The Weekend That Didn't Disappoint

Well, what kind of sports blog would this be if I didn’t talk about the fantastic weekend of football we just had.  Despite my Eagles enduring the season they did and not making an appearance in the playoffs, I really enjoyed the games this week.

The Seahawks really showed something taking apart the Redskins like they did without the MVP of the league in Shaun Alexander.  It’s shaping up to be a great game between them and Carolina next week, should Alexander play.  If that’s the case, I’ve got to pick Seattle.  The thing is, the only reason I’m picking Seattle is that I’m obligated to pick someone.  This one could really go either way.  The Panthers are red hot, and Steve Smith is playing like a man possessed, so it’s going to take a big effort from the Seattle defense to keep this one close.

Already the Patriots fans I know are whining about bad calls.  To them I say, “Get the frick over it”.  Everyone is victimized by bad calls at one time or another, and there were enough to go around this weekend as well.  And by the way, there’s no way they could have overturned that Champ Bailey fumble.  Despite the geometry the commentators were talking about, there’s just no way to tell whether it was inside or outside the pylon.  Denver was the better team on that day, and I don’t think I need to get into the past few years for the Patriots.  When you’ve got three rings in four years, guess how much sympathy I have for a playoff loss?  And I saw an article on ESPN.com today about how this was the first time Brady lost in the playoffs and how much he hated it.  I hate articles like that.  So losing in the playoffs didn’t bother Mark Brunell, or Peyton Manning, who comes so close every year, or McNabb and the entire Eagles team that lost three consecutive NFC Championship games?  Get out of my face.  You lost, so come back next year.  There’s only one team at the end that wins their last game.

If I were a Colts or Steelers fan, I would be spending today recovering from multiple heart attacks, and if I were a Colts fan, I’d probably be spending today like I’ve spent the last four years after my team’s last game.  So I’m with you Colts fans.  But seriously, I don’t know if I’ve ever enjoyed a game that much that didn’t involve my team.  I was yelling along with everyone else when Bettis lost that fumble (who do you think is the happiest guy in Pittsburgh today?).  By the way, that was his first fumble this season!   There were a few things we learned from this game and a few things we were reminded of.  

-Peyton Manning really looks mortal if you get pressure on him.  Big Ben would stand in the pocket in the face of the Colts’ defense and deliver a laser on target.  Manning would fire the ball about 15 yards ahead of his receiver.  We found out Manning was not great under pressure when the Colts played San Diego, and we were reminded yesterday.

-Not every extremely accurate kicker has ice water in the veins.  This was the first time I’d seen a kicker of Vanderjagt’s caliber blow a kick so badly in a big moment.  And it wasn’t that the kick was off—he choked.  That kick wasn’t in the same zip code as the uprights.  Vanderjagt is the most accurate kicker in the history of the league, and he probably makes that same kick in that same situation 9 times out of 10, but I did not see that one coming.

-Ben Roethlisberger is really going to be something special.  He already is, but he’s going to be a big star for a long time.  The guy cannot be rattled, and that’s huge for a quarterback.

-It ain’t over till it’s over.  It’s a cliché, yes, but was it ever true in this one.  Roethlisberger could have let Harper run back for that touchdown, but he ran after him and made a lucky tackle.  And I thought for sure it was going into OT when Vanderjagt trotted out onto the field.  My reaction was the same as everyone else.  I said, “He missed it”.  I only mention this because they showed a ton of replays with different reactions, and that’s what everyone said.  I wonder how many people in the country all said that exact phrase at the same time.

The Panthers-Bears game was another good one.  Rex Grossman showed that if he can stay healthy, he could be a big asset to the Bears over the next while.  He showed a lot of confidence once he got his feet under him.  Also, Steve Smith was just unbelievable.  The whole Panthers offense just lit up the Bears’ vaunted defense.  That’s what they get for talking trash and motivating the other team.  It’s one thing to be confident and say, “We’re going to beat them”.  It’s another to say that the team you’re playing gets more credit than they deserve.  Good job, Bears defense.  

So it’s shaping up to be a great Championship weekend and Super Bowl.  All four teams that are playing next week played very well this week, and hopefully we’ll be treated to another couple of great games.  For my picks, I already mentioned I’m going with the Seahawks in the NFC, and as hot as the Steelers are, I’ve got to take the Broncos at home for the AFC.  I know Pittsburgh just won two road playoff games, but the Broncos have just been consistently shredding good teams this year.  At the beginning of the season, the Broncos and the Seahawks were two teams I criticized for lack of consistency.  This year they’ve shown that they can get on a roll and keep it going.  I think they’ll continue to do so this weekend, and we’ll end up with a good game at the Super Bowl.  Then again, any combination of these four teams would probably be a good game.  I love the NFL.

Picks:  Seattle and Denver.

P.S.:  You probably noticed the layout change and whatnot.  That will continue over the next little while until the full redesign is functional.