Look who’s playing, now … Colts v. Patriots. How many times have we seen this matchup in the playoffs in recent years? Only this time, it’s indoors.
The Chargers and the Ravens were the favorites, but instead, playoff veterans New England and Indianapolis prevailed in the Divisional Round, and now a tremendous matchup awaits in the AFC Championship Game when the Colts host the rival Patriots at 6:30 ET on CBS. New England has traditionally been a thorn in the side of Indianapolis, especially in the playoffs, often frustrating quarterback Peyton Manning into turnovers and mistakes. But the Colts have been a different team during the playoffs in 2007, relying not on Manning but on hard-hitting defense. New England will try to match the Colts’ intensity and count on Tom Brady to lead them to yet another Super Bowl.
Not to be outdone, the Saints have been the Cinderella story of the league this season. With a new head coach, quarterback, running back and New Orleans spirit, the Saints have turned their franchise around, helping the city of New Orleans to latch on to something positive.
Now the Saints will travel to the Windy City to face the Monsters of the Midway in the NFC Championship game.
It’s been a long time since the Bears reached the Super Bowl. The Saints have never reached the Super Bowl. Two hungry teams expect to kick off Championship Weekend Jan. 21 at 3 ET on FOX. It also figures to be an exciting game between two teams who have shown an ability to hit big plays … as well as an ability to come up with damaging mistakes. Both the Bears and the Saints will also look to get the ground game running with a pair of quality backs (Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush for New Orleans, Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson for Chicago). The big battle could be Pro Bowl quarterback Drew Brees against the opportunistic Bears passing defense.
And so what some thought impossible happened: the Chiefs, after all, made the 2006 playoffs.
“It’s kind of interesting,” noted head coach Herm Edwards. “I told the team that after game two we were 0-2 and there were 11 teams that were 0-2 and I showed them all 11 teams. I said out of this madness someone’s going to get out of here and get in the playoffs and I said, why can’t it be us? We were the only team to get in that was 0-2.” (Herm Edwards Press Conference)
Edwards noted the playoff inexperience of his team and columnist Bob Gretz followed up with What They Don’t Know, citing the few players who “have limited experience in the playoffs, especially a lack of winning experience….” In fact, “the last time any player (on this roster) was in the post-season was 2004, when DT James Reed and RB Michael Bennett made the tournament with the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings.” But “here’s the real eye-opener: 42 of the 53 players have one-game of post-season experience or less. That’s 79 percent of the roster.”
While the nay-sayers talk up what they believe is the Chiefs dismal playoff record, Jon Rand notes as the team starts Picking It Up For The Playoffs that, “instead of being a team that’s missed the playoffs for the eighth time in nine years, the Chiefs have made the playoffs twice in the last four seasons. There are five AFC teams with playoff-caliber talent – the Broncos and the four 8-8 teams – that are finished for the season while the Chiefs are still alive. That’s a reminder that the Chiefs aren’t the only streaky team around.”
Eileen Weir wishes Happy New Year To You, 49ers, taking us inside a typical NY’s Eve home with every family member glued to his and her TV set. It’s quite the emotional roller coaster ride that most of you were no doubt feeling as you made final prep to hit the town, and then: “Back to the grainy shadowy picture in the kitchen. I can listen but I can’t watch. Put the linguine in. It won’t be long now. “Come here, come here, come here,” rings out the cry from the other room. “Hurry!” And the kick…is….GOOD! Glee.”
For those who only heard about Herm’s “mini-tirade,” hear it for yourself on-line or read Q&A with Herm Edwards- 1/1. You can make your own decision to whether, as Ms. Weir says it is “a motivational ploy or a manipulative distraction to divert attention.”.
Think you can’t turn it around in a season or two, think again. The Tennessee Titans “fielded the youngest roster in the AFC and the fifth-youngest starting lineup in the NFL on opening day. The Titans finished the season starting 10 recent draft picks (from 2004 on) and finished 8-8,” according to Rick Gosselin of Dallas Morning News. The team already has 60 players under contract for 2007 – and they are still $41 million under the projected salary cap of $106 million. It can be done – and quicker than you think.
Here’s another nugget from Gosselin: “San Diego is the best team in the NFL with a 14-2 record and a 10-game winning streak (last loss was to the Chiefs at Arrowhead). But the team with the best regular-season record has won only one of the six Super Bowls this decade (NE in 2003).
It’s not too early to start thinking about 2007 Chiefs football at Arrowhead. We know the schedule now. The format implemented in 2002 with realignment guarantees that all teams play each other on a regular, rotating basis. In addition to the usual AFC West opponents, KC will meet the Jaguars again, Tennessee and exciting QB Vince Young, the Bengals, last season’s opening day opponent, the Packers and the Vikings. On the road, it’s Herm’s return to his old haunts in NY to meet his old team, the Jets, back to Houston and Indy, and then to the upper Midwest to take on Chicago and Detroit.
In a news business that loves to compile lists, NFL.com now offers its “2006 All-Interview Team.” Our own Brian Waters is a member of this year’s team, which should not be a surprise to anyone who watches local TV. Do they ever talk to anyone else?
Finally, to put this playoff run in some perspective, here’s the odds of the Chiefs getting there going into Sunday’s game, courtesy of a Dr. Jim Lackritc, associate dean of the School of Business, San Diego State University:
88.6% - Denver Broncos (out)
88.4% - NY Jets (in)
18.0% - Cincinnati Bengals (out)
2.2% - Tennessee Titans (out)
1.6% - Kansas City Chiefs (in)
1.2% - Jacksonville Jaguars (out)
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until next year!
Missouri State gave Lousiville a run for their money, but couldn’t squelch a 22-4 run to end the first half. The Bears only shot 25% in the first half … but, most of the misses came from our big guys (doing it all year) having their back to the basket, jumping, turning and throwing the ball in the vicinity of the goal, just hoping that it will go in — poor shot selection!
Anyway, that was the moral of the game … don’t shoot the ball unless you’re already facing the basket! Or, at least work the ball around to get good shots.
Game over … no continues, this isn’t Nintendo.
Now, it’s on to the St. Louis Cardinals watch and Major League Baseball … waiting for the NFL to get going, too … oh, and NASCAR is getting into full swing so we’ll talk about that, too.
Stay tuned.
