It seems like August was just yesterday. Every NFL fan in the country had that special feeling deep inside... "Could this be the year?" Ok, maybe Rams and Bucs supporters were thinking more about the 1st pick in the draft but that's besides the point. You could smell it in the air in late August, as the final preseason game wound down the countdown was officially on for the season opener. I can still see Troy Polamalu jumping towards the stars in that first game, intercepting a Kerry Collins pass with one hand deep in Pitt territory, sending the Steelers fans into a state of pandamonium. Well, we found out just how valuable Troy was to Pitt because as he fell hard and off the field of play for the majority of the season, so too did the Steelers from the list of contenders for this year's grand prize. They will not get a chance to defend their title in this year's gauntlet known as: THE NFL PLAYOFFS!
I love those words together! Literally sends chills down my spine. I can hear Chris Berman now... "(in a deep voice) the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field"...."Marshalllllll Marrrsshhhalll Marshallllll!"...."daaaaaah Raaaaaiiiiddddeeeerrrrrrssss!" "TD pass makes the score 10 nothing GGGggggggggmennnnn!!!!!!!!!!".... and here ya go panther fans, you haven't had much to cheer about this year- "daylight come n ya gotta Delllhome!!"
Do you hear it? The music in the background, classic Fox n CBS NFL music, nothing beats it! The playoffs are here indeed! As January continues we will start to eliminate teams one by one. We start with 12 teams and by the end of the month there will be two.... vying for NFL supremecy! Who will those two teams be? I could tell you right now, but then you wouldn't continue reading right? haha! ON WE GO! (I love Willy Wonka)
Lets breakdown each conference, NFC first: New Orleans, Minnesota, Dallas, Arizona, Green Bay and Philly. Talk about a crapshoot. You could argue that any of these teams will be playing in Miami on February 7th. Honestly I see three of these teams actually having a realistic shot at the SuperBowl. Let's play contender or pretender... First we examine the Green Bay vs. Arizona matchup: Now the casual sports fan will tell you the Packers are gonna steamroll the Cards just like they did in Week 17 - NOT SO FAST MY FRIEND! Arizona had nothing to play for in week 17, they knew it, they planned for it, and accomplished it. Green Bay absolutely dominated AZ in every way, leading the nation to believe the Packers were the "darkhorse favorite to make a run". Don't be misled. The Cheeseheads are far from favorites. They have many flaws and simply don't have what it takes to run the gauntlet and win 4 games in a row. Could they pull off a win in the desert on Sunday night? maybe, but not likely. Does anyone remember last year's playoffs? Everyone was hailing the Falcons as the next big thing. No one could stop them, oh wait a minute no one except... the Arizona Cardinals. The week after that Kurt Warner was leading the Cards into hostile territory, on the road in Carolina. 5 interceptions later, AZ completed the upset win over the Panthers and they were on their way home to host the NFC Championship game. And with a win over the Eagles the next week, just like that... Arizona was in the Superbowl! Go figure?! It would not shock me in the least if the Warner and his outstanding receivers led their team on a run once again. I think they get it done over the Packers and move on to the divisional round to face.... TBD
Theres a showdown in Texas Saturday night. Eagles and Cowboys... part 3. Bring the big guns boys n girls, this is gonna be an all out war. I believe that the winner of this game could possibly ride the momentum all the way to the big finish. For me, picking this game is excruciatingly painful. On one side of the field is Andy Reid, Donovan McNabb, and quite possibly the most explosive player in the league, DeSean Jackson. On the other side you have "America's Team" led by Wade Phillips, a terrible coach that the Cowboys win in spite of, not because of. Jerry Jones' brand new stadium was simply electrifying last Sunday when the 'Boys won the division, keeping the Eagles off the scoreboard for 60 minutes. The Eagles have been oh so close to the ultimate prize for the last 7 years. Their window of opportunity is closing. Here's a little trivia question: How many appearances have they made in the NFC Championship game since 2002? Anyone??? Four times they have been there, winning once. That was 2004 when they advanced to play New England in Jacksonville. The Patriots would win the game by 3 points and once again the Eagles were left thinking what if? Now they stand as the #6 seed for the second year in a row. Last year they won on the road in Minnesota and then went right into NY and eliminated the defending champion Giants, putting them one step away from the big dance. Can they do it again? Can they win in a hostile environment? The answer - maybe. Their performance in big games is a coin toss, they've won their fair share but also lost some crucial battles as well. McNabb has been Philly's greatest hero occasionally but also their most infamous goat. The Cowboys showed how to beat Philly last week - control lightning-quick Jackson, put pressure on McNabb, protect Romo, and run the ball down with no regard for human life. Philly's number one problem - Dallas is hotter than Megan Fox in Transformers 2 right now, that's ridiculously hot by the way in case you haven't seen it yet. Romo is throwing the ball as well as anyone in the league and Miles Austin has come out of nowhere to be dangerous down the field. Not to mention I really enjoy hearing Joe Buck say... "and Marion the Barbarian is at it again, causing mayhem with every step!" And then we have Jason Witten who catches everything that comes his way, throw in Patrick Crayton playing at his best, combined with the speedy Felix Jones and this is the recipe for success. I expect a very close hard fought battle but in the end I believe the Dallas D is up for the task of stopping Jackson and McNabb. I see Dallas winning this one and moving on to an extremely hostile evironment in Minnesota! (And this sends the Cardinals down to the bayou to play the Saints, very intriguing matchup) Wow that was a tough call! Keep in mind, this game really could go either way and I have very mixed emotions about putting my NFL playoffs bracket life in the hands of the Cowboys. My cousins will kill me for this pick but it's just my gut instinct right here, right now! We'll take a look at the AFC Wild Card games next time...
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