Some Observations from the Weekend's Games

Written by

Chris Liss

Published on January 14, 2008

Eli Manning got deeper into the playoffs than his brother Peyton.
Norv Turner, despite being skewered for half the year, got deeper into the playoffs than Marty Schottenheimer did last year. He did it with a gimpy Antonio Gates, no LT in the second half and Billy Volek on the team's game-winning drive. (Maybe Gates' injury was a blessing because they remembered Vincent Jackson was on the roster).
With the Colts and Cowboys going down, the Patriots' road to perfection just got a lot easier, though if Sunday's games showed us anything, we should not assume it's a done deal.
If the Pats beat the Packers, they will have beaten the Colts, Cowboys, Packers, Giants, Chargers and Jaguars en route to 19-0. The only playoff teams they won't have beat would be the Seahawks, Buccaneers and Titans. Even though their division was a joke, the Pats will have done it by beating all of the relevant competition directly. Still, because the Pats will avoid the Colts and the Cowboys in the postseason, their greatest-team-ever argument will be weaker than if they had beaten those two decisively. (Not that they don't have a strong case, but they were robbed of the chance to make an air-tight one).
A Manning-Rivers Super Bowl would pit two quarterbacks traded for one another against each other.
Letting Drew Brees go doesn't look so bad after Rivers torched the Colts secondary without a healthy Gates
If the Packers win two more games, Brett Favre's comeback season will include the TD record, the yardage record and a second Super Bowl
The Giants pass rush against three Pro Bowl offensive linemen in the fourth quarter Sunday was unreal. They only had two sacks, but the pressure on the very elusive Tony Romo was constant.
There were zero turnovers in the Cowboys-Giants game until Romo's pick on the last meaningful play from scrimmage, and even that wasn't really a turnover because it was fourth down anyway.
After the Seahawks went up 14-0, they were outscored 42-6.
The Colts' defense was terrible during the regular season last year, but good in the playoffs. They were great during the regular season this year, but terrible in the playoffs.
The Giants held the Cowboys to 17 points in Dallas despite missing their top corner, Sam Madison, for the whole game, and their No. 2 corner, Aaron Ross, for half of it. Corey Webster, considered the weak link for the last two years, guarded TO one on one for much of the game. (Even No. 3 corner Kevin Dockery was out).
If the Giants face the Patriots in the SB, that Saturday night game where they could have pulled their starters becomes much more meaningful in retrospect.
LaDainian Tomlinson is overrated.
The Pats' defense is beatable, but it's good enough to slow opponents down, and even a slowdown is fatal when you're trying to keep up with the NE offense.
The Giants are 9-1 on the road this year, having not lost since Week 1 at Dallas. Nine wins in a row on the road in the NFL is almost an impossible feat. (NE has eight, of course this year).