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| Not so elusive now are we Mike? |
| Too Predictable! By Mike Dodge The cream rises to the top...isn't that what we were taught to believe? Unlike many of the Super Bowl match-ups in the past, this year's match-up between the Patriots and Eagles just seems too predictable. A month ago, 12 teams advanced into the post season, and from the get-go, the national media and every other banwagon rider in existance rode the Payton Manning Express. Funny thing is, history has a tendency of repeating itself...I'll get back to that. Then there was the NFC and it's elusive and tagged "Most Exciting Player in the NFL" Michael Vick. Well, here we are a month later, and both players and their respective teams are...well, gone. How fickle the National Media and all the claimed "sports analysts" are. If you took the blinders off, you would have seen this Super Bowl match-up before the season had officially started...right? The Patriots won two Super Bowls without a dominating running game, and with the addition of a so called "malcontent" by the name of Corey Dillon, of course, firmed-up a "questionable" running game. "Malcontent?" What a lebel to cast on a player that is arguably one of the best running backs in the game. If I played for a bottom feeder for seven seasons, I may be a little "malcontent" myself. The Eagles on the other hand added arguably the best wide receiver in the league...that couldn't hurt right? BUT! T.O. went down, and of course so went the Eagles' chances of advancing to the Super Bowl. Oh wait, that didn't happen...once again we look at the obvious...THE NFC IS HORRIBLE! Predictably, the Eagles and the Falcons met in the NFC Championship game, because none of the other teams had any right being in the playoffs. When you have two 8-8 teams, and only three teams with double digit wins in the playoffs, it's not not too difficult to advance without your main "go-to" weapon. With that being said, I am not going into detail; the NFC isn't worth my time...nor yours. I'm not hating folks; I let the records speak for itself. With the AFC, it wasn't nearly as easy to predict, or was it? With a 15-1 Steeler team, an offensive juggernaut Colts team, and the current World Champs all in the mix, it was quite a bit more interesting than the JV teams slugging it out in the NFC. The Colts were a team media hounds love to throw up on a pedestal. Why not? Peyton Manning finished with the best QB rating in NFL history, a million or so touchdowns, and a receiving core that may go down as the best ever. There were just two questions about the Colts; can the defense step-up? Can they win outside the friendly confines of a dome? Here is the answer for both...NO. Throw on the fact Manning can't win the "The Big Game", and all that's left is another guy that had a great regular season and will be going home early...again. Fans of the game say "Manning will win the Super Bowl eventually", but the same was said about his daddy, Dan Marino. The pressure is getting greater by the year for Manning, the same as it did for Marino. MVP awards will be won, but you can forget about the Lombardi Trophy. The Steelers on the other hand rode into the playoffs 15-1, led by an undefeated QB. Let me correct myself...lead by a great defense and a punnishing running game. Let's face it, Ben was a rookie, and the "Rookie Wall", was quickly approaching. Time and again the defense bailed him out late in the season, but eventually it was going to catch up with him. BUT, if there was a Cinderella team out there, the Steelers were my pick. The Chargers and the Jets were what I like to call "The Role Players." They were the teams destined to get beat...but make it interesting. The Chargers were a bust, but the Jets held-up their end of the deal. If anybody says, "Geez, I can't stand Herm Edwards", they are not wrapped too tight. The man is hilarious! The whole "Play to win the game", or "Front of the bus, back of the bus" ramblings leading into the playoffs were classic. This man deserves a big win more than anybody. Herm loves the game, loves being a coach, but lacks the main ingredient needed in coaching...intelligence. I say lose the Jets and ask Belichick for a job. I hear a couple coordinator jobs are opening up. Then there were the Champs. Bill Belichick and the Patriots strolled into the playoffs with a first round Buy and absolutely ZERO respect...per usual. Here is a VERY abbreviated version of the AFC playoffs: - Chargers lose in the first round, but walk away knowing they made the right move trading away their #1 draft pick to the Giants. - Broncos lose mainly because they beat-up on the Colts back-up QB, and forgot it wasn't Peyton Manning the week before. Poor game plan, lousy execution, poor coaching...just a poor team. ROUND 2 - Jets gave the Steelers a heart attack...TWICE, but blow it in the end. After another lackluster performance, Big Ben gets a rude awakening...HOLY SH!&, this isn't college! - Patriots show Manning and the Colts, defense wins football games. Nope, that doesn't say it enough. Maybe the Visa commercial summed it up the best "Not in our house. Nope. Not today, not tomorrow..." Have you ever seen a QB shake his head, or look at the ground more than Manning did during that game? Oh wait...yup, Manning against the Pats the year before. ROUND 3 - Let's see, the Pats held the most prolific offense in the NFL to three points. Why not blow the doors of the best defense? 41 points enough? Within two weeks, it was a story from least to most (least points scored by the Colts, most points allowed by the Steelers). I could talk about the AFC Championship game all day, but I am running out of lines. So, here we are...as expected. The Eagles will be playing the Champs in Jacksonville in two weeks. Was it that hard to figure out who was going to the Super Bowl. Hindsight is 20/20, but I'll stick with Christ Berman on this one. He was off by one last year (No fault to him, the Eagles choked), and he picked the same two this season. I usually complain about the two-week lay-off before the Super Bowl. This year, I think I am just going to sit back and listen to all the ESPN analysts think of ways to pick the Eagles...just to watch them shrug their shoulders and admit they were wrong AGAIN after the Patriots win their 3rd Vince Lombardi Trophy in 4 years. Oh my, did I just make a prediction? Pictures provided by NFL.com |
| Good rookie campaign Ben...but admit it, you were playing hurt. |
| CONGRATULATIONS! You are the champs of the weakest conference in NFL history! |
| 8-0 in the playoffs, 3 Super Bowl appearances, 2 Super Bowl MVP trophies, but only 2 Pro Bowl selections...interesting. |
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| What rules can we complain about "not being enforced" this off-season? |
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