Cardinals cut the Pack (eventually)

Article by Rob Newell

There were mixed fortunes for the NFC West teams involved in this weekend’s divisional round matchups, but the division champion Arizona Cardinals eventually booked their spot in the coming weekend’s Championship round with a thrilling 26-20 win at home over the Green Bay Packers following Overtime.

 

This was a game that many thought following their Week 16 matchup might just be another blowout victory for the Cardinals, but this was a different Green Bay Packer team, with some of their defensive pieces back.  Oh and of course this team has Aaron Rodgers, and despite the fact that when Randall Cobb went down in the first quarter, Rodgers was missing his top four receivers, when you have Rodgers you have a chance.

 

His Arizona counterpart Carson Palmer was looking for his first career postseason win and at times looked a little tight, but as the game wore on and it time for a big play, Palmer was able to relax into the game and he of course had all of his receivers available and combined they just may be the best trio in the game, in the form of course of John Brown, Michael Floyd and the Hall of Famer in waiting Larry Fitzgerald.

 

Takeaways from this game of note, after a slow start the Arizona Cardinal defence stepped up and stopped the Packers from 13-7 down right up to the final minute of regulation time.  Then facing a 4th and 20 from their own 5 with 55 seconds on the clock, Aaron Rodgers was in his element, with regulation time ending not for the first time this season on an immaculate Rodgers Hail Mary pass, this time to Jeff Janis.  One of two TD’s for Janis on the day as he stepped up with 145 yards from 7 catches.

 

Is there a better team than the Packers at coming down with Hail Mary balls, either they are so well coached that they spend time working on this as a drill or they are incredibly lucky?  Either way Rodgers did it again and tied this game up at 20 each and forced Overtime.  This directly led to what will no doubt become known as Coingate or Tossgate as the referee was seemingly unable to toss the coin properly in a coin flip that resulted with Arizona getting the ball.

 

When the pressure is on your big players step up and has there ever been a better big time pressure player than Larry Fitzgerald.  If Jeff Janis had a day for Green Bay then Fitzgerald was simply magical.  On the day 8 balls for 176 yards including the huge 75 yard play to the Packers 5 yard line when for all the world Palmer looked like he was going to be sacked, Palmer instead just about spun out of it and found Fitzgerald who had found space and the rest was inevitable as he beat 6 Packers before just being tackled 75 yards downfield.  Not to be denied two plays later, both passes to Fitzgerald and the game was over and Arizona are heading to Carolina in what should be a game worthy of the Super Bowl itself.

 

In the other game the other NFC West team Seattle Seahawks deserve credit for winning the second half of their divisional round game 24-0.  Given they have struggled in many games in the fourth quarter they would normally be overjoyed at such a strong late game showing, however the fact they were soundly embarrassed in the first half by 31-0 meant this late game effort was doomed to fall short.

 

Therefore the NFC kings are dead, long live the new kings will it be Carolina Panthers the number one seeded 15-1 team or the Cardinals no 2 seed at 13-3. Next Sunday sure is going to be fun.  The Seahawks will be kicking themselves that they will not be part of it.

 

Maybe Russell Wilson and teammates were still frozen from their time in Minnesota last week and even the return of Beast Mode could not thaw them out as Carolina dominated on offence and defence in the first half.  When the Panthers have a big lead strange things happen though and they could easily have lost 4 games this season in very similar circumstances as teams have come back to tie or take the lead from seemingly dead situations.   Wilson is too good to keep quiet for an entire game though and the second half was all Seattle and he got it back to a one score game which seemed fair before the game, but the way the two teams got to their points was a little surprising.

 

One point of note, this defeat could well be the last time Marshawn Lynch takes the field for the Seahawks, given his salary cap hit next year if he comes back and the emergence of Thomas Rawles in relief of Lynch this year, indications are Lynch is done in Seattle, shame it wasn’t a bigger game from the Beast Mode if this turns out to be true.

Another Chip in the Valley

Article by Rob Newell

Welcome to the ever changing world of the NFL and the NFC West in particular.  With the Seattle Seahawks and the Arizona Cardinals still firmly entrenched in the race to Super Bowl 50, the divisions other two teams have decided that they do not want to be out of the NFL news cycle for long either.

As I wrote previously, the Rams are on the move back to Los Angeles and it does seem that moves are afoot to reintroduce the old LA Rams uniforms, and now the San Francisco 49ers have decided it was their turn to make the headlines.  For a team based not a million miles away from Silicon Valley, it may be fitting that a man called Chip was today confirmed as the new head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

 

In terms of coaching personalities, the NFC West was already well off with Bruce Arians and Pete Carrol established as two of the more characterful coaches in the game.  Chip Kelly was a coach who probably ranked up there with these two and now he joins the sidelines of the NFC West we are in for some interesting divisional matchups next year.

 

In many ways it feels a strange appointment, Kelly was involved in a big power play last season where he wanted full control of personnel decisions and the 53 man roster, whereas he comes to San Francisco with Trent Balke established as the GM so will Kelly be able to let go of that and focus just on Head Coaching duties?  I think that even though it was known that Kelly was interviewing with the Niners, it was thought that Kelly may have really been maneuvering towards the Tennessee Titans and the chance to once again work with Marcus Mariota.  However, the coaching carousel is beginning to stop with jobs disappearing from the market, and the Niners needed to act before it was too late.

 

There is a common theory that in the NFL if you fire a coach you go for the opposite of what you had last time when choosing the next, a theory that rings true today.  Jim Tomsula a first time head coach with a career in defensive coaching could not be more removed from the   offensive schemes of Chip Kelly.

 

Kelly will of course have a fairly high draft pick in San Francisco and till now the common thought was that would be used on a QB, and of course it still might.  However, Kelly has made no secret of the fact that he has been a big fan of Colin Kaepernick and was rumored to be looking to sign him to run his scheme wherever Kelly was to coach next (according to NFL reporter Ian Rapportport).  Landing in San Francisco Kelly inherits Kaepernick anyway, so this may just be the second chance Kaepernick needs and maybe it will now be Blaine Gabbert looking for a backup role elsewhere next year.

 

The Kelly system has always worked best with a mobile athletic QB who can provide a running threat, something Kelly hasn’t had since Mariota and something Kaepernick has been encouraged to move away from after the 49ers Super Bowl season 3 years ago, this could then be a match made in Silicon Heaven.  If this is the plan that is great news for the Niners in many ways, if they are not taking a QB early then they can use that pick for another playmaker which the team needs, be it at Receiver or Pass Rusher.

 

Fair to say that when Free Agency and draft time come around the 49ers may be quite active as Kelly looks to overhaul what was a disappointing team last year when compared to their history.  However history also tells us that coaches with new offensive schemes tend to do well in San Francisco, Bill Walsh and the West Coast offence anyone!  It is fair to say this appointment is not universally liked, but if Kelly can recreate the former magic with Kaepernick or Gabbert or a draft pick then the fans will be there, and for the most part whether you like his systems or training regimes or not Kelly has won games just about everywhere he has been, last season aside.  He has some pieces in place in San Francisco will the QB proof system be reborn, watch this space it should be fun to watch.

The Blair Walsh Project / LA Returns

Article by Rob Newell

When it comes to January football in recent times, you have to admit there is something about the Seattle Seahawks, things do seem to happen at the end of their games.  They will tell you not always in their favour of course (Super Bowl 49) but the two time NFC Champions are still in it and fighting for a third straight Super Bowl mainly as a result of two single plays.

 

People talk in hushed revered tones about the mystique of the frozen tundra of Green Bay and with good reason.  However if the city of Minnesota had played more outside games instead of the domed stadiums, then that legend may just belong to the Vikings and not the Packers.  The Wild Card matchup in January 2016 was recorded as the third lowest game temperature in NFL history, with the wind chill making it feel like negative 25.

 

No surprise then that we were not treated to a free flowing West Coast offensive exhibition, this was a day when defence was king, as you would expect from a 10-9 final score, but both defensive units were excellent.  Teddy Bridgewater and Russell Wilson were under severe pressure pretty much all day long, and stepping up in the pocket just to try and get something on a pass in those temperatures usually resulted in a sack or a QB hit for the defence.  What little momentum there was through the opening 3 quarters was just on the side of the Vikings, but this Seahawks team was not about to give up a touchdown for anyone and held to two Blair Walsh field goals.

 

It is not uncommon though for Pete Carrol to talk about the importance of winning the 4^th quarter, this Seahawks team act at times like it is their right to do this, and so it proved again as this game all turned on a moment of magic once again from Russell Wilson.  Just inside the Vikings half for the first time in a long time, the ball was snapped as Wilson was still identifying the blitz, the ball therefore sailed past Wilson to around the 50 yard line.  Wilson scrambled after it, was able to gather the ball and roll out to his right before the blitz could arrive.  This gave Wilson the chance to find rookie Tyler Lockett left free over the middle, who took the ball down to the 4 yard line.

 

A few plays later Wilson finds Doug Baldwin and Seattle are in front.  The next possession and the Vikings biggest star Adrian Peterson fumbles the ball under pressure from Kam Chancellor and Jeremy Lane and the Seahawks recovered for what would turn into the winning Field Goal attempt.  Peterson out of all the players the league suspended last year for domestic abuse seems to have rehabilitated back into the league the easiest, but I wonder if the powers that be had one more thing in store as a matter of penance for Peterson as that fumble came out far too easily.

 

Credit to Teddy though, down 10-9 and in final drive of the game scenario and under extreme pressure, Teddy stood tough and maneuvered the Vikings into what was surely a game winning 27 yarder for Blair Walsh, but it was pulled way left and Seattle advanced as the Vikings slumped to the ground like they had been hit by a switch.  The Seahawks will now face Carolina in Charlotte and the chance of another NFC West showdown to decide the NFC title is still on the table although that would need to be hosted by Arizona for that to occur, somewhere no doubt a lot warmer that Minnesota this past weekend.

 

Speaking of somewhere warmer than Minnesota, football has returned to the city of Los Angeles in the form of the Rams.  The league owners have approved the plans of Rams owner Stan Kroenke by a 30-2 margin smashing the 24 votes required to relocate.  The Chargers may yet also move to be part of the new stadium Kroenke is building, but if they reject that option then the Raiders would have the option instead.  For NFL fans from the mid 80’s like myself the Los Angeles Rams just sounds more right than St Louis, no offence to the city of St Louis intended.

 

Will the full rebirth of the LA Rams be completed by the lighter blue and yellow uniforms just to complete the familiar feel of this, time will tell but the Rams should be moving soon to play initially at the USC Stadium as their new stadium is built and it promises to be a stadium that rivals the Cowboys stadium or house that Jerry built as it is commonly known.  With a stadium promising to deliver the wow factor it is going to be interesting to see how much longer Jeff Fisher will be given to get past 7-9 records or for Case Keenum to be a starting QB.  When in LA you need to be a bit more showbiz to compete, we will see if changes are coming now that LA is a potential destination for free agents etc…

Seahawks cruise past the Cardinals to send a playoff warning shot; Tomsula has a last hurrah in Frisco

Article by Rob Newell

As has become the norm, Week 17 was once again divisional matchups, which in the NFC West meant nothing was at stake except pride and confidence as first place Arizona entertained 2^nd place Seattle and 4^th place San Francisco entertained 3^rd place Rams.  I would say St Louis but later this month that may be inaccurate as they are expected to file their relocation claim today (4^th January) ahead of the owners meeting on the 12^th January.  Los Angeles does seem to beckon the Rams, will the Chargers or Raiders join them, my feeling is that it will be the Chargers with Oakland retaining the Raiders for now.

 

Back to the NFC West though and I will start with the two lower placed teams and what ended after overtime with a victory I predicted last week for the 49ers.  There was no reason on paper to believe the Niners should have won this game, apart from it is an NFC West type thing and the Rams defeat means yet another 7-9 season for the Rams, yet it seems Coach Fisher is going to be safe yet again.  Another losing season for Fisher next year once the team is in LA and I fear his luck may run out before the attendance figures drop. 

 

In San Francisco Coach Tomsula has not enjoyed the same luck as Fisher, despite winning this game to take San Francisco to a 5-11 record and the fifth pick in the 2016 draft when the whole NFL viewing world felt they were nailed on number one pick after the off-season retirements.  Tomsula was let go on the Sunday evening following the game in a move reminiscent of last year when Jim Harbaugh was finally released following week 17.  Something not lost on Harbaugh who took to social media to comment when the news had broken.  Chip Kelly and Mike Shanahan are early names in the mix for the 49ers job, I expect Kelly is really looking towards Tennessee and Marcus Mariota so maybe Shanahan will return.

 

Both Rams and 49ers have questions about the QB position with the original higher paid designated starters being benched in favour of the backups.  Blaine Gabbert at least has shown something in relief of Colin Kaepernick without any running game help or without starting receivers for most of his games, and I expect Gabbert will remaining in San Francisco with Kaepernick traded but the new Head Coach will be looking to draft his own QB of the future.  The Rams have probably finished to far down the order to look at drafting a QB in April so a free agency move could be on the agenda again.  Whoever comes to the Rams will be delighted with the running game in the shape of Todd Gurley but the Rams receivers are in dire need of an upgrade and a proper number one receiver.

 

Now for the headline act, Seattle at Arizona.  The Cardinals had a shot at the overall number one seed if other results went their way, but that soon became a dream as Seattle put in their best showing of the season and limited Arizona to their worst.  The Seahawks defence playing without Kam Chancellor completely shut down the Cardinals.  Maybe being back at the sight of their Super Bowl defeat last season inspired them to put things right and the Seahawks cruised to a 36-6 victory on the back of their defence and special teams.

 

At one point just before half-time Tyler Lockett the rookie of the year candidate had more return yardage than the entire Cardinals offence had racked up.  The Cardinals were getting beaten up so bad that Carson Palmer came out in the second half just to keep him for the playoffs, meanwhile his Seahawks counterpart Russell Wilson has been the best QB in the league in the second half of the season and with the defence and special teams giving him short fields it is almost unfair.  Perhaps making it even more unfair is that this Seahawks offence already ranked in the top 5 to complement their once again number one defence is about to get Marshawn Lynch back for the playoffs.

 

The 12’s will not have home field advantage this time but off the back of this game in Arizona there is nobody in the NFC happy to be playing Seattle.  The late night Sunday game between the Vikings and Packers saw the Vikings win to claim the division and 3 seed and a game against the Seahawks, whilst the Packers by losing have a game at Washington.  I am sure Mike McCarthy was aware of this going into the game.  Who would you rather play this weekend, Washington or Seattle?

 

The Cardinals will now have a bye week after their first division title since 2009 and you can be sure Bruce Arians will get his team to rebound from this performance when they host a playoff game in two weeks.  Don’t be surprised though if the week after that the Cardinals once again are hosting these Seahawks with a lot more on the line.