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At 4:30 Eastern, Washington travels to Seattle. John Morgan from Field Gulls states that CB Marcus Trufant can match-up with Redskins WR Santanna Moss:
[Trufant], then, is a perfect match for Moss. Trufant's coverage skills should make Todd Collins think twice before targeting Moss, and should he chuck it Moss's way anyhow, Tru has developed the ball skills and chemistry with safety Deon Grant to make him pay.
Meanwhile, on the complete opposite side of the country, TexSkin (filling in for Skin Patrol) says today's game is the worst possible opening match-up for both teams:
This is probably the worst matchup either team could have had in the 1st round. Washington is playing well going into the playoffs, but having to travel to Seattle is never easy. It is by far the biggest homefield advantage for the Wild Card round, and might be the best in the NFC.
Be sure to check out both blogs during the game.
The late game, starting at 8pm, will feature Jacksonville traveling to Pittsburgh. The Jags mauled Pittsburgh last time these two teams played a few weeks ago, and the Steelers are looking for Kill Bill-style payback.
Chris at Big Cat Country feels that the key to the Jags' success is the health of Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamolu:
Can you imagine playing the Steelers without Troy? He's the only player on defense that I absolutely worry can stop our running game. This will bear an extra close (read obsessive refreshing) watching of the Injury report later this afternoon. There's one word that I think describes the Steelers and that's a near literal use of the word Decimated. They've been reduced by a factor of nearly ten through injuries over the last few weeks. There has to be a sense of panic in Heinz field or at least the question of "why us?".
Pittsburgh fans, like Blitzburgh over at Behind the Steel Curtain, feel Ben Roethlisberger is the real key to the game:
Even if the protection isn't up to snuff, Roethlisberger still has the capability to break contain and find any of his three primary targets (Heath, Hines, Santonio). If you harken back to the first Jacksonville game, you'll remember that the protection was actually not that bad despite the 5 sacks allowed. All 5 were a result of Marvel Smith playing the worst game of his career due to a bad back. If Essex and Colon can play even B- football, and Simmons, Mahan and Faneca play well, I have faith Roethlisberger will be able to get the job done.
Chris and Blitzburgh are always entertaining, so check them out after the Skins v. Seahawks game. So, who are you rooting for? This is an open thread.
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