Division Saturday Preview

By Dan Rodgers

House sitting with the girlfriend. I was in Delaware so this preview is going to be a bit late. This is going to be an excellent Saturday full of football. First off, we should have an offensive explosion.

Cardinals (+7) at Saints

The Arizona Cardinals head to the Big Easy to take on the Saints. This should be over a 70 point-plus game. Look for the Saints to shock everyone and put up a ton of points even though many "experts" expected them to be out of sync due to losing their last three games and having the bye week. I look for them to barely reach the 40's while the Cardinals will be close behind in the high 30's. The defenses in this game will once again get embarrassed, but the Saints will get the last laugh because they'll put up more points. Kurt Warner might have played his last playoff game and who knows what that will mean for Fitzgerald and Boldin. Also, look for both rushing attacks to be utilized because of the hype in the passing game.

My prediction: Cardinals (+7) 38 Saints 44

Ravens (+6.5) at Colts

I love, beyond recognition, the Ravens to AT LEAST cover the spread in this game. I will not make any promises but don't act surprised if the Ravens pull this one out. The Colts will probably focus in on stopping Ray Rice so Joe Flacco will probably have to do better than the 35 passing yards he had last week. I expect the Ravens defense to have a similar repeat performance of what they did last time to the Colts when they held them to only 17 points. I expect the Ravens to at least punch it into the end zone once, but if they get down to the goalline and they don't give it to McClain I will go crazy. Look for a couple turnovers but Peyton won't go down without a fight.

Ravens (+6.5) 26 Colts 20

If I were a betting man (laughs), I would take the over in the Saints/Cards game and Baltimore to cover the spread.

See you tomorrow.

Rodgers That

NFL Sunday Recap

By Dan Rodgers

I was a bit closer on with these predictions, but I seem to be struggling with my NFC picks and my AFC picks are right on. Hopefully this will improve.

AFC Wild-Card:

Baltimore Ravens (+3.5) 34 New England Patriots 23

My prediction: Ravens 33 Patriots 14

I was right on with the Ravens on this prediction but apparently I gave the Pats a little too much credit. They actually would have had 34 points, but they went for a two-point conversation to go up 21 points. Ray Rice had 159 yards and two touchdowns. Tom Brady was responsible for two touchdown passes, three interceptions and a lost fumble. The Ravens completely dominated the game from the start jumping out to a 24 to nothing first quarter lead. Ray Rice set the pace early with an 83-yard run on the first play from scrimmage. The Pats didn't even stand a chance once the Ravens scored again off a Brady fumble.

NFC Wild-Card:

Green Bay Packers (PK) 45 at Arizona Cardinals 51

My prediction: Packers 37 Cardinals 27

I couldn't have been more far off on this one, but it was crazy game to watch. The game set the NFL record for the highest scoring post-season game in history. The Packers came back from a 31-10 third quarter deficit to tie the game at 45 with under two minutes left. Kurt Warner drove the Cards down the field and with 16 seconds left they lined up for a "chip-shot" field goal. Rackers pulled it wide left and Aaron Rodgers knelt down to send the game to OT. The Packers won the toss and on third down and 10 to go, I saw a crazy play. Rodgers was sacked and had the ball knocked out of his hand, but as it was headed to the turf Rodgers was taken off of his feet and kicked the ball back into the air. Karlos Dansby caught the ball in mid-air and ran it in for the game winning touchdown. Just absolutely deflating to me because I was definitely rooting for my bro A-Rodge. Better luck next year. Good luck in New Orleans Kurt and the Cards.

Rodgers That

NFL Week 10: The Down and The Dirty

By Dan Rodgers

My sincerest apologies for this delayed post. However, it is going to published before the start of the Thursday game coming up: Miami @ Carolina

NFL Week Ten

“The Down”

Most football fans saw something this past Thursday night that we might not see ever again. Jay Cutler threw five interceptions. You might be asking why this is special? The reason it is special is because his five interceptions made it three consecutive weeks that a quarterback has thrown five picks. He did throw for just over 300 yards and the Bears actually did have an opportunity to win the game at the end. But, what do you know, that was when Cutler threw his fifth, final and game-ending interception.

Honorable Mentions:

QB Brady Quinn (CLE) – 13 of 31 for 99 yards and 2 INTs

WR Santana Moss (WAS) – 2 for 8 yards

RB Laurence Maroney (NE) – 10 for 31 yards 1 TD 1 FUM

RB Rashard Mendenhall (PIT) – 13 for 36 yards

“The Dirty”

This week’s “The Dirty” might be a little controversial if you look at the honorable mentions; however, it seems to me that the situation was enough to help the stats. Reggie Wayne had 10 receptions for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns. The reason he is the winner ahead of Moss is because Wayne’s second touchdown came with thirteen seconds left in the game. He dove to make the catch and there was a ton of contact between him and the defensive back. The game winning touchdown combined with stellar enough stats was enough for propel Wayne ahead of the players you see below.

Honorable Mentions:

RB Chris Johnson (TEN) – 26 for 132 yards and 2 TDs

QB Kurt Warner (ARI) – 29 of 38 for 340 yards and 2 TDs

WR Randy Moss (NE) – 9 for 179 yards and 2 TDs

WR Sidney Rice (MIN) –7 for 207 yards

Rodgers That

NFL Week 9: The Down and The Dirty

By Dan Rodgers

I am aware that I just wrote back-to-back pieces about the MLB Gold Gloves Awards, but this is my weekly piece and I want it to be down every Wednesday. Well, at least when I started it was still Wednesday.

NFL Week Nine

"The Down"

This award was tough to hand out to one player in the beginning. After analyzing the stats and looking a bit deeper into everything it became clear that Matthew Stafford came out on top (or bottom depending how you look at it). Even though he threw two touchdowns and Orton didn’t throw a single one. Stafford threw for 22 of 42 for 203 and 2 TDs. Oh, not his five, yeah count ‘em FIVE interceptions. Stafford took after last week’s biggest loser, Kurt Warner. The main reason why Stafford had to be chosen over Orton is because at least Orton faced a respectable team in the Steelers. Also, Stafford faced the Seahawks, and jumped out to 17 point lead. Why did he even throw a pass the rest of the game? Oy, who knows…

Honorable Mentions:

QB Kyle Orton (DEN) – 23 of 38 for 221 yards and 3 INTs

QB Joe Flacco (BAL) – 18 of 32 for 195 yards and 2 INTs

RB Ahmad Bradshaw (NYG) – 14 for 39 yards

WR Ted Ginn, Jr. (MIA) – 1 for 7 yards

"The Dirty"

Kurt Warner, last weeks biggest loser, completely dominated the Chicago Bears supposedly respectable defense. Warner only completed 22 of 32 passes for a measly 261 yards. So you might be asking how he won the award this week? Well, his five touchdown passes certainly sealed the deal for me. That’s right, a week after his five interceptions, Warner showed that at 37 years-old he still has some juice left in the tank. I don’t think there is any discrepancy to be had over Warner. I mean Fitz had a crazy good game, but of course that was because of Warner. Randy Moss and Mike Sims-Walker put up impressive stats but they were identical so just one of them couldn’t win it. Lastly, Michael Turner put up over 150 yards for the second consecutive week but was slightly over showed in my book.

Honorable Mentions:

WR Larry Fitzgerald (AZ) – 9 for 123 yards and 2 TDs

WR Randy Moss (NE) – 6 for 147 yards and 1 TD

WR Mike Sims-Walker (JAX) – 6 for 147 yards and 1 TD

RB Michael Turner (ATL) – 18 for 166 yards and 2 TDs

If anyone thinks I missed a player that deserves to be recognized on either list please let me know.

Rodgers That

NFL Week 8: The Down and The Dirty

By Dan Rodgers

After every week in the NFL I will be doing a new segment called "The Down and The Dirty". It will consist of two players that have surprised the NFL that week. One player will be recognized for their poor performance, "The Down", and the other for their impressive performance, "The Dirty". Unfortunately, we will be starting this segment a bit late and our first week will be Week Eight of the NFL season.

NFL Week Eight

The Down

This award was a bit tougher to hand out due to the fact that so many players deserved to be in the discussion. However, looking at the big picture, Kurt Warner easily had the most shameful week. Even though he might not have been as absolutely atrocious as Derek Anderson, Kurt Warner is on the Arizona Cardinals. Warner threw for 27 of 46 for 242 and 2 TDs. Oh, forgot to mention his five (5) interceptions. Kurt Warner, the quarterback for the defending NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals threw five picks. The main reason he won the award is because much better is expected of him, and five interceptions for anyone is unacceptable.

Honorable Mentions:

QB Derek Anderson (CLE) – 6 of 17 for 76 yards and 2 INTs

QB David Garrard (JAX) – 14 of 27 for 139 yards and 2 INTs

RB Ronnie Brown (MIA) – 11 for 27 yards

RB Mike Bell (NO) – 17 for 49 yards 1 FUM

The Dirty

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Maurice Jones-Drew, hands down, wins this week’s “The Dirty” award due to his 177 yards on only eight (8) carries. Yes, that’s right MJD averaged 22.1 yards-per-carry; an absolutely astonishing number. Not to mention, he had two touchdowns to go along with it. Some people might disagree with MJD receiving this award compared to Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans, however, Johnson had more opportunities (24 attempts) so it is a safe assumption that if MJD had more tries he would have easily broken Johnson’s 228 yards.

Honorable Mentions:

RB Chris Johnson (TEN) – 24 for 228 yards and 2 TDs

RB Ryan Moats (HOU) – 23 for 126 yards and 3 TDs

QB Brett Favre (MIN) – 17 of 28 for 244 yards and 4 TDs

WR Reggie Wayne (IND) – 12 for 147 yards and 1 TD

Rodgers That