Then people wonder if those four lucky clubs are going to be rusty when they return in the divisional round.The football world finds out this weekend when the Chiefs
Stefen Wisniewski Jersey , Patriots, Saints and Rams get into postseason action.That January week off is coveted for a variety of reasons. Playing one less game decreases the chances of getting knocked out of the Super Bowl chase. Healing injuries is a critical piece of the puzzle. Extra time to strategize, particularly against an unfamiliar opponent, is a bonus.And yet, there’s always the question of getting stale.“I think, really, you could look at it where if you want to maintain your rhythm and your routine and being able to play — it’s been a couple weeks off —but I think the players would say that the rest is definitely the best way to go,” Rams coach Sean McVay says.“Getting as healthy as possible for us where we’re about as healthy as you could ask to be going into the divisional round. So, I know we’ve certainly looked at it as a positive. It’s been a good chance for guys to kind of get refreshed, rejuvenated. There’s a good buzz in the building this week building into Saturday night.”That would be when the Rams (13-3) host the Dallas Cowboys (11-6), who eliminated Seattle in the wild-card round.The other matchups are AFC top seed Kansas City (12-4) hosting Indianapolis (11-6 after beating Houston) to open things. On Sunday, it’s New England (11-5) at home for the Los Angeles Chargers (13-4 after winning at Baltimore), andNFC top seed New Orleans (13-3) home for defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia (10-7 after a victory at Chicago).So what if Neil Young was correct that rust never sleeps? Are the Chiefs, Patriots or Saints in need of some WD-40?New England safety Patrick Chung notes the bye was “a good time to rest up, hang out with my family, chill out
http://www.eagleslockerroom.com/authentic-carson-wentz-jersey ;, get my mind off football. We’re locked in now.”Teammate Phillip Dorsett senses the opposite of rustiness: “Having a week off from football, it’s tough, but a lot of guys wanted to go back out there, it’s a big game coming up … definitely excited to go out there and start playing.”INDIANAPOLIS AT KANSAS CITYThe Colts are 4-0 in the postseason against the Chiefs, 2-0 at Arrowhead Stadium. They are on quite a roll after going 1-5, with an efficient offense that protects its quarterback better than any team, allowing sacks on only 2.7 percent of Andrew Luck’s passes. That could be a key because the Chiefs’ defense is one-dimensional, with a strong pass rush but otherwise plenty of holes.Of course, keeping pace with Kansas City’s dynamic offense led by All-Pro quarterback Patrick Mahomes is a major challenge.Kansas City scored a franchise-record 565 points, third most in NFL history. Mahomes led the league with seven games with a 100-plus passer rating (Luck was third with five). Mahomes set a franchise record for TD passes (50), touchdown-interception differential (plus-38) and 300-yard passing games (10).Worth focusing on: The tight end production for Indy’s Eric Ebron, who had 15 touchdowns this season, and KC’s Travis Kelce, second among TEs with 1,336 yards receiving. He has a catch in 79 straight games.DALLAS AT LOS ANGELES RAMSThese franchises have split eight postseason games, and the Rams are the most frequent playoff opponent for Dallas. The Cowboys last won a road playoff game in 1993 on their way to a Super Bowl title
Womens Isaac Seumalo Jersey , but their next playoff victory will be their 36th, tying Pittsburgh for the most in NFL history.Rams All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald topped the NFL with 20 1-2 sacks, nearly twice as many as Cowboys leader Demarcus Lawrence’s 10 1-2. Under former Dallas coach Wade Phillips, LA’s defense had 41 sacks to the Cowboys’ 39, yet the Rams had 97 more sack yards.Worth focusing on: This game could be decided on the ground, which means All-Pro Todd Gurley for the Rams and second-teamer Ezekiel Elliott for the Cowboys. Elliott won the rushing title for the second time in three years, but Gurley was sidelined late in the schedule by a knee injury. Gurley led the league in touchdowns with 21, 17 rushing.LOS ANGELES CHARGERS AT NEW ENGLANDNew England was 8-0 at Gillette Stadium, the only perfect home record in the league. And the Chargers were a league-best 7-1 on the road — some say they don’t really have home games considering they play in a temporary stadium built for soccer — and won at Baltimore last Sunday.Quarterback Philip Rivers enters Sunday’s game with a 1-7 record against the Patriots, including 0-4 in Foxborough and 0-2 in the playoffs. There is concern about leading rusher Melvin Gordon, who hurt his knee in Baltimore.Conversely, Tom Brady is 2-0 in the playoffs and 6-2 in regular-season meetings.Worth focusing on: The secondaries. If the weather is decent, Brady and Rivers will be testing defensive backfields of varying accomplishments. There often have been gaping holes in New England’s coverages, while the Chargers have an All-Pro in rookie safety Derwin James, and another standout back there in Desmond King.PHILADELPHIA AT NEW ORLEANSThey call him St. Nick around Philly, and the way Nick Foles has performed
Chuck Bednarik Jersey , why not? He guided the Eagles to the championship and was Super Bowl MVP last year after replacing an injured Carson Wentz. This time, with Wentz sidelined again, Foles got the struggling Eagles into the postseason, then helped them beat the Bears in the wild-card game.He’ll need to be plenty, well, saintly against New Orleans and its collection of Saints, the league’s top team in the regular season. Drew Brees has had perhaps the best season of his Hall of Fame-caliber career. And of all the teams coming off byes, New Orleans is the most balanced. Oh, yeah, the Saints also routed the Eagles 48-7 in November, before Philly won six of the next seven, including the 16-15 verdict in Chicago.Worth focusing on: Again, the secondaries. The Eagles have prospered despite a rash of injuries there, and the Saints’ DBs can be had when the guys up front don’t get in a QB’s face. CHICAGO (AP) — Cody Parkey sat by his locker with a glazed look, struggling to explain how he did it again.The Chicago Bears‘ embattled kicker somehow managed to nail yet another upright and hit the crossbar while missing a 43-yard field goal in the closing seconds of a 16-15 wild-card loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.“You can’t make this up,” Parkey said.It was a cruel and appropriate end to a season in which he managed to hit uprights while missing field goals and extra points six times. This one came at the worst possible moment.Nick Foles gave Philadelphia a 16-15 lead on a 2-yard touchdown pass to Golden Tate. Wendell Smallwood got stopped on a 2-point conversion run
http://www.eagleslockerroom.com/authentic-herman-edwards-jersey ;, Tarik Cohen returned the kickoff 35 yards to the 42, and the Bears (12-5) appeared to be in business.They had third-and-2 at the 25 when Mitchell Trubisky missed Anthony Miller on a deep pass down the middle. With 10 seconds remaining, the Bears turned to Parkey, hoping their kicker could extend their breakthrough season.After making three field goals earlier in the game, he sent one right between the uprights with a few feet to spare. But the Eagles called time to ice him so it didn’t count.Parkey then thought he booted a “great ball” on the next attempt. Several Eagles, however, said defensive tackle Treyvon Hester touched it.The kick hit halfway up the upright and ricocheted off the crossbar, bringing the Bears’ breakthrough season to an end.“There’s really no answer to it,” Parkey said. “I thought I hit a good ball. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it. I feel terrible, 100 percent take that loss on me. It is what it is. Sun is going to shine tomorrow. Life is going to go on. Unfortunately, it’s going to sting for a while.”At times this season, it seemed Parkey had as much success hitting uprights as he did converting kicks.He hit four while missing two field goals and two extra points in a win over Detroit at Soldier Field. He also hit one while missing an extra point in the regular-season finale at Minnesota.“I’m going to do everything I can to take the human side of it,” coach Matt Nagy said. “I think the easiest way you look at it is that you put yourself in his situation. You think he tried to miss it? No, I know that. But you’ve got to learn from it. You’ve got to figure out the why part, and he’ll do that
Womens Tommy McDonald Jersey , and we need to do that, too.”Parkey’s penchant for hitting uprights was one of the biggest mysteries this season. And his status becomes one of their biggest offseason question marks. If the Bears don’t release him, they could bring in someone to compete with him.After signing a four-year contract, Parkey was 26 of 34 on field goals, counting the playoffs. On extra points, he was 42 for 45.“It was tough,” star linebacker Khalil Mack said. “But you’ve got to learn from this. I was praying, praying real hard, but things happen for a reason. I told him to keep his head up. That’s a tough pill to swallow for a guy in that position. But that’s still a teammate, that’s your brother.”Guard Kyle Long also rushed to his teammate’s defense.“I just told him, ‘Dude, you had like half our points,” Long said. “I can’t even imagine what he’s going through. It’s a tough job. It’s a really tough job. I just wanted to make sure that he understood we all had his back. And I think every single guy in here did the same thing I did. … We lost as a team.”
Then people wonder if those four lucky clubs are going to be rusty when they return in the divisional round.The football world finds out this weekend when the Chiefs Stefen Wisniewski Jersey , Patriots, Saints and Rams get into postseason action.That January week off is coveted for a variety of reasons. Playing one less game decreases the chances of getting knocked out of the Super Bowl chase. Healing injuries is a critical piece of the puzzle. Extra time to strategize, particularly against an unfamiliar opponent, is a bonus.And yet, there’s always the question of getting stale.“I think, really, you could look at it where if you want to maintain your rhythm and your routine and being able to play — it’s been a couple weeks off —but I think the players would say that the rest is definitely the best way to go,” Rams coach Sean McVay says.“Getting as healthy as possible for us where we’re about as healthy as you could ask to be going into the divisional round. So, I know we’ve certainly looked at it as a positive. It’s been a good chance for guys to kind of get refreshed, rejuvenated. There’s a good buzz in the building this week building into Saturday night.”That would be when the Rams (13-3) host the Dallas Cowboys (11-6), who eliminated Seattle in the wild-card round.The other matchups are AFC top seed Kansas City (12-4) hosting Indianapolis (11-6 after beating Houston) to open things. On Sunday, it’s New England (11-5) at home for the Los Angeles Chargers (13-4 after winning at Baltimore), andNFC top seed New Orleans (13-3) home for defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia (10-7 after a victory at Chicago).So what if Neil Young was correct that rust never sleeps? Are the Chiefs, Patriots or Saints in need of some WD-40?New England safety Patrick Chung notes the bye was “a good time to rest up, hang out with my family, chill out http://www.eagleslockerroom.com/authentic-carson-wentz-jersey ;, get my mind off football. We’re locked in now.”Teammate Phillip Dorsett senses the opposite of rustiness: “Having a week off from football, it’s tough, but a lot of guys wanted to go back out there, it’s a big game coming up … definitely excited to go out there and start playing.”INDIANAPOLIS AT KANSAS CITYThe Colts are 4-0 in the postseason against the Chiefs, 2-0 at Arrowhead Stadium. They are on quite a roll after going 1-5, with an efficient offense that protects its quarterback better than any team, allowing sacks on only 2.7 percent of Andrew Luck’s passes. That could be a key because the Chiefs’ defense is one-dimensional, with a strong pass rush but otherwise plenty of holes.Of course, keeping pace with Kansas City’s dynamic offense led by All-Pro quarterback Patrick Mahomes is a major challenge.Kansas City scored a franchise-record 565 points, third most in NFL history. Mahomes led the league with seven games with a 100-plus passer rating (Luck was third with five). Mahomes set a franchise record for TD passes (50), touchdown-interception differential (plus-38) and 300-yard passing games (10).Worth focusing on: The tight end production for Indy’s Eric Ebron, who had 15 touchdowns this season, and KC’s Travis Kelce, second among TEs with 1,336 yards receiving. He has a catch in 79 straight games.DALLAS AT LOS ANGELES RAMSThese franchises have split eight postseason games, and the Rams are the most frequent playoff opponent for Dallas. The Cowboys last won a road playoff game in 1993 on their way to a Super Bowl title Womens Isaac Seumalo Jersey , but their next playoff victory will be their 36th, tying Pittsburgh for the most in NFL history.Rams All-Pro defensive tackle Aaron Donald topped the NFL with 20 1-2 sacks, nearly twice as many as Cowboys leader Demarcus Lawrence’s 10 1-2. Under former Dallas coach Wade Phillips, LA’s defense had 41 sacks to the Cowboys’ 39, yet the Rams had 97 more sack yards.Worth focusing on: This game could be decided on the ground, which means All-Pro Todd Gurley for the Rams and second-teamer Ezekiel Elliott for the Cowboys. Elliott won the rushing title for the second time in three years, but Gurley was sidelined late in the schedule by a knee injury. Gurley led the league in touchdowns with 21, 17 rushing.LOS ANGELES CHARGERS AT NEW ENGLANDNew England was 8-0 at Gillette Stadium, the only perfect home record in the league. And the Chargers were a league-best 7-1 on the road — some say they don’t really have home games considering they play in a temporary stadium built for soccer — and won at Baltimore last Sunday.Quarterback Philip Rivers enters Sunday’s game with a 1-7 record against the Patriots, including 0-4 in Foxborough and 0-2 in the playoffs. There is concern about leading rusher Melvin Gordon, who hurt his knee in Baltimore.Conversely, Tom Brady is 2-0 in the playoffs and 6-2 in regular-season meetings.Worth focusing on: The secondaries. If the weather is decent, Brady and Rivers will be testing defensive backfields of varying accomplishments. There often have been gaping holes in New England’s coverages, while the Chargers have an All-Pro in rookie safety Derwin James, and another standout back there in Desmond King.PHILADELPHIA AT NEW ORLEANSThey call him St. Nick around Philly, and the way Nick Foles has performed Chuck Bednarik Jersey , why not? He guided the Eagles to the championship and was Super Bowl MVP last year after replacing an injured Carson Wentz. This time, with Wentz sidelined again, Foles got the struggling Eagles into the postseason, then helped them beat the Bears in the wild-card game.He’ll need to be plenty, well, saintly against New Orleans and its collection of Saints, the league’s top team in the regular season. Drew Brees has had perhaps the best season of his Hall of Fame-caliber career. And of all the teams coming off byes, New Orleans is the most balanced. Oh, yeah, the Saints also routed the Eagles 48-7 in November, before Philly won six of the next seven, including the 16-15 verdict in Chicago.Worth focusing on: Again, the secondaries. The Eagles have prospered despite a rash of injuries there, and the Saints’ DBs can be had when the guys up front don’t get in a QB’s face. CHICAGO (AP) — Cody Parkey sat by his locker with a glazed look, struggling to explain how he did it again.The Chicago Bears‘ embattled kicker somehow managed to nail yet another upright and hit the crossbar while missing a 43-yard field goal in the closing seconds of a 16-15 wild-card loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.“You can’t make this up,” Parkey said.It was a cruel and appropriate end to a season in which he managed to hit uprights while missing field goals and extra points six times. This one came at the worst possible moment.Nick Foles gave Philadelphia a 16-15 lead on a 2-yard touchdown pass to Golden Tate. Wendell Smallwood got stopped on a 2-point conversion run http://www.eagleslockerroom.com/authentic-herman-edwards-jersey ;, Tarik Cohen returned the kickoff 35 yards to the 42, and the Bears (12-5) appeared to be in business.They had third-and-2 at the 25 when Mitchell Trubisky missed Anthony Miller on a deep pass down the middle. With 10 seconds remaining, the Bears turned to Parkey, hoping their kicker could extend their breakthrough season.After making three field goals earlier in the game, he sent one right between the uprights with a few feet to spare. But the Eagles called time to ice him so it didn’t count.Parkey then thought he booted a “great ball” on the next attempt. Several Eagles, however, said defensive tackle Treyvon Hester touched it.The kick hit halfway up the upright and ricocheted off the crossbar, bringing the Bears’ breakthrough season to an end.“There’s really no answer to it,” Parkey said. “I thought I hit a good ball. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it. I feel terrible, 100 percent take that loss on me. It is what it is. Sun is going to shine tomorrow. Life is going to go on. Unfortunately, it’s going to sting for a while.”At times this season, it seemed Parkey had as much success hitting uprights as he did converting kicks.He hit four while missing two field goals and two extra points in a win over Detroit at Soldier Field. He also hit one while missing an extra point in the regular-season finale at Minnesota.“I’m going to do everything I can to take the human side of it,” coach Matt Nagy said. “I think the easiest way you look at it is that you put yourself in his situation. You think he tried to miss it? No, I know that. But you’ve got to learn from it. You’ve got to figure out the why part, and he’ll do that Womens Tommy McDonald Jersey , and we need to do that, too.”Parkey’s penchant for hitting uprights was one of the biggest mysteries this season. And his status becomes one of their biggest offseason question marks. If the Bears don’t release him, they could bring in someone to compete with him.After signing a four-year contract, Parkey was 26 of 34 on field goals, counting the playoffs. On extra points, he was 42 for 45.“It was tough,” star linebacker Khalil Mack said. “But you’ve got to learn from this. I was praying, praying real hard, but things happen for a reason. I told him to keep his head up. That’s a tough pill to swallow for a guy in that position. But that’s still a teammate, that’s your brother.”Guard Kyle Long also rushed to his teammate’s defense.“I just told him, ‘Dude, you had like half our points,” Long said. “I can’t even imagine what he’s going through. It’s a tough job. It’s a really tough job. I just wanted to make sure that he understood we all had his back. And I think every single guy in here did the same thing I did. … We lost as a team.”