tariksport.com NFL Blog » NFL playoffs 2008

Arizona defeat Philadelphia, Pittsburgh defeat Baltimore

et — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 06:08:11 +0000

The fairytale continued for the Arizona Cardinals as they took another step forward and won through to the 43rd Super Bowl in Tampa when they defeat the highly favoured Philadelphia Eagles, 32-25 by outclassing their opponents in the first half and then hanging on to get over the line.
It will be Arizona’s first Super Bowl appearance.

In the other Championship game, Pitssburgh led all the way against an injury battered Baltimore outfit who ran out of legs, and luck. The Steelers now move to their 7th Super Bowl appearance, 2nd only behind the Cowboys who have 8 appearances.

Its now full steam ahead to Tampa for what promises to be an exciting Super Bowl between the nothing to lose novices, Arizona, and the hardened Steelers.

Pittsburgh Steelers defeat San Diego Chargers [NFL]

et — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:57:08 +0000

Pittsburgh Steelers 35 defeat San Diego Chargers 24

The final game of the Divisional playoffs and a game many had forecast as one sided was a close encounter, but only for the first half, in the cold and snowy conditions in Pittsburgh.

The visitors started strongly with an early touchdown to Vincent Jackson and it was only a late half TD to the home team that saw them take the lead into the break but after half time it was a different story – the Steelers came out hungry with Roethlisberger showing great control and the Chargers went to the dogs.

The 3rd quarter belonged to the home side as they held control of the ball with 23 plays against the Chargers 1 play. The Chargers went nowhere and were looking tired.

The final quarter didnt start any better for the Chargers as Rivers was sacked only yards from his own goal line and the Steelers replied with a TD to Gary Russell to seal the game.
The Chargers eventually showed a little offensive urgency and brought up a couple of belated TD’s – all too late.

A tremendous defensive effort by the Steelers who choked the life out of the Chargers and a magnificent commanding performance by Ben Roethlisberger whose versatility is shown by his game stats which included a 25 yard punt!

Pittsburgh now face a rampant Baltimore next week in what shapes as a classic game of football.

Scoring Sequence…

1st Quarter
TD Vincent Jackson, 41 yd pass from Philip Rivers (Nate Kaeding PAT), 13:08. Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards in 2:01
TD Santonio Holmes, 67 yd punt (Jeff Reed PAT), 08:00.
2nd Quarter
FG Nate Kaeding, 42 yd field goal , 02:00. Drive: 7 plays, 20 yards in 3:09
TD Willie Parker, 3 yd run (Jeff Reed PAT), 00:45. Drive: 7 plays, 66 yards in 1:16
3rd Quarter
TD Heath Miller, 8 yd pass from Ben Roethlisberger (Jeff Reed PAT, 07:10. Drive: 13 plays, 77 yards in 7:56
4th Quarter
TD Gary Russell, 1 yd run (Jeff Reed PAT), 12:56. Drive: 2 plays, 49 yards in 0:49
TD Legedu Naanee, 4 yd pass from Philip Rivers (Nate Kaeding PAT), 09:13. Drive: 10 plays, 73 yards in 3:43
TD Willie Parker, 16 yd run (Jeff ReedPAT), 04:17. Drive: 9 plays, 73 yards in 4:58
TD Darren Sproles, 62 yd pass from Philip Rivers (Nate Kaeding PAT), 02:03. Drive: 4 plays, 79 yards in 0:50

Philadelphia Eagles defeat New York Giants – NFL

et — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 21:29:30 +0000

Philadelphia Eagles 23 defeated New York Giants 11

This was billed as the game of the weekend and for three quarters it was a close tussle, although whilst the Giants were exchanging the lead regularly with the Eagles, Eli Manning looked ineffectual and out of touch.
The final quarter opened with a touchdown to the Eagles, and the Giants were gone. Yes, they struggled along for the final 15 minutes but were always inches short, fumbling or turning over the ball. The composure was gone and Manning had no imagination or vision.

Well done by the Eagles who now advance to a contest with Arizona next week in what should be a tremendous battle of two very much in form teams.

Scoring sequence…
1st Quarter
FG John Carney, 22 yd field goal , 10:05. Drive: 9 plays, 31 yards in 5:01
TD Donovan McNabb, 1 yd run (David Akers PAT), 06:05. Drive: 3 plays, 2 yards in 1:32
2nd Quarter
S Penalty on D.McNabb enforced in end zone for a Safety, 12:45.
FG John Carney, 34 yd field goal , 01:38. Drive: 7 plays, 63 yards in 2:25
FG David Akers, 25 yd field goal , 00:04. Drive: 12 plays, 68 yards in 1:33
3rd Quarter
FG John Carney, 36 yd field goal , 12:37. Drive: 5 plays, 16 yards in 1:35
FG David Akers, 35 yd field goal , 07:53. Drive: 12 plays, 58 yards in 4:48
4th Quarter
TD Brent Celek, 1 yd pass from Donovan McNabb (David Akers PAT), 15:00. Drive: 10 plays, 63 yards in 4:24
FG David Akers, 20 yd field goal , 04:02. Drive: 6 plays, 46 yards in 2:30

Arizona Cardinals thrash Carolina Panthers

et — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 04:25:28 +0000

Arizona Cardinals 33 defeated Carolina Panthers 14

All the experts had expected this to be a one sided game – and it was, but it was the Cardinals who did the thrashing as they overran a limp and error prone Panthers.

The home team started well with a touchdown in the opening minutes, but that was the end of their day as the Cardinals piled on the scores to run away convincing winners.

The Panthers QB Jake Delhomme suffered 6 turnovers in a performance he would like to forget, whilst Arizona now march forward to another game looking very aggressive, very controlled and very much in control.

Scoring sequence…
1st Quarter
TD Jonathan Stewart, 9 yd run (John Kasay PAT), 12:00. Drive: 5 plays, 50 yards in 3:04
TD Tim Hightower, 3 yd pass from Kurt Warner (Neil Rackers PAT), 02:47. Drive: 6 plays, 60 yards in 3:39
TD Edgerrin James, 4 yd run (Neil Rackers PAT), 01:51. Drive: 2 plays, 13 yards in 0:50
2nd Quarter
FG Neil Rackers, 49 yd field goal , 10:21. Drive: 9 plays, 49 yards in 4:32
FG Neil Rackers, 30 yd field goal , 05:32. Drive: 8 plays, 49 yards in 3:39
TD Larry Fitzgerald, 29 yd pass from Kurt Warner (Neil Rackers PAT), 03:41. Drive: 3 plays, 44 yards in 1:39
3rd Quarter
FG Neil Rackers, 33 yd field goal , 04:44. Drive: 6 plays, 11 yards in 3:12
4th Quarter
FG Neil Rackers, 20 yd field goal , 03:14. Drive: 13 plays, 48 yards in 7:37
TD Steve Smith, 8 yd pass from Jake Delhomme pass failed, 00:57. Drive: 10 plays, 79 yards in 2:20

Baltimore defeats Tennessee in epic playoffs battle

et — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 00:39:51 +0000

Batlimore Ravens 13 defeated Tennessee Titans 10
All the predictions were that this would be a close, tough battle and the game lived up to this.
In the Tennessee drizzle, it was a battle of attrition with both sides suffering injuries as the game progressed.
A field goal early in the final quarter gave the Ravens the lead, then the Titans moved their way up field to be within striking range with 8 minutes to go. A turnover gave the Ravens control and it looked like the game would be over, but… not so fast…the visitors could not get off their own goal line and blew an important opportunity to seal the game.
With 4 minutes to go the Titans evened the game with a field goal and the intense battle continued down to the wire, before Flacco held his cool and moved the Ravens to within field goal range and with 53 seconds remaining Stover kicked the winning 43 yard goal to send the Ravens through to the next weekend.

Congratulations to both teams for a fantastic game of pressure football.

The Ravens are looking cool under pressure, very hungry and working together as a team – they are going to be hard to beat.

Scoring sequence…
1st Quarter
TD Chris Johnson, 8 yd run (Rob Bironas PAT), 04:45. Drive: 6 plays, 65 yards in 3:31
TD Derrick Mason, 48 yd pass from Joe Flacco (Matt Stover PAT), 01:28. Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards in 3:18
2nd Quarter
none
3rd Quarter
none
4th Quarter
FG Matt Stover, 21 yd field goal , 14:14. Drive: 6 plays, 38 yards in 2:36
FG Matt Stover, 21 yd field goal , 00:57. Drive: 9 plays, 51 yards in 3:30

Eagles sink Vikings

et — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 07:21:27 +0000

Philadelphia 26 – Minnesota 14

It was a close game in the first half, with the Eagles ahead 16-14 but then they came out and shutdown the home side completely whilst adding another 10 points to clinch their place in the second weekend’s matches. The Vikings never recovered from Asante Samuel’s interception-return TD.

Scoring…
1st Quarter
FG David Akers, 43 yd field goal , 06:49. Drive: 4 plays, 1 yards in 1:38
FG David Akers, 51 yd field goal , 00:02. Drive: 6 plays, 42 yards in 2:36
2nd Quarter
TD Adrian Peterson, 40 yd run (Ryan Longwell PAT), 11:14. Drive: 8 plays, 78 yards in 3:55
FG David Akers, 31 yd field goal , 07:38. Drive: 9 plays, 59 yards in 3:36
TD Asante Samuel, 44 yd interception return (David Akers PAT), 06:43.
TD Adrian Peterson, 3 yd run (Ryan Longwell PAT), 01:55. Drive: 9 plays, 64 yards in 4:43
3rd Quarter
none
4th Quarter
TD Brian Westbrook, 71 yd pass from Donovan McNabb (David Akers PAT), 06:53. Drive: 1 plays, 71 yards in 0:16
FG David Akers, 45 yd field goal , 02:00. Drive: 6 plays, 20 yards in 0:54

Ravens defeat Dolphins

et — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 05:41:07 +0000

Baltimore 27 – Miami 9

The Ravens showed no mercy against the Dolphins holding their opponents to just three field goals in a commanding performance that takes them through to the second weekend.

With five turnovers given away, the Dolphins were not in the match as the Ravens showed their authority and have now won 10 of their last 12 games.

Scoring…
1st Quarter
FG Dan Carpenter, 19 yd field goal , 08:21. Drive: 8 plays, 50 yards in 4:15
FG Matt Stover, 23 yd field goal , 02:52. Drive: 11 plays, 59 yards in 5:30
2nd Quarter
TD Ed Reed, 64 yd interception return (Matt Stover PAT), 02:51.
FG Matt Stover, 31 yd field goal , 00:21. Drive: 7 plays, 46 yards in 1:21
3rd Quarter
TD Le’Ron McClain, 8 yd run (Matt Stover PAT), 07:41. Drive: 4 plays, 19 yards in 2:09
4th Quarter
TD Ronnie Brown, 2 yd pass from Chad Pennington kick blocked, 13:19. Drive: 5 plays, 74 yards in 1:51
TD Joe Flacco, 5 yd run (Matt Stover PAT), 04:00. Drive: 8 plays, 71 yards in 3:44

NFL Overtime system

et — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 08:31:43 +0000

The Chargers win over the Colts again created discussion about the overtime system used by the NFL.

Personally, I dont like the idea of tossing a coin to commence overtime when there is statistical proof (Google it if you are interested) that the team winning the toss is more likely to win the game.

Its a professional league – it should have professional rules.

I have seen many NFL overtime solutions put forward but my preference is for the game to continue into a 5th quarter, as a direct continuation of the 4th. i.e. if the game ends after 4 quarters with Team A about to play 3rd down on the opposition 45 yard line, then the 5th quarter would commence with Team A playing its 3rd down on the opposition 45 yard line.

Its simple, its clean and its perfectly fair. It is just a natural extension of the game already being played.

No coin tossing, no funny Mickey Mouse rules like college football – just playing regular football until someone wins.

What do you think? Am I being too simple?

see ya

Cardinals upset Falcons

et — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 04:44:01 +0000

Atlanta led at the break, 17-14, but then collapsed under the pressure as mistakes by the visitors let the home side walk away with the game to win comfortably, 30-24
Scoring…
1st Quarter
TD Larry Fitzgerald, 42 yd pass from Kurt Warner (Neil Rackers PAT), 10:37. Drive: 4 plays, 63 yards in 2:03
2nd Quarter
FG Jason Elam, 30 yd field goal , 10:03. Drive: 14 plays, 80 yards in 7:31
TD Anquan Boldin, 71 yd pass from Kurt Warner (Neil Rackers PAT), 09:10. Drive: 3 plays, 72 yards in 1:02
TD Michael Turner, 7 yd run (Jason Elam PAT), 03:00. Drive: 14 plays, 77 yards in 6:03
TD Justin Peelle, 2 yd pass from Matt Ryan (Jason Elam PAT), 00:27. Drive: 6 plays, 23 yards in 1:40
3rd Quarter
TD Antrel Rolle, 27 yd fumble (Neil Rackers PAT), 14:17.
TD Tim Hightower, 4 yd run (Neil Rackers PAT), 02:54. Drive: 14 plays, 76 yards in 7:43
4th Quarter
S
TD Roddy White, 5 yd pass from Matt Ryan (Jason Elam PAT), 04:19. Drive: 9 plays, 58 yards in 3:36

Well done to the Cardinals, they now face either the Giants or Panthers next week.

NFL playoffs Week 1 predictions

et — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 07:21:31 +0000

Here we go , the first weekend of the playoffs….

Atlanta @ Arizona : Atlanta are narrow favourites, ET is going with Atlanta.

Indianapolis @ San Diego : Indianapolis are tight favourites. This is a tough one – stick the house on the Colts!

Baltimore @ Miami : another tough one. Stick your other house on the Ravens!!

Philadelphia @ Minnesota : once again the away team is favourite. Heart says go with the Eagles but Im sure I will pay for this.

Guaranteed to win – put your lifesavings on the 4 away teams parlay.

Good luck to all,

p.s. If one was to use my rankings as a guide, the winners this weekend would be…

Atlanta – Indianapolis – Miami – Minnesota