How We Saw Wild Card Weekend

This Jets team certainly has played with ice water in their veins.  Collectively, they shook of a 2-5 start to win the AFC East.  Then, Wayne Chrebet went and earned my props by shaking off that terrible play that cost his team the game against Chicago and received for 142 yards and three touchdowns in the last three weeks.  He earned my respect and, probably, his spot on the team next year.

What a disappointment Green Bay and Indianapolis were on Saturday after watching the Fiesta Bowl.  Believe it or not, that was the first time the Colts were shut out since Peyton Manning started as their quarterback five years ago.  It shouldn't be surprising that his first shutout came in the playoffs.  Right now in his career, Manning just can't figure out how to win in the playoffs.  It's different than John Elway, because Elway could always win in the playoffs; he just lost in the Super Bowl.

Part of the problem the Colts now have is that Manning's ineffectiveness in the playoffs is coupled with Tony Dungy's.  His teams have failed to score a touchdown now in four consecutive playoff exits.  That's an NFL record (no, not even the Dolphins have done that). 

Rumors were flying around on Sunday that Brett Favre might retire.  I hope he doesn't.  I give him a lot of shit in this column, but I think, in the end, he's a good guy and a fun quarterback to watch.  Plus, he's a lot of fun to cheer against because he'll give you the big interceptions, then kill you with the big touchdown.

His problem now has to be his confidence.  In his last two playoff games, he has thrown eight interceptions and lost at least one fumble. 

What was Al Michaels on?  He had so many mistakes during the Packers-Falcons game, it was as though he was drugged.  At one point during a reverse, he said that the runner ran for a first down, when he in fact was five yards short; another play he called 2nd and 2 when it was 2nd and 7.  There were countless other mistakes Saturday night; the cold of the night at Lambeau must have gotten to him.

Pittsburgh's victory can be credited to two things:  1) the Pittsburgh run defense - they put on an incredible display and didn't allow the Browns to run out the clock in the fourth quarter; 2) the offensive play calling of the Browns, who insisted on running the ball despite virtually no success.  Yes, William Green finally got through the defense for a 20+ yard run; but, the Browns seemed to stop going for the jugular at times in the second half - running for -1 yards instead of putting the ball in Holcomb's hands every play (the way the Patriots did against the Raiders last year).

Are the Jets the team to beat in the AFC?  No.  That distinction belongs to the Oakland Raiders.  The Jets just happen to be a team that can beat them.  These two teams met last year in the wild card round, and the Raiders won by a couple touchdowns.  But, it was the second consecutive game the two teams played in Oakland (the Jets winning the first).  Earlier this year, the Jets dominated the Raiders until 1) Santana Moss was knocked out of the game, putting another Jet back to field punts, which the replacement proceeded to fumble, leading to an Oakland touchdown; and 2) the NFL decided to take a 10-minute break and honor Tim Brown's 1,000th career reception.  If neither of those two things happens this week ... well ... let's just hope they don't.

Bill Parcells is coming back to coaching.  For the last time.  Again.  And I like it.  The guy said that the Patriots job would be his last; then he said the Jets job would be his last.  But, like Michael Jordan, Parcells can't stand to not be in the spotlight; and now, he has the biggest spotlight of all.  I like it because he's a great coach, and I like seeing great teams.  It'll also be a lot of fun to cheer against a good Cowboys team once again; the NFL needs a new good villain.  Too bad Drew Bledsoe wasn't a free agent this year; that would be the making of a Super Bowl champion.

The injury in the Fiesta Bowl to Willis McGahee means that Penn State's Larry Johnson's stock just went up.  Way up.  There is now one great back in the draft, and it will be a scramble to get him.  I like the Detroit Lions to take Larry Johnson with the second pick overall; that move might - just might - save Matt Millen's job. 

And, as I said last week . . .

"I said at the beginning of the season that the Philadelphia Eagles would beat the New York Jets, 24-10, in the Super Bowl. And I'm sticking by it."

--I still can't believe what I saw in the Sunday Wild Card games. Pittsburgh down, 24-7 and 33-21, coming back to beat Cleveland, 36-33. Then, San Francisco rallying from the dead, down 38-14 to revive and beat New York, 39-38.

--The Browns were bitter after blowing the game to Pittsburgh. "I'll tell you this, they'll be home next week," cornerback Corey Fuller said. "They got one more week. We gave it to them today. Unbelievable." Their bitterness in understandable—the Browns lost all three games to the Steelers this season, each by three points and each that the Browns had in the bag in the fourth quarter.

--The Steelers never panicked as evidenced by punting from their own 38 with 8:40 to play and down 33-21. It was a steady coaching job by head coach Bill Cowher and offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey. They stayed with their game plan and it paid off.

--Felt bad for Cleveland receiver Dennis Northcutt whose two touchdowns will be overshadowed by his drop of a pass on third down with 2:49 left and the Browns hanging on, 33-28. Had he caught the pass for a first down, Cleveland could have virtually run the clock out. He was very classy and stand-up in defeat.

--The Browns were undone by some curious second-half play calls. They burned all three time outs early in the half, which cost them big down the stretch. They also ran two plays in the middle of the field with time running out and no timeouts. By my count, these two plays used 23 seconds; the Browns’ ended the game on the Steeler 28 as the clock ran out.

--Stupid penalties also killed Cleveland. On the Steelers’ next-to-last touchdown drive, the Browns committed three defensive penalties on four plays, including an unnecessary roughness call on Robert Griffith, who stupidly drilled receiver Hines Ward after a play was over. Smarts have been in short supply for the Browns all year, starting with Duane Rudd throwing his helmet in Week 1.

--The late game was more bizarre. I still can’t believe the Giants lost a 24-point lead to the 49ers with 20 minutes left. This is the same team that blew a 15-point fourth quarter lead to Tennessee earlier this year, so maybe it shouldn't have been such a surprise.

--I would hate to be Giants long snapper Trey Junkin. A week ago he’s sitting at home in Louisiana, retired. The Giants call and hire him to do one thing—snap the ball on field goal tries. He botches the snap on what would have been the game-winner with six seconds left. His anguish was best summed up by the New York Times: "I'd give anything in the world at this point to have stayed retired, so these guys could have a chance," he said. "They deserved a chance. Quite honestly, I screwed it up. That's it. I'm retired."

--Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey is a great player but a total jerk. We already know he’s a homophobe; now we know his obnoxiousness isn't directed solely at gays.

On Sunday, he made obscene gestures to 49er fans, taunted opposing players, and capped it off in the first half by tossing a cup of ice water over his head and splashing a child. The Giants said Shockey threw the ice because he was frustrated and covered for him by giving a football to the wet child. This guy will easily be the most hated player on the Giants for opposing fans, if he’s not already.

--We saw some major idiocy near the end of the Giants-49ers game. Terrell Owens, the 49ers amazing but strange receiver, was called for consecutive major penalties after the Niners went up 39-38. Owens was bailed out by the equally stupid Giants defensive back Shaun Williams, who picked up two himself during the same sequence and got himself ejected for throwing a punch. Since the penalties all offset, there was no yardage assessed. Owens should thank Williams for helping to save San Francisco’s season.

--The Phil Simms’ homoerotic references continued. The CBS analysts commented on how good-looking the Steeler linebackers were, noted that Steeler defender Kimo von Oelhoffen was a “seamstress” who sewed his jersey skin-tight and remarked at the poor quality of shoes worn by partner Greg Gumbel.

--The less said about the Saturday games the better. I love both the Colts (41-0 losers to the Jets) and Packers (27-7 bumblers to the Falcons), so watching these games was little fun.

--Divisional Round Picks:
AFC: Titans 24, Steelers 20 (Tommy Maddox runs out of miracles). Jets 38, Raiders 28 (The Jets are playing better than anyone in the AFC).
NFC: Eagles 23, Falcons 10 (Michael Vick won’t move well against the Philly defense). Bucs 16, 49ers 13 (A week off does wonders for Tampa).

Week's Hot Players

What a day for two guys who seemed like they would be career backup quarterbacks before the season. Cleveland's Kelly Holcomb (left) and Pittsburgh's Tommy Maddox were great in the Steelers' wild 36-33 win over the Browns. Holcomb threw for 429 yards and three touchdowns, Maddox for 367 yards and three touchdowns.