 |
| |
|
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
EVENTS
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|
Scout's honor Veteran player evaluator Wiggin dissects Divisional games
Paul Wiggin, the Minnesota Vikings' director of pro personnel, will have a keen eye on this weekend's playoff games. Wiggin, who has spent more than 40 years in the NFL, is responsible for league-wide player evaluation and advance scouting of opponents. Wiggin breaks down the Divisional matchups for CNNSI.com:
Saints at VikingsThe Saints will beat the Vikings if... they get all three phases working again like they had last week against the Rams. What you have in the Saints is a 10th ranked offense, an eighth-ranked defense and a special teams that is ranked in the upper echelon. So what you have is an upper third team. They don't profess to be the best team in football, but they're selling hard the most balanced team in football. And they're playing with incredible intensity and emotion. At least they did for 48 minutes last week. The last 12 were a little shaky because they thought they had it in the bag. Aaron Brooks is probably the McNabb of their team. He can move the chains with his arm or feet. He's the guy who has to make things happen for the Saints to win. The Vikings will beat the Saints if... our defense can deal with the strengths of the Saints offense, mainly stopping Brooks and not letting him create big plays. And then our offense has to put up numbers this week against a dang good defense. I think probably Daunte Culpepper is the X factor for us to be explosive. I think he's the element that we have to have on the field, otherwise what we are on offense is hurting. We saw that in the latter stages of our last game against Indianapolis. And our offensive line is going to have to be a huge factor in the game. They've got two Pro Bowl picks on their defensive line and a nose tackle who is probably the most powerful pocket-collapsing nose tackle in the game, in Norman Hand.
Dolphins at RaidersThe Dolphins will win if... their system will work again. Now, Jay Fielder did throw three interceptions last week and they still won. In this game he can't have a day like that. What was surprising was he did dumb things, and one of the keys to his success this year was not doing dumb things. But they won last week because Lamar Smith off-set those interceptions with the best game of his career. The running game and defense won the game for them just as they have many times this season. Smith has got to be productive again, but I don't think you can expect another game like that. It's going to go back to being a game with great pressure on their defense, where their offense has to make everything that they can make happen, happen. The Raiders will win if... they play like the complete football team they've been all season. They're sixth on offense and the No. 1 rushing team in the NFL. And the Raiders have had some great games on defense. If Oakland puts their whole package together, they're ability to move the football both on the ground and in the air, combined with ability on defense to shut somebody down, Miami will have a real tough time surviving. On offense, what Rich Gannon does for the Raiders is he puts the parts together for them. This is his career year. The fact that he's been able to do what he's done this year and stay healthy is probably the reason they are where they are. He's done his part. He just hasn't had bad days this season.
Ravens at TitansThe Ravens will win if... they play as well as they played to beat Tennessee at home the last time, and even better. This will have to be the best and most complete game they've ever played. They're still dealing with the Titans' homefield advantage, and in the eyes of a lot of people in football, they're dealing with the No. 1 team in the game. The Titans have outscored their last three opponents by a combined 90-3. That's 30-1 per game. But Trent Dilfer played his best game at Tennessee this year, and he did a nice job last week against Denver. Brian Billick has done well with him. Everybody had this imbecile attitude about him in the past, but that may have been just the situation he was in with Tampa Bay. They're winning with him. The Titans will win if... they do what they do. It's plain and simple. If they play the defense they're capable of playing and run Eddie George at them all day long. George has to be every bit as tough as that middle linebacker for Baltimore, Ray Lewis. But I also think that if the Ravens can stop George, Steve McNair can find other ways to beat you. He moves the chains himself at critical times. And he's just a big, strong, impressive guy like our quarterback, Culpepper. And here's another thing to keep in mind: The Titans are the No. 1 defense. Baltimore is No. 2. Everybody likes the Ravens' defense, but Tennessee's defense is incredible. It's No. 1 against the pass and No. 3 against the run. Now that's big-time defense.
Eagles at GiantsThe Eagles will win if... they get it done on defense. This defense has gotten increasingly better every week. (Defensive coordinator) Jim Johnson has done an incredible job of putting together an aggressive, smart, sound package on defense. I'm really impressed with what they're doing on defense. I just think that side of it will match up very well with the Giants. On offense, Donovan McNabb has to keep it going and keep those chains moving. And that's what he does best, both by passing the ball and strategically running the ball. The bonus in the package is that they're starting to get Chris Warren to fit into what they're doing. He had 85 yards last week and I think he can take a little of the pressure off McNabb. The Giants will win if... they contain McNabb. That was the same thing Tampa Bay had to do, and the Bucs didn't get it done. But we're talking about a pretty good defensive front seven here with the Giants, too. They're in the top five. And they're at their best against the rush, whereas the Eagles are probably weakest there. On offense, Kerry Collins has to have his kind of a big day. Some games he just doesn't look at all impressive. But then he gets into a zone where he feels comfortable in the pocket, and I'll tell you what, he can throw the football and put it right where it's supposed to be. He looks to me as if he is an evolution away from what he first was in this league. He's got to have a strong game for them to beat this Eagles defense.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
