What to look for in the Saturday Divisional round games.

nfl

Cards @ Saints

Cards QB Warner had just another day at the office. Against one of the most improved Ds in the league he went 29-33 for 379 yards and 5 TDs without a pick. The Pack had no answer for Warner. They blitzed him and he picked man to man coverage apart. They rushed 3 and kept 8 in coverage and he found holes in the zones. The O line protected Warner for the most part and sub WRs did well to make up for the loss of WR Bolden.

On D, the Cards and the Pack allowed the score board to look like the something out of Pinball Wizard. Neither D could put consistent pressure on the others QB. The Pack was so focused on Warner that they allowed RB Wells 6.5 yards per attempt. They were lucky that their O was putting up so many points or Wells would have had more than his 14 carries. If the Cards are going to have any chance to stage the upset the D is going to have to play like they did last year in the playoff run to the Super Bowl. The passing game of the Saints is … Read more at FryingPanSports

Beware of off season moves up the NFL draft board.

By Bill Smith

Note to NFL Draft fans: Tomorrow I will outline my scouting procedure for evaluating talent on game tapes.

Draft fans that try to figure out which guys in the draft are gems and which are fools gold are at a major disadvantage. The NFL teams get a lot more game tape than we do. They also get to interview the kids, and they are kids after all. But there are some things we have that too many NFL teams don’t seem to understand.

The biggest factor that bad NFL teams miss is the rise of players after the season. At 22, a lot of guys have the look of a player in shorts and a tee shirt. Add a good body with a little athleticism and a guy can pass the “eyeball test” easily.

A former division 3 college DE showed up at our tryouts one year when I was the D coordinator for a semi pro team. He was 6-5 275 pounds and looked like Tarzan. In the workout, he dazzled the other coaches. In the 5 workouts prior to putting on pads, he was unstoppable. He had instincts, speed, agility, and quicks. It was … Read more at FryingPanSports