Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Mea Culpa
When Tom Coughlin decided to play his starters in an otherwise meaningless game against the Patriots, I thought he was an idiot. As it turns out, it was an inspired decision. The Giants (who I thought were a 6-10 team going into the season) are in the NFC Championship game and it appears that the teams that played out the regular season have fared far better in the playoffs than the teams who rested.
The Pats and Giants both played a tough last game, while the Packers played hard and won their last game (and won three of their last four) and the Chargers won their last six in a row. Meanwhile, the Bucs rested for their last two games and lost both, the Colts rested in their regular season finale and lost, and the Cowboys closed by losing two of three, including their finale. What do these teams have in common? All were one-and-done.
I have to say the one shocker to me was the Chargers beating the Colts. I didn’t think this one would be close. Of course, I forgot (or chose to ignore, either way I was wrong) that the Chargers have played the Colts tough in the dome in the past, and I allowed last season’s Super Bowl run to wipe away the fact that the Colts typically struggle in the playoffs. Take away last year (which, I grant you, isn’t fair but works for this exercise) and Peyton Manning is 3-5 in the postseason and 2-2 at home, and in his career (including last season) he is 7-5 with 20 TDs and 17 INTs. Not bad overall, but also not representative of what he’s accomplished in the regular season. Tony Dungy, meanwhile, is 9-9 in the playoffs (again, with four of those wins coming last season).
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In the standings, Budds closed the gap to a mere two points by taking the Chargers and putting the 2008 Sportsmeat football title up for grabs. Big Thunder and Snoop took the Giants for their 3-1 week. All games were three points last week and will be five points this upcoming weekend.
Below are the updated standings:
EJ - 202 points (6 this past weekend)
Budds - 200 (9)
Joe - 191 (3)
Maxipriest - 182 (6)
Big Thunder - 117 (9)
Dave Law - 116.5 (0)
Snoop - 106 (9)
Y.A. Shoes - 35 (0)
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Is it just me, or does T.O. look a little like Isaac Hayes in the photo below?
The Pats and Giants both played a tough last game, while the Packers played hard and won their last game (and won three of their last four) and the Chargers won their last six in a row. Meanwhile, the Bucs rested for their last two games and lost both, the Colts rested in their regular season finale and lost, and the Cowboys closed by losing two of three, including their finale. What do these teams have in common? All were one-and-done.
I have to say the one shocker to me was the Chargers beating the Colts. I didn’t think this one would be close. Of course, I forgot (or chose to ignore, either way I was wrong) that the Chargers have played the Colts tough in the dome in the past, and I allowed last season’s Super Bowl run to wipe away the fact that the Colts typically struggle in the playoffs. Take away last year (which, I grant you, isn’t fair but works for this exercise) and Peyton Manning is 3-5 in the postseason and 2-2 at home, and in his career (including last season) he is 7-5 with 20 TDs and 17 INTs. Not bad overall, but also not representative of what he’s accomplished in the regular season. Tony Dungy, meanwhile, is 9-9 in the playoffs (again, with four of those wins coming last season).
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In the standings, Budds closed the gap to a mere two points by taking the Chargers and putting the 2008 Sportsmeat football title up for grabs. Big Thunder and Snoop took the Giants for their 3-1 week. All games were three points last week and will be five points this upcoming weekend.
Below are the updated standings:
EJ - 202 points (6 this past weekend)
Budds - 200 (9)
Joe - 191 (3)
Maxipriest - 182 (6)
Big Thunder - 117 (9)
Dave Law - 116.5 (0)
Snoop - 106 (9)
Y.A. Shoes - 35 (0)
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Is it just me, or does T.O. look a little like Isaac Hayes in the photo below?
# posted by EJ @ 3:06 PM 
