WRAL Sports Fan

WRALSportsFan

Our picks? Panthers, Ravens, Steelers, Giants

Jan 9, 2009

If you love watching football, then this is the weekend for you. The NFL playoffs are in full swing and this is a wide-open year. Here's our blook at the weekend's games.

What to watch: This will not be a game for folks who love defensive football. If that is what you are looking for then get your fill in the early game, when Baltimore takes on Tennessee. There is this misconception that Carolina has had some kind of dominant defense because that is what people are used to, but it hasn't been there this year. They got burned for more than 300 yards on the ground at the Giants. In fact, Carolina's defense was ranked 18th in the regular season, and Arizona's was ranked 19th. In other words, don't expect low-scoring.

Instead, fix your eyes on some of the best playmakers in the NFL. If there is any receiver playing better than Carolina's Steve Smith right now, it's Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald. They had eerily similar regular seasons, with Fitzgerald having 10 more yards than Smith with 1,431. Smith is tiny, explosive, and electrifies with what he can do in a small frame. Fitzgerald is huge, fast, and can out-work any defender or number of defenders for the football. Watch for both of those receivers to have 100-yard games. Whoever has the bigger day might be the difference in the game.

What Carolina has to do to win: The Oct. 26 regular-season game between these two teams won't be on the minds of any of the players as added fuel because it was so long ago, but you better believe the coaches are watching the game film to figure out what to learn. The Panthers need to do what they did then, match the Cardinals with a great offensive performance, and force the Cardinals to turn the ball over. The Panthers only had two takeaways in that 27-23 win, but they only coughed the ball up once themselves. They got the ball in the hands of their playmaker Steve Smith who had 117 yards and two touchdowns.

The ground attack will be important as it always is. If Carolina can establish Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams on the ground, they are hard to beat. Not many rushing attacks in the league have been better than the Panthers'. They boast the third best rushing attack in the NFL. In my opinion it was a joke that Williams was not selected to the Pro Bowl. They select those teams too early! After the teams came out he had a four-touchdown day, followed by a 178 yard day.

What Arizona has to do to win: I like Kurt Warner, and I think he is a great story coming from where he was the last few years. It's no secret the Cardinals have to pass effectively to win. Warner will need to throw for 350 or more yards and he has to go to guys like Fitzgerald, Steve Breaston, and a banged-up Anquan Boldin. Boldin injured his hamstring on a 71-yard touchdown reception in the playoff win over Atlanta.

He must limit his turnovers. I will allow him one interception, but beyond that I draw the line. He has done a good job of limiting his mistakes this year but he does have 14 interceptions and seven fumbles lost. In the loss at the Jets he had three picks and three lost fumbles. If he does something close to that, the Cardinals will get blown out. But if Warner can deliver a four-touchdown, one interception game it will be a close ball game.

Tim Hall's pick: The Panthers are 8-0 at Bank of America Stadium this year. I don't expect them to lose to the team that won the worst division in the conference. I would say that the Panthers 13-3 record was much better than a 9-7 Cardinals record. Not only is it a better record, but they beat better teams. I was concerned when Minnesota pounded the Cardinals in the desert 35-14. Then I thought their performance at New England was borderline embarrassing. They proved to shake that off with a win over the Falcons in the first round. If nothing else I think this season is great for the fans out there that are used to awful football year after year.

The Panthers will win this one, 38-28. The Panthers are going to put up a great offensive performance to match the Cardinals. Kurt Warner is going to throw a couple interceptions. The running game for the Carolina Panthers will work like it has been recently. DeAngelo Williams and Steve Smith will both have 100-yard games. The Panthers will soon be 9-0 at home this season, and they will head back to New York – it’s really New Jersey - for a rematch with the Giants.

Tim Hall of 99.9 FM The Fan will be covering the Panthers-Cardinals game. You can follow his live blog Saturday night from Bank of America Stadium on WRALSportsFan.com.

Scott Jackson: Ravens at Titans

Saturday, 4:30 p.m., WRAL

What to watch: I will give you a hint, it’s not offense. There won’t be much with these two defenses on the field. The Ravens are the league’s 2nd ranked unit, while the Titans rank 7th overall. Tennessee is surrendering only 14.6 a game to Baltimore’s 15.3. The Ravens had a league-best 34 takeaways this season, but the Titans weren’t too shabby with 31 of their own en route to locking up home field in the AFC.

The Titans won in Week 5 in Baltimore, 13-10. The Titans only had 210 total yards, but got a late touchdown pass from Kerry Collins to former Tar Heel Alge Crumpler for the win. There were 21 penalties in the game and none bigger than the blow to the head of Collins by Ravens LB Terrell Suggs that set up the game-winning touchdown. Parental discretion is advised for this one - it should be real physical as usual.

What Ravens have to do to win: This Ravens team is more balanced than the one that won the Super Bowl in 2000. They have an offense that relies on a physical running attack, with FB Lorenzo Neal leading the way for Le’Ron McClain and Willis McGahee. Rookie quarterback Joe Flacco has a strong arm and will take shots down field to WR Mark Clayton, and former Titan WR Derrick Mason will keep the chains moving. Defensively they are simply the best. They can win football games by themselves if need be. You can bet safety Ed Reed will be someone the Titans will account for each and every snap, because if he gets his hands on the ball he’s taking it to house.

What Titans have to do to win: Protect the football - it can’t be said enough. The Miami Dolphins protected it at a historic rate for a 16-game regular season only to turn it over five times in their wild-card loss to the Ravens. The Titans must protect Collins like they did much of the regular season and open up holes for the RB tandem of rookie Chris Johnson from ECU and LenDale White. A big key will be the health of center Kevin Mawae for the Titans, who has an elbow injury.

Scott Jackson’s pick to win: Déjà vu all over again for the Titans? It was back in 2000 and they were the No. 1 seed in the AFC after a 13-3 regular season and looking to ride that regular season success all the way to Tampa for the Super Bowl. The Ravens came into Nashville and knocked them out and won the Super Bowl that year. I see it happening again, the Ravens winning in Nashville that is, 20-10 over the top-seeded Titans. I never like to pick against Jeff Fisher, but he seems to operate best in the role of underdog and Saturday they are the favorite as the top seed in the AFC at home.

Bad number for the Titans: 1, which is the number of one seeds since 2000 that have gone on to win the Super Bowl, the ’03 Patriots.

Scott Jackson is the co-host of The Insiders on 99.9 FM The Fan. You can follow Ravens-Titans game at 4:30 p.m. Saturday will be aired on both WRAL-TV and 99.9 FM The Fan.

What to watch: The bruising defense of the Pittsburgh Steelers against what should be a high octane San Diego offense. There are a few question marks here as the Chargers star running back LaDainian Tomlinson is nursing a groin injury, but the Chargers can rely on Darren Sproles who accounted for 328 all-purpose yards in a wild-card win over Indianapolis. The Chargers are riding a five-game winning streak into Pittsburgh. The match up here is Bolts QB Philip Rivers against safety Troy Polamalu - can the former NC State quarterback outsmart Polamalu? It should be an outstanding chess match.

The Steelers offense will have to protect Ben Roethlisberger after the quarterback was concussed in the meaningless final game of the season against Cleveland. Big Ben has had time to rest and is cleared to play, but look for the Steelers to go to the ground with Willie Parker and Mewelde Moore grinding out a win. These teams played on Nov. 16, with the Steelers earning a tough 11-10 win, the only time that score has been recorded in an NFL game. The Steelers will bring an assortment of blitzes led by AP Defensive Player of the Year linebacker James Harrison, who set a franchise record with 16 sacks.

What San Diego has to do to win:

1. The Chargers must shut down the Steelers running game on first down and force Roethlisberger to convert on third and long. The Steelers can throw the ball for big plays, but that is set up by the rushing attack. Pittsburgh is seemingly unbeatable at home if they can grind out games on the ground.

2. Win the field position battle by protecting the football, pinning the Steelers deep in their own territory and force the long drives

3. Darren Sproles or LT have to get 30 touches. It doesn’t matter which one of them does it. Force the Steelers to be honest and commit to the running game or at least worry about one of those explosive players touching the ball to open up plays downfield.

4. Get the ball to Antonio Gates. If the All-Pro tight end is having a big game that means Troy Polamalu has to cover him instead of reeking havoc in the Charger backfield.

What Pittsburgh has to do to win:

1. Get to Rivers early and often. The emotional former Wolfpack player can get frustrated and rattled into mistakes by getting hit while trying to throw downfield. The Pittsburgh defense under Dick Lebeau is one of the best in the league at getting to a QB. Rivers, who had an unbelievable year, will pick the Steelers apart if given the time.

2. Run the ball. Then run the ball some more. The Steelers pass protection is not their strong suit, so keeping the ball on the ground will not only wear down the Chargers D-line, it will open up the passing game for a big strike down the field to Santonio Holmes.

3. Take the lead early and force the Chargers to play from behind. Pittsburgh is one of the best at playing with a lead and forcing the Chargers into a one dimensional team plays right into the defense’s hand.

4. Get the crowd into it, a big play early in the game gets “the Terrible Towels” going and that picks up the Steelers. Heinz Field gets loud for an outside venue and the more noise that the Pittsburgh fans create and make it hard for Rivers to audible out of a bad play. A big play doesn’t have to be for six points either, a sack, an interception, even a big hit.

Prediction: Darren Sproles was fantastic against Indy, but the Steelers are rested and ready for the Chargers offense. Without a healthy Tomlinson, the load falls to one man, and the Steelers will be too physical on Sunday. Look for a huge turnover in the third quarter to give the Steelers a lead.

Final Score: Pittsburgh 27, San Diego 17.

Mike Maniscalco is the host of 99.9 FM The Fan’s Sports Lunch every day from noon to 1 p.m. He also hosts the Carolina Hurrices’ pregame and postgame reports.

What to watch: The Phillies won the World Series and now the Eagles are surging in the NFL playoffs. So Philadelphia fans, ever so harsh on their sports teams, are hopeful as this rivalry game looms. The teams are only 95 miles apart


What the Eagles have to do to win: OK, everyone who believes in Donovan McNabb, raise your hand. One … two … yeah, that’s about it. I have my doubts, too. But the Syracuse product has been torrid at times this season, and lit up Minnesota for 300 yards passing in the first round.

McNabb had a gutty performance in the Eagles’ 20-14 win over the Giants on Dec. 7. He finished 19-of-30 for 191 yards despite a tough wind. Even more important was the play of running back Brian Westbrook. Westbrook gained 131 yards on a 33 carries – his season high. He also caught six passes for 72 yards.

If McNabb and Westbrook are on, the Eagles have a chance.

What the Giants have to do to win: The Giants can beat anyone – ’67 Packers, ’72 Dolphins, you name it – when they can run the ball. They pounded Carolina in that showdown in New Jersey and ran for 219 yards in a 36-31 win in Philadelphia on Nov. 9.

The Giants offensive line is smart and tough – just ask Julius Peppers – and Brandon Jacobs is a no-nonsense back who knows how to crash through a tackle. Jacobs didn’t play in the final game Dec. 28, a loss at Minnesota, and the Giants are being coy about his availability this week. But you’d have to be shocked if he carried less than 20 times in the game.

Prediction: The Eagles are hot and the Giants cold, but the Giants are a tough, veteran team that knows how to win. Tom Coughlin has matured from his tense days as the coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars to a more mature leader who connects with his team. The pick here is Giants 28, Eagles 21

Dane Huffman is the Sports Managing Editor for WRAL.