SEMI SUPER WEEKEND ENDS WITH A FEW LESS OF THE USUAL SUSPECTS

Should we be thankful not to see the predictable league finales, the Godzillas v the Mothras and instead watch the King Kongs v The Faye Wrays? Or should we bemoan the lack of the Super marquee but predictable matchups, the #1's v #2's, the Pats/Colts and Giants/Packers?

For one, the two QBs more famed for their performances on the field rather than the advertising market will be there. Brett Favre and Tom Brady are still potential Super Bowl opponents and they are by lengths, the most accomplished QBs remaining and frankly, would have been even if the Colts had been able to beat the Chargers.

And whilst many are certainly sick of Peyton Manning and have been for years and there still we be a Manning present, at least it is the New York media's favourite whipping boy this time around, the Manning who appears to have finally turned the corner, the Manning who is infinately less annoying and is certainly easier to root for.



On Saturday we had the Snow Bowl after all, after hearing all week the weather was not going to be a factor confined to a "few flurries". Surprise. Not only did the Packers fall behind quickly (14-0 after 4 minutes quickly) due primarily to a few fumbles by the man who would later become their hero in Ryan Grant but with the homefield snow falling at a near-blizzard rate, the Pack proceeded to score on their next 6 possessions, pulling away once and for all, leaving the Seahawks and Mike Holgrem in the snow, 42-20 as Grant redeemed himself with three touchdowns and 201 yards rushing.

Several records fell along the way but perhaps most interesting was that Favre joined Joe Montana as the only QB to throw for over 5000 post-season yards. A few of those yards came on that crazy underhanded toss for a first down that Favre made - an ill-advised toss for nearly anyone but Favre who wins ugly as he wins often.

Among the rants and raves:

"Patrick Kerney was billed as the next big thing as far as NFL defensive linemen are concerned. Kerney, one of the league's leading sackers this season, was invisible, and it wasn't because he was wearing a white jersey in a snowstorm. Mark Tauscher and the Packers' offense silenced the overhyped Kerney."

Failing, quietly in the snow...

*****

The other Saturday game featured the fearsome and fearless and undefeated Patriots of New England and, as they have in every other game they've played this season outside of the exhibition season, the Pats won and as usual they won with a fair amount of ease.


Captain Perfect Leads the Charge

Now as formidable a named QB as Favre, Pats QB Tom Brady was offered a wide open field of short passes by the Jacksonville defence who double and triple teamed Randy Moss and dared anyone else to beat them.

They didn't need to ask Brady twice to dink them to death.

"It was a dump-down game," Jaguars rookie safety Reggie Nelson sniffed. "Anybody can go 26-of-28 in a dump-down game."

Nearly perfect on the short pass, Brady completed 26 of 28 passes for 262 yards and three touchdowns and one of those incompletions was a dropped pass. He went 12 for 12 in the first half for 120 yards. His 92.9 completion percentage was an NFL record in the playoffs and regular season but perhaps more impressive that he's improved his post-season record to 13-2.

Of course the game wasn't all Brady. The Pats remained perfect as a team this season bar the two losses in the preseason (to Tennessee 27-24 on 17 August and to Tampa Bay 13-10 the week before that) and the defence, led by Rodney Harrison's late-game preserving interception was stout enough to hold off the Jaguars' final charges. Perhaps most surprising was Lawrence Maroney's 122 yards rushing which in fact outgained the vaunted rushing attack of the Jags all by himself.

Was the game actually closer than the 31-20 would suggest?

Well, consider that despite near-perfection, the Pats only outgained the Jags by 53 yards all game, they held the ball less than five minutes longer than the Jags and the game was in fact, tied at the half. The biggest difference might well have been two turnovers by the Jags, none by the Pats. The Pats were actually penalised more than the Jags, an appalling 74 yards in penalties which coach BB will certainly rage about all week in preparation of the injury-depleted Chargers.

Sunday's Upsets

In a sense, it was Sunday that saved us from the predictable. History shows that there are oftentimes upsets against the homefield favourites at this stage of the playoffs and 2008 was no different.

It might have appeared shocking that the Mighty Colts, defending champs and home of the explosive offence would have lost their final game in the Ugly Dome. But consider that this isn't even the best offence in the NFL anymore, not by a long shot, and that the defence has been decimated by the loss of a pair of key players maybe not so suprising.

Then again, if you said the Chargers would lose, on top of their All-World tight end their All-World running back and their starting quarterback you'd certainly not have given the Chargers much of a shake.

You might have even thought that given a few dodgy calls by the refs in the Colts favour in the first half which drove the normally placid Norv Turner into sideline rages, this was not a game the Colts would lose.



For one, the subs filling in for LT and Philip Rivers performed admirably. Michael Turner finished with 71 yards and a better yard-per-carry average than LT and even Billy Volek managed to lead the final drive and score the winning touchdown.

I mean what were the odds of that happening, Chargers losing essentially all of their key offensive players yet still scoring 4 TDS? For one, Rivers didn't miss the entire game and whilst he was playing he was playing admirably, perhaps even over his head, given the time the failing Colts pass rush was giving him to throw.

On the other hand you could point out that the Chargers would appear to be Peyton Manning's new achilles heel, having lost to them three straight times now and having thrown 10 interceptions in those three games.

Of course in winning their 8th straight game the Chargers proved they are no flukes. Yes, they started the season slowly, ridiculously, hopelessly even but since that slow start they've rolled and that roll has been led by a defence that does the important thing: turnovers. Two Manning interceptions killed deep scoring threats and were key moments in the game. They didn't always stop Manning but they made it count when they did - even though the Colts lost only 6 fumbles all season, the cough-up by Harrison who was stripped on his first catch of the day and remained silent thereafter.

And perhaps most importantly, when it counted, the Colts vaunted offence was not better than the Colts defence and in the end, the 28-24 victory, narrow as it was, was well-deserved. One only wonders whether or not the Chargers deserve facing the 17-0 Patriots next.

*****

And of course whilst one Manning brother was losing in an upset another was winning in an upset.

You can't accurately call the Giants victory over the Cowboys an upset. Sure, the Cowboys had the best record in the NFC and were playing at home but the weeks leading up to this moment had been tinged by poor and perhaps even worrying performance, particularly by Tony Romo, who did himself no favours with a highly publicised jaunt to a Mexican resort with Jessica Simpson when many QBs, either Manning for instance, would have been spending the off week studying the defences of potential opponents.

On the other hand, Jessica Simpson is a nice distraction from the rigeurs of an NFL season and Romo, despite all the negative publicity, was not the sole cause of the Cowboys' downfall.

For one, as he has now for several weeks on the trot, making the league wonder if perhaps he hasn't turned the proverbial corner and is now ready to take over the reigns as Top Manning, Eli Manning had a flawless game in leading the Giants.

In particular, the inspirational and rapid touchdown just before the end of the first half when most of the world was ready to believe that the demoralising and incredibly time-consuming march, led by Romo, to a Cowboys touchdown with under two minutes remaining in the half was going to cook the Giants' goose, proved instead to be the turning point of the game after all.

Sure the Giants still had to win it but standing back up after the Cowboys thought they'd given the Giants their final fateful kicking of the season just before the end of the half was a sign from the Football Gods that this game, like the one that preceded it, was not going to play out based on predictive methods.

And perhaps even more exciting than younger Manning's coming of age or the Cowboys losing was the creepy post-game tears shed by Terrell Owens who is clearly mixing and abusing his medications again.

Owens, laughably, argued that he'd "always had his QB's back" which might come as a surprise to people like Jeff Garcia and Donovan McNabb, the other two QBs he's played with, both of whom he viciously stabbed in the back.

So with the Cowboys out there's really nothing left in the NFC to hate any more. Unless of course you don't fancy spending the two weeks leading up to the Stupor Bowl listening to how fantastic Brett Favre is or what a great fairytale it would be to see him win it all after all he's been through. Another redemption of a lost career, etc. etc.

Best pray for a Giants-Pats rematch if you're looking for excitement.