding the ball up the middle with Thomas Jones, off-tackle with Shonn Greene, and with fun end-around and reverse plays out of the Wildcat with Brad Smith. Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene gained a total of 39 yards on the ground in the second half.  Foolishly, I figured that the Jets would “dance with the girl that brung ya.”  Silly me.**
  continue reading "Conference Championships: The Day After"

I had only planned on doing a little preview, since I’m not generally a betting woman.  However.  Now that Aaron’s given you his picks, I can’t let him completely take over my turf without chiming in myself, now can I?
continue reading "In which Holly makes predictions, pines for Jets OL"

• Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints

Fans, pundits and even honest to goodness football people keep talking about how dominant the Viking defensive front four looked against the Cowboys last week and expect a repeat performance this Sunday down in the Big Easy.

It ain’t gonna happen.
continue reading "Aaron’s Picks For The Championship Games"

Apologies for the lag time.  Work + life + inability to visit an NFL page without reading about how great Warner was against Green Bay = Holly took some time off from football.

After watching the weekend’s games, however, I’m left with a few lingering thoughts:

1.  The Cowboys-Vikings game reminded me at points of each of the Packers-Vikings games.  In each game against Minnesota, the Packers were down significantly at the start of the 4th quarter (28-14, 31-20 – 24-3 in 3d!), but managed to tighten the score in the face of serious pressure from Minnesota’s front four.  On Sunday, Dallas was still theoretically “in the game” going into the 4th quarter.  Yes, they were down 17-3, yes, Flozell Adams had left the game before halftime, and yes, Romo was getting his butt kicked.  But 14 points wasn’t so much that Dallas’s offense couldn’t make something happen.  The Vikings were letting them stick around.
continue reading "Seven Thoughts on the Divisional Round"

Congrats to Marvin Lewis.

It was certainly interesting to watch the trajectory of his team this season, as most NFL fans got a bit of a fly-on-the-wall view of Lewis during the fantastic NFL Films show ‘Hard Knocks’ which documented the teams’ training camp. Lewis, a long time defensive coordinator, finally put a competent defense on the field and spearheaded a well-balanced team, after years of being nothing but an offensive powerhouse.

Along with Lewis’ award, the Bengals can celebrate the fact that the chief architect of that defense, Mike Zimmer, will be back with the team next year after re-signing with the team last week for another another three years. Zimmer’s contract had expired at the end of the Bengals 2009 season.

Before anything else, I just want to say thank you.  Thank you for reading, for giving me feedback, and for letting me geek out on football stats without pointing and laughing (overtly, anyway).  It’s been a treat.
continue reading "Down To “The Other Eight”"

Welcome to the first playoff edition of Opposition Research, where I’ll be taking stock of the Packers instant-replay wild card opponent, the Arizona Cardinals.  Considering that the two teams just played, there isn’t much to add or change from last week’s more standard take on the Cardinals.  With the national media descending on the match, there’s no shortage of articles, angles, and predictions.  Let me walk you through just a few as we get set for the Packers return to the postseason.
continue reading "Opposition Research: Arizona Cardinals (Wild Card)"

Welcome to another edition of Opposition Research, where I’ll be taking a look at the final Packers opponent for the regular season, the Arizona Cardinals.  This W17 match-up is unique, since each team has clinched a playoff berth and 6 of 8 scenarios have the two teams battling it out again a week from now.  Who’s going to play and for how long are the great unknowns, and with the coaches keeping mum, I’m going to wing it and assume that we’ll get a real game for at least a quarter.  With that in mind, let’s do this.
continue reading "Opposition Research: Arizona Cardinals (W17)"

Welcome to another edition of Opposition Research, where I’ll be taking a look at the penultimate Packers opponent for the regular season, the Seattle Seahawks.  In light of the holiday season (and the fact that the Seahawks have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs), news on this match-up has been sparse.  But just because the Seahawks may phone it in this week doesn’t mean that we will, so let’s get started.
continue reading "Opposition Research: Seattle Seahawks (W16)"