It wasn't pretty, but the Seattle Seahawks are off to the NFL playoffs. Yes, the team that one major US sports publication said would draft first in the 2011 draft after a 2-14 season is off to the playoffs after winning the putrid NFC West with a 16-6 win over the St. Louis Rams. Was it a thing of beauty? No! Was it football at its best. No! Does it matter? Not one bit!!
As it became evident that the Seahawks--the first ever team to win their division with a record below 500--were going to host the New Orleans Saints next Saturday afternoon, the comments started flooding in.
The Saints are going to rest their starters next week to get ready for Chicago or Atlanta
The idea of having a division winner get an automatic home game in the playoffs is dumb.
BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!
Bottom line---its not Seattle's fault that they play in a bad division with three other bad teams, but they are the best of that division and like the seven other division winners, their reward is getting a home playoff game. There is nothing wrong with that rule whatsoever.
I can just it hear it all week as to how Seattle doesn't deserve to be on the same field as New Orleans next week. Well, they are and as football fans know, anything can happen once the whistle blows. Would I be surprised if Seattle wins? Yup! Can they win? Yup! Will I be cheering for them Saturday afternoon----lets just say I hope the Seahawks wipe the mole off of Drew Brees' face!
------
Other thoughts from the weekend that was in the NFL
--The Packers will be tough to beat in the playoffs
--Jay Cutler has proven once again why the Bears will be one and done.
--The Kansas City Chiefs showed they aren't ready for playoff football
--Tim Tebow has a ways to go before he can be considered as an NFL quality quarterback---but he could be
--The Bills should make a deal with Carolina so they can take Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the first pick of the draft.
--Nobody will beat the Patriots.
-----
How many Canadians flung something in disgust or uttered a four letter word when Switzerland scored on a big time softie at the start of their World Junior quarter-final game?After that bad one Mark Visentin shut the door and Canada took over as they move into a semi-final game against the U-S. Expect the game of the tournament tonight in Buffalo and expect the Canadian heart to come through again. I don't know how they will do it, but the Canadians will make up for what happened in Saskatoon. They've been waiting for this one. The Sweden-Russia game should also be an outstanding affair.
------
It really is hard to believe the New Jersey Devils are at the bottom of the NHL standings. Does anyone have the onions to challenge Lou Lamirello as to how he has slowly destroyed this team? The Kovalchuk deal has sent this team into a tailspin that it won't recover from for a long, long time. It brings up this question---with Marty Brodeur aging, would the Devils consider trading him. Imagine him in L-A or Atlanta. I couldn't see the Devils trading with rivals like Philly and Pittsburgh, but I could see them trading him out West to someone like the Kings or Avalanche.
------
All that separates 4th from 13th in the NHL's Western Conference is six points. Some good teams will be on the outside looking in. By the way just a reminder that division winners in the NHL host the first playoff round as a reward for winning their division-----which is the way it should be.
------
Lost in the shuffle of yesterday is the fine play of the Pats. They made it three in a row with a shootout win over Calgary. They are starting to inch closer to the 8th and final playoff spot. I really like the additions Chad Lang made over December and I think Pat fans are going to love Lyndon Martell.
------
2011 = another 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,760 hours, 525,600 minutes 3,153,600 seconds of struggle, growth, progress & experience. How's it goin so far?
------
6 comments:
Its not how you got into the dance, its did you? The Seahawks don't need to make any apologies for getting in. It does look bad having a seven win team in the playoffs while ten win teams (the Giants) are on the outside looking in, but thats the way it goes.
I can't see them beating New Orleans, but you never know and the crowd there will be ready.
Scott
For the first time this year, I went to a Pats game and left having been entertained. There's a long way to go yet, but perhaps we are starting to see Chad's gameplan come through.
TJ
Do you really think the Seahawks can beat the Saints? C'mon, even in a best of 7 it would be a four game sweep.
Saints by 78
And nobody were going to beat the Patriots in the 'undefeated' season either. Lets not forget, this is a team that lost to the Browns this year.
I do believe the Seahwks have an outside shot at an upset next week, NOLA has a short week, a long road trip, a hostile stadium and some significant injuries, not to mention they're coming off a poor showing against Tampa.
No way Carolina trades the top pick IMO. Could you imagine being the new HC there, and not selecting a consensus blue-chip prospect only to watch him go on to be a pro bowler elsewhere, while you are stuck with Clausen, who showed less promise than Jon Skelton, Colt McCoy, Joe Webb (!) etc. That said, it appears that the owner is calling the shots in Carolina, and he might rather not pay for a #1 overall, in which case the Panthers will get exactly what they deserve...moved to Los Angeles.
Great column Mitchell, keep up the good work.
KC
The Avalanche have some good young talent they could give NJ along with Anderson or Budaj. That would be interesting.
Post a Comment