Football Focus

So as I sit here watching the Oregon Ducks route the defending champs, I realize my Florida State pick may not have been the best. I am not letting that get me down! Lets hope my NFL picks do better this weekend.

AFC Playoffs
Ravens vs Steelers: Like I wrote last week, the Steelers are hot. They just handled a playoff team in the Bengals and the offense was rolling. Unfortunately, Le'Veon Bell went down with a hyperextension of the knee. He has not tested it yet. He anticipates suiting up for the Saturday's game. My pick depends on the health of Bell. I am going to assume he is going to play. Give me the killer B's (Bell, Ben, & Brown) in this game. 

Bengals vs Colts: My main man Eric Grida loves the Bengals. I have spent the past few seasons watching many of Bengals games over at his place. I believe in what they do defensively. What I don't believe in is Marvin Lewis and I definitely don't believe in Andy Dalton. BUT, I will go out on a limb and say they get the win this week. The Colts defense is awful. They have no run game. They have the superior quarterback but I just can't get over that defeat to the Cowboys. They were awful. My confidence level on the Bengals pick: 2 out of 10. Lets win one for Grida!

NFC Playoffs
Cardinals vs Panthers: As I was watching Carolina dismantle Atlanta, I was thinking to myself: this team is going to win in the first round. When I saw they were playing Arizona, it confirmed my initial thoughts. The Panthers defense is playing great. There offense is productive and they run a good amount of gadget plays last week. But my favorite part: Cam Newton on the quarterback power off the zone read fake. They are starting to run Cam more and it has been productive. Look for them to continue that this week!

Lions vs Cowboys: Just like the Steelers, Dallas is on fire. Dez is playing off the charts, Murray is doing his thing, and Romo is playing at an elite level. I honestly don't know if there is anyone playing better than him. When Romo is throwing the ball, he is making it count. He is leading the league in completion percentage, yards per attempt, and quarterback rating. That is exactly how I would define efficiency! Give me the Cowboys to get off the playoff schneid this week. 


Oregon vs Florida State: Now I intended on writing something in depth for the college football playoff but the first game was ugly. A few things that stood out:

1. I loved Oregon's two point conversion after their initial touchdown. It looked like FSU misaligned. They had 5 defenders over 4 offensive players to one side and only 3 defenders over 4 offensive to the other. Oregon had the numbers advantage and threw the ball out there and they converted.
2. Oregon is a physical team, specifically when they have the ball in there hands. Their receivers and tight ends did a great job with the run after catch.
3. Which brings me to the freshmen Darren Carrington. He had two huge explosive plays when the game was still somewhat close. Two touchdowns: one 50+ yards and the other 30+. Over the last two weeks he has 14 receptions, 291 yards, and 3 touchdowns. Look out for him next week!
4.  The Quarterbacks: Winston has a cannon for an arm. He is accurate but turns the ball over at an alarming rate. If he does that against ACC defenses what will NFL defenses do to him?  Mariota was incredibly efficient and runs his teams offensive system like nobody else in college football. BUT, I would be extremely cautious drafting one of these guys as my quarterback. Jameis is a knucklehead who turns the ball over and athletic, spread quarterbacks are no longer in vogue. And for good reason, it just doesn't work in the NFL (unless you're name is Russell Wilson).

Alabama vs Ohio State: