Rejoice, the NFL Playoffs are here!
Everyone is buzzing about Tim Tebow, the Saints' ineptitude on grass, and the Giants' sleeper potential.
But there are a bunch of stories flying under the radar — like Denver's suddenly shaky defense, Big Ben's gimpy ankle, and the two big fat chinks of Green Bay's armor.
The Falcons exist
Atlanta wins the award for the Most Forgettable Playoff Team of 2011.
They were anonymous all year — earning comfortable wins over mediocre teams and losing relatively soundly to the league's best teams.
No one really thinks they have a shot to make noise. But they have a good QB, and a lot of weapons at the skill positions, so they should be able to put up points on the Giants.
You could argue that Eli Manning has been more impressive than Brees and Rodgers
Rodgers' MVP candidacy took a hit when random backup dude Matt Flynn threw for six touchdowns in his absence last week.
It's a little unfair, but it shows that Rodgers (and to a lesser extent Brees) have a ton of weapons at his disposal.
Eli doesn't have such weapons. He has no running game, a patchwork offensive line, and one good receiver (Victor Cruz). Yet he's still put up absurd numbers and won the (weak) NFC East.
The Packers are sort of a mess
Green Bay is without BOTH offensive tackles.
That's huge for a team that runs as many empty sets as the Packers.
In addition, their defensive has taken a step back from the form they showed in last year's playoffs.
Did they peak too early? We'll see.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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See Also:
- WHAT IF...?: The Frustratingly Simple Way Your NFL Team Could Have Made The Playoffs
- A Steelers Safety Won't Play In Denver Because The High Altitude Could Kill Him
- You'd Never Guess Which NFL Quarterback Had The Most Dominant Game Of 2011