Entries Tagged 'Football' ↓

I had intentions of writing a more in-depth preview and prediction for this weekend’s games, but time management has become an issue this week. So I’ll cut right to the chase and make my picks (in bold).

Saturday, January 5
NFC
Washington at Seattle  (4:30 PM ET NBC)
AFC
Jacksonville at Pittsburgh  (8:00 PM ET NBC)
Sunday, January 6
NFC
NY Giants at Tampa Bay  (1:00 PM ET FOX)
AFC
Tennessee at San Diego  (4:30 PM CBS)

I’ll keep score of my hits and misses throughout the post season and provide more rationale for my picks in weeks ahead. 

The game lived up to the hype. It was like a good heavyweight prize fight, with the challenger, the New York Giants, coming out swinging in the early rounds. When Eli Manning threw a 52 yard bomb to Plaxico Burruss on just the game’s second play to set up a 7 yard touchdown pass to Brandon Jacobs five plays later, Giants fans were excited to see this level of intensity for a game that had so little meaning in the standings.

One Patriots’ field goal and a Tom Brady to Randy Moss record tying touchdown pass later and it was 10-7 New England in the second quarter. Then Giants special teams receiver Domenick Hixon returned the ensuing kickoff 74 yards to put New York up 14-10. Two Pats field goals made it 21-16 at the half.

As the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens know all too well, you have to play 60 minutes in order to beat New England. The Giants learned this the hard way. Momentum shifted in the second half as the teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter, but the Giants seemed out of synch and Eli Manning, playing above his head in the first half, seemed his usual self again in the second. He was pressured by an aggressive Patriots pass rush, that threw him out of his rhythm, while New England played error-free the rest of the way.

In the end it was a Patriots victory on all judges’ cards, 38-35 to cap a perfect 16-0 record, the first team in 35 years to go undefeated in the regular season.

All week long, so-called sports experts wondered whether the Giants would play their starters, having already made the playoffs and with nothing to gain. But pro football players apparently play for pride. Conceding defeat is not part of a player’s psyche. In the immortal words of former Jets head coach Herman Edwards, “You play to win the game.” While they didn’t win, they did generate some positive momentum heading into next week’s first round match-up with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

I’ll give my post-season predictions later in the week.

Ok, so I was wrong. What else is new.

Defense does win championships and Indianapolis had the better one. They also proved that a good offense can be the best defense. They kept Chicago�s defense on the field to the point of exhaustion and never let the Bears offense get on the field long enough to develop a rhythm.

Tony Dungy becomes the first Black coach to win a Super Bowl and did it without swearing at his players or even raising his voice, but rather through respect and instilling a strong team spirit. Let that be a lesson to the so-called disciplinarians around the league (like the Giants� Tom Coughlin).

Peyton Manning has gotten the monkey off his back and shed the label of big game choker, but across the field, the Bears� Rex Grossman simply raised more questions about his ability to lead a team to victory.

As you can imagine, post game reaction differed depending on whether you were in Indianapolis or Chicago.

I know I am. The two weeks of hype is over. Today there will be football.

The unofficial national holiday, otherwise known as Super Bowl XLI, will capture the attention of an estimated 90 million television viewers worldwide. While some will tune in to see which corporations have the most interesting commercials or whether Prince pulls a Janet during the halftime show, for us diehard football fans, the game is about settling all the off-the-field speculation once and for all.

Thirty-two NFL teams opened training camps last July and now 8 months later only two remain. A champion will be crowned today, but to those of us who love the sport, this also means the end of the season (next week�s Pro Bowl doesn�t count).

In post season predictions, I am 3-7 this year, and can�t possible finish in the black. But I can regain a level of respectability by picking the Super Bowl correctly, and by God, that�s what I plan to do.

As far as I am concerned, the axiom, �defense wins championships� has never been disproven and I don�t think it will be today. But defense is just one aspect of the game. Good offensive and special teams play are also essential for any team to win.

The Colts and Bears are fairly even in overall defense, with Indy giving up fewer yards per game despite the perception they can�t stop the run. The Bears have a better record, although everyone discounts the NFC and despite the second guessing Rex Grossman gets over his abilities as a quarterback. Peyton Manning is arguably the best QB in the game today, but his best receiver, Marvin Harrison, has been surprisingly quiet this post season. The Bears have a reliable receiver corps that includes Muhsin Muhammed and Bernard Berrian. Indy�s kicker, Adam Vinatieri, is an experienced Super Bowl game-winner, while the Bears rookie kick return specialist Devin Hester has game-breaking potential.

Manning feels he has a lot to prove having never won �the big one.� Chicago is the Rodney Dangerfield of the NFL and nobody is giving them any respect. Which team has the most motivation to win and will make the fewest mistakes? I think it�s going to be a low scoring affair, maybe 16-7 or 21-10, but I think the outcome will surprise most fans.

Super Bowl XLI — Dolphin Stadium (South Florida)
(My picks in bold; all times are eastern)

Sunday, Feb. 4
Indianapolis Colts vs. Chicago Bears
6:25 pm
CBS

AFC-NFC Pro Bowl — Aloha Stadium (Honolulu, Hawaii)

Saturday, Feb. 10
NFC vs. AFC
6:00 pm
CBS

The Chicago Bears defeated the New Orlean Saints 39-14 to become NFC Champions.

The Indianapolis Colts beat the New England Patriots 38-34 to win the AFC Championship.

So, for the first time in NFL history, two Black head coaches will face each other in the Super Bowl, Tony Dungy for the Colts and Lovie Smith of the Bears.

Super Bowl XLI will take place Sunday, February 4 in Miami, Florida.