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What To Know : Wildcard Weekend

We know how the playoffs work and who the teams are, which is a great start. Here’s the next step: a short preview of this weekend’s wildcard games.

Kansas City Chiefs at Indianapolis Colts (Saturday at 4:35 pm EST, NBC)

If you knew this was going to be the matchup back in the midpoint of the season when the Chiefs were still undefeated and the Colts were starting to struggle, you’d call it an easy win for Kansas City. But that’s the magic of the NFL: things change. It’s not that the Chiefs aren’t good anymore (they are) or the Colts don’t still have their struggles (they do), it’s that this match has all of the makings of a barn burner – a match in which the Luck-led Colts are favored.

New Orleans Saints at Philadelphia Eagles (Saturday at 8:10 pm EST, NBC)

The same exact thing can be said about this game. Midseason, no one would have dared to pick the Eagles to top the Saints. And yet here they find themselves in the first round of the playoffs with a home game and a huge opportunity. The Saints are undefeated at home this season; they won a mere three games on the road. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that the Eagles have looked especially sharp in their big wins against Chicago and Dallas in the past two weeks. While it’s never wise to count Drew Brees out, this one has the potential to send the Saints home earlier than originally expected.

San Diego Chargers at Cincinnati Bengals (Sunday at 1:05 pm EST, CBS)

For the first time in three years the Bengals will not face the Texans in the first round of the playoffs. And for the first time in three years, they’ll be hoping for a win in the first round of the playoffs. That the Chargers are even in the playoffs is a testament to the unpredictable world of the NFL (they can thank the Bengals for doing their part in defeating the Ravens during pregame warmups). But how they got in doesn’t matter. What does matter is the fact that they may have scored the best matchup of Wildcard Weekend, and they look ready to take advantage.

San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers (Sunday at 4:40 pm EST, FOX)

It might be a new year, but not when it comes to this game. The obvious answer would be that it’s still 2013 – the year when this same game was played on different turf – but it actually feels more like 2010 to me. That was the year the Packers limped into the playoffs and made a highly unlikely run all the way to winning Super Bowl 45. Now, there are some differences, the greatest of which is that the Packers defense is significantly (significantly) worse, but it has the look and feel of another potential Super Bowl bid. Of course, the 49ers are no doubt thinking that they are going to party like it’s 2013 all over again – the year when they ~~slaughtered~~ beat the Packers and ultimately advanced to the Super Bowl. Which explains why I’ve had traumatic visions of Colin Kaepernick dancing in my head all week.

The 12 Posts of Playoffs : 10 Yards

Did you know that all progress on a football field hinges on advancing 10 yards at a time?

True story.

It’s time to talk about everyone’s favorite aspect of football…the down system!!!

If the phrase “first down” makes you twitch a little bit because you have no idea what it means or why it pertains to football, this post should help.

The offense has four chances, called “downs,” to advance the ball ten yards. If they do, they receive a new set of downs and the opportunity to continue trying to reach the end zone to score.

Once the offense starts their drive, they have four chances, called “downs,” to move the ball 10 yards from where they started (this place is called “the line of scrimmage”). Each play is then calculated by what chance (down) the offense is on and how many yards they have left until they reach 10 yards total. Once they reach or exceed the 10 yards in one set of downs, they get a new set – four more chances to move the ball 10 more yards.

This is the reason why 10 yards is the distance that makes the football world go round.

Here’s an example. Let’s say the offense is starting their drive on their own 20 yard line. The offense needs to reach or exceed the 30 yard line, which means they’ve gained at least 10 yards total from where they began (at the 20 yard line), over the course of the next 4 downs to receive a new set of downs and therefore another opportunity to score. You will know how far the offense needs to go to gain a new set of downs thanks to the magic of technology: they need to reach or exceed the bright yellow electronic line on the field, which indicates how far the offense has to go to get a first down.

The first play is called “1st and 10,” because it’s the offense’s first down (chance) and they still have 10 yards to go to get a new set of downs. Every play after that is calculated by what down it is and how much further the team has to go to reach 10 yards total. So if on the first play (1st and 10) a team gained 3 yards, then next play would be 2nd and 7 – it’s the second down, and they still have 7 yards to go to reach the first down marker.

Got it? If you need any extra help and lots of other examples, check out the Basics of Offense post.

The 12 Posts of Playoffs : 11 Men

There are a whole mess of people on the sidelines of a football field, but too much of a good thing on the playing field will lead to a 5-yard penalty.

Each unit is allowed to have 11 players on the field. They can field less (if they want to find new and creative ways to lose), but they can’t field more. Too many men on the field is a 5-yard penalty.

Who are the 11 players on each unit? On offense, it’s usually five offensive linemen, one quarterback, and five offensive “skill” players – tight ends, runnings backs, and wide receivers. It looks something like this:

On defense, things are a little more flexible. A standard defense will usually be composed of three or four defensive linemen, three or four linebackers, and between four and six defensive backs (safeties and cornerbacks). It might look something like this:

On special teams, the unit that comes out for kicking plays, different players come out for different types of plays. I don’t have a visual for that, but I do have this post.

A peek into the future: next season we’ll be doing a whole series on special teams because they’ve gotten the shaft for the past ~~history of football~~ two years here. Sorry, guys.

Final note: have you ever heard of the 12th man? The phenomenon in which the fans are so disruptive that it’s like their team has an extra player on the field? That expression exists because of the 11-men-per-unit rule.

(P.s. Happy New Year!!! Have a wonderful day, everyone!)

The 12 Posts of Playoffs : 12 Playoff Teams

I know that we are a few days removed from the start of the 12 Days of Christmas, but how about the 12 Posts of Playoffs? Because who doesn’t want more to celebrate?!

The 12 Posts of Playoffs will be a series that runs for the next four weeks (conveniently also the duration of the playoffs). Each post will feature a lesson that coincides with the number of the day. Kind of like Sesame Street, but helpful for knowing what’s what on a football field.

Today’s lesson: the 12 playoff teams.

The playoff schedule is set. Twelve teams have advanced. But how did they make the cut? Let’s review.

We recently went over how the 12 teams are selected. Here’s a refresher:

Within the NFL there are two conferences, the AFC and the NFC. Each conference has four geographic divisions: the North, East, South, and West. Each division has four teams. So the AFC North, for example, consists of the Bengals, Browns, Ravens, and Steelers.

Teams advance into the postseason by the merit of their regular season record. The team with the best regular season record within each division gets an automatic playoff spot. That’s 8 teams. Two additional teams from each conference also advance. These “wildcard” teams are the two teams with the best record among the non-division winners from the whole conference (AFC or NFC). That’s 4 total wildcards teams. In total, that makes 12 teams that advance into the postseason.

The four teams that win their division from each conference are ranked (“seeded”) according to their regular season record, 1 through 4. That results in eight teams total. The remaining four teams are the wildcard teams, and they are ranked 5th and 6th within their conference based on their overall record. When matched up throughout the playoffs, the team that is seeded higher plays at home; the lower seed has to travel.

Let’s put some flesh on all of that by seeing what it looks like this season.

The four division winners in the NFC are the Eagles (East), the Packers (North), the Panthers (South), and the Seahawks (West). The NFC Wildcard teams are the Saints and the 49ers (by merit of having the best regular season record among the remaining NFC teams). The division winners are seeded 1 through 4 (also by merit of their regular season record) and the wildcard teams are seeded 5 and 6:

Seahawks (West)
Panthers (South)
Eagles (East)
Packers (North)
49ers (Wildcard)
Saints (Wildcard)

The winner of the conference gets home field advantage throughout the playoffs (good luck with that, NFC). The top two seeds get a first round bye, which means the Seahawks and the Panthers don’t have to play this weekend. The remaining four teams play in the first round, Wildcard Weekend, and the higher ranked seed plays the lower ranked seed at the higher ranked seeds stadium. So the Saints will play the Eagles in Philadelphia and the 49ers will play the Packers in Green Bay (you can mail the Pepto Bismol directly to my house).

In the AFC, the Patriots won the East, the Bengals won the North, the Colts won the South, and the Broncos won the West. The Chiefs and the Chargers won the two wildcard slots. They are all seeded as follows:

Broncos (West)
Patriots (East)
Bengals (North)
Colts (South)
Chiefs (Wildcard)
Chargers (Wildcard)

This weekend, the Chargers will play the Bengals in Cincinnati and the Chiefs will play the Colts in Indy. The Broncos and Patriots have the week off.

Make sense? For much more on all things playoff, check out this post.

Postseason Prep : How the Playoffs Work

Last week in our postseason prep we learned about how teams make it to the postseason. Now that we know how teams get there in the first place, let’s move on and talk about how they advance through the playoffs.

Since this year’s postseason groups is still being decided I’m going to use last year’s playoff picture to put some flesh on this lesson:

The teams in yellow are the division winners. The teams in green are the wildcard teams. The number next to each indicates where they are seeded based on their overall and divisional record.

Good? Ok.

Once the teams and the seed order has been determined, then we can finally get around to playing!

The playoffs are a single elimination tournament played over the course of several weeks. The playoffs are a way of determining the best team from each conference, so teams only play other teams within their conference (AFC or NFC) during the playoffs. Each week features a different matchup within the conference.

Week 1: Wildcard Round

The top two seeds from each conference earn a first round bye, which means they get the week off. After a long season, it’s a coveted luxury since all of the teams are playing hurt and greatly benefit from a week without a game. (Usually. Sometimes teams can also loose momentum from a week off, which is to their detriment. But more often than not it seems to be helpful.) In 2012, the top two seeds in the AFC were the Broncos (1) and the Patriots (2) and the top two seeds in the NFC were the Falcons (1) and the 49ers (2).

Among the remaining eight teams, the highest and lowest seeds in each conference play each other (Seeds 3 and 6) and the middle seeds play each other (Seeds 4 and 5). The higher seed gets home field advantage. So, using our little infographic up there, we know that in the AFC the Ravens (4) played the Colts (5) in Baltimore and the Texans (3) played the Bengals (6) in Houston. In the NFC, the Redskins (4) played the Seahawks (5) in Washington and the Packers (3) played the Vikings (6) in Green Bay.

We also now know that the Ravens, Texans, Seahawks, and Packers all won their games and advanced to the next round.

(And there you have an accurate portrait of parody in the NFL. There’s a good chance that more than half of the teams that played on Wildcard Weekend last year won’t even make the playoffs this year.)

Week 2: Divisional Round

The top seeds return from the bye week and get to play at home. The same schedule follows: the highest and lowest ranked seeds play each other and the middle seeds play each other. Using last year’s example, we know that in the AFC the top seeded Broncos (1) played the Ravens (4) and the Patriots (2) played the Texans (3). The Ravens and Patriots both won and advanced to the next round. In the NFC the top seeded Falcons (1) played the Seahawks (5) and the 49ers (2) played the Packers (3). The Falcons won, as did the 49ers ~~and I don’t still have nightmares about Colin Kaepernick running freely about the field or anything~~.

Week 3: Conference Championships

At this point, four teams remain, two from each conference. Last year, in the AFC, it was the Patriots (2) and the Ravens(4). The last two standing in the NFC were the Falcons (1) and the 49ers (2).

Those teams play each other at the higher seeded teams stadium and the winners are the AFC and NFC Conference Champions. In last year’s case, it was the Ravens and the 49ers. Those two teams, the last team standing from each conference, are the teams that go to the Super Bowl.

Week 4: Bye Week (Week Off)

AKA: Controlled craziness. Until media day arrives, the only day the media has access to players, at which point the craziness is completely uncontrolled.

Super Bowl!

The AFC and NFC Champions play each other in a predetermined location. Last year, the game was played in New Orleans. There were brothers and a blackout, and eventually the Ravens emerged victorious. This year’s Super Bowl is at MetLife stadium in NYC…which should be a party with Jack Frost and a million or so of his closest snowflake friends. Another Ice Bowl might be on it’s way.

Whew! And there you have it: how teams advance through the playoffs. And we only have to wait a few more weeks until this year’s games start!!!

What to Know : Divisional Round of the Playoffs

The divisional round of the playoffs is upon us! This weekend, two AFC games and two NFC games will determine who plays in next weekend’s conference championship. Here’s what you need to know:

Ravens at Broncos

Saturday, January 12th, 4:30pm EST

What to know from history: It’s important to know that the Broncos beat the Ravens earlier this season, 34-17. But it’s probably more important to know that Peyton Manning has beaten the Ravens…nine times in a row. He was a Colt for 8 of those 9 wins (two of which occurred in the playoffs), but it doesn’t matter much. It should be expected that Manning will prove similarly dominant on Saturday despite the new uniform.

But there’s another interesting note from history at play here: Manning has usually been un-Manning-like in the playoffs, with a record of just 9-10. Joe Flacco’s playoff record? 6-4. He’s been to the playoffs and won one round every year since he came into the league five years ago (an NFL record).

What to know on Saturday: The one thing history doesn’t account for is emotion, and there will be plenty to go around on Saturday. The Ravens want to send Ray Lewis out with a Super Bowl victory, and Peyton wants to prove that he’s better than he’s ever been.

Packers at 49ers

Saturday, January 12th, 8:00pm EST

What to know from history: The history between the Packers and the 49ers in the post-season is rich. Five games total, four won by the Packers, each game a classic in it’s own right. Even when the scores weren’t of nail-biting caliber, the weather conditions and the level of talent on the field seemed to set the stage for the making of history. When these two teams meet in the playoffs, there are sure to be fireworks. There’s also the added salt that Aaron Rodgers grew up in San Francisco and was notoriously passed by in the 2005 NFL Draft for Alex Smith, who was the 49ers QB until head coach Jim Harbaugh made the switch to Kaepernick mid-season. It’s no secret that he’s played with a chip on his shoulder about the snub ever since (much to the benefit of the Packers), and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see that chip come out swinging in his first ever game at Candlestick Park in SF on Saturday.

What to know on Saturday: Green Bay might have the upper hand in the win/loss column, but they’ve never seen a 49ers team like this one. These Niners run a predominantly read-option offense led by QB Colin Kaepernick, and it’s not a system the Packers have had the opportunity to play against yet this season (the Niners beat the Packers in Week 1, but with Alex Smith at QB – totally different system). However, even though they say that defense wins championships, Packers QB Aaron Rodgers might have something to say about that. He has a 3-1 record of playoff wins on the road. He also has an unbelievably low interception rate; he is literally the least intercepted quarterback in league history. In his total of 7 playoff starts, he’s thrown 4 interceptions out of 253 attempts. That’s insane. If anything is cited next to defense as the championship-winner, it’s winning the turnover battle. And Rodgers doesn’t turn the ball over.

Seahawks at Falcons

Sunday, January 13th, 1:00pm EST

What to know from history: This game will be the first time the Seahawks and the Falcons meet in the post-season. Rookie QB Russell Wilson has one playoff win under his belt, but the Seahawks are just 4-5 on the road this season, including last week’s playoff win in Washington. Perhaps more troubling is the gloomy history surrounding Falcons QB Matt Ryan: he has been to the playoffs nearly every year since 2008, but has yet to win a game. He’s 0-3 in the playoffs thus far.

What to know on Sunday: You know that emotion surrounding Baltimore over Ray Lewis’s last season? A similar emotion hangs over Atlanta. They want to win the Super Bowl for future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez, who is almost definitely retiring after this season. Matt Ryan, I’m sure, would also like to get the critics off his back when it comes to his losing record in the playoffs. The Seahawks seem to be the hottest team in the league right now, winning 7 of their last 8 games. But they’ll be without star defensive end Chris Clemons, who was clearly missed after leaving the game with an ACL injury last Sunday against the Redskins. They’ll also be trying to do what no west coast team since the ’89 LA Rams has done: win two back-to-back playoff games on the east coast.

Texans at Patriots

Sunday, January 13th, 4:30pm EST

What to know from history: Recent history tells us that the Texans got shellacked by the Patriots barely over a month ago in the very same stadium in which they’ll play on Sunday. History also tells us that Tom Brady is an otherworldly 16-6 in the playoffs. He’s a cog in the Belichick machine that could scarcely run any smoother if it tried. However, teams with byes haven’t always faired too well over the past few years. There seems to be something to be said for playing straight through the end of the regular season into the playoffs, so the Texans might have a bit more momentum (and lots of motivation) when they reenter Foxborough on Sunday.

What to know on Sunday: The Texans are not getting any love this week; they are the ultimate underdog. At last check the Patriots were a 9.5 point favorite with the over/under hovering around 48 points. That’s a pretty significant point spread. But for anyone who thinks the Patriots are going to waltz in and demolish the Texans for a second time, myself included, think about this: After their undefeated 2007 season, which included a 38-35 win over the Giants in Week 16, the Patriots were a 13.5 point favorite heading into the Super Bowl. A Super Bowl that the Giants won, 17-14. So the odds don’t have the final say, even when they are enormously lopsided.

Which games are you guys looking forward to this weekend? Any favorites on the schedule?