|
Super
Bowl pick: I will write more on the game next week, but
right now I say Colts 34, Bears 13. The AFC is simply
superior. The Colts beating the Ravens and Patriots is
infinitely more difficult than the Bears beating the
Seahawks and Saints.
Game of
the decade: Wow! That's all I can say about the Colts
stunning, come-from-behind 38-34 AFC Championship Game win
over the New England Patriots. Being a Colts fan, I had
basically given the Colts up for dead, down 21-3. Nobody
comes back from 18 down to beat the Patriots. But that's why
sports are great – no scripts and surprise endings. It was
the game of the decade in the NFL and will go down as one of
the greatest games of all time.
It is rare
that a game live up to its hype, but Colts-Pats did that and
more. Greatest comeback ever in a conference championship
game. Most points scored by a losing team in a championship
game. Three touchdowns scored by offensive linemen. The
Colts trail for 59 minutes, take the lead, then pick off Tom
Brady to seal it. Hard to see the Super Bowl coming close to
topping this.
The Colts
scored 32 points in the second half, more than the Patriots
had given up in an entire game all season. Peyton Manning
finally shed the label of "great quarterback who can't win
the big one" when he engineered a brilliant 80-yard drive in
1:17 to pull out the win. The key play on the drive was a
32-yard pass to backup tight end Bryan Fletcher. A lot of
preconceptions (Dungy and Manning are nice but chokers,
Brady and Bill Belichick are unbeatable) died Sunday night.
Losing
my religion: After the Colts scored, Brady drove the
Pats to the Colts' 49 before throwing the game-ending
interception to Marlin Jackson. CBS had a great shot of
Manning, with his head down, refusing to watch the final
drive. He looked like a doomed man. Manning admitted later
that "I’m not sure if you’re supposed to pray for stuff like
that, but I said a little prayer." It was a refreshing
comment (about how people pray for inconsequential things)
that was in contrast to team owner Jim Irsay and Coach Tony
Dungy praising God for the win. I am so sick of athletes
acting like God (if he, she or it exists) gives a shit about
who wins a sporting event. Just once I would love an athlete
to thank "Satan, my lord and master."
Linemen
rule: It is rare to see an offensive lineman score in a
game. But to see three is historic. The Patriots' Logan
Mankins and the Colts' Jeff Saturday each recovered fumbles
for touchdowns, while Dan Klecko caught a Manning pass for
one. That's how wacky this game was.
Weird
stat: The Colts have brilliant receivers in Marvin
Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark. They have combined
for one touchdown in three playoff games, the same as
Klecko.
Key
play: To me, the game's biggest play was Reggie Wayne's
14-yard catch down to the Patriots' 23 on their final drive.
Not the catch really, but Wayne keeping possession of the
ball after it was jarred from him and popped up in the air.
The Patriots were guilty of roughing Manning on the play, so
the Colts would have kept possession. But they would have
had the ball at the 22 and not the 11 had Wayne fumbled it.
Those 11 yards proved to be key, since it allowed the Colts
to play aggressively for the go-ahead score and not the
tying field goal.
Controlling the clock: The Patriots defense looked
gassed in the second half and here's why – At the point the
Colts trailed 21-3 and took possession with 3:06 left in the
first half, through game's end, Indy ran 61 plays to New
England's 30. The New England pass rush, fierce in the first
half, was much less effective in the second; the linemen
simply got tired.
Goat:
New England receiver Reche Caldwell must have thought he was
still playing for San Diego. How else to explain him
dropping one touchdown pass, and a second pass that likely
would have been a touchdown? The latter play was crucial,
since the Pats settled for a field goal on the series.
Too automatic:
Through 10 playoff games, kickers are 31 for 33 on field
goals. The New York Times had a nice article asking whether
kickers are too good for the game's good. It's hard, though,
to see what can be done short of narrowing the goal posts.
The irony is that the most memorable play of the postseason
was a field goal attempt, the one where Dallas' Tony Romo
dropped the snapl. Maybe they ought to coat balls with KY to
make things more interesting.
Historic: You already know this, but the Colts' Tony
Dungy and the Bears' Lovie Smith will be the first African
American coaches to reach the Super Bowl. Nice to see
history being made.
Bears
win: Lost in the shuffle of the Colts-Pats thriller was
the Bears' 39-14 spanking of the New Orleans Saints. It was
a sloppy affair with the Bears taking a 16-0 lead, only to
see the Saints get to within two early in the third period.
But Chicago scored the last 23 points to make it a out.
The key
play was a penalty that resulted in a Chicago safety, called
when Saints quarterback Drew Brees was called for
intentional grounding in the end zone. Anytime the offense
commits a penalty in the end zone, it's a safety. That made
the score 18-14 Bears and they never looked back.
Bush
league: Reggie Bush was brilliant on an 89-yard TD
reception for the Saints, but classless when he taunted
Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher at the 15-yard line when he
knew he was going to score. Bush didn't know it at the time,
but the play fired up the Bears, who did not allow another
point the rest of the game.
Said
Chicago defensive lineman Adewale Ogunleye, "I told Reggie
that was unprofessional of him to do that. I think he's
going to be a hell of a player in this league. But for him
to point back and taunt, that was no class. … I swear, I was
a second away from punching him."
Bush
apologized after the game. "I got caught up in the emotion
of the game," said Bush. "I was excited. I told coach [Sean]
Payton I apologize for it. I was wrong. I allowed my
emotions to take over."
Let's face
it, most jocks aren't MENSA member and it doesn't take much
to fire them up (the "no respect" card is such a cliché), so
Bush should apologize to his team for giving the Bears
unnecessary motivation at a critical time.
High-Def
rules: I have watched half the playoff games at Dave
Kopay's house. He's an awesome host and his tales from his
playing days are always entertaining, but I have to admit
that one added bonus is his 42-inch high-definition set.
Watching a football game in high-def is a stunning visual
experience, where you could literally see the bruises on
Manning's forearms. When I watched highlights on my home TV
(a nice 32-set non-HD set) it felt like I had on glasses
with the wrong prescription. |
