Conference Title Games

At the beginning of the year who would have thought Denver, Pittsburgh, Seattle, and Carolina would make it to the final four....well, maybe Carolina.....

But think about it, there were grumblings that Denver’s Mike Shanahan and Seattle’s Mike Holmgren may be on the way out as head coaches.....and some thought the Steelers were getting a bit long in the tooth.....but here we are....

Carolina @ Seattle (-3.5) - the Panthers are the NFL’s true road warriors.....two years ago they went into St. Louis and Philly on their way to the Super Bowl.....if they want to make a reservation to another Super Bowl, the Panthers will have gone through New York, Chicago, and Seattle – all on the road....quarterback Jake Delhomme loves playing on the road....and he has that "it" that Peyton Manning lacks, so far, when big games roll around.....

The Panthers got beaten up in the Chicago game....running back DeShawn Foster is out with a broken ankle and stud defensive end Julius Peppers may be limited.....but this team is kind of like the New England Patriots, when someone goes down, they stick in the next guy....

Seattle was not impressive in its win over Washington last week....sure league MVP Shaun Alexander suffered a concussion early in the game, but even before that injury, the Seahawks did not look like the team they were a month ago....and even before his injury, Alexander did not look like a league MVP.....the only reason Seattle advanced is because of Matt Hasselbeck.....

Okay, the Seahawks are undefeated at home this year....but that stat is a bit deceiving....this team should have lost twice at home.....Dallas’ Drew Bledsoe handed them a game by throwing an interception with 10 seconds left that set up the winning kick for Seattle.....the Seahawks then survived Russian roulette against the Giants as Jay Feely missed three make able field goals....this is a tough call, but I am going with Carolina because I think they are a mentally tougher team – Carolina 23-17.....

Pittsburgh @ Denver (-3.5) - the Steelers can be the first ever sixth seeded team (the lowest seed in the playoffs) to make it to the Super Bowl.....both teams are very similar in their style of play – good offensive line, strong defense, non-flashy running backs and wide receivers.....

Yes, I know the Broncos are undefeated at home in AFC title games, but there is always a first time for anything....but here is a stat to counter Denver’s home record -- the road team has won the AFC title four out of the last six years....

Pittsburgh has been at this same spot too many times before only to stall out....and for some reason I think this team is not going to lose....and they don’t want to lose for number 36 – Jerome Bettis – Pittsburgh 24-14

Quick Hits

It’s that time of year, Mel Kiper released his first mock draft of the season....Kiper has the Texans taking Reggie Bush, the Saints nabbing Matt Leinart, and the Titans taking Vincent Young....A.J. Hawk is penciled in at number six to Oakland....with his long hair and last name, the Raiders would be a good fit....

- Kiper has the Browns, at number 12, taking Iowa linebacker Chad Greenway.....

- According to Kiper, the Joey Harrington experiment is over in Detroit, he also has the Lions, at number 9, taking quarterback Jay Cutler from Vanderbilt.....

- Kiper also has Dallas taking defensive back Jimmy Williams from Virginia Tech.....

- College basketball fans are in for a treat this Monday night when number one ranked Tennessee Lady Vols deal with the Cameron Crazies and take on the Duke Lady Blue Devils....the Dukies are ranked number two in the nation.....

- ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrew is hot....

- Why weren't there more African-American coaches hired in the NFL this off-season?.....

- The New York Times was not high on the Jets hiring of Eric Mangini....it wasn’t anything against Mangini.....the Times just felt that he would also be on that revolving door of head coaches that the Jets cannot hold onto.....

- It took two months, but finally Alex Rodriguez decided to represent the United States in the World Baseball Class.....A. Rod needs to quit worrying about his image and what people think.....

- I was disappointed that Shaq and Kobe have kissed and made up.....it was good drama to have a heated rivalry.....

- Where does New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin get off saying that New Orleans will always be a "chocolate city"......if New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg said that the Big Apple would always be a "vanilla city," he would have Jesse Jackson asking for his head.....

Maybe the idiot kicker was liquored up

A few years back, Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning and Mike Vanderjagt were at a war of words when the season ended....Vanderjagt questioned Manning’s leadership.....then on national television at the Pro Bowl in Hawaii, Manning called Vanderjagt "the idiot kicker who was liquored up".....I believe both comments come into question after the Colts debacle at the Hoosier Dome (I still call it the Hoosier Dome).....

As anyone could see, the Colts were flat from the start....which brings into obvious question about coach Tony Dungy resting his players the final two weeks of the regular season and then having a bye week.....hopefully this is a lesson that all coaches learned – play your players the entire way no matter if you have the playoff locked up....

Look at Cincinnati.....the Bengals rested quarterback Carson Palmer for most of the last game of the year against Kansas City only to watch his season, and maybe career, go down the drain on a freak accident hit on the Bengals second play of the game last week....

About five weeks ago, the Colts were a well oiled machine.....I don’t care how the Colts players and coaches spin it, they lost that timing with all the rest over the last few weeks...

Second, credit should be given to the Steelers....they did exactly what any team needs to do in order to beat the Colts – force Manning to have happy feet....the Steelers came with the heat throughout the game....a defense cannot, and I repeat, cannot let Manning just sit back there and pick a defense apart....the Steelers got an A+ on defense and preparation.....

With that loss, Manning is now 3-6 in the playoffs....going back to his college days at Tennessee, Manning always came up short in the big games.....arch-rival Florida beat him four straight years....

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not bashing Manning at all.....he is the finest and smartest quarterback in the game today.....however, under the playoff pressure, he often times plays down to his opponent or lets the pressure get to him.....

Another observation from yesterday’s game is why did Nick Harper run right into Ben Roethlisberger after scooping up Jerome Bettis’ fumble.....I watched three replays of that play and each time I cannot fathom why Harper chose to run right at Big Ben instead of up the right sideline....there was NO ONE behind Ben.....I can’t understand it.... what was Harper thinking?!?!?!

Finally it brings up Vanderjagt's choke....what the hell was that?!?!?!....that was one of the worst field goal attempts I have ever seen....Vanderjagt is one of the leagues highest paid kickers and he flat out choked under the pressure....that kick was no good from the nanosecond that it left his foot....

I know all the blame should not be placed on him, but I am sorry, NFL kickers, who are well-paid, are expected to make 46-yard field goals when the game is on the line....general manager Bill Polian needs to cut Vanderjagt and save cap room.....who knows, maybe he was liquored up at the time of the kick....

But in the end, all the credit should go to Bill Cowher and the Steelers....they flat-out whooped the Colts in every facet of the game and deserve the victory....

Who's in and who's not

On February 4th, the NFL will announce the 2006 Class to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer.....the finalists are as follows: Troy Aikman, Harry Carson, LC Greenwood, Russ Grimm, Claude Humphrey, Michael Irvin, Bob Kuchenberg, John Madden, Art Monk, Warren Moon, Derrick Thomas, Thurman Thomas, Reggie White, Rayfield Wright, and Gary Zimmerman.....

The 39 member selection committee is comprised of sports journalists throughout the nation....a minimum of three and a maximum of six former players/coaches could be inducted....a candidate must get 80 percent of the vote and must be judged by what they did on the playing field and not off it....

If I were a voting member, to start out with, there are three obvious choices – Troy Aikman, Reggie White and John Madden.....both Aikman and White are eligible for the first time....

Aikman quarterbacked Dallas to three Super Bowl titles in a four year period.....White, who died last year of sleep apnea, was the most dominant defensive player during his prime.....and yes kids, there is more to John Madden than just video games....Madden was one of the finest coaches during the 1970s as he led Oakland to a Super Bowl and numerous divisional titles.....Madden should have been inducted into the Hall of Fame at least 15-20 years ago....this is long overdue....

That leaves at least three more openings left....and this year, I believe there are at least six more players who are worthy of filling those three spots: Carson, Greenwood, Grimm, Irvin, Moon, and D. Thomas.....

Let’s get Irvin out of the way first....is he worthy of being in the Hall based on what he did on the playing field – yes!!.....however, as much as it is preached, the voters will take into consideration his recent issue with a crackpipe found in his car....eventually Irvin will get into the Hall, but not this year....

I like to recognize the old-timers who have waited each year for the call, letting them know they have been selected.....and the first one on that list is Harry Carson.....Lawrence Taylor was the force behind those great NY Giants defenses in the mid to late 1980s....but it was Carson who was the anchor of those defenses....Carson did not get the media attention, but he was one of the most solid linebackers during his playing time (1976-88)....

My second vote would go to another player who was very similar to Carson – L.C. Greenwood....Greenwood is easily forgotten among those great players, Greene, Lambert, Ham, Blount, etc, that comprised the Steelers Steel Curtain defense of the 1970s.....from 1969-81, Greenwood was an exceptional talent at the defensive end position....

My last choice comes down among Grimm, Moon, and Derrick Thomas.....as most know, Thomas would be the sentimental choice after dying of a stroke due to complications from an automobile accident.....and Moon has the an impressive loot of quarterbacking numbers.....but if I had to choose, the only choice should be Russ Grimm.....during the 1980s the Washington Redskin offensive line was known as The Hogs – and Grimm was the leader of this group....this was the first time the NFL saw offensive linemen who were just flat out big.....

In the end, players like Moon, Thomas, Irvin, Zimmerman, Wright, etc all should eventually be in the Hall of Fame....but this year my nod goes to these six: Aikman, White, Madden, Carson, Greenwood, and Grimm