Wild Card Weekend Rewind

The games are in the books, next week's matchups are set and Terry Bradshaw is still as stoopid as ever.

If you didn't catch his Terry Awards in the FOX pre-game today, consider yourself lucky. It was a Q&A format with the equally dim Matthew McConaughey. Now, I know that it's just the opinion of a qausi-journalist, but let's have some fun at his expense, ok?

GM of the Year: Bill Polian, Indianapolis

Who did the Colts add via free agency this off-season, and where have their draft picks been hiding?

The other choices were Ernie Accorsi (Giants) and AJ Smith (Chargers). You remember AJ Smith, don't you? He's the guy that wouldn't budge on the negotiations with TE Antonio Gates, causing the Pro-Bowl TE to miss the season opener, which the Bolts lost. They missed the playoffs by one game.

No mention of Tim Ruskell of the Seahawks.

Best Assistant Coach of the Year: Wade Wilson, quarterbacks coach for the Bears.

Chicago Bears QBs combined for a passer rating of 61.5 this season, which ranks 31st in the NFL.

Passed over: John Marshall, Seahawks. Marshall took over as defensive coordinator when Ray Rhodes had a stroke before season opener. Under Marshall, the Seahawks improved from 24th in scoring defense in 2004 to 7th in the NFL in 2005.

Yes, the Seahawks were "slighted" by Bradshaw, which is probably a good thing.

Panthers-Giants Recap

As mentioned in this space on Friday:

1. 2nd year QB playing in his 1st NFL playoff game

Did Manning disappoint? If you put his QB rating from today on the Richter Scale, it would be labeled a "minor" quake. He made bad decisions, bad throws and looked lost in the 17 minutes he was on the field.

2. Total lack of discipline (penalties, dropped passes, players quitting on plays, a la Shockey against the ‘Skins 2 weeks ago)

This was evident by the spoiled brat effort from Plaxico Burress, who turned into the Invisible Man, like he always does in the post-season.

Judging by the way the media (I'm looking at you, Peter King) talked about the Giants, this team bought into what Tom Coughlin was preaching and played with discipline. So why was "Plex" visibly upset and sulking on the sidelines when the ball wasn't being thrown his way? Why was Burress running his routes in such a half-assed manner? That's not discipline, folks, and today proved that I've been right about these frauds from Day 1.

3. Terrell Buckley sees significant time covering actual NFL WRs

Who was "covering" Steve Smith on his TD reception? Terrell Buckley

4. No depth at LB…and no skill there, either

The best LBs on the Giants sidelines were Harry Carson, Carl Banks and Lawrence Taylor. They could've done a better job today than the Greisen, Jackson and Lewis.

5. Overly dependent on one player with a history of fumbling

Look what happened when the Panthers totally shut Barber down. The Giants offense was lost. Great defensive gameplan by John Fox.

Offensively, I think the Panthers have some genuine concerns. Only Steve Smith was getting open out there, and DeShaun Foster took a pounding today. Also, they're heading into Chicago, who stymied them earlier this season, 13-3.

Buccaneers-Redskins Recap

I should've known that the inexperienced Chris Simms was going to bite my in the ass when I was making my picks. On his 2 tipped INTs, I honestly don't know what he was throwing into. He's convinced that those would've been 20-yard completions, if not for the tips, but all I saw were well-covered receivers.

Give some credit to the Redskins for capitalizing on mistakes by Simms and Williams, too. If it wasn't for the opportunistic defense, it's unlikely the 'Skins would be advancing.

Patriots-Jaguars Recap

I had a feeling that the Patriots would blow the Jaguars out, and I was right. Not to take too much away from what the Jaguars did in the regular season, after all 12 wins is always impressive. But they weren't the type of team that instilled a lot of fear in opponents. Plus, with Byron Leftwich coming back from an injury, a re-shuffled offensive line and a lack of playoff experience, drawing the Patriots was bad luck on their part.

Steelers-Bengals Recap

Though the Bengals held a 10-0 lead at one point, the game was likely lost when Carson Palmer went down with a serious knee injury (torn ACL and MCL) on the second offensive play for the Bengals.

Got to give some credit to Jon Kitna, though. He's nowhere near as talented as Palmer, but he battled hard against a tough Steelers defense. Kitna is set to become a free agent, but with Palmer likely to be sidelined until at least training camp, the uncertainty at that position probably earns Kitna another contract in the Queen City.

And I'll add this about Kitna: You won't find a nicer, more team-oriented guy anywhere in the NFL. Remember, the Bengals handed Carson Palmer the starting QB job in 2004 (after Kitna had a very good year in 2003) and Kitna handed this demotion in a totally classy manner (unlike the diminutive back-up currently playing in New England).

Pittsburgh showed why they're such a dangerous team in the post-season. They ran the ball well, but what really impressed me was the play of Ben Roethlisberger against a Bengals pass defense that's thrived by creating turnovers. Big Ben was quick in his reads, made good decisions and threw the ball better than I've seen him throw all year.

DIVISIONAL WEEKEND SCHEDULE

Saturday, January 14th, 2005

Washington Redskins at Seattle Seahawks - 430pm - FOX
New England Patriots at Denver Broncos - 8pm - CBS

Sunday, January 15th, 2005

Pittsburgh Steelers at Indianapolis Colts - 1pm - CBS
Carolina Panthers at Chicago Bears - 430pm - FOX