Sometimes what seems destined, only destines what that seems, ultimately to fail. In our much ballyhooed case, the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints seemed destined to go undefeated (and much to TV executives’ delights), even all the way to the Super Bowl. At 13-0 each, the two teams were far from flukes fielding both impressive offenses and opportunistic defenses. By the time the smoke cleared, the Saints went on to lose their next 3 regular season game, the Colts would win one more to go 14-0, but infamously opted to rest their starters in weeks 16 and 17 to complete the pair’s dubious end to the season and effectively back into the playoffs.
Again what seems destined… with the Colts habit of bowing out early in the playoffs (Super Bowl XLI the only exception), and the Saint’s lack of effective playoff pedigree, what started out as a date with undefeated destiny turned into most of the media/public calling for both teams to fall flat. Momentum, no rust, consistency, winning attitude… terms that were eagerly thrown around that wouldn’t apply to the Colts nor the Saints in an age of short memory. In the last decade, teams like the 2008 Arizona Cardinals, the 2007 New York Giants, and the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers all made us believe that the once coveted bye week possessed by the top seeds were not that coveted. The belief soon rooted that momentum as seen by the recent success of wild-card teams would be the deciding factor on who would make it to Super Sunday.
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They say the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry; in the NFL playoffs, hopes and dreams are often left out to dry. With the best intentions left to bare, the media and rabid fan base usually take their wear. Three weeks for many, two weeks for a couple, whichever road you may take to the Super Bowl, those pigskin footballs sure are supple! Twelve teams can see Super Sunday is within reach, but ultimately two will celebrate on South Beach. There is only one postseason. There is only one January. As old man winter rages on, let football be your sanctuary. Ignoring my worse Dane Cook impressions, there are a lot of interesting subplots to this year’s playoff progressions. Cold beer on tap, Captain Morgan is no sap. Imbibe with your friends (responsibly), and let Chad Ochocinco take you to the very end. Twitter me this, twitter me that, what a playoff this will be with the Cardiac Cats! If any of this did not make sense, no worries because the mounting pressure on the Cowboys makes Jerry Jones very tense. My friend Brent Celek (not to be confused with Tom Selleck) is on cue, with the honor of ushering in the playoff preview.
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A lot can happen when you take a week off. The Pittsburgh Steelers lose five in a row and are in real danger of missing the playoffs altogether, while the Baltimore Ravens look to slip into the wild card after an inconsistent season. Conceivably and unbelievably, if the Cincinnati Bengals were to lose all of the three remaining games, and the Ravens were to run the table, Baltimore could actually win the AFC North despite the Bengal’s 6-0 division record. In the East, the New England Patriot’s hold on the division is tenuous at best with both the Miami Dolphins and the New York Jets only one game back. For my money, the lone playoff representative for the AFC East will be the division champ, whoever happens to stumble out of this pile. My sentiments are that the two hotly contested wild card spots up for grabs will go to one of the teams from the AFC North, South, or West. As of now, the Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Denver Broncos are the frontrunners for those coveted spots.
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Talk about fruitless labors, the New Orleans Saints sitting at 11-0 thus far late in the season haven’t even wrapped up their division yet, whereas the 11-0 Indianapolis Colts have clinched the AFC South yet again. On a lesser note, the 10-1 Minnesota Vikings have also yet to clinch the NFC North with the Green Bay Packers hot on their heels despite an 0-2 record against the Purple People Eaters that gives Fah-vera and company all tiebreakers. Understandable as if the Colts even lose all the last 5 games, the Jacksonville Jaguars would have to win all of the next 5 games and still be tied with the Colts, but lose out in tiebreakers as both would own a 4-2 division record. The Saints on the other hand still have 3 division games on deck, and if New Orleans loses all 5 games while the Atlanta Falcons run the table, it would go down to the tiebreaker with the Falcons winning by virtue of a 4-2 division record and the Saints owning a 3-3 division record. Highly unlikely, but fun to think about.
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Blessed are the physical things in this spiritual life. Blessed are the friends and family, the bountiful food, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parades, football, the copious wine and beer; blessed are the many little things taken for granted in this big wide world. Most of all, blessed are the Detroit Lions. Indeed it’s an NFL World, and I’m just living in it. The reach and influence of the league has reached epic proportions, what once was just tradition is now an opportunity to peddle its ware as the NFL and its own creation the NFL Network added another game on Turkey Day. This year it is a semi-marquee matchup between the New York Giants and the Denver Broncos. In the eyes of some, this game draws more interest than the annual cranberry-fest tortured fans are forced to watch the Detroit Lions. Of course, the love-hate relationship with the Dallas Cowboys usually doesn’t tarnish the fact that the boys are almost always in contention by this time of year so any casual fan can look forward to them winning or losing on national TV.
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