http://challonge.com/csfmb_sb_losersTwo of the quarterfinal matchups have been determined.
Brady vs Brady -- the 07 vs the 11. 07 gives you Moss , 11 gives you Gronk and Hernandez. The edge has to go to the 07 Patriots though -- that was the highest scoring team that year along with the 4th best defense in terms of points, while 11 was 3rd and 15th. Have to wonder if this won't be another steam roll by the 07 Patriots team.
The other matchup is the
06 Bears against the 95 Steelers. Neither team did very well on offense in their first round game, so I expect this will be another defensive battle. Historically, the 95 Steelers were 5th in the league in points scored and the 06 Bears were 2nd in the league, so maybe I'm wrong and they'll light it up! If I had to pick a side, I think I'd go with the Bears.
Tomorrow's remaining first round matchups:
81 Bengals vs 13 Broncos -- Ken Anderson had a pro-bowl year throwing to Collinsworth, while Pete Johnson led the ground game with a career high of 1077 yards. Also the last time punter Pat McInally would contribute to the receiving corps. Even with Dick LeBeau coaching the defensive backs, the one weakness they had was keeping the other team from scoring... average score against them was 19 points a game. Even worse though were the 13 Broncos, who gave up 24.9 points a game; although it helps when your offense averages nearly 38 a game. Peyton's last year as a dominant QB and with Knowshon Moreno on the ground, the offense was incredibly good. First in nearly every passing category and in the top half of the league on the ground. My Take: I expect this to be a barn burner and will give the edge to the Broncos.
08 Cardinals vs 09 Colts -- Against all expectations, the 08 Cardinals managed to make it to the Super Bowl with a 9-7 record, and came within a couple minutes of winning the whole thing. Finally restoring some pride to the organization, the Cardinals were led by 37 year old Kurt Warner who had won in the past with the Rams. A trio of receivers with 1000 plus yards: Breaston, Boldin, and Fitzgerald. The one thing they didn't have was a run game -- last in the league in yards and second last in yards/attempt. The defense wasn't much to talk about either ranking 28th in points given up. 09 Colts were really in the prime of their run -- Manning, Wayne, Dallas Clark, but similar to the Cards, they had no ground game finishing 30th in yards/attempt. My Take: The Cardinals were a bit lucky to get there in the first place -- I think the Colts win this by 14+ points.
90 Bills vs 84 Dolphins -- The start of the dominance in the AFC for the Bills, 90 was the first shot in the franchise history for the Super Bowl. Running the run and shoot, the Bills had great success with Kelly throwing to Reed and Lofton, and Thomas dominating the ground game. Defensively, they were pretty stacked as well - Smith had 19 sacks that year. The 84 Dolphins were unstoppable on offense, with second year starter Marino setting crazy numbers -- 5084 yards and 48 TDs -- records that stood for decades. Reggie Roby was punting that ball like no one's business, and they gave up 18 points a game, 7th best in the league. My Take: The Bills are too well rounded of a team, I think they get past this and Norwood won't be forced to hit a game winner.
68 Colts vs 76 Vikings -- The Colts were a dominant 13-1 with NFL MVP Earl Morrall leading the show (Unitas was injured that year in the last game of the preason.) Mackey, Richardson, and Orr made up the bulk of the passing game while Tom Matte was the primary RB. The Colts defense was extremly good, ranking in the top 2 or 3 in most categories. A huge favorite going into the Super Bowl, they ran into Broadway Joe and the upstart Jets. For the 76 Vikings, this was their fourth and most recent trip to the Super Bowl. Tarkenton was still a ProBowl caliber QB and Sammy White was his main target. However, the main threat was Chuck Foreman who racked up 1155 yards in 14 games (as was the style at the time.) The defense (with Buddy Ryan as DC) limited the opposition to just 12.6 points a game. My Take: If they could replay Super Bowl III 10 times, the Colts probably win 9 of the 10. I'll take the Colts.