NFL Playoff Jabber/Divisional Saturday

Everybody (except the Jags for some) that we expected to be playing this week is. Everything is going according to plan in what seems to be a given in the Patriots run to perfection. There is the old saying something like, “That’s why they play the games…” I have opened myself up to ridicule for my pick of the Jaguars against the Patriots. FanYard blogging says I’m having fits of Bushillariness [boosh-hil-uh-ree-nis]. I still can’t explain it. The Patriots are the easy, safe (safest ever?) pick. There is just this feeling that they can be beat and if the Jaguars play the whole game they can do it.

So did you hear that Matt Hasselbeck put his foot in his mouth at the coin toss for over time the last time the Packers and Seahawks met in the playoffs? I have to admit, at the time I was wondering what the hell he was talking about. Last week he cleared it up by saying he was joking around like kids would in the backyard since he knew the guys on the Packers. It’s all in fun.

Anyway, this week we have our poll results (at the time of writing this) from the Jabberheads here, the AccuScore Game Forecast used at the mainstream sites, and The Yardstick from our friends at FanYard. We’ll also take a look around the web with a bunch of links and quotes for today’s games.

@

Kickoff at 4:30 EST on Fox

Poll Results:

• Football Jabber: 74% in favor of the Packers
• AccuScore: 69% in favor of the Packers
• YardStick: 83% in favor of the Packers

@

Kickoff at 7:00 EST on CBS

Poll Results:

• Football Jabber: 57% in favor of the Patriots
• AccuScore: 82% in favor of the Patriots
• YardStick: 94% in favor of the Patriots

Now let’s get on to that link and quote dump…

Seahawks @ Packers

Apparently there is a surprising number of people looking to sell their playoff tickets to the Packers and Seahawks game according to Josh Anderson at Ticket King.

“I don’t know if they think it’s Mike Holmgren or they tell me that it’s going to be Brett Favre’s last game,” Anderson said. “They think they’re going to get rich.”

Al Harris thinks that the Seahawks playoff experience will be a factor.

“There is a big difference, and I think it will play a factor,” Harris said. “The teams who constantly go to the playoffs and have been to the playoffs, and the players who’ve been in these situations, you see come up big and play well. So I think it will be a big difference.”

If you met someone named Nancy Gay do you think she would be giving you a rundown on today’s games?

Matt Hasselbeck would have stayed in Green Bay long term as Favre’s backup…even if it meant he wouldn’t play. Yeah, right.

”I don’t think I ever thought I’d have the opportunity to play in Green Bay,” Hasselbeck told reporters this week. ‘I mean, that was not even a thought. Brett Favre is Brett Favre. I’ve said many times if they had ever come to me and said, `Hey, we would like to sign you to a long-term contract and be Brett’s backup,’ I would have done it. I would have done it in a heartbeat.”

The things Ryan Grant has overcome…

The Seahawks WR troop will be at full force this weekend.

“That’s a huge challenge,” Packers defensive coordinator Bob Sanders said. “Probably collectively, four of the best (receivers) in the league. They challenge you offensively anyway, but then when you put talented guys like that in those spots, certainly it’s a huge challenge for our guys.”

Ted Miller at Seattlepi.com has deep thoughts on how the game will turn out.

“The Seahawks will beat Green Bay and advance to the NFC Championship Game because they’re a better team. Their players are better. Their coaches are better. “

Tom Silverstein at JSOnline.com pits McCarthy vs. Holmgren head to head.

A Packers pep rally drew 10,000 last night.

FoxSports Countdown preview for today’s games.

Jaguars @ Patriots

A joke? Maybe. Funny? Yes. I think it’s funny but your not allowed to have a sense of humor when your representing an NFL team. Apparently on the Jaguars website there was an asterisk next to the Patriots in the Power Rankings, you know, the cheating thing. It went by for four months.

Adam Schein says the Patriots have pressure to perform in the playoffs. Ya think?

Patriots.com link dump

Go bold or go home Jaguars…go bold or go home.

Patriots CB, Ellis Hobbs, has the secret to who will win…

“Whoever is playing their best football at the end is going to be winning the game,” New England cornerback Ellis Hobbs said. “They’re a team that obviously is not going to back down and we’re not going to back down from them.”

So what do the Bossmen have to say?

”There’s never been a perfect game,” Del Rio, the Jacksonville Jaguars’ coach, told reporters this week, “so let’s not wait for one of those. I don’t think that there’s one out there.” Clearly, you have to play well, and we have to do the things that we’re capable of doing, and find a way, we’re just looking for a way.”

”This is a real good football team,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “They’re good at everything. In the second half of the season, the last third of the season, they pretty much led the league in just about everything — offensively and defensively. They do a lot of things well.”

Five things to watch for in the Patriots, Jags game.

Forget all things you have heard over the history of the game. The Jaguars are the team of destiny.

“We believe we are,” cornerback Rashean Mathis said. “We have all the tools to be.”

How does Coach Del Rio feel about the Patriots roster?

“It’s think it’s probably the greatest collection of talent in coaching that’s ever been assembled,” Jaguars Coach Jack Del Rio said this week.

tag: NFL, Football, Playoffs, Sports, Patriots, Jaguars, Seahawks, Packers, Babes, Cheerleaders, Preview, Polls

Subscribe Free in an RSS Reader