NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

When Green Bay is throwing: Aaron Rodgers has been a trailblazing, smart blast of fun since he took over the reins of the Mike McCarthy offense. Recently, things got more serious with two concussions and doubts have been planted in the minds of some of his most fervent supporters that his career will last long enough for him to reach his full potential. Right now, I’d place him as number 2 in all the NFL, a hair ahead of Peyton Manning as I think – protection being equal – Rodgers can do more and evade a rush better than Manning. Asante Samuel has returned to the line-up for the Eagles and improves match-ups across the board in MOST situations. This is not one of them. The Packers have four talented wide receivers and several decent running backs to dump off to. The Eagles pass defense has been shameful against the tight end. After not giving up a touchdown to a tight end in any of the first three games, they allowed one in seven of their next eight games. Tennessee didn’t get one but they weren’t getting in the red zone because Kenny Britt kept getting huge touchdown receptions. They closed out the year giving up Jason Witten and Kevin Boss TDs in three of the final five matches. With Samuel back there – and Rodgers less likely to take off and run when the play breaks down – he needs to avoid trying to force one on a third down if they’re behind. Edge: Green Bay.

When Green Bay is running: All in all, there have been whispers that defensive coordinator Sean McDermott is coaching for his job. There are plenty of “likable” characters on this defense, and plenty of pretty good players. Statistically, though, the trend has been up for the Packers run game and down for the Eagles run defense. You could argue that the Bears game was a strategic abandonment (7 of the 23 runs were Rodgers scrambles). Their drives were often killed by incompletions, not failed runs. Across the previous three games, the Packers rushing attack had only been stopped in the Lions game when Flynn was forced in cold off the bench and the Lions were daring him to throw. All in all, Green Bay will not get much traction against an inspired Eagles defense and it won’t matter.  Edge: Even.

When Philadelphia is throwing: The Packers defensive backs and pass-rushers are a spirited motley crue. They thrive off of attitude and energy. I actually think the crowd will serve to further enrage them. This is a team out to prove they can stop Vick after he ran on them in week 1, coached by Dom Capers who is out to prove he and his different personnel can show up in a playoff game after last year’s notorious 51-45 desert debacle in the OT. As an Anquan Boldin fan – though sometimes an apologist and closet fan of diva receivers – , I am not impressed by speedsters. The receiving corps of the Eagles is a dynamic, if not very deep group. As much as I think Jeremy Maclin is their best target, he seemed to struggle with Desean hurt in the Minnesota game (though finishing with good stats). Vick will benefit from the extra time off and – whether they limit is throws or not – will still make enough plays that he won’t be the reason they lose. This match-up of one of the elite offensive-playcallers in Andy Reid against the best defense in the NFL is one of the reasons it’s a shame this game is happening so early in the postseason. Edge: Even.

When Philadelphia is running: This Packers front seven is probably third only to the Steelers and Ravens. In the most important rushing statistic, they are just 1 TD behind the Steelers and Ravens with just 6 rushing TDs allowed. Simply put, Lesean McCoy has made his strides but I’m counting on the Packers winning the battle at the line of scrimmage. Edge: Green Bay.

PREDICTION: Barring injury, the Packers are the better team. The Eagles will need big scores but the Packers will force turnovers and have some big plays of their own. Despite what happened last week against the Cowboys, I think both teams can survive an injury to their quarterback but not at any other positions. Everyone is tuning in to see the match-up of Clay Matthews chasing Michael Vick. I’m a huge Michael Vick fan but the Green Bay offense is going to put him in a bad situation, down early. I expect long drives from Aaron Rodgers and company to limit the possessions of Vick. He’s taken a beating all year and this game will re-energize their search for new offensive linemen. Packers 31, Eagles 10.

Senior writer jclombardi: Packers vs Eagles previews, keys & game plan.

Preview:Teams: Packers (10-6) vs. Eagles (10-6). Time: 3:30 p.m. Sunday CST. Place: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia. TV coverage: FOX. The rankings: The Packers' ninth-ranked offense finished the regular season ranked No. 24 in rushing and No. 5 in passing. Their fifth-ranked defense wound up No. 18 against the run and is No. 5 against the pass. Packers injury report: S Atari Bigby (groin), OLB Frank Zombo (knee) and FB Korey Hall (knee) have been ruled out. DE Cullen Jenkins (calf) is questionable. OLB Clay Matthews (shin), LT Chad Clifton (knees), S Nick Collins (ribs), DE Ryan Pickett (ankle) and CB Charles Woodson (toe) are probable. The line: The Eagles are favored by 3 points. THE BREAKDOWN: FIVE THINGS TO WATCH–Nip and tuck: At no point this season did the Packers trail by more than a touchdown.e all season long.  The Packers found themselves in so many close games this season with half of their games decided by four points or fewer. The Packers went 2-6 in those games. Their six losses this season were by a total of 20 points. Meanwhile, much has been made of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers' 2-13 record in games decide by four points or fewer, but stats shed more light on how well he's played in close games. That the Packers under McCarthy and Rodgers are historically inclined to play in close games meaning this NFC Wild Card game is a safe bet to come down to the wire. Small ball: For awhile, the NFL's trend at wide receiver was toward big, strong, athletic playmakers. But as Philadelphia's DeSean Jackson and Green Bay's Greg Jennings prove, there's still room in the game for the little guy. The 5-foot-11 Jennings finished fourth in the NFL in receiving yards with 1,265, while the 5-10, 170-pound Jackson has been among the league's most electrifying players, whether it's on punt returns or catching passes. To win, the Packers need to make sure they keep Jackson from celebrating any sort of scores. Pressure key to Vick-tory: While Eagles quarterback put up MVP-type numbers in his first six starts this season posting a league-best 115.1 passer rating with 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions, he's struggled in his last six games with six INTs and a middling 89.8 passer rating. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Vick has been bothered by increasingly aggressive pass rushes of late. The Packers could adjust their defensive tendencies to take advantage of Vick's struggles versus extra pressure. Capers has been more aggressive of late and Woodson expects a similar game plan in this game. The real McCoy: While much of the focus this week has been on Jackson and Vick, Eagles RB McCoy could very well decide the game. The Packers went from the league's No. 1 defense against the run last season to 18^th this year. While rushing 207 times for 1,080 yards, he also led the Eagles in receptions and finished with 1,672 combined yards from scrimmage. Running the ball effectively would take some of the pressure of Vick and might get Capers to pull back on some of his blitzing, which McCoy said is part of the plan. Mr. Rodgers neighborhood: For Packers to advance, they'll likely need him to make some more big plays, especially early, as the Packers have shown a need for early explosions to get their offense humming. Rodgers had one of his worst outings of the season against the Eagles in the regular-season opener, throwing a pair of interceptions and posting a 73.1 passer rating, his second-lowest of the season for a game he finished (his rating was 34.7 after getting knocked out of that Detroit loss before halftime). Rodgers led all quarterbacks this season with 32 passing plays of at least 30 yards. The Eagles have been vulnerable against explosive passing attacks, having allowed a league-high 29 pass plays of at least 30 yards. And while the Eagles pass defense ranks in the top third of the league overall, it has been exploited in the red zone, where Philadelphia has allowed the highest passer rating (115.9) and the second-most touchdowns (23). Rodgers has excelled in the red zone this season, completing an NFL-best 65.8 percent of his passes with 19 touchdowns and just one interception.

Things to watch: INVITING TARGET: At midweek, coach Andy Reid announced that he was going back to Dimitri Patterson at RC. “He’s a mess,” an executive in personnel for a recent Eagles opponent said. “Lot of breakdowns. Just lacks speed. Can’t recover. Best underneath in zones. He’s a liability on an island. Plays very soft. When they’re in single high coverage he gives up a lot of underneath routes. He will bite on double moves.” “He is quick to support the run and he has four interceptions,” a scout said. “If you were playing a true Cover 2 where you jam the receiver and support the run and he has a short zone, he’d be a productive starter. But athletically, at the top of routes, he doesn’t match up with elite speed.”  ON THE OTHER SIDE: LC Asante Samuel, 30, is one of the most dynamic interceptors in the NFL. “Plays the game kind of his own way,” one scout said. “The only reason he lets go of his man is if he sees something and knows where the quarterback is throwing the ball. He guesses right 8½ times out of 10.” Samuel has seven picks this season. “He baits quarterbacks,” another scout said. “He plays with big cushion, then will jump it. Very good anticipation. Great ball skills. Doesn’t have great speed, but he is so instinctive. He’s got great mirror skills. He’s just not a physical guy. In the run game, he doesn’t want any part of it.” THE MAIN COURSE: Can Michael Vick be contained? “He’s been stopped.?.?.?by the Vikings,” one scout said. “He should have thrown five picks against them. They dropped three. You hit him early, get him thinking, get him looking at the rush, force him into negative plays. He should be (healthy), but if you start hitting him, who knows? I think he’s banged up pretty good. I think he’s lost a little confidence. You’ve got to pressure him from different angles and you have to disguise. The Eagles are going to have that (slot blitzes) blocked. You’ve got to change it up a little bit. I’m sure Capers knows that.” Added another scout: “I don’t think he sees the blitzes quick or reads coverages fast. I know he’s gotten better and Andy’s done a good job. Vick is banged up already. I think the Packers can get after him.” Offered a third personnel man: “(Dom) Capers can contain him, but it might take an extra person to do it. Now you’ve got to worry about the hole you leave in your zone or man coverage on the tight end. Or the back chipping and getting out and creating big plays. You’ve got to match him athletically on the edge and you’ve got to be disciplined. The difference now is he can make a lot of throws that he didn’t make before.” SPEED DEMON: WR DeSean Jackson didn’t do much of anything in the opener against Sam Shields and Tramon Williams, who played one of his best games. “Tramon Williams doesn’t run as well as he does,” one scout said. “Neither does (Charles) Woodson. They can attempt to be physical, but sometimes you’re going to reach and miss.” Another scout was asked if he’d take Jackson or Greg Jennings. “If you need a big clutch throw inside, Greg Jennings will make a play. Jackson can catch it deep.” Added a third scout: “He’s the most explosive and fastest big-play guy. He is big time. You need to be physical with him.” CHANGING OF THE GUARD: The Eagles suffered a tragic loss before the 2009 season when Jim Johnson, their defensive coordinator, died of cancer. He was replaced by Sean McDermott, one of his assistants for nine years. They’ve got young guys on defense and they’re all little. The safeties are little. (Kurt) Coleman is corner size. Samuel is little. The (linebackers) are little. (Mike) Patterson’s little.”

Keys and game plan: KEYS–QB Michael Vick took a beating the final month of the season as defenses became more aggressive and the Eagles struggled in blitz pickup. That’s a major concern against the Packers, who racked up 47 sacks. Philadelphia combats pressure with a plethora of screen passes and the mobile Vick should be closer to full strength. However, he did turn the ball over eight times in his last five starts and the Packers enter with a plus-10 turnover margin. Rodgers won’t be facing the same defense that held him to a 73.1 passer rating to open the season. The Eagles have suffered injuries at linebacker and in the secondary, where CB Dimitri Patterson has been a popular target of late and FS Nate Allen was lost for the season and replaced by fellow rookie Kurt Coleman, who lacks Allen's range. Rodgers tends to carve up blitzes and the Eagles don’t generate much pressure with just their front four, but Green Bay has to guard against becoming too one-dimensional as Philadelphia finished the regular season with 34 takeaways. GAME PLAN– Unlike the season-opening meeting between the teams in Philadelphia, Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers will have a plan in place to counter daring quarterback Vick. Containment off the edges will be imperative if Capers blitzes liberally to thwart Vick, who ran for 103 yards and passed for 175 in the Week 1 game, on bootlegs and trying to extend plays with his feet. Powerful back McCoy, who had only seven carries but gained 35 yards in the opener, also is a focal point for the defense. The Packers were mostly solid in coverage the last time around against the dynamic receiving duo of DeSean Jacksonand Jeremy Maclin, who had a combined eight catches for 68 yards and a touchdown. The rematch with the Eagles calls to mind that the Packers lost workhorse halfback Ryan Grant to a season-ending ankle injury in the second quarter of the season lid-lifter. Brandon Jackson had some success as Grant’s replacement and carried the football 18 times for 63 yards. Getting a high volume of rushing attempts is the stated goal, but coach Mike McCarthy invariably will stick with the bread-and-butter passing game against Philadelphia’s pressure-based, gambling defense. The Eagles’ propensity for playing off coverage can be exploited with quick throws from Aaron Rodgers and short to intermediate pass patterns by the receivers.

Rodgers, it’s goal to go in playoff game against the Eagles: It certainly wasn’t a bad season for Rodgers, who again placed himself among the elite quarterbacks in the NFL from a statistical standpoint. But Rodgers wanted more. ”With the way I prepared and the way I took care of my body in the offseason,” Rodgers said during a candid self-assessment earlier this week, “I guess I was looking for a slightly bigger jump.” Rodgers completed 65.7 percent of his passes for 3,922 yards with 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions for an NFC-leading passer rating of 101.2. While his numbers in some categories were down slightly from the previous season, Rodgers set the bar pretty high pretty high in 2009 with 4,434 yards and 30 touchdowns to just seven interceptions and a passer rating of 103.2 in 16 starts, one more than he had this season. But Rodgers felt there was too much inconsistency during a season in which the Packers overcame injuries to finish 10-6 in the regular season and make the NFC playoffs as a wild card. Packers coach Mike McCarthy echoed that assessment earlier in the week when he said Rodgers’ season was in line with that of an up-and-down offense. McCarthy, whose background is in offense, admitted earlier this week he believes defense wins championships. He also acknowledged it doesn’t hurt to have a great quarterback. It’s too early to call Rodgers great, but the potential for greatness is clearly there. If he has more to give, now would be a good time. Because for everything Rodgers has done in his first 48 starts since being handed the keys to McCarthy’s offense at the beginning of the 2008 season — he’s passed for 12,394 yards with 86 touchdowns and 31 interceptions in that span — the one thing missing from Rodgers’ resume is success in the postseason. He’ll have the opportunity to change that when the Packers face the Philadelphia Eagles (10-6) in an NFC playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field. ”I think the greatest quarterbacks are remembered for winning big games, but it’s not all about the quarterback,” Rodgers said. “Great teams win games, and then the quarterbacks on those great teams are often remembered as being great quarterbacks. ”We want to win. Every time we take the field we want to win. It’s important to win. That’s why we play the game. And eventually, if you want to be remembered as a great player, you’ve got to win in the playoffs.”

Rex Ryan talked all week about making it personal against Peyton Manning the Colts. He almost regretted those words. In the end though, Ryan’s wishes came true, as a Nick Folk kicked a 32-yard field goal at the buzzer as the Jets beat the Colts 17-16 to move on in the postseason.

The kick came after Manning moved the Colts into position to it seemed win the game. He got them to the Jets 33 when clutch kicker Adam Vinatieri kicked a 50-yard field goal with :50 seconds left to give the Colts a 16-14 lead.

The kickoff though gave the Jets great field position, as CB Antonio Cromartie took the kick from a yard in the end zone to the Jets 46 for a 47-yard return. Mark Sanchez then hit a big pair of passes to Braylon Edwards to give Folk a chance at the game-winning kick.

The win for New York puts them in a place they know all too well – New England. They will play a Pats team that crushed them just five weeks ago on a Monday night 45-3, as New England took over the division for the rest of the way in the AFC East.

Now they will have a chance at the Pats in the rubber match, as they were one of two teams this season to beat New England. That win came way back in week two of the season 28-14.

LaDainian Tomlinson rushed 16 times for 82 yards and scored two touchdowns, both on 1-yard runs. The Jets ground game ran for 169 yards on 38 carries, a 4.4 yards per carry average. Sanchez was just 18-for-31 for 189 yards with a pick.

Peyton Manning was 18 of 26 for 225 yards and one TD. The Colts as well as a the Saints, the two Super Bowl teams from a season ago, are both done after just one game in the wild card round, as the Saints fell earlier in the day in Seattle 41-36.

I'm not going to dwell on the Oakland game. That was then, this now. That game is in the rear-view mirror, as it must be.

I went over it in article I wrote on a different website. I give all the props to the Raiders for out-playing the Chiefs in every phase of the game. They deserved to win. They looked like the playoff team ; not the Chiefs.

They are, however, not the AFC West Champions, the KC Chiefs are.

I can come up with only one consolation for myself following the Raiders game. The Chiefs have had three bad losses this year—at San Diego, Denver and against the Raiders. After the first two losses, they responded very well the following week. This would be a really good time to continue that trend.

Now it's time to forget it, forget about Charlie Weis, forget about everything except one—the Baltimore Ravens.

The playoffs have returned to Kansas City!

Maybe it's just this one game, maybe they get by Baltimore and manage two. The point is, they're back in the playoffs and this is only the beginning for a talented, well coached young football team.

The last time the Chiefs were in the playoffs was 2006. Herm Edwards took the last remnants of Dick Vermiel's leftovers, limped into Indianapolis and got slapped by the eventual world champs.

There are striking differences between the 2006 and 2010 Chiefs.

Even with a new coach, Herm Edwards, most knowledgeable fans knew they were on the decline. The offensive line was gone, Trent Green was gone, Larry Johnson was about to be run into the ground and get arrested for mauling most of the women in KC.

Everyone knew that Carl Peterson was on his last legs as well. The "King" had been there, going on twenty years. He deserves tremendous credit for reviving the Chiefs when he came to KC, but it was time.

Then the most significant thing took place.

In December of 2006, the great Lamar Hunt passed away. It took Clark Hunt a couple of years to get his feet wet, but when he did he was the one that started building this current team.

Very simple: Peterson out, Pioli in.

The 2010 Chiefs, regardless of the outcome of the Baltimore game, are a team on the rise. They have a core of young talent on both sides of the ball, a great quarterback, a solid coaching staff and management that's making sure the players stay in KC.

The whole Charlie Weis mess is terrible timing. I've already started reading rumors about he and Haley not getting along. This will lead to things being said about Haley, again.

Ignore it. Todd Haley deserved serious consideration for Coach of the Year. Oakland assured he wouldn't get it, but his name will be on the list, rightfully.

Personally, I think Weis should go today and leave Haley and Sirianni to do the play calling for whatever games the Chiefs have left.

The Ravens are actually the last team I would have picked to come in to Kansas City. Even though that blow hard on the Jets has once again proclaimed his team the Super Bowl team, I would have preferred the Jets, or even the Steelers, over the Ravens.

Maybe that's just because I picked Green Bay and Baltimore as the Super Bowl match up in the beginning of the year, which I might add, still can't be ruled out.

The Ravens are very similar to the Chiefs on the offensive side of the ball. The Chiefs are slightly better in most categories, but there is no question the Ravens played teams far more difficult to score on.

The Chiefs will have to contain Ray Rice and pressure Joe Flacco. If they can do a consistent job of those two things, they will be able to stay in the game.

On the flip side, the Chiefs must stay out of third and long. They need to let Charles run. If they can manage that, then the play action pass becomes lethal and they have a solid chance of winning.

The Chiefs are going to have to play their best game of the season to have any chance of winning this game. The Ravens only lost four games this year. Two of those losses were by three points. The other two were by five points.

By the way, those four losses were to the Bengals, Patriots, Steelers and Falcons.

Yes, the Chiefs will need their "A" game. No matter, the regular season has ended and no matter what their schedule was, no matter how bad they got hammered in week 17, one things still remains.

The Kansas City Chiefs are still playing football this weekend, in Arrowhead Stadium and all Chief fans get one more week, or more, to cheer on their team.

This sure beats the last three years when the season ended sometime in late September.

For a fifth consecutive season, the defending Super Bowl champion ended its following season without a playoff victory.

Behind Matt Hasselbeck's four-touchdown performance, the Seattle Seahawks defeated the visiting New Orleans Saints 41-36.

Down 10 early in the first quarter, the 12-year veteran orchestrated a six-play, 57-yard drive that ended with the quarterback finding tight end John Carlson for an 11-yard score with 3:38 remaining.

Carlson and Hasselbeck weren't done.

After former Seahawk Julius Jones scored his first of two touchdowns to extend New Orleans' lead back to 10 in the opening minutes of the second quarter, Hasselbeck completed a seven-yard strike at 11:00 to a wide open Carlson after the tight end slipped and fell near the goal line and was left alone by the Saints' secondary. An Olindo Mare extra point cut Seattle's deficit to 17-14.

The Saints would lead for just three minutes and 57 seconds following the play.

Mare kicked his first of two field goals of the game, a 29-yarder, with 7:03 remaining in the first half to draw the score even.

Just under six minutes later, Hasselbeck was at it again. Facing third-and-three from the New Orleans 45-yard line, Hasselbeck aired it deep down the left side to a streaking Brandon Stokley who beat three Saints defenders to give Seattle its first lead of the game.

Hasselbeck opened the second half with his fourth passing touchdown to give the Seahawks a 31-20 lead following Olindo Mare's extra point. The play, a 38-yard connection with Mike Williams, was the wide receiver's longest reception in six weeks.

Following Seattle's 27-10 run during the game's middle two quarters, New Orleans responded.

Julius Jones took a four-yard carry into the end zone with 13:11 left. That was followed by a Garrett Hartley 21-yard field goal just under four minutes later. And, after a Marshawn Lynch 67-yard touchdown run to bolster's Seattle's lead to 11 with 3:22 remaining in the game, quarterback Drew Brees hit Devery Henderson for a six-yard touchdown pass with just 90 seconds on the clock. A failed two-point conversion kept the score 41-36.

Matt Hasselbeck finished the day with 22 completions out of 35 attempts, 272 passing yards and the four touchdown passes.

Brees, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, completed 39 of 60 pass attempts for 404 yards and two touchdowns.

Next weekend, the Seahawks head to either Atlanta or Chicago depending on who wins the Green Bay, Philadelphia Wild Card game Sunday.

Can't get enough NFLGridironGab? Follow SeahawksGab Editor Devon Heinen on Twitter at http://twitter.com/DevonHeinen.

In a game that not many saw coming, the Seahawks topped the defending Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints 41-36 to start the Wild Card weekend in the NFL.

The Seahawks, a team that needed to win last week to get in the playoffs, was the first team under .500 (7-9) to reach the postseason as the NFC West Champs.

Matt Hasselbeck threw four touchdown passes for the Hawks, this against a secondary and team that had allowed a league low 13 this season. The killer was a late Marshawn Lynch electrifying 67-yard touchdown run in the final minutes to ice the win with the Hawks holding a 34-30 lead.

The Seahawks held a 34-20 early in the fourth quarter before Drew Brees looked ready to lead the Saints (11-6) on one of their patented comebacks. But Lynch broke about a half-dozen tackles for his TD with 3:22 left as Seattle finished off the Saints.

Brees threw for 404 yards on 39-of-60 passing with two touchdowns. He got the Saints to a 17-7 lead with 13:38 to play in the second quarter, but the Seahawks rallied with Hasselbeck throwing touchdown passes to John Carlson and a 45-yard score to Brandon Stokley to give the Hawks a 24-20 lead at the half.

Seattle scored 10 third quarter points to open up a 34-20 lead, but the Saints scored the next 10 points to make it 34-30 before Lynch’s run put a nail in the Saints’ coffin.  Seattle will move on to play either the Bears or Falcons next week based on the results of tomorrow’s Packers-Eagles game.

The home team is in bold.
Packers 31, Eagles 10
Ravens 24, Chiefs 13
Jets 42, Colts 21
Saints 28, Seahawks 21

The inactive lists for this afternoon’s New Orleans Saints-Seattle Seahawks game are in:

New Orleans: RB Joique Bell, WR Adrian Arrington, TE Jimmy Graham, T Charles Brown, DT Anthony Hargrove, LB Danny Clark, S Malcolm Jenkins, S Matt Giordano

Seattle: QB J.P. Losman, T Breno Giacomini, OL Lemuel Jeanpierre, G Paul Fanaika, DT Amon Gordon, LB Joe Pawelek, CB Marcus Brown, CB/S Josh Pinkard

After trying to replace current head coach Tony Sparano all week, the Miami Dolphins now have given him a two year contract extension, through the year 2013. His previous deal was due to be up at the end of next season, 2011.

While the new extension will not pay Sparano an excessiive amount of money more than his original contract, which was worth $2.8 million. Sparano was also given an "expanded role" in roster decisions.

While I was pulling for the Dolphins to get Jim Harbaugh, that obviously did not work out. Now we have to stick with Sparano for a couple more years, so consider this contract extension his second chance at turning around this franchise, as well as an apology for our own searching for a new coach all of this week.

Sparano has a lot of work to do this off-season, among those jobs, to find a new offensive coordinator, but there is more than enough talent on the team to get Miami to the playoffs for the second time in four years.