The Final Drive: 2012 Wildcard Weekend posted by Joe Anello

Are you exhausted yet? There was TOO MUCH DRAMA! (That’s a lie. There’s never too much.) Both nights of Wildcard weekend ended in tremendous excitement, wrapping up with a dramatic overtime ending that didn’t even warrant explanation of the new rules. I’m still appalled. Let’s just get The Final Drive started.

The first game of the weekend started off awfully sloppy, with plenty of penalties and “jitters” as described by Nessler and Mayock. As the game drew on though, the Texans clearly established themselves as the better team by man-handling Cincy. Rookie lineman J.J Watt, who has shown an inherent talent and awareness to deflect passes at the line of scrimmage made the play of a game by boomeranging Dalton in the second quarter. Watt timed his jump perfectly and made the catch and rambled 29 yards to paydirt. Then he sacked Dalton to end the first half as the Bengals were driving. It was hilarious afterwards to see Dalton with the “Why didn’t you tell me that lineman wasn’t actually fat? I never would have thrown it his way had I known” face. I blame the scouts on that one. The Bengals performance could be encapsulated with their second half opening drive: they were stopped on second down for a loss, then flagged for 12 men in the huddle, then Dalton wasted a time-out as he couldn’t hear the play-call in Reliant’s noise. Those wheels came off. Missed chances to take away the ball from Houston, poor tackling on defense allowed Houston to let Arian Foster loose and control to flow of the game. T.J. Yates never had to make a big play, so the Texans got the win.

The Opening Drive: 2012 Wildcard Sunday posted by Joe Anello

If Saturday’s games were any indication, then Sunday’s remaining Wildcard action should be entertaining as hell. Who’s got time for lengthy introductions though? Let’s break down this action!

 


(10-6) Atlanta Falcons at
(9-7) New York Giants
1:00 PM ET, FOX

Even more of a toss-up than Texans-Bengals, this game seems like it could go either way. Matt Ryan and the Falcons have been hot of late, winning five of their last seven games. However, all of those wins except one (Tennessee) came against sub .500 teams. Atlanta’s been kicking the crap out of crappy teams in 2011. Ryan hasn’t looked as sharp against quality defenses, but he hasn’t been getting help from receivers Roddy White and Julio Jones in those outings. Too many drops in an inconsistent passing attack. As always, the key to their success is the production of Michael Turner. The Falcons have a very aggressive offensive line that excels at run blocking, but their pass blocking hasn’t been as dependable. Defensively they’ve struggled to produce any sort of pass rush, even with Ray Edwards. John Abraham needs to have a big day.

Eli Manning may have just completed his best season as a professional quarterback. It came at a great time too, as the Giants wouldn’t have even been competitive this season without Manning’s heroics. Their running game hasn’t been as dominant as in years past, which is a direct result of the decline of their offensive line. Still, Manning’s put up points this year thanks to a stellar receiving crew, fronted by Victor Cruz, who looks like most explosive receiver in the game. On defense, the Giants are weak in the secondary, but those deficiencies are masked by the outstanding play of the defensive line. They still have Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora, but the emergence of Jason Pierre-Paul this year has really elevated their chances this postseason. Their front four has the type of talent they had when they won the Super Bowl and is a key to beating these high-powered offenses.

The Final Drive: Week 17, 2011-12 posted by Joe Anello

The 2011 NFL regular season ended with a bang with some great finishes and superb drama on Sunday. Records were set by a back-up QB, a team captain was benched for “quitting” and a fat-handed QB lost missed out on the post-season. The Final Drive must begin!

This makes me beyond furious. Mike McCarthy takes out his MVP quarterback and starts a fourth year back-up with one career start in Matt Flynn, and f*cking records are broken. Six touchdowns? 480 yards? Who wouldn’t want to be Matt Flynn right now? That guy is about to make BANK as a free agent. Blow me Green Bay. Take your awesome quarterback development and blow me.

(6-10) Miami Dolphins 19
(8-8) New York Jets 17
Mark Sanchez: 3 interceptions. Santonio Holmes: benched and called out as a whiny quitter by his teammates.  (Seriously. Worst team captain ever.) Bart Scott: flips off a photographer and refuses to talk to the media (For once). Finally seeing theses loathsome Jets miss the playoffs is SO satisfying to me. Take it Rex Ryan. Take it hard.

I don’t give a crap about the result of this game. What I do care about is DeSean Jackson deciding to actually play like he means it and be remorseful for his completely idiotic actions this season in the last game of the year. I’d be surprised (not stunned though) if the Eagles kept Jackson around. Maybe franchise him and get him on a one-year deal, but you would have thought he’d have been on better behavior once he showed up to 2011.

The Final Drive: Week 15, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

I’m not sure what else you could have wanted from week 15 in the NFL. Two impressive streaks ended, the “Trap of the Week” proved to be true once again and one win never mattered as much as it did for Indianapolis. (And Candlestick Park was sans light… for a few second before auxiliary lighting come on. Not as much drama.) Many a-loser won on this day. Oddsmakers be damned! Get ready for The Final Drive!

Oh Tennessee. How could you? You somehow managed to give their first lowly Colts a victory whilst in the midst of your own playoff hunt. For shame. While it’s nice to get a win (I’m sure), Jim Caldwell should still get effing fired.

Another streak brought to a necessary conclusion! Honestly, as much as we generally thought the Packers COULD do it, it’s probably better that they didn’t. Injuries to their offensive line killed them yesterday against the Chief pass rush, just one facet of a defense that made it difficult on Aaron Rodgers. Well done Romeo Crennel. Oh yeah, and the Chiefs can somehow still get into the playoffs.

BOOM! You got TRAPPED Eli! This was such an obvious upset to pick, even in a day that ended up with a metric ton of stunning results. How the Giants could come out and lay an egg like this when they had a chance to put some distance in front of the Cowboys is appalling. (And hilarious.)

The Opening Drive: Week 15, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

Week 15??? Really? Time goes by so fast! With the playoff races tight and Tebow versus Brady on the schedule, week 15 has everything you want. Let’s set-up for The Opening Drive!

We’re starting this week’s drive by diving right into the “Trap of the Week!” The Giants are coming off a huge win against the Cowboys, with whom they’re tussling for the division title. It would be fitting of this annually inconsistent team to lose a game late in the season that they absolutely should win.

I seriously have no idea what’s going on in this game. Two aggressive defensive lines, but two very different offenses will take the field. The Lions can’t run the ball to save their lives and the Raiders would prefer to simply pound you into the dust. Something has to give.

Speaking of something has to give… I will do anything to be able to see a beatdown of these Broncos. Tom Brady… I will do ANYTHING. Just have the Patriot PR person get in touch with me. Away from divine interference on the field, I simply don’t see the Broncos keeping pace offensively with the Patriots. Brady should have a two-touchdown lead going into the fourth quarter, which should be more than enough. If the Pats score more than 24, they should win.

Joe's 2011 Thursday Night Preview: Browns at Steelers posted by Joe Anello

HAHAHAHAHAHA. I’m sorry, did you want analysis of this latest edition of Thursday Night Football? …Really? Okay, here it goes.

NFL Network is the place for an AFC North division match-up that will serve as a measuring stick for both teams involved. We can see how serious Pittsburgh really is about winning their division by how hard they play against a supposed soft opponent. Cleveland can gauge itself versus the rest of their Northern brethren by mounting a valiant effort tonight.

(4-8) Cleveland Browns at
(9-3) Pittsburgh Steelers

Okay Cleveland fans, let’s talk some Browns. You’ve got Colt McCoy struggling to impress management, who are almost assuredly need to take a good hard look at drafting another signal-caller come April. Tonight, he gets front-and-center with James Harrison, who has been wrecking quarterbacks with reckless abandon since coming back from injury. Cleveland doesn’t have enough talent on offense to hang with the Steelers at all, especially if Peyton Hills can’t get on the field consistently. They have solid parts on the defensive side of the ball, but they’re not cohesive enough to put up much resistance against Big Ben.

On the Steeler side of the ball, things should be smooth sailing tonight. Their offensive line has been problematic in 2011, but there’s not enough pass-rush coming from the lowly Browns. Ben’s wide receivers are going to blow by the opposing corners, but I’m expecting a big night from Heath Miller. Even without Polamalu, what’s there for the Steeler defense to worry about? Colt McCoy can’t complete passes more than ten yards down the field, so Mike Tomlin will stack the box against him and force him to beat their corners with quick, precision passing. (Which won’t happen.) This could get ugly y’all.

The Opening Drive: Week 13, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

The weeks are rushing by in the NFL with the playoff picture beginning to take shape. Two 11-game streaks could push their way to 12 and an NFC contender tries to get by without one of their biggest stars.

(6-5) Tennessee Titans at
(5-6) Buffalo Bills

I gotta say, the only reason I’m putting this one on here is that the Titans could actually sneak their way into contention for a wildcard slot if the Jets and Bengals lose. That shouldn’t be a tremendous feat against the Bills, who are stumbling mightily.

This is crazy. A 20.5 point line for a professional game? That just proves how utterly hopeless the Colts have been this season. I don’t expect it to be close… but that’s a very large number. Very. Large. Still, with Dan Orlovsky starting for Indy it could be a safe bet.

The Bengals have had two shots to make statements against the Ravens and Steelers but have failed to deliver. Round two against the AFC Champs takes place on Sunday as the Bengals try to hang onto their playoff hopes. Look for things to be different this time around as Andy Dalton should hopefully have A.J. Green for the entire game.

Uh… who’s Houston starting at quarterback again? T.J. Yates? …It would be REALLY hard for me not to take Atlanta here. I’m not saying Yates is awful, but first starts are hardly ever stand-out performances. The Falcons are quietly winning but need a noisemaker for anyone to start taking them seriously.

The Final Drive: Week 12, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

Another Monday night means another edition of The Final Drive! I’m going to skip right past the Thanksgiving Day games as we all saw what happened. (Right?) Lots going on in week 12, including another QB injury in Houston and more magic from Jebus and Teebs.

(6-5) Tennessee Titans 23
(4-7) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17
Hey… Chris Johnson showed up to the 2011 NFL season. Welcome.

(6-5) New York Jets 28
(5-6) Buffalo Bills 24
Completely overshadowed by his idiotic celebration and dropped touchdown is the fact that Stevie Johnson made Revis Island look like a vacation. He consistently beat Revis in one-on-one match-ups, but that wasn’t enough for the Bills to avoid dropping their fourth straight.

I don’t care so much about this result, since the Jags are pretty terrible. But Matt Leinart broke his collarbone, effectively ending his season and leaving T.J. Yates in charge of this playoff-bound squad. That has to be a frightening thought for Texan fans. I was really looking forward to Leinart and his porn’ ‘stache.

(8-3) New England Patriots 38
(4-7) Philadelphia Eagles 20

The Opening Drive: Week 10, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

Week ten in this still-evolving NFL season gives us several division contests that will give the winner a hold on first place and several games pitting garbage on garbage. Let’s run through what to expect from the weekend’s slew of games!

(6-3) New Orleans Saints at
(5-3) Atlanta Falcons

It seems like we get a match-up with the NFC South lead on the line every other week. Atlanta’s been charging up the standings as of late, putting pressure on the less-than perfect Saints. Falcons at home? I like ‘em.

It’s put-up or shut-up time for the Bengals, who after getting a favorable schedule in the first half of the season have four games against their divisional rival Ravens and Steelers. (Two each.) If they’re going to catch the Steelers napping… it probably won’t be this week. After losing to the Ravens last week, the Steelers will be out for orange-hued blood.

(1-7) St. Louis Rams at
(3-5) Cleveland Browns

In a week that is full of crap-on-crap and top-on-top match-ups, this game earns a very weak “Trap of the Week” status. At home welcoming a one-win team should be a recipe for success, but the Browns are absolutely woeful on offense.

The Final Drive: Week 9, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

After a bunch of snoozers early Sunday, the late games went down to the wire and featured some fantastic finishes. Week nine did not disappoint, and neither will The Final Drive!

(5-3) New York Jets 27
(5-3) Buffalo Bills 11

For a game to finish with this score after 3-0 at the half the offenses needed help and they got it. This game was a turnover-filled mess. Ryan Fitzpatrick was highly inaccurate and managed to toss two interceptions that utterly killed his team’s drives, letting the Jets get extra possessions and dominate the clock. Rex Ryan keeps his good squad in the AFC East race for another week.

(5-3) Atlanta Falcons 31
(0-9) Indianapolis Colts 7

Why hasn’t Peyton Manning fired Jim Caldwell and promoted himself to head coach yet? This is getting out of hand.

(1-7) Miami Dolphins 31
(4-4) Kansas City Chiefs 3

My Ackbar-themed preview proved to be a success! (Maybe a “Trap of the Week?”) Kansas City came in flat and the Dolphins finally pulled out their first W of the year. Well done ‘Fins. Matt Moore didn’t look like utter garbage, which is always helpful.

(6-2) Cincinnati Bengals 24
(4-4) Tennessee Titans 17

It may not have been an overwhelming victory, but the Cincinnati Bengals have to get a ton of credit for picking up another win in this surprising season. As for the Titans, they’re slowly slipping out of the picture. Thanks Chris Johnson.

(3-5) Denver Broncos 38
(4-4) Oakland Raiders 2 

Dammit. I was ONE loss away from being finished with Tim Tebow. Everyone’s favorite Jesus-pumping QB didn’t look supremely terrible today. However, the Oakland defense sure did. If Willis McGahee is racking up 163 yards on you, you’ve got issues.

Steelers sign 2nd round pick Mike Adams (Yahoo! Sports)

PITTSBURGH (AP) The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed second-round draft pick Mike Adams and seventh-round picks David Paulson and Terrence Frederick. Terms of the deals were not disclosed. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Pittsburgh Steelers sign Mike Adam to four year contract

Offensive tackle Mike Adams agreed to a four-year contract with thePittsburgh Steelers. [read full article]

From FOXSports.com News for NFL

2012 Sunday Night Football Schedule (Yahoo! Contributor Network)

The 2012 Sunday night football schedule looks to be a great one for NBC. The network will have a game every Sunday for the full 2012 NFL season, beginning in Week 1 with the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Denver Broncos. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Steelers' Roethlisberger graduates college in Ohio (Yahoo! Sports)

[read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Ravens LB Suggs tears Achilles tendon (Yahoo! Sports)

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From Yahoo! Sports