Allgemeines » www.officialpredators.com

What America saw last weekend from the Atlanta Falcons was similar to what the team showed for 2+ quarters of last year’s Super Bowl.

Can they keep it up as they head on the road again Saturday to Philadelphia?

The Falcons have that balanced offense – if Matt Ryan is efficient – to challenge any opponents. Where they made their mark against the Rams was on defense.

”We don’t have a (complicated) defense Juuse Saros Jersey , but we are very detailed,” says defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel, a former NFL player who got the job last February. ”And the detail of expectations of understanding that they have to make our defense come to life, and they’re doing an awesome job at it.”

Philadelphia’s defense has been up and down recently, and it has dealt with a bunch of injuries. Depth has been a plus for Jim Schwartz’s unit.

The edge here belongs to Atlanta at quarterback – if Ryan is efficient – with backup Nick Foles running the offense for the Eagles. It wouldn’t be shocking to see Foles fly. Or struggle.

The Falcons are 2-point favorites over the top-seeded Eagles, a highly unusual occurrence. But one that, with Carson Wentz on the sideline, makes enough sense.

FALCONS, 23-19

Tennessee (plus 13) at New England, Saturday

The Patriots are rested. They’re supposedly ticked off. They’re pretty healthy.

And they are miles better than the Titans.

Still, let’s give Tennessee tremendous credit for how it rallied in Kansas City. The Titans showed resolve and an ability to come up with big plays on offense that few expected.

”You’ve got every team fighting to play for the next week,” Patriots safety Devin McCourty says. ”Nobody’s going to go out there – and I don’t care if you’re down, if you’re up – like no one is going to quit. So, that’s something I think we always talk about, and obviously you could see it in that game against Kansas City.”

But this one is in New England. Yes, it’s gotten tiresome to travel (and travel Youth Matt Irwin Jersey , and travel) to Foxborough for playoff games. There’ll be another one up there next weekend.

BEST BET: PATRIOTS, 30-10

Jacksonville (plus 7+) at Pittsburgh, Sunday

One thing about the Steelers: They tend to play much closer games than they should. Based on talent alone, they probably are the NFL’s most skilled squad.

Here comes Jacksonville, following an offensive stinker in beating outmanned Buffalo. Logic says this should be a rout.

Forget logic and remember that Ben Roethlisberger was so victimized in a 30-9 Week 5 loss to the Jaguars that he had one of the worst games of his career.

There’s also the Antonio Brown factor: How healthy is the unanimous All-Pro receiver, who was injured in Week 15?

Jacksonville has a staunch defense with a terrific pass rush, too. Its secondary is among the league’s best.

OK, enough of that. We can’t make a case for Blake Bortles winning in Pittsburgh.

STEELERS, 21-16

New Orleans (plus 4) at Minnesota, Sunday

What figures to be the best game of the divisional round, a redux of the Vikings’ 29-19 home victory in the season opener.

Both sides are balanced and have enough experience to handle the pressure. While the Saints have the Hall of Fame-level skills of Drew Brees at quarterback, Minnesota’s Case Keenum has been among the most pleasant surprises in the league.

Look for this one to come down to which defense asserts itself. Coach Mike Zimmer has built quite the unit in the Twin Cities.

”Well, you want to have pass rushers, you want to have guys that can cover,” he says. ”Without giving away all my secrets, I like a certain body type with guys. You can kind of look at most of them and tell what we’re trying to get. Athleticism Roman Josi Jersey , guys who can think quickly on their feet, safeties that have versatility, corners who can cover.”

Sounds like a winner.

VIKINGS, 20-17

—

2017 RECORD:

Last week: Against spread (2-2). Straight up (1-3)

Season Totals: Against spread (119-122-10). Straight up: (163-95)

Best Bet: 9-9 against spread, 10-8 straight up.

Upset special: 10-8 against spread, 9-9 straight up

—


In Carlos Martinez’s first eight starts of the year, the St. Louis Cardinals right-hander pitched at a Cy Young Award level. While his record was only 3-2, his ERA was a miniscule 1.62 and he gave up only five earned runs in a seven-start stretch.

But a strained right lat cost him four weeks, and Martinez hasn’t been the same pitcher since being activated from the 10-day disabled list on June 5. He has walked a whopping 12 batters in 7 2/3 innings, including seven on Sunday in 3 2/3 innings during a 6-3 loss at Cincinnati.

Martinez will need to be sharper Saturday night when St. Louis tries to square its three-game weekend series with the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium, where it absorbed a frightful 13-5 pounding Friday night.

Chicago (39-27) produced seven extra-base hits, including homers by Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and Ian Happ. Bryant’s two-run blast over the Cubs’ bullpen in the third snapped an 0-for-17 skid, and Schwarber’s 465-foot moonshot to center in the fifth was one of the longest homers in stadium history.

Bryant’s homer also snapped a 24-game streak without a long ball. It came after manager Joe Maddon gave him two days off in Milwaukee, followed by a schedule-enforced off-day on Thursday.

“Rest in this game cures everything,” Maddon said.

Does that work for Martinez as well? Martinez (3-3 Viktor Arvidsson Jersey , 2.50 ERA) admitted he didn’t completely turn it loose in his return outing against Miami on June 5.

He aired it out to 99 mph in his last appearance but simply couldn’t control his breaking pitches and was reduced to a one-pitch pitcher by the time the Reds touched him for four runs in the fourth inning.

While upset with umpire Gerry Davis’ strike zone, Martinez knew command was a bigger issue than what was or wasn’t being called.

“I think some of my breaking balls were not good,” he said. “I couldn’t find the strike zone with my breaking ball and cutter, too. That’s why you saw a lot of four-seamers. They hit a lot of foul balls. I missed a lot.”

Martinez has been up and down in his career against Chicago, going 4-4 with a 4.53 ERA in 24 outings, 14 of them starts. It will be his first start of the year against the Cubs.

Chicago counters with right-hander Kyle Hendricks (4-6, 3.48), who is coming off a 7-1 loss Sunday to Pittsburgh that had little to do with his performance. Hendricks permitted just three hits and a run in five innings, but Pittsburgh’s Josh Harrison led off the game with a homer. The Pirates feasted on the Cubs’ bullpen for five runs in the sixth.

Hendricks has pitched fairly well in his career against the Cardinals (36-31) with little to show for it, going 2-2 in 10 starts with a 3.32 ERA. This will be his first appearance in 2018 against St. Louis.

Chicago’s Friday outburst against Michael Wacha, who had an eight-game winning streak snapped, led to the Cardinals running up the white flag early. They removed catcher Yadier Molina after five innings and even let reliever John Brebbia take an at-bat in the ninth after using all of their position players.

“We were trying to conserve arms and get a couple of guys off their feet,” St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said.