Throw It Again!

I did not, in spite of my best efforts, figure out a way to score tickets to the 49ers/Giants game yesterday at the Meadowlands. I instead was relegated to a front row seat on my couch to enjoy the 49ers second consecutive Kevin Burkhart game, and their second consecutive Kevin Burkhart win on the road, as the 49ers defense harangued Eli Manning all day long and forced him into 5 Interceptions, which was good because the offense kind of loafed around all day and a game that felt like it should have been a runaway win ended up being a 16-10 squeaker.

This was the kind of effort that underscored just how quietly good the 49ers have played on defense this season, because they really carried the team to this win. Chris Borland, who's played so well in Patrick Willis' stead, had yet another big time performance, racking up another 12 tackles and scoring a pair of Interceptions, the second of which came late in the 4th Quarter with the Giants 5 yards away from scoring a potential winning Touchdown. Borland was backed by Michael Wilhoite, Chris Culliver and Eric Reid, who also picked off Manning and Aaron Lynch and Ray McDonald, who sacked Manning and generally made his life difficult all afternoon.

It was clear that the Defense was going to have to come up with a big time outing early on. Though the 49ers started with the ball and moved smartly down the field on a drive comprised mostly behind the power running of Frank Gore with a side of Carlos Hyde. Colin Kaepernick also added in a 16-yard run. But the running game ended up doing the 49ers in when Gore mishandled a handoff from Kaepernick and in the process of trying to pick the ball up ended up having it conk off his helmet instead. Needless to say, this did not end well, and instead of an early lead, the 49ers found themselves with an early deficit as Eli Manning ripped the Giants offense right down the field, finishing in the End Zone when he hit Larry Donnell for a 19-yard score.

The 49ers responded by going right back to Frank Gore, who redeemed himself by picking up 17 yards. But Kaepernick was not only sacked but also lost 7 yards on a designed run which prevented the drive from progressing further, and ultimately the drive stalled and ended in a Phil Dawson Field Goal. The 49ers next possession appeared a mirror image, as runs by Gore, Hyde and Kaepernick moved the 49ers down the field. Though Kaepernick managed to avoid getting sacked, he also overshot Michael Crabtree near the end zone and the drive finished with yet another Dawson Field Goal.

The Giants ensuing possession started out well enough, but on the 3rd play of the drive, Chris Borland jumped in front of a Manning pass intended for Odell Beckham, Jr and picked it off for his first career Interception. Borland returned the pick down to the Giants 29 yard line, putting the 49ers in prime position to grab their first lead of the day. They did grab the lead, but only after Kaepernick failed to complete passes to Crabtree and Vernon Davis (who's become a bit of a lost man in this often-stagnant offense). This led to—you guessed it—a Phil Dawson Field Goal that put the 49ers ahead 9-7.

The Giants responded with a drive that appeared primed to end in points, as Manning completed a pair of long passes to Donnell and Rueben Randle. But with the ball inside the 49ers 20-yard line, Manning reared back and fired a pass directly into the hands of Michael Wilhoite. Manning obviously just didn't see Wilhoite—at least that's the only logical explanation—because the pass was just thrown so perfectly to Wilhoite that you might have assumed he had a Giants uniform on. Manning could only stand there with his trademark dumbfounded look on his face while Tom Coughlin turned 34 shades of purple. Fortunately for Manning, the 49ers couldn't do much with their good fortune. Kaepernick nearly handed the ball back to the Giants on the next play when he fumbled the snap, and although he hit Crabtree for a 25 yard gain, he then overshot Brandon Lloyd and missed Crabtree on a short pass, and the 49ers ended up punting back to the Giants.

Following halftime, the 49ers forced the Giants to punt before finally getting themselves into the End Zone on offense. Kaepernick started the possession with a deep pass intended for Vance McDonald, but McDonald, who has a knack for not taking advantage of the few passes intended for him, didn't come particularly close to catching the ball. No matter. Two plays later, Kaepernick threw a pass down the middle for Crabtree, which Crabtree did catch in traffic and subsequently broke an attempted tackle by Quinton Demps and then just outran Demps into the End Zone for a 48-yard Touchdown to put the 49ers ahead 16-7. This seemed, for all intents and purposes, a game-clincher for the 49ers, but the action was far from over. The Giants, on their ensuing possession, drove down the field and scored on a Josh Brown Field Goal to cut the 49ers lead to 16-10. They then surprised the 49ers by executing an Onside Kick that bounced off the hands of Bubba Ventrone and into the hands of Michael Herzlich, setting up the Giants in prime position to grab the lead back with the ball near midfield. But on 3rd down, Manning airmailed a pass not particularly close to Randle that was easily intercepted by Eric Reid, giving the ball back to the 49ers and putting that exasperated look on Eli Manning's face once again.

The 49ers, who on offense continued to let the Giants hang around, again set them up in prime position when their subsequent drive stalled and Dawson came on to attempt another Field Goal. But a poor snap short-circuited the effort, and Andy Lee was forced to scramble and throw an ill-fated pass into no man's land, giving the ball back to the Giants near midfield. Though the Giants did move the ball, they ended up faced with a 4th down and 1 at the 49ers 43 yard line. They attempted to convert, but the 49ers defense rose up and stuffed Rashad Jennings for no gain, taking the ball back as the game moved to the 4th Quarter.

The 49ers offense continued to do a whole lot of nothing, which meant that the Defense was going to have to make plays to win the game. And make plays they did. After punting the ball back to the Giants, Manning managed to move the ball into the 49ers end of the field, completing multiple passes to Odell Beckham, Jr. But once again, when it was needed most, the 49ers got pressure on Manning, forced him to rush a pass, and he overthrew his intended target and a 49ers defender—this time Chris Culliver—was there to reel in the Interception. One drive (and a 49ers punt) later, Manning had the Gnats on the move again. This time, he hit Beckham for a highlight reel catch at the 49ers 4 yard line. Now, after all the heavy lifting the 49ers Defense had to do, they had to come up with one more stop, because this was probably the game right here. The offense had kind of limped along all afternoon, and in spite of creating 4 turnovers, this was going to bite them in the ass. But for as bad as the 49ers looked on Offense, the Gnats proved themselves just as inept. Three consecutive times, Eli Manning tried to throw a fade route towards the back corner of an End Zone, and three consecutive times, a 49ers Defender got in the face of a Giants receiver to knock away the pass. It came down to a final 4th down play. Manning this time didn't go back to the fade, because clearly, although the 49ers kept giving him open looks on the outside, he couldn't seal the deal. Instead, he tried to thread a pass over the middle intended for Preston Parker, but Donte Johnson jumped the route and batted the ball up in the air, where Chris Borland was waiting to come down with the Interception, which was either the scintillating 5th on the day created by the 49ers defense, or the Comically Embarrassing 5th thrown by Eli Manning, which left both he and Coughlin to stand there with stupefied looks on their faces.

The remainder of the game was academic. The 49ers couldn't run out the clock and punted back to the Gnats. Eli Manning didn't throw a 6th Interception, but he also didn't complete any passes to his own teammates either, and thus, the 49ers were able to escape with a 16-10 victory, their second consecutive hard-fought Road Victory.

The win, I'll take, although on the offensive side of things, there wasn't much to be thrilled about. Gore ran for 95 yards, and Hyde and Kaepernick also had a few yards on the ground. Kaepernick managed to complete a paltry 15 of 29 passes for 193 yards and a Touchdown. He didn't turn the ball over, but he also didn't do anything especially impressive, either, which makes you wonder what the offensive concept was this afternoon. Last week, it seemed like he was only able to make plays when he absolutely had to. This week, the urgency wasn't there, I guess. I suppose it helps when your defense gets you 5 turnovers, but that obviously doesn't happen every week.

At now 6-4, the 49ers return home for a game against Washington which they might be looking past considering that game is followed with a short week and a Thanksgiving Night matchup against dear friends the Seattle Seahawks. They'd be wise to not fall into one of those trap games next Sunday. Washington looks the part of a pushover, but the 49ers have been burned by supposedly inferior opponents at home twice already this season and another loss in a crowded NFC Playoff hunt could be severely damaging.

Smoked

Last Sunday, the 49ers put together a complete effort in blasting the Buffalo Bills at home, 45-3.

Yesterday, the same team went out and got smoked by the Giants, getting many lousy tastes of their own medicine in a miserable 26-3 loss.

Playing against the team that knocked them out of the Playoffs last season, the 49ers came into this game regarded by many as the class of the NFC, and the Giants, perhaps, were viewed as an erratic irritant. Not so. The Giants came in and played a perfect game. Eli Manning proved once again why he's a Championship Quarterback, hitting just about every pass he needed to make, and the Giants running game gashed the 49ers front late in the game to eat up the clock and eliminate any chance of a comeback.

The game started out with an eerie harbinger of what was to come. The 49ers took the kickoff and shot right down the field, something they've done a few times this season. When the drive stalled, they sent out David Akers for a 43-yard Field Goal. But the kick sailed wide right, ending the drive with no points. Though Akers converted his next attempt, giving the 49ers a 3-0 lead, that ended up being the best the offense would look all day, and the only points the 49ers would put on the board.

Everything pretty much went downhill from there. Alex Smith, who had been generally accurate all season long, had his worst day in years, throwing 3 interceptions, all of which resulted in Giants points. The first one, an overthrown deep pass to Delanie Walker, seemed to kick the Giants into high gear. After not doing much their first few times out, the Giants offense dug in, the line stifled the pass rush, and Eli Manning went to work dissecting the secondary like a surgeon. He was spreading the ball all over the field, hitting every receiver in stride and culminating the drive with a bullet Touchdown pass to Victor Cruz.

With the lead, the Giants defense then dug in and set to work overwhelming the 49ers offense. They seemed to have all the right moves, which included jamming Vernon Davis at the line of scrimmage and keeping him well-covered, keeping constant pressure on Alex Smith and not allowing him to make long passes, or else sacking him altogether, and forcing the 49ers into a number of questionable play calls involving Colin Kaepernick, who appeared to be coming into the game at inopportune times and disrupting whatever rhythm the 49ers were generating.

Even when things went right for the 49ers, they managed to screw up the momentup. Down 10-3 just before the half, the 49ers blocked a Giants Field Goal attempt, and immediately followed that with a long completion to Mario Manningham from Kaepernick to set up another Akers Field Goal attempt. But this 52-yard attempt sailed wide left, and instead of creating a momentum swing, they just handed it back to the Giants, who started the 2nd half with a long Kickoff Return and another Touchdown, which essentially put the game out of reach.

This was sort of the opposite of the Jets game for the 49ers. Already in deep trouble, the game just disintegrated entirely when Antrel Rolle ended the next two possessions by Intercepting Smith deep in San Francisco's end, making a pair of brilliant plays on balls that were just slightly over or underthrown. It was scant consolation that the defense was able to keep the Giants to Field Goals. The offense just wasn't doing much of anything. Even after Smith was finally able to hit a deep throw to Randy Moss, the ensuing play saw Kaepernick bizarrely in the game and taking a 11-yard sack. Forced to go for it on 4th down and 15, all Smith could do was hit Vernon Davis on a checkdown for a minimal gain.

The end result was, in addition to Smith's worst day in years, the worst loss the 49ers have had under Jim Harbaugh. There's not much good that came out of a game like this, and considering that the 49ers have to get their act together quickly with a game against Seattle coming up on Thursday, it probably couldn't have happened at a worse time. Rather than their defense controlling the tempo, it was the Giants defense that ran the game. The 49ers could neither run nor pass with any kind of consistency, and when you can't move the ball and score, you won't win, no matter how good your defense plays. The defense wasn't especially bad on this day, but given the fact that the Giants, already one of the league's best offensive teams, had 3 short field opportunities that generated 13 points, what chance did they have?  Not only could they not beat the team that ended their season last year, it appeared that they still haven't improved enough to beat them.

However, it's only Week 6. Last season, the 49ers beat the Giants rather handily in November before their Playoff meeting. Things change a lot over the course of an NFL season. And, not every team can put out an offense that boasts Eli Manning and his plethora of standout receivers. This isn't to say that the 49ers should just pack it in now. They certainly aren't as bad as they looked yesterday, and they looked pretty bad. But they also have played inconsistently this season over many of their games. Sometimes, a real ass-kicking can serve as a wake-up call for an underachieving team. But, sometimes, it can lead to things spiraling out of control. Again, Thursday's game against an opportunistic Seattle Seahawks team that upset the Patriots yesterday hits at a particularly bad moment. How the 49ers come out in response to Sunday's beating will tell us a lot about where they're going and how far they've come. I do feel somewhat concerned.

But, then again, I have other things I can take some solace in.

Church on Wednesday

I know that most people, myself included, are still reticent to give the Mets their due. But let's face it. The Milwaukee Brewers were one of the hottest teams in Baseball through the month of August, cruising along, and the Mets just buzzsawed them. Even more impressive, the Mets had a chance to treat Wednesday afternoon's game like gravy, having already won the series. Under Willieball, this is exactly what they would have done. Now, they come out guns blazing, scoring 6 runs in the 1st inning and flattening the Brewers before they had any idea what was going on. Once Ryan Church's truly monstrous grand slam (both for him and for the Mets) left the yard and the Mets had a big lead, the rest of the game played out rather quietly. Sure, there were some mildly prickly moments for Ollie, who wasn't on top of his game, but good enough, and given that the bullpen remains the bullpen, you couldn't be too sure, but then the Mets tacked on some more runs and that pretty much buried the Brewers.

Afterwards, WFAN ran a replay of the radio broadcast for Super Bowl XLII in preparation for the Giants season opener tonight. They've been doing this all week, with the Dallas and Green Bay games as well, and me not having a life or anything better to do, I've been listening. The obvious comparison here would be to simply say that, hey, if the Giants can come back, with the uneven season and spotty team they had, and go all the way to the Super Bowl and cap off one of the most improbable seasons ever with the most improbable upset ever, beating the 18-0 Patriots, well, then anything's possible. Antonio Pierce even came by Shea earlier this year to share some of the good vibes. But listening to the Super Bowl in particular last night, and I knew this to be true from having watched the game, but the Giants radio announcers kept talking about the "Unusual Suspects" who would have to step up and make plays in order for the Giants to win. And more often than not, it was the Unusual Suspects. It's not always Eli Manning, Plaxico Burress, Pierce, Strahan or the stars (although it was Manning and Burress hooking up for the winning TD). Usually, it's the guys you least expect. Corey Webster coming up with a pick in OT in Green Bay. Or it was Kevin Boss coming up with a major reception setting up a touchdown. Or it was David Tyree making a catch of Endy Chavez-esque proportions. Or it was Jay Alford, a special teamer coming in to make a key sack on the Patriots final, desperation drive. Guys you don't expect who come up in key spots and get the job done. The Mets know all about that, from both sides. They've had their own Unusual Suspects getting the job done for a while, guys like Daniel Murphy, Nick Evans, and yesterday, Ryan Church. But that's the Beauty of the Unusual Suspects. you have no idea when it's going to happen, you have no idea who's going to do it, but you know one of these guys is going to do something big. And when it happens enough times over the course of a season, great things happen.

The Ballad of Freddie Mercury

You can't write this stuff up.

Improbably, the Giants completed their miracle run on Sunday night with a 17-14 victory over the to-that-point undefeated New England Patriots. I don't know how they did it. I basically spent an hour after the game saying, "How the Hell did the Giants win this game?" Somehow, they did it. They're World Beaters and World Champions.

Give all credit and congratulations to the Giants, their fans and their downright nasty defense. Watching the game, in all honesty, I saw what was for the most part a hideous football game that was marred by two teams that played the game as if they were asleep for just about 53 minutes.

Yes, the Giants defense rose to the occasion of all occasions, keeping Tom Brady et al off balance and off the scoreboard for the entire game, save the Patriots next-to-last drive. But for the most part, both teams seemed to be rusty and ineffective, and both defenses feasted upon offenses that looked out of sorts. But the Giants were able to offset their own effectiveness well enough to hang around, and hang around, and hang around...until Eli Manning escaped from a sack and lofted a miracle 3rd down pass to David Tyree...until Manning lofted that last pass into Plaxico Burress' arms with :35 left...until Brady's final, desperation pass sailed incomplete and the Giants, somehow, someway came away with the upset of upsets, the victory of victories, keeping the Patriots from perfection and immortality. Two weeks ago, I called the Giants victory in Green Bay one for the Ages. But that win was outdone by their victory last night.

Yes, I had no vested rooting interest. Within, I wanted to see the History of an undefeated season. I never realistically thought the Giants had a shot to win, let alone keep it close. But here we are and here they are. 3rd Avenue between 34th and 35th Streets is basically a police state right now. The street is littered with confetti and tissue paper and whatever sort of debris was strewn about by people, many of whom I believe barely would know a Football if it hit them in the head, let alone be able to name 5 players on the Giants not named Eli, Plaxico or Amani. I was in a bar in the East Village briefly following the game, where a well-heeled circle of inebriated folk joined in a chorus of Queen's "We Are The Champions." The bartender, a Steelers fan, silently chuckled. I, in my Jerry Rice jersey, shook my head.

I hope to sing that same song sometime in Late October.

Upcoming soon: Back to Basics: 5 Key Mets for 2008, Spring Previews and Ruminations on the real King of New York: Baseball.

Waiting Game

ESTRAGON:

And if he doesn't come?

VLADIMIR:

We'll come back tomorrow.

ESTRAGON:

And then the day after tomorrow.

VLADIMIR:

Possibly.

ESTRAGON:

And so on.

From "Waiting for Godot," by Samuel Beckett

That selection basically sums up my afternoon. I woke up feeling eerily similar to the way I did the morning of Game 7 two years ago. Without the hangover headache from Game 6. An afternoon with Mike & the Mad Dog did nothing to provide any insight to progress between the Mets and Santana. But as the deadline came and went, bits and pieces trickled in, and it appears now, since the Mets have asked for and were granted a 2-hour extension, that a deal seems near. Currently, the distance is what sounds like a relatively manageable $10 million (relatively manageable, I say), and the guarantee of a 6th year.

The whole thing has made for a rather tense afternoon, and enough to make me cross reference Johan Santana with Samuel Beckett for a second time. I don't care. I'm making up nonsense words again and the Mets aren't even in the damn playoffs. Just get this thing done already!

Had things been a bit less hectic, I might have taken the opportunity earlier in the day to offer up my Super Bowl pick. Waiting for the Super Bowl is a similar game to waiting for the Johan news, however it's a much more tedious, air-filled, annoying wait that is finally just about over. We've heard all the stories, all the puff pieces, heard about Tom Brady's ankle and his girlfriend and his hair enough, we've broken down Plaxico Burress's mouth enough. Now, it's time to just shut up and play.

The Giants have had a memorable, magical ride through January, and rode their momentum all the way to this point, where they're facing off against a Patriots team that seemed to be predestined to reach this point. At 18-0, the Patriots are deservedly a huge favorite, having made history to get to this point, and need one victory to finish off the job. The Giants overcame huge odds and a media that seemed ready to bury them at any given moment, winning three Playoff games on the road. They come in with a world of confidence, and more people than I thought think that they can beat the Patriots after hanging close with them in December.

I suppose I could break things down a bit more in depth, but in reality, everyone has heard every angle. The Patriots offense is Great. The Giants defense is good. In a shootout, there's no way the Giants will be able to keep up. The Giants can try to contain Moss, but as we saw in the Patriots games against Jacksonville and San Diego, the Patriots can just pick you apart with their short passing game and Maroney. On the other side, the Giants can run a similar offense, but they lack the overall talent to keep that same pace as the Patriots can. It is a trademark of Belichick's winning teams to take away one facet of a team's offensive game, and force the opponent to beat him with the other. I believe the Pats will gang up on Bradshaw and Jacobs and force Eli Manning to beat them. Eli has proven that he is up to the task of managing the game, but has not, in this run, been forced to win the game on his own. He will, much like Favre in the Championship game, invariably be forced into a mistake, which is something that cannot be done against the Patriots. It has been a fabulous run to cap off a wonderful season that nobody expected out of the Giants. But I don't think they have enough to pull off the final Miracle. The Patriots are too good and they didn't come down here to lose this game.

My pick: Patriots 36, Giants 20. Close in the first half, but I think the Patriots will go on one of their 8-minute drives in the 3rd or early 4th Quarter, score a TD, and then pick off Manning on the next Giants possession, and that will be the dagger. The 4th Quarter will quickly turn into garbage time as the Patriots pull away. Tom Brady will cap off his landmark season with his 3rd Super Bowl MVP.

Enjoy your Turducken!

A Victory for the Ages

I know I picked the Giants to win in Green Bay last night. That doesn't necessarily mean I thought they would actually do it.

In a game that played out almost exactly as I thought it would, the Giants prevailed in the NFC Championship, in Green Bay last night, in a game that they could have won or lost 20 different ways.

The Giants won because their defense, which rose to the occasion in Dallas and Tampa Bay, came through with another outstanding effort, holding Ryan Grant to 29 yards rushing, forcing Brett Favre to beat them, and eventually forcing him to make a critical mistake.

The Giants won because Eli Manning, who proved himself about as steady as the Mets Bullpen in September 2007 throughout most of this season, continued his incredible turnaround, and conducted the Giants offense like it was he, and not Favre, bound for the Hall of Fame.

The Giants won because Plaxico Burress, who has played out the entire season on a crippled ankle, came through with a sterling performance equal to the magnitude of the game itself.

And the Giants won because, as a team, they were able to overcome a few individual mistakes that might have done in a lesser team (McQuarters' 2 fumbles, Madison's foolish Un-necessary roughness penalty, Tynes' 2 missed FGs) and never quit until Lawrence Tynes' 47-yard kick hooked through the uprights. They believe in each other, even when it seems like nobody else does.

I watched the game with a friend of mine, a Jets fan, and after the game, all we could do was look at each other and say, "Man. What a fucking game!" Watching the game, we were both reminded of past playoff failures by our own teams. He had flashbacks to a game 3 years ago, the Doug Brien game in Pittsburgh, when the Jets kicker missed a pair of Field Goals late in the game. I flashed way back to Matt Bahr in 1990, when these same Giants denied the 49ers of a Three-peat.

It seems so strange to think that the 2007 Giants are going to the Super Bowl. After an uneven season that didn't seem to inspire confidence in anybody, the Giants somehow righted themselves and caught fire at the most opportune time, riding a wave that will take them all the way down to Arizona for Super Bowl XLII.

You could tell that the Giants came to play an inspired game from the outset. With the temperature holding steady between -1°F and -4°F, the Giants looked warm and toasty, while the Packers, playing in their element, looked like the team that was cold. The Giants were able to move the ball at will on offense, and their defense was able to keep the Packers off balance. But for a few plays, specifically Driver's 90 yard TD, and a pair of Packers drives in the second half that were extended by bad penalties and a freak play, the Giants basically dominated the game.
But after running the ball and running down the clock to set up Tynes at the end of regulation, it didn't look good. I kept thinking that they needed to get closer, or take a shot at the End Zone. My friend was screaming about Doug Brien. Then, Tynes hooked the 36-yard FG as the clock ran out. And things really did not look good when the Packers won the coin toss before Overtime, following Tynes' second missed FG.

But as things have gone for the Giants this month, the Giants have been able to overcome the negative. And Favre's pass on the second play of Overtime was an underthrown flutterball that was easily intercepted by Corey Webster, setting up the final drive, and setting up Lawrence Tynes to charge past his coach, onto the field to make that last Field Goal to put the Giants into the Super Bowl.

3 straight on the road in the Postseason. 10 wins in a row on the road. Who the hell even plays 10 road games in a season?
The Giants did it. And they're absolutely where they deserve to be. This is a proud, proud day for the Giants and their fans, and they deserve all the congratulations they're getting right now. They earned it.
And they've earned another shot at the 18-0 New England Patriots, the prohibitive favorites right now. The Patriots basically did the absolute minimum they had to do to beat San Diego. But then, San Diego was pretty much hamstrung when Tomlinson had to go out of the game. The Chargers defense played inspired, picking off a shaky Tom Brady 3 times. But the offense failed to finish off drives, settling for Field Goals instead of Touchdowns, and that was the difference. The Patriots were able to hammer away and hammer away until there was no time left, holding the ball for the final 9 minutes of the game and knocking the Chargers off the dance floor.
It's a rematch of a most intriguing game that took place Week 17. Get ready to hear an awful lot about that, about the undefeated Patriots, about Eli Manning emerging from his brother's long shadow, and every other stupid human interest story that can be cooked up.

But you won't hear anything about Brett Favre this week.

Sunday, Bloody Sunday

Championship Sunday in the NFL has always been a rather breathless day, even if the 49ers haven't been prominently involved. It's really the last pure day of the NFL Season, before the idiotic week bye week before the overblown spectacle that is the Super Bowl. Some of the most memorable moments in NFL History have come on Championship Sunday, you can look here for a brief recap of some particulars.

This weekend's games should be a treat. No, it's not going to be quite as good as the frenetic New England/Indianapolis game last year, but then, Indianapolis should have muscled up and beaten San Diego. They didn't, and they're not here, so...

...Sunday, at 3PM, we have the San Diego Chargers against the New England Patriots.

This is probably the day's biggest mismatch. San Diego gallantly came away with an epic upset last Sunday in Indianapolis because they were able to move the ball at will against Indy's defense, and their own defense rose to the occasion, came up with key turnovers, shut down Indy's running game and pressured Peyton Manning into making mistakes.

This particular recipe for success is not, in any way, shape or form, exclusive.

On the other side, the juggernaut that is the New England Patriots just continues to roll on. As I mentioned on Monday, Jacksonville pretty much played what was for them, as perfect a game as they could play. But they couldn't keep up with the Patriots, couldn't slow down Maroney, and couldn't lay a finger on Tom Brady. Brady cooly dissected the Jaguars defense relying on short, quick passes, rather than throwing to the double-covered Randy Moss, and the resulting 26 for 28 performance only adds to his legend. Plus, look at that picture. He's so dreamy!

As an unrelated point, Tom Brady is beginning to resemble, more and more, Thom Yorke of Radiohead. They could be dead ringers for each other if Thom Yorke weren't so obviously un-athletic. But the similarities seem to go deeper than just appearance. Both are currently performing at the top of their respective games (consider that a strong endorsement of Radiohead's new album), and have done so for an extended period of time, and even their lulls could be considered excellent for a lesser individual.

But I digress.

In order to continue their drive towards a perfect 19-0 season, the Patriots just have to stick with what got them this far. As time has passed, they have begun to rely more and more on the power running of Lawrence Maroney. I've maintained that any assertion that the Patriots might have had a weak running game was likely false; Belichick has proven himself a master of deception time and again and perhaps he was playing possum with his running game for some time, allowing Brady to just sling the ball at will. This was proven last week with Maroney's strong effort against a Jacksonville defense tough on the run. And if the Chargers try to play the Jags strategy of taking away Moss, Brady has too many other weapons (Stallworth, Welker, Watson) to look to, moreso than the Chargers defense might be able to handle. Yes, the Chargers are better at LB than Jacksonville, but perhaps weaker at Corner. Besides Antonio Cromartie, who will certainly be locked on Moss, they have Quentin Jammer and Drayton Florence, neither of whom are close to spectacular.

On the other side, I don't think anybody has any idea how effective Philip Rivers, LaDainian Tomlinson or Antonio Gates can be. They were all banged up but good after the Indianapolis game (or in the Tennessee game in the case of Gates). Billy Volek and Michael Turner might have been good enough to finish out the Indianapolis game. But they won't cut it in New England. The weather is going to be cold, they're going to be tight, and it's going to be tough for them to win. They might keep it respectable, but I think the only chance they have to beat New England is if LaDainian Tomlinson calls up the Real LT, and has him send some hookers to Tom Brady and Randy Moss' houses on Saturday night, while they sit in their hotel rooms and smoke crack.

My pick: New England 38, San Diego 16.

Sunday, sometime after 6pm, is the NFC Championship, featuring the New York Giants and the Green Bay Packers, LIVE, from Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where the capacity of the Stadium is actually larger than the population of the town the Stadium is in.

Although it appears as though much of America seems to be rallying behind Brett Favre and the Packers, the ageless Quarterback resurrecting his career for one last hurrah, leading a band of young and hungry players to the cusp of the Super Bowl, I'm picking the Giants to win.

Here are several reasons why:
Yes, they're going to be on the road, in frigid and hostile Green Bay. But this fact hasn't seemed to bother the Giants at all over the course of the season. They won 7 of their 8 road games in the regular season (including the last 7), and then two more in the Playoffs. That's 9 road wins in a row in one season. That doesn't happen very often. We have seen the Giants mesh as a team as the season drew on, and perhaps this is why they have been able to have such success on the road.

Remember what I said before about the Chargers' strategy in beating the Colts? Well, the Giants did that in the second half of their victory in Dallas last weekend. After Marion Barber carved them up in the first half, the Giants defense held firm and rose up in the second half, keeping Barber under wraps and forcing Tony Romo to beat them. And when they were able to wear down Green Bay's offensive line and pressure Romo, Romo got frustrated and made mistakes. Well, I think they can do that to Green Bay, too. Although Ryan Grant has had a spectacular season, the Green Bay offense is so delicately balanced on Grant being able to run the ball with success. Otherwise, the game is solely in Brett Favre's hands. Now, this isn't a knock on Favre, but let's face it, Favre has always been susceptible to being pressured into making mistakes. He's a master at improvising, yes, but it's easy to overlook just how often his improvising can backfire on him (see: 2001 Divisional Playoff, Packers at Rams). Favre can also throw up that flutterball right into the opposing Safety's hands with the best of them. Favre was never pressured last weekend by a Seahawks defense that could stop neither the run, or the pass. The Giants defense has the capability of stopping the run, and they boast an excellent Pass rush. The question lies in the secondary, and if Aaron Ross is able to play. The secondary is good, but right now a patchwork unit because of injuries. But this didn't stop them last week in Dallas.

Then, there's this: If the Packers win, and go on to face the Patriots, the Media will very likely have a giant, collective, simultaneous orgasm. We will be bombarded, simply bombarded with stupid puff pieces about Brett Favre. True, if the Giants win, we'll hear the same stupid stuff about Eli Manning and Peyton, but you know that if Favre is involved, it's going to go to new heights of insanity. We'll hear from his chiropractor. We'll hear from the doctor that prescribed the painkillers he got addicted to. We'll hear from the guy who dug his father's grave. We'll probably get to see a live interview with the Bog that Favre grew up in in Mississippi. It's going to be absolutely and totally insane. I don't even want to think about the ridiculous questions that he'll be asked at Media day. Between that, the undefeated Patriots, and the Bill Simmons "Prince Favre vs. the Cobra Kai Yankees" theory, it's just a recipe for turning off your TV and throwing it out the window.

It is absolutely imperative that the Giants win this game on Sunday, despite the crowd, and the Favre, and the temperature that is going to range from 3 to -7°F in Green Bay. The sanity of us all depends on it.

My Pick: Giants 27, Packers 23.

Buckle up.

The Perfect Storm

Yesterday's Giants/ Cowboys game could very possibly have been the perfect storm for the Media.

Either way, they would get to kill a Quarterback after the game. If the Cowboys won, the Media could go after Eli Manning for his continued struggles. If the Giants won, the media could go after Tony Romo for his much-ballyhooed vacation with Jessica Simpson.

The game itself played out exactly as I had expected it would. This was the perfect example of the "weird game" I talked about on Friday. The Giants raced out early, but their offense was, for the most part, fairly stagnant except when they absolutely needed to move the ball. Otherwise, the story of the game was the Giants defense, who was kept on the field for the majority of the game thanks to three exceptionally long Cowboy drives. For most of the first half, they couldn't stop the run, and they let Romo complete tons upon tons of short passes, and chew up the clock on the way to a pair of touchdowns. Then, they did the same to start the 3rd quarter, driving down for a Field Goal. The Giants kept themselves in the game with a pair of lightning strikes from Eli Manning to Amani Toomer (who has been playing out of his mind lately), one on a long TD pass on their first drive, and their most pivotal 47-second Touchdown drive to tie the game right before halftime.

After that, the Giants defense finally began to wear down the Dallas offense, specifically the offensive line. Between Andre Gurode's inability to hear a snap call, and Romo getting frustrated, the Cowboys inevitably self-destructed, slowly but surely, as the 2nd half drew on. The Giants managed to parlay a great punt return by R.W. McQuarters (ex-49er) into the leading touchdown, and the final 12 minutes of the game played out in the fashion of USA 4, USSR 3. Dallas would get opportunities, and be unable to cash them in. Romo began to whine, and his teammates committed some damaging penalties. One particular sequence saw Dallas run 9 straight plays from between both 40 yard lines, not being able to advance any further because of penalties on both sides, and dropped passes, finally being forced to punt the ball away. And on the final drive, Romo overshot his receivers badly on two plays before finally throwing that last interception to McQuarters for the death knell.

Frustrating, bizarre and weird. The definition of the 4:30pm Sunday game, and the right team won this game. And the media got to rip apart Tony Romo for losing his concentration on his vacation with the Simpson Family in Mexico, because that's clearly the reason he played poorly. Even Terrell Owens, never one to keep his mouth shut, brought it up without even being asked about it, going so far as to burst into tears over the attention being brought to his Quarterback and his dopey vacation that nobody really should care about at all. But it's funny to watch Owens go to pieces over it.

Meanwhile, the early game on Sunday held quite a bit of intrigue in its own right. The San Diego Chargers, who I figured would get blown out, held the line exceptionally well against the Colts, managed to slow the game down despite losing LaDainian Tomlinson (That's LaDainian Tomlinson, not L.T.) early in the game and Philip Rivers in the 3rd Quarter. The Chargers defense kept the pressure on Manning, who only seemed to be able to hit on the longer passes, and then scored three massive turnovers, one which kept them in the game at 7-0, one which kept the game close at 10-7 before halftime, and the final one at the end of the Colts last desperation drive, all the while cobbling together the winning TD drive with James Spader at QB. That was really the "Holy Shit" game of the weekend, because I don't know anybody who was giving San Diego a chance. Yes, with this upset, it takes all the steam out of the Colts/Patriots AFC Championship game that everyone wanted to see (sort of like the Cowboys/49ers games in the 90s), but don't discount the Chargers next weekend either. I'll still go on record saying the Patriots will win, but assuming that Rivers and Tomlinson can play (and I assume they will), and Gates is a bit healthier, they can make a game out of it. Rivers matured by leaps and bounds over the last 2 weeks, and his brash, unflappable attitude appears to be something the team is able to rally behind.

The Saturday games pretty much held to form. Ryan Grant gets all the credit in the world for bouncing back after having perhaps the worst first 4 minutes of a game ever, and Brett Favre pretty much plowed Seattle into the snow in one of the trademark dominant performances that he made his name for.

Saturday evening in New England was perhaps a closer game than I thought. Jacksonville kept themselves in the game for most of the first half, but they could not slow down New England's offense, and Tom Brady basically took the game over in the 2nd half and New England was able to surge away at the end.

So, this leaves us with a pair of most intriguing matchups next weekend. I think I've already stated who I'm leaning towards, but I'll have a full slate of picks on Friday, for Championship Sunday, the final true weekend of the Football season. Meanwhile, everybody in New York can prepare for the Giants Tsunami that is sure to happen all week long.

Significant Victory

I'd like to avoid the misnomer that I'm somehow abandoning the roots of this Blog and suddenly writing about other things, however considering that my weekend involves me sitting in front of a television (and off of a sprained ankle) and watching Football, and considering the little noise, or little meaningful noise coming from the Mets, it's more at the forefront of my mind at the current time.

(Yes, I know, I heard that the Mets were once again "frontrunners" in the Johan sweepstakes. But watching this unfold is like watching NASCAR. They're just driving around in circles.)

It had been my intent to pick all the Playoff games in the NFL. However, after finally recovering from writing the "20 Days in October" series, I was a little burnt out. This is a more acceptable way of saying that I forgot to pick the games last weekend. I suppose I could say I picked the Giants, Seattle, Jacksonville and San Diego, but what to I have to back that up, so let's just say that in the NY Times Predictify contest, I was 4 for 4 last weekend.

But the Divisional Round is probably my favorite Football weekend of the year, because it's the weekend that usually produces the best games. It happens year after year, and you can certainly guarantee yourself one Epic game, and one upset. Then, there's what I like to call the "Weird Game," the game where something strange happens. Usually, this game is the 4:30pm Sunday game, the last game of the weekend. It's usually in some odd setting, featuring two teams that play each other often, and there's generally some sort of weird final score, or play (take the famous 4th & 26 in the Green Bay/Philly game of 2003), the game is usually decided in the final moments, and the game itself generally goes completely opposite of what everyone thinks will happen (see: New England at San Diego, 2006, Indianapolis at New England, 2004, Green Bay at St. Louis, 2001).

This year, that game is going to be the Giants at the Dallas Cowboys. Of course, it's Sunday, at 4:30. It's their 3rd meeting this year, 92nd overall, and first time in the Playoffs. Dallas is expected to dominate, with their playboy QB, their loudmouthed WR, and their stadium with the hole in the roof. The Giants come in off a Significant Victory in Tampa last week, now 8-1 on the road, and with what appears to be a large chip on their shoulder. Yes, Eli Manning has proven inconsistent to the degree that I think he's taking Glendon Rusch lessons. Yes, Plaxico Burress is hurting (although unlike me, he plays through his sprained ankle). Yes, the Giants appear understaffed on Offense. In reality, all signs point to a blowout for Dallas.

That's why I think the Giants will win, and in a relatively low-scoring game, 24-20. I think Eli's going to get the job done late and lead the Giants to a Touchdown in the final minutes.

Elsewhere, I'm going with the following:
Green Bay over Seattle: Seattle just isn't very good. They won a weak division (and picked off San Francisco twice), and looked miserable in the Washington game last week. Favre and the Packers have the Mojo this season. It might be close, but Green Bay wins, 26-20.

New England over Jacksonville: I'll try not to sound too much like Bill Simmons, but he's right. Jacksonville's Defense just doesn't have the means to contain Brady, Moss, Welker and Stallworth over a full game. On the other side, David Garrard is a nice little Quarterback. He's a great game manager who won't make mistakes that will kill his team. That's a nice way of saying that he leads a marginal offense against a juggernaut. This is the great Prime Time Game, and my guess is that you can probably go to sleep early on this one. Patriots 38-14.

Indianapolis over San Diego: I'd like to think that this game would be a wild shootout, but something tells me that the Chargers won't be able to keep pace. I think it'll be one of those games where the game is close for about 3 Quarters, but then Indy will pull away, and the Final Score will look like a throttling. Colts 45-28.

Enjoy the games, folks!

Good and Evil

There were two stories that seemed to shape the landscape of the New York Sports scene on Sunday night.

First, Eli Manning and the Giants overcame some ghosts from the past and put together perhaps their strongest performance of the season in a 24-14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Wildcard game.

Second was Roger Clemens' interview with Mike Wallace on 60 Minutes, in which he repeatedly denied the accusations by Brian McNamee that he used steroids.

One story focuses on a sympathetic character. The other involves a complete and total jerk.

And if you listened to WFAN last night, you weren't sure which one was which.

It's baffling to me why Giants fans continue to kill Eli Manning. I know that he's not exactly the picture of consistency at QB, and he's pretty much been set up to fail under ridiculously high expectations as the #1 draft pick in 2004. Over the 4 seasons, he's alternately looked brilliant and at the same time clueless. But he seems to have a knack for playing well when it matters most, as evidenced by the famous comeback against Denver in '05, and the last two games he's played, against New England and yesterday in Tampa. Although his numbers weren't eye-popping, they were excellent across the board. He basically managed a perfect game, didn't make any mistakes, and when the Giants were behind early and struggling, he remained calm and stuck to his game plan, smartly conducting two touchdown drives in the second quarter, and then a magnificent 8 minute drive over the 3rd and 4th quarters resulting in the game clinching touchdown.

So why are Giants fans continuing to kill this guy, talking about how he's not good enough to win a Super Bowl or ever be a franchise Quarterback? He basically just led the Giants to their most significant victory since they went to the Super Bowl in 2000, and put them into a matchup next weekend against their most hated rival, the Dallas Cowboys, where they probably look better than any other road team playing next weekend in the Divisional Playoffs. Giants fans, I think it's time to stop complaining and appreciate what you've got. Yes, he can be frustrating to watch, and he could very easily crumple next weekend in Dallas, but considering the state of NFL Quarterbacks (and the 49ers in particular have suffered greatly at the QB position this season), Eli Manning isn't so bad by comparison.

One caller summed it up rather well: If I were a professional athlete, I'd never want to come to New York. You can't please anyone.

However, none of this was quite as galling as hearing at least a few people call in and somehow make some sense out of the now-infamous Roger Clemens' interview.

I didn't watch 60 Minutes. However, WFAN played the interview shortly after 9pm (and a link to the interview is included above). I didn't have a chance to see it, but I heard that Clemens looked uncomfortable. The interview itself seemed rather mild. Mike Wallace has certainly lost a bit off his fastball over time (ha ha), and seemed to ask some challenging questions and not follow up on them. Not surprisingly, Clemens continues to deny having used steroids, and seems to shift most of the blame on his trainer, Brian McNamee. But why would McNamee lie about Clemens? Clemens assumes this is so he could avoid jail time, but then, what does that have to do with Clemens himself? I'm sure Clemens would like us to think that they're going after him like they went after Bonds. Of course, Clemens tried to make himself out to be the victim; that's what he'd like all of us to believe. His tearjerker of a story about pitching hurt in the World Series just made us all feel terrible for him. He says he's being found guilty without a trial, although the 11 pages of evidence in the Mitchell report are pretty damning against him. I'm not sure that too many people are buying the act. The ones that are are probably the same people who think Eli Manning is the worst person ever.

It pretty much boils down to this: Roger Clemens, who the hell are you trying to fool? You are a liar. And I can't wait until the day you are exposed as the fraud and the phony that you are.