Tuesday Afternoon Linebacker

As there was not a lot of football to be had and not a lot left, the column is short this week. Though we did see a couple of instant classics in the AFC and another set of officials’ gaffes all around. Plus we were treated to our annual January Manning choke-fest.

The Super Bowl XL Tournament
Peyton Manning and big games equals crazy choke-licous. I turned on the game near the end of the first quarter and was astounded to see the Steelers up by a pair of touchdowns. Then they started to show some of the stats and I was further astounded. Peyton, to that point, was 0-4 passing. In the series I watched he completed a couple passes and took a couple of bad sacks. I wasn’t getting my hopes up, because the Colts have a knack for coming back when you least expect it. But the Steelers did what you have to do to beat these Colts. Hit them in the mouth when they’re on offense and then keep them off the field when you’re on offense. Cowher going for it on 4th and short time after time on that one long drive late was right out of the “Beat the Colts” handbook.

And add that 4th quarter non-interception to the tape that the NFL needs to review this offseason. They need to once-and-for-all define a completion. It sure looked to me like Polamalu caught the ball, rolled over, got up, fumbled, and recovered. But then, I also thought Edell Shepherd caught that one ball too. Maybe I’m the idiot.

As Rich Eisen is wont to write in his column, let the torch passing begin. Denver knocked off the champs Saturday in their first playoff victory since 1897 or something. TALB thinks that the Patriots simply ran out of whatever mojo or luck or whatever it was that had them on this run. How many injuries can one team sustain before it all breaks down? How many times can you dance with lady luck and come out on top? But don’t forget Denver, they played hard and fought to win the game. There is a reason I’ve been picking them to head to Motor City for the last few weeks. They might just have been the quietest 2 seed in playoff history.

Speaking of luck, I’m glad the Redskins finally ran out of it on Saturday. I didn’t watch much of the game, but what I did see was terrible. A pass from Brunell is tipped in the end zone and lands in Santana Moss’ hands? Sheesh! Then on the ensuing kick-off the Skins force a fumble! WTF? And two other turnovers are the reason the game was as close as it was. I still think that Seattle is pretty weak for a 1 seed, but they were able to overcome the turnovers (unlike our Bucs) and get the job done. But they will have a huge challenge next week.

Does anyone doubt that the Panthers can advance? They shredded the league’s #2 defense for 434 yards. Granted, on defense they didn’t face much of a challenge as they went up against one of the league’s most anemic attacks. And they did surrender nearly 300 yards to the Bears. But the ball-hawking defense coupled with a solid rushing game was the difference. And I was rooting really hard for Rex Grossman. The way he was forced to end his college career (as you know) really sticks in my craw. So if he has the opportunity to do great things in the NFL, I’m all for it.

I was 75% on my picks from last week, only missing the Colts-Steelers game.

NFC Championship
Carolina over Seattle
Well, Carolina is really good (that hurt) and should be able to handle Seattle. It won’t be easy, but they will get the job done.

AFC Championship
Denver over Pittsburgh
The Broncos lay low, where the evil lurks.

Super Bowl XL
Denver vs. Carolina

Officially Dumb
At this point it would appear that the NFL’s big controversy for the year will be officiating. Mike Pereira, the league’s vice president of officiating, went on record (click the “Mike Pereira” video) after the wild card round and said that the two big turnovers in the Tampa-Washington game were very likely called wrong (the interception was fumbled for sure, and it was very likely that the guy who recovered the fumble was down by contact). And after this week’s action, he went on record about the Polamalu interception. And then you’ve got the multitude of crazy pass interference calls from the Divisional round just completed.

I’ve made mention of this before; NFL officiating has been getting steadily worse since they returned from their walkout/lockout/strike whatever from a few years back. And the officials made a point of talking about how they were the best officials in all of sports. There is a problem when you average football fan knows the name of NFL referees. They shouldn’t be involved in the game that much. I’ve watched college football for many years now, and a ton of SEC football. But I’d be hard pressed to name just one SEC referee. But I can name at least three NFL refs off the top of my head (Ed Hochuli, Mike Carey, and Walt Coleman).

On a tangent to this subject; Aaron and I were discussing the value of the NFL admitting their mistakes. One the one hand, by admitting the mistake they offer a level of trust that they want to get things right. On the other hand, does that admission undermine some fans’ confidence in the game? Discuss.

Underclassed
Big time underclassmen losses at the top of college football this year. Five players from Southern Cal and Vince Young from Texas have declared for the NFL Draft. And a trio of Sophomores from South Carolina have also entered the NFL’s lottery.

Seminole-more
Wyatt Sexton, late of his God complex, has decided to get out of football. No jokes. Well, just the linked picture.

Running Items
King Of Football
As always, feel free to submit your entry for TALB’s King Of Football 2006. It will appear during the off week between the NFL conference championships and the Super Bowl (January 31).

Next Week: Halas and Hunt Hoisted