Don't miss your chance for football betting at BetUS.com. As America's #1 sportsbook, BetUS offers the most up-to-date betting lines & odds for all your betting needs.
Keyboard Quarterback: Championship Weekend
Authored by Andrew Perna - 15th January, 2007 - 1:19 am
While there isn't a real marquee matchup, Ravens vs. Colts, Panthers vs. Bucs, Bears vs. Falcons, and Chargers vs. Patriots are all pivotal games in the standings.
With John Herrera standing to his right dressed in black and appearing not unlike an undertaker, Lane Kiffin sat down at the podium for Sunday's postgame news conference.
Baltimore wants Flacco to be their QB of the future. But the Ravens feel they have no choice but to start him now because Boller and Smith are unavailable. Wrong!
RealGM Search
Blink. I hope you haven’t done that in the past ten days or so. If you did you may have missed the first two rounds of the NFL’s postseason. What began as a twelve-team race to Miami has been chopped down to a four-team scramble for the Promised Land. Sadly, my Philadelphia Eagles’ run towards the Super Bowl has ended. They were sent back to the City of Brotherly Love by Deuce McAllister’s legs and the lapsing brain of back-up Eagles’ guard Scott Young.
Despite my disappointment on Saturday night, my Keyboard Quarterback picks moved from their perfect Wild Card round standing to an impressive 7-1 playoff record after this weekend. I had picked every game correctly until New England’s upset of the San Diego Chargers. If any of the 2006 playoff teams were going to make me look bad, you know it was going to be those damn Patriots. The postseason battles this weekend were all so good that they have me jonesing for more. With just three games left on the NFL schedule this season, soon I’ll have to resort to another outlet for my addiction.
Before I provide you with my ever-important Championship Weekend predictions, let me showcase some of the most memorable moments from this part weekend’s action (in no particular order).
Sheldon Brown’s hit on Reggie Bush It came on the second play of the game, when Drew Brees threw a screen pass to Bush on the right side. Brown, reading the play the whole way, knocked Bush into next week (literally, into the NFC Championship) in a ‘welcome to the playoffs’ moment. Too bad the Eagles won’t get the chance to scramble Rex Grossman like an egg next week.
Peyton Manning’s poise in the Second Half Peyton played within himself against the Ravens on Saturday afternoon and allowed the Colt running game to get the job done. He only threw the ball thirty times, which was the second-fewest pass attempts he’s ever had in a postseason game (he threw just 26 times in a blow-out win a few years ago). Now he gets another chance to reach the Super Bowl against the rival Pats this weekend.
Lovie Smith’s Grin Did you catch the smile that spread across Chicago head coach Lovie Smith’s face when Robbie Gould’s game-winning kick sailed through in overtime? The man looked like a seven-year old on Christmas who just unwrapped the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles play-set that has always eluded him. (Okay, maybe that was just me.) Pigskin is back in the Windy City and the Bears, I would think, will enter the NFC Championship as favorites to advance to Miami.
LaDainian Tomlinson’s Frustration As the two teams converged following New England’s win in San Diego yesterday, Charger running back LaDainian Tomlinson wanted nothing to do with opposing team. Upon being offered hugs and handshakes from several New England players, including former teammate Reche Caldwell, Tomlinson scowled and forced his way through the mass and into the tunnel. While some saw it as poor sportsmanship, I loved it. LT took offense to the Patriots’ on-field celebration as Nate Kaeding missed the potential game-tying field goal, which came with time still on the clock. In the era of mouthy, egotistical skill players Tomlinson is always as diplomatic as they come. The fire I saw in his eye after the game is something I want to see more of in 2007.
New Orleans at Chicago This game is hard to gauge. The Bears are the superior team, when playing their best, but the Saints are the more reliable option. New Orleans is playing with plenty of heart, but how much of it will be left at the Superdome as they travel to Chicago? Philadelphia did a wonderful job of containing Drew Brees and the passing game, as well as finding holes in the Saint secondary. Chicago will have to try and follow in the Eagles’ footsteps in that regard. However, if the Bears want minimize Rex Grossman’s errors they’ll have to run the ball more, and better, than Philadelphia did.
Seattle found holes in Chicago’s much-respected defense as well, but they couldn’t capitalize on the Bears’ mistakes when the time was right. Sean Payton will have to scheme better than Mike Holmgren did in hopes of scoring when the Chicago defense is on its heels. I wouldn’t be surprised to see either of these teams advance to the Super Bowl, but I’m going to pick the Saints for a few reasons. Chicago is too unpredictable to rely on, and the Saints seem to be playing with house money – they weren’t supposed to have such a dramatic turnaround in less than a year.
New Orleans 27, Chicago 16
New England at Indianapolis Well if it isn’t Tom Brady versus Peyton Manning in the AFC Championship game.
And the Colts’ Adam Vinatieri against his old teammates, the Patriots.
This game will be hyped a lot more than the earlier NFC battle, which is why this pairing earned top-billing in prime time on Sunday night. The Patriots, never out of the mix come playoff time, will once again have the opportunity to reach the Super Bowl. If they do it’ll be what seems like their eighty-seventh appearance in the last eighty-nine years. The Colts will have to be careful, because New England will take your littlest mistake and magnify a hundred times over for both points, and public humiliation.
Indianapolis is just 2-6 against New England since 2001, but has won consecutive games against their cross-division rival. A third win wouldn’t just be the charm for the Colts, it would also lift the ‘choker’ label off of Manning’s career resume. It will take epic performances from the receiving duo of Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison, and even stronger efforts from Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes, but if the Colts plan on reaching the Super Bowl anytime soon – this is the year to make it happen. The Pats will see plenty go their way on Sunday, but Peyton and the boys will finally break through to the next level, sending Bill Belichick to the store for a new sweatshirt in the process.
Indianapolis 31, New England 27
Do you want to muse on the playoffs thus far? Send me some of your thoughts/favorite moments from the 2006 NFL playoffs and maybe I’ll use them during the Super Bowl bye-week! (Please include name and location).Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com
