Just when we think the NFL season -- and especially the playoff format -- can't get any better, we get a weekend like we just had.
In a word: amazing.
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David Macklin and the Colts' D make just enough plays vs. the Chiefs. (AP) |
So is it really all that surprising the four games produced two overtime affairs, two others that could have gone to OT, two road underdogs winning, and a team that was 1-15 two years ago now in the NFC Championship Game?
The NFL has never had two overtime games in this round, so that's a first. The only other time two road teams won in this round came in 1995, and if the Packers hadn't choked away a certain victory Sunday against the Eagles, it would have been three-for-four. A late catch by Tennessee's Drew Bennett might have made it a clean sweep.
Four games to get to four teams and we had one of the best, if not best, playoff weekends in history.
The scores say it's the best for this round, the 19 points the fewest combined differential for the four games since the league went to this system.
You don't think the suits at the NFL office were thrilled, do you? Heck, Paul Tagliabue might have even cracked a smile or two. He does do that, right?
What we're left with is the Carolina Panthers against the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL Championship Game this Sunday in Philadelphia and the Indianapolis Colts at the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.
These are both repeats from Championship Sunday I. That came Nov. 30 when the Eagles beat the Panthers 25-16 in Charlotte and the Patriots beat the Colts 38-34 that same day.
The Colts-Patriots game was one of the best of the season, with the Colts being stopped on the 1-yard line on fourth down as time expired.
The Panthers-Eagles game was a typical game for those two, a tough hard-hitting game that featured both teams ragged on offense. That was also the day Carolina kicker John Kasay missed three field goals that could have changed the outcome.
Field goals should again be big in the rematch. Carolina is a little better on defense, but the Eagles get the edge by being at home and having championship game experience. The early lean is to Philly.
"We know that nobody thinks we've accomplished anything yet," said Eagles safety Brian Dawkins. "And that's the way we all feel, too. There's still work to do."
The Patriots-Colts game will match Peyton Manning against the brilliant defensive minds of Bill Belichick and Romeo Crennel. It should be a treat to watch Manning at the line orchestrating his offense against those two men.
Manning has been almost unstoppable in the playoffs, ripping through both the Broncos and the Chiefs. He has been so good that Colts punter Hunter Smith has yet to punt in two playoff games, a span of 17 possessions.
Manning answered his critics by beating Denver for his first playoff victory, then did it again by winning on the road against the Chiefs. Now comes another hurdle: Can he get the better of Belichick?
This time, he will. The Colts will go into Foxboro and beat the Patriots to earn the right to play the Eagles in the Super Bowl. But that is a pick made with some trepidation. After seeing the Patriots live Saturday night against the Titans, it's awful hard to pick against them.
They are so sound, so mentally strong, that you have to beat them. They won't beat themselves. The Patriots have won 13 consecutive games, and two more will give them their second Super Bowl victory in three years.
It's hard to doubt them, but the way Manning is playing, a focus he's had this entire season, it appears that it's his year, his chance to finally exorcise all of those demons.
The AFC title game will be played first, but by no means is it the warm-up act.
It's the better of the two games, but that doesn't mean the winner is assured a ring. The way this season has played out, even an NFC team that will be a big underdog to either AFC team has a legit chance of winning the Super Bowl.
Formulas are out the window.
This past weekend is plenty proof of that, and proof also the NFL plays second to no other sports league or sports event around.
Prisco's playoff points
- Didn't Mike Martz always have a reputation for being too aggressive? So what happened Saturday against the Panthers? Did he freeze up? Forget he was Mad Mike? This was a guy who never played it safe, but in one of the key situations, with a possible championship game berth on the line, Martz gagged. Trailing the Panthers by three, the Rams were on the Carolina 19 with 37 seconds left in the game and with one timeout in their pocket. Martz opted to run out the clock, kick a field goal and then go to overtime. As you must know by now, the Panthers won the game in the second overtime when Steve Smith took a slant pass and ran 69 yards. Martz had to play for the victory, not for overtime. Playing it safe is a way to lose games, something he should know by now. Instead, in the biggest game this year, he choked. It was almost as if he was afraid of being taken to task for being Mad Mike if a mistake were made. Now he's getting roasted for playing it the other way. And he should. Doing a Martz is now a way to describe a coaching blunder.
- What does Martz sitting on the ball say about his faith in Marc Bulger? It's clear from the way he played it that he does not have the same confidence in Bulger that he did when Kurt Warner was starring for the Rams offense. And he shouldn't. Bulger, like we've said time and again here, is just an above-average quarterback. He made some good throws against the Panthers, but he also threw three interceptions. The Rams have a serious quarterback issue heading into next season if they think Bulger is their guy. He looks a little too tentative in the pocket, with the propensity to hold onto the ball far too long.
- Martz was not alone in his coaching blunders. The games were full of them, many situational mistakes or bad play calls. Among them:
- The Titans made a bad decision in their game when they opted to punt from the New England 28 when faced with a fourth-and-13 in the second quarter. Sure, it was too far for a field goal in those conditions with their 90-year-old kicker Gary Anderson. But why not go for it? Instead, they took a 5-yard delay penalty and punted. The ball was punted 14 yards and New England took over on the 19. That means the worst-case scenario of going for it -- an incomplete pass -- would have been 9 yards worse for the team. That's playing not-to-lose instead of to win.
- The call by the Titans to use a throwback pass to tight end Frank Wycheck on a first-down play following a turnover was also curious. The idea was for Wycheck to catch the ball behind the line of scrimmage and throw a pass down the field to a receiver. Instead, he was dumped for a 10-yard loss by Willie McGinest and the Titans had to punt. With a co-MVP in Steve McNair, why take the ball out of his hands with the score tied at 14 late in the third quarter? They started that drive at their own 47, but ended up punting from the 39. McNair should have been the one throwing passes.
- Memo to Packers coach Mike Sherman: When on the road and leading, always take the score to put you up by two scores. Sherman eschewed a sure field goal in the second quarter against the Eagles with his team leading 14-7 and facing a fourth-and-goal from inches away from a touchdown. When Ahman Green was stuffed, the momentum went to the Eagles at halftime. Take the points. Later he punted on a fourth-and-inches when some thought he should have gone for it when a first down would have run out the clock. He played it the right way that time even though the Eagles eventually scored the game-tying field goal on the next drive. It took a fourth-and-26 conversion to get that field goal, so that proves punting was the right decision. It's up to the defense to stop a fourth down that long. Punting from Philadelphia 41 with 2:30 to go and the Eagles having one timeout was the right move. You never want to give a team that needs just a field goal a chance to start near midfield.
- Even Belichick and his offensive staff made a mistake against the Titans in clock management. With one timeout late in the half and inside a minute, the Patriots completed a pass for 7 yards to the Patriots 41. Instead of calling timeout, Tom Brady spiked the ball on second down. Then on third down, he threw an incomplete pass. The Patriots then punted and left the field with their timeout in their back pocket. The right decision would have been to call timeout after the completed pass, run a play and if that was complete, then spike the ball. The down is worth more than the timeout in that situation. Brady should know better.
- Did Dick Vermeil do the right thing when he opted to kickoff deep instead of try an onside kicks down seven with 4:22 left and two timeouts plus the two-minute warning? The book in that situation says to kick it off, but this might have been an exception. The Chiefs did not stop the Colts once all day, and did not force them to give up the ball again until there were eight seconds left. So maybe an onside kick was the right call. But if a team's defense is so bad you have to revert to that strategy, then something is woefully wrong.
- It will be a matter of days, but Greg Robinson is certainly going to be fired as the Chiefs defensive coordinator. His unit has been a big underachiever. That said, who on that line is a pass rusher?
- Speaking of pass rushers, anybody seen Jevon Kearse? He was non-existent in pressuring Brady against the Patriots. Kearse is the kind of player who should be making plays in the fourth quarter of big games. That's what the big-time edge rushers do. He did have five tackles, but he didn't get a sack against two tackles in Matt Light and Tom Ashworth who are good players, but not great ones. Kearse seems to be bothered by his foot, which might be a concern to those teams that might consider him as a free agent. We love the guy when he's healthy. But paying him big money could be a major risk considering his foot problems. If he's healthy, he's worth a $15 million signing bonus. If he doesn't check out, then he's not.
- Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia deserves high praise. He has taken a patchwork group and made it a cohesive five-man front. Included in that line is a rookie center, fifth-round pick Dan Koppen. They don't look like much on paper, but they sure get the job done.
- The Packers offensive line is outstanding. Watching them work together is special. Just ask the Eagles. When we rated the lines earlier this year, the Packers weren't in the top five. They should have been. They would be now.
- That was a heck of a game for Patriots linebacker McGinest against the Titans. He had seven tackles and two sacks while playing with a cold. "Yeah, I feel kind of bad," he said late Saturday night. That was some game for a guy under the weather.
- When asked about Titans quarterback McNair playing through so much pain, Patriots safety Rodney Harrison got emotional to a reporter. "We're all hurting," Harrison said. "Do you think he's the only one hurting? The only one injured? He sure looked OK when he was running around on some of those plays, didn't he?" There are a lot of players around the league starting to resent the way McNair is portrayed as a player who always plays hurt. "We all play hurt," said Harrison.
- Watching the Patriots is like watching a coaching video. They are precision personified. Still one comes away wondering how they've won 13 consecutive games. They don't throw it down the field, they don't run it and they don't have a big-time offensive line. They're hard to figure out.
- Nick Saban, tire kicker. Does he like the courting more than the conquest? It sure seems that way.
- Did anybody miss the ESPN Sunday Night Crew this week? Didn't think so.
