Football Miscellaneous

          Within three or four hours of publicizing my Saints Super Bowl prediction in the Week's Reflections... they made me look like an idiot.  That's too bad.  I have had a decent run with predictions recently, picking Green Bay last year and the Colts the year before (hey, they lost the Super Bowl, but it was pretty close).

          That was one heck of a game, though.  I was blown away by the Niners defense.  I actually never watched them play a game this season, and obviously I underestimated them.  Brees still threw for 450+ yards and 4 touchdowns, but that's with an uncharacteristic 50ish completion percentage and 2 interceptions.  I couldn't believe how good the anticipation was in the secondary, and their tackling was absolutely spectacular.  With the league so high flying with all the passing this season, it's nice to see such a strong defense with excellent fundamentals for a change of pace.

          I think the obvious forerunner for the Super Bowl is Green Bay at this point.  To be honest, they were probably the forerunner before the Saints lost.  I can't make a new Super Bowl prediction this late in the game, though, so I'll stop there.  My heart goes out to the family of Packers' Offensive Coordinator Joe Philbin whose son was found dead.  I feel terrible for him.

          Tebowmania ended on Sunday in a decisive loss to New England, at least for this year.  That's a shame.  As much as I hate the Broncos as a Raiders fan, I was kind of rooting for Tebow.  I was a big fan of his when he played at Florida, and I like that he brings something different to the game.  I like that he plays physical football and puts his heart and soul into every play.  You don't always see that.  As much as I wanted to see him succeed, though, I definitely wanted the Raiders in the playoffs more.

          In other news, the Raiders fired Hue Jackson, their head coach this past week.  I have mixed feelings about this, and I feel like I can make a good argument for both sides.  I have to true Reggie McKenzie, the new Raiders GM, and his decision making, partially because I have no choice, and partially because he has a history of phenomenal football success (he was the Director of Football Operations in Green Bay until a week or two ago).

          I think Hue Jackson had some questionable play calling at times, and he did give up too much for Carson Palmer, even though I am a big Palmer fan and think that he could play well next year if given the chance.  I also think Jackson displayed some serious immaturity in some of his press conferences.  He was given a raw deal, though, with all of the injuries as well as death of Al Davis this season.  As I said, I have mixed feelings about it.  I just want to see where this goes.  What I wouldn't give to have Jon Gruden back....

          I hope you are all enjoying the rest of the playoffs!