Season 2 Championship Breakdown
So this week is the week of truth. Two teams have come together to show who is the Champion. Cats HateHitler who has fought through the season to make the playoffs. With a three wins to end the season he squeaked by Winter Nom Noms to make it to the playoffs and then decimated Nom Noms in a rematch for the 1st week of the playoffs. Now he goes into the championship with a team that could be considered weak but has very good match ups. A team that will show up but may be hobbled by injuries, Cats will be looking to take the Championship that he failed to achieve last season. And then we have Azoic Defenders. Playing a solid season he ended with a five game winning streak. Some of those games may have been gifts and he is looking to prove his teams mettle with a Championship win. So lets see what we have in this last battle of the season.
Injuries
Frank Gore (RB SF)
(Wrist) Probable. He practiced all week. No worries he will play.
Alfred Morris (RB Was)
(Illness) Probable. With Griffin injured, Morris will play, sick or not.
Cecil Shorts (WR Jac)
(Concussion) He is probable but keep an eye on his status.
Jake Locker (QB Ten)
(None) This may be more due to his tendency to throw interceptions than injury.
Ray Rice (RB Bal)
(Hip Pointer) He will play, at worst may be limited but not likely.
Calvin Johnson (WR Det)
(Knee) Does he seem injured to you. Nope, he will play.
Pierre Garcon (WR Was)
(Foot) Garcon seems to have rebounded from his knee injury well and is not an issue to play.
Jermaine Gresham (TE Cin)
(Hamstring) He will play but may be limited.
Hakeem Nicks (WR NYG)
(Knee) This injury has hounded him all season. Expect him to play but be limited.
Cats HateHitler (Mem) vs Azoic Defenders (GodofInsanity)
Carson Palmer vs Matt Schaub
Last week Schaub was dismal. So bad that any owner with a lick of sense would put him on the bench. Why not? Well other than slim picking there are 2 other solid reasons. Expect him to bounce back first. 2nd at home he has been doing very well and is expected to continue the trend this week. Downside is if they pull ahead expect the Texans to pull him out as to rest him. Expect the Raiders to work the same game plan against the Chiefs this time as they did when they met last. A limited air attack with a pounding running game. Now the running game is not as thumping so do not think that Palmer is completely out of the mix. He will have a solid game and if his running game falters then he will excel. Matt Schaub takes this match.
Jake Locker vs Colin Kaepernick
Granted the Jets do not seem like a team to worry about. But and this is a big but, they are in the play off hunt. And they must win 3 to even be in the hunt at all. So expect the Jets to show up with there D- game. But with Locker throwing more interceptions than TD's makes for what could be a good day for the Jets. Facing the Patriots will be a tough go for Kaepernick not in a defensive way. But in the way of having to keep up with the prolific Patriots offense. He will use all of his tools available to keep up and have a very nice day. Colin Kaepernick takes this match.
Ray Rice vs Frank Gore
Firstly Rice's hip injury seems to be very minor and he will play Sunday as it stands now. He may be limited in play but in truth probably won't be. He has done well in the past against the Broncos and they are 20th against the run. So expect him to have a full workload. The Patriots are not a run defense to take lightly. But RB's with talent on the level of Gore have been able to split them for over 100 yards per match as well a TD. Expect another solid day against this Patriots team that may struggle at stopping Gore. Ray Rice takes this match.
Stevan Ridley vs Alfred Morris
Ridley is not a fluke and has seen the end zone 6 times in 6 weeks. Granted last week may have been his only real test against what was considered a stout defense. He has only misses the end zone 4 times this season. Expect finding that patch of grass to be tougher against the 49ers but his odds of having a solid game rank very high. The Browns are unable to stop the run. Morris has done very well with the run this season and may see more action this week considering there is a chance that Griffin is reined in to rest his knee. This could be his best game this season. Alfred Morris takes this match.
Calvin Johnson vs Vincent Jackson
You would like to think that the Cardinals may be able to slow down Megatron but the truth is that more than likely he will breeze right by them. He is looking for another huge game and more than likely will see it. Do not think the Cards won't try. I just think they will be successful. Jackson has been up and down all season and since he was up last week there is the train of thought that he will be down this week. But when facing the 3rd worse pass defense in the league there is also the train of thought that he will have an explosive game. Considering the ball will be in the air a lot to keep up with the Saints scoring I expect the same. Vincent Jackson takes this match.
Pierre Garcon vs Justin Blackmon
Blackmon has a major downside. As he is the main guy if Shorts is out, the coverage will concentrate on him. Upside is that he will get all the passes and may just break out another huge game against the Dolphins who are 15th against the pass. He is looking to have a steady game at the very least. Garcon has been hot since he returned and has also seen that end zone every week as well since then. The Browns do not make us think that they have anything to slow Garcon down. So expect a very good game. Pierre Garcon takes this match.
Jermaine Gresham vs Vernon Davis
When you put Davis in you have told everyone you like to gamble. He has had 3 weeks in a row of a drought with little or no fantasy points. But here he faces the Patriots who seem to struggle when is comes to TE's and this is a TE that cannot be ignored. Hope for a steady game. Gresham has been targeted 4 times at least over the last 4 weeks. He has seen the end zone twice in that time. But if there is one thing that the Eagles seem to get right, that is covering TE's. Expect a lower scoring game unless he can break out this week. Vernon Davis takes this match.
Hakeem Nicks vs Knowshon Moreno
So lets talk about the downside to Nicks. He is is still battling a sore knee which is evident at times. Second he faces a Falcons team that has allowed only 6 wide outs to score on them this season. Lastly there is no doubt that Cruz is the Giants #1 wide out and will get more looks than Nicks now. The Ravens are 25th against the run this season. Moreno has showed that he has something to prove as he came in hot after McGahee got injured. Last week he faced a Raiders team that almost allowed him to run all day. The Ravens will put up a bigger fight than that but will still have a rough time covering him as well as Manning's passing game. Knowshon Moreno takes this match.
Seahawks vs Bengals
All I have to say about the Seahawks after last week is...wtf. Granted the Cardinals offense is pretty bleak. There is no real passing game or running game so this young Seahawks defense made short work of them. The Bills will not be as easy to roll. The Bills have a lot going against them as they have not had a great season either but the wont be held to zero either. The Bengals face the Eagles who have done nothing to truly save there season. Keep Bryce Brown at bay and you pretty much shut down any offense the Bengals can pull together. The Offensive line cannot protect the QB and the Eagles have turned over the ball more than any of there counterparts in the NFC. The Bengals take this match easily.
Azoic Defenders look to snag the Championship with a win here.
