Revving the Playoff Engines: 3YKffl

Revving the Playoff Engines: 3YKffl

By Sam Spiegelman

Steele Tops Chaiken in Super Bowl Preview

            When two contenders faced off in Week 13, the AFC favorite Steele took down second seed in the NFC, Horwitch, by a score of 83-72.

            Despite a disappointing showing by Philip Rivers, the 200-yard receiving effort of Reggie Wayne was enough to skate by. Wayne’s season-best afternoon is an encouraging sign, considering when the game was on the line, Peyton Manning went to his No. 1 wide-out each and every play, despite what the defense was throwing at him. The injuries abundant throughout the Colts wide receiving core is only better news for Wayne, as Manning is not even looking at the other receivers at times.

            Steele’s running back tandem was also effective, with Arian Foster and Michael “The Burner” Turner scoring 19 and 11 points, respectively. Foster has continued to be a reliable option heading into the playoffs; he had a slow start Thursday night and ended up scoring thrice and compiling nearly 200 total yards. The Burner is also enjoying a consistent second half to the season, recording another touchdown on the road versus the Bucs.

            For Chaiken, the downfall of Peyton Manning is limiting the productivity of the team. Two touchdowns is a good performance from most quarterbacks, but when you draft a stud like Manning you expect at least three scores every week. Without a running game or effective offensive live play, Manning is continually turning the ball over.

            It did not help that Over the Dwayne Bowe was held catchless Sunday, but it was somewhat expected in a division matchup when he was defended by one of the bests in Champ Bailey. The other wide-out, Sidney Rice, finally broke through, and did so what Tavaris Jackson at quarterback, which is something to keep in mind down the stretch.

Fienberg Defeats Meyers, Keeps Pace for 2^nd in NFC

            In a contest of Fienberg against Adrian Peterson, the team-effort prevailed. With a win over Meyers, Fienberg remained tied for second in the NFC with Chaiken at 7-6.

            The 75 points was distributed quite evenly – Four different players scored in double-figures this weekend, including Matty Ice with 11, S-Jax with 16, Andre “The Giant” Johnson with 15 and a rebound effort by The Daily Show, who scored 11 points in his return to the Panther’s lineup.

            It was great to see another solid day out of Marques Colston, who was among the few players poised for a second half breakthrough. Roddy White was held scoreless, despite Ryan’s two touchdown tosses, but should still be considered an elite option.

            On the losing end, All Day led the way for Meyers with 25 points off three rushing scores, but not much help came from elsewhere. Jay Cutler disappointed, as usual, against the Lions with a measly 10 points. And aside from a touchdown from Megatron, the receiving core came up empty, scoring a combined doughnut between Mario Manningham and Johnny Knox.

            The win helped Fienberg keep pace in the playoff hunt, tied for second in the NFC but without the ever-important tie-breaker.

Fienberg-Steele Square Off in Crucial Matchup

            If Fienberg wants to make a play for the second seed in the NFC, he will have to do it by defeating the AFC’s best Week 14.

            The Fienberg-Steele rivalry will continue as the teams will collide after both earned an important win last week. Despite what statistics and matchups say, this one could get ugly.

            Steele will look to his dynamic quarterback to rebound at home against those pesky Chiefs, who last week shut down the prolific Bronco’s offense. Rivers himself had a poor effort against the R-R-Raiders, but the question is how long can you keep a stud like Rivers down?

            Arian Foster will have a tough matchup against Baltimore, who last week shut down Rashard Mendenhall. They did, however, show vulnerability against the run earlier in the sun, and did allow the game-winning touchdown by the Steelers to a running back, and Foster is an excellent receiving back. The Burner will get Carolina who allowed has-been Marshawn Lynch to reach the end-zone thrice at Seattle.

            The receivers – Brandon Lloyd, DeSean Jackson, Reggie Wayne – all have favorable matchups as well. Lloyd will face the Cardinals, who many question if they are still trying on Sundays. D-Jax gets the weak Cowboys secondary, and Wayne is of course the go-to guy for Peyton Manning, who will have to lead his team to victory in Tennessee if the Colts want to remain in the playoff hunts.

            For Fienberg, so much will depend on the Matty Ice-to-Rowdy Roddy White tandem who has been slowed down as of late, and may not be a factor against the Panthers unless the Falcons fall behind early. Andre “The Giant” and Marques Colston, both of whom are scorching, get favorable matchups against the Ravens secondary and St. Louis Rams, respectively.

            Both S-Jax and The Daily Show have good matchups – The Saints allowed letdown Cedric Benson to run on them last week, and The Daily Show is healthy again, playing at home. But if either team falls behind early, which is likely, they may not be a factor.

            My prediction: Steele does not allow it to even get close this week, as Rivers makes bologna out of the Chiefs defense, Foster makes his presence felt against the Ravens and the wide receiving core explodes for a huge afternoon.