I have been in a funk since the Bears were officially eliminated from the playoffs a few weeks ago. It got worse this past weekend as I was compelled to sit at home and watch the Giants stomp all over the Tampa Bay Bucaneers. It pains me to not be in the playoffs. This was the year we were going to roll through the NFC. Instead, I am left analyzing what went wrong and watching Bowl games to get ready for the draft. I have some ideas around what the Bears need to do for this year's draft, but I'm going to wait until we get closer to draft day before writing about it. I may also have some guest writers who know college football much better than I do, join us for some Bears draft coverage. Until then, it's time to talk about the teams that are left standing.
This weekend we get to see the Patriots either feast on the Jaguars or crap the bed in what will be considered one of the greatest losses of all time. The Jags are playing pretty good football but it would still take a small miracle to defeat the best team in the league. Jack Del Rio should get a ton of credit for taking a chance and cutting Byron Leftwich, this season's starting QB in Jacksonville for David Gerard. I wish the Bears would have taken the same path with some of our players. I'm not implying that the Bears should have traded Grossman, just that the Bears as an organization don't know when to cut their losses. As for the Patriots, they seem to have won pretty much every post-season accolade and individual award known to man. At this rate Tom Brady probably wins the Masters in April. MVP, Superbowl and a green jacket. I can feel the East Coast hate bubbling up so I'll cut to the chase with my prediction. The Pats don't cover and win a pretty close game against a team that knows it has nothing to lose: Pats win 31-24.
Next we have San Diego visiting the reigning champs in Indianapolis. Payton Manning gets Harrison back and the Colts don't have the typical playoff pressure of years past. I have no respect for Norv Turner. I can't explain how the Bolts turned it around this season because it borders on a miracle. For a while it looked like the contest for most inept coach in the NFL was a family affair between Ron and Norv. Clearly, Norv has figured out how to right the ship. His name is LT. But LT isn't going to be enough in this game. Whatever voodoo Norv put on Manning earlier this season is not going to work. Remember, the MasterCard poster-boy threw something like 6 picks against the Bolts in their last contest. I don't see that happening again unless Philip Rivers is the one on the receiving end of that pick-fest. The Colts handle the run pretty well, and Bob Sanders is a man amongst boys at safety. I've got the Colts winning this one 34-17.
In the NFC we've got the Seahawks making the trip against Brett Favre and the Packers. It's hard for me to pick the Packers in this match up simply because I saw how the Bears beat them both times this season. That, and I hate the Packers. I think Holmgren and his merry men pull off the upset and beat those cheese-heads at home. Seattle has been playing pretty impressive defense and I think Favre is going to revert back to his pick-6 throwing ways. He might have a half like Ben Roethlisburger had last week, and that will doom the Packers. Seattle wins this game, on the road, 24-21.
Finally, the Cowboys send last year's goat (this year's hero) Tony Romo out to face the G-Men. The Giants have been playing very good football. That defensive line has been unstoppable and it's making me jealous. It's too much fun watching the Giants play as of late. They remind me of when the Bears had a great defense. Nevermind, I wont dwell. Another point in the Giant's favor is the fact that Eli Manning actually looks good. He has cut down the mistakes and is standing tall in the pocket. He has been hitting his receivers with ease and is starting to look like a leader in the huddle. I'm impressed. A playoff road victory will do that. The Giants have momentum going into Dallas. The Cowboys on the other hand haven't been too impressive. They need to run the football better against the Giants if they expect to win. Romo needs to get off to a good start to exercise last year's demons. That muffed hold last year was replayed over and over again this year. Plan on seeing it at least 100 times before kick off. There is the matter of Terrell Owens being injured. Hah! Does anyone believe that? He may be hurt, but this guy is going to be playing. There is no way he misses this game. Ah the drama! Romo and TO should be able to hook up at least twice which will make a difference in this game. Besides, as a wise old man pointed out early this week, the Bucs beat no one this year. Whatever. Cowboys win, 27-17.
That's it kids!