Before anything else, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for reading, for giving me feedback, and for letting me geek out on football stats without pointing and laughing (overtly, anyway). It’s been a treat.
Although the Packers 2009 season is sadly over, there are still 8 teams competing for the Lombardi trophy. On Saturday, there are the Cardinals @ the Saints at 4:30p (EST), followed by the Ravens @ the Colts at 8:15p. On Sunday, you can watch the Cowboys @ the Vikings at 1p, with the Jets @ the Chargers at 4:40p. At least one of them promises not to be a blowout, although I’m not sure yet which one I think it is. Early signs point to the Ravens-Colts game being about as pure an “air v. ground” game I think we’re going to get, especially with Flacco hobbled. I almost expect the Cowboys-Vikings game to devolve into a brawl. Every play.
Personally, I’ll probably watch at least part of all 4 of them (I confess, I’ll watch the Boys/Vikes game through a slit in my hand while hoping that the Metrodome implodes), but the team I’m really excited to see in the postseason are the San Diego Chargers. Not only is it easier to focus on the AFC for at least a week, but Philip Rivers has been a more-than-able fantasy QB for me for 2 years, and he’s so much fun to watch. Watching the Rivers-to-Gates highlights only makes me more excited about what Rodgers-to-Finley will look like with another year or two. I have a sneaking suspicion that Darrelle Revis will find covering Vincent Jackson and/or Gates a bit of a doozy. All those Chargers receivers are so freakin’ tall. It’s ridiculous.
As far as the other games, there will be umpteen articles written in the next 6 days. I’m a little torn on the Cards-Saints match-up. The long-term fan in me has loved watching Drew Brees play since he was in San Diego, and I think that a Saints-Bolts Super Bowl would be the best match-up for fans of superior quarterbacking (plus a nice subplot). The still-hurting fan in me, however, hopes that Drew Brees gets picked off 5 times so that Antrel Rolle’s grudging praise of Rodgers carries some weight.
I’m not going to take on any of the off-season contract nonsense until there is more than speculation, mostly because the “it’s just business” side of football makes me a little sad.
Is there a match-up you’d like to see more of? I (with my absurd love of numbers) am at your disposal.
