Wild Card Recap: Insanity in Indianapolis

I really do not remember much of Buffalo-Houston when backup Buffalo quarterback Frank Reich lead the Bills back from being down 35-3 against the Oilers. It is a faint memory of my early childhood as I was four at the time. I vaguely remember watching it with my dad in our old TV room we called 'the den.'  But Saturday's Kansas City-Indianapolis game will always be remembered. It is this generation's Buffalo-Houston, and how Colts pulled off the unthinkable with Kansas City puking on their cleats like they were the girl in The Exorcist. 

For many people, this will be the game they point to that vaulted Andrew Luck's career as an NFL quarterback. The first playoff win is crucial even if it is somewhat meaningless. All of the shit Tony Romo and Matt Ryan endured throughout their young career just because their team, not the player, could not win the game is ridiculous. Although Luck will not have the same #hotsportstake people saying he cannot win a big game. In fact, he will be known for his fourth quarter comebacks which is sort of a dumb stat too, but that's a discussion for another time. All and all, Andy Luck had himself a grown ass man win on the biggest stage in his young career.

The two biggest plays of the game when fumbles occurred in the second half. The first was a strip sack and the second, a rare Donald Brown fumble. When a team attempts to make a dramatic comeback like Indianapolis, they need to catch a break. When Indianapolis cut the lead to 38-17 early in the third quarter, Robert Mathis made a strip sack of Alex Smith on the very next possession. This is a play to expect from Mathis whose had 19 sacks this season having a career year at age 32. Mathis knew the beaten up Colts defense needed a play out of him and he made it happen out there. What's lost about that play is Kansas City drove down the field a bit before Mathis made the play setting up Indianapolis to continue their comeback.

Sometimes, the 'Announcer Jinx' is a real thing. NBC's broadcast crew of Dan Hicks and Mike Mayock mentioned how Donald Brown has never lost a fumble, and on a critical goal line carry, Brown fumbled the football. The ball laid out there, and Luck had the presence of mind to pick the ball up and snuck into the end zone for a touchdown. The fact he saw the hole still there from Brown running it, and did not just fall on it is sort of incredible. I do not think all quarterbacks are thinking about running it first rather they are probably just falling on the ball. This brought Indianapolis only down by three points.

After a Kansas City field goal, Luck found T.Y. Hilton behind the defense deep leading to a final touchdown giving Indianapolis the one-point lead with them climbing all the way up the 28-point hill. It was an incredible comeback, do not get me wrong, but the lack of defense being played felt like we were watching a college football game versus an actual National Football League game. Neither team really wanted to play defense at any point of this game and really all that mattered was not who had the ball last, but who made the last big play. Game could not have been more fun, but let's not excuse how bad both of these defenses were throughout the game.

Even the coldest human in the world has to feel for Kansas City in general. This is a team that has not won a playoff game since Bill Clinton was President and O.J. Simpson did not commit murder.  Also a team that won two games last year, and had a great season led by new coach Andy Reid. It seemed like the ultimate redemption story, but it did not happen meaning continued heartbreak for the Kansas City fanbase. Many people will question what Reid was thinking burning through this timeouts, but let's be honest, that is a staple of Reid's coaching career since he started with Philadelphia. We all should have seen it coming at some point this season.

Indianapolis heads to New England in what I would consider a rivalry. Granted, the rivalry started when Tom Brady and Peyton Manning were running things, but they played some classics in the postseason. Here's hoping Luck can carry on the rivalry into the next generation.

Charlie.

Wild Card Recap: Packers Grasp at Destiny Falls Short

Green Bay Packers' theme song going into the Wild Card weekend should have been 'Cinderella Man' by Eminem solely for the first couple lines in the song when Em says 'Technically, I am not really supposed to be right here so fuck it, let's make the most of it." Green Bay had no business being in the playoffs. Absolutely none. They did not have their franchise quarterback for half the year, their defense looked like Swiss cheese more than times than not and they had more injuries than a M.A.S.H. unit yet they still ended up winning the division finding themselves in a home playoff game against San Francisco. Packers came very close to pulling off the upset yet it was not meant to be with old problems haunting the team along with an old nemesis dominating Green Bay again.

Sometimes in the final loss of the season, the demons of the team reared their ugly head once again. This happened with Green Bay's offense as they failed to get off to a fast start, and they struggled to score on the goal line. Packers started off the game with only six yards of offense. It seems like it might be the script is too conservative to start the game more times than not. Three straight runs to begin the game is not really what is expected when Aaron Rodgers is behind center. Mike McCarthy is really hard coach to criticize because the times you want him to be like Ted Cruz, he acts like a hippie and the times you want him to be free as a bird, he goes all Rick Santorum.  But Green Bay getting off to a slow start did not help things, and the team was very fortunate San Francisco only had six points on the board thanks to the true meaning of a bend not break defense. 

Goal line demon did not rear its ugly head until the fourth quarter, probably the worst time for it to happen. For the year, Green Bay is only 50 percent at red zone efficiency which is way down from years past. Granted some of that can be blamed on not having Rodgers, yet this was a major problem when this team had a 6-2 record.  Packers found themselves on on the 10 yard line going in with what could have been their second straight touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.  Green Bay moved the ball down there with a steady dose of short passing and Eddie Lacy bullying the usually tough San Francisco rush defense.  When they went to goal line, it seems what got Green Bay down there went out the window. First down was a short-side zone read run to Randall Cobb and a five-wide set that went nowhere. Second down, the coverage forced Rodgers to throw it away and on third down, Rodgers could only gain two yards on the ground causing Green Bay to tie the game versus putting them ahead. The play calling was mind-boggling in the situation with Lacy bruising and beating up this San Francisco defense for him not to touch the ball once is maddening. Goal line play calling needs to be better next season, no question about it. 

While many people will rush to point the finger at defensive coordinator Dom Capers, he really did call a good game for what he had out there. Losing Sam Shields and Mike Neal right away felt like a death sentence for this defense yet they remained tall out there. They lost another linebacker in Andy Mulumba and Capers made a quick switch to running a 4-3 defense for a couple plays which virtually unheard from the Packers coach. I have no idea if this will be his last game as Packers defensive coordinator despite what the armchair general managers want, but if it is, this is a hell of a way to go out. He did the most with limited amount of pieces out there. The only real compliant from this defense is the inability, for the third straight time, to stop The Angry Ostrich.  

Colin Kaepernick kept his ownership over Green Bay and will continue to give this defense nightmares well into the 2014 year. Once again, Kaepernick did it with his arm and legs being very efficient with his passes, and he also found a way to make it work on the ground nearly running for 100 yards, his second-highest for his career. For the second straight year, there was no contain on Kaepernick letting him run wild and he only made one bad decision all game, an interception to Tramon Williams in the early stages of the game. If Green Bay wants to head back to the Super Bowl, they need to figure out Kaepernick because it is likely they will need to go through San Francisco in order to get there again. 

That leads me to wonder whether San Francisco is the new Dallas in terms of the one team Green Bay just cannot beat in any scenario. For as good as Brett Favre was for his career, he only beat Dallas once and it was a cold game in Lambeau Field post Jimmy Johnson and Barry Switzer. Aaron Rodgers record against Jim Harbaugh's San Francisco is now 0-4. They will not meet again in the regular season next year, but a postseason affair could definitely happen again whether it be again at Lambeau or a meeting at new Levi Stadium set to open next season. Either way, Green Bay needs to start beating the 49ers before Kaepernick is the new age Troy Aikman for fans. 

2013 season is now in the books. It will be one where people wonder 'what if' ranging from all the injuries to what things might have been like had Rodgers stayed healthy all year. But at the end of the day, this is still a Super Bowl contender for 2014 and they will make moves to better themselves for the upcoming year. 

Charlie. 

Tap's Trailers: Grand Piano

Do you think they could make a movie about a pianist (Try hard not to laugh at the word, oh who am I kidding, laugh away!) being threaten to get killed unless he is perfect on-stage?  Well this is the plot of Grand Piano starring Elijah Wood in what seems like one of his first movies starring since the days of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Wood plays a pianist whom used to be great, but an incident caused him with stage fright meaning he was never the same throwing off his entire life. One night as he takes the stage someone is in his ear about killing him if he is not at his very best. John Cusack also stars in this one. Looks alright, but I feel like I have seen this movie before with different occupations.

Charlie.

First Taste: Dare You (Music Video) - Hardwell (Feat. Matthew Koma)

Alright, folks the holiday season is officially over. It is the first full week of work for some people in the last three weeks. It also means that part-timers like myself will go back to feeling worthless instead of feeling like everybody else who works sparingly. This is a great way to jumpstart your week and may it be the motivation for whatever New Year's Resolution you might be starting today because we all know this past week did not count whatsoever. Hardwell has put out some real awesome stuff since splitting with Swedish House Mafia, and this is just another great one. Make sure you add this to your workout playlist for the next couple months.

Charlie.

SnoTap NFL Wild Card Picks: Blackouts, Weather and Scoring... Oh My!

It is time to make my NFL picks for the weekend. This was my first season where I tried to bet with Las Vegas. I do not have any experience and think I did slightly below average going 14 games under .500 with a couple pushes thrown in there. I realize how bad it would be actually sports gamble, but I feel like if my money is right, why not? At least try it out and see what happens. As for straight up, it was a successful season once again winning over 160 games. Let's hope the straight up trend continues for the playoffs.

SATURDAY 
Kansas City at Indianapolis 3:35 pm NBC - Is it weird I think this could be the best non-Packer game of the weekend?  I am introducing a new SnoTap theory for this game called the 'Arizona Theory.'  It is based off Arizona Cardinals 2009 team that got crushed by Green Bay Packers in the final game of the season only to beat the same team in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Kansas City suffered an embarrassing home defeat to Indianapolis 23-7 earlier this month, but remember, Chiefs had locked up the fifth seed and they knew there was a chance they could be seeing Indianapolis in this round of the playoffs. This means they could be showing all sorts of shit Indianapolis did not see the first time around.

Andy Reid has not been to the playoffs since 2010, and he did not win a playoff game since 2008. Same goes for Kansas City with their team not having a playoff win since 1994. But this game will come down to which star shines the brightest... Jamaal Charles or Andrew Luck. Indianapolis boasts one of the worst rushing defenses in the NFL meaning Charles could have a huge game on the fast track at Lucas Oil. Last three games are not really indicative of what the Colts have done against ground. Tennessee's second game they rushed for 162 as a team, Cincinnati rushed for 155 yards and Arizona rushed for 120. Charles might be the difference maker.

But that's not to say Luck could not have the same day with the Colts. Kansas City's secondary have become their biggest problem of their comeback season. While the Chiefs have not faced a ton of great quarterbacks this season, but when they have, results are not the greatest. Luck seemed to move the ball better in the last couple of games without forcing the ball as he only has one interception in the last four games

Indianapolis seems to beat giants this season. They always seem to play up to their opponent. Alex Smith on the road and winning seems to mix like oil and water. Indy in a close one. Indianapolis 34 Kansas City 29 

New Orleans at Philadelphia 7:10 pm NBC - These are two of my favorite teams to watch this season so this game should be a delight to watch. I really would be surprised if we see a blowout even though the odds might be against New Orleans. I really think this is a game where I would be nervous as an Eagles fan.

Many people have already pushed the narrative about Saints not being a good road team as well as how much dome teams suffer in cold weather playoff teams. It almost reminds me a bit of Atlanta in 2002 with Green Bay. A little different elements, but no one gave Atlanta a chance, no one. I feel like some of that is happening with New Orleans. Drew Brees will be able to move the ball against this defense, but they will need to run the ball to create some balance. Saints have a big problem not involving their run game more, and that needs to happen on Saturday night.

Philadelphia is the bandwagon team of the playoffs. They are a fun offense with likable players such as Nick Foles, DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy. People go head over heels to tell you how great Chip Kelly has been this season. This might have to be a Shady game for Philadelphia because New Orleans ranks second in pass defense. They really have not allowed many gaudy numbers against the pass. They do not force many turnovers, but it seems like New Orleans does not give up the big play as much as other teams taking away one of Philadelphia's big parts of their offense.

This is a game that applies to the logic 'Until you can do it, I don't believe you can do it.' I cannot take New Orleans on the road in a big game until they prove they can win one of these games. I BELIEVE YOU NARRATIVES. Philadelphia 27 New Orleans 21

SUNDAY
San Diego at Cincinnati 12:05 pm CBS - There are two people I have came around to liking in 2013, Jason Dufner and Phillip Rivers.  There are more people out there whom I have come to like, but in sports, Duf and Rivers are guys I choose to like versus disliking. Rivers being a crybaby is somewhat annoying, but the guy is just so quirky, it works perfectly for me. He is an oddball unlike some of the other robotic-like quarterbacks I have to respect it.

Rivers will be up against it on Sunday with Cincinnati having one of the best pass defenses in the NFL. They also force turnovers which is a problem for Rivers at times. San Diego quarterback will need to be in control if they want to win the game, and see if their rushing attack can at least give them something because they will need to keep their defense off the field as much as possible.

Andy Dalton is sixth in the NFL at passing the football. That is incredible because I do not consider him that good in any sort of scenario.  But one thing the Red Rocket does well is take advantage of bad pass defenses this year except for San Diego. Dalton really struggled on the road this season facing the Chargers in a game I think many people forgot about. Just a mirage or something to keep an eye on? Like Rivers, Dalton needs to limit his turnovers as much as possible.

This is the third straight playoff appearence for Cincinnati, their fourth in five years. They still have not won a playoff game since 1990. I think that changes with a spirited performances at one of the toughest places to play this season. CIN 24-21

San Francisco at Green Bay 3:35 pm FOX - I made a pick as well as a full breakdown of this game earlier today. Check it out. 

Charlie.

CBB Weekend Picks: New Marquette Expectations

If you notice I have been quiet about Marquette basketball, probably too quiet. Honestly, New Mexico game fell on a bad weekend as I headed back from Green Bay meaning my blogs were not as solid as they probably should have been that day. Obviously playing on New Year's Eve night did me no favors either. Also it does not help this is one of the worst starts for Marquette in the last decade. But as we did with other struggling teams in Wisconsin, they still need to be written about even if it pains me.

I cannot believe this is the group of guys Big East writers picked to win the conference. I just cannot believe that actually happened, and I am wondering if a banner can be hung just for that, maybe. I also amazed at how much I looked forward to this season all to get disappointed. It really comes down to readjusting expectations for the season. At this point, I really do not expect to be in the NCAA Tournament. If Marquette finds their way there, great maybe they are on a roll and can upset somebody in the first round (It is not the second round, THIS IS MY LAST TRADITIONALIST THING, LEAVE ME ALONE SHUT UP).  If not, well everyone has an off year and hopefully the team can respond in the following year when there is not as much pressure on them.

Further, I go from last year and the year prior to thinking 90 to 95 percent of the games Marquette plays they will win or certainly have a chance. This year, we are probably looking around 60-80 percent for some games as well as under 20 percent with others.  There are some they should definitely win like this Saturday against DePaul which is at home, but I am not going to feel as comfortable going to Xavier on Thursday as I did a couple years ago. Hopefully, we can laugh at this blog post in March, but I doubt much will change because there are some significant issues with this team although DePaul is DePaul.  MU 61-47

Other college basketball games to watch.
22.) Iowa at 4.) Wisconsin 7:00 pm Big Ten Network (Played Sunday) - Could be a real depressing Sunday for Packers/Badgers fans if both teams lose their game. Iowa has won the last five of six games with Wisconsin's only win coming in double overtime at home. This is the game of the weekend, but Iowa needs to make some stops and get out on shooters if they want to win this one. Badgers squeak this one out in a high-scoring affair. UW 82-79

5.) Michigan State at Indiana 1:00 pm CBS - Big game for Hoosiers this season as they had no marquee non-conference wins and they already have one loss in Big Ten play to Illinois. Yogi Ferrell versus Keith Appling will be a delight, and I think this game will be different in February. Michigan State is rolling of late, I think they handle Indiana on the road. MSU 75-66

6.) Oklahoma State at Kansas State 3:00 pm ESPNU - Here is my upset pick of the weekend. Kansas State has not lost since late November in a horrendous holiday tournament so do not let their record fool you. They beat Gonzaga in late December, and they will score another big win on Saturday with a big Marcus Foster performance. KSU 72-70

7.) Duke at Notre Dame 3:00 pm CBS - First trip for Duke to South Bend, and let me tell you, it is a tough place to play. Yet I have no idea who will guard Jabari Parker and the rest of his Duke friends in this one plus I have no idea who is scoring for Notre Dame.  Duke big.  DUKE 85-68

10.) Oregon at 20. Colorado 4:00 pm FOX Sports 1 (Played Sunday) - Too bad this one is being played during Green Bay's game because I want another look at both of these teams. At some point, I feel like teams are just due for a loss, and despite the Buffs' offensive struggle on Thursday, I think they can get it done at home. COLO 68-64

21. San Diego State at 16. Kansas 3:30 pm CBS (Played Sunday) - I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Aztecs record is a bit inflated. They head to Phog, and I have to think it will not work out well for them. Might have to DVR so I can watch Joel Embiid later. He will have a massive game. KU 80-61

Cincinnati at 18. Memphis 11:00 am ESPN - This is one where I am just happy to see this rivalry back full-time. They played now and again since the C-USA split, but glad to see it back twice a year. Memphis is better than their ranking. They make a statement. MEMP 79-64

I will be doing a regular post on Friday like this, not always about Marquette. I will also have a wrap-up post on Monday with a Marquette recap as well.  

Charlie.

SnoTap Packers Preview: San Francisco vs. Green Bay

There is a chance the season could end like it began with Green Bay losing to San Francisco. This is the fourth time in the last two years Green Bay and San Francisco have played each other with the Niners taking all three games. It is not officially a rivalry renewed (Remember how many times they played in the 1990's) until Green Bay can win a football game against this generation's San Francisco team.

It is really hard to point to anything from the first game and say 'Well that's going to be the difference in this one.' When they played in September, I sweated out a horrible hangover after a fun guys weekend in Green Bay, and it was about 75 degrees in Wisconsin with the same sort of weather in San Francisco. Now, it has a chance to be the coldest game in the NFL history. Weather is not the only difference. People are back from injury, people are injured that were not in September. It is a completely different game. 

Colin Kaepernick is a player whom currently has ownership over Green Bay. The numbers are silly in the last two games when he faced Green Bay plus he is coming on strong as of late with the addition of Michael Crabtree. Kaepernick never really dealt with this kind of weather yet in his career, and when he does play in colder weather games, it is inconsistent at best.  Green Bay will need to be better in terms of contain as this has been a problem that burned them in the past with Kaepernick as well as running backs like Frank Gore from bouncing it to the outside. If Green Bay can bottle up Kaepenrick and Gore, it will probably result in a good day for them. 

It is probably assumed Gore will eat on Sunday against a weak Packers defense. Seeing what Matt Forte did means Gore could have a massive day on Sunday. Now he is bothered by a knee injury and one thing I found interesting just looking his logs this year is he strings together three or four big games then he struggles for a couple. This would also be called inconsistency friends as well as grasping for straws with a shitty defense. Gore only had 14 yards albeit against a tough as nails Arizona's defense. I cannot help, but think this is just a wonky statistic thing meaning Gore will likely have over 80 yards of rushing. More importantly is not what Green Bay does against Gore, but the others who will run the football comparable to when you let a basketball star beat you and not his or her teammates. 

As for the other quarterback, it will be the second game back for Aaron Rodgers. He did not play well in his first game back. If we were to do a Packers Classroom, it was a C performance for Aaron. But this could be a game where he comes up with a big performance. I realize it will be colder than a beautiful girl when I try to talk to her, but hear me out with this out. Matt Ryan had 348 yards against San Francisco's pass defense two weeks ago completing 37 passes with only eleven incompletions. Carson Palmer had 407 yards last week and nobody is panicking about how San Francisco will stop Rodgers?  Even with the cold, no one should be shocked if Rodgers comes up with a big day on Sunday. 

While it seems like passing through heavy winds might not be the best idea, it could be the only one. Green Bay is running the ball well, but San Francisco's rush defense will lock most teams down. They need to have some creativity with their running game. The short side toss did not work against Chicago and it will certainly most not work against a fast San Francisco defense. Now do I believe the sweep will work because San Francisco's defense is very aggressive meaning they can get caught up in something like a sweep play yet it needs to be with the field. Please I cannot take many more short-side tosses in my life because I am pretty sure I will jump directly out of my window. 

Before I make my pick, let me address a couple things... I hate to sound like a Packers elitist, but here we go. Everyone needs to stop bitching about Troy Aikman and Joe Buck. They do not hate your team, I promise. Look I love Cris Collinsworth, but does he sometimes say things I disagree with? Absolutely. Announcers are not always accurate just like we in life are not always accurate at our jobs. Seeing this petition against Aikman is embarrassing to Packers fans. It is up there with 'Best Fans in Baseball' type bullshit we see from St. Louis.  Also embarrassing was Packer fans getting on Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for taking San Francisco over Green Bay... HOW DARE THE PACKER BEAT WRITER PICK AGAINST THE TEAM... U ARE NOT DOING YOUR JOB, TELL ME NICE THINGS, NOT BAD THINGS.  

Well I am going to disagree with Dunne. It is probably because I am a homer but I also truly believe Green Bay can win this game. They will need to force a couple turnovers as well as play close to mistake-free football as possible. Rodgers always shows up for San Francisco, and that will happen on Sunday plus Eddie Lacy has one of the best days on the ground against San Fran's defense. Green Bay's defense holds Kaepernick in check while Gore has a big day. This is another nail-biter but Packers pull it out. 

Green Bay 28 San Francisco 23 

Charlie.