Dear Fantasy Doctor X.

Championship total recap!

What an incredible weekend of football! The Patriots moved to within one game of a perfect season. Meanwhile the Giants and Packers played only the 2nd OT Championship Game in the history of the NFC playoffs. It was an epic win by the Giants that will be played on NFL Classic Films for years to come. Here is my recap of the Championship Round: By Derek Lofland.

Scores:   

On Deck:  

Super Bowl Sunday:

NY Giants (13-6) vs. New England Patriots (18-0)
                  
MVP of the Week: The MVP for the Patriots had to be Laurence Maroney. Tom Brady did not play his best game of the season. In fact he played his worst. He did have 2 big touchdown throws, but also had 3 interceptions and only 209 yards passing. Maroney had 25 carries for 122 yards and 1 touchdown and helped carry the Patriot offense. On the Giants it was the combination of Eli Manning and Plaxico Burress. Manning was 21 for 40 for 254 yards and Burress had 11 catches for 154 yards. Those two were instrumental in maintaining offensive balance and controlling the clock for 40:00. 

Game of the Week: Hard to go against the second OT game in the NFC championship game since 1970. That game had so many emotional highs and lows. The Giants had stopped the Packers in the 3rd quarter, but Sam Madison was hit with a personal foul penalty. That led to a Favre TD pass to Donald Lee, which gave the Packers a 17-13 lead. The Giants went right back down the field and scored another touchdown. Brett Favre threw the first of his two interceptions deep in Giants territory, but the ball was fumbled and recovered by Mark Tauscher. That led to a field goal that tied the game at 20-20. Tynes went on to miss two field goals from 43 yards and 36 yards, which would have sent the Giants to the Super Bowl. The Packers won the toss, but Brett Favre made a poor throw on his first throw in OT that resulted in a Webster pick and set up the Giants for the game winning 47 yard field goal, the first 40 yard plus field goal made by an opposing player in the postseason history of the Green Bay Packers. This game will probably go down as one of the greatest Championship Games ever played, especially if the Giants can do the unthinkable and beat the Patriots in two weeks. 

Loser of the Weak: Again, I hate to label people as losers because they didn’t perform as well as they and their fans would hope in the Championship Game. I think all 4 teams should be very proud of the effort they put into the games considering the stakes and the elements. All 4 teams had tremendous seasons. On the AFC side, I would say the Chargers offense failed the Chargers in key moments of that game. They kicked 3 field goals from 26 yards or less. Those were points left on the field that they could have used later in the game. If you are going to beat the Patriots, you have to score touchdowns. On the NFC side Ryan Grant had a very disappointing effort. After rushing for 201 yards and 3 touchdowns last week he was held to 13 carries for 29 yards and 0 touchdowns. Greg Jennings had 1 catch for 14 yards. That was way off his season averages.  Also Brett Favre made the key mistake in the OT and threw a very critical interception that set the Giants up for the game winning field goal. 

The Bay of Pigs: Both games were played at a very high level and are not undeserving of such a title.

The Mike Martz Award (Excellence in Coaching): I think the coach that struggled the most with the Championship Experience was Mike McCarthy. The biggest complaint I had with Packers is that they only ran the ball to Ryan Grant 13 times. Similar to the Cowboys last week the Packers became very one dimensional in the second half. Getting away from the run eliminated their play action passing and short passing game. It’s hard to stay with something that is only gaining one yard, as it feels like a wasted play. Again, the problem is that the Giants were able to concentrate on the screens and the short passes, because there was no commitment to the running game. Hindsight is 20-20 and it is hard to argue with putting the game in the hands of your Hall of Fame QB. I think the Packers should have found a way to have better balance in the second half and part of their struggles was too many passing plays. 

Hospital Visit: The biggest injury of the weekend was the one to LT. He was only able to carry the ball a couple times before leaving the game. Gates was also a non factor with his 2 catches for 17 yards. The Chargers could have used those playmakers when they settled for 3 field goals from 26 yards or less. Phillip Rivers will need knee surgery, but anticipates being ready for training camp. Otherwise the winners have two weeks to recover from the bitter cold.

Coaching Carousel: First, Tony Dungy announced that he was coming back to the Colts for 2008. John Harbaugh, the older brother of Jim Harbaugh was hired to be the headman by the Eagles. He is a surprising hire, but that isn’t a bad thing. I don’t think too many people predicted big things from Mike McCarthy when he was hired. That leaves the Atlanta and Washington positions still vacant. 

Overall Impressions of the Week that Was: 

1) The Patriots show why they are the best team in the NFL – Here is why the Patriots are by far the best team in the NFL.  Tom Brady played arguably his worst game of the season in the AFC Championship Game. He was 22 for 33 for 209 yards with 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He had a QB rating of 66.4 or almost half of his season total. Furthermore Randy Moss had 1 catch for 18 yards and 1 rush for 14 yards. Yet the Patriots were able to win the game. Maroney is able to top the 100-yard rushing mark. The Patriots defense holds the Chargers to 4 field goals, 3 of which were attempts of 26 yards or less. That is the difference between the Patriots and the rest of the teams in the NFL. I am not taking anything away from Tom Brady. He had arguably the best regular season in the history of the NFL for any position. He is a first Ballot Hall of Famer. He is in the conversation for best QB of all time. He made plays when the Patriots needed them. But the difference between the Patriots and the rest of the league is that when he plays a bad game the rest of the team can find ways to come to the rescue. Brett Favre did not have a bad game on Sunday. You could argue before the pick he played a better game than Brady. Both were very average considering their Hall of Fame status. But when #4 plays average, the Packers don’t have a very good shot of winning. When Favre plays well, Ryan Grant can have 201 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns. But the key is that #4 is at his best. Grant hasn’t proven he can carry the offense when Favre is struggling. Maroney was able to do that with Brady struggling, which is amazing. The same can be said for Peyton Manning. Addai is a great running back, but he needs Manning to play well for him to play well. When Tom Brady doesn’t play well (which isn’t often) the Patriots are the best in the league at finding other ways to win in spite of that. One hundred yard rushers and an all-pro defense materialize to save the day. That is why the Patriots are in the Super Bowl for the 4th time in 7 years. That is why they are going for the first undefeated season since 1972. 

2) The Giants dominated the time of possession – The biggest thing the Giants did in that game was they controlled the time of possession.  The Giants defense didn’t put up gaudy sack numbers or tackle numbers. What they did is they found a way to control the clock. The Giants had the ball 40:01 to 22:34. They did that by running the ball 39 times for 134 yards as opposed to the Packers 14 rushes for 28 yards. The Giants were 6-16 on 3rd down. They only lost one fumble and didn’t throw an interception. I take back all the bad things I said about Eli Manning. I have never seen someone play so bad the first 15 weeks of the season and suddenly materialize into a quality QB that can win big games in big spots. I never saw that coming and he deserves credit for that. Tiki Barber is looking pretty foolish right now, as are a lot of media people. Did the Giants play perfect? No. Sam Madison had a very costly personal foul penalty and the holding penalty that wiped out a Bradshaw touchdown was huge. What the Giants did do is use their running game and smart passing game to control field position and time of possession. The Giants were constantly playing from their 40 yard line and out and the Packers were near their own 20 and in the entire second half. The Packers two touchdowns came on a 90- yard pass and field position that was set up on a solid return and the Madison penalty. Otherwise the Packers were consistently 3rd and out in the second half. That control kept the Packers defense on the field and Brett Favre off it. That led to an unbreakable cycle of a tired Packer defense and a lethargic Packer offense. That dominance was huge in the Giants pulling off the upset.

3) The Chargers defense came up big – I did not think the Chargers would be able to pick Brady off three times. I was not seeing the pressure they were able to put on the Patriots. While the weather and conditions also helped limit the Patriots offense, the nice pass rush had a lot to do with that too. The Chargers were playing with a short deck. LT was hurt and carried the ball only twice. Gates was slowed. Rivers was limited. The only way the Chargers were going to stay in that game was for the defense to come up with their best game of the season. Given the quality of the Patriots offense, the state of the Chargers offense, and what was at stake I think the Chargers did just that. This team has nothing to hang their heads about.  Coming into this year this group of Chargers were 0-2 in the playoffs with two home losses.  They were able to beat a talented Titans team at home and go on the road and beat a heavily favored Colts team. This postseason success was a big step for them. While they have to be disappointed they are not in the Super Bowl, the better team won on Sunday. Credit the Chargers for playing through some tough injuries and with making big strides this season. Hopefully for them they will be able to build on that run for next season.

4) The Packers have nothing to hang their heads about – Being a Packer fan, I was as disappointed as anyone. I thought the game set up as an excellent opportunity for the Packers to go to the Super Bowl. I thought they would win by a sizeable margin, but by no means thought the win was guaranteed. I think the Packers and their fans should hold their heads high.  The Packers were expected to be 6-10 to 8-8 at the beginning of the year. I think in September a loss in the NFC Championship Game would have been pretty appealing to everyone. This team was the youngest in the league and 2/3 of their roster and their coaching staff had zero playoff experience. They were able to win a home playoff game and they lost an epic playoff game. In 2003 I had the emptiest feeling in the world after the Eagles game. The Packers were a 4th and 26 away from the NFC title game. They allowed Freddie Mitchell to convert that. That is inexcusable and I don’t think I was ever as upset about a loss as I was with that debacle. That team had a lot of veteran players and that loss was inexcusable given the circumstances in that game. Sunday was not about effort or mental breakdowns; it was about execution. They made their share of mistakes and didn’t deserve to win the game. But that team left everything on the field. They made some good plays and some bad plays and some weeks that wins games. The Packers didn’t play their worst game of the season on Sunday, not even close. But they didn’t play their best on a day they needed too. While it is frustrating as a fan that they will not be playing in the Super Bowl it was as enjoyable of a season as I have ever watched and hopes are sky high as long as….

5) The future for Brett Favre – Now that the Packers season is done the annual winter question in Wisconsin is here again, did we witness Brett Favre’s last game? I have heard a lot of people blaming him for the loss. While his mistake was huge, they wouldn’t have been in the game without him. Show me a QB that can have the game tied at 20-20 despite being on the field 20 minutes to the opponents 40 minutes? Despite 28 yards rushing and 14 receiving yards from Jennings he brought them back from down 6-0 to take a 10-6 lead. He brought them back from 13-10 to take a 17-13 lead. Then he helped tied the game at 20-20. While his pick was instrumental and he was far from perfect, he didn’t have a lot of teammates step up to the occasion. I’m not excusing him from the pick. It was his fault and it was as costly as the other mistakes. He can’t let that happen. But it is hard to go it alone in the ultimate team game and he deserves better than what people are writing about him. He was not a choke artist. Brett did talk a little about retirement after the loss. He said that his decision would probably take a couple weeks and that he wouldn’t try to let the team hanging. He said that this game would not affect his decision one way or another. Brett Favre has been my favorite athlete since I began watching him in 1992. Him retiring is a day that I do not want to ever come. However, that game should not influence his decision. Only one team can win the Super Bowl each year.  The chance to retire a champion is incredibly difficult. Montana didn’t do it. Neither did Aikman, Bradshaw, Marino, Unitas, or Young. Elway and Bettis are the exception, not the rule. On the one hand the Packers have the youngest team in the league. There is a chance they could compete for the Super Bowl next season. However, look at the '06 Bears and Saints.  They were both in the title game last season and both were 7-9 this year. There is no guarantee that you get better, just because you are young and went deep in the playoffs the year before. You start at preseason in '08, not the title game.  Each season is different, the schedule is different, the chemistry is different, and the injuries are different. It would be a mistake for Brett Favre to come back simply because the team is young and should be improved. There is no shame in retiring with the season he had and the last game he played. It sure looks a lot better than retiring after a 4-12 2005 season.  However, he shouldn’t feel that he couldn’t come back because the team might not go as far next season. If he still feels the fire to compete, he should compete. If the game still brings him enjoyment he should continue to enjoy what he enjoys most.  I think too many people get caught up in retiring with a legacy in tact or retiring as a Champion. I don’t think athletes play for that as much as they enjoy the competition. I hope that we see Brett competing at a high level in 2008, but if he decides he has given all he has to give, I am fine with that. He has given Packer fans an amazing 16-year run. Packer fans could not have asked for more and he deserves to go out on his terms. He doesn’t need to be rushed out the door, but he shouldn’t feel he has to win another Super Bowl to validate his legacy. While he didn’t play his best game on Sunday, thank you for an incredible season that few people thought was possible.

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