***NFL Divisonal Playoffs***

Quote Originally Posted by W8LIFTER:

Tennessee Titans -3

Philadelphia Eagles +4 

San Diego Chargers +6

 

This is how I will roll bro! BOL

That's great buddy. Start your own thread and see who cares how you roll.

Quote Originally Posted by kltrd007:

BigHans, you should work for the Sports Services. Great analysis. Like the Panthers, Giants and SD. Luck...luck pal

Kit .  

Although I think that would be one of the worst jobs ever.  I don't know how those guys do it, they pretty much have to check their conscience at the door to sell picks. 

GL this weekend.

Quote Originally Posted by W8LIFTER:

Tennessee Titans -3

Philadelphia Eagles +4 

San Diego Chargers +6

 

This is how I will roll bro! BOL

GL This weekend Bro.

Agreed.

If you really look a little deeper into the Pitt@ Tenn.You will see that Big Ben gave that game to them. Tenn scored 21pts off pitts miscues , not a good indication of their offensive pt production. The final was 31-14 ...my final was Tenn 10 Pitt 14.Tenn should have lost that game...Baltimore,with the revenge factor the defense,and I really like Flacco over Collins.Collins is going to resort to the Collins we all know when up against that type of defense .ie SB vs the same type.

Excellent thoughts Cali, we agree on the NYG. 

I think alot are disrespecting Tennesee, much like the Giants they dominated most of the season. 

But heres what scares me about them: I don't think they are going to out-physical Baltimore, as almost nobody can or does.  Second, we saw what happened to this team once Haynesworth went down.  Its hard to believe one player can have that a large of impact but in their case he does.  He is going to play in this game, but I really question how he will hold up.  The guy is a fucking monster but he's also human.  He didn't practice this week and he has a bum knee.  I really question how that will hold up over the course of what will certainly be a smashmouth game.  Baltimore absolutely has to take the ball out of Flacco's hands as much as possible, he played poorly against Miami and despite his success is still a rookie.  There is going to be a heavy heavy dose of  McGahee and McLain in this game.  I think Tennesee will come out fired up, but I worry about the later stages of the game, where the pressure is higher on Collins and Van Den Bosch and Haynesworth will be wearing down.

Finally, if Mawae doesn't go that is a major, major blow to the Titans.  Ngagta will eat their backup center alive.  The Titans rely on Lendale to soften up defenses to open things up for Brown, but he is going absolultely nowhere.  Mawae is also a huge leader on the team and is crucial to their psyche.

My lean, as of right now, is Balt +10 Under 41. 

Alright, enough back and forth on this one.

Baltimore +3

Baltimore +10 Under 41 (7 Point Tease)

- I've been going back and forth on this one in this thread all week.  I've been trying to talk myself out of going with the Ravens, out of backing a rookie quarterback on the road against a legit team.  I just can't do it.

Reasons, in order of importance to me:

Mawae being out is a much, much bigger factor than many will realize.  Anyone who has played offensive line will understand why though.  Mawae is both the centerpiece (literally), leader, and brains behind this Titans offensive line.  Does everyone know what a center does besides snap the ball and block?  The Center is responsible for making blocking scheme adjustments at the line of scrimmage, for one.  Has anybody noticed how unorthodox Baltimore's blitz schemes are?  They come from EVERYWHERE, often disguising them brilliantly.  They send 4 guys through a gap.  They blitz both safeties at once.  This defense is built on intimidation, but more importantly, its built on confusion.   Anyone want to guess a major reason the Colts blew the Ravens out?  Because Jeff Saturday is probably the best in the business when it comes to making line call adjustments at the line of scrimmage. 

- So, what is a backup center going to do against this defense?  Will Fisher have him do the line call adjustments, the blocking adjustments, or will he have someone else who is not used to doing it perform it instead?  Either way, it is not a good scenario.  Baltimore will most likely be flying free on several occasions, and last time I checked, Kerry Collins is the Titans quarterback.  Kerry Collins who has the mobility of a wheel chair patient after an all you can eat gorging at a Vegas buffet.  Kerry Collins who historically does not make good decisions under pressure, and tends to throw picks against tough defenses.

- Furthermore, a back up center vs Ngata is a major mismatch.  A major portion of the Titans ground game is running the ball up the middle, which is not going to happen on Saturday.  So where does that leave us?  What will Tennessee do?  They can try to stretch the field without vertical playmakers, which is really the only way this Baltimore defense can be had.  Unfortunatley for Tennessee they really don't possess any vertical threats.  They can pray that Chris Johnson gets to the edge and burns the Ravens on an over-sized run blitz, which is probable, but how many times will it happen.  I really can't see any feasible scenario where The Titans will consistently move the ball against this defense in this situation.

- Baltimore isn't exactly going to have a field day either on offense.  Flacco has to play mistake free like last week but he also has to increase and improve his accuracy and performance.  Tennessee is not a great blitz team but they have stuffed the run most of the season and they have some playmakers in the secondary.  I have talked about this at length but I think this is going to be a tug of war until late in the game when Haynesworth starts wearing down.  It is almost physically impossible for a guy coming off a bum knee to sustain a physical presence for an entire game in a smashmouth situation.  I think Balty eventually wears them down.

Coaching, other factors:

Fisher has the experience edge no doubt, but his playoff record isn't exactly world beating.  He has also made some curious decisions at certain times this year (Houston as an example).  Harbaugh has proven to be an effective leader so far so I don't see any scenario where Baltiomre does not come out fired up.  Rex Ryan will not be out-schemed by anyone on the Tennessee sidelines.

Bottom line:

I really tried to make a case for Tennessee, mostly because everyone is hammering Baltimore.  I am not going ignore some glaring mismatches this time.  Tennessee has the rest advantage and I fully expect them to give a strong effort, but I think the key variable of the Baltimore Blitz vs Collins and a backup center is too much to ignore.  The middle of the line is going to be caving like Robert Downey Jr with a plate full of fresh cut coke in front of him.

BOL