A bittersweet Sunday coming up as this is the last real Sunday of football for a long time.
The Super Bowl is great but it caters more towards the casual fan than it does the die hard one.
Just so we get it out of the way, everyone knows the Patriots are winning the Super Bowl so the drama of them going undefeated is basically over.
Boston has another championship and in June they will go for the trifecta with the Celtics.
The drama this week is whether Favre can make it back to the Super Bowl with a team that was 70-1 to win it all at the onset of the season.
The Packers were a double digit favorite when they lost to
Denver 10 years ago.
Despite the fact they will be double digit underdogs this time (if they win this week) I think they will have a chance to at least be competitive and make the game interesting.
Patriots -13.5 vs. Chargers: As fan rooting very hard against the Patriots, I feel cheated by the fact that the Colts are not in this game. I’ve been saying for weeks that if the weather broke right, Indy would have a real shot to win in Foxboro. Well the weather is just what the Colts would have wanted it to be: WINDY! The cold is not a problem. Yes it might be harder to hold onto the ball but both teams have to deal with that. The Patriots are obviously a passing team and have big play capabilities. The wind will at least minimally disrupt what they are trying to do and they might have to be more conservative throwing the ball down field. I thought that in this weather the Colts would be the more physical team and control the clock to minimize the Patriots possessions. The Chargers, however, will not be able to control the clock and as a result the Patriots will have plenty of opportunities to put the ball in the end zone.
If the Chargers want to even be in this game they have to play perfectly in every phase and just hope that Brady doesn’t have a performance that resembles what he did last week (completing 26-28 passes). They will have to blitz Brady and take their chances playing man coverage because Brady dominates zone defenses. Offensively, they must run the ball and control clock, take care of the ball, and score touchdowns. Field goals against the Patriots don’t work. They will have to go for 4th down conversions when manageable and keep the Patriots off the field. Special teams will also have to be great. As much as I want the Chargers to win outright, it will be nearly impossible given the conditions and the injuries to play the perfect game. Rivers will play but he is hurting. He has played great the last few games and there should be no pressure now that he is not expected to win. Tomlinson and Gates will play but might be limited. Chambers, Turner, Jackson and Sproles will have to really carry the load and I think that will be too much to ask for.
In the end the Patriots have the experience, they are used to the cold and wind, and the Chargers are just too banged up. It would take a miracle for the Chargers to win and I don’t even think this game will be close. Patriots 31 – Chargers 10.
Packers -7 vs. Giants: I picked the Giants to cover last week but did not think they would win the game. The Giants defense was impressive and I was impressed with the Giants’ final drive of the first half. More importantly I was not impressed with the Cowboys. Apparently Romo re-injured his thumb on the second play of the game and was awful throughout. The offensive line was terrible between allowing the Giants to pressure Romo and of course all the penalties. It looked as if this team was playing preseason football and were not prepared to play. That is on the coaching staff. You cannot take your foot off the petal come playoff time. Its one thing to practice lightly but to give a week off to all the players and allow them to take their minds off football is just stupid. The center could not even snap the ball to Romo in the 4th quarter. The Cowboys had their chances because the Giants offense stinks and only mustered 57 yards of total offense in the 2nd half. Wade Phillips was right: the better team lost the game. Conclusion: The Giants did not win the game, the Cowboys lost it.On the flip side, the Packers dominated the Seahawks. After fumbling twice in his first three touches, Ryan Grant was amazing. Favre set the tempo by driving the Packers downfield and cutting the score to 14-7 and then Grant took over. The Packers defense only allowed 6 points after the 7 minute mark of the first quarter and their offense kept the pace up. As the snow fell and the weather worsened it seemed as if the Seahawks quit and the Packers were feeding off of it. The weather will be freezing again this week and I feel like the Packers again will relish the opportunity.
As the weather affects both teams (probably the Giants more so) the bottom line is execution and performance. Everyone looks at how good Grant has turned out and of course how good Favre has been this year. The defense, however, might be the stronger of the two units. They have two lock down physical corners, great speed at linebacker and they can get after the quarterback with their D-line. Their defense is why I think they would have a chance to slow down the Patriots and be in that game (if it happened).
For the Giants to have a chance to win they will have to run the ball efficiently, control the clock, and play great defense. They will have to force Favre to rush throws and try to create turnovers. The Giants will not score a lot of points and will have to keep the Packers in the teens if they want a chance to win. Ultimately, their defense is banged up and they are running out of healthy guys in the secondary. Ross will play but I doubt he will be able to go all game. R. W. McQuarters gives energy but he stinks. I think Favre will be able to take advantage of the Giants weaknesses and that will open up opportunities in the running game. Favre loves this weather and his team will follow him. As the game wears on the Packers will get stronger and the Giants will want to go home. I think this game will be close early (as most Packers games are) but the Packers will score more than enough points to force the Giants out of their game plan in the second half en route to the Super Bowl. Packers 27 – Giants 13
*Prediction: If Favre wins this game he announces that the Super Bowl will be his last game before retirement (but then he will change his mind in the off season when his family and friends convince him to go one more year).
