2007-01-15 - 7:30 a.m.
Another weekend come and gone. Read as I wander through my hazy memories of the recent past.
There was football as the NFC games shared 27-24 scores both in and out of overtime. I was glad to see the Saints pull it out against the Eagles since I jumped off the Eagles bandwagon. Andy Reid should have went for it on 4th and 15. Remember when McNabb made a 4th and 26 against the Packers? I think they made it.
Da Bears are one game away from Da Super Bowl but that New Orleans team seems to have destiny on their side. I picked the Bears and I'm sticking with Da Bears but I find myself rooting for the Saints, who are in their first NFC Champiobship Game ever.
In the AFC, the Ravens and Chargers played all year to get a bye week after the season and before they hosted a playoff game.
That thud you heard was the visiting teams winning two tough road games. When you lose a game by three points you have to wonder if there were opportunities to score more points. Marty has another whole off-season to figure out how to win a playoff game. 200 regular season wins and a 5-13 postseason record. Best regular season coach ever? I mean, he led the Chargers to 14 wins, that should count for something, right?
How did the Ravens win 13 games this season with that offense? The Ravens offense makes drying paint look exciting. Their defense was good enough to give up 5 scoring drives to the Colts, at 3 points a pop that's 15 points. 15 points against the Colts looks good but 5 scoring drives? The inferior Colts defense only allowed 2 scoring drives plus they forced 3 turnovers.
So now the Patriots are coming to Indy. I don't think Peyton is going to let the Pats hang around as he has done with the teams in the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Colts now have the Patriots number in beating them the last two regular season meetings and I think that will continue. I think the Patriots will keep it close but I look for the Colts to pull away late as they will also do on Feb. 4 for the Super Bowl victory against the Bears.
With both Tom Brady and Peyton Manning coming off bad games (2 for Peyton), we should see fantastic QB play in the AFC Champinoship game. It will come down to who can run and who can stop the run. It seems like the Patriots have the advantage in both defense and the running game but you can't pick these games with your head. My heart says that the Colts are still the best team in the AFC so they will find a way to win the game on Sunday.
Oh, and Aaron Brooks of the Oregon Ducks hit another last second shot to beat a Pac-10 foe, this time my beloved Arizona Wildcats were the victim of an Aaron Brooks floater. The Pac-10 is the best basketball conference in America, they might get up to 8 teams into the tournament but I hope the 'Cats don't lose too many of these games in such dramatic fashion.
After a few years, the Arizona/UCLA game is again Duke/North Carolina west. ACC fans might read that and say that no Pac-10 rivalry can compare to Duke/North Carolina. Well, who asked you ACC fan?
