AFC Championship Game Preview
By Ben Parker


On January 22, 2006, the Pittsburgh Steelers will take on the Denver Broncos for

the AFC Championship Game. The game will be played Denver, which means that there

will be altitude, and probably snow/ice on the field something that Pittsburgh is used to.

Something that Pittsburgh is not used to is the altitude. Denver plays about 1 mile high into the atmosphere, which means that if you are going to play up there, you better be really conditioned, especially in the fourth quarter. This home field that Denver has is just about as good as any home team can have. It’s loud, it’s cold, it’s in the altitude, and there is no mercy. Sounds like game over for Pittsburgh right there doesn’t it?
Well, not exactly. Last week, Pittsburgh flogged Peyton Manning and his Indianapolis Colts in their (Indy’s) house. It was a great road win for Pittsburgh, and a devastating loss for Peyton Manning and his team. Beating Indy at Indy in the playoffs is one of the toughest things to do in the NFL. It gets more loud, more noisy, and more crazy in the RCA dome in Indy than anywhere else in the league. It is just brutal.
In my opinion, winning in Indy is just as tough if not tougher than it is to win in Denver. So, I don’t think the road will really affect Pittsburgh. The only thing that will, is Denver’s ability to bring the blitz and prevent Pittsburgh from blitzing them. Denver has a great running game with Mike Anderson, Tatum Bell, and Ron Dayne. They’ve combined for over 2000 yards rushing this year, and they don’t seem to slow down.
Not only do they have a great running game, but they have one hell of a Quarterback. Jake Plummer is playing great right now, and he seems to be on a mission. He has a 90.2 quarterback rating in the post-season, and he seems to just get better and better thanks to his great wide receivers Rod Smith, Ashley Lelie, Charlie Adams, and David Terrell.
On the Defensive side of the football, they have one hell of a secondary. They have John Lynch playing Free Safety and Champ Bailey at Cornerback. With those two guys back there, it will be really tough for Ben Roethlisberger to complete his passes not to mention the aggressive Denver blitz.
So, I am making it sound like Pittsburgh has no prayer in the world. Their opponents have a great running game, a tenacious blitz, a fantastic wild haired quarter back, and a scary secondary. So, does Bill Cowher and company have a prayer?
The answer is yes. They too have a great running game with Jerome Bettis, and Willie Parker. Those two players have combined for over one thousand yards, and they find a way to get first downs. They rarely fumble, or turn the ball over, and even if they do, their defense or their quarterback can make tackles to prevent the opponent from scoring.
On top of their great running game, they have a great quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger. He’s having a terrific year. With a quarterback rating of 103.4 in the post-season, he is just about unstoppable. He is really tough to bring down because of his size, and durability. His thumb may be hurt, but he’ll still find a way to win.
Not only is their offense great, but their defense is even better. They have nine sacks this post-season, while Denver has zero this post season. With Troy Polamalu coming after Jake Plummer along with Joey Porter and company, Plummer will have a real tough time.
They are great against the run, and they have no fear. They have one of the best defenses in the NFL. Holding Manning last week to just 18 points. Edgerin James was pretty weak last week against their tough D, so I don’t think that Denver’s rushing game will give them much trouble. All in All, I pick Pittsburgh to win by a score of 24-21. It will be close, but the Steel Curtain will come alive, and will pull out with the win.

NFC Championship Game Preview: Seattle vs. Carolina
By Ben Parker

This Sunday, on January 22, 2006, the Carolina Panthers will come to the west

coast to face the Seattle Seahawks for a chance at the NFC crown and a trip to the Motor City for Super Bowl XL. The game will be held between two teams with very different histories and backgrounds. The Seahawks, just won their first playoff game in 20 years. The Panthers, won the NFC crown 2 years ago, and have a lot of players that were on that 2003-2004 NFC Championship Carolina team. Notably Jake Delhomme, Steve Smith, and Julius Peppers. The Seahawks have a few good players up their sleeves as well, with Matt Hasselbeck at quarterback, and NFL MVP Shaun Alexander at running back. These two players make up the Seattle offense, and also they are the heart and soul of this team. Without these two players, Seattle would not be here playing for a shot at an NFC Championship.
Shaun Alexander was the best running back in the NFL this season by far, leading the league in touchdowns. Some will tell you Tiki Barber should have been MVP because he carried the NY Giants on his back. But, I am here to tell you that Shaun Alexander did the same for the Seahawks. Without “Slippery Shaun” as I call him, the Seahawks would not be in the NFC title game. His ability to run the football has won Seattle many games this season, and has led them to the best record in the NFC. Matt Hasselbeck has been the best QB in the NFC this season, getting my Pro-Bowl vote along with many others. His passing accuracy is very good, and he rarely throws an interception.
For the Panthers, Jake Delhomme has been a quite leader on the field. He took them to a Super Bowl only a couple of years ago against a very good New England Patriots team that eventually beat them by the tight score of 32-29. Steve Smith was Delhommes favorite target again this season proving why he was one of the best receivers in the NFL. Julius Peppers the Panthers defensive end lead their fierce defense to the Super Bowl. So, as you can see, the Panthers have what it takes to get to a Super Bowl and no doubt what it takes to win one.
The Seahawks on the other hand have never been to a Super Bowl. As a matter of fact, they have never had a team that has been as good as this current Seattle squad. So, does this mean that Seattle is completely new to the realms of the playoff world? Well, not exactly. Mike Holmgren, Seattle’s head coach, won a Super Bowl with Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers as their head coach against the New England Patriots in the 1996-1997 season. He knows what it takes to win a Super Bowl, but his players are yet to experience the rare treat of winning the Super Bowl. But nonetheless, I can assure you that Holmgren will have his boys ready to play football come Sunday.
John Fox is also a pretty good coach, he and his staff planned the perfect assault on Eli Manning a couple of weeks ago. That boy got beat like a gong thanks to John Fox, and he currently is planning a clandestine assault on the Panthers along with his goofy brother Peyton and their sleazy father Archie. Archie Manning is very mad this weekend thanks to two people: Bill Cowher of the Steelers and John Fox of the Panthers. But enough of Archie and his tales of woe, let’s get back the Panthers.
The Panthers just beat the Chicago Bears soundly in the divisional playoff, leaving Rex Grossman to yell blood curdling cries of horror, along with Brian Urlacher who cried like a baby who had just seen Ronald McDonald morph into Michael Jackson.
John Fox has not won a Super Bowl like Holmgren, but he has a more experienced roster when it comes to the playoffs. The only down side his team has is that they are playing on the road against a Seattle team that will be ready to make history for the city of Seattle. Plus, you know that the fans in Seattle will be crazy. It will be tough, but the game is certainly winnable for Carolina. One upside, is that Shaun Alexander is questionable for this game, but that did not make a difference for Seattle when they faced Washington on Saturday.
So, who do I pick to win? Well, I am betting my money on the Carolina Panthers to find a way to pull through here with a 20-17 win. But, I am rooting for the Seahawks.

Nightmare in Indy

Today on January 15, 2006, the Indianapolis Colts faced the Pittsburgh Steelers at home in an AFC Divisional Playoff Game. The final score was 21-18 Pittsburgh, and with that final score, the whole sports world went silent. What had just happened? The unthinkable had just happened. How in the world does a team that starts out 13-0 with a chance at an undefeated season suddenly go hay-wire in their first playoff game? Well, the answer could lie in a number of things. First off, the Colts had not played a serious game in a month. Perhaps they were just simply rusty, while Pittsburgh was more fresh and lubricated. But I tend to think the contrary. Believing that too much rest cost them the season is a slap in the face to the ’72 dolphins and any other team that is guaranteed a first-round bye.
Entering this season, teams who had a first round bye won roughly 80 percent of their games. This season, only 50 percent won. Yes, Chicago lost to Carolina. Seattle scorched Washington, and Denver cruised passed New England. Of course, Pittsburgh beat Indy. So I guess you could say that this is the year of upsets. But, nonetheless, when you have home-field advantage in the playoffs, and you look unbeatable until the last couple of weeks of the season, you better at least win your first playoff game.
So, what other excuses does Indy have besides rest? Well, the loss of Tony Dungy’s son did not help. But, I still can’t find that to be an excuse because first off, I would think that the players would try harder because of that. Perhaps, they would want to win one for Dungy. Even if they did not have that positive out-look, I don’t think that it would make them not want to play football. I mean, these guys are pros. They are not college or high school players, they are NFL players. So, for a team with this kind of reputation, and a team of this high quality, there is no excuse to lose. I don’t care what it is. They have no excuse. Look, Pittsburgh is a very good football team. But, there is no way to expect them to win this game. Seriously, I think that Pittsburgh was just as surprised as we were.
If they expected a win, they expected a flat out dog fight. Not an early 21-3 lead and then a near collapse at the end. This win was not expected in its form or in its result. Quite frankly, Pittsburgh should feel like they ought to win the Super Bowl. If they can beat Indy at Indy, then they can sure as hell beat Denver in Denver.
But enough of me giving my opinion, let me tell you what happened in this game. Well, in the first quarter, Pittsburgh came out hot. They scored easily on their first possession, and pretty soon they had a comfortable 14-0 lead. Indy came roaring back, but only was able to punch in field goal. In the second half of the game, the Steelers scored another TD making Indy’s chances seem further out of reach.
But, the game was far from over. Oh indeed it was. After a 21-3 Steeler lead, the Colts scored a TD. Making it 21-10 Pittsburgh. Then, Indy scored another TD, converted on the 2-point conversion, and was within three. Now we have a 21-18 score with Pittsburgh hanging on by a shoe string. Game over for Pittsburgh? Oh no. As a matter of fact, with 1:20 to go in the forth, the Steelers had the ball on the Colt’s 2 yard line. They just needed a quick TD, and game would be over. Amazingly, they gave the ball to Jerome “The Bus” Bettis who blatantly fumbled the football which was then immediately scooped up by Indy and nearly taken back for a Touchdown. Had the Colt player not been barely tripped up by Ben Roethisburger, the Colt’s would have scored a TD and the game would have been practically over.
But now the ball was roughly around mid-field, and Indy looked like they were going to win after all. Soon, Peyton Manning threw a couple of really nice passes to get the Colts in field goal range with just 21 seconds remaining. Mike Vanderjagt came on to attempt a 46 yard field goal. The kick would be in his house with no wind, no jeering fans, no moisture on the field, no body trying to ice him, and more pressure than one can imagine. But despite the pressure, Mike Vanderjagt is one of the best kickers in the NFL. He would split the uprights from 46 yards out in this dome 20 times in a row in practice. But apparently, the pressure got to him, because he shanked the kick like you would not believe. It almost looked like he was aiming for a different set of goal posts. It was that bad. Now the game was over. Indy blew it, the Steelers had done it, and everybody in the United States watching from coast-to-coast froze in their seats as they thought to themselves “Holy Shit!”
The Colts lost! I thought that if the Steelers got within 10 points, they would have put up a fight. Instead, they knock off the number one seed in the AFC and the NFL for that matter.
So, what does this mean for Pittsburgh? It means that they will have a shot at a Super Bowl. What does this mean for Indy? That just had a shot at a Super Bowl and lost. What does this mean for people who value regular season achievements? Regular season stats don’t mean jack-squat once it is playoff time. The answer to the “How did Pittsburgh beat Indy?” equation is very simple. The Steelers out played them. Period! If you want to sit back in your seats at home and mope and complain about that questionable pass-interference call, or a chicken-shit kicker, you can’t cry to me, because the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to Denver to take on a very difficult Denver Bronco football team.
Who wins that game? Well, lets let fate decide that one.
Note: What does this all mean for Peyton Manning? Well, first off, the Manning home is going to be very gloomy on Super Bowl Sunday. Eli got crushed, Peyton got mauled, and Archie just saw his sons get sliced and diced by two very good football teams. Now, let me just say, that Peyton Manning should not take all the blame. Oh no, but just as all the praise comes with success, all the beating is going to come with the losses, and no loss is more devastating to the psyche of the Indianapolis Colts than this loss right here. Think about it, they had the best regular season record in the NFL and the best record under Peyton Manning. I thought that this was their year, and if they can’t win under those heavily favorable circumstances, I don’t know if they ever can. I think the world can truly say “The Colts can’t win the big one.” I’m not saying Peyton Manning can’t because it is a team game, and hey, Peyton Manning did not play a flawless game, but he played pretty damn well. It’s not his fault that his offensive line false started at the 3 yard line. Or that the running game could not punch in the TD ultimately making Indy settle for a field goal. It is also not Manning’s fault that his defense gave up 2 quick Touchdowns in the first half of action. He went for it on 4th and 2 after waiving off the punt team which eventually got them a TD. Manning played well, but the rest of the colts could not deliver when it counted. After watching this game and following Indy’s season, you can’t help but wonder if Manning will ever get a shot as good as this.