IDK Playoffs - Rd 2

Win on the road and go to the Superbowl. That’s as simple as Dirty Birds running back, Adrian Peterson, wants to keep it. He knows the Monkeys are also looking to clinch their 2nd straight Superbowl appearance.

“It ain’t never easy. Our division, ain’t never easy. As coach tells us, we take it one game at a time but honestly, you guys know the history, we know these guys well. We’re divisional foes and we have a lot of game tape on these guys,” Peterson said Monday. “You just want to get to the Superbowl and this weekend will allow us to do that.”

If there was a division rival, its quickly turning into the Monkeys versus the Dirty Birds. These teams have faced off in the playoffs 4 out of the last 5 years (including this year and the last two conference championship games). Despite the Monkey’s vaunted offense throughout the years, the two teams have been pretty even when it counts. The Birds knocked off the Monkeys in the 2007 Conference Championship and the Monkeys re-paid the favor in 2008. On an all-time basis, the Monkeys have the second worst team record against the Birds (the Monkeys have an inexplicable losing record to Gang Green).

“Honestly, I expect to see them now. We’ve seen them the last couple of years and they have a good team. AP and S-Jax are as good as its gonna get in this league and everyone knows about their passing game. Wes Welker, Larry Fitz and Austin Miles …. Our DBs are going to have a heck of a game on their hands,” said Monkey’s captain, Ladainian Tomlinson, during this morning’s media session.

Here’s a look at this weekend’s match up:

Quarterback. Perhaps, the greatest weakness to this Dirty Bird lineup. With Carson Palmer suffering through an injury along with difficult matchups (Minnesota last week and San Diego this week), GM Jon Yang has scoured the waiver to pick up some fillers. Last week was David Garrard. Result? 8 points. bleh. This week, sources indicate that Yang will go with Jason Campbell. Campbell has been on a bit of a tear the last 3 weeks, averaging 28 points a week. The Monkeys have also had a similar issue. GM Evan Shiue signed Brett Favre and Vince Young a few weeks back knowing that a QB rotation will become necessary. While the Monkeys have yet to officially announce their starting QB, its likely they’ll stick with co-captain, Peyton Manning. Manning has been a star this year and the Monkeys expect no different this week. ADVANTAGE: MONKEYS

Running back. For the first time in a long long time, the Monkeys backfield is no longer the dominant stable backfield that the league has become used to. This year, GM Shiue has rotated between 4 different backs this year. The Monkeys have found a superstar in Chris Johnson but with Tomlinson tailing off (slightly) and Forte having a down year, the Monkeys have found themselves turning to first year back Jamaal Charles at times. We know that CJ will be in the lineup this week but the second back remains to be seen. Tomlinson has publicly lobbied for the start but there’s a good chance that we’ll see Charles in the backfield as well. As for the Birds, the issue is less with the matchup but more health. More specifically, Steven Jackson. S-Jax ran for a season-low 47 yards last week while dealing with a back injury. Assuming S-Jax is healthy, he and Adrian Peterson form the top tandem in the league. The two have combined for nearly 2,500 yards so far this year (through 14 weeks) – good for number 2 and 3 in the league. ADVANTAGE: BIRDS

Wide Receivers. If you add Larry Fitzgerald, Wes Welker, and Miles Austin you get … the best receiving core in the league. Hands down. The three have totaled for 248 catches, 3,150 yards and 24 touchdowns! Okay, so the Birds weren’t always this good … Austin literally came out of nowhere. But when healthy, there is no better receiving core. However, there’s a catch. There always is. Larry Fitz injured his knee last week. It didn’t look good but reports (from Larry’s tweets himself!) say that he’s “sore but ok”. Monkey coaches have publicly told the media that they are preparing as if Larry will play. We’ll see. On the flip side, the Monkeys have some uncertainty. The Monkeys receivers, strangely enough, have all scored roughly amount the same number of points (about 10 points per game) and are right next to each other in the rankings. Anquan Boldin is a certainty to start. With 68 catches, 800 yards and 4 touches … Quan leads the Monkeys in catches and yards this year. Rookie receiver, Percy Harvin, who’s been dealing with migraines will also start if healthy. Harvin has reeled in an impressive 48 catches and 680 yards to go with 6 TDs as a rookie this year. The third receiver slot is the mystery. The Monkeys have Sims-Walker and Kenny Britt on the roster but its unclear who will play. Sims-Walker has had a nice year but is dealing with injury. Britt has been hot but is a rookie. Word on the street is that the Monkeys have been active on the phones with potential free agent. We’ll know soon enough…. ADVANTAGE: BIRDS

Kicker. The Monkeys have Nate Kaeding. The best and most accurate kicker this year. We’re not sure who the Dirty Birds are playing. ADVANTAGE: MONKEYS

Defense. The Monkeys have yet to declare a defense while the Birds counter with the Packers. The Packers have been a top 3 defense this year. ADVANTAGE: Incomplete.

Wow. This one will be a tough one. “With all the star power on the field muddied by the injuries, this game will be a tough game to call.” Long time ESPN analyst Chris Mortensen opined in his weekly analysis. “The Monkeys are not only dealing with injuries with their receivers, I have no clue who they’ll start in the backfield with CJ. However, the Birds have similar issues. I’m not sure if Steven Jackson can play this week and certainly Larry Fitzgerald won’t be at 100%. My guess is that both will play but the Monkeys are deeper than people think. They’ve sort of flown under the radar this year as they’ve had one of their weaker regular seasons in their franchise history (8-5 entering the playoffs). However, this is a team that still won their division and can be very very dangerous. Don’t call me on it but I say Monkeys win by at least 10 here.”

A look back...
The Dirty Birds survived a terrible week. QB, David Garrard, scored 8 points with 139 passing yards and 26 rushing yards but no touchdowns. Steven Jackson barely mustered 5 points with 47 rushing yards. Larry Fitz played little over a half after sustaining a knee injury and finished with 3 points. Despite all of this the Birds mustered 84 points on the backs of AP (26 points with 97 rushing yards and 2 touches) and another clutch game by Miles Austin (71 receiving yards and a touch). Ante Up, who had been one of the hottest teams all year, laid an egg. MVP candidate, Aaron Rodgers (A-Rod), took himself out with a 0 touchdown, 1 fumble performance resulting in 9 points. Starters, Lesean McCoy, Robert Meachem, Reggie Wayne and Chad OchoCinco had a terrible day and combined for less than 30 points. If it weren’t for young Ray Rice’s 166 rushing and 53 receiving yards performance (to go with a long touchdown)...this team would’ve scored under 70 points. Dirty Birds got lucky...but sometimes its better to be lucky than good.