Following an exciting first round, we break down the favorite picks, most pleasant and biggest surprises, most under-appreciated pick, worst move and more.
Peyton Manning, Mario Williams, Mike Wallace and Carl Nicks headline an intriguing free agent class that can shift the balance of power this offseason.
The Eagles seemingly came out of nowhere to sign Nnamdi Asomugha as they eye a trip to the Super Bowl.
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The divisional round found two home favorites cruise and two huge upsets, leaving a somewhat surprising final four. I successfully forecast the Giants' win in Dallas, but I couldn?t have been more wrong about the Colts and Chargers.
Speaking of being wrong about the Chargers, how great must that victory feel for embattled Coach Norv Turner? Norv is one of the truly nice guys in the league, a genuinely good man who has, up until about week 6 of this season, been a truly dreadful head coach. During his Washington stint, every single caller to every talk radio show and every single columnist in every paper labeled him a lousy head man and constantly called for his head. His somewhat reserved demeanor and passionless press conferences did little to help his cause. Sunday?s gutsy win over the Colts, with the three best players on the offense all injured in some capacity, should get the critical monkeys off Turner?s back for awhile. And deservedly so, because he clearly out-coached legend Tony Dungy in terms of playcalling and game preparation. When the backups can come in and play like long-time starters on the road in a playoff game, that?s a testament to some fine coaching.
He?ll need all the great coaching he can muster this week against the Patriots. I watched the New England-Jacksonville game with a group of football-savvy friends, and we all came away thinking, ?Jacksonville played about as well as they can play, and the Patriots still controlled the game the whole time.? The Patriots are so adept at exploiting every opportunity and taking advantage of every slip-up; the Chargers will have to be nearly perfect in order to win. It reminds me of playing golf against Tiger Woods in a major on Sunday. You see the red shirt, you watch him hit his first drive 370 yards down the fairway, then knock a lob wedge 135 yards to within 3 feet of the cup, and you know you?re screwed no matter how great you play. Sure, he might spray an errant tee shot into the next fairway or overshoot a green and wind up with a nasty downhill lie. But that almost makes it worse because it gives you hope. Then that hope gets crushed when he chips in from that nasty lie. That?s precisely what the Patriots do. San Diego will probably have decent success running the ball, and the emergence of midget scatback Darren Sproles adds another bullet to the Chargers' gun. Merriman, Phillips & Co. will probably have better success putting pressure on Brady than any team thus far, maybe even force an INT. But you just know, and deep down I think the Chargers probably know, that New England will convert some crazy 3rd and 16 from their own 4, then drive all the way down and score. And then do it again. And again. In short, just as you don?t beat Tiger Woods without an insane amount of luck and divine intervention, you don?t beat the Patriots unless they totally break down and let you. That?s not going to happen. New England 33, San Diego 17.
Giants? Coach Tom Coughlin is another frequent target of media criticism, not to mention shots from his own players. To say Coughlin is ?embattled? is akin to calling Elmo ?annoying,? yet he probably deserved the NFC Coach of the Year this season. The Giants were focused, composed, and clearly the better prepared team against the Cowboys. For the third year in a row the Cowboys enter the offseason far too early for what their talent level dictates, yet you almost never hear criticism of Coaches Parcells and Phillips. This is the 3rd year in a row the Giants exceeded expectations and maximized talent, and still Coughlin can?t open a paper without reading how lousy a job he?s doing. I hope this extended playoff run earns Coughlin the credit he richly deserves. I?m not always a fan of his style and methods, but the man knows how to win NFL games with a shallower talent pool than teams with inferior records.
Coughlin has his work cut out for him this week as the Giants travel to Green Bay. It?s going to be nasty weather, with temps in the teens and blustery flurries expected during the game. The Packers slaughtered the Seahawks in similar conditions last weekend, dominating all aspects of the game despite falling behind 14-0 in the first 4 minutes. That kind of patience and composure is not a fluke, nor is RB Ryan Grant. The biggest question about the Packers is their secondary, but they handled the Seahawks spread more than capably with AJ Hawk and Atari Bigby both elevating their games. Their ability to generate a consistent pass rush from a variety of places will be a major test for Eli Manning and an OL that is held together with sheer will and 87 rolls of athletic tape. The Green Bay 4- and 5-WR sets are major trouble for the Giants' injury-ravaged secondary, and Brett Favre won?t be the deer in the headlights that Tony Romo was in Dallas. Expect the Giants to put up a good effort, but these Packers are more talented in the right spots. The New York road mastery hits the breaks in the land of beer and cheese. Green Bay 27, New York 20.
Look for the Top 100 draft prospects and an updated mock draft from Jeff in the next week. Jeff.Risdon@RealGM.com
