Well, I'm finally back at it. I was going at a pretty good clip before the holidays but had something come up everytime I've tried to write since. I hope you all had a great holiday season and are ready for an even better year in sports. Which brings us to the first championship of the year. In many mines, Utah won it a couple of days ago when they rolled right over the Crimson Tide. There was a team in that game that appeared like it didn't belong, but it certainly wasn't the Utes.
Utah's quarterback Brian Johnson passed for 336 yards and three touchdowns. Alabama's John Parker Wilson only passed for 177 yards with one TD, while also getting picked off twice. Those that want to argue that the Tide was more of a rushing team this year. That's fine. I agree. Wilson's -31 rushing yards didn't help their rushing game much on Friday, however. Their leading rusher was Glen Coffee, who only went for 36 yards on 13 carries.
31-17 isn't a very close score, but it could've been even worse. 'Bama got a 52-yard field goal (long by NFL standards) and a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown in the second quarter to make it look like we could have a game after Utah got out to a 21-0 lead. So if not for those two freak plays, the final could've been 31-7, which is more how it felt. I might've been biased because I knew the final score before watching it on Tivo, so maybe someone who watched it live could let me know if that really is how it felt. Utah crushed Alabama statistically and on the scoreboard and what's even more impressive is that they did it in New Orleans (aka Bama's backyard).
So yes, the BCS title game is technically between Florida and Oklahoma tonight, but no matter who wins that game, neither of them will do what Utah did. The Utes won all 13 games that they played. They beat ranked opponents like TCU and BYU during the regular season. They beat an Oregon State team that knocked of USC. And to cap things off, they beat a team from the mighty SEC, the best football conference of all time in essentially a road game for Utah. If the BCS hasn't showed itself to be a sham before (and it certainly has) it will this year. To quote a favorite youtube video of mine, "This animal is bullshit." I doubt the system will ever be fixed, but I hope the AP poll can somehow find a way to award their national title to the true champs: the Utah Utes.
As for the NFL, they have the right system in play to decide their champion, a playoff, but they still have a silly system to decide their games in overtime. Winning a coin toss shouldn't win a team a game. But more often than not, it does. The Chargers will head to Pittsburgh this week due to winning the coin toss and beating the Colts in overtime. They're the team that I wanted the Steelers to face in the cold and snow, but I still believe that Indy got the shaft. Peyton Manning, who was voted MVP of the league, didn't get on the field during the extra period and had to suffer just because he called heads. The system used in college which allows both teams to get on the field is a much fairer system and would allow both teams' offenses and defenses to get on the field and decide the game. It wouldn't be as big of a deal for a team like the Steelers or Bears who are much stronger on defense, but the Colts' offense is their strength so taking that away from them was like amputating their legs. Sure, they're still alive, but they're not going to do much in the near future.
Now to preview the divisional match ups. The Steelers should be able to stop the Chargers' Darren Sproles in the muck that is Heinz Field. He won't be flying around like a powder blue blur like he did against the Colts, and if he gets into the secondary, Troy Polamalu is fast enough to catch him and level him. If Ben Roethlisberger can just manage the game like he did earlier in his career and not commit a bunch of goofy turnovers, we should make it back to the AFC title game. Two turnovers or fewer, Pittsburgh wins. Anymore than that and it's probably a toss-up.
The other AFC game should be a more exciting game. There isn't expected to be any weather affecting this contest between the Ravens and Titans so the best team should win. The team playing the best is the Ravens. Tennessee played well against the Steelers in Week 16, which was their last meaningful game, but Ed Reed and the rest of the Ravens' defense is on fire. Reed had two more picks last week against the Dolphins, one of which he took to the house. Kerry Collins might come out a bit rusty for the Titans, so I'd be shocked if Baltimore didn't get at least one interception in Saturday's game. If Joe Flacco can just play like he has been, making completions every few throws while limiting turnovers, the Ravens should be able to pull this one out and earn another rematch with the Steelers. For the Titans to win, they'll need defensive linemen Kyle Vanden Bosch and Albert Haynesworth who have missed a lot of time with various injuries to be explosive and put a lot of pressure on the Ravens' rookie QB. The Titans won the first meeting between the clubs this year, but Flacco has matured a lot since that contest in Week 5 in which he threw two interceptions.
The NFC isn't quite as exciting as the Cardinals are expected to get crushed by Carolina. The Panthers are 8-0 at home this year and the Cards are 0-5 when east of the Mississippi River. Pro Bowl wide receiver Anquan Boldin is expected to be limited in the contest, which will allow the Panthers' defense to focus more on Larry Fitzgerald. If they can shut down Boldin and Fitzgerald, it's game over. The Cards only rushed for 50 yards when the two teams met in Week 8, with 30 of them coming from Boldin on one carry. Arizona did a nice job last week against Atlanta's Michael Turner on the ground, but it has a tougher task this week with the two-headed monster of Deangelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. Quarterback Jake Delhomme was 20-of-28 for 248 yards and two touchdowns in the first meeting between these teams, so he should have a lot of confidence coming in. Kurt Warner of the 1999-2001 Rams might need to make a guest appearance for the Cardinals to have a chance in this one.
The tighter of the two NFC parings is between the Eagles and the Giants. New York's at home, but that might not matter much as the teams split the two regular season match ups this year with the road team winning both times. The Giants beat the Eagles with Plaxico Burress on the club, but failed without him. They can play it down all they want, but Eli Manning and the rest of the passing game hasn't been the same since they suspended him. The team finished just 2-3 without him, with their last game which they lost to the Vikings being meaningless for them. However, Manning threw for over 200 yards just once in the four games that did matter after losing Burress, with none in his last three. He clearly misses his biggest target. Meanwhile, the Eagles are looking like the Giants did at about this time last year. They're blazing heading into the Meadowlands. They had a close call with Minnesota before hitting Brian Westbrook on that huge screen pass, but are now 5-1 in the games that followed the benching of starting quarterback Donovan McNabb. The Eagles can't afford to play from behind with the G-men's dynamic rushing attack, but they're certainly capable of pulling the upset if they can hang in there for a half or so.
My picks for the week:
Utah 41 - Florida 31 - Oklahoma - 24
Steelers 20 - Chargers 13
Ravens 20 - Titans 10
Panthers 34 - Cardinals 17
Eagles 24 - Giants 20
Keywords: BCS, NFL Playoffs, Ravens, Steelers, Titans
