Football Blogging

Late Season Musings

NFC

First, the Giants. I don’t have a clue about the Giants this time of the year. Giants Stadium is not really home field advantage to the Giants in December because Eli Manning has yet to master the late season swirling winds in his home field. Their run defense was great against the Cowboys but they still remain a mystery.

The Eagles look solid at least until the NFC Championship Game when they historically fold.

The Cowboys. The next big game Romo wins late season will be the first big game Romo wins late season. That having been said, it can happen. Of course, the next big game Wade Phillips wins late season will be the first big game Wade Phillips wins...

The Vikings. They are missing their best offensive tackles which means they will have a difficult time running on the edges and have a difficult time protecting Brett Favre. It should be noted that Brett has majorly faded the last two Decembers. He’s a great quarterback but he’s 40 years old and it is a long season.

The Saints look awesome. Wow.

The Packers are playing better and better and better. They have greatly improved their pass blocking and, I think, are going to be a major threat late season.

Lastly, the Cardinals, like the Giants, are a team that is difficult to read. One thing for certain; the are playing very good defense now and they remain potent on offense.

It should be fun in the NFC.

AFC

The Steelers’. Well, the little pop up thing on the turkey that pops up when it’s done. It’s popped up on the Steelers. They’re done. Big Ben is loathed in the locker room by his team mates and that’s not a big deal when they’re winning. But when you lose... Funny thing about this team is that statistically they look a lot like last year’s team. Last year’s team, however, finished games.

The Colts look awesome. Peyton Manning is the best quarterback in the NFL and perhaps the best ever. They are not great running the ball, but Peyton is the best quarterback in the game late. Defensively, they are better than they were the last couple of years. This is an excellent team.

The Patriots, like the Giants and Cardinals are unknown. Great coach, great quarterback, who knows? Hard to imagine them going far, however. They have no running game and a suspect defense. The thing is, the 2007 Giants turned their defense around late season and the Patriots were the recipients of that surprise, so it’s hard to tell.

The Bengals are team we are going to learn a lot about when they play the Vikings. They look really good and really solid. They are doing all the things championship teams do well. They are playing good defense and can run. Championships are won on these two things. We’ll see. They have had a tendency to morph into the Bungles too often, but they might be past that.

The Dolphins are a team on the rise and can win their division. They run well, they confuse defenses and they have a young quarterback. It is hard to go far into the playoffs with that young a quarterback but, again, we’ll see.

The Jets. They are not going anywhere. Rookie quarterback (who is hurt) and a rookie Head Coach....they are greatly improved but are a year or two a way. And, of course, they are the Jets who can grab defeat from the jaws of victory with the best of them.

The Chargers, finally, look good. They play well on all sides of the ball and have giant receivers who help Rivers a lot. Rivers plays like a street football player who just knows how to win. They are a potent force.

My Super Bowl pick:

Obviously two undefeated teams deserve the top slots:

Colts versus Saints.

Most likely match-up if they falter:

Packers versus Chargers.