Playoffs

This weekend of playoff games was justification for all of the people who thought 8-8 teams shouldn't be in the post season. St. Louis got run right out of the Georgia Dome on Saturday and Philly downed the Vikings on Sunday. Oh yeah, then there were the AFC games in which the Steelers and Pats won to set up a game which many would probably like to see as the Super Bowl.

I only watched two of the games intently, the Falcons/Rams and Patriots/Colts. The reason I didn't watch the other two games as closely is that I went to church durning the Steelers/Jets game and then was on my way to a friends' house for the second game during the ending of the first. On Sunday I was reffing during the entire Vikings game and didn't get home until kickoff of the Pats game.

The Patriots proved once again why they have won two of the past three Super Bowls. They don't make mistakes, have a coach who never gets flustered, coordinators who know what they are going to call five plays down the line, a team who expects to win, fans who expect to win and never give up on their team, and have players who make big plays. Kevin Faulk came up with a huge reception for first down on a third and nine from their own 7, to keep an eventual touchdown drive alive. On the defensive side of the ball, Tedy Bruschi had a big take away and the rest of the players held MVP Peyton Manning and the high powered Colts offense to just three points. Sure the weather was bad, but that's why home field advantage is so important. You now have to wonder if the Colts will ever be able to get to the Super Bowl without playing every game in the RCA Dome. Manning looked quite pedestrian in his performance yesterday throwing for only 238 yards on 27 of 42 passing and 1 interception. We did get to see quite a bit of the Peyton Manning "I can't believe this is happening to me again, nothing is going right and I'm going to be 6-0 against Tom bleeping Brady" face. This is the only thing I really dislike about Manning. He wears too much emotion on his sleeve. Granted there were a lot of dropped balls by his receivers (5), but not everything is someone else's fault. How long can other players stand him just yelling about things Manning doesn't like, even when it's his own fault? I honestly can't see Manning winning a Super Bowl within the next 5 seasons. Whether or not he does at all in his career is yet to be seen, but if he can't get past the outdoor games, he won't. He just beat Marino's record of touchdowns in a season, let's just see if he can ever beat Marino's record of Super Bowl victories, zero.

Onto another quarterback who won't win a title this year and may go his entire career without one. Michael Vick showed why he is a great threat to defenses, but not much more. I'm sorry but Michael Vick just simply does not impress me as a quarterback all that much. He is a smart player in that he takes what is given to him (12/16- 2 touchdowns, 8 rushes 119 yards), but he would not be someone I would want to quarterback my team in a must-win game. I would take many players before him. I will discuss more about the over-hyping of athletes in another column, but let me say just one last thing about Mr. Vick. He is the best athlete ever to play quarterback, the players who have previously held that title; Daunte Culpepper, Donovan McNabb, and Randall Cunningham have led their teams to a total of zero Super Bowl titles. How many Super Bowl appearances have they led their respective teams to? Wait for it... wait for it... wait... that's right ZERO. Obviously this will end this weekend as McNabb and Vick face-off for a Super Bowl birth.

Onto my picks for this weekend. It is early in the week and many things can happen, but I will make them anyway. First the NFC. As much as I have put down Michael Vick already in this column, I have to think he will lead his team to a victory in Philadelphia this weekend. The team is playing with a lot of confidence running the ball right now and are playing the 17th ranked rushing defense in the league. While I don't think we will see them put another 300+ on the ground, they will be able to run against the Eagles with success. This won't be as high scoring as the Falcons/Rams game, 17 may in fact win this one, and the edge there has to go to the Falcons. They just have more people who can make plays on offense, Vick, Warrick Dunn, Alge Crumpler, TJ Duckett, and Peerless Price. The Eagles have McNabb and (all due respect to Freddie Mitchell) Brian Westbrook. I also like the way the Falcons defense swarms to the ball. Plus, I would just like to see what kind of garbage would be said this year if the Eagles lose again. Last year after they lost the NFC Championship game I visited some of the Philadelphia message boards and read some of the most racist, disgusting, and just plain stupid things I have ever read in my life. I want to see if the Philadelphia fans can go even lower this year. Falcons 20 Eagles 13.

The Steelers dominated the Patriots in Pittsburgh 34-20 earlier this season to stop the 21 game winning streak. So why do I think the Patriots will win this weekend in Pittsburgh with the AFC title on the line? Because they've done it before. In 2001 the Steelers had the number three offense in the league and the number one defense and got beaten by the Patriots 24-17 in Pittsburgh, when the Pats had only the 19th ranked offense and the 24th ranked defense in the league, not to mention second year quarterback Tom Brady leading the team. The Patriots are so good at preparing for these games it shouldn't even be a contest. Sure New England's secondary is depleted, but the Steelers don't exactly threaten down field very often in their offense. They are a power football team and the Patriots defense is built to stop power teams. Sure the Steelers put up 34 against this same defense earlier in the season, but this is the playoffs and the Steelers have a rookie quarterback who hasn't been very impressive lately playing against a dynasty. Hopefully for Steelers fans, Big Ben will be like Danny Manning in '88 and lead his team to a championship in his first year. I don't see it happening. Oh yeah, and the Patriots will be playing this game with running back Corey Dillon, who gives this Patriot team such a different dynamic with his ability to bust big plays and set up the play action. What does all of this mean? Patriots 24 Steelers 17, same score as in 2001.

By the way, you will probably find out by this time next week that I have no idea what I'm talking about (if you haven't already).

-Until next time...