Weekend summary

Due to the fact that I (stupidly) chose to travel on Wildcard Weekend and the fact that, you know, I have a job that sometimes requires my time, I did not manage to see a full game. However, thanks to a remarkable delay at the Atlanta airport, I did see much of the Chargers/Colts game, mostly because we spent the entire first half (and then some) at the gate...which is longer than the entire flight to Tampa. Fortunately for me, the pilot turned on our in-flight TVs and we were able to get NBC, so the delay wasn't as bad as it could have been. Unfortunately for me, my shuttle came right at the end of regulation time, so I missed out on OT. And you know that I would have loved to have seen that.

I need to recommend to you this summary as well, which had me laughing and laughing and laughing and laughing. Just like The Hater Nation, I too questioned what the deal was with the 'Peyton's Haircut' segment (which was especially obtuse for me seeing as I had no volume and was sitting on an airplane). Basically, they said much of what I was thinking about Dungy and Peyton choking, plus the questionable awarding of the MVP.

Arizona beats Atlanta -- unless you are a heartless bastard, some part of you wanted Atlanta to transcend and win this game. They have been a great story this year with a superb team turnaround after circumstances out of the players' control pretty much screwed them last year (Dog fights? Coaches walking out? Parcells?). Not to mention that Matt Ryan has emerged as a real talent and a QB to keep watching in the future. However, Arizona showed up after a month's vacation and quieted all those critics who thought that their relatively lousy record indicated that they were a relatively lousy team. Also, Kurt Warner provided a lesson to all rusty old men in how it's done. If you can still play like that in your late 30s, then by all means, go on playing.
Arizona now meets Carolina next weekend. While I didn't see Carolina play all season, they seem to be pretty strong (and emerged out of a quite strong division). Arizona, as was seen in the game against the Pats, would seem to have some wicked massive weaknesses. I'm picking Carolina.

San Diego beats Indianapolis -- Peyton must really hate San Diego. Sure, this year he didn't manage to throw 6 interceptions/game against them. But somehow, they definitely have the Colts' number in the playoffs (and for those of you thinking 'Hey! He didn't throw any interceptions,' from my little tiny TV screen in the seatback in front of me, he sure came awfully close). LT is injured (shocking), but Sproles the running back definitely came to play. The Colts' rush defense looked vaguely like it did back in 2003/04, when pretty much anyone could run as far and as often as he wanted. I took great schadenfreudlich joy in this game and am pleased that yet again, I do not have to make NO MANNINGBOWL T-shirts. Peyton's post-game interview failed to unveil any major gaffes, much to my disappointment.
San Diego meets Pittsburgh next weekend. I would say that this is unquestionably in Pittsburgh's favor, except that Rothlisberger has that concussion and all, so we will see.

Baltimore destroys Miami, leaving them to cry little Dolphin tears -- 4 turnovers? On Chad Pennington? Who threw for, like, basically no turnovers all season? They definitely had his number. For anyone who didn't see this coming, Miami had some pretty squeaky wins against some pretty questionable teams during the regular season (and at times got trounced, like, oh, I dunno, around November 23rd to pick a date at random). Baltimore, on the other hand, has played against tough teams and still managed to make the playoffs. The only thing about this game that surprised me was the fact that at the half, it was still close.
Baltimore plays Tennessee next weekend. I have to say that a month ago, I was pretty sure that the AFC Championship game would be Tennessee vs. Pittsburgh. In some ways, I still think that, although Baltimore has fielded a really good team. However, Tennessee was generally strong all year, so nothing is certain. I think that this could be a really good game.

Philadelphia beats Minnesota. Again, not much of a surprise. Minnesota's division was kind of sketch this year and Philadelphia had to overcome some huge obstacles just to get in. Definitely the Eagles are on a roll and that is the best place to be during the playoffs. Minnesota, on the other hand, was pretty inconsistent all season.
Philadelphia plays the NY Giants next weekend. You can guess that I am completely pulling for Philly in this game (and they did beat them during the regular season). Let's see which Eli shows up.