More Super Bowl talk

I don't think anyone would disagree that this was at least a somewhat "down" year in the NFL. There were no dominant teams like, oh, say last year's Patriots. I'm impressed with Pittsburgh's ability to come out of games with wins, but they haven't shown anything terribly impressive all year (with the individual exception, perhaps, of defensive maniac Troy Polamalu). The Cardinals have been less impressive, with an unexpected playoff burst necessary to put them in their current position. Not that I'm trying to take anything away from these two teams. I'm happy for both of them. They've both accomplished what's necessary to make it to the biggest game of the year. Therefore, they deserve it.

I plan to make a Super Bowl prediction, complete with scores and everything. I won't do that tonight, but I will tip my hand a little. If you read below that I'll be cheering for the Cardinals, and if you've come to realize how terribly optimistic I tend to be, it should come as no shock at all that I'm going to predict Arizona over Pittsburgh. I guess it just comes down to the fact that I believe Arizona's defense is good enough to stop the not-so-fantastic-on-the-offensive-side-of-the-ball Steelers (though the Pitt O has looked much better throughout the playoffs, and is perfectly capable of big numbers), and I also believe that Arizona's offense is good enough to score 24+ points against the Steelers defense. I know that Pittsburgh's defense is the most hyped-up unit in this game, but Edgerrin James can play well enough to make the Steelers keep Polamalu in the box more than they want to. Also, Kurt Warner is mentally tough and more of a Super Bowl veteran than most people at his position. He doesn't make enough mistakes for the usually suffocating defense of the black & gold to make the difference they usually do.

If you've got preliminary thoughts, I'd love to hear them. You might help keep me from making a fool of myself with my prediction.

Jones and Super Bowl week

Jerry Jones, as we all know, likes the spotlight. He has a history of making big announcements during Super Bowl week, so that he can put himself at the top of the headlines. I'm only pointing this out so that you're ready in case we hear about Wade Philips being fired or T.O. being let go at some point in the coming days.

Countdown: 13 days

In 43 Super Bowls, this will be Pittsburgh's 7th appearance. That's almost one appearance every six years since the Super Bowl began.

In 43 Super Bowls, this will be Arizona's 1st appearance. That's about one appearance every 43 years since the Super Bowl began.

I like the Steelers. I really do. I think that they have an incredible organization that continues to compete every year. I like many of their players. Both Big Ben and Troy Polamalu come to mind. I like that their team is made up of good players who together form a great team. On ESPN radio this morning Colin Cowherd called them the "anti-Cowboys," because their owner is invisible, and they're built around guards and tackles outward, whereas the owner of the Cowboys is extremely visible, and the team is built around egos and individuals rather than a team mentality.

Still, when I don't really care in games like this, I almost always go for the underdog. That's why I'll be cheering for the Arizona Cardinals in a couple of weeks. I like Kurt Warner. I think he's not just a great football player, but a great human being. Also, after watching the Arizona-Philadelphia game on Sunday, I have become convinced that Larry Fitzgerald might be the league's greatest wide receiver. The guy's fantastic. He can catch anything.

Also, no offense to Eagles fans, but I love that Philadelphia lost. I've been listening on the radio and reading on the internet and hearing Eagles fans all over the place talking about why they wanted Baltimore to beat Pittsburgh because they thought that'd be an easier Super Bowl matchup. Now I just have to say, "HA!" Your team's not going to the Super Bowl. Something about counting chickens before they hatch comes to mind...

First drive

I'll say this about the magical Jim Johnson defense of the Eagles: It didn't show up one bit for that first Cardinals drive. 80 yards on 9 plays. Edgerrin James couldn't be stopped, and Larry Fitzgerald looked good.

Hmmmm.....

Picks

If I were betting on today's games, I'd take the Eagles and Steelers.

The teams that I hope win are the Cardinals and Ravens.

Open letter to Kerry Byrne

This is a response to Kerry Byrne's article Playoff System Ruined by 2002 Realignment. (in other words, if you haven't read it, not all of this will make sense to you)

Mr. Byrne,

My response to your article can be summed up simply: That's why they play the game.

In your entire two-page article, I deciphered only one team in the NFL's history who missed out on the playoffs despite having the best record (or being tied for the best record, I guess) in football: the 1967 Colts. I agree that the best teams don't always get to play in the postseason, but entering the last week of the regular season, those Colts knew that if they lost to the Rams, they'd be out of the playoffs. There's a solution to the problem of them not getting in: win. The NFL's current system may not be perfect, and it's true that since the realignment in 2002 there have been an unusually large number of "historic anomalies," but within the system the solution is to win.

Yes, the Eagles and Cardinals are both 9-win teams, but they're both 2-0 in the playoffs, and the teams they've beaten include the 1-seed Giants and the 2-seed Panthers. In many ways you make it sound like we should've crowned last year's Patriots after their 16-0 season. The Giants were a 6-seed! They had no business being there! But guess what. They won. When it mattered. And right now a few of the teams with the best regular-season records (Giants, Titans, Panthers) are in the same position as the 0-16 Lions: Sitting at home and watching the rest of the post-season -- only the Lions have a higher draft pick.

In short, the year's World Champions aren't necessarily the league's best team (no one would argue that last year's best team was the Patriots), but rather the team who wins when it matters. That's why I'm not bothered at all to see two 9-win teams in the NFC Championship. If the Giants have a problem with it, they should have beaten Philadelphia. And if a 9-win team wins the Super Bowl, anybody who has a problem with it should have taken their arguments to the field.

A Cardinals article that should make you smile

I read this article by Joe Posnanski a few minutes ago and it made me laugh. It also made me want to cheer for the Cardinals in their game against the Eagles this week.

My favorite part of the article (which is about the Cards being a different Cards team than we're used to) was this:

"Before this year's beautiful and stunning playoff run, the Arizona Cardinals (and St. Louis Football Cardinals, and Chicago Cardinals) had won precisely one playoff game in 60 years. How about that? For six decades, the Cardinals had more hometowns than playoff wins -- and it wasn't close."