Conference Championship Random Thoughts

Super Bowl XLIV is set. The Indianapolis Colts will take on the New Orleans Saints in Miami on Sunday February 7th. It is the first time both number one seeds will be facing off in the Super Bowl since Dallas and Buffalo squared off in Super Bowl XXVIII. The hype will start to rev up by the end of the week, and I will preview the big game as we get closer to next week. Before we get there, we need to look back at Conference Championship weekend. It was a good slate of games and both home teams won for the second year in a row. Here are some random musings about the games....

AFC Championship: Indianapolis defeats New York Jets 30-17.

1) Great play call by Brian Schottenheimer down 3-0 in the second quarter. Mark Sanchez hit Braylon Edwards with a 80 yard bomb off of a play-action on first down to put the Jets in the lead 7-3.
2) Give Mark Sanchez credit because he played really well and gutsy all game long. His touchdown pass to Dustin Keller was a great play to put the Jets up 14-6.
3) The Jets got to Peyton Manning early in the game and kept the Colts out of rhythm. If you would have told a Jet the following was going to happen in the game: Jets would hold the Colts to two field goals for most of the first half, force a fumble by Joseph Addai, and get two touchdown passes by Mark Sanchez and a big pass from Brad Smith to Jerricho Cotchery. Do you think Jet fans would have thought they were winning the game?
4) Once the Jets led 17-6, Peyton Manning took over. His 4 play 80 yard drive was a thing of beauty capped off by a touchdown pass to Austin Collie. Everyone in America knew the Jets were in trouble once the Colts scored to make it 17-13 right before the half.
5) The Jets needed to get points to stave off Indy when they got the ball to start the second half. Once Jay Feely missed that 52 yard field goal, you could tell the Colts were going to take over. Manning to Pierre Garcon gave the Colts the 20-17 lead and they never looked back.
6) Peyton Manning is probably going to be the best Quarterback of all time, but a lot of his success goes to Howard Mudd and Tom Moore. Those guys are great coaches who have been around the NFL for a long time. You knew those two would get together with Manning to figure out how to attack the Jets.
7) Give the Jets credit. They played hard and made a great run in the playoffs. They lost to the best team in the NFL and the best QB alive. There is nothing to be ashamed of. They have a good Head Coach and a good young nucleus to be a very good team next year. That doesn't guarantee that they will be back in the AFC Championship Game in 2010, but they will be a favorite in the AFC East for sure.
8) The Colts have not lost a game this year when they played all of their starters (16-0). This team is loaded and will be next year and for many years after.

NFC Championship: New Orleans defeats Minnesota 31-28 in Overtime

1) How did the Vikings lose this game? They outgained the Saints 475 to 257. They ran 82 plays compared to 55 for the Saints. They were 7-12 on 3rd down and the Saints were 3-12. Of course the five turnovers did them in, but the Vikings outplayed the Saints all night.
2) Brett Favre can make you happy one minute, and then he can kill the next. His interception with 7 seconds left in the game was an absolute dagger. Favre always is shaky in big spots, just like in the 2007 NFC Title Game.
3) Adrian Peterson ran well and was a beast, but his fumbling is killing him. It has become an epidemic. That will be a huge storyline for him going into next year.
4) The pass interference call on Ben Leber in overtime was a disgrace. How can the officials decide the game like that? Just an awful call. Overtime in the playoffs in the NFL should be like OT in the NHL playoffs. The refs should just put the flags and whistles away and let the players decide the outcome.
5) The Vikings 12 men in the huddle penalty late in the fourth quarter will go down as one of the biggest coaching blunders ever. A lot of people get on Brad Childress as a game manager and now we know why. What a terrible job by him. It will take a lot before Childress ever lets this one down.
6) Kudos to Sean Payton and Drew Brees. Payton is a very good coach, and Drew Brees is a fantastic QB. Those two really saved the Saints franchise.
7) The Saints make their first Super Bowl appearance ever. The franchise and that city deserves to enjoy this moment.
8) My heart goes out to all the Vikings fans out there. What a gutwrenching loss. With all due respect to the Bills, Jets, Eagles, and Browns, there is no fan base that has suffered more than the Minnesota Vikings. Think about these awful losses in their history: 1) All four Super Bowl losses 2) 1975 Playoff loss to Dallas on the Hail Mary play 3) 1987 loss at the goalline in the NFC Championship against Washington 4) 1992 playoff loss at home to Washington 5) 1994 playoff drubbing at home to the Bears 6) 1998 NFC Championship loss to Atlanta (Enough Said) 7) The 2000 NFC Title debacle at the Giants 41-0 7) The 2003 season finale loss at Arizona on the last play to knock them out of the playoffs and now 8) 2009 NFC Championship loss at New Orleans. I feel bad for Viking fans. This was their year, and they will never forget how close they were to getting to the Super Bowl. This loss will last with them for a lifetime.

Next Week.....Super Bowl XLIV coverage