Who should you cheer for if you're glued to the couch on Sundays
instead of Saturdays? I've prepared a scientifically airtight
translation guide to help. Meet the 2016 College Football Final Four and their NFL
spirit animals!
4) Washington Huskies = Oakland Raiders
Despite high-flying offensive fireworks and some dynamic defensive playmakers, these two teams are a long shot to make it to their respective championship games. They'll need just about everything to go right, and the best case scenario is likely a shootout where they have the ball last (this would be more true for the Raiders if they had Derek Carr of course, so suspend your disbelief a little). Like Carr, Washington QB Jake Browning has a big arm that can stretch the field and put up points quickly. On defense, both of these teams live and die by their pass rushing abilities, which have been inconsistent this season. After a slow start, the Raiders' Khalil Mack has come alive and put himself squarely in the middle of the Defensive Player of the Year conversation. Oakland's defense looks a lot more anchored now that Mack is back to patrolling the line of scrimmage for stuffs and sacks. The Huskies started off their year with a bang on defense, averaging four sacks per game through their first six weeks. But now that edge rusher Joe Mathis is out for the season, they'll have to find other ways to get to Alabama's Jalen Hurts and keep him in the pocket to keep that championship appearance within reach.
3) Ohio State Buckeyes = New York Giants
Before we get started, I just want to point out that in this spot last year, I spent a whole paragraph talking about the Michigan State "Trojans". That was embarrassing but now retroactively fixed! Also, why didn't you tell me? Anyway, let's start with defense in this one, which is the foremost reason why both of these teams are going to the postseason. Both the Buckeyes and Giants made some pretty serious roster moves on this side of the ball due to the NFL draft raid for the former and a lot of cap space and room for improvement for the latter. For those reasons, neither of these teams was expected to be immediately terrifying on defense, but through December, they have two of the best secondaries in the game and are generally very stingy in points and yards allowed. That's good news because they've both taken a step back on the offensive side of the ball and just haven't been as good as with previous seasons in dialing up big plays to put points on the board. Sure, there are flashes of greatness with Odell Beckham on the outside or J.T. Barrett scrambling into an open lane, but both of these fan bases would probably have no problem with a whole lot more of that heading into the postseason than they're getting so far. Against their better opponents, they've relied on keeping the score low so that they can tire out the other side and stay within striking distance with a few extra possessions to work with. That will certainly come in handy when they face some of the bigger, better offenses in their realm in the next few days and possibly weeks.
2) Clemson Tigers = Seattle Seahawks
Just a few years ago, neither the Tigers nor the Seahawks were on anyone's radar as potential world beaters. These days, they're both perennial contenders thanks to dynamic quarterback play and some of the best defensive lines in the game. I also see some similarities in their strengths and setbacks this year. On offense, both Clemson and Seattle have struggled much more than usual this season to run the ball, so they've relied heavily on their dual-threat quarterbacks to keep the chains moving and improvise their way out of trouble at times. But there's still plenty to love about these two defenses. Despite some injuries and roster turnover, they continue to unleash holy terror at the line of scrimmage, especially against opposing runners who often find themselves stuffed or tackled for a loss. If they want to go far this postseason, they'll need to collapse the pocket consistently to limit the plays available to the many talented offenses you see elsewhere on this list. Clemson and Seattle might not look quite as dominant as they've been the past year or two, but that's only because the bar to sustain that kind of performance is very, very high. This year, and possibly many more to come, they've got plenty of talent and a growing body of experience to make a serious run.
1) Alabama Crimson Tide = Kansas City Chiefs
As I said last year, it's no fun just calling these guys the Patriots every year. We get it - they pretty much never lose and have seemingly never missed a postseason appearance no matter who's playing or how much roster turnover happens. So I'm nominating the Kansas City Chiefs instead this year for a few reasons. For one, these teams are very balanced on both sides of the ball. They can run a variety of offensive plays with the kind of misdirection that keeps defenses guessing - they've got quarterbacks who can scramble with the best of 'em, very efficient run games inside and outside the tackles, and the occasional jet sweep with their speedy receiver sets to pick up big chunks of yardage. Both Alex Smith and Alabama QB Jalen Hurts prefer to dink and dunk their way to first downs in passing situations and rule time of possession when possible. Of course, the other obvious parallel here is how good these defensive and special team units are at generating turnovers and scoring. The Chiefs lead the league in D/ST touchdowns this season, and the incredibly fast and evasive (and
truly awful) Tyreek Hill has led the way with two return TDs and over 17 yards per return. Meanwhile, the Tide have been downright historic in their non-offensive scoring ability with 13 touchdowns this year. And then there's these two teams' formidable defensive lines that can make it hard for just about anyone to keep their quarterback upright and on schedule when they collapse the pocket. Obviously the Tide have a much clearer path to a championship than the Chiefs this postseason, but they're certainly cooking from the same recipe for success.
Enjoy the games!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment