The Rubber Match

So, it’s the Eagles. Not the best draw for the Giants, but what are you going to do other than play the schedule you are handed. After beating the Vikings, the Eagles continue on their narrow and winding road to Tampa Bay, but their stop in East Rutherford on Sunday should be the cul-de-sac the world has been waiting for to end the 2008 Philadelphia Eagles.

There are plenty of Giants fans and many of my friends who are scared of the Eagles and while it would have obviously been a lot easier to play the Cardinals, I am not about to hide from Donovan McNabb and the Inconsistent Iggles. Because if there is one thing any of us have learned from this season is that you never know what Philadelphia team will show up. And whenever you are going to play an inconsistent team in a one and done format, you have to like your chances.

I was able to pick two winners this weekend (Arizona and Baltimore) out of the four games and even though I knew that the Eagles would win in Minnesota, I couldn’t pick against the Vikings with the Giants having a chance to play Arizona at home in the cold.

The only entertaining game of the entire weekend was Indy and San Diego and though it wasn’t a well-played or well-officiated game, it was the only contest that was capable of keeping an audience. But Peyton Manning had numerous chances to lock it down and move on, but instead he let the 8-8 Chargers, the league and world’s most overrated team, move on to play the Steelers, who they will lose to anyways. And with the Steelers having a week off, it shouldn’t even be a game this weekend when San Diego travels to Pittsburgh.

So, my pick for the All-Manning Bowl has now been stopped thanks to Peyton’s poor decisions and it just so happens that the Chargers were the team to end my dream. I guess they haven’t been too happy with my comments about them on here during the season.

But where was LaDainian Tomlinson on Saturday? LaDainian Copperfield took off most of the game and is now out until the Super Bowl according to reports. I don’t know why they say he is out until the Super Bowl instead of just saying he is out for the season. Because do the Chargers or anyone in their right mind actually think that the Chargers are going to the Super Bowl? I don’t think the players in the San Diego locker room think they are going to the Super Bowl. At least they shouldn’t think that.

Sunday’s games were brutal to watch as well with the Dolphins showing why the AFC East didn’t deserve a playoff spot and the Minnesota Vikings doing the same for the lowly NFC North. But now the wild card weekend is finished and the league’s good teams will once again take the field.

All in all it was a pretty disappointing weekend when you look back on it. Aside from the Colts, the teams that were supposed to win, won, and the teams that were supposed to lose, lost. So there is nothing to get excited about from the weekend, but a lot to look forward to with the elite playing this Saturday and Sunday.

From now until Sunday, it’s all Giants and Eagles.