NFL Award Predictions

Well unlike the NBA season, the NFL season is coming to a close and while there are some unanswered questions about the playoff picture, I'm pretty clear about my award predictions and here they are:
MVP: Adrian Peterson - I narrowed it down to Peterson and Peyton Manning, both having incredible seasons and both also leading candidates after brutal injuries, but I ultimately went with AP. The reason behind that is [amazing stats aside] the meaning of the word valuable. In football, the most valuable player is a player that his team wouldn't possibly be able to do with this. Don't get me wrong, Peyton means a lot to Denver but Tebow's Broncos were a playoff team. But, Adrian Peterson means the world to the Minnesota Vikings. Adrian is he leader of this team and without him the Vikings would be the worst team in the NFL because they don't have a good passing game, secondary and the only thing that makes their pass-rush decent is Jared Allen. Oh yeah, he's also 200 yards away from breaking the single season rushing record.

Defensive Player of the Year: J.J. Watt - I've been going back and forth between Watt, Aldon Smith and Von Miller but I went with J.J. because of the dimension he brings which the others don't, pass deflections. Watt has 15 pass deflections, better than any non-cornerback in the league. Watt [along with Aldon] is also challenging for Michael Strahan's single season sack record of 22.5. Watt also leads the trio with 74 sacks.

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Andrew Luck - In a season STACKED with record-breaking offensive rookie performances I also narrowed this award down to 3 front runners; Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson. Griffin III [who was born in Japan for those who didn't know] turned a hapless Washington team into the NFC East division leaders with his arm and his feet throwing for over 3,000 yards and rushing for over 750 [a new rookie record] leading Washington in a great position to win the NFC East. Meanwhile, Russell Wilson is one passing touchdown shy of breaking Peyton Manning's rookie rushing record [26]. Russell has led his Seahawks to an automatic playoff spot after routing the division leading 49ers. However this isn't his first blowout victory, in fact it's his 3rd consecutive blowout also beating Arizona 58-0 and then Buffalo 50-17. But Luck has completely transformed this Indianapolis franchise, from going 2-14 to a 10 win team a week before the season ends with a guaranteed playoff spot. Luck has also broken Cam Newton's record for rookie passing yards in a season Luck has accumulated  4183 passing yards heading into week 17 and will likely eclipse the 4200 yard mark. Luck has also done this without a stellar running game [22nd in the league in yards per game] or defense [19th in the league in yards allowed per game] so he's carried this team by himself leading them to multiple fourth quarter comebacks including one against the Green Bay Packers the first game since head coach Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with treatable leukemia, and a touchdown pass as time expired against the Detroit Lions.
Other notable rookie performances:
Alfred Morris - 4th in the NFL with 1413 yards and tied for third with 10 td's
Doug Martin - 6th in the NFL with 1312 yards and tied with Morris for third with 10 td's and a mind blowing fantasy performance in week 9 scoring 51 points [standard-scoring, not PPR]
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Casey Hayward - In what [I've considered to be] an underwhelming season in terms of defensive rookies, there are only 2 particular standouts for me, Casey Hampton the cornerback out of Vanderbilt and Luke Kuechly; tackling machine. Before I explain my decision, I have one question, why is Luke Kuechly not getting any attention at all for DRoY? I mean, he leads the league in tackles and he's done everything the Panthers asked of him, to tackle. He doesn't do much else but he's really good at tackling. But, Casey is going to win this award. Hayward is tied for second in the NFL with 19 passes defended and tied for third in interceptions with 6. In an underwhelming draft class, that's all he needs to take home the award.

NBA Awards Predictions

We're only about a month into the 2012-2013 season, but it's never too early to start predicting:

MVP: Kevin Durant
Durant is the hottest [and by that I mean on fire] player in the NBA. Kevin has been dominating every player and team and is unstoppable. Right now his stats stand at 26 points per game which isn't unusual, but he's become more of a well-rounder team player averaging 6 rebounds per game, 3 stocks [made-up stat by Bill Simmons, steals + blocks] and nearly 40 minutes a game. It appears to be working for OKC because they're currently on a 6 game win streak and remain one of the best teams in the league.

Other candidates: LeBron James - He's still the most athletically gifted and most well-rounded player in the league and is just a year removed from his last MVP victory
Kobe Bryant - He's just one 30 point performance away from being the 5th player to ever score 30,000 points and he remains one of the most prolific scorers and athletes in the game

Rookie of the Year: Damien Lillard
With 1st overall pick Anthony Davis going in and out of the lineup with injuries; the door is wide open for the rookie point guard to take this award from him. Lillard is having a monster rookie season averaging nearly 20 points a game 6 assists and with Lamarcus Aldrige struggling, he's even proving that he may be Portland's best player.

Other candidates: Anthony Davis - Health may be what's holding him back from winning this award, but when healthy, he's an animal; in 6 games this year, Davis is averaging 16 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocks a game



Defensive Player of the Year: Larry Sanders - This is by far my boldest prediction, but right now nobody is more deserving of this award than the 3rd year pro from Virginia Commonwealth. The Center/Power Forward is averaging 7 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game, nearly 5 per game in the last 14 days.  Sanders is also one of 2 player [Roy Hibbert is the other] to record a triple double this season consisting of points, rebounds and blocks. Sanders is doing this in a 6th man role, so if he can sustain this level of play, he may soon start, which would lead to even more blocks and rebounds.

Other candidates: Serge Ibaka -  My pick from last year for this award; Serge Ibaka is a block machine, trailing only Sanders for the league lead, averaging 3 per game. He's also setting a career high in defensive rebound [5 per game].
Dwight Howard - Coming off of the most disappointing season in his professional career, Dwight is back. This season, D12 is averaging nearly 3 blocks a game and a steal, totaling him at nearly 4 stocks a game.

                                                                                  Most Improved Player of the Year: Goran Dragic -

Dragic has been deserving a starting role for the past few years, and now he finally has one, and he's the centerpiece of the post-Steve Nash era Phoenix Suns. Goran is averaging 15 points, 6 assists and 2 steals to go along with a .462 shooting pct. Those may not appear as amazing stats when you look at them, but they are sure to improve the as the team builds more chemistry, Dragic may be on his way to averaging a double double.

Other candidates: O.J. Mayo - Mayo has skyrocketed this season and is neck and neck with Goran for this award and I was thinking for 30 minutes whether him or Goran is worthy of this award [I'm still not even sure] Mayo is shooting over 50% on 3 pointers, enough said.
Larry Sanders - [See Defensive Player of the Year]

                                                      
6th Man of the Year: Jamal Crawford -

Usually, I don't like player who can only score the ball, but nobody scores off the bench as well as the 13 year old veteran Crawford. Jamal is averaging 17 points a a game off of the bench on a .442 shooting percentage. But Jamal's real specialty is the free-throw line shooting .932 from the charity stripe. That is ridiculously close to automatic and Crawford just may end up setting the record for highest free-throw percentage in a season.


Other Candidates: Larry Sanders [See Most Improved Player of the Year]
Andray Blatche - Blatche went from exciting young prospect - to underachieving locker room cancer - to being amnestied and then signed to a minimum contract - to leader of arguably the best bench group in the NBA. Blatche is averaging 11 points, 6 and a half rebounds and shooting .477 from the field in only 20 minutes per game!

Injuries that will Devastate NBA Teams

Indiana Pacers - Danny Granger

Danny Granger has been sidelined since the beginning of the season and will miss about 3 months with a left knee injury. Danny Granger has always been the leader of this team and its best offensive weapon. Although many thought that this would be the year that Paul George becomes a star and lead to the Pacers trading Granger, Paul George has struggled since Grangers absence shooting just .385 against his own conference. Roy Hibbert has also been horrible this season after signing a max-contract last season shooting just .379 throughout the whole season.


Chicago Bulls - Derrick Rose
Many thought that Chicago would fall flat on their feet this season after losing their all-star point guard in last year's playoffs given their success without him last year. But what they didn't realize that both their backup C.J. Watson and his backup John Lucas III both left this year in free agency and have been replaced with Kirk Hinrich, Nate Robinson and Marquis Teague. Last year, Watson averaged over 4 assists and nearly 11 points as a starter last year while Hinrich only averages 6 per game in Rose's absence


                                                                        
New Orleans Hornets - Eric Gordon and Anthony Davis

This may not be a team that comes to mind when you think of injuries but the number 1 overall pick in this years draft has been in and out of the lineup this year while Eric Gordon, the best player the Hornets received in the Chris Paul trade has always been injury prone and has yet to step on the court this season due to knee injuries. He has often been considered New Orleans' best scorer when health but the problem is, he can't stay healthy.





Philidelphia 76ers - Andrew Bynum
Philly fans couldn't be more excited after the blockbuster trade that sent Bynum to the Sixers, they thought they had finally found that go-to-guy they never had, it turns out, they were getting the Andrew Bynum from 2 or 3 years ago. The one that couldn't stay on the court without his knee collapsing. The only thing different about that version of Andrew and this one is that now he has an afro. Bynum still hasn't played his first game in Philly and entering his contract year, this may turn out to be a disaster for Bynum who is looking to earn paychecks like the one James Harden just received, right now, things couldn't be worse. AND there's still no timetable set for Bynum to return, So Philly fans never know when their prized possession is going to return. Jrue Holiday has somewhat picked up the slack in his absnse, but nobody knows how long he can keep this up.

5 Players From the 2011 Draft Who Have Surpassed Their Draft Potential

With NBA experts already working on their draft boards, I thought I would take a look at some of draft day's biggest surprises. These players were drafted this past summer and have exceeded all expectations.

1. Iman Shumpert:
Drafted by New York with the 17th overall pick, tons of raw talent, and has shown tons of poise while stepping up in the wake of Jeremy Lin's Injury. For the whole season he's been averaging nearly 10 ppg and 3 apg and in the wake of Lin's absence; nearly 11 and 4. Not too shabby for a 17th overall pick, not to mention he beat out Baron Davis on the depth chart.




2. MarShon Brooks:
Originally drafted by the Celtics to be Ray Allen's succeeder and was traded to the Nets who have apparently used the athletic sharp-shooter well as he is averaging 12 points 2 assists and 3 boards a game. It would be a serious shame to see a talent like Brooks wasted on a team going nowhere like The Nets but hopefully for his sake; he will either get traded or be a valuable piece in a future [not probable] dynasty which can maybe be built around Dwight Howard in.....


3. Kenneth Faried:
Nicknamed "The Manimal",  Kenneth Faried was drafted with the 22nd overall pick by Denver and averages 9 points, 7 boards, 1 block and half a steal a game. He can hopefully become a valuable player in Denver's franchise; providing a defensive force to an offensive-minded team with great perimeter players like Ty Lawson and Danilo Gallinari. He has made some excellent progress and will most likely develop into a true defensive talent.


4. Chandler Parsons:
The 6'9 guard/forward was drafted 38th overall in the 2nd round by the Houston Rockets. He averages 9 points nearly 5 boards a game to go along with a .461 field goal percentage this season. In my opinion he's one of the biggest draft day steals from this past summer and will someday work his way into a regular spot into Houston's starting lineup.




5. Isaiah Thomas Jr:

The son of Isaiah Thomas the Piston's legend and worst coach of The Knicks in the history of the universe was the last overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft and has proven himself worthy of a 1st round pick averaging nearly 11 points, almost 4 assists and 2 and a half boards a game to go along with a .444 shooting percentage making himself the biggest draft day steal of this past summer. With apparent 1st round talent; Isaiah has made 29 other teams cringe or passing up on him in the 2nd round or even the mid-to-late 1st round.

NFL Free Agency

I'm going to grade all of the recent free agency moves:

Randy Moss signing with the 49ers:

Grade: B+

Moss will hopefully bring some depth to a pretty bad 49ers receiving core.

Vincent Jackson with the 'Bucs:

Grade: B-

This could end up being an A+ if Jackson ends up being the player he should but he's been pretty undisciplined so this will be interesting.

Carl Nicks signing also signing with Tampa:

Grade: A+

Nothing can go wrong here. He'll also probably open up the screen game for Tampa since he is one of the most athletic linemen in the league.

Dolphins trade Brandon Marshall to The Bears for 2 3rd round picks:

Grade for Miami: B-

This can end up being the best trade all offseason for Miami if they get Peyton. This trade happened right after a 6 hour meeting with Peyton meaning Peyton didn't like Marshall.

Grade for Bears: A-

No matter how well this trade works out for Miami, it will still be a good trade for Chicago [after the suspension]. They gave up two 3rd round pics for a pro-bowl wideout.

Jason Campbell with Chicago:

Grade: B

Chicago seemed like a playoff caliber-team until Jay Cutler broke his thumb and Chicago had no decent back-ups. This gives Chicago a starting-caliber backup who lead Oakland to a nice year until breaking his collarbone and leading The Raiders to put him in this position.

Cortland Finnegan signing with St. Louis:

Grade: B+

Cortland boost up a pretty bad secondary and as long as he doesn't get into fist fights with star wideouts; he's a great cornerback who can shut down a receiver physically and mentally.

Reggie Wayne re-signs with Indianapolis:

Grade: D

Why didn't The Colts cut him when they cut Clark and Addai? Why would they want to keep an aging wide receiver who clearly isn't the same receiver he used to be for 3 more years? Why would Reggie even want to come back to a team who is rebuilding and won't be done until he retires? This is just a horrible all-arounf deal!!

Pierre Garçon and Josh Morgan signing with Washington:

Grade: B+

Washington is trying to keep up [passing-wise] with the rest of the NFC East and this deal did not hurt their case. Garçon had a spectacular year last year....with Curtis Painter as his quarterback!! Even though Morgan may be a question mark, I think it'll pay off.

Brandon Carr signing with Dallas:

Grade: A

With a weak secondary probably the reason that they didn't make the playoffs, Dallas boosted their secondary by adding one of the best corners in the league with Carr.

Peyton Hillis signing with Kansas City:

Grade: C+ / B-

For most other teams; this would be a definite F, but it makes sense for Kansas City because this is becoming a 2 back league and Peyton can be a good blocking running back [due to his experience as a fullback] and can take some of the work-load off of Jamal Charles.

Martellus Bennet signing with The Giants:

Grade: B

When two of New York's tight-ends went down with torn ACL's it seemed that New York would draft Georgia tight-end Orson Charles who reminded a lot of people of Vernon Davis. But when he got arrested for DUI, New York and it's high standards for character fell out of him and decided to take the free-agent route and found Bennet.

Peyton Manning signing with Denver:

Grade: A+

Anytime that you can sign a future hall of fame quarterback; you'd be stupid not to.

Tim Tebow signs with The Jets:

Grade: C-

Not quite sure about this one as it will only add MORE turmoil to an uncontrollable egotistic Jets locker room but; they wanted a wildcat "quarterback" and got one.

David Garrard signs with Miami:

Grade: C+

Now, disgruntled Dolphin fans have watched their beloved organization swing and miss for: Jim Harabaugh, Peyton Manning & Matt Flynn in the past 2 years. How's Jeff Ireland feeling now that his team has signed a washed-up out of shape quarterback instead of one of the all time greats at the position? Not too thrilled I'd say.

NBA Award Predictions

MVP: LeBron James - Say what you want about him but he's one of the most physically gifted player ever to play in the NBA with his freakishly amazing athleticism and strength, he's just an amazing player.

Other candidates:
Kobe Bryant - He just doesn't age, he's in his mid-30's and leads the league in scoring ppg.
Kevin Love - It's just such a shame to see talent like Love's wasted on a team going nowhere. Minnesota is holding him back and taking the spotlight away from his monster season.
Kevin Durant - KD has emerged as one of the
best players in the game and is responsible for Oklahoma City being one of the best teams in the entire league.


Rookie of the Year: Kyrie Irving - He's leading the Cavs to mediocracy which is a HUGE step up from last year. He's averaging 18 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds a game.

Other candidates:
Isaiah Thomas - The son of the Pistons legend and last overall pick in the draft has skyrocketed past Jimmer Fredette [Kings 1st round pick], is currently the starting PG in Sacramento and averages over 11 points a game.
Klay Thompson - The Warriors' sharpshooter has taken over control in the shooting guard position since the Warriors dealt Monta Ellis and even though I don't view it as a great move, the future looks bright in Golden State. [even though its not a place]

Defensive player of the year:
Serge Ibaka - Let me start off by saying, finally somebody not named Dwight Howard won this award. Now back to Serge; he is a shot-blocking monster stuffing 3 shots a game and once recorded a triple-double with 14 points, 15 boards and 11 blocks.
Amazing.

Other candidates:
Tyson Chandler - His defensive stats may not be all that impressive [1.5 blocks and .9 steals per game] there aren't many shots that go by that he doesn't alter.
Iman Shumpert - The 2nd Knick to make an appearance on this list [props to Mike Woodson] The Georgia Tech product averages nearly 2 steals a game, but he's usually asked to guard the opponents top guard and often forces them to miss or pass the ball to other teammates.
Tony Allen - If anybody wonders why Memphis benches O. J. Mayo, the answer is simple: defense.
Tony Allen one of the premier perimeter defenders in this league and like Shumpert, often forces the opponents best guards to pass the ball.

6th Man of the year:
James Harden - This award practically has James Harden's name written all over it. I mean seriously, [sarcastically] I'm pretty sure that the only reason why OKC benches him is to win this award, I mean I would take Harden over DeQuan Cook and Thabo Sefolosha any day of the week.

Other candidates:
Goran Dragic - In the wake of Kyle Lowry's injury; the Siberia native has taken control of Houston's backcourt and will lead them into the playoffs.
Lou Williams - When's the last time that a team's leading scorer came off the bench? Enough said.

Most improved player of the year:
Jeremy Lin - Well, even though Linsanity is dead and Woodsanity is running New York, Jeremy Lin is untouchable in this category. He went from averaging 2 points a game in Golden State last year, to 14 in a Knicks uniform. Improvement? YES.

Other candidates:
Ersan Illyasova - This season; his scoring average per game has gone up 3 points, his rebounding average up nearly 3 and his shooting percentage went from .433 to .492.... significant improvement.

The Knicks Are Cursed

Anybody working in a Knick's front office for the past decade must've been horrible trading away 2 first round picks [one of which became Jokim Noah] for overweight Eddy Curry and then signed him to a $26 million to warm the bench for them. Or when they traded a bunch of 1st round picks [including this year's] to The Blazers for Zach Randolph in a 3 team deal where they also had lost David Lee to The Warriors. Also whoever hired Isaiah Thomas is probably being hunted down by angry Knick fans right now.
Well at least they finally made the playoffs but got swept by the Celtics in classic Knick fashion. Things are looking better, they currently hold the 8 seed and assuming they hold onto it [which may not end up happening] they WILL get swept or maybe, just maybe win one game against the Bulls or the Heat [who by the way happen to have Curry warming that bench for them]

Randy Moss

Design

Well, Randy Moss has had enough of retirement and he wants to play in the league. Here are some teams that might me looking at him:

1. The Baltimore Ravens; Baltimore needs a real #2 receiver behind Anquan Boldin. Lee Evens and Torrey Smith are decent but they're both #3s at best and a quarterback like Joe Flacco could use some more help. Signing Moss would bring incredible depth to Baltimore's receiving core. It would make sense to ink Moss to a 1/2 yr. deal worth a couple million but don't forget that Randy Moss has a HUGE ego and may not "settle" for that
2.  The New York Jets; Santonio's not happy, Plax returning is a question mark, they don't have Jericho Cotchery or Braylon Edwards, why wouldn't they sign Moss? The next best thing would be re-signing Edwards or converting Joe McNight to wide receiver [which can happen]. Also, wouldn't it be fun to see Moss make sick catches against The Pats like he used to against The Jets [like this one]? New York will be willing to pay a lot of money for a has-been like Randy and I would love to see how Moss' ego works out with Rex's.
3. New England Patriots; Now this would be the most interesting one of all of these because, they shipped him off to Minnesota, who shipped him off to Tennessee who shipped him off to his "retirement" and now he'd be right back where he started and looking to prove himself. Now I doubt he won't at least show flashes of his old self but we all know he'll never be the same player....of course he could take the Terrell Owens path and play in the arena league but that is not happening.

LINSANITY

Linvincible, Super Lintendo, Linsanity, a Linning streak, whatever you want to call it something unusual is happening in the NBA lately.............Jeremy Lin's emergence.

Linsanity has began to take The NBA by storm
by leading The New York Knicks to 5 straight
victories starting 5 of them

He's been playing out of his mind. After beating The Timberwolves, he has now outplayed star guards like; Deron Williams, John Wall, Ricky Rubio and most impressively Kobe Bryant. He actually scored the most pts. against The Lakers [38] since January of last year when Monta Ellis also torched the Lakers by putting up 38 points. In February, he's been averaging 23/7/4. Jeremy Lin has put up more pts. in his first 4 starts than anybody else ever to play for New York. Part of the reason that he has been able to thrive like he has is because he is under the offense of Mike D'antoni which requires a point guard. Many people don't like D'antoni as a fit of The Knicks because of the way they've been playing. In my opinion he should not be there because his system requires a true point guard and even though they're pretty good players, Iman Shumpert and Toney Douglas do not belong at the point, they belong at 2. But Lin might me the answer to New York's problem.  But I'm not buying into the hype. The return of Amare will hurt his stats while the return of 'Melo will hurt his overall gameplay because we all know [as great a scorer as 'Melo is] he is where great possessions go to die. He will shoot the ball and for every ball he passes, he will shoot 15 more. He has also turned the ball over at an alarmng rate more than 3 times a game! Also Baron Davis will be coming back and I think that D'antoni [like me] believes that Davis is a safer bet than Lin. Not to mention his Linexperience. But I do admire that throughout all of this Linsanity, he sleeps on a couch in his brother's apartment and comes to practice day-in and day-out without complaining. Of course he's in no position to but I'd 100% expect anyone else in his position to complain and ask for a raise or something.

SUPER BOWL!!!!!

Last time these 2 met in the Super Bowl, the Giants came out on top. 

Sorry I haven't been posting that much I've been really busy. Anyway my favorite team THE GMEN are against The Patriots in Super Bowl 46!!!!!!!!! I could not have asked for a better matchup in the Super Bowl. This game will come down to a couple of things here:
1] Rob Gronkowski - Assuming that he plays [which he probably will] he will be a mismatch nightmare for New York. I think that they should put Ja'Quan Williams on him with help on top from Deon Grant. Even if all goes as planned for The Giants, Gronkowski should have a big game.
2] NYG's receiving core - Victor Cruz will draw tons of attention and will make a difference somehow. Even though Hakeem Nicks is the dominant receiver on this team in the playoffs, a big part of that is because Cruz has drawn tons of attention causing teams to double team him with their safeties leaving the door wide open for Nicks to dominate the secondary. Throw in Mario Manningham, Travis Beckum, Jake Ballard and a weak Pats secondary and the receiving core should have a huge game.
3] The Defensive Matchup and Running Game - These are 2 things that the Pats have struggled with throughout the season but lately they've been figuring out especially the defense. The Pats haven't allowed more than 20 pts. in the whole post season [even though they haven't faced an elite qb yet] that's pretty impressive. I've been really surprised that the New England didn't find their running game this season considering they have 4 real threats in BenJaurvus Green-Ellis, Danny Woodhead, Stevan Ridley and Kevin Faulk and that should be a rushing attack that any team would like to have. The Giants had a horrible running game and a horrible secondary that improved A LOT in the post season. Their pass rush was always great but in the post season it has been amazing!! The running game reminds me of the '07 playoff run.
I could just write about the qb matchup but that would take up way to much space and it's really up for grabs
Overall Prediction:
This game will be slow to begin with, at halftime it will be around 7-0, 3-0 or 7-3 so not high scoring at all but both teams will come busting out of the gates and Eli and Tom will put on a clinic like they always do and the final score will be 23-27.....................GIANTS!
MVP: Eli Manning

Patriots vs. Broncos

The last time these 2 teams played each other, the Patriots
defeated Denver

The Denver-Pitt game was one game that I [and I'm pretty sure everyone else] predicted wrong. Even though Tim Tebow showed some flashes of being a real quaterback, I think that Denver will lose this game. It's not just because I'm not a fan of Tim, but there is just no covering Rob Gronkowski. Oh and even if you double-team him you still have to deal with Aaron Hernandez and the always dangerous Wes Welker. Former Patriots OC [and Denver head coach] Josh McDaniels who led the Patriots to a Super Bowl in '07 will be returning, replacing Bill O'Brian who recently accepted a head coaching offer from Penn State University. Oh yeah and did I mention Tom Brady is one of the best quarterbacks ever to play the game of football and single-handedly makes New England one of the best teams in the game today.

Why Steelers Injuries Won't Help Denver

Rashard Mendenhall escorted off the field
after tearing ACL against the Browns
last sunday

On Sunday, the Steelers lost starting tailback Rashard Mendenhall for the postseason because of a torn ACL, while this will definitely cause them a playoff victory in the future they still shouldn't have any problems beating Denver. They still have a pretty decent backup with Isaac Redman. Pittsburg also will be playing without safety Ryan Clark because of a disorder that can cause serious injuries when in areas of high altitudes, meaning they will have to rely on Will Allen to play the role of Troy Polomalu's sidekick. Just in case anything else goes wrong Pittsburg has re-signed special teamer and emergency defensive back Anthony Madison. Even though both injuries will be crucial this week, as long as The Steel Curtain can keep the Broncos out of Matt Prater's insanely large field goal range we should saying goodbye to 2 things:

1 The worst team in the playoffs 

2 Tebowmania

Please leave comments at the bottom

Saints vs. Lions

Finally the last matchup pits the number 6 seed Lions against the 3 seed Saints
If the Lions play the way they played against the Packers, it will lead them to a win.......unless they're playing the Saints or the Packers. On sunday Matthew Stafford threw for 520 yds and the Lions put up 41
points sounds good right? Well on defense they gave up 45 points on
defense and 480 yds and 6 tds to a backup quarterback. They also lack a running game. So if Drew Brees can put up the same numbers he always does and we see 1 or 2 slam dunks from Jimmy Graham. As long as their defense can hold the Lions to about 35 points [which isn't that hard] than the Saints should win this game easily.

GMEN vs. Falcons

Well now it's time to predict one of  the NFC matchups:
It's the number 4 seed GMEN against the number 5 seed Falcons.
These two teams match-up almost perfectly with each other so it'll be hard predicting this one.
The Falcons have a slight edge in terms of rushing and secondary, but the GMEN have the edge in their defensive line. So what this game will really come down to is the quarterback matchup which is Eli Manning vs. Matt Ryan.
Matt Ryan has an accurate but weak arm with one of the best receiving duos in the league with Roddy White and Julio Jones. But Eli Manning has one of the strongest and most accurate arms in the league along with Victor Cruz the biggest freaking BEAST ever to play football. Well....at least this season. He came out of no where in week 3 and now catches every ball that's thrown to him. He is a MACHINE and the reason why New York wins this game

AFC Matchups

Well thanks to a NYG victory over the Cowboys, all of the playoff spots have been secured.

This is a preview of all of the AFC matchups:

The 3 seed Texans will face the 6 seed Bengals

I like the Bengals winning this one simply because The Texans  HAVE NO QUARTERBACK

Literally, with both Matts (Mat Shaub and Matt Lienert) both injured The Texans had to count on 3rd string qb T.J. Yates............and now he's injured. He might play but if not The Texans will need  Jake Dellhome to start this game which can't be good.

Also in the AFC. The 4 seed Broncos will take on the 5 seed Steelers

A lot of people may not like this but I HATE TIM TEBOW

I mean this guy cannot throw a football, he can't beat a real team, he's been relying on his defense and running game, and now he's supposed to win a game against one of the best defenses in the league. Unless Matt Prater somehow hits seven 80 yard field goals, I think "Tebow Magic" will run out on sunday.