Some New, Some Old

Before I get started with this weekend's games, I just want to say that I did watch some of the Florida beat down of Ohio St. and had intended to say something, but I got swept up in things and didn't get a chance last week. All I can say now is that it seems that the Ohio St. fans were not the only ones who were looking for a coronation rather than a contest. Kudos to Florida, although they should send a very, very large fruit basket to UCLA for allowing them to even be in the game.

Now to the NFL. I watched a little bit of all four games, although I didn't get to watch any game in its intirety due to various household tasks that need to be done (stupid toilet). I had a feeling that New England could win their game with San Diego, but I was surprised as to how shaky NE actually looked during the game. They didn't really win it as much as San Diego handed it to them. Several very sloppy and unpoised moments gift wrapped that game to a much more mentally strong New England team.

I was actually more surprised that Indianapolis secured a win against Baltimore. Baltimore's offense has not been very good this past year, but I would have expected more than 6 points out of it, especially against the Indy defense that still has quite a few holes in it. Still, I'm not going to complain, especially as Baltimore did nothing but talk about how they were going to all but kill members of the Colts. The Ravens (and their fans) are a rather thuggish group and I like to see bullies get slapped around a bit.

On the NFC side, the Bears looked quite mortal in their win against Seattle. Seattle made a lot of mistakes and the Bears never capitalized. The Saints will be a lot more hungry and I think that even though New Orleans gives up the big play a lot, they will still be quite a match for the Bears. If the weather turns cold and windy, that might favor the Bears, but Shaun Alexander put up a good game and I see no reason why the Saints dual threat running game won't hammer the Bears just as hard. I can't make too many comments on the Saints as I only saw the last 5 minutes of the game. Mrs. X and I were busy laughing at the hilarity that is The Office: Season 2.

I think its fairly obvious that I think the Saints will win the NFC championship unless the Bears defense rights itself in a hurry. Things are not so clear on the AFC side. In the playoffs, New England has owned Indianapolis and I don't think that having the game played in Indy will change that. On the other hand, both teams have looked very mortal and with both teams knowing each other as well as they do, one gets the feeling that its Indianapolis' turn. I would like to see this as I am already quite sick of the "will Peyton Manning ever win a Super Bowl?" talk. This season has been set up to allow Peyton Manning and the Colts exercise their demons and get over the hump. So, my head tells me to pick New England and my heart tells me to pick Indianpolis. I'll have to get back to you on who I'm going to take in the game.