Pro Football 101

When the 10-7 Arizona Cardinals head into Charlotte to face the 12-4 Panthers on Saturday night, a trip to the NFC Championship Game will be on the line.

And just over a week ago, there was a lot of doubt that Arizona would even be in this football game. After wrapping up the NFC West in Week 14, the Cards hit cruise control and were annihilated in back to back weeks by the Vikings and Patriots.

This after getting buried by the Eagles and Giants. A noticeable thing missing from each of these games however was the lack of a running game, so the Cards finally became wise; they re-inserted disgruntled RB Edgerrin James back into the lineup and he began to give the offense balance.

And the balance paid off. They parlayed it into a first-round playoff victory over the Atlanta Falcons last weekend.

The Panthers took another route in getting here. They used a strong two-headed running game, one that saw the emergence of RB DeAngelo Williams into a star, and a stout defense to win the AFC South. And on the way the No. 2 seed in the NFC.

Earlier this season, when these two teams played, Carolina won 27-23. At one point in that game, the Panthers were on the short end of a 17-3 score before rallying to put away the Cards.

Which brings us to the rematch. Read the rest of this entry »

When the 12-5 Ravens head into Tennessee to face the 13-3 Titans, a defensive war is certain to take place. Both teams are ranked in the top seven defenses in the NFL, with Baltimore coming at No. 2 and Tennessee at No. 7. They’re two and three respectively in the AFC.

The last time they met, Week Five, controversy and penalties propelled the Titans to a 13-10 win. A controversial fourth-down call late in the game allowed the drive to continue and Collins threw a GW TD with seconds left.

It’ll take more than that this time for Tennessee to duplicate that effort, but after having the bye week to rest up, they should be up to the task.

But it won’t be easy. Read the rest of this entry »