Great NFL/MLK Weekend

Just a flat out super weekend for the NFL. All four games were extremely intense and entertaining. Three of the four games were decided by three points and all four games were within a touchdown in the fourth quarter. In addition, each game featured teams with different styles and was extremely unpredictable. This weekend showed the best of every aspect that the NFL has to offer. Weekends like these are why we are NFL (sports) fans. On to the individual games...

Colts/Ravens

• If I told you that the Colts would not score a TD would anyone have given them a chance?
• Peyton Manning did not play well at all, but Steve McNair played worse.
• The McNair pick on the one yard line was horrendous. In a game like this you can not have a turnover that close to the goal line. Unbelievably big play by the Indy defense as well.
• The Adam Viniateri acquisition by the Colts has already paid huge dividends. This is the kind of game that the Colts have found a way to lose in the past.
• While Manning continued his typical poor playoff performances, this game could end up being the best thing to happen to him. The Indy defense won the game for the Colts, which could allow Peyton to play with less of a burden next week. He may be more relaxed knowing his defense is playing so well behind him.

Saints/Eagles

• A very clean and efficient game. Only one turnover combined between the two teams.
• The Saints have a very underrated front four on defense.
• Both teams came to play, but the Saints running game wore the Eagles down.
• The New Orleans crowd was electric. With that being said though, the Saints have proven that they can win on the road as well. They not only beat, but killed both the Giants and Cowboys on the road this season.
• Props to Curtis.
• Great run Rambone, see you next season, with ur gimp QB back...

Bears/Seahawks

• The big question coming into the game was Rex Grossman. He played pretty well, but not great. A Bear fan has to be satisfied with his performance though. You can hope for better, but should not expect it.
• Hasselback confuses me. He is fearless, and makes big plays, but also make a lot of really stupid plays. A lot like one of Holmgrens' former QBs...
• Seattle played a real gutsy game. They were out manned, but they battled. Deep down Holmgren knows he got the most out of this injury plagued bunch.
• I am impressed by Holmgren, and I think he is very underrated as a head coach. Everyone talks about Parcells, Shanahan and others, but forgets Holmgren. He wins and always plays well in the playoffs.
• If the Bears would have lost this, the city of Chicago would have been in mourning for a long time. They needed this win bigtime.

Patriots/Chargers

• The Patriots were outplayed, but found a way to win.
• Brady did not play well, but the Chargers gave him enough chances to allow Brady to break their hearts.
• Marlon McCree made a horrific play in the fourth quarter. At 4th and 5, with 6:25 to go he picks off Brady and proceeds to fumble and give the Pats new life. He needs to either knock the ball down or fall to the ground when he picks it off. At 4th down the Chargers get the ball anyway!! His gaffe gave the Pats new life, and Brady made them pay.
• Marty Schottenheimer is a tough luck loser, but he contributed to the loss as well. There is no reason to challenge the fumble with 6:25 to go. It was clear to everyone in the stadium that it would not be overturned, and the timeout would have been key for them to have on that last drive.
• LDT played insanely well, but I don't understand how he got only eight carries in the second half. Inexplicable. The Chargers have the best player in the world on their side and they don't take advantage of it. He carved up New England whenever he got the ball, but he did not get it enough, especially on their second to last drive with the score tied. They ran it with LDT for five yards, then had two incompletions.
• How does Schottenheimer go for it on 4th and 11 in the first quarter, when he had a 47 yard field goal and a Pro Bowl kicker? That is one of the more ridiculous decisions I have seen by a coach in a long time.
• Compliments of Peter King....Bellichik is 5-1 vs #1 seeds in the postseason. Think about that...Six time he has been against the top team in the league on the road in the playoffs and he has won five of them. If that is not a direct correlation with his superior coaching, then I don't know what is.

LDT

I thought that LDT over-reacted to the Patriots celebrating after the game. While I never like a team mocking an opposing teams' celebration, it is something that happens (Numerous teams mocked the Giants "We Fly High" jumpshot, the St. Louis Cardinals chanting "Jose, Jose, Jose, Jose" after beating the Mets in the NLCS). I do not feel that the Pat should be held to a different standard either just because they are three time Champs. As we all know in the NFL, turnover is drastic and many of these players have not won a Super Bowl. In addition, after the game, the Pats did not disparage the Chargers in the media. Anyway, the boys over at Profootballtalk.com had this to say concerning LDT and the Chargers and this whole Patriots/Class issue....

CHARGERS HAVE A SHORT MEMORY
Amid complaints from running back LaDainian Tomlinson and other members of the San Diego Chargers that the New England Patriots celebrated too fervently their unlikely victory over the 14-2 Bolts on Sunday, we've been reminded of the Chargers reaction to a similarly unlikely win from a year ago.
In New England.
After thumping the Pats by the score of 41-17 and shattering the team's 21-game home winning streak, the Chargers were not exactly humble.
"That's a [butt]-whipping," said defensive coordinator Wade Phillips in an article penned by Tom Curran, who at the time wrote for the Providence Journal and who now works for NBCSports.com.
Cornerback Drayton Florence (or is it Florence Drayton?) was less tactful: "F--k New England and their team," he said, before turning to a "collection of onlookers" and adding: "Get the look of shock off your faces. Don't be shocked. We beat your [butt]."
So, you know, maybe a few of the Pats were remembering the way that the Chargers handled themselves in 2005.
And if L.T. is going to get bent out of shape because his opponents do this kind of stuff, we'd like to hear what he's been doing to persuade his teammates not to act that way, either.
Frankly, there aren't many NFL teams that can claim to be, top to bottom, the modern-day equivalent of Fred Blassie. So none of them should ever be bitching when another squad does what they've surely done themselves at some point in the not-so-distant past.

Lastly

My boy Curtis (Huge Saints fan) decided to make a youtube video leading up to the Saints game against the Eagles....enjoy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPkz6-J1Qe4&eurl=

Next Week...

It will be interesting to watch. I can't wait for the Super Bowl, I mean AFC Title Game. Preveiws for both later in the week. Sorry if this synopsis is brief, but I spent the weekend in the Poconos with the GF. I watched every game, but in not the same environment that I am used to. I can say this though...he interpretations of the games are consistantly of things that I never notice...

STKAFI