For the record, I missed 2 picks out of 10 playoff games. And this diary is for those who want to avoid another candidate diary or economic doom diary (we'll have plenty of those and heck, tomorrow, I may add to the economic doom list).
And then there were two.
Ever since probably week 3 or 4 of the season, it was almost a given that the New England Patriots would represent the AFC in the superbowl this season. The main suspense would be whether they lost a game along the way or if they'd have another showdown with Indianapolis along the way. The former has come to pass while San Diego dispatched the Colts to annoint themselves as the new big rival of the Patriots. Meanwhile, most people probably wrote off the Giants multiple times throughout the season, particularly when they lost to Minnesota on a day where Eli Manning seemed to think throwing touchdown passes had something to do with the men in purple. But at the end of the season, ironically in a loss to New England in Week 17, the G-men found themselves and went on a playoff riproaring rampage, knocking off at least two teams that were favored to be the possible NFC representative.
So who will win the rematch of Week 17's best game? Stay tuned...
The New York Giants have set a new NFL record of 10 straight road victories. However, it should not come as a surprise that they prefer being on the road, considering how vicious the New York media has been towards Eli Manning and coach Tom Coughlin. Opposing fans must seem like lifelong friends in comparison. New York in fact may have a better chance if the NFL claims they're the road team in Glendale, Arizona. For whatever reason, everything seems to be clicking for a team no one gave a chance. Seriously. Did anyone truly think they could go into frigid Green Bay, Wisconsin, and knock off the favored Packers with legendary Brett Favre having a late career dream season? I certainly didn't. But that's why you probably should never discount any team who makes it this far into the playoffs. Eli Manning, who has often made bizarre on-field decisions, has been flawless, somewhat like Tom Brady around 2001. Manning isn't doing more than he should, nor is he pressing during games, which is a big improvement. Instead, he takes what is there and occasionally tosses a rather impressive pass. However, the zero interceptions in the playoffs shows he's doing the main thing right: not turning over the ball at the worst possible time. And not enough can be said about Plaxico Burress' great game against the Packers.
New England, meanwhile, may have gotten a bit lucky against the Chargers. San Diego's defense played quite well, generating turnovers and keeping the New England offense in check. They did a good enough job to help their team win, without a doubt. Unfortunately, the San Diego offense just was lacking the big playmakers in full capacity. It turns out Philip Rivers had knee surgery on Monday in an attempt to play yesterday. LaDanian Tomlinson had a few plays before being taken out due to his own knee injuries. Antonio Gates just wasn't himself. Chris Chambers and Vincent Jackson did their best to step up, but the team constantly settled for field goals when a couple touchdowns instead would have won the game for them. If San Diego had all their pieces there, they might just have pulled off the upset of the decade. However, injuries are a part of football and sometimes they come at very bad times. On the plus side, their season was salvaged partway through and they looked like a championship caliber outfit towards the end. Norv Turner vindicated his hiring and proved he can actually be a good head coach. San Diego no doubt will have a good run again next year since so many pieces are going to still be in place.
My initial feeling regarding Superbowl 42 is that while New York played New England a close game in Week 17, they're going to get steamrolled this time around. This is for all the marbles, except that New England has a chance to get the rare 19-0 undefeated marble. You think they were playing for keeps before? You ain't seen nothing yet. Week 17's showdown will give them all the insight they need into the Giants. If the Giants think the Patriots will trot out a similar gameplan, they're sorely mistaken. They'll see things that they had no idea New England could do. Eli Manning might have had an error free post season so far, but I can see him having an ugly 3 interception day against the Patriots this time around.
Neither teams appear to have any major injuries to deal with. Sure, Jeremy Shockey is out, but his late season injury seems to coincide with the Giants becoming a better team overall, so you gotta wonder if there was some addition by subtraction. It's been pointed out a lot of Eli Manning's interceptions happen to be in the area of Shockey. Perhaps the team works better without him. New England is likely to shake off some of the late season malaise that kept their offense from exploding. There's nothing about this team that suggests they'll somehow lay an egg in the superbowl when they have the nearly impossible chance of going 19-0. So my initial prediction will be New England 42, New York 24.