Which Game is Which?

Game Plan Friday is being prepared, but how about a little game of which is which?

Here we go where each game in the NFC Semi-Finals has a QB who has been here quite a few times versus a QB who is a bit wet behind the ears.

GAME A	Record	TDs	INTs	Rating
QB 1	12-10	39	28	85.2
QB 2	1-2	4	1	86.0

HTML Tables

OR

GAME B	Record	TDs	INTs	Rating
QB 1	9-3	31	13	104.6
QB 2	1-2	5	2	92.7

HTML Tables

So, which game is which?

Hit the Jump to reveal the exciting answers!



Game A is Dallas-Minnesota, Game B is New Orleans-Arizona.

Bet you didn't know Kurt Warner was that far superior to Favre in the playoffs.

Also, bet you didn't know Drew Brees had just 1 playoff win.

-----------------------------------------

How do we decide what makes a good running team? Is it Attempts per game?

Here is the Top 10 in that category:

Team	Rushing Att/G
1 - NY Jets	37.9
2 - Carolina	32.8
3 - Miami	31.8
4 - Cincinnati	31.6
5 - Tennessee	31.2
6 - Cleveland	31.1
7 - Baltimore	29.2
7 - New Orleans	29.2
9 - Minnesota	29.1
10 - New England	29.1

HTML Tables

Is it total yardage on the ground?

That Top 10:

Team	Rushing Yards
1 - NY Jets	2,756
2 - Tennessee	2,592
3 - Carolina	2,498
4 - Miami	2,231
5 - Baltimore	2,200
6 - New Orleans	2,106
7 - Dallas	2,103
8 - Cleveland	2,087
9 - Cincinnati	2,056
10 - Jacksonville	2,029

HTML Tables

Or, perhaps it is explosive runs? The Top 10:

Team	Runs of 20+
1 - Tennessee	24
2 - Carolina	19
2 - NY Jets	19
4 - Atlanta	17
4 - Cincinnati	17
6 - Baltimore	16
7 - Minnesota	15
8 - Dallas	14
9 - New Orleans	14
10 - Pittsburgh	13

HTML Tables

Well, regardless of how we judge what makes a team a "great running team", one thing we can see is that all 3 of these lists have 1 thing very much in common: None of them seem to have any Cowboys opponents, right? Only the teams in Bold were on the Cowboys schedule this year.

So, we think the Cowboys can stop the run, but do we really know? Yes, they are one of only 5 teams to allow fewer than 1500 yards on the ground this season, but when nobody on your schedule tries to run it (Even New Orleans, who is on the list as a fine running team was down 14 points and never had a chance to run against Dallas) it is tough to see much in the evidence.

Now, at the same time, these charts also point out that the Vikings are not the running power statistically that we might believe they are conceptually in a 1-game playoff.

I think that they will try to slow down the Cowboys pass rush by pounding the rock with Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor with runs and swing passes to the flat. If this happens, are the Cowboys as good as we think?

The game could hinge on the ability to slow down the big Vikings running game. Whether the stats for the season say it or not, I belive this is an early playoff objective for the Minnesota Vikings.

Let's see if the Cowboys are up to the task.