NFL championship games open thread
posted at 10:00 am on January 24, 2010 by Ed Morrissey
We’re getting close to the big game, and three of the four top seeds have made it into the conference championships. Last week I went 3-1 in the divisional playoffs by picking the favorites, getting surprised only by the New York Jets beating the second-seeded San Diego Chargers. That makes me 5-3 in the postseason and 66-38 for the entire season. Too bad I’m not actually a betting man …
But today’s a fresh day, especially in New Orleans and Indianapolis, where the penultimate battles of the NFL season will take place:
- New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts – I picked the Jets in the opening round and they beat Cincinnati, and picked against them in San Diego. Their defense played well last week, but if Nate Kaeding had made two of the three field goals he missed, we’d be deciding whether Philip Rivers or Peyton Manning will go to the Super Bowl. I hate to pick against the Cinderella team of the season, but the Colts will be too much for Mark Sanchez and his plucky Broadway boys. Manning beat the Ravens defense last week, and he’ll be looking for revenge for the earlier loss to the Jets when Indy sat its starters. Colts over the Jets, 27-17.
- Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints – This is a tough game to pick. It depends which team on both sides shows up. Assuming both teams bring their A-games, I have to go with defense — and the Vikes have a better defense than New Orleans, even on the road. They strangled a Dallas offense that had been red-hot before coming up north. The Saints have a serviceable defense, but so did Dallas, and they got scorched by Brett Favre. Vikings over the Saints, 33-21.
Blowback
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If I remember right, the Vikes humiliated the Packers twice with their own guy this past season. Plus they got farther than the Packers did in the playoffs. I think any Packer trash talk is wasted considering that.
Pcoop on January 25, 2010 at 7:02 AM
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doriangrey on January 25, 2010 at 7:22 AM
I still cannot believe that our New Orleans Saints won! I am, like most folk here in New Orleans, in shock! The Vikings are a really good team, but just turned the ball over too much.
But what can I say? This is our first trip to the Super Bowl! YEAH!
And BTW, I do believe there was some celebration down in the French Quarter, and to my knowledge, there was no violence or general mayhem that seems to follow other teams when they win!
WHO DAT!
lukespapa on January 25, 2010 at 7:22 AM
I guess all is forgiven with the Benson family, eh?
highhopes on January 25, 2010 at 7:32 AM
The refs GAVE the Saints the game??
Anyone who believes that is either an idiot or a Vikings fan (although there is significant overlap in the two groups).
Like when the refs:
1) Extended a Viking drive on a phantom “out of bounds” tackle.
2) Extended a Viking drive on that rediculous roughing the passer call for Favre that left Joe Buck spinning like Gibbsy to justify.
3) Extended a Viking drive by not calling offensive interference on Ray Rice on a ball that was going to be yet another Favre interception.
Yeah, it’s easy to “dominate” the offensive stats when you are getting six downs every time you have the ball. Without that garbage, there is no phantom pass interference in overtime because the Saints win by three touchdowns.
CDeb on January 25, 2010 at 7:34 AM
I’m FROM New Orleans and have lived here most of my life and I agreed with them. Yes, okay, Katrina was a nightmare (thanks Corps of Engineers for your admitted badly designed and poorly implemented engineering, plus decades of malfeasance and stupidity at every level of government, especially Congress, which suppressed video proving the Corps criminal malfeasance for over a year!) BUT Katrina was over four years ago and we’ve received millions of dollars of aid and tens of thousands of volunteers from all over the country… and a lot of us locals have worked our @sses off as well. It IS TIME to move on and quit making everything about Katrina.
In spite of the fact that Benson considered moving the Saints post-K, and played hardball to get the city to renovate, not just repair, the Dome, this game had no relationship to the weather and engineering catastrophes.
Sometimes a football game is just a football game. If people need to find deeper meaning, I suggest the bible.
Laura on January 25, 2010 at 7:56 AM
Sometimes a football game is just a football game. If people need to find deeper meaning, I suggest the bible.
Laura on January 25, 2010 at 7:56 AM
AMEN, sister, AMEN!
lukespapa on January 25, 2010 at 8:08 AM
Tell that to all the media Favre leghumpers.
CDeb on January 25, 2010 at 8:09 AM
Been a Packer fan all my life and I think I speak for a lot of Packer fans when I say that I could see that last interception coming a mile away. Remember 4th and 26 against Phily? Remember the NFC championship against the Giants? People forget how careless he has become with the football at crucial times and he has thrown a plethora of pics in his career. He seems to just lose his mind sometimes and thinks he absolutely has to be the hero.
Alfresco on January 25, 2010 at 8:18 AM
If you’ve lived in NOLA most of your life, you know that Katrina will never be put aside as an excuse. You said it yourself in your riff about the Corp of Engineers. They will be expected to pay in perpetuity even though the fault is not theirs alone. That won’t stop Mary Landrieu from whoring for as many federal dollars as she can get. And while on the subject, it wasn’t the COE who were responsible for maintenance on the Lake Pontchatrain levees it was just that the Orleans Levee board was more interested in developing the Casino and Lakefront Airport than doing something as mundane as upkeep on the levees.
BTW you may be one of those locals that have worked hard post-Katrina but many of your fellow citizens have not. I moved away from NOLA a year ago but I doubt seriously that the work ethic has changed much since then.
highhopes on January 25, 2010 at 8:21 AM
I am very happy for my Colts and rooting for them to bash the “Aints”, but I’m not nearly as confident as you two seem to be. On the plus side, the Colts defense is not the same one from the 2006 superbowl (which they won). They shut down some pretty good running teams unlike in past years. On the minus side, their pass defense can be both brilliant and porous at times. They need more consistency there. The offensive line will have to be vicious 100 percent of the time to give Manning the time and space to work his magic.
Garcon was outstanding in front of his home town crowd and will have to be so again because I think NO will be keying on the veterans (their mistake if they do). All in all, this is the matchup a lot of people were hoping for since about week eight.
SKYFOX on January 25, 2010 at 8:26 AM
The Saints already played the best defense in the league by far in the Vikings. A massive line compared to the tiny (yet efficient) line of the Colts, therefore the Saints will go back to their offense dominating ways in the Super Bowl.
I predict another shootout against the Colts, because the Saints will struggle stopping Peyton and boys.
Saints by 3….again.
Vanbasten on January 25, 2010 at 10:04 AM
Been a Packer fan all my life and I think I speak for a lot of Packer fans when I say that I could see that last interception coming a mile away.
Alfresco on January 25, 2010 at 8:18 AM
Yes.
And Vikings fans, please stop with the, “We got farther than you” crap. Some consolation. None of that matters if you don’t win the Super Bowl. Do you think we Pack fans we’re “gloating” two years ago when Favre crushed our hearts with his pick against the Giants? Do you think we were saying, “Well, at least the Pack got farther than the Vikes or the Bears?”
Favre screwed up again, as we could’ve told you he was bound to do. No, it’s not entirely his fault that Minnesota lost, but eventually those boneheaded decisions of his get old.
Trust us.
NebCon on January 25, 2010 at 10:23 AM
Hell Freezes…. Saints in the Superbowl!!! Wow!!!
Geaux Saints!!!
roux on January 25, 2010 at 12:08 PM
I bleed Green and Gold, and I have a couple of thoughts for Viking fans:
1. As stated before, any Packer fan could have seen the Favre pick coming. It has happened before here against the Giants.
2. Had Favre NOT thrown the pick, the VIKINGS would have won with the BEST kicker in the NFL Ryan Longwell. Ask any Packer fan, and they will tell you that letting him go was one of the worse decisions Packer management made. I honestly believe he will go to the hall-of-fame.
3. Now the Viking fans will come to understand what the “Favre tractor watch” means…LOL! The drama queen in Favre will now come out. The man is made of iron, but during off season it turns to PMS and stiletto heels!
4. Packer fans have THE MECCA OF FOOTBALL Stadiums, Lambeau Field! Viking fans have a balloon!
5. Lastly, need I say it? I must, I must! The Vikings CHOKED ONCE AGAIN!!! Even with Favre!
JimmyGee on January 25, 2010 at 1:56 PM
Just in case there are any questions about the word “Choked”…As used in the sentence, “The Vikings once again…CHOKED.”
choke (chk)
v. choked, chok·ing, chokes
v.tr.
1. To interfere with the respiration of by compression or obstruction of the larynx or trachea.
2.
a. To check or slow down the movement, growth, or action of: a garden that was choked by weeds.
b. To block up or obstruct by filling or clogging: Mud choked the drainpipe.
c. To fill up completely; jam: Major commuter arteries were choked with stalled traffic.
3. To reduce the air intake of (a carburetor), thereby enriching the fuel mixture.
4. Sports To grip (a bat or racket, for example) at a point nearer the hitting surface.
v.intr.
1. To have difficulty in breathing, swallowing, or speaking.
2. To become blocked up or obstructed.
3. Sports To shorten one’s grip on the handle of a bat or racket. Often used with up.
4. To fail to perform effectively because of nervous agitation or tension, especially in an athletic contest: choked by missing an easy putt on the final hole.
n.
1. The act or sound of choking.
2.
a. Something that constricts or chokes.
b. A slight narrowing of the barrel of a shotgun serving to concentrate the shot.
3. A device used in an internal-combustion engine to enrich the fuel mixture by reducing the flow of air to the carburetor.
4. The fibrous inedible center of an artichoke head.
Just in case there were any doubts…LOL I crack myself up!
JimmyGee on January 25, 2010 at 2:00 PM
You know, in a way I kind of hate to pile on Brett Favre… Guy was a big part of the Pack for so many years & did bring the Lombardi trophy back home for SBXXXI. It’s just the way he went about things the last few years that rubs me the wrong way. He pissed on the fans that would’ve done anything for him & his family (pink hats anyone?) & that really tarnished his legacy in my mind. He could’ve played for any other team in the NFL but he sought the Vikings out just to spite the organization…
That’s what makes this loss schadenfreude-licious :)
Mike in GB on January 25, 2010 at 2:46 PM
I’ve been hearing a lot of whining today about the Saints/Vikes game that isn’t coming from Vikes fans-it’s coming from sports writers.
“The overtime rules aren’t fair, because both teams do not get a possession.”
Uh, isn’t that why it’s called “sudden death”?
Del Dolemonte on January 25, 2010 at 3:28 PM
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