Many thought the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers would meet in a rematch of their thrilling game to open up the NFL season in the NFC championship with the winner going to and probably winning the Super Bowl. I was one of those many who will now watch the Giants and 49ers play for the right to go to the Vince as the old time machine goes back a few years. Did anyone out there pick the Saints and Packers to both go down this weekend. If so, good for you. Here are just some random thoughts on the four games this weekend.
SAN FRANCISCO VS NEW ORLEANS
--What is about playing NFC West teams on the road that kills the Saints in the playoffs. They couldn't get it done in Seattle last year when they had a better team and I think they have a better team than the Niners, but they couldn't get it done in San Fran either.
--Like everyone in the park knew the ball was going to Tony Gabriel in 1976, everyone had to know the only player Alex Smith would throw the ball to in the final moments was Niners tight end Vernon Davis. What a colossal brain cramp by the Saints D and their co-ordinator (who is now apparently off to St. Louis) Gregg Williams
--If Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson can be Super Bowl quarterbacks, I guess Alex Smith could be too.
--That 49ers defence will hurt you
DENVER VS NEW ENGLAND
--Tom Brady reminded everyone that there is another quarterback out there who deserves the other publicity that one Mr. Tebow received.
--The Patriots defence looked nothing like the porous shell that they trotted out week after week this year.
--Why weren't the Patriots using Aaron Hernandez as a running back all year long?
--Can anyone in the NFL cover Rob Gronkowski?
--What becomes of Tim Tebow now? Is the experiment over or is he the number one guy in Denver going into training camp.
--Can Denver find some suitable receivers besides Demyarius Thomas to throw to?
--How did Pittsburgh lose to Denver again last weekend?
HOUSTON VS BALTIMORE
--Jacoby Jones wins the award for weekend's biggest idiot after handing the Ravens a touchdown by botching a 1st quarter punt return deep in his own end.
--Joe Flacco continues to be a mystery to me. He looks so good one week and so bad the next
--Ed Reed is one of the top safeties to ever play in the NFL
--Where would the Texans have been had Matt Schaub stayed healthy?
--Arian Foster needs to go to Cleveland so he can shave the Browns logo in his head. Think about that for a second.
--Ray Lewis has many good years in front of him
GIANTS VS GREEN BAY
--Was that the 2007 NFC championship I watched again----no, because this time the Packers got their lunch handed to them.
--Did the pre-game ritual for the cheeseheads involve dipping their hands in liquid cheese. HANG ON TO THE BALL!!!
--Eli Manning wins more and more people over every time out. I'm starting to think he is an elite quarterback in this league. He's certainly better than guys like Romo.
--I'm still not sold on Victor Cruz. I think the guy is a flash in the pan
--How can the Packers defence allow Hakeem Nicks to score on the last play of the half. KNOCK IT DOWN
--The Packers pass rush reminded me of the Riders pass rush--or lack of it.
--The weakness of the Packers got exposed and that was they have no defence nor have they had it all year long. The great numbers that Rodgers and company threw up hid that very well.
So now we have the Giants and the Niners in one conference final with the Patriots and the Ravens in the other. I don't want an all-Harbaugh final because that will simply sicken me, but I would like to see the Giants and Patriots tango on the big stage once again. That being said, I will say the winners next weekend are Baltimore (I took them to lose to the Saints at the start of the year) and the Giants. Who do you like?
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Question asked of me this weekend---how many players are left on the 2012 Riders that were on the 2007 team. The answer is 10 as it stands right now. The 10 are....Chris Best, Wes Cates, Darian Durant, Andy Fantuz, Lance Frazier, Neal Hughes, Maurice Lloyd, Gene Makowsky, Mike McCullough and Marc Parenteau. That's not a lot in my mind. Is it in yours?
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To steal a line from Toronto Sun sportswriter Steve Simmons in his weekly columns---whatever happened to Nealon Greene?
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I wish TSN would take a page out of FOX's book and have a former official in studio with them to explain controversial calls. FOX"s hiring of former NFL officiating head Mike Pereira is outstanding. Pereira tells you what is being looked at and whether or not the call will be overturned. He also isn't afraid to say he thinks a wrong call was made as was the case in the Giants-Packers game.
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Bill Leavy officiated yesterday's Giants-Packers game. This is the same clown who reffed Super Bowl 40 when the NFL handed a Super Bowl to Pittsburgh (the scars on this Seahawks fan will always remain visible). How is this guy still a ref? He is the NFL's Andre Proulx.
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With all the outstanding tight end play in the NFL this year, will a CFL offensive co-ordinator try to re-invent the tight end position in the CFL?
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I was thinking about checking out the Pats game, but had I gone, I would gotten there late. I turned on the radio to hear it was 4-0 Saskatoon and said I'll go another night. The final was 7-4 for the Blades. Kootenay is here on Wednesday. I'll probably check that one out.
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Is it just me or does it seem colder than it actually is because we've been spoiled. That being said, is it really supposed to bounce back to minus 1 on Thursday?
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Graham DeLaet takes home 32-thousand dollars after finishing eight strokes off the lead at the Sony Open. I'm sure Graham would have been thinking top 10 after his great round on Thursday in which he led after 18 holes, but 32 grand is 32-grand. The winner of the event was a guy named Johnson Wagner. Did you see the "stache" on this guy. It's a beaut!
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I hate it when I hear a team has blanked the opposition in the NHL knowing I have that team's goalie in the pool and will get a shutout win only to find out the backup got the shutout. That was the case Saturday when the Rangers beat the Leafs behind Marty Biron's performance. GRRRRRR!!!!
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Team World captured the Continental Cup of Curling on the weekend. Is it time for a curling summit?
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From what I understand, either Chris Jericho or Randy Orton wins the Royal Rumble in two weeks time.
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Is Netflix worth it?
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Is there any word out there grosser than "moist".
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Have a good Monday. Stay warm!!
7 comments:
The Packers offense reminded me also of the Riders last years offense- no running game and dropped passes
If the Patriots play on D the way they did against Denver, they won't be beaten.
Interesting comment about the CFL bringing back tight ends. I can't see it with the wide field and the 5 and 6 receiver sets, but you never know.
Al
Good for Graham to collect 30 grand in his first event. I'm sure it won't be his last good payday this year. The province should get behind this kid because he is doing us proud.
I think that NetFlix is worth it. Content has been getting much better lately.
"Is there any word out there grosser than "moist"."
Yes, that word is "scruffy".
The word is "scruffy" is it? Nothing grosser than a loser who likes to cut down others in print but doesn't have the courage to name themselves.
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