Monday Morning Quarterback

By Dalton Del Don – Senior Writer

If Fred Thomas can’t cover anyone (tied for most TDs allowed this season), then why was he exclusively on Bernard Berrian Sunday? Mike McKenzie did a fine job shutting down Muhsin Muhammad, who is clearly the Bears’ second best receiving threat.

I’m usually all for a pass-heavy offense, but it’s hard to justify New Orleans’ decision to ignore their ground game completely; after all, that was a specific area of weakness for Chicago’s defense. When you factor in the weather conditions it’s even more dumbfounding. You knew Sean Payton was going to be stubborn with this gameplan once he called consecutive pass plays from New Orleans’ own 5-yard line.

I’m not ready to call him a liability, but Bill Parcells hasn’t won a playoff game since 1998. He’s certainly not in the upper echelon anymore.

What a great game that AFC Championship was. It was pretty surprising to see Corey Dillon and Dominic Rhodes outplay Laurence Maroney and Joseph Addai on the biggest of stages. Both young RBs have great futures, but Addai’s looks slightly brighter. It’s funny how much the Patriots missed Kevin Faulk’s presence during the second half.

Is there a tight end in the NFL with better hands than Dallas Clark?

I’m not sure how much it ultimately mattered, but that roughing the passer call on the play where Reggie Wayne recovered his own fumble with 2:00 minutes left was nothing short of terrible.

So in the most important game of the year, Logan Mankins, Dan Klecko and Jeff Saturday all score touchdowns?!

I guess all head coaches have their moments of lapses, because Bill Belichick’s decision not to call a timeout after a Joseph Addai run with 1:53 left was absolutely mind-boggling.

Reche Caldwell dropped numerous passes Sunday, but one area of blame can’t be placed on taking his eyes off the ball – those things are massive.

I would be surprised if the 7-point spread, the opening line for the Super Bowl, doesn’t creep up a couple of points by kickoff. This game looks like a mismatch.

Got to go now, I’m off to send the Raiders my resume…