By Dalton Del Don – Senior Writer
What a wild weekend of football. It’s fitting the year everyone dismisses the Colts is the same one in which they are probably going to win it all. I’ll admit I picked the Ravens to win (although I had Indy covering), but everyone had it completely wrong when they said Indy matched up poorly with Baltimore. How can a team led by Jamal Lewis exploit the Colts’ greatness weakness, the run defense? Also, Baltimore’s biggest strength is the blitz, something that plays perfectly into the hands of Peyton Manning. Entering Saturday, when blitzed, Manning had a 127 QB rating with 12 TDs and zero picks in 119 passes. In 119 blitzes, he was sacked three times. Of course, Manning has a 1/5 TD/INT ratio this postseason, and the team is winning despite not because of him. Go figure.
Andy Reid’s system in Philly is a big reason for the team’s success, but someone please get this guy enrolled in Common Sense 101. His decision to punt on 4th and 15 with 1:48 left on the clock and just two timeouts was indefensible and possibly the worst coaching move I have ever seen. The only downside to a 4th down conversion failure was losing 20-30 yards of field position (it’s doubtful N.O. attempts a 50-yard FG to increase the lead from 3-6 points), and either way, a Saints’ first down ends it. By the way, Philly had given up 208 rushing yards. I don’t get why the media is half-heartedly questioning this reasoning – it’s almost a fireable offense.
Something’s not quite right with the Bears’ defense right now.
Score another one for Bill Belichick – Deion Branch isn’t worth the money.
Tom Brady has been known to lock onto a WR come playoff time (i.e. Branch), but I apologize to you, Jabar Gaffney. I predicted Caldwell, foolishly omitting Gafney from my top-30 WR fantasy playoff list. Gaffney had 11 regular season catches; in two playoff games, he has 18 catches for 207 yards and a score.
It’s not by chance the Patriots seem to find a way to win and San Diego finds a way to lose come playoff time. The Chargers, filled with more talent on both sides of the ball, simply gave that game away Sunday. I know it’s way too much to ask, but why would McCree intercept that ball on fourth down when it was going to lose his team yardage, not to mention the possibility of fumbling it? Think SD could’ve used an extra timeout instead of unsuccessfully challenging a clear call on the field? Worse yet, in the season-defining drive with 4:00 minutes left, Schottenheimer calls on Eric Parker on back-to-back plays? Meanwhile, LaDainian Tomlinson and his ho-hum 7.5 yards per touch is ignored. There’s a reason Schottenheimer is 5-13 during the postseason, and it’s not called luck.
And what about LT going off after the game, and then calling Belichick out in the media? This postseason has been filled with great games, and bottom line, the two best teams in each conference are left standing.
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