For Pats, hardest part of winning SB XLII might be arriving
And that defense that was hammered for 99 points in successive losses to New England, Green Bay and Kansas City (yes, Kansas City)? Yep, it's back on track, with the club holding opponents to under 300 yards in four of its past five starts. Better yet, no one has allowed fewer points (58) the past five weeks.
What I like about the Chargers is they can play ball possession with Tomlinson but can attack the pocket on defense with Shawne Merriman, Shaun Phillips and Luis Castillo. Remember what Tom Brady said after last season's playoff win over San Diego? Uh-huh, it was the hardest he had been hit all year. Having Antonio Cromartie, the league leader in interceptions, in the starting lineup doesn't hurt, either. If Rivers is on, the Chargers are hard to beat -- especially at home, where they open for the playoffs. The past two seasons, they're 15-1 there.
The downside: They played New England and Jacksonville this season, and they were hammered by both. The Pats destroyed them 38-14 in September, and Jacksonville hung a 24-17 loss on them last month -- their last defeat. Then there is this: The Chargers haven't won a playoff game since the 1994 season and were beaten by New England in the divisional round a year ago ... in San Diego, no less.
Jacksonville
Pete Prisco likes to remind me how dangerous these guys are, and I like to remind him that the last time I checked, Jacksonville wasn't leading its division. That, unfortunately, is the price of doing business with the Indianapolis Colts. The Jaguars haven't been a club to take seriously for some time, but their time might be now.
For one, they have a quarterback who's playing productive, consistent football. In case you missed it, David Garrard is one of three quarterbacks with a passer rating over 100. For another, they have one of the NFL's most potent rushing attacks. I don't care if it's Fred Taylor, Maurice Jones-Drew or Garrard, someone always seems to be rushing for big yards down there. That means the Jags can sustain long drives by moving the pile.
And just in case you have any bright ideas of stacking the box with eight or nine defenders, there is that 100-plus passer rating of Garrard's I mentioned. He can beat with you the pass if you dare him, but, most important, he doesn't beat himself with mistakes. You can look it up: He has interceptions in only three of his 12 starts this season.
Jacksonville is another club that is tough against the run, with only two of their past seven opponents reaching 100 yards. But this is what I like most about this team: It's white-hot, winning six of its past seven and getting there by an unconventional route: offense. That's right, the Jaguars scored 24 or more points in each of their past nine games and 36 or more in three of them. Furthermore, they went into Pittsburgh and outmuscled the Steelers in miserable conditions. The knock on Jacksonville was that it was a warm-weather team that couldn't travel in January for the playoffs, but that convincing defeat of Pittsburgh told a different story.
The downside: Pass defense. The Jags don't play the pass all that effectively (they rank 18th), and there's one thing you absolutely, positively must have to combat the Patriots. Uh-huh, a pass defense. Of course, that could change if the weather acts up again, but I don't know, even then I'll take my chances with Brady.
