This is how it used to be. Late April. Red Sox winning early season games. Bruins winning playoff games. Celtics winning playoff games. Non-stop action day after day, weekend after weekend.
It hasn’t been like this in these parts since the late ‘80s. Back when Boggs and Greenwell and Clemens performed for the Fenway faithful. Back when Bird and McHale and Parrish patrolled the parquet. Back when Neeley and Bourque and Moog skated around the Garden ice.
For too many years, the arrival of spring meant that the sneakers and skates would be put in the garage until the fall. The green uniforms and the black-and-gold sweaters would go back in the closet until summer came and went.
Spring became a four-letter word for the sports fan, used only in conjunction with anger-inducing phrases, such as spring cleaning or spring ahead (when we lose an hour of sleep). We’d have the Red Sox once a day and the occasional NFL nugget about the Patriots. And that would be it.
Once in a while the Bruins or Celtics would make some waves. The Celtics actually made the Eastern Conference Finals in 2002. But every fan knew that an appearance in the NBA Finals would have made them the punching bag for the far superior Western Conference entry. And the Bruins finished first or second in their conference three times since 1992, but lost in the first round all three times—twice to their division rival, the Montreal Canadians.
But this year is unlike any in Boston sports history. The Red Sox—the most beloved and formerly most cursed of Boston franchises—are the defending World Series champions for the second time in four years. And many pundits expect them to challenge for the title again this season. Through 21 games they have the best record in the American League (14-7) even after starting the season in Japan as part of a seven-game road trip.
The Celtics set the record for the best single-season turnaround (42 games) in NBA history, finishing the year a league-best 66-16 (the 3rd best record in the franchise’s storied history). Even though they play in the “weaker” of the two NBA conferences, their 12-4 record against the Western Conference playoff teams is seen as a sign that the Celtics will be a force to reckon with in the playoffs. The trade that brought Kevin Garnett here has reinvigorated the team and the fan base. Some are already searching the rafters of the Garden for a spot for championship banner number 17.
And then there are the Bruins. This once-great franchise has won just one playoff series since 1995, getting bounced in the first round 6 times while missing the playoffs entirely on 5 other occasions. The fans have been loudly critical of the team’s penny-pinching owners, and the game of hockey is a distant fourth (or worse) as the sport of choice in the city of Boston. But one more win would go a long way toward changing (or at least improving) their standing as a fan favorite. And as recently as two years ago, an 8th-seeded team (the Edmonton Oilers) advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. Could history repeat itself once more?
In the last six years, the Patriots have won three Super Bowls and the Red Sox have won two World Series. Meanwhile, the Celtics and Bruins have sat on the sidelines, also-rans to the big boys. But now they have thrust themselves into the spotlight.
Since Thursday the Red Sox have won 5 straight (including back-to-back come-from-behind wins on Saturday and Sunday and this morning’s win in the annual Patriots’ Day game), the Celtics won their playoff opener in a laugher over Atlanta, and the Bruins have won back-to-back must-win games to force tonight’s Game 7 against Montreal.
Every day there’s one or two big games on for Boston fans. Some nights feature remote-testing-channel-flipping the likes of which we haven’t seen in a long, long time. The Red Sox announcers talk about the Celtics while the Celtics announcers talk about the Bruins. Red Sox players show up at the Celtics’ game to show their support. The good old days are here again. It’s almost enough to help us forget that the undefeated Patriots lost the Super Bowl to the Giants.
Even with that painful loss to the Giants in February, it’s been an embarrassment of riches for Boston fans lately. I often wonder how fans in places with only one team cope with the end of the season. If you live in San Antonio, who do you root for in the summer months? And in Green Bay—is there anything else after football? And yet the Boston fan must choose between a Bruins playoff game and the Red Sox on TV on the same Saturday night!
There was a time in the not-so-distant past that our professional sports teams were in historic championship droughts. The Red Sox went 86 years between World Series championships and the Patriots spent the first 41 years of their existence watching other teams win the biggest game of all.
But we’ve enjoyed six years of unparalleled success, which leaves us wanting even more. The Super Bowl XLII loss and the previous year’s AFC Championship Game loss to the Colts hurt just as badly as they would have if the Patriots had 0 Lombardi trophies in the closet. And when a Red Sox player or manager does something that angers a fan—it’s as if it’s been 186 years since the last World Series win and not 186 days.
So we Boston fans will be pulling with everything we have for the Bruins tonight. After all, it’s been 36 years since they last won the Stanley Cup. And we’ll be rooting for the Celtics in the coming weeks. 1986 was the last title for them. The Red Sox and Patriots have done us proud, but we’re itching for more championship hats and T-shirts and DVDs to add to our collection. We’ve been to the mountaintop with our other teams, and we want to get back there once again.
That’s what ESPN’s Bracketologist, Joe Lunardi, said three years ago when I emailed him this entry. Gene Wojciechowski and a host of other national scribes are on board as well. I’ve pulled this one out from the back of the freezer, defrosted it, and updated it with teams and scenarios from this year’s tournament...
With the announcement of the brackets for the Division I Men’s basketball tournament comes the annual gnashing of teeth about (and by) teams that weren’t selected. Arizona State, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, and Illinois State, on the “bubble” for gaining entry to the tourney, weren’t picked. On the other hand, Villanova, Kentucky, and St. Joseph’s made it through the selection process to join the field of 65.
But there are two other schools where folks should be complaining: Coppin State and Mount St. Mary’s. You see a few years ago, the NCAA—in its infinite wisdom—decided to expand the field from 64 teams to 65 (presumably to quell the anger of the bubble teams). Tomorrow night Coppin State plays Mount St. Mary’s in a “play-in” game. The winner joins the big boys in “Bracketville.” The loser goes home, having not actually played in the NCAA tournament.
Granted, these are the two worst teams in the field. Either team would probably get trounced by North Carolina or Memphis. But that’s not the point. These two teams did what the NCAA asked them to do: They won their conference tournament, gaining an automatic bid into the March Madness field. And yet, teams who finished with sub-par records and spent the final weeks of the season on the bubble get to participate, no questions asked. So instead of making the trip to Denver or Anaheim to be part of the festivities of the NCAA Tournament, these two teams catch the red eye to Dayton to play in front of a half-empty stadium.
Just like the other 63 teams in the field, these two teams have great stories to tell about their road to the tournament. But for the team that loses tomorrow night, it will be as if they never even existed, because this game is possibly one of the least-watched sporting events of all time.
No offense to either of the schools involved, but does anyone watch this game? Does anyone care? I’m guessing that It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown attracts more viewers tomorrow night. Heck, more people will probably watch the Family Guy marathon on TBS. Most people don’t even consider these two schools when filling out their brackets. (How many times has someone looked at you with that blank stare when trying to figure out where the 16th seed college named “Play-in” is located?)
If I were the Czar of Sports (which, by the way, I am still submitting my resume for), things would be different: The day after the Super Bowl would be a holiday, there would be a Division I-A college football tournament, and there would be no play-in game for the NCAA Tournament. Instead, there would be three more teams added to the field for a 68-team tourney. There would be four “Bubble Buster” games, two each at different sites, making the match-ups far more intriguing than tomorrow night’s game.
Using Joe Lunardi’s final Bracketology report (a great resource for college hoops junkies) as a guide, along with the teams everyone has been talking about ad nauseam since Selection Sunday, I’ve come up with four potential games we could be looking forward to tomorrow night instead of the play-in game.
Keep in mind that since all of the seeds from 13-16 (except for Cinderella Georgia out of the SEC) are conference tournament champs from lower-tier conferences (i.e., a bunch of schools you may never have heard of), the final “at-large” teams selected by the committee were three of the 11 seeds and one 12 seed. I’ve selected those four teams as well as four teams who just missed out on making the field. Oh, and since the selection committee either loves controversy or can’t avoid it, I’m still not putting Arizona State in the field. Just for kicks.
Without further ado, here are the fourth annual “Bubble Buster” games (as drawn by the Can’s trusty illustrator, Rob). Round 1 of the tournament would go this way in my world:
Virginia Tech can make one of the biggest cases for getting snubbed this year, but in my field of 68, Virginia Tech gets a chance to advance into the field of 64. Their opponent is Kansas State, whose early exit from the Big 12 tournament really impacted their resume. This is the first game of the day, with the winner moving on to face USC in the tournament.
Game 2 of the Dayton Bubble Busters is a doozie. St. Joseph’s clearly had a better resume than Temple, as they ended up with a higher seed. They’ll take on Ohio State, who beat tournament entrants Purdue and Michigan State to finish their season but fell to Michigan State in the Big 12 tournament. One of the biggest arguments against the “Bubble Buster “system is that it would give teams such as Oklanhoma—seeded 6—an advantage since the team they end up playing would lack rest. But I think everyone can agree that Georgia blew a whole in that theory this year, as they won three games in two days against “more rested” opponents.
This game moves out to Denver since Dayton is prominently involved. The Flyers battled in the tough Atlantic-10 conference but fell to Xavier in the conference tournament, while Villanova won a “play-in” game with Syracuse only to fall to Georgetown in the Big East tournament. With Clemson awaiting the winner, this could be the game of the day.
This one could be worth staying up late for. Kentucky, 12-4 in the SEC but firmly on the bubble heading into Selection Sunday, will have to get past Illinois State to make it to Anaheim to face Marquette. The Illinois State Redbirds, out of the Missouri Valley Conference, must have been hurt by their 30-point loss to Drake in their conference tournament, but with Drake receiving a 5 seed, Illinois State must have been close to the cut line.
There you have it. Perfect? No. Better than the current system? Heck yes. A couple of notes: All of the winners of these games would play on Friday and not Thursday (to give them a little breather); the losers could be the top four seeds in the NIT; folks running office pools would have to make the decision of whether or not to include these games in their pools.
Someday, common sense will prevail and the NCAA will put a system such as this one in place. Until then, I’ll keep dreaming about becoming the Czar of Sports (feel free to contact your Congressman and demand action on this). And if you think I’ll be watching Coppin State vs. Mount St. Mary’s tomorrow night, you’re crazy.
42 days. That’s how long it’s been since the undefeated New England Patriots lost Super Bowl XLII to the New York Giants. I’ve been in a dispirited depression ever since.
It hasn’t been as deep and dark a depression as the ball rolling through Buckner’s legs and the collapse of the ’86 Red Sox. But it has definitely left a taste in my mouth worse than the post-2003 Red Sox did.
I’ve been angry more than anything else. Angry at the way they played. Angry at the way they were coached. Angry that they took us on that incredible ride that would only remain memorable if they finished they job. Now instead of an historic season, Patriots fans are left with what ifs and sad reminders of one lonely loss.
It’s not often that you look back on your team’s season and think, “Man I wish they had lost a game.” But that’s how Patriot fans feel. Undefeated is now a four-letter word. If they had lost that rabbit-out-of-a-hat game to the Ravens, they probably finish 14-2 and maybe the weight of the undefeated season is no longer on their backs. Instead they played their hearts out in Week 17 against the Giants, more than likely gave the Giants the confidence they needed to make their run, and are now a footnote to history.
The fact that it was the Giants is almost implausible to think about. Eli Manning is viewed as a hero. The Giants are the ones that rode the wave to victory, even though they won their four playoff games by a combined 20 points and easily could have given the Super Bowl away several times during their final drive.
But there’s Eli and his fellow Giants in that Nike commercial, in slow motion replaying what was one of the greatest plays in NFL history. My friends and I keep calling it the Super Bowl that never happened. But it did happen. There’s no denying it.
Patriots fans are left with nothing but questions after their team’s pathetic performance. Why didn’t they change their gameplan to suit what the Giants were doing, as they had done for 18 straight games? Why on earth did Belichick go for it on 4th-and-forever—something he’s never done as Patriots coach? Why couldn’t Richard Seymour hold onto Eli Manning on that fateful play? How could Rodney Harrison not jar the ball lose from David Tyree? Why didn’t Asante Samuel catch the damn ball? Why did Ellis Hobbs fall down? Why couldn’t Randy Moss stretch just a little more for Brady’s long bomb? And why did Joe Buck and Troy Aikman sound as if they were broadcasting from the 15th green at the Masters instead of doing one of the most exciting Super Bowl games ever?
Last year the Patriots lost a game they could have won against the Colts in the AFC Championship Game. They could have come away with a Super Bowl win in a year they probably didn’t deserve it. This year they put together a team for the ages and blew their chance in the biggest game of all. That’s two straight years of disappointment. These chances only come along so often, even when your quarterback’s name is Tom Brady and your coach’s name is Bill Belichick.
The draft is coming up in early April, and March Madness and the beginning of the baseball season will keep us occupied in the meantime. But Patriots fans will have to deal with more Spygate talk and the fact that their team couldn’t complete an historic season for a long, long time.
All week long we’ve heard that Eli Manning has turned the corner and how Super Bowl XLII compares to Super Bowls XXV (the Giants upset the high-scoring Bills 20-19), XXXIV (the Greatest Show on Turf Rams barely beat Tennessee 21-14), and XXXVI (the underdog Patriots beat Greatest Show on Turf 20-17).
Meanwhile, others are wondering where the Patriots fit in NFL history as one of the greatest teams of all time. If that’s the case, shouldn’t we comparing this game to Super Bowls VII (the undefeated Dolphins beat the Redskins 14-7), XX (the Bears and their 46 defense trounce the Patriots 46-10), and XXIV (the 49ers win back-to-back Super Bowls and destroy Denver 55-10)?
Great teams finish their seasons with an exclamation point. Since the Dolphins went undefeated in 1972 (and very nearly pitched the only shutout in Super Bowl history), teams with 1 loss in non-strike shortened seasons are 3-0 with an average score of 39-13. If we include teams with 2 losses and 3 more regular season wins than their opponents, the record is 6-1 by an average score of 37-17.
The lone loss? The 2001 Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, who lost to Bill Belichick’s Patriots. And let’s not forget who the defensive coordinator was for the Giants when they upset the Bills in Super Bowl XXV—none other than Bill Belichick. People can compare this game to Super Bowls XXV and XXXVI all they want, but Belichick is on the other side of the field, coaching the juggernaut instead of the underdog.
So if this undefeated Patriots squad truly is one of the greatest of all time, how will they cap off this unprecedented season? What will the highest scoring team of all time and the first undefeated team in 35 years do for an encore to their 18-game winning streak? Winning the Super Bowl is a given, right? But for this team to put the proper exclamation point on this season, they need to do something historic in Super Bowl XLII.
If the Patriots that mercilessly pounded teams into submission with surgical precision (see weeks 7, 8, and 11) shows up, there’s a good chance some records could fall. I think matching the 1940 Bears’ 73-0 wipeout of the Redskins is out of the question. But there are a few Super Bowl-era records that the Patriots could challenge against the Giants:
Most Points Scored 55 - San Francisco vs. Denver (XXIV)
The Patriots scored 56 against Buffalo in Week 11 and 52 against Washington in Week 8. They scored 40 or more four times and 30 or more 13 times (including the playoffs). They dropped 38 on the Giants in Week 17—after scoring only 3 in the 1st quarter.
Largest Margin of Victory 45 - San Francisco vs. Denver, XXIV (55-10)
In the aforementioned Buffalo and Washington games, the Patriots won by 46 and 45 points, respectively. They held opponents to 10 points or fewer in four of their games, which they will more than likely have to do to beak this record.
Most Touchdown Passes 6 - Steve Young, San Francisco vs. San Diego (XXIX)
Tom Brady threw an NFL-record 50 touchdown passes this season, including 6 against the Dolphins in Week 7. He also threw 5 in one game twice. Only once all season did Brady go three straight games without throwing at least 4 touchdowns in one game—his last three games.
Most Touchdown Catches 3 - Jerry Rice, San Francisco. vs. Denver (XXIV) and vs. San Diego (XXIX)
Randy Moss caught an NFL-record 23 touchdown passes this season, including 4 against the Bills in Week 11. He caught 2 touchdowns in another 7 games (once against the Giants in Week 17). In only three games during the regular season did Moss have 0 touchdown receptions. Not only has he caught 0 touchdown passes in the playoffs, he only has two catches. He’s knocked Jerry Rice out of the record book once this year. Could he do it again in the Super Bowl?
Most Touchdowns 3 - Roger Craig, San Francisco vs. Miami (XIX); Jerry Rice, San Francisco. vs. Denver (XXIV) and vs. San Diego (XXIX); Ricky Watters, San Francisco vs. San Diego (XXIX); Terrell Davis, Denver vs. Green Bay (XXXII)
See the previous entry.
Highest Completion Percentage 88% - Phil Simms, NY Giants vs. Denver (XXI)
Simms’ 22-of-25 performance in Super Bowl XXI is the standard for perfection by a quarterback in a Super Bowl. It was also the playoff record—until three weeks ago when Brady completed 26-of-28 (93%) against the Jaguars. And his two incompletions were two drops.
Most Passing Yards 407, Kurt Warner, St. Louis vs. Tennessee (XXXIV)
Brady’s high this season was 399 against the Steelers in Week 14. He threw for more than 350 yards in six different games, including 356 against the Giants in Week 17.
Most Receiving Yards 215 - Jerry Rice, San Francisco vs. Cincinnati (XXIII)
Moss had 183 receiving yards in Week 1 against the Jets and had 120 or more five times.
Most Receptions 11 - Dan Ross, Cincinnati vs. San Francisco (XVI); Jerry Rice, San Francisco vs. Cincinnati (XXIII); Deion Branch, New England vs. Philadelphia (XXXIX)
Yes, that’s Brady’s former teammate Branch you see on this list, so we already know that Brady’s capable of completing 11 passes to one player. But it’s not just Randy Moss that could challenge this record. There’s also this season’s receptions leader—Wes Welker. Welker caught 13 passes against Philadelphia in Week 12 and twice caught 11 passes—once against the Giants.
Most Points After Touchdown 7 - Mike Cofer, San Francisco vs. Denver (XXIV); Lin Elliott, Dallas vs. Buffalo (XXVII); Doug Brien, San Francisco vs. San Diego (XXIX)
Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski was a perfect 74-for-74 on extra points this season and has missed just one PAT in his two-year career.
Most Yards Gained 602 - Washington vs. Denver (XXII)
The Patriots averaged 411 yards per game this season, piling up 510 against the Bills in Week 11. They were held under 300 just once (against the Jets in frigid and windy conditions in Week 15).
There’s also Most Points, Each Half (1st: 35 and 2nd: 30) and Most Points, Each Quarter (1st: 14, 2nd: 35, 3rd: 21, and 4th: 21) within reach of these record-setting Patriots.
The more I’ve read and watched of the Giants this week, the more they remind me of the 1985 Patriots, as opposed to the 2001 Patriots (or the 2005 Steelers). And that’s no knock on these Giants or the ’85 Patriots (I wrote about them two years ago during the ’05 Steelers’ run). That team was better than many people remember, and went on a postseason thrill ride against some quality competition.
But then they met a buzz saw in the Super Bowl—one of the greatest teams of all times. On that particular day, no team in the NFL could have kept pace with the Bears. The same fate that befell all the opponents of the “greatest teams of all time.” The same fate that awaits the Giants against the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.
My prediction: Patriots 63, Giants 17. Brady throws 7 touchdowns. Moss catches 4. They attack the Giants and the record book without mercy. And they put the exclamation point on Super Bowl XLII and an undefeated season. Because that’s what the great teams do.
You don’t live in the Northeast, you’re not a fan of the Patriots or Giants, so think you have no reason to watch Super Bowl XLII? Or you want to watch the game but need to convince a loved one that it’s worthwhile? For those of you plagued with having to find reasons to watch Super Bowl XLII, here are 42 of them:
I. History will be made no matter what. If the Patriots win, it will be the first 19-0 season in NFL history. If the Giants win, they will become the first team to defeat an 18-0 team in NFL history. You wouldn’t miss the moon landing, why would you want to miss Super Bowl XLII?
II. Tom Brady’s ankle. After all of the hype these past two weeks, you want to see if he’s really hurt, right?
III. Two quality NFL teams playing in Arizona at the same time. The 31 wins the Giants and Patriots have combined is 3 more than the Cardinals’ franchise has won in the last five years combined.
IV. More than six hours of pregame festivities on FOX, including Grammy award winer Alicia Keys.
V. If you aren’t familiar with any of the offerings that FOX shows on its network, you’ll more than likely catch 175 different promos for everything from American Idol to Prison Break to The Moment of Truth.
VI. With the writers’ strike dragging on and on, Super Bowl XLII is one of the few new shows on the air right now.
VII. North America’s most state of the art stadium—The University of Phoenix Stadium—is hosting the Super Bowl. Not only does it boast a retractable roof, but it also has a playing surface that can be wheeled outside.
VIII. Just how good is the University of Phoenix’s football team? You’ll find out by watching the Super Bowl. What’s that? The University of Phoenix doesn’t have a football team? The online college bought the naming rights to the stadium? Well, that’s weird, right?
IX. You wouldn’t want to miss it if Gisele Bündchen shows up.
X. The Patriots’ offense vs. the Giants’ defense. The Patriots set an NFL record this season by scoring 589 points. Meanwhile, the Giants’ defense led the league in sacks.
XI. The Giants’ offense vs. the Patriots’ defense. Against the Chargers, the Patriots’ defense forced three field goals on San Diego’s three red zone trips. But in their Week 17 meeting, the Giants scored 28 points against the Patriots’ defense—the most New England allowed to any offense this season.
XII. $2.7 million will be wasted every 30 seconds. That’s how much the commercials went for this year.
XIII. Reigning American Idol winner Jordin Sparks will be singing the National Anthem. And Randy, Paula, and Simon won’t be critiquing her.
XIV. Fighter jets. Timed to coincide with the end of the National Anthem, of course. What’s better than a pregame flyover, especially in HD?
XV. The coin toss. Have you ever seen so much excitement surrounding a quarter thrown in the air? And if the game goes into overtime (no Super Bowl ever has—yet), you’ll see an even more exciting coin toss.
XVI. If Super Bowl XLII does go overtime, and one team wins without the other team touching the ball, we might finally see the NFL change its sudden death overtime system. Might I suggest Modified Sudden Death?
XVII. After watching hours upon hours of Super Bowl recaps, it will be good to watch an actual football game.
XVIII. Beer and football. This is the only day all year that drinking beer and watching football isn’t just encouraged, it’s mandatory.
XIX. You’ll get to see the Manning family on display. Eli’s playing in the Super Bowl. His brother Peyton will probably be in every other commercial during the Super Bowl. Archie will probably be in the house as well. The Manning family is hotter than the Kardashians right now.
XX. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will call the game on FOX, and as long as Buck keeps his emotions in check, it should make for an enjoyable broadcast.
XXI. The NFC entrant. The NFC has only won two of the last 10 Super Bowls. You wouldn’t want to miss it if the tide turned this year, would you?
XXII. The over/under. 53½ is the Vegas line for this one. There could be a lot of points scored on Sunday. And chicks dig the long ball.
XXIII. Brady to Moss. Tom Brady set the NFL record for touchdown passes in a season this year with 50. Randy Moss set the NFL record for touchdown receptions in a season with 23. Moss has not caught a touchdown pass in his last two games, which means for him to match his season average of 1.44 touchdown passes per game in the playoffs, he’ll be looking to catch at least four touchdown passes in Super Bowl XLII.
XXIV. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers! They’re performing at halftime! (Because apparently it’s 1985. Last year must have been 1984, when Prince performed. Maybe Mr. Mister will perform next year. Or The Pet Shop Boys. Or maybe Wham! will get back together.)
XXV. No wardrobe malfunctions at halftime. It was just four years ago when the infamous Janet Jackson performance during one of the Patriots’ Super Bowl wins changed the tone of halftime, perhaps forever (see number XXIV).
XXVI. Watching the ’72 Dolphins squirm. If the Patriots win, they will join the ’72 Dolphins as the only NFL teams to go undefeated.
XXVII. The end of Mercury Morris’ 15 minutes of fame. If the Patriots win, hopefully everyone will stop interviewing Morris.
XXVIII. Listening to the FOX studio crew of Curt Menefee, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, and Jimmie Johnson, easily the best studio crew among the big three football networks.
XXIX. Watching Terry Bradshaw squirm. If the Patriots win, Tom Brady will join Bradshaw and Joe Montana as the only other quarterbacks to win four Super Bowls.
XXX. Squares. Everyone loves Super Bowl squares! And if the game ends up being 55-10, at least you’ll have something to root for.
XXXI. The Patriots’ opening drive. In their 18 games, the Patriots scored on their opening drive an incredible 14 times. They scored 9 touchdowns and 5 field goals and punted 4 times. The 78 points New England scored on their opening drives were more than one-third of the points the 49ers scored all season (219).
XXXII. The Giants’ opening drive. In the regular season, the Patriots only allowed one team to score a touchdown on their opening drive—the Giants in Week 17. (They also allowed one to the Jaguars in the playoffs.)
XXXIII. Seven long months. The next meaningful NFL game won’t be until September 4 in either New England or New York. You’d better get your football fix now. Or else you’ll end up watching Super Bowl DVDs all summer.
XXXIV. The fans. There are always some quality crowd shots o####uy with no shirt on and his favorite player’s number painted on his hairy chest. Plus we may get live shots from Boston bars. And New York bars. Everyone loves those zany live barroom shots during sporting events.
XXXV. The Patriots are back in the Super Bowl for the fourth time in seven years! All the Patriots haters can climb aboard the Giants’ bandwagon. Everyone else can gleefully root for championship #4 and the undefeated season.
XXXVI. Introductions. Does anyone get introduced individually anymore? If the Patriots did nothing else for the Super Bowl, their brilliant move of getting introduced as a team prior to Super Bowl XXXVI brought about a welcome change (and a savings of about 10 minutes of wasted airtime).
XXXVII. Listening to Bill Belichick. Seriously, what’s more exciting than that?
XXXVIII. It’s a de facto national holiday. You wouldn’t skip Christmas or Thanksgiving, right? Well, then you can’t skip the Super Bowl either.
XXXIX. A reason to stay up late. House is on after the Super Bowl! Seriously, that’s not a misprint. House. Wow, say it isn’t so. Or, maybe you can flip to the ESPN recap shows. (Some websites had reported that the originally-planned episode of House for the post-Super Bowl slot had to be shelved due to the writers’ strike, but FOX is telling us that the episode they intended to air—complete with guest star Mira Sorvino—will indeed air.)
XL. The importance of the red zone. Once inside the 20-yard line, the Patriots scored 50 touchdowns in their 72 trips during the regular season (almost 70%). In the AFC Championship Game against the Chargers, the Patriots went 3-for-4. Meanwhile, their defense held the Chargers to 3 field goals in their 3 red zone trips. On the other side of the field, the Giants scored 4 red zone touchdowns against the Patriots during their Week 17 match-up.
XLI. Roman numerals. Anything that’s counted in Roman numerals is clearly important. Besides, how else will you teach the kids how to count to 42 in Roman unless you’re watching the Super Bowl?
XLII. What else are you going to watch? Reruns of America’s Funniest Home Videos or the World’s Strongest Man Competition marathon? I didn’t think so.
The passage of time in the NFL is marked by decades and the teams that tower over the rest of the field. Various teams win titles throughout each decade, but one team always wins the most championships and stands out as the Team of the Decade.
This is the way it’s been ever since the Green Bay Packers rolled to five NFL titles (including wins in the first two Super Bowls) in the 1960s. The Pittsburgh Steelers won four Super Bowls in the ‘70s, the San Francisco 49ers won four Super Bowls in the ‘80s, and the Dallas Cowboys won three Super Bowls in the ‘90s.
With three Super Bowls remaining in this decade (the ‘00s?), the Patriots are poised to claim the latest Team of the Decade designation. If they win this Sunday they will have four Super Bowl titles this decade. The most Super Bowl wins any other team has is one. Even if they were to somehow lose this weekend, only the Colts or Steelers would have a chance of matching their three titles and possessing a decade-long cache of winning. (Sorry, but even if the Ravens or Buccaneers win the next two Super Bowls, or the Giants win the next three, none of them could possibly be considered Team of the Decade.)
That means there’s even more pressure on the Patriots this Sunday. A win gives them the Super Bowl title, the first 19-0 season in NFL history, and Team of the Decade status.
Let’s take a look at the curriculum vitae for each Team of the Decade.
Green Bay Packers (1960s)
From 1960 through 1969, the Green Bay Packers were the class of the NFL. They had just one losing season (1968, the year after head coach Vince Lombardi stepped down) and won their division six times. The Packers won five of the six NFL Championship Games they played, and won the first two Super Bowls in NFL history. The Packers defined what the NFL was all about during the early years.
Best team of the decade: 1962. The ’62 Packers went 13-1, led the league in both offense and defense, outscored their opponents 415-148, and won the NFL Championship on the road, defeating the New York Giants 16-7.
Worst loss of the decade: The 1960 NFL Championship Game. Taking a 13-10 in the 4th quarter, the Eagles returned the ensuing kickoff 58 yards and eventually took a 17-13 lead. The Packers were stopped on the 8-yard line as time expired. The loss was their first (and only) postseason loss under Lombardi.
Defining games of the decade: Super Bowl I (a 35-10 thrashing of the upstart AFL Kansas City Chiefs) and the 1967 NFL Championship Game (the “Ice Bowl,” a 21-17 win over the Dallas Cowboys in sub-zero weather).
If not for the Packers, the Team of the Decade might have been: The Cleveland Browns. The Browns won five division titles in the ‘60s and took home the 1964 NFL Championship. They lost the 1965 Championship to Green Bay and did not return to the big game for the rest of the decade.
Pittsburgh Steelers (1970s)
Head coach Chuck Noll turned the Steelers from a 1-13 team in 1969 into the best team of the ‘70s. They had just two losing seasons (1970 and 1971), won their division eight years in a row, won four of the six AFC Championship Games they played, and won four Super Bowls. The Steel Curtain defense remains one of the iconic symbols of the NFL.
Best team of the decade: 1978. The ’78 Steelers went 14-2, led the league in defense, and had the 5th best offense. They won their first two playoff games by a combined score of 67-15 before defeating the Dallas Cowboys 35-31 in the Super Bowl.
Worst loss of the decade: The 1976 AFC Championship Game. Many people believe that Pittsburgh’s best team of the ‘70s was the ’76 edition. For the third straight year they played the Oakland Raiders in the Championship game, but with running backs Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier (who had combined for over 2,000 yards in the regular season) both out with injuries, the Raiders won 24-7 to advance to the Super Bowl.
Defining games of the decade: 1972 playoff victory over Oakland (that game that featured the “Immaculate Reception”) and Super Bowl XIII (their 35-31 win over Dallas is considered by many to be the best Super Bowl game of all time).
If not for the Steelers, the Team of the Decade might have been: The Oakland Raiders. The Raiders had 10 straight winning seasons under head coach John Madden in the ‘70s, but had just one Super Bowl win to show for their efforts. The Raiders lost playoff games to the Steelers three times in the ‘70s, with the Steelers winning Super Bowl titles twice after knocking off the Raiders in the AFC Championship game.
San Francisco 49ers (1980s)
Bill Walsh took over a 2-14 team in 1978 and turned the 49ers into one of the league’s most respected and envied franchises. The 49ers had just two losing seasons (1980 and 1982), won their division seven times, made the playoffs eight times, won four of the five NFC Championship Games they played, and won four Super Bowls. At the end of their run, Bill Walsh, quarterback Joe Montana, and wide receiver Jerry Rice were all considered with the best that ever coached and played the game.
Best team of the decade: 1984. The ’84 San Francisco 49ers went 15-1 with the league’s best defense and 2nd-best offense (second only to Dan Marino’s record-setting Dolphins). They won their first two playoff games by a combined score of 44-10 before defeating Marino’s Dolphins 38-16 in the Super Bowl.
Worst loss of the decade: The 1983 NFC Championship Game. Although the 49ers only went 10-6 in 1983, they were one win away from the Super Bowl when they traveled to Washington to take on the Redskins. Trailing 21-0 in the 4th quarter, the 49ers scored three quick touchdowns and tied the game 21-21 with less than seven minutes to play. But the Redskins—aided by a controversial pass interference call—marched 78 yards to set up kicker Mark Moseley for a 25-yard game-winning field goal. Moseley—who had missed four field goals throughout the game—nailed this one and sent the Redskins to the Super Bowl.
Defining games of the decade: The 1982 NFC Championship Game (the game that featured “The Catch”) and Super Bowl XXIII (Montana leads a 92-yard touchdown drive with 3:10 to go in the game).
If not for the 49ers, the Team of the Decade might have been: The Chicago Bears. The Bears won one Super Bowl in the ‘80s but lost to the 49ers twice in the NFC Championship Game (including once at home). The 49ers won the Super Bowl both times.
Dallas Cowboys (1990s)
The once-proud Cowboys were 3-13 during legendary head coach Tom Landry’s final season and fell to 1-15 in Jimmie Johnson’s first season. But three different head coaches—Johnson, Barry Switzer, and Chan Gailey—would lead the Cowboys to winning seasons in all but three years (1990, 1997, and 1999), six division titles, eight playoff appearances, three wins in four NFC Championship Games, and three Super Bowl titles.
Best team of the decade: 1992. The Cowboys went 13-3 and finished with the 2nd best offense and 5th best defense in the league. They won the NFC Championship Game in San Francisco and dismantled the Buffalo Bills 52-17 in the Super Bowl.
Worst loss of the decade: The 1994 NFC Championship Game. The Cowboys played the 49ers in the Championship Game for the 3rd straight year, and quarterback Troy Aikman entered the game undefeated in the playoffs (7-0). Aikman’s first interception of the game was returned for a touchdown. Wide receiver Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin lost a fumble on the next Dallas possession and kick returner Kevin Williams fumbled a kickoff, allowing San Francisco to take a 21-0 1st quarter lead, on their way to a 38-28 victory.
Defining games of the decade: The 1992 NFC Championship Game (Dallas won the game in San Francisco to advance to the franchise’s first Super Bowl in 14 years) and the 1995 NFC Championship Game (one year after losing to the 49ers in the penultimate game, the Cowboys withstood Brett Favre and the surging Packers 38-27 to advance to their third Super Bowl of the decade).
If not for the Cowboys, the Team of the Decade might have been: The San Francisco 49ers. With one Super Bowl and two NFC Championship Game losses to the Cowboys, the team of the ‘90s could have been the same as the team of the ‘80s if not for Dallas.
New England Patriots (2000s)
The New England Patriots have seven straight winning seasons, six division titles, six playoff appearances, four wins in five AFC Championship Games, and three Super Bowl titles. They also own the first undefeated season in 35 years and head to the Super Bowl this week in search of their fourth title of the decade.
Best team of the decade: 2007. The Patriots went 16-0 this season and are in the discussion as one of the greatest teams in NFL history.
Worst loss of the decade: The 2006 AFC Championship Game. The Patriots led the Indianapolis Colts 21-6 at halftime but the Colts scored 32 second half points on the way to a 38-34 win.
Defining games of the decade: The 2001 Divisional Playoff (“The Snow Game” or “The Tuck Rule Game”) and Super Bowl XXXVI (one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history).
If not for the Patriots, the Team of the Decade might have been: Either the Indianapolis Colts or the Pittsburgh Steelers. Both have one Super Bowl title and two playoff losses to the Patriots.
When the NFC Championship Game went to overtime on Sunday, I immediately had two thoughts: 1) How on earth are the Giants doing it? 2) Will this be another one of those overtimes in which one team never touches the ball?
Both teams got the ball (and the Giants won) and another chance to fix the NFL’s overtime issue was wasted. But it doesn’t mean that the NFL’s overtime system isn’t still a problem. And Heaven forbid a Super Bowl game ever goes overtime.
So I pulled this one from the back of the freezer (it was originally posted on my old website), defrosted it, and present once more my plan for “Modified Sudden Death.”
Working Overtime Originally posted December 2, 2005
While most of us were eating turkey and stuffing, some dedicated folks were working overtime. And as we relaxed and reclined on Sunday afternoon, there were plenty of others going the extra mile. Of course, I’m describing our friends, those hard-working NFL players.
There were four overtime games this past week. In two of these, both teams were on offense at least once. But the other games—San Diego-Washington and Denver-Dallas—were over in a combined one minute and 55 seconds. San Diego and Denver won the coin tosses in their games and the winning scores came two and three plays later, respectively.
Which got me thinking. Is it really fair that, after 60 minutes of hard-fought football, the flip of a coin and one bad play can cost your team the game? Without you even touching the ball once? I don’t think so.
Now I’m not one of those who spouts inaccurate stats to make my case. Many people incorrectly believe that most overtime games end with one team never touching the ball. As a matter of fact, both teams have at least one possession in more than 70% of overtime games. But it’s that 30% that concerns me.
Here’s how the NFL’s “Sudden Death” overtime system currently works: There is a coin toss to determine which team receives the ball. First team to score wins. Period. As was the case in the afore-mentioned two games this past weekend, one team can lose the game without touching the ball in overtime. Fair? Not really.
There are some who prefer the college football overtime rules. In college, each team gets the ball on their opponents’ 25-yard line. After one team has a chance to score, the other team gets a chance to match or beat that score. It can (and sometimes does) continue like this for what seems like forever (or 7 overtimes, the longest such game under this system—one free viewing of this blog next week to the first person who names this game). Eventually one team scores more than the other, or everyone gets bored and goes home.
But the real problem with this system is the ####ization of the game. Football has three distinct parts: offense, defense, and special teams. There is no special teams play in college overtime, and the field is weighted toward the offenses. It would be like having a basketball overtime in which teams played half court 7-on-3 until someone scored more points. Or having a shootout decide a hockey overtime (oops, they do that now—and it works).
Rest easy, fans. As usual, the Czar of Sports has a plan. I call it “Modified Sudden Death.” Catchy, no? Here is how it works:
If one team receives the kickoff and eventually turns the ball over or punts, the game immediately becomes sudden death. Both teams would have had at least one “possession” under these rules. We’ll define a possession as starting as soon as the ball is kicked off (with onside kicks not allowed). If you fumble the kickoff, well, you’ve wasted your possession. Likewise, if a team punts and you fumble the punt, your possession is over.
The difference comes if one team scores. At this point, Team A would kick off to the other team. Team B would have one “possession” to match or beat the previous score. If they score more points than Team A, the game is over and Team B wins. If Team B turns the ball over or scores fewer points than Team A, Team A wins.
If Team B ties the game, they would then kick off to Team A and we’d be back to where we started, with each team needing another “possession.”
Here’s the catch: keep the 15-minute clock normally used for overtime. If it runs out, the game is over—no matter where the teams stand. If it’s tied, the game ends in a tie. If one team has the lead, that team wins.
Think of the strategy that would be used in today’s NFL under the “Modified Sudden Death” rules. If you win the coin toss, do you want the ball first or would you rather kick off? If you kick off, presumably you’ll get the ball back with good field position or you’ll know how many points you’ll need to win. But—if your opponent scores a touchdown and you don’t have the guts to go for two—you know you’ll need to score a touchdown and get the ball back again before the period ends.
Likely, games would proceed as normal, with both teams touching the ball, locked in a sudden death match-up. But other games would feature multiple overtime scores and coaching decisions galore. Just imagine if the Colts and Bengals game had gone to overtime a few weeks ago (a 45-37 Indianapolis win). There might have been 6 touchdowns scored in OT. Or picture a team scoring the second touchdown in overtime. Will they kick the extra point to tie or go for the win with the two-point conversion? The NFL’s missing out on some excitement here.
Best of all, no one would be blaming the poor coins anymore. Or the refs for failing Coin Tossing 101 in college. And all of those hard working guys—offenses, defenses, and special teamers—could walk to the locker room knowing they had a real chance to win or lose the game.
And, most importantly, there’d be no more indigestion on Thanksgiving caused by your team not getting the ball in overtime.
Everyone predicted a Patriots-Giants Super Bowl, right? But what else should we have expected in a season in which the only thing we could count on each week was a Patriots victory?
As the AFC Championship Game wore on and the Chargers were (in the words of Teddy KGB in Rounders), “hanging around, hanging around,” it became painfully obvious that this would not be one of those Patriots blowouts from earlier in the season that we had grown to love. But just as they had done 17 times before, the 2007 Patriots won the game. This time the script was decidedly different. It included a red zone interception by Tom Brady (his first since the Broncos disaster from two years ago), a power running game by Laurence Maroney and the offensive line, and solid red zone defense.
It all added up to 18-0 and a trip to the Super Bowl. Just as expected. But not quite how we expected.
In the NFC Championship Game, the Giants and Packers waged a battle of last man standing (in the Arctic). On a brutally cold Wisconsin night, each team passed the ball far more than predicted—and with better results than one would expect. But perhaps the Packers should have found some way to run the ball more than 13 times (the Giants had 39 running plays). Maybe then the time of possession battle wouldn’t have been so pronounced (the Giants had the ball for 40 minutes compared to the Packers’ 22). And maybe they wouldn’t have been relying on Brett Favre to remain the new Brett Favre—instead of the one from years past who was the mad gunslinger. His final interception was reminiscent of many of his old head-scratching throws.
Give the Giants credit. They did what they needed to do to win. It was their 10th straight road win and their sixth win in their last eight games. Now they head to the Super Bowl to face the Patriots in a game dripping with irony: The two teams played one of the most entertaining, highly-rated “meaningless” games in NFL history in Week 17. Now they’ll play again for the NFL championship.
And who knows—perhaps that Week 17 game is one of the reasons the Giants are going to the Super Bowl. Every team that rested their starters down the stretch was bounced from the playoffs this year. But the Giants and Patriots—with nothing to play for other than history—played until the final gun of their final game. Maybe the Giants played their way in, starting with the toe-to-toe match-up with the undefeated Patriots.
History will again be on the line when Super Bowl XLII rolls around. The Patriots will be trying to cap off the first 19-0 season in NFL history, while the Giants will be trying to defeat the only 18-0 team in NFL history.
In this unpredictably predictable season, would it shock anyone if the Giants knocked off the Patriots? OK, that would be a shock. Consider this: The Patriots won 6 more games than the Giants in the regular season. It’s the most lopsided match-up in terms of wins in Super Bowl history. The next widest gap between Super Bowl entrants in the last 40 years was 3 wins, which has happened six times. Five of those games were won by the team with more wins—and one of them was the biggest blowout in Super Bowl history, San Francisco’s 55-10 drubbing of Denver in Super Bowl XXIV.
The lone upset when a 3-game win disparity was involved? The 2001 New England Patriots, who knocked off the Greatest Show on Turf Rams and started the current dynasty.
History is on the Patriots’ side. And if they need a reminder of what can happen in the biggest game of the year, they need only break out their own game film from six years ago.
As matchbox twenty sings, “Let’s see how far we’ve come.”
Eighteen weeks after the 2007 season began, we’ve got an AFC Championship match-up that seemed plausible prior to the season, and an NFC match-up that no one saw coming back in August.
The road to Super Bowl XLII has been long and winding. With just one Sunday of football remaining before the hype truly begins, let’s take a look at what we’ve learned during this NFL season and postseason.
Jacksonville’s in the wrong division Heck, they might even be in the wrong conference. They’ve lost five out of six to Indianapolis, leaving them without the opportunity to win their division year after year. This means a Wild Card spot at best and no real chance to make it to the Super Bowl. If they were in the NFC they might just be a perennial powerhouse.
This is a shame for the Jaguars, because they showed last week just how good they can be in their battle royale with the undefeated Patriots. It might have been the last tough game the Patriots have this year to tell you the truth. But the Jags still lost, and if they don’t find a way to get past the Colts (or get switched to a different division) painful road playoff losses remain in the Jaguars’ future.
The NFC is a crapshoot Seven different teams have won an NFC division in the last two years. Only Seattle repeated as division champion this year. In the AFC, three of the four division champions repeated, with New England and Indianapolis winning their divisions for five straight years. If I needed to do my NFL 2008 preview right now, I’d go with New England, Indianapolis, and San Diego to repeat again, and Cleveland to get over the hump. And in the NFC? Who knows? How about Arizona, Washington, Detroit, and Atlanta?
Offense is in It wasn’t just Tom Brady and Randy Moss and their record-setting seasons. Scoring was up across the board and there was no defense that stood out like in seasons past. The last Super Bowl champion that rode their offense to the title was the ’99 Rams (and that team actually gave up just 22 points over their final two games). The last seven champions held their first playoff opponent under 20 points, and all but the ’04 Patriots held their first two playoff opponents under 20 points. This week’s favorites to make the Super Bowl, the Patriots and Packers, each gave up 20 points in their first playoff games (and scored 31 and 42, respectively). This season, and playoffs, is all about the offense.
Resting players = losing playoff recipe Tampa Bay rested their players for an unprecedented two straight weeks then lost at home to the Giants. The Cowboys and Colts both rested players prior to their bye week and both lost at home. Meanwhile, the Giants and Patriots battled to the death prior to the playoffs with nothing to gain and each stands one game from the Super Bowl. It’s a trend to keep an eye on for future postseasons.
Maybe it’s the Chargers who are the problem After the Chargers questioned the Patriots’ class after last year’s playoff tussle (Public Enemy #1) I started to wonder if what the players were saying was true. But then I watched the Chargers jaw with the Broncos. And the Titans. And the Colts’ fans. And I thought, “maybe it’s the Chargers who have no class.” I’m just saying…
It’s a good thing Peyton won a ring last year Watching the Colts blow another playoff game at home last week made me even angrier that the Patriots lost to them last year. But the perfect season wouldn’t have happened without that loss (more on that in a moment), so I guess in retrospect it was a good thing. For both the Patriots and Peyton Manning. The Colts won the Super Bowl, did it by going through the Patriots, and Peyton got his ring.
By the way he and his teammates played last week leads me to believe it might be his only ring. His best receiver was barely able to take the field (and then he fumbled when he did) and the offense’s play-calling was awful while the execution was even worse. Last year just might have been it for the Colts.
Yes, everyone, I’m sorry, but the Patriots are this good It took the perfect storm of events to produce the first 17-0 team since the ’72 Dolphins. But that storm arrived. One year ago this weekend the first brick in the foundation was laid, as the Patriots’ offense couldn’t catch a key pass to win the game and the aging defense ran out of gas against the Colts. Then Belichick had to coach the Pro Bowl and I believe he secretly vowed to never be there again. New England loaded up with three wide receivers and the best defensive free agent on the market. Finally, “spygate” occurred, galvanized the team, and the rest is history.
I think Belichick’s defensive game plan for the last six weeks has been to play as vanilla as possible until the second half. If the game’s been close, he releases the hounds. Meanwhile, the offense continues to be a nearly unstoppable machine. It’s reached the point in which the first opponent’s turnover or punt signals that the game is officially over.
Championship Weekend Picks
San Diego (+14½) over New England I’ve incorrectly picked the Patriots’ games against the spread in each of the last four weeks, so I’ll go opposite what I really think will happen in this one and say the Chargers somehow cover the spread. They barely won in Indy, flew back to San Diego, flew across the country again with one fewer day off than the undefeated Patriots, they have a gimpy quarterback, running back, and tight end, the Patriots are clicking on all cylinders, and it’s going to be 12 degrees. It all spells blowout to me. But they’ll probably score a late touchdown to cover the spread, just because I keep getting it wrong. Prediction: Patriots 34, Chargers 20
Green Bay (-7) over New York Giants I think the Giants finally run out of steam this week. The Packers have been lighting it up, and were most impressive after falling behind 14-0 last week. On a slow track like Lambeau in the winter, their defense plays really fast, and Favre has reinvented himself in the twilight of his career. This one will probably be close until late in the game as the Pack pulls away. Prediction: Packers 30, Giants 21
3rd-6, PIT26 2:56 B. Roethlisberger rushed to the left for 1 yard gain
One play shouldn’t define a game or a season, but more often than not one play from a playoff game stands out. Last week it was Ben Roethlisberger’s failed 3rd-and-6 bootleg. The Steelers punted, the Jaguars drove to the 7-yard line, kicked a field goal, and won the game.
That one play stands out more than any other play in the game. More than David Garrard’s 4th down run that kept the Jaguars’ drive alive. More than the Steelers’ failed two-point conversion attempt from the 12-yard line.
Why the 3rd down run by Roethlisberger? Because it showed such a clear misunderstanding of what was needed.
Let’s start with the first 2-point try. The Steelers had just scored to cut the lead to 28-23 with 14 minutes left in the game. Sure, 14 minutes is a lot of time, but two drives earlier the Jaguars had held the ball for almost five minutes and scored a touchdown. Time was indeed running out on the Steelers, and two points was going to get them within a field goal (instead of a touchdown) and increase their chances of winning the game. Even after a (phantom) holding penalty pushed the Steelers back to the 12-yard line, I have no issues with the Steelers going for two there. It showed that they were willing to do whatever they needed to do to win the game.
On the other hand, a Roethlisberger designed rollout/run on 3rd-and-6? That has “I’m so afraid of a turnover that I don’t even want my quarterback to attempt to give the ball to anyone else on the team for fear that something bad will happen” written all over it. That’s the mentality that losing teams have, not a team with a chance to win a playoff game.
That 3rd down play was the culmination o####ame in which the only times the Steelers scored were when they played aggressively. The Steelers opened the game with six straight pass plays (and ended up scoring a touchdown), and Roethlisberger threw on seven consecutive downs at one point in the game. Granted he had three interceptions in the 1st half. But when the chips were down and they needed yards, Big Ben gave them yards.
To take the lead and then go ultra-conservative was inviting trouble. And trouble came a-knocking in the form of David Garrad’s 4th down scramble. That was a designed run out of the shotgun by a guy that can run, and was coach Jack Del Rio’s way of saying, “we are not losing this game.”
A lesson Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin needs to learn. NFL Playoffs Round 2 Selections
It was a 2-2 week against the spread last week (and an abysmal 1-3 straight up). Two underdogs covered, as I predicted. Just not the ones I picked. (The story of my season this year.)
As we head into Round 2, you’ll hear a lot of people talking about how the top four teams rarely all make it to the Championship round. But it has happened twice in the last four years, and it seems likely to happen again this year.
Forget the fact that the four teams with byes are clearly the four best teams in the NFL and they’ve all had a week off to prepare. Just look at the eight teams that played last week for a moment. The Steelers blew their game at home but the team that beat them tried to give the game away in the 4th quarter, allowing 19 points in 8 minutes and 32 seconds. The Titans’ game plan was apparently to try and lull the Chargers to sleep, which almost worked, except for the Chargers’ game plan of doing their best Marty Schottenheimer impression until the 2nd half. (Which reminds me: Everyone who says that this season was more successful under Norv Turner than last season under Schottenheimer just because the Chargers won a playoff game is delusional. The Chargers went 14-2 last year and had a bye in the first round. Basically, this season as of right now is still not better than last year because San Diego must go on the road for their next playoff game. If the Chargers pull off the upset this week in Indianapolis, then we can talk.)
The Redskins played their sixth straight game on pure emotion while the Seahawks played some of the worst football known to man for 52 minutes and then played well for a grand total of 5 minutes, enough time to score 22 fourth quarter points, with 14 coming on interception returns for touchdowns. And Tampa Bay spent three weeks resting players and preparing for the Giants and then came out with the worst game plan in history, while the Giants’ game plan was to keep Eli Manning on a tight leash (20-27, 185 yards) and hope the defense (1 sack, 3 turnovers) could win the game.
My point? Could any one of those eight teams have beaten any of the four teams on a bye? I say no. I think all four home teams win this weekend, with only the Giants coming close and covering the spread.
Green Bay (-7½) over Seattle A rematch of the fantastic 2004 playoff game in which Matt Hasselbeck declared—after the Seahawks won the coin toss in over time—“we’ll take the ball and we’re going to score!” And then he threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown. I’ll tell you what I’m tired of hearing about: Playoff experience (the Packers have little, the Seahawks have a lot). In Joe Montana’s 13 non-Super Bowl championship seasons, did the 49ers lose because the other team had more playoff experience, or was the other team just better sometimes? Something to think about, because the Packers are the better team. By far. Pick: Packers 30, Seahawks 13
New England (-13) over Jacksonville Can everyone please just stop with propping up the Jaguars as world beaters? They played a very solid first half against the Steelers last week and then came through when they needed to in the 4th quarter. But their quarterback completed just 9 passes for the entire game. I just don’t see it. The Patriots are rested and ready for the first time in a month. They haven’t had an opportunity to run up the score on an opponent in eight weeks. I don’t think this one will even be close. Pick: Patriots 42, Jaguars 16
Indianapolis (-9) over San Diego I thought that the spread on this one was too high until I remembered how bad the Chargers looked last week. The same Titans team that the Colts almost beat with their backups had the Chargers dead to rights with about 20 minutes left in the game. The Titans led 6-3 and the Chargers had a 3rd-and-4. Rivers completed a pass to Tomlinson for a 1st down and San Diego eventually pulled away. This same Chargers team—without tight end Antonio Gates—is supposed to travel across the country and beat a rested Colts team in the dome? Pick: Colts 34, Chargers 17
NY Giants (+7½) over Dallas With the Jessica Simpson distraction looming over the Cowboys’ heads, there’s no way their focus is there for this game. (Just kidding. That might have been the most ridiculous “controversy” in the history of controversies.) Terrell Owens is hurt, the Cowboys have not played well the last few weeks of the season, and this Giants team is apparently better than I’ve given them credit for, especially defensively. The Giants bring enough pressure to disrupt the Cowboys’ offense, and save for one bad 4th quarter pass against the Patriots, Eli Manning has played very well the last two weeks. Plus this will be the third time the Cowboys and Giants play each other this year, and five of the last six playoff games between division foes has been decided by two touchdowns or less. I have a funny feeling that the Giants will keep this one close, but I just can’t see the Cowboys losing this one. Pick: Cowboys 27, Giants 24
If the four favorites win, we’ll have the best final four since the ’98 season when the 15-1 Vikings took on the 14-2 Falcons and the 14-2 Broncos played the 12-4 Jets. The Vikings had set all of the offensive records but fell to the surprising Falcons in overtime, while the Parcells-coached Jets led 10-0 late in the 3rd quarter before the Broncos stormed back for a 23-10 win.
And if it’s Patriots-Colts and Cowboys-Packers, settle in for one of the best Championship Sundays in a long time.
This year’s NFL regular season brought us the renaissance of a legend, a team rising above the death of one of their own players, the craziest field goal we’ve ever seen, one of the best in-game snowstorms we’ve ever seen, a rookie sensation taking the league by storm, a mere 9 losses registered by the league’s top 4 teams (with three of those losses coming in games against each other), and heavily-hyped games that lived up the hype.
Oh, and the first team in NFL history to go 16-0 (more on whether or not the Patriots’ season was the greatest of all time in a moment).
Maybe I’m in the “whatever is new is always great” club today, but the NFL season that concluded last week sure seemed like one of the best to come along in ages. Brett Favre’s transformation from old man winter (71.8 passer rating with 38 TDs, 47 INTs, and 12 wins t
