I feel smart. This is a good feeling to have as I head back to school for the spring semester. Sure, forecasting football games is different than the Principals of Financial Accounting, and even more different than the World Cultures that are East Asia-based. Yet, for me to go 4-0 in divisional weekend, get my upset right, and pick the two Saturday blowouts accurately enough (to be fair, I predicted the Saints-Cards game a little closer, as well as the Vikings-Cowboys). Either way, this sets up two interesting title games. One is the dream NFC matchup. To often people underrate the regular season, and that is fine, since the Giants and Steelers recently made great runs to end the season and parlay that into a Title. However, these were the two best teams in the NFC all year. They were, and now they get to fight for the Halas Trophy. On the other side, the Colts get to play the team they allowed to get into the playoffs. Should be fun. Here are some awards as I recap the Divisional Weekend.
Player of the Week - Ray Edwards, DE Minnesota
Just an unbelievable game for Edwards. Sure, he is on a d-line that has three other pro-bowlers, so he is often single blocked, but he was the only pass rusher the Vikings had worth a damn in the first half. Until the Vikings made this game 14-3, Dallas was moving the ball well, however not generating points (surprise!!!). The o-line blocked Allen and the Williams Wall well, but Ray Edwards was a madman. He singlehandidly ended the first drive with the fumble, and on the third drive, it was his sack that pretty much assured that there would be a field goal. On the day, he had three sacks, two of them before Flozell went out and the o-line went to hell. He had two more tackles for losses, including one seven yard loss. He was everywhere on the field. And in a game where I saw the least-impressive 34 point performance ever, it was the Vikings defense that ruled the day, and Edwards was the best player on that defense in that game.
Goat of the Week - Tony Romo, QB Dallas
Sure, he was pressured constantly. Yet, most of that pressure came in the second half. In the first half, where they played pretty well, and the o-line blocking was adequate, Romo was awful. He fumbled away the first drive, missed open receivers on the second drive, held the ball too long on the third drive. You get the picture, don't you? Then, he threw an inexplicable interception. He invented pressure, and seemed to run around when there was little around him. I hate Brett Favre, and the way the media played him up for years now, but when he was evading tacklers, throwing on the run, Romo was doing the exact opposite. Maybe the 'Boys just knew how to play the Eagles, and that is it. I mean, they are now 4-3 in their last seven games. Romo may have helped cost Wade Phillips his job, when Phillips' unit was the only one that played well all year. I guess Jessica Simpson wasn't the problem then, huh?
Surprise of the Week - Reggie Bush, RB New Orleans
Yes, he's finally the opposite of a bust, and only becuase he was a bust. He was always a good receiver and always a good returner, but he played like a good rusher. He ran downhill, he ran with a purpose. He never even ran that well at USC. That touchdown run was brilliant. He stayed upright, pushed the feet and changed direction, three things that were so distant from him in his first four years. Reggie Bush's punt return was one of the more exceptional punt returns I have ever seen. Now, some blame goes to Arizona's kick coverage, but Bush outran the Cardinals in like two seconds. Most people do some lateral moves in punt returns, Bush just ran straight ahead. There might be hope for Reggie yet. And its obvious he can play in the playoffs (three games, five tds).
Dissapointment of the Week - Ray Rice, RB Baltimore
He was the most talked-about young upstart after round one. He was supposed to run all over the Colts, like he did to the more "physical" defense of the Patriots. The Colts should get alot of credit (and they will), but man was Rice bad. He ran with no intensity, no passion, until the game was all but decided. He got the ball alot out of the backfield, but never got alot of YAC, which he did so well in the regular season. He was bad in blitz pickup, bad in running, bad in receiving, and to cap off the quatrafecta is that he fumbled the ball away on his one good run of the day. Ray Rice is from Rutgers, so I will always have a soft spot for him, but that was a total dissapointment. I hope he comes back strong next year, but that stage was just too much for him.
Team Performance of the Week - Indianapolis Colts' Defense
I thought alot about going with the Saints defense, or the Vikings team, but I haven't given them any love yet. I have to. That was dominating. It wasn't like the Vikes holding the Cowboys to 3, as that was large part in due to the Cowboys fumbling and missing field goals multiple times. The Ravens were just utterly shut down after that first drive. The Ravens had five first downs on the first drive, five for the next ten drives. The Ravens got 85 yards on the first drive, 83 in every other drive until the last two garbage-time drives. The Colts absolutely slammed the door on that rushing offense. The Ravens had run for 308-124-175-240-234 in their last five games. They got 87. They had 67 on their first 18 carries, then on their last carry of the game, Rice ran for twenty, and the flowing Colts defense forced a fumble on that self-same play. That fumble: it was caused by a d-lineman 20 yards downfield. Then, the just fooled Flacco all the time. They covered beautifully after the first drive. I don't know what happened on that first drive, but it switched completely after it. The Colts defense was dominant. It was the BEST defense of the weekend. Yes, Jets fans, the BEST.
Team Lay-Down of the Week - San Diego Chargers Offense
Their defense actually played better than I expected. Their offense, they played worse, and I expected them to get 16 points. I'm absolving Nate Kaeding, becuase he plaing craps his pants in the playoffs. That is no surprise. The Chargers shouldn't have depended on a scatter-brain kicker in the first place. That Chargers offense was pathetic. Rivers was good, but didn't rise his play at the end. He threw one absolutely horrific interception at a time and place on the field when the biggest concern was taking care of the ball. The offensive-line couldn't open a lane all day, and they committed four false starts. Four? At home? That's terrible. Then, Jackson goes and kicks the challenge flag, they kick themselves after fumbling time after time. I'm sorry, but the Chargers offense didn't give themselves a chance, let along the Jets defense forcing them into a loss. I think it's time to give the Chargers the Colts 2002-2005 treatment. They are playoff chokers, and are probably worse chokers (having lost to worse teams in 2004, 2006 and 2009) than the Colts ever lost to.
Most Overplayed Storyline of Last Week - Momentum
The Cowboys are the hottest team in the NFC. The Chargers haven't lost since October. Those two have all the momentum. The Colts lost their final two games, and haven't won a game in a month. The Saints lost their last three games, two of which they tried. They rested starters. The Vikings were 2-3 to end the year. Sure, they didn't lose their final game, but they were 2-3 to end the year. Yeah, momentum matters.
Teams entering the postseason with the longest winning streak:
2008 - Colts, lost AFC Wild Card
2007 - Patriots, lost Super Bowl
2006 - Chargers, lost AFC Divisional
2005 - Redskins, lost NFC Divisional
2004 - Steelers, loset AFC Championship
2003 - Patriots, won Super Bowl.
Yeah, the last time the "hottest" team won the Super Bowl was in 2003. I think the hottest team matters as much as the best-looking uniform in deciding the outcome of postseason games.
Storyline That Will be Beat Into the Ground This Week - Colts Pulling Their Starters Against the Jets in Week 16
That was the game that started the Jets path to the playoffs (luck) and now to the Title Game (all skill). That was the game that gave the Colts more problems that probably most of their playoff losses. That was the game that forced Roger Goodell to think of the idea of giving draft picks to teams that don't rest their starters (not only was that a stupid idea, but I'm pretty sure that it will never happen, since the rested teams won BIG). That was the game that ended the Colts run at perfection. That was the perfect what if game. That was a game that will have no influence on this next game. The Colts won't rest people, the Jets won't benefit from the Colts resting. The winner won't luck in, it will earn this win.
Storyline That Should be Beat Into the Ground This Week - It's 2006 All Over Again, Will It End the Same?
In 2006, the Super Bowl was in Miami. In 2006, the Colts hosted an AFC East team that just upset the Chargers in the AFC Championship. The Saints played a team from the NFC North in the NFC Championship. The public all wanted Colts-Saints. Manning-Brees. The team that couldn't win the big one and the team that couldn't win. The public gets a second chance. Rex Grossman and the Bears screwed it up. The Vikings and the Jets get a chance to this year. The public actually probably wants Favre-Manning, so the Saints could screw it up, which would indirectly surfeit all of those that wanted the Saints-Colts in '06.
Well, this was the weekend that dome-field advantage come back. Loud domes, loud wins. Outside in sunny Cali, well, that never works well in sports. Last year, we saw the death of home-field advantage. Home-field advantage was ressurected pretty quickly, wasn't it. Hopefully, it lasts one more week. Hopefully, we have two good games in the remaining three. Hopefuly, these playoffs teach people not to overrate momentum.
