It’s the most wonderful weekend of the New Year. Four divisional playoff games over two days with plenty of snow here in the northeast giving football fans the added incentive to stay home and watch. Network execs at CBS and FOX are jumping for joy right now.
Here's a look at Saturday's divisional match ups.
Baltimore at Tennessee – 4:30pm
What we learned last week:
The Baltimore defense continues to make plays and force the opposition into mistakes. Last week in Miami, the Ravens forced five turnovers against a Dolphin team that gave the ball away only thirteen times during the entire regular season. On offense, the Ravens are below average, however, rookie QB Joe Flacco poses the threat of making plays down the field with is well above average arm.
What to expect this week:
Tennessee has been the class of the AFC all season and defeated Baltimore earlier this season in a tight game 13-10. The Titans have relied on their strong running game featuring star rookie Chris Johnson and bruiser LenDale White. In this match up, however, it may come down to which team can make the most plays in the passing game. The experience of Titans QB Kerry Collins gives him a distinct advantage over the rookie Flacco and he also has the added incentive of trying to exact some revenge on Ray Lewis and a Ravens’ defense that was dominant in their Super Bowl XXXV victory over Collins when he was a member of the Giants.
Arizona at Carolina – 8pm
What we learned last week:
The Cardinals defense came to play last week and shutdown Atlanta’s All-Pro running back Michael Turner. Offensively, the Cards did what they have done all year at home and made big plays in the passing game. They also did something they hadn’t done all year and that was run the football with success.
What to expect this week:
The Carolina running game has been the talk of town during the second half of the season. Arizona will try to make a commitment defensively to stuff Carolina two-headed monster of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart while remaining leery of WR Steve Smith on the outside. If the Cardinals can force Carolina to be one-dimensional they have a chance to force QB Jake Delhomme into mistakes. The Cardinals have been dreadful traveling east this season, however, their one quality road performance on the right coast came in their 27-23 loss at Carolina in a game they could have easily won. The Cardinals mood the ball with ease on that day and will have the chance to do the same this time against a suspect Carolina defense. The potential loss of Anquan Boldin is a huge one for Arizona, but this game may be closer than the expert predict.
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