It was an exciting Sunday of football, even if the Colts pulled away at the end, and the drama in the NFC title game was more about whether the Saints could commit enough penalties to balance out the Vikings' tendency to shoot themselves in the foot with turnovers. Minnesota took care of that last question when Brett Favre pulled out a semi-automatic and blasted away his team's entire lower body with the last interception. Still, both games were competitive into the fourth quarter and we had an overtime thriller. As a fan, not much to complain about, even if my rooting preferences went down in both cases.
Peyton Manning got the accolades after the AFC Championship Game and deservedly so. With the Jets attacking and taking away his tight end Dallas Clark, Manning still got the ball to his receivers with ruthless consistency. Both Austin Collie and Pierre
Garcon racked up over 100 yards in receiving and Indy was unstoppable after they dug themselves a 17-6 second quarter hole. But the biggest accolade should go to the Colts' run defense. The potent New York ground game was rendered impotent, neither Thomas Jones or Shonn Greene clearing 50 yards. Without a running game, there was no way the Jets were going to win this game.
Two things have been overrated in the aftermath of the NFC Championship Game. First, that it was all Minnesota incompetence that created their five turnovers, thus costing them a win when they dominated total yardage. This ignores the fact that Gregg Williams, who we 'Skins fans remember fondly for coordinating our better defenses in recent years, came after Favre with waves of pressure. It was high-risk, high-reward on both sides. The Vikes made their plays and got their yards. The Saints made theirs and got turnovers. In a nip-and-tuck game, New Orleans made one more play
than Minnesota did. The defensive strategy of New Orleans created the statistical disparities in both yards and turnovers.
The other thing overrated is that Favre's final, fateful throw was the worst seen in a playoff game. Now it was awful, I grant you, but if anyone saw Favre's overtime pass in Philadelphia in the 2003 NFC semis...well, this one was done with Montana-like precision by comparison. I love the guy, and I say with all due affection, that no one throws an ill-advised ball like Brett does. Until that last pass, he held up well in the face of the pressure and had he only taken the open turf in front of him and set up an easy field goal, we'd all be talking about how a battered and beaten forty-year old took off in the face of a ferocious defense to get his team to the Super Bowl. But this is Brett, and he's never done easy what could be done hard. Gunfighters never die a quiet, peaceful death, and he was either going to win the Super
Bowl or go down in this fashion, one way or another.
In the meantime, congratulations to both the Jets and the Vikings. To their fans--please avoid the tendency to say "We'll get 'em next year", as though 2009 was some lost cause. Redskin fans, who haven't seen a conference championship game in 18 years, know how hard it is to make it to this stage. Instead of waiting until next year, try celebrating this year. Minnesota won an NFC North title, saw Favre author countless memorable moments, from the two Packer games to the playoff rout of Dallas. The Jets made an unlikely trip to the playoffs and an even more unlikely run, with their upset of San Diego, one of the biggest I've seen in recent years and has a colorful head coach at the helm. They are that rarity of rarities--a likeable team from New York. Enjoy 2009 for what it was, not what it might have been.
I don't mean to diss the Colts and Saints, but we've got two weeks to talk about
them. One more game to go...
Peyton Manning got the accolades after the AFC Championship Game and deservedly so. With the Jets attacking and taking away his tight end Dallas Clark, Manning still got the ball to his receivers with ruthless consistency. Both Austin Collie and Pierre
Garcon racked up over 100 yards in receiving and Indy was unstoppable after they dug themselves a 17-6 second quarter hole. But the biggest accolade should go to the Colts' run defense. The potent New York ground game was rendered impotent, neither Thomas Jones or Shonn Greene clearing 50 yards. Without a running game, there was no way the Jets were going to win this game.
Two things have been overrated in the aftermath of the NFC Championship Game. First, that it was all Minnesota incompetence that created their five turnovers, thus costing them a win when they dominated total yardage. This ignores the fact that Gregg Williams, who we 'Skins fans remember fondly for coordinating our better defenses in recent years, came after Favre with waves of pressure. It was high-risk, high-reward on both sides. The Vikes made their plays and got their yards. The Saints made theirs and got turnovers. In a nip-and-tuck game, New Orleans made one more play
than Minnesota did. The defensive strategy of New Orleans created the statistical disparities in both yards and turnovers.
The other thing overrated is that Favre's final, fateful throw was the worst seen in a playoff game. Now it was awful, I grant you, but if anyone saw Favre's overtime pass in Philadelphia in the 2003 NFC semis...well, this one was done with Montana-like precision by comparison. I love the guy, and I say with all due affection, that no one throws an ill-advised ball like Brett does. Until that last pass, he held up well in the face of the pressure and had he only taken the open turf in front of him and set up an easy field goal, we'd all be talking about how a battered and beaten forty-year old took off in the face of a ferocious defense to get his team to the Super Bowl. But this is Brett, and he's never done easy what could be done hard. Gunfighters never die a quiet, peaceful death, and he was either going to win the Super
Bowl or go down in this fashion, one way or another.
In the meantime, congratulations to both the Jets and the Vikings. To their fans--please avoid the tendency to say "We'll get 'em next year", as though 2009 was some lost cause. Redskin fans, who haven't seen a conference championship game in 18 years, know how hard it is to make it to this stage. Instead of waiting until next year, try celebrating this year. Minnesota won an NFC North title, saw Favre author countless memorable moments, from the two Packer games to the playoff rout of Dallas. The Jets made an unlikely trip to the playoffs and an even more unlikely run, with their upset of San Diego, one of the biggest I've seen in recent years and has a colorful head coach at the helm. They are that rarity of rarities--a likeable team from New York. Enjoy 2009 for what it was, not what it might have been.
I don't mean to diss the Colts and Saints, but we've got two weeks to talk about
them. One more game to go...
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