2011 NFL Playoffs: 15 Questions That Will Be Answered in Round 2
The Divisional Round of the 2011 NFL playoffs gives us some very intriguing matchups.
Divisional rivals New York and New England will do battle for the third time this season, as will the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The NFC, while a bit less venomous, still produces good rematches from regular season games decided by only three points.
The Seahawks and their losing record will travel to the NFC North champion Bears while Green Bay takes its hot streak into the Georgia Dome where virtually everyone loses.
It's not the weekend yet, though, so let us take a look at 15 questions that will be answered in the 2011 Divisional Round of the playoffs.
15. How Good Can the Seattle Seahawks Be?
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Matt Hasselbeck had one of the worst statistical seasons of his career in 2010, throwing more interceptions than touchdowns for only the third time.
The playoffs, however, seem to be a different story.
While it was only one game, the 35-year-old saved his best performance of the season for when it mattered most, tossing four touchdown passes and only one interception.
Seattle stunned New Orleans at home last weekend in the Wild Card round, which begs the question: How much better can the Seahawks be?
Hasselbeck has a career 5-5 postseason record with 11 touchdowns, eight interceptions and a 79.9 quarterback rating.
The rest of team, mostly youngsters playing in their first postseasons, outdid themselves against the Saints.
The Chicago Bears are no stranger to postseason play and while their playmaking weapons on offense are not proven postseason threats, their defense is.
The Seahawks are playing with house money at this point, They were lucky to make the playoffs in the first place, but this weekend we will find out exactly how good they can be or if their defeat of the Saints was simply a flash in the pan.
14. Is Joe Flacco Ready To Become Elite?
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Joe Flacco has enjoyed a trip to the postseason every year he has been in the league.
Flacco was 3-2 as a postseason starter coming into this season with only one touchdown to six interceptions.
The Ravens were good enough to overcome his lackluster play in a few games, but not all of them.
The third-year quarterback put together his best statistical season in 2010 and rode it into the playoffs, tossing two touchdowns and achieving a 115.4 quarterback rating in the win over Kansas City.
This week, as the Ravens and Steelers renew their bitter rivalry, we will find out if Flacco is really ready to take the next step as an elite quarterback.
13. Is Mark Sanchez Capable of Helping the Jets Win?
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In his second season out of USC, Mark Sanchez improved statistically in 2010.
His inconsistent play, however, is a cause for concern with Jet fans and the coaching staff alike.
The offseason acquisitions made by New York were done to get the Jets a chance at the Super Bowl, helping Sanchez along the way.
Last year in the postseason, he performed admirably, tossing four touchdowns to only two interceptions.
Yet this season, even including the win over Indianapolis in the Wild Card game, his performance has almost cost the Jets a shot at winning.
While Sanchez has been quiet and respectful, some of the Jets, including their head coach, have a lot to say in regards to the upcoming game against the New England Patriots.
Sanchez will have to prove he is worthy of quarterbacking this Jets team this week against New England, because while the rest of his teammates seem to be getting the job done, he is not.
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12. Can the Chicago Bears Protect Their Quarterback?
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No quarterback in the NFL was sacked more than Chicago's Jay Cutler.
With 52 sacks on the season, he was sacked 12 more times than the No. 2 guy, Joe Flacco.
Even so, Cutler still finished the regular season with an 86.3 quarterback rating and helped the Bears to a No. 2 seed in the NFC.
The Bears' opponent this week, the Seattle Seahawks, recorded the fourth most sacks of the playoff teams left in contention, with only the Packers besting them in the NFC.
Last week against New Orleans, the Seahawks only got one sack on Drew Brees on 60 pass attempts, but hit him four other times and knocked down seven passes.
Chicago gave up six sacks and 10 quarterback hits in a loss to Seattle in Week 5 of the regular season.
The Bears better find a way to give Cutler more time this weekend.
11. Is the Patriots Running Game For Real?
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Aside from Tom Brady lighting the league on fire this season, the Patriots also found ways to run the football.
Averaging 123.3 yards per game, New England was ninth in the league in rushing during the regular season.
The Patriots also scored 19 rushing touchdowns, which was second in the league.
New England has been the best team in the league this season and while Brady and the passing attack may be enough to win games, a successful ground game will certainly help.
The Patriots will get a good test of their running ability when the Jets visit this weekend; they only give up 90 yards per game on the ground.
10. Is Pete Carroll Building a Winner?
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This season is already a success for Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks.
After losing five of their last seven games, the Seahawks managed to sneak into the playoffs with a 7-9 record, then stun the Saints in the Wild Card game.
Seattle, which only won nine games in the previous two seasons combined, now has a division title under its belt in Carroll's first season.
We have seen this stint with Carroll before though.
In three seasons with New England between 1997-1999, he compiled a 1-2 postseason record before being fired.
The outcome of this weekend's game, win or lose, could give us some indication of what Carroll is going to do this time around.
9. Is Atlanta Really a Place to Avoid?
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Atlanta is 20-4 at home over the last three seasons and two of those losses were without Matt Ryan due to injury.
Over the past three seasons, Atlanta has been a force at home but has not hosted a playoff game since 2004.
The Falcons only loss at home this season was to the defending champion New Orleans Saints.
The other two losses this season were to playoff teams, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, in the first six weeks of the season on the road.
Atlanta has not run the ball the way they used to, averaging only 3.8 yards per carry, and they had home games against Carolina, Arizona, San Francisco and Cincinnati this season.
The Falcons have been good, but they have not been that good, and we will find out this weekend if they are really a team to fear at home.
8. How Far Can Clay Matthews Bring the Packers Defense?
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The two-time Pro Bowler has been as good as any defensive player in the league in his first two seasons in the NFL.
Matthews recorded 13.5 sacks this season as the Packers were the NFL's second-leading team in taking down the quarterback.
The Packers defense held opponents to only 194 yards passing throughout the season.
Matthews also knocked down five passes, took his only interception of season to the house and forced two fumbles.
Opposing offenses always have to account for Matthews and as the Packers continue on in the playoffs, his performance will be crucial to how far they will go.
This week will be a good test as the Packers will have to disrupt Ryan to give them a chance to win.
7. Is Tom Brady Getting Even Better?
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Tom Brady put up the most dominant statistical season ever in 2007. Now in 2010, he is actually better than he ever was.
His 34 touchdowns and four interceptions were tops in the league for both categories and Brady has masterfully orchestrated his offense to a 14-2 record while averaging 32.4 points per game.
Brady's play this season easily warrants his selection as the league's MVP and there seems to be no stopping him as of late.
He has not thrown an interception since Week 6 of the season and looks as unstoppable as any player has in recent memory.
6. Can John Harbaugh and The Ravens Break Steelers Rule in Rivalry?
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Since Flacco and Harbaugh came on board with the Ravens in 2008, they have only beaten the Steelers twice in seven opportunities.
Mike Tomlin and the Steelers won the Super Bowl in 2008 and beat the Ravens in the AFC Championship Game to get there.
This season the pair split their meetings by three points each time with the road team coming out on top.
The Steelers have only lost four games this season and ironically three of them have been at home to the three other teams still alive in the AFC Playoffs.
The game will be brutally physical and records mean little with these two teams, but with a shot at the Super Bowl only one more game away, everything is on the line.
Baltimore has won two of the last four and the trend has been Steelers-Ravens-Steelers-Ravens-Steelers for the last five games; the Ravens will be hoping the trend does not stop them despite never having beaten the Steelers in the playoffs before.
5. Will Jay Cutler Ever Learn?
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First of all, it will start with the offensive line keeping Jay Cutler on his two feet rather than his back.
If that happens, it will be on Cutler to prove he can win an important football game and not chuck it away in the red zone.
Cutler has never been to the postseason in his five years in the league.
He has thrown 104 touchdowns and 79 interceptions, but in Chicago he has thrown 50 touchdowns and 42 interceptions.
As the Bears finished the season 2-2 with three games against playoff teams—New York, New England and Green Bay—Cutler has thrown six touchdowns with six interceptions.
The Bears have the upper hand playing at home against a Seattle team that played far above itself to get there.
This week we will find out if Cutler can keep himself under control in a playoff atmosphere.
4. Can Aaron Rodgers Carry the Packers?
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Aaron Rodgers has proved all season long that he is the engine that makes the Packers go.
He was phenomenal in his only other playoff start—a 51-45 loss to the Cardinals in 2009—and he won his first playoff game a week ago in Philadelphia.
The Packers now go into Atlanta, a place they lost earlier this season on a last second field goal, to try and beat Matt Ryan and the Falcons.
Rodgers threw 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions this season and he has been everything to the Packers offense.
He hasn't blinked with the Packers offense on his back so far this season. This week we will find out if he has what it takes to potentially roll to the Super Bowl.
3. Is Matt Ryan the Real Deal?
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A 21-2 record at home as a starting quarterback is as good as it gets.
Ryan threw 28 touchdowns and only nine interceptions this season. He effectively carried the Falcons to the top seed in the NFC on his arm.
Now in the playoffs against another quarterback who has the hopes of his team on his shoulders, Ryan will have to prove he belongs.
Ironically enough, Ryan's only playoff loss was also to the team that beat Rodgers, the Arizona Cardinals.
Atlanta and Green Bay are about to go toe-to-toe, but really it will be Aaron Rodgers or Matt Ryan that will have to propel his team to the next level.
2. Is Ben Roethlisberger Closing in on Tom Brady?
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Roethlisberger and Steelers have won two Super Bowls since he joined the league and this season, they're going for three.
Tom Brady is 14-4 in the postseason with three Super Bowl rings.
Roethlisberger, at 8-2 in the postseason, is setting his sights on another ring, with Brady potentially standing in the way.
While his numbers are not Brady material and his demeanor is certainly different, he has two Lombardis in the past five years while Brady has not won since 2004.
This week, when Roethlisberger leads the Steelers against the Ravens, it could be the start of his assault on another ring.
1. Will Rex Ryan and the Jets Ever Shut Up?
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When the Jets got destroyed in Foxboro by 42 in early December, Ryan was still jabbering at the end of the game.
As the Jets get ready to take on the Patriots again in Foxboro, the trash talk is still flowing out of New York like water out of a faucet.
The Patriots continue to take the high road while Ryan and the Jets won't shut up.
If a 42-point regular season loss cannot shut New York's mouth, what do Brady, Belichick and Patriots have to do stop the chatter?
This week we will find out if talk is really cheap or not.
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