A 2-2 finish this weekend wasn't exactly the revival I was looking for, but it was baby steps in the right direction. Here are some observations from the Divisional Round:
1. I nailed every aspect of the Packers/Seahawks pick with a big exception: Ryan Grant. We did see a vintage Brett Favre performance as he played mistake free football and threw some serious darts in the snow storm- a few which were snowballs- and the Seattle running game continued to sputter. What in the world happened to Shaun Alexander? I understand that Steve Hutchinson is good, but did he really account for every yard and touchdown that Alexander scored in that historic 2005 season? It appears so because in the 23 games he has played since losing Hutch, Alexander has rushed for 1,612 yards and 11 TD, averaging 3.55 ypc. In 2005 alone, he ran for 1,880 yards and 27 TD, averaging 5.1 ypc. Maybe that's why Holmgren lost his mind that off-season when the front office let Hutchinson go without much of a fight. If you still don't think the offensive line is that important, just take a look at Alexander's dramatic dip in productivity as proof of why it is. While injuries and age have some affect as well, Alexander and the Seahawks are still feeling the impact of losing Hutchinson. Anyway, Grant was the story of this game. His playoff debut began as a nightmare, but he ended up awakening from his wildest dream. Grant deserves a lot of credit for not letting the two early fumbles completely ruin his day as there are a number of veterans who may have tanked after such a dismal, error-filled start. If Grant continues to play this way, I wouldn't be so quick to hand Tom Brady and Bob Kraft their fourth title in seven years. Even the Patriots haven't played a team with the offensive balance the Packers have when Grant is playing at a high level. His breakout should make the next few weeks that much more interesting.
2. While the Pats victory over the Jags provided my second and final victory of the weekend, the game also provided me with a revelation. That would be that the Jacksonville Jaguars are the NFL's second best team in 2007-08. If you read my prediction of that game you noticed that I had little to no faith that the Jags would hang around very long in Foxboro. To my surprise, however, David Garrard went toe-to-toe with Tom Brady for about three quarters before burning out like every other quarterback on the other side does when matched up with The Great One. Jack Del Rio put his job and the season on the line in August when he released Byron Leftwich and promoted Garrard. I was the first person to scoff at the move, but again, I was wrong. The move worked and everything else went as planned (i.e the success of the running game and the defensive dominance). You can tell that this is an organization on the ups and may be New England's biggest threat in 2008-09. On the other side, Tom Brady is still the best quarterback in the game today and two victories from being the greatest in history, and Bill Belichek is still mad today even though his team is in the AFC Championship for the fifth time in seven years. And while I could write forever about how great the Patriots are, I'll just say this: Everyone who is saying that Brady is only having this magical season because of Wes Welker and Randy Moss, you lost any and all leverage on that argument this weekend. Moss caught one of Brady's 26 completions for 14 of his 262 yards. Brady would be the games best with Randy Moss and Terrell Owens or Teddy Ginn and Derek Hagan, LET IT GO!
3. The Sunday slate of games further emphasized why to never go against your heart. Lets start with the Colts-Chargers game. I hate Peyton Manning, but I hate him more in the playoffs. I had never picked the Colts in the playoffs prior to Sunday, and never will again. I told a friend of mine, still the only Colts fan I know to this day, in November 2005 that Manning would choke and the Colts would lose their first playoff game. Sure enough, Manning choked against the Steelers and the Colts lost their first playoff game. Despite the flashy new bling he acquired this offseason, Manning is still a playoff choke artist. Everyone loves to throw out the fact that Manning threw just three touchdowns and SEVEN interceptions in four playoff games last year during their Super Bowl run. Had it not been for the resurgent defense and the out of the blue breakout of Dominick Rhoades, Manning would have never won it last year, and I can say confidently today that he would have retired ringless. Now berate me and say that it wasn't his fault they lost yesterday because he threw for over 400 yards and three touchdowns. Okay great, now I'll counter with he threw for 400 yards because the Chargers took away their running game so he was forced to throw the whole game, and he threw two interceptions in the red zone, one that resulted in an 89-yard touchdown return only to be called back by a phantom holding call. I'm starting to think Joey Porter was absolutely right when he said the refs want the Colts to win every year after their victory in '05. I digress, but again, and you can quote me on this, I will never ever ever pick a Peyton Manning-led team to win a playoff game ever again because you know the guy will find a way to choke it away. The Chargers didn't even have their best player or their starting quarerback and Manning still couldn't find a way to lead his team to victory at home. Pathetic. Consider yourself lucky that you stole your ring last winter Peyton, now do the right thing and go pawn it because you should never have one. One quick word on the Chargers. Has any team ever flown further under the radar? The Bolts have won eight straight games and no one has bothered to notice or give them a fighting chance in any of these games. While I do see them getting obliterated in Foxboro Sunday, they deserve to make the trip and Norv Turner and Philip Rivers should get the love they deserve for this clearly unexpected run to Championship Weekend. How many teams would've won on the road without a player that is as important to their team as LT is to the Chargers? And how many would have hung on to win in the fourth without their starting quarterback who was having a career day? Not many. Major props to the Bolts.
4. Last week my personal public enemy number one, Skip Bayless, said on ESPN that he would take Eli Manning over Tony Romo for the next five years and I was absolutely disgusted with him as usual. While I will never stray from my feeling that he is the worst sports analyst from the weak crop ESPN has to offer, he may actually have been right here. Two weeks ago Romo and Manning had the same number of playoff victories- zero. Two weeks later, Eli is two up on Tony and has played outstanding in his past two. Even more impressive is the fact that both victories were on the road. Romo didn't play poorly Sunday, nor did he get much help from his mates- Patrick Crayton in particular, but this was supposed to be his year. Romo was the NFL's best quarterback not named Tom Brady in 2007, but unfortunatly, 2007 ended 14 days ago. I think Romo has what it takes to be a big winner in the NFL, and I pay no attention to his personal life, but it's clear that you see a different quarterback in the postseason than you do under the lights in the regular season. He seems to make that costly blunder at the worst time, similar to the way his Sunday counterpart used to. Eli has now gone two straight games without making that fatal mistake that has cost his team game after game for the past five years. Bayless may become one for the century with this bold call, but he'll have to wait a few more years to find out. Meanwhile, don't these Giants sort of remind you of the 2005-06 Pittsburgh Steelers? A quarterback hitting his stride at the right time, throwing to an underrated, yet very productive group of wide receivers, a stout offensive line leading the charge, and a defense that lives and dies off of pressuring the quarterback for four quarters. The thing about them that most reminds me of that Steelers squad is their running back combination. The effective change of pace speedster playing the role of Willie Parker is Ahmad Bradshaw, and Brandon Jacobs is their version of Jerome Bettis, playing the bruiser role. This team, like the Steelers, will have to win three games on the road just to get to the Super Bowl. Two down, one to go. A date with Brett Favre and a raucous Lambeau crowd looms, but I wouldn't be surprised if the G-men made it three for three on the road and marched on to Arizona.
DTM
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