Man...what a lousy championship weekend.
I'm glad Philly FINALLY won...it was nice to see Andy Reid crack a grin for once. New England...eh. Ya know...okay, remember those couple years the Packers went in a row? I'm a Packer fan, (More of a Raider fan, but I've always pulled for Green Bay in their conference) and enjoyed it. But when year three came 'round, and they didn't go, I was partially bummed out & partially glad to see at least one new team go. I'm kinda feeling that way now. New England's going again. cool. Fine. But truth be told, I'd rather see two teams there that haven't been there for the past few years.
And the games themselves....dear god. Atlanta just got hammered play after play after play. It was embarassing for me, and I've never been much of a Falcons supporter. And Pittsburgh just played like shit. It wasn't bad hands, like the Jets game, or bad throws. It wasn't missed tackles or poor coverage. It wasn't even special teams. It was ALL OF IT. They just went out there and played like crap. At least, in the quarter & 1/2 that I watched. I looked over at a buddy that came over to watch the game on Pitts.' 3rd drive and said "If they don't score a TD here, it's over."
They didn't. And boy was it ever over.
Oddly enough, I made almost the EXACT same call in the Bucs/Raiders 'bowl. On Oakland's 3rd possession, when they failed to convert on 3rd, I got up & left the room. Everyone was like...hey, where ya goin'? And I told 'em then...they had to make that one. Game's already over.
Guess I'm psychic sometimes or something.
Anyhow...onward to Jacksonville and Superbowl 39. My pick? As much as I really do hate to say it...New England. I'd like to say it'll be a close game, but realistically, I don't think it will be.
See...in the playoffs this year, the Eagles didn't really have to worry about a ton of different things in their games. The Vikings are a passing team. Culpepper runs when he has to, but 90% of the time, they're a passing team. So all they had to do was watch the pass. Against the Falcons, it was just the opposite. They're a running team. Stop Vick & Dunn, and the game's over. They did, but didn't really need to worry about the pass.
Now theyve got New England. Cory Dillion & Tom Brady. (It still cracks me up that this team gets away with the "we don't have any stars" catch phrase....they've got plenty of stars. Dillon, Faulk, Brady, Law, and dammit...i had like 2 more, but they've sl...oh, Branch...and I forgot the other one.) Great rusher, consistent passer. Not strong, because...well, while he CAN get the ball down feild, Brady's better in short/medium yardage.
And frankly, as good as Philly's defense is, I don't think they can manage both ways. Not because they're not good enough, but because they don't have the practice doing it. Look around the NFC, any teams really stand out as being good with passing AND running, aside from Philly & Green Bay? I can't think of any. But New England can. And that's gonna hurt 'em.
Also, Philly's offense...even if TO can return, is going up against a defense that's had to play--quite obviously--the best offenses in the league. Not only in reg. season, but post-season. And they've managed that with a beat-up secondary (which really does impress the shit outta me). They held off Manning without breaking a sweat, and didn't let Big Ben, the Bus, & Duce do much against them today...surprising, as Pittsburgh was the highest scoring first half offense in the league all season, yet only managed 3 pts in the half. That says a lot. Not just about how poorly the Steelers played either.
So yes, sadly, in the end, New England goes home with World Title #3. And I don't think they'll have too difficult a time doing it, either.
