If anything can be learned from this weekend’s NFL playoff matchups, it’s that there is no clear, dominant team heading into the NFC and AFC championships. A few other observations about the playoffs:
1) The Bears' much-maligned QB Rex Grossman is a very good quarterback. Despite fans’ fears, Grossman played well on Sunday en route to a 27-24 Bears’ victory over the Seattle Seahawks. He completed 21 of 38 passes with one touchdown and one interception for a 76.9 passer rating – respectable by most NFL standards. He did make a few mistakes, especially when he was blitzed by the Seahawks. But he also made some excellent plays, including a stunning 68-yard TD pass to Bernard Berrian and a gutsy 30-yard pass to Rashied Davis on 3rd and 10 in overtime to put the Bears in field goal range. Did he turn a corner? Maybe. Maybe not. But he did Chicago proud, and he played no worse than the Colts’ Peyton Manning and the Patriots’ Tom Brady, who both had subpar performances in their games. Manning completed 15 of 30 passes for 170 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions; Brady was 27 of 51 for 280 yards with two TDs and three interceptions. That proves that even the best quarterbacks in the league can have an occasional bad game. No doubt, Grossman will have his bad days too – most quarterbacks invariably do – but he is also capable of holding his own against the best of them.
2) Place kickers are the most underrated and mentally tough players on the team. The two playoff games on Sunday were decided by last-second field goals. The Chargers missed a 54-yarder that would have tied the game against the Patriots, and Robbie Gould of the Bears hit two down the stretch – a 41-yarder to tie the game late in the fourth quarter and the game-winning 49-yarder in overtime. You would think it would be simple to just swing your foot and kick the football as far as you can through the goal posts. But if you’ve been sitting on the sidelines for most of the game in freezing cold temperatures, and then be called on late in the game when the game is on the line requires a great deal of mental toughness. The Bears’ Gould proved how tough he can be in the clutch.
3) Defense wins games, but not necessarily by the best defensive teams. The Baltimore Ravens were clearly the best defensive team in the NFL this season, but it was the Colts who surprised the Ravens, fans, and probably themselves with their own defense. The Ravens may have held the Colts to no touchdowns and five field goals, but the Colts outplayed them, holding the Ravens to only two field goals.
4) There is no dominant team, no clear winner as we saw when the 1985 Bears won Super Bowl XX. Each of the final four teams has their strengths and weaknesses. Certainly, you have to give an edge to the Patriots who are making their fourth trip to the AFC Championship game in the last six years, and Tom Brady knows how to win. I like the Saints too; they seem to be this year’s “team of destiny.” After everything that team and the city of New Orleans have gone through since Hurricane Katrina, it would almost seem like a divine justice for the Saints to earn a trip to the Super Bowl in Miami – and win it all. The Saints have a lot of offensive weapons, an underrated defense, and solid coaching. I predicted a couple of weeks ago that the Bears will not win the NFC title game. As a Bears’ fan, I hope I’m wrong. I’d love to see the Bears make the trip to Miami. But I also have to be realistic. The Bears’ defense has a lot of holes in it, and if the Saints manage to find those holes, it may be a long afternoon for the Bears.
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