NFL Divisional Playoffs - Previews and odds.
1. Saturday, Jan. 10
AFC: 1:35 p.m. PST: Ravens at Patriots:
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201501100 ... ab=preview; Odds: Patriots by 7
NFC: 5:15 p.m. PST: Panthers at Seahawks:
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201501100 ... ab=preview; Seahawks by 12
2. Sunday, Jan. 11
NFC: 10:05 a.m. PST: Cowboys at Packers:
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201501110 ... ab=preview; Packers by 5.5
AFC: 1:40 p.m. PST: Colts at Broncos:
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/201501110 ... ab=preview; Broncos by 7
Game Notes
Should be four good games. The Ravens have been coming on in recent games and could give the Patriots as much as they can handle. The Ravens do have some injuries, however, and the Patriots are pretty healthy for this game. The Panthers, too, have really been looking good in the last five games, and Cam Newton seems to be past his injuries and playing well.
Both the Panthers and Seahawks are relatively healthy (ignoring the earlier season injuries that have seen players lost for the season, like Seahawks Brandon Mebane and Zach Miller). The only guy the Seahawks will miss is Jordan Hill, who is now on IR and who came on big in the interior of the D-line in the last quarter of the season. WR Jermaine Kearse, C Max Unger, and TE Cooper Helfet will be back on offense, and CB Tharold Simon on defense.
Cowboys at Packers should be a great game. The Boys have had a couple of injuries to their defensive starters, and this will make it even harder to stop Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense. On the other hand, the Packers' defense hasn't been all that great, and Tony Romo, Dez Bryant, and DeMarco Murray may put up some points. Just hope the TV crew doesn't pan away to Jerry Jones's box too often....
Colts at Broncos. I'd be very surprised to see the Colts win this one. The Broncos have found a ground game with C. J. Anderson, and Peyton Manning is seldom much less than great. On the other hand, Andrew Luck has developed into the big-game quarterback that was expected; so this could be a decent game.
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Just ran across this story about how the Seahawks are set to make Russell Wilson the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000 ... estpaid-qb
Here's the text:
One of the Seattle Seahawks' major competitive advantages is set to vanish prior to the start of next season.
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reports, via sources involved in the situation, Russell Wilson is expected to become the NFL's highest-paid quarterback when the Seahawks sign him to a long-term extension in the coming offseason.
Seattle has built the NFL's deepest and most talented roster while devoting less than $1 million per year to the starting quarterback since Wilson was drafted in 2012.
Aaron Rodgers is currently atop the NFL's salary structure, with a five-year, $110 million contract averaging $22 million annually.
Wilson's rookie contract runs through the 2015 season, but the organization intends to take care of him this year rather than next.
As a means to that end, they jettisoned Percy Harvin's inflated salary and extended the contracts of nucleus defensive starters Cliff Avril and K.J. Wright.
Wilson isn't deserving of a richer contract than Rodgers, but this is how salaries escalate in professional sports.
Just as Ndamukong Suh has the leverage to overtake J.J. Watt as the highest-paid defensive player, the Seahawks have no choice but to set a new contract bar for the steadily improving 26-year-old quarterback of the reigning Super Bowl champions and current Super Bowl favorites.
After toiling three years as the NFL's most underpaid star, Wilson is about to be rewarded as the highest-paid.
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I hope this isn't true. Wilson is a very good quarterback, but not yet in the class of Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and this kind of huge salary will strain the cap to the limit and rule out much help in free agency.