Pick	Team	Player Selected	Player’s Position	Player’s School	Analysis
1.		Ndamukong Suh	Defensive Tackle	Nebraska	The Rams added the likes of Adam Carriker and Chris Long along the defensive line in recent years. By adding Suh, the best player in the draft, St. Louis adds quality depth to their d-line and Carriker could bump out to left end.
2.		Russell Okung	Offensive Tackle	Oklahoma State	The Lions will be tempted to take Gerald McCoy, the stud defensive tackle out of Oklahoma, but Okung is the best pure Left Tackle in the draft and also a position of need for the Lions.  My bet is Okung, who will help keep Matthew Stafford upright.
3.		Gerald McCoy	Defensive Tackle	Oklahoma	Gerald McCoy is yet another difference maker in this draft class. He would bring star power to the Bucs defensive line. McCoy is well-rounded and would improve the Bucs rush defense as well as create pressure up the middle.
4.		Sam Bradford	Quarterback	Oklahoma	The only thing keeping Jason Campbell in Washington is the CBA, un-capped year issue.  Shanahan will fall in love with Bradford’s accuracy.  Unless Okung is still on the board, Bradford is the likely pick here.
5.		Eric Berry	Safety	Tennessee	Berry has drawn many comparisons to Ravens safety Ed Reed. He is a ballhawk who is not afraid of contact.  Offensive tackle is also a big need, so Anthony Davis or Bryan Bulaga could also be the pick here.
6.		Derrick Morgan	Defensive End	Georgia Tech	Seattle has one of the worst pass rushes in the entire league and Derrick Morgan is a dynamic pass rusher who could help turn around the Seahawks D. Quarterback is also a possibility, but Pete Carroll is a defensive coach.
7.		Joe Haden	Cornerback	Florida	Joe Haden is the only premier corner in this draft. Haden will boost the Browns secondary and help start the defensive turnaround. This team still has a long way to go in order to become contenders again, but Haden is a step in the right direction.
8.		Anthony Davis	Offensive Tackle	Rutgers	A quick riser up draft boards, Davis is expected to impress at the combine, and you know, Al Davis loves those combine champions.
9.		Jimmy Clausen	Quarterback	Notre Dame	The Bills sit tight and grab their quarterback of the future and the now.  Edwards is not the answer, and glaring offesnive line issues will be addressed later in the draft.
10.	(CHI)	Dez Bryant	Wide Receiver	Oklahoma State	All signs point to Brandon Marshall being traded this offseason which would leave Denver with a big hole to fill at wide receiver. Dez Bryant has drawn comparisons to Terrell Owens — like Marshall. Bryant is the best receiver in this class and he would be a perfect fit to replace Marshall. Eddie Royal also compliments Bryant extremely well.
11.		Jason Pierre-Paul	Defensive End	South Florida	Rumor after rumor points to Tebow winding up in Jacksonville. The team needs to find any possible way to put fans in the seats or else the team could end up in Los Angeles or London. That move proves to be too risky in the top-half of round one, so Jacksonville looks to defensive line and selects JPP, who is a raw, pass-rushing specialist.
12.		Rolando McClain	Linebacker	Alabama	McClain is an athletic specimen with superior instincts, he immediately helps this linebacking core; Parcells will love adding a player like McClain to bolster the Dolphins defense.
13.		Sergio Kindle	Outside Linebacker	Texas	Kindle is a hybrid DE/OLB, and will help bolster this up and coming defense led by Patrick Willis.
14.	(DEN)	Bryan Bulaga	Offensive Tackle	Iowa	Bulaga is an atheltic lineman who will immediately start for the Seahawks.
15.		Dan Williams	Defensive Tackle	Tennessee	The G-men are in a good spot here and I will not be surprised that they do not trade down for extra picks in what is shaping up to be a very deep draft. For now, Jerry Reese falls in love with fast rising Dan Williams, who is a force against the rush and has the ability to collapse the pocket on passing downs.
16.	(CAR)	Trent Williams	Offensive Tackle	Oklahoma	Williams is an experienced tackle who is light on his feet and very instinctive.  He immediately comes in and fortifies the Niners front.

(more…)

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But who were the Eagles kidding? Did anyone really think they were going to end their Super Bowl drought? I mean, come on, we’re talking about the Eagles here. And Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid. It’s like the Red Sox pre-2004. Until a team wins a championship, you can’t trust them in thinking they will. It just won’t happen.

Kurt Warner played on Sunday like the date was January 18, 2000. He looked like he was having so much fun out there racking up yards by the dozen and trying to obtain a perfect QB passer rating. He appeared to be having so much fun that you could almost hear him laughing everytime Jimmy Johnson sent the house at him leaving his receivers uncovered. And you actually could hear him laughing when Larry Fitzgerald was left in one-on-one coverage downfield.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we came to find out that Warner had the bellhop at the Eagles’ hotel snag the defensive playbook. Because the way Warner was recognizing Jimmy Johnson’s blitzes, you’d think Warner had drawn up the plays himself. At least Jimmy Johnson got to watch the demise of the Eagles season from high up on in the booth and away from field level where the massacre was taking place.

Teams usually come out with slogans to represent their organization before the season and sometimes during it. Anytime you venture to a pro team’s website you will notice their franchise phrase. And during the game I thought it would be good to see what the Eagles were using on their site. Sure enough there it was: “BELIEVE IN GREEN.”

I would have to say the new Eagles slogan wll be changed to “DEVASTATION” for the 2009 season. Because really what word better captures the essence of the Philadephia organization. What team could make five of eight NFC Championships, win only one of those five, and lose their only appearance. Since 2000, the Eagles have been back-to-back wins away from winning a Super Bowl five different times and not once did they ever finish the job. Devastating.

I am guessing that the talk about the dismissal of Reid and McNabb is now officially open again and has already become a hot topic on the Philly airwaves. And on that note, who would you say has had the worse career in Philly?

It’s tough and really just a coin toss, but I think the only fair thing to do is call it a tie. And no Donovan, there is no overtime associated with this kind of tie.

If it’s not time for Donovan and Andy to be kicked to the curb of Philly now, then when is it? Because every loss for the rest of their Eagle careers will have people wanting them out. It seems like now or never to say “thanks for playing” to the most successful losing tandem in the NFL. And you know whoever they bring in will do just a horrific job and leave the Eagles fans wanting Reid back. Because that is how sports works.

Maybe Reid deserves to be back and maybe he doesn’t. But, all I know is he didn’t manage the game yesterday like he wants to be back.

Just when you think, “Ok, the Eagles are going to run the ball this play, they have to run the ball this play.” Donovan goes into the shotgun and throws an incomplete pass. Philadelphia passed so much during the game, you’d think that running the ball was illegal in the NFL. Ever hear of keeping it on the ground Andy Reid? Ever? Brian Westbrook had five carries in the entire first half on 29 offensive plays.

And how about David Akers. Wow. You can talk about John Carney choking all you want, but Akers did him one better by just failing miserably every single time he stepped inside the lines.

Neil Rackers started off the second half with a pop-up kickoff as if to say, “Hey, why should I waste “good” leg on you guys. I might as well save it for Tampa.” And he did this with the mindset that even with good field position, the Eagles were just going to throw it anyways and end up punting. And they did just that, time and time again.

Joe Buck said Clancy Pendergast watches tape of Jimmy Johnson’s blitz schemes in the off-season to learn new things. Something tells me he won’t be doing that anymore.

But the real question now is…is Donovan McNabb the worst big game quarterback ever? Seriously, is there anyone you would choose Donovan over to man your team in a big spot? The man has proven that a team led by him will not win the big game, considering they are 1 for 5 trying to win the game to get to the big game.

I am sure this will all get solved shortly. And the same Philadelphia fans who were about to name their kids after him last week and the few weeks before that are now calling for a new QB and a new face to their sorry franchise.

So, it turns out the Philadelphia Eagles really are no better than the Giants, but that’s ok, we all knew that anyways. One fluke game in the divisional playoff can’t change that.

BELIEVE IN GREEN.

In football, coaching is everything. It is the difference between a first down and a broken play. A win and a loss. A playoff berth and a 4-12 season. A Super Bowl championship and setting a franchise back a decade. Obviously the players still have to play, but as the coach you control exactly what your team does on the next play and every play after that. And while some argue that with audibles and changes at the line, players have to be aware of what is going on and make their own decisions, sure that is true, but there is also the helmet earpiece now given to a member of the on-field personnel to be aware of changes being made right before the snap.

If you want to run the ball, you run it. If you want to pass it, you pass it. What the players do is completely up to you and your coordinators as you try to put them in the best possible position to succeed. Remember that phrase, “the best possible position to succeed.”

Is football the only sport where coaching is everything? Not necessarily, but it is by far the most important.

Baseball is probably the closest thing to football, but even in baseball, a lot of it is managing and a lot of it is luck. You can decide which reliever to use and when and sometimes he’ll get the 6-4-3 double play and sometimes he’ll give up the three-run homer. You can put together the best lineup that you think will work against that day’s pitcher and maybe your hitters see the ball well or maybe that day the pitcher throws a gem.

Or you can have Roy Halladay on your team and take naps on days he pitches and just know you will win the game because he is going nine and allowing two runs at most and you will never have to move from your spot in the dugout.

Baseball managing takes a lot of knowledge and a lot of patience and there are definitely right and wrong moves, but a lot of it comes down to luck. And while luck is evident in all sports at sometime or another, you can’t stop a seeing-eye single between short and third and you can’t do anything, but watch the check-swing bloop fall in just over first base right on the foul line in no-man’s land.

And we move down the ladder of coaching importance to the NHL

Try to put together the best line combinations you can think of and then the game is out of your control. You can make some line changes, decide whether or not to pull the goalie, and change your PK and PP around, but besides trying to create chemistry like it’s sixth period science class in high school, the game is about instinct and anticipation and there isn’t much you can do.

And the major sport where coaching matters the least and really not at all. The NBA.

Take a look at the Boston Celtics. The Celtics won the championship last year after walking through the entire league as if they were taking a Sunday stroll through Central Park. Doc Rivers was given a Gatorade shower by the Boston Three Party and all was glorious on the parquet floor in Beantown.

Flashback a year earlier from the night the Celtics finished off the Lakers, actually go back a couple months farther than a year since the Celtics didn’t make the playoffs in 2006-07, and you will find the Boston Celtics pre-Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.

And what do you a find? A team full of a bunch of nobodies. A team that couldn’t get out of its own way. A team that had trouble selling floor seats when Kobe Bryant and Co. were in town. A team whose top seven guys (virtually the entire team) were equal to (actually less) Kevin Garnett in the blockbuster trade that brought KG to the C’s.

So what’s the point? My point is that Doc Rivers could have stayed home on game nights. He could have read (or looked at) Playboy while sitting on the bench and he could have drawn up last second plays with Crayola crayons because it didn’t matter, whatever Doc Rivers did with the 2006-07 Celtics, they were going to lose. And he could have performed the same immature and circus-like stunts with the 2007-08 Celtics and they were going to win the NBA Finals whether he was along for the ride or not.

Doc Rivers had nothing to do with the C’s championship. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett did. And Doc Rivers had nothing to do with the 24-58 season in ’06-’07. His scrub players did. Because how can a coach of a team 34 games under .500 magically become a basketball genius overnight and lead the same franchise to a title? Easy. Acquire superstars.

Now I take you to Sunday where Tom Coughlin coached the Giants as if he was part of any of the following circumstances:

1. Drunk
2. Had a significant amount of money on the Eagles moneyline
3. Thought Brandon Jacobs was on injured reserved
4. Forgot that he activated Lawrence Tynes because John Carney’s kickoffs in the weather could not reach the end zone (yet opted to use Carney for lengthy field goals with Tynes looking on)
5. Forgot that when you blitz on 3rd and 20, multiple opposing receivers will be wide open if a sack is not made

And the list goes on, but you get the idea.

Basically Tom Coughlin took everything from last season right through this past summer and 17 weeks into this season plus a bye week and just erased it with what I am going to say was the worst coached game given the teams and situation that I have ever seen. And I am sure there are Giants fans a lot older than me who would agree with that statement.

How does Brandon Jacobs run the ball on only 19 of 61 plays last Sunday? And as much as I would love to ask a lot of similar questions (like why you immediately go into shotgun on 1st and 5 from the PHI 21 in the first half), I think the Jacobs example sums up the coaching job done by Tom Coughlin on Sunday.

How is “the key” to the offense used so little in a PLAYOFF game after he had just rested for 21 days? How are you calling for a direct snap to Derrick Ward, a play never used before in the 2008 season by an offense who just man-handled teams this season, including the Eagles who they put up 36 points against on the road? Ok, enough with the questions so mind boggling that I can’t even believe the scenarios they relate to actually happened.

Because can you imagine a week ago saying to Tom Coughlin before practice, “Do you think Brandon Jacobs will be part of over/under 33% of the offense this week?” Or how about “Would you ever think about going into shotgun formation from the Eagles 21 yard-line with a 1st and 5 situation?” Either of the questions would have gotten you removed from the practice, stripped of your media credentials, most likely fired from your journalistic employer, and you probably would have had Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser harrassing you for a minute and 30 seconds between 5:30 and 6:00 PM.

So why is it ok that Tom Coughlin actually made those nightmarish feats come true? The answer is simple. It isn’t.

It isn’t ok that Tom Coughlin used the 2008 New York Giants season to wipe his ass and flushed a dynasty in the making down the toilet as if it were Charmin two-ply. And it isn’t ok that other members of the Giants organization are taking the fall in the public eye.

The past week the New York Daily News has been running a poll about which Giants players and coaches to keep and which to let go. The only Giants wanted out by the majority are Plaxico Burress, John Carney, and Kevin Gilbride.

While I happen to agree with the Carney choice, I am uncertain on the Plax situation, and a bit puzzled to the Gilbride vote. If Kevin Gilbride’s head is being called for, shouldn’t Tom Coughlin’s as well? But the same fans who want Gilbride out voted 90% in favor or keeping Coughlin.

Tom Coughlin is the head coach of the New York Giants. Aside from Eli Manning (and coming on strong Brandon Jacobs) he is the face of the franchise. And aside from the fact that he won the Super Bowl last year, what has Tom Coughlin done for the New

I understand this is the NFL and in the day of the salary cap, dynasties are far and few between and winning the Super Bowl every season is an unrealistic goal, but to not hold Tom Coughlin responsible for what happened to the 2008 New York Giants is ignorant and irresponsible.

Is Tom Coughlin not the head coach? Does he not have the final say of what play gets run on the field? Does he not have overriding power on Kevin Gilbride to change or modify a play or gameplan?

From the moment Tom Coughlin signed the dotted line with Big Blue I was against him. But when he took down the New England Patriots and saved my college experience after witnessing two Boston Red Sox championships, I forgave him and gave him a clean slate. But Sunday’s loss to Philly was as bad as any loss I have seen from the Yankees or Giants over the years.

It was worse then the heartbreaking loss to Philly in 2006 and it was even worse than the 20-0 shutout at the hands of the Panthers in 2005. Take away Tom Coughlin’s 2007 magical run in the postseason and he is 0-3. Add in those four wins and he is still only 4-3. But it didn’t take long for the checkbook to come out and give Tommy a four-year, $21 million extension last season.

So, did Tom Coughlin put his players in “the best possible situation to succeed?” What is “No,” Alex. I’ll take overrated and clueless coaches for $800.

In fact, I would say Tom Coughlin put his players in the greatest possible situation to NOT succeed. Honestly I can’t think of a worse situation than the one that actually occurrd on Sunday. You can’t write or makeup the way that game played out or the way the Giants went about trying to advance to the NFC Championship.

The Giants have a great deal of talent, but did they really underachieve, or were they just mismanaged?The G-Men are an incredibly young team and have lots of key players locked up for many years. This season should have taken them to the next tier of greatness that was started last winter. But instead they will be watching the final two rounds of the postseason the same way as me.

***And on another note, Lee Jenkins really wrote this for his Inside the NFL column on SI.com:

“Joey Flacco is the new Ben Roethlisberger. Actually, Joe Flacco has already won more playoff games as a rookie than Ben Roethlisberger did, 2-1. Roethlisberger was a sensation in his first season, 2004, when he led the Steelers to a 15-1 record. But he threw five interceptions in the playoffs and the Steelers were pounded at home by the Patriots in the AFC championship, 41-27. Roethlisberger, who remembers every slight, no matter how far back it dates, said he will use that game as motivation for this one.”

If I am a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers defense of the past five seasons or a member of the Baltimore Ravnens defense today, I would be livid reading this. How is Jenkins going to say either of these men had the job of “leading” their teams. They played on the other side of great defenses and were asked to not mess up games rather than go out and win them. A lot of people need to get off the Flacco and Big Ben bandwagons and come back to reality about the abilities and success of the two.

Pittsburgh Steelers
Ben Roethlisberger is one my list of my most disliked players in the NFL. Seeing him win another Super Bowl would be like seeing Philip Rivers reach the Super Bowl or having to witness Tony Romo win a playoff game. Big Ben lives the luxury of trying to just not mess games up. He isn’t asked to do anything behind the Steel Curtain and as long as he doesn’t throw five picks, the Steelers win games. The only problem is that sometimes he does throw several picks and the Steelers do lose.

Baltimore Ravens
I am still pissed about the Super Bowl in 2000 and don’t think I will ever get over it. If I have to watch Ray Lewis win another Super Bowl I think I might stop watching the NFL altogether. The Ravens defense might be one of the best in the league, but their offense is led by a rookie QB who is getting all the hype that Big Ben received when he rode to the promised land on the shoulders of his defense. Imagine if Joey Flacco gets his ring before Donovan McNabb and Tony Romo, now wouldn’t that be something. But I don’t think the Ravens will get past the Steelers next Sunday. At least I hope not.

Arizona Cardinals
Knowing that a team that finished the season 8-8, was about as much of a playoff joke as the world has ever know, and has played the entire season with no running game and no defense, could win the Super Bowl, I guess it goes to show that anyone can win once the playoffs start. If you want to talk about magical runs the Cardinals are it. They are more of a shock than George Mason basketball a few years back, Rocco Mediate last spring, or the Tampa Bay Rays this past summer. The Cardinals are one win away from heading to Miami, when really they were a San Francisco 4th and Goal way back on Monday Night Football from eventually not making the playoffs.

Philadelphia Eagles
How in my right mind could I root for this team? Sure some people like to root for the team that knocked them out, but not me. Aside from the Cowboys and Patriots, this is the only other team that I don’t want to see win a Super Bowl. I want the McNabb/Reid legacy to be remembered as the Buffalo Bills of the NFC Championship. Imagine if the Eagles lose either this Sunday or Super Bowl Sunday. It will have marked five times in eight years they have made it to the conference championship, never having won a Super Bowl. Now wouldn’t that be something.

Even though the New York Giants beat every single team listed here, I still feel as though I need to cheer for some team otherwise the next few weeks of football will just be flat out boring. Unless I drop down some money on the games, then that could spruce it up a little.

But judging all the teams and their pros and cons, I have to say I am pulling for the Arizona Cardinals.

And after the Giants lost today, you get that feeling that all the time invested in this team since Week 1 and before has been wasted once the season comes to an end. There won’t be a Giants game next Sunday. Or the Sunday after that for that matter. Or even the Sunday after that. In fact, the Giants now won’t play until the first weekend of September, a little under eight months from now in what is the longest offseason in professional sports.

Most people think I have been spoiled as a sports fan as the teams near me have been victorious so many times over recent years. And while I have friends who are Cubs fans and Eagles fans and Mets and Redskins and other teams that have endured losing season after losing season, it is days like these that I feel like my team just drop kicked me in the stomach. And while I feel sorry for those whose organizations let them down year after year, today is that day that I feel their pain, even if it really isn’t all that alike since the Giants won the Super Bowl only 11 and a half months ago.

But the Super Bowl run is over after the Giants handed the Philadelphia Eagles the divisional game on Sunday and the G-Men are no longer defending champions. Now it’s up to either the Cardinals, Eagles, Ravens Chargers, or Steelers to hold that title. Please let it be the Cardinals.

The Eagles wanted it more than the Giants did on Sunday, that or the fact that Tom Coughlin managed the game as if he had money on Philadelphia. And now after a disappointing season in which the Giants were No. 1 from the get go only to self destruct in the playoffs, it’s time for them to figure out 2009.

It’s likely Steve Spagnuolo won’t be back in 2009 with head coaching jobs popping up left and right, but then again if any of the teams with vacancies watched Sunday’s game, Spagnuolo might be an afterthought. But without Spagnuolo the Giants will need a new defensive coordinator and hopefully will promote from within rather than go outside the organization to find someone.

Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward are both free agents and you can count on Jacobs coming back following a hefty payday that, but it’s not certain what Ward’s status is. He can definitely go be the No. 1 back somewhere in the league for a lot of money, but maybe the Giants will match his needs and he can remain with Big Blue.

Corey Webster was locked up with an extension recently, but the Giants are going to need to somehow make a big time wide receiver out of what they have (if that is possible), sign a free agent, or look to make a trade because the group they have now just isn’t going to cut it. But with Osi Umenyiora returning the pass rush will once again exist and the defense will be better next year than it was all year this year.

As for the NFC Championship…The Cardinals aren’t about to lay down and be a doormat for the Eagles the way they weren’t for the Panthers. I, like every other person who has watched nearly every game this season knew that the Panthers should have embarrassed the Cardinals, but if you turn over the ball you will lose and Jake Delhomme was the posterboy for turnovers on Saturday.

So those of you who think that the Cardinals are going to let the Eagles riverdance on them the way they did in the regular season (48-20), think again. Kurt Warner looks like he has been able to hold father time hostage for the time being and with Larry Fitzgerald hauling in balls in quadruple coverage, the Cardinals are just as dangerous as any other team.

It will be the battle of the birds as CBS watches their advertising dollars fall as the major market/fan favorite teams continue to go out in the playoff picture. With the Steelers the only real big market team left, CBS might as well black the Super Bowl out because the ratings will rival those of the Phillies/Rays World Series.

But as Kurt Warner defies all odds and every mathematical and physical equation created to suggest an arena football quarterback could ever become an NFL hero, he is now a win away from his third Super Bowl appearance. With already one ring on his finger, Warner would jump into a pretty ridiculous tier of NFL quarterbacks for his third apperance in the big game and if he could ever pull out the W, then I am sure he will call it a career and ride off into the sunset, laughing at everyone who ever doubted him.

The Eagles on the other hand, well they are still looking for ring No. 1. And they are no lock to get it either. (On a side note, as much as I hate the Eagles and Cowboys, I hate the New England Patriots. And to think that they are ringless since they let Deion Branch go and since they let Adam Viniatieiri walk and since they let Asante Samuel sign with the Eagles. And now Samuel can put a ring on his finger that isn’t a product of Bill Belichick’s asterisk-esque era and I am sure he is eager to do so. And that fact that he can be blamed for not putting away Super Bowl XLII last year in Arizona. Maybe the Patriots don’t know exactly what they are doing when it comes to letting key members of their championship years walk.)

Donovan McNabb will now play in his fifth NFC Championship. He has come out on the good end of it once before only to lose in the Super Bowl. For someone who has had to handle immense criticism over his career, a ring would finally silence those critics and give him close to the necessary credentials to be elected into the Hall one day.

Eagles/Cardinals. Steelers/Ravens. Three of the four teams remaining are from the bird family and while I am not sure if the Elias Sports Bureau knows whether or not something of that magnitude has every happened in professional sports and since I don’t have the time to search Wikipedia and figure it out, I am going to go ahead and assume this is the first time in history that three of the four remaining teams in a professional sports playoff have mascots of the same classification.

And as the Giants head to their offseason, I will continue to cover and share my opinion with you on the remaining rounds of the NFL playoffs. And with only three games left in this wildly, unpredictable NFL season, I can say it has been a pleasure blogging about the New York Football Giants for you. Here’s to hoping they bring back the Lombardi Trophy around this time next year. As for now we still have the NFC and AFC Championships and the Super Bowl. Not to mention 34 days until pitchers and catchers.

It started early on when Eli Manning gave the Eagles the ball on the doorstep of the endzone for an easy touchdown.

It continued when John Carney missed a 46-yard field goal and then again when he missed a 47-yard field goal.

It continued some more when they allowed a 3rd and 20 conversion when the Eagles were backed up in their own territory.

It continued when the Giants converted a big pass play to Domenik Hixon and then couldn’t get dwon the field fast enough to run a play, so they had to burn their first timeout of the second half.

It continued when the Giants couldn’t convert a 3rd and 3. And it continued some more when Tom Coughlin challenged the spot on that play, lost the challenge, then called for a QB sneak that failed and gave the ball back to the Eagles in Giants territory.

If you had to list the people responsible for the Giants loss on Sunday, and believe me there are many it would go something like this:

1. John Carney – Carney cost the team six points by missing two field goals. After missing just one all year, non-blocked (in Week 17), Carney choked when it really mattered.

2. Tom Coughlin – Coughlin challenged in a vital situation and lost, wasting two timeouts in idiotic fashion. His play calling and game management was awful, a complete opposite from the 2007 postseason.

3. Steve Spagnuolo – At the end of the first half, the Giants had a chance to go into the locker room with a 11-10 lead, but instead Spagnuolo put his defense into prevent and gave up pass after pass underneath.

4. Eli Manning – Call it the wind or whatever you want, but Eli’s throws were high all day. I understand that this is the reason for acquiring Plaxico Burress back in 2005 because of Eli’s high passing, but aside from a pass to Domenik Hixon and one to Kevin Boss, Eli was not Eli.

5. Antonio Pierce – As bad as this is, my good friend and an enormous Giants fan texted me the following after Pierce’s facemask penalty that eventually led to an Eagles touchdown. “I wish Plax shot him at the club.” And while that might be a little much, Pierce was terrible in this game like he was most of the year. He is slow for a linebacker and without a great pass rush, his weaknesses are greatly exposed.

I was a Tom Coughlin hater from the first day he became a Giants coach. And last year when he won the Super Bowl, I was given a lot of crap for always talking badly about him. And after they beat the Patriots I gave him the benefit of the doubt. But looking at this game today, in a game where they were playing an inferior opponent, and just good game management could have won the game, Coughlin failed and failed miserably.

Aside from the 4-0 record in the postseason last year, Coughlin has been the Giants coach for three other playoff seasons, all ending in the Giants first game of that particular postseason. It was 2005 against the Panthers, 2006 against the Eagles, and 2008 against the Eagles.

With the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals set to play in the NFC Championship, it is a disappointing matchup to end what has been a disappointing season. To think that the Ravens, Cardinals, and Eagles are currently three of the final four with the Chargers and Steelers still yet to play, sounds pretty ridiculous.

Congratulatons to the Philadelphia Eagles and maybe they can finally get over the hump and win the Super Bowl and keep it in the NFC East.

This game has gotten the most attention and rightfully so of any of the four games this weekend. No other game features two divisional rivals in a divisional playoff game and no other game features two teams with so much history and so much knowledge of each other. Sure, the Titans/Ravens is a battle and the Steelers/Chargers will draw a nice rating, but this is truly the most highly anticipated and best possible matchup of the weekend.

The New York Giants have had three weeks off. Their last real game was against the Carolina Panthers for the No. 1 seed and they were victorious. Tomorrow will be 21 days since that game and since then the Giants had a walkthrough against the Vikings, then a bye week, and then a practice week to prepare for the Eagles.

The injuries have passed and the Giants are as healthy as they have been since they were all home cooking hotdogs and hamburgers on the 4th of July. But their opponent has been in playoff mode for nearly half the season, playing with their 2008 season lives every weekend, and they are black and blue, beat up, and hurting. As this point in the season the Giants are well-rested and ready to do business and while the Eagles are ready to do business they are nowhere near as healthy as the Giants.

If you have turned on you TV or picked up a newspaper or hung around the water cooler at work, then you probably know about the Eagles’ recent success. The general consensus of the media has built the Eagles up to be a juggernaut, so “hot” that Dunkin’ Donuts has thought about featuring them as an alternative to their morning beverages. And maybe beating the Vikings and destroying the Cowboys makes you “hot” and gives you momentum, but then what does tying the Bengals and losing to the Redskins in must-win games do? Because that is exactly what this team is capable of.

Are the Eagles a good team? Yes, at times. But they can also play to the level of teams whose wins totals can be counted on one hand. Sure, they have big playmakers by the names of Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook and DeShaun Jackson, but there is another team in the NFC East with big time playmakers who is sitting home while their front office decides whether or not to blow their franchise up and start from scratch. Dallas cough cough.

And when you look at the New York Giants you see the definition of a “team.” There are no flashy players, there are no media hungry primadonnas, and there are no loudmouth, celebrating showoffs. And aside from one player who took the liberty to end his season by carrying a firearm in the city where carrying a firearm is the ultimate “don’t,” the Giants are as close to what a “team” could be in the NFL.

There is no doubt that the last team the Giants wanted to face this weekend was the Eagles, but there is nothing they can do about that now and maybe it’s better that they are facing them. Who knows?

But what this game has turned into is a breakdown of the Eagles from Week 17 to present day and their win over the Giants. The world decided to put blinders on when it comes to the Eagles other 14 games from this season in which they went 7-6-1. When you take away their victory against the Giants, their blowout of the Cowboys, and their playoff win over the Vikings, what you have left is a pretty average football team. Kind of like taking apart Pamela Anderson in her prime. If you remove every plastic surgery enhanced piece of her, what you are left with is just an average looking chick.

Don’t get me wrong the Eagles are one of the better teams in the NFL when they play how they are supposed to play on paper. but when things go wrong for Philly, things go really wrong. And once the wheels come off of Andy Reid’s bus, well then the doors come off, the engine fails, the transmission drops, gas begins leaking, and so on.

Hopefully Tom Coughlin will come to his senses and have Domenik Hixon and only Domenik Hixon controlling the kick and punt returns. And hopefully he utilizes John Carney for field goals only and Lawrence Tynes for kickoffs because the Giants can’t afford to give away the field position they have been giving away recently.

Brandon Jacobs is going to have to be a horse on Sunday and Eli Manning is going to have to manage the game in poor weather and control the clock to minimize the time of possession for the Eagles. If Eli can stay away from turning it over and if the receiving team of Hixon, Amani Toomer, and Steve Smith can hold onto the ball this time against Philly, then the Giants should have no problem putting up points on the Eagles suspect defense.

You can take all the stats about No. 1s vs No. 6s and records and regular season stats and forget about them. Because tomorrow the game will come down to who wants it more and who will commit the least amount of turnovers. One second of the game could be what ends one of theses two team’s season on Sunday.

Expect a close game. A lot of running the ball and a lot of field goals. And in the end, expect the Giants to be hosting the Cardinals next Sunday at Giants Stadium.

Giants 27, Eagles 20

BALTIMORE RAVENS @ TENNESSEE TITANS
SATURDAY
4:30 EST
Two great defenses and a game that most believe is a coin flip and it seems as though the majority is favoring the “hot” Baltimore Ravens. You just gotta love these “hot” teams that can so easily fool everyone. If they were truly the better team (like the Eagles) then they would have not had to play last week.

But instead they did and they beat up on a poor Miami team who might have deserved their postseason bid, they just weren’t really a postseason team. And now they are facing a rested Titans team that lost three games all season and already defeated Baltimore once this year after their rookie QB, Joey Flacco, did his best Brett Favre impression.

It will be a low scoring game, there is no doubt about that, but for as much credit as the Ravens defense gets, the Titans D is just as good, if not better than Baltimore’s. And when you look at the offenses, there is a clear edge to Tennessee’s.

It’s quite possible this game will come down to a field goal and if it does, you have to like the team with Rob Bironas who has the ability to knock one down from upper deck if needed. The better team will win this game. The team that has been the AFC’s best all season and the team that earned the No. 1 seed. It’s game over for the “hot” Ravens. Tennessee 17, Baltimore 14

ARIZONA CARDINALS @ CAROLINA PANTHERS
SATURDAY
8:15 EST
How this game gets the Saturday night timeslot is beyond me. This game is one where you turn it on and by the end of the first quarter you are either flipping through the channels or doing something else with the game on in the background.

Honestly, Arizona has no chance, at all. You can talk about their record in the the eastern timezone, or their road record, but what it comes down to is this. They don’t have a defense and they don’t have a running game.

The fact that the Cardinals won last week should be good enough for that franchise and they can build off it for the future, but right now they aren’t good enough to play on the same field as the Carolina Panthers.

Vegas has the Panthers favored by 10 and I’m not sure if it was 17 that people still wouldn’t take it. Unless Kurt Warner called up his buddies from the Greatest Show on Turf, then put a dome in Carolina with the turf from St. Louis, then acquired an NFL defense, the Cardianls don’t have a shot.

Carolina will be heading north for the NFC Championship, to a stadium they have already played in this season. Carolina 34, Arizona 13

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS @ PITTSBURGH STEELERS
SUNDAY
4:45 EST
As I say almost every week on the site, if you come here frequently you know my thoughts on the San Diego Chargers organization. And it was by no surprise that they beat the Colts last week since I picked the Colts. It goes against the golden rule of picking against teams you openly despise, the same goes for players.

The Chargers have defied odds that would have Einstein and Newton puzzled. Coming back from a 4-8 record, needing to win out and also needing the Broncos to lose out. Then coming back to beat the Colts, winners of nine straight, to advance to Pittsburgh, a place where they lost by one point earlier this season. Not enough things could have gone right for the Chargers this season. Had the Broncos won a single game over the finals four weeks or had the Chargers lost one, we would all be laughing at their expense and Norv Turner would be sending out his resume to coaching vacancies. Instead they are about to play in Heinz Field in a game that was supposed to include the Colts and at 8-8, the Chargers are making many important people wonder if the NFL playoff system is greatly flawed.

But for Sunday’s game it’s tough. The Steelers have a great, arguably the best, defense in the entire league, but a shaky offense, which will be led by a quarterback two weeks removed from a concussion. When judging the Chargers offense and defense you might as well throw the stats and recent performances out the window because there is absolutely no way to know what San Diego team will show up.

I look at is this way. If I pick the Chargers to win, they will lose and if I picked them to lose, they will win, and I fully believe that. And there is no one that wants the Chargers to lose more than me except for every Pittsburgh Steelers fan, but I am going to go against everything I have said this entire season and pencil in the Chargers for the NFC Championship in Tennessee and I can’t believe I am saying this. Chargers 21, Steelers 17

Giants/Eagles preview coming Saturday.

It was at this time last year the Giants went into Tampa Bay and came out with a win in the wild card round only to be told their season would end the following Sunday at Texas Stadium. And once they made it out of Dallas with Jerry Jones’ NFC Championship tickets in hand, they were written off because Brett Favre and the frigid temperatures at Lambeau Field awaited them a week later.

But even after they dominated the Packers and tried and tried to wrap the game up with a field goal, it looked as though Lawrence Tynes’ foot would actually be the team’s achilles heal and end their magical run to Glendale, Arizona. But just when the world thought Brett Favre would be what he once was (a decade ago), he showed what he now is, throwing the Packers trip to XLII into the hands of Corey Webster.

I don’t think I need to tell you what the predictions were entering that historic championship against the New England Patriots, but let me remind you this. Only Dr. Z of SI.com, Frank Caliendo the comedian, Plaxico Burress, and myself picked the Giants to win the Super Bowl. The rest of the world commended their efforts and congratulated them on an overachieving season. And their opponents, the Patriots, even went so far as to invite them to their after parties during the final drive of the game. But when it was all said and done, the New York Football Giants were world champions.

This season, as much as it has been a different road to the playoffs, it has really been the same, if that even makes sense (at least to me it does).

Entering the season the Giants lost their leader in Michael Strahan to retirement and the next coming of Strahan in Osi Umenyiora to a knee injury. Critics mathematically eliminated the Giants season in August and Trent Dilfer said on ESPN that “the New York Giants will be the biggest disappointment in 2008.”

But after they got off to a 4-0 start, your favorite TV and radio personalities started to scratch their heads and think about what they had said weeks earlier. And when the Giants had run their record to 11-1 the world became Giant fans and guaranteed them as the NFC representative in the Super Bowl.

Then a two-game losing streak hit (Philaldephia and Dallas) and all of a sudden the national media began to pull their bets off on the Giants like a craps table with a shaky shooter. The Giants record had fallen to 11-3 (oh my, not 11-3) and suddenly they were in the same tier as the Bengals and Seahawks. And you know who became the new No. 1? The Carolina Panthers. And it just so happened they would come into Giants Stadium that same week.

And when the Panthers left East Rutherford, the Giants had been crowned No. 1 in the NFC for the 2008 season and all that was left was an exhibition game in Minnesota, a game the Giants could care less about, but one the Vikings needed to have.

The Giants fell to the Vikings 20-19, playing their backups, and their backups, and their backups-backups, all while the Vikings were rushing the ball with Adrien Peterson and Chester Taylor, hoping to pull off the win and clinch a playoff berth. But a John Carney missed field goal, his first miss, non-blocked field goal of the season, is what ultimately cost the Giants the game.

Since that game, a week and a half ago, writers have used that loss to say that the Giants have gone 1-3 over their last four and have limped into the playoffs. I am not sure if these are people who like to hear themselves think or if they are really that idiotic, but the last time I checked the Giants won their last meaningful game (Carolina) and I am not sure if the Giants knew that their matchup in the Metrodome was part of the schedule, or if they thought they were just in the Giants Stadium Bubble practicing for the playoffs.  Considering Eli Manning played only the first half, Brandon Jacobs didn’t play at all, and the defensive line was playing XBox 360 in the locker room.

And now all of a sudden the Philadelphia Eagles are coming to town and if you had never watched a football game and had never heard about the NFL before this week, you would honestly think the Eagles hadn’t lost a game since 1932 and that they were about to win this coming game 84-0 and march right through Carolina and then through Tampa Bay and win the Super Bowl. And that is in all seriousness.

Because while the Giants haven’t had a real game since their meeting with the Panthers, the Eagles have been playing desperate football. And their desperate football has gotten them a loss to the Redskins and wins against Dallas and Minnesota. But by reading about the Eagles and their win over the Vikings, most would have you thinking they just took down a combination of the ’72 Dolphins and ’85 Bears with ease and there is no one left who could possibly stand in their way.

But when people comment and report on the Eagles/Vikings game, they forget to mention that Tavaris Jackson plays quarterback in Minnesota, or that they play in the NFC North, or that while playing for their lives against the Giants Freshman team they needed a last second field goal to seal the win. Why mention that though? Why mention that the Eagles hype is so inflated it might just be able to hold a spot in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Just because the Giants haven’t been on the field recently because of the bye they earned by being the best team in their conference during the regular season, the attention has turned to the Eagles who are playing the way everyone expected them to play all along. It just took them over four months to realize that the season had officially started.

And while three and four weeks ago, Donovan McNabb needed secret service protection to get in and out of Lincoln Financial Field and Andy Reid’s head was being called for in downtown Philly, these men are now heroes, nearly having statues of themselves replace the Liberty Bell in the City of Brotherly Love.

If there is one thing I have learned from 2007 and 2008 is that no matter what the New York Football Giants do they will still be underdogs.

Eli Manning could pass for 9,000 yards, Brandon Jacbobs could rush for 76 touchdowns, John Carney could kick a 68 yarder, Tom Coughlin could go 34 for 34 in challenges, and Madison Hedgecock could even catch a pass all while the Giants go 16-0 and it still wouldn’t matter. Because as long as the Giants are playing the Eagles or Cowboys they will still be the underdog.

As long as the Eagles don’t ever win a Super Bowl and the Cowboys don’t win a playoff game for 13 years and counting they will still be the favorites. And if the Giants were playing the Cardinals this week and the Panthers were playing the Falcons, the talk on NFL Live and Sports Center and on SI.com and everywhere else would somehow revolve around the Philadelphia Eagles or the Dallas Cowboys. Donovan McNabb or Tony Romo. Andy Reid or Wade Phillips. Jason Witten or Philly’s best cheese steak. Brian Westbrook or Marion Barber’s haircut. T.O. or Jerry Jones’ recent cable bill.

If the Giants lose on Sunday it will be like my freshman year in college in Boston in 2004 when the Yankees lost Game 7 of the ALCS as I stared at the TV screen in disbelief. And though this game will be on a much lesser scale, a loss would hurt just as much for the time being.

And if the Giants lose Sunday, Eagles fans will run their mouths like its the New York Marathon and make you remember this one even 100 years from now when they still haven’t won a Super Bowl.

And if the Giants win Sunday, Eagles fans will tell you the Giants were supposed to win anyways.

But when the Giants win Sunday, you can come back here for your NFC Championship coverage.

The great thing about the NFL is the one and done playoff format, like no other major professional sport. It gives teams reasons to believe and a chance to play just 60 minutes of football to advance rather than winning three of five or four of seven.

And because of this unique format, the NFL playoffs are chaotic, and unpredictable. And it is for this reason alone that any team can beat any team on any given day. But no matter how cliche that sounds, it is the truth.

However, the last time I checked, the Giants were 12-4 this season and 12-3 when they actually played (the 20-19 loss to Minnesota in Week 17 was played by backups and their backups). So for the sake of using real statistics when Eli Manning was playing and not David Carr and so on, the Giants played .800 ball. And in doing so, their last 10 opponents (all played in a row with no bye weeks) all had winning records. But once again if we discount the Minny game (though I know people will go nuts for doing this) the Giants went 7-2 against Pittsburgh, Dallas, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Arizona, Washington, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Carolina. Show me another team that played that type of schedule with those kind of results.

And the funniest thing is that the world is pointing to the Giants 1-3 finish to the season. So they lost to Philly, big deal. And they lost to Dallas without Brandon Jacons. And they lost to Minnesota by ONE point playing the JV Team while Minnesota was going balls to the wall to try and clinch a playoff berth AT HOME. Are we forgetting the Giants beat the Panthers, staging a heroic late game comeback to clinch the No. 1 seed and defeat the second best team in the NFC and possibly the league?

Obviously the Eagles have a chance Sunday. It takes one broken play, one untimely turnover, and one missed field goal or botched snap to end a season. And that is why the Giants have a chance to lose, like any other team. But the jokesters of the media and the blogging world who for some reason think the Eagles are lock to win because they beat Minnesota and Dallas are simply too much in love with their inconsistent team. If beating the Cowboys and the Vikings make you “hot” then what does going 7-2 against the best teams in the league nine weeks in a row with no week off make you? “On fire?”

I am not about to pencil in the Giants for the NFC Championship because they are about to be in for on entertaining battle. But I am not about to count them out because the Eagles are supposively “hot” right now.

The majority of the world believes that Brian Westbrook is the most dangerous player involved in the game Sunday, but he isn’t, and it’s not even close.

The first time these teams met back in Week 10, the Giants beat the Eagles 36-31, and it wasn’t even that close. The G-Men racked up 370 yards on offense to the Eagles 255 and if it wasn’t for settling for three John Carney field goals, the game could have been over a lot earlier than when the Eagles failed to convert on a 4th and 1.

In that game Brandon Jacobs rushed for 126 yards and simply punished the Eagles defense in route to two rushing touchdowns. And while this one game might be the smallest of sample sizes, just take a look at the other 15 games. When Brandon Jacobs plays, the Giants win, and usually with ease. And on Sunday it will be 21 days since Jacobs last played and that day the Giants clinched the No. 1 seed with a win over Carolina.

The focus right now is on the Eagles because they demolished the Cowboys and went on the road to beat the Vikings. Not exactly two tasks worthy of the praise they are receiving. But along with the praise are the reviews of the Week 14 game in which the Eagles beat the Giants on the road 20-14. And while the Eagles feel as though this was an enormous win and that the beat the champs, let’s take a closer look.

Forget the fact that Plaxico Burress was no longer a member of the Giants at this point, but Brandon Jacobs recorded only 10 carries (52 yards) in the game, all of them in the first half, due to injury. Not to mention the receivers couldn’t catch passes with a net and Eli Manning couldn’t get a completion. Cancel out the missed field goals by both teams and you have a 20-14. Not one thing went right for the Giants as they played their worst game of the whole season (though it’s close to Cleveland) and they only lost by six points.

You would think on a day when Brian Westbrook was creating his own SportsCenter Top 10 and Donovan McNabb was completing 63% of his passes that the Eagles would have run away with the game. But instead they won by six points.

I am not hear to complain about the loss the same way I didn’t complain about it when it happened back in November. I am just here to make sure everyone realizes that while it was a victory for the Eagles, it wasn’t exactly the 1980 Miracle on Ice that some media outlets are making it out to be.

But I clearly remember that day when Donovan McNabb stood there taunting the Giants fans, even though at the time the Eagles were on life support. And following the game McNabb said that the Eagles should have won the first game as well, not sure if Donovan was playing in the same game that the rest of the world was watching, but ok. Just another classic Donovan line to go along with his lack of knowledge of the overtime rules.

This Sunday is all about Brandon Jacobs. And if he is healthy the Giants can’t be touched. And I expect him to be healthy.

Do they just send out John Carney and David Akers to the 20-yard line and have them go kick for kick, backing up five yards after each successful field goal?

Or do the offensive coordinators and defensive coordinators stand at the 50-yard line and see who can throw their playbooks farther like a shotput?

Oh you know what, I think they actually have a spelling bee between Tom Coughlin and Andy Reid.

For the Giants, Sunday continues their recent postseason run and their league dominance that began just about a year ago. They have a chance to make their second straight championship game and knock out the Eagles who took down the Giants in the wild card round in January of 2006.

A win will get Steve Spagnuolo even more money wherever he ends up and will take Tom Coughlin from one tier to another in the history of NFL coaches.

Talks will once again arise about which Manning brother is better and Giants Stadium will host their first championship game since the 2000 season when they blew out and shutout the high-powered offense of the Minnesota Vikings.

Since Week 1 the Giants have been playing for January football even though it took 18 weeks to get to this game. You could actually go back to last February as to when the Giants began thinking about the 2008 playoffs and a chance to repeat as world champions.

For the Eagles, it’s a little different story. Not only are they playing for a chance to make their first conference championship since the ’04 season, they are playing possibly for the jobs of their coaching staff, at least a few of them.

It would be tough to fire Andy Reid after the Eagles made the playoffs and won a playoff game, but you can’t say the possibility doesn’t exist. And with Reid on the hot seat, so is his quarterback Donovan McNabb as the two will be paired as long as they are part of the same organization.

The Eagles have made four championship games under Reid/McNabb, winning one, only to lose to the Patriots in the Super Bowl. A loss would put Philly back into an uproar as to what to do with the franchise.

The critics will say that McNabb can’t win a big game and can’t get to the biggest game in Tampa Bay. They’ll say that Reid was outcoached and mismanaged. And they’ll say it’s time for change for the Philadelphia Eagles.

This Sunday features two very different teams, heading into two very different directions. But a win Sunday will change the course for both franchises one way or another. 

Maybe the Eagles are destined to win the Super Bowl when only weeks ago the City of Brotherly Love was showing anything but towards their head coach and franchise quarterback. Maybe after tying the terrible Cincinnati Bengals and putting up only three points against the Washington Redskins, the Eagles have become the league’s hottest team. But all along the Eagles have been staying with 16 against a 10 and hitting with the dealer showing a six only to come out on top everytime.

The difference between the 2008 Philadelphia Eagles and the 2007 New York Giants is that the 2008 Philadelphia Eagles have been given everything and earned nothing. They were given a chance to make the postseason after tying Cincy. They were given another shot even when they lost to a lost Washington team (for the second time). They were given a gift when the Bears couldn’t find a way to beat the Texans in Houston and they were given a miracle when the Oakland Raiders, THE Oakland Raiders overcame a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to beat the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay. If I was a member of the Eagles I would have been at the nearest convenient store buying a Power Ball ticket as time expired between Tampa Bay and Oakland rather than preparing for kickoff against Dallas. Because once the Bucs fell to the Raiders, Dallas didn’t have a prayer to win in Philly.

Last season the Giants had to go to Buffalo and overcome a 14-point first quarter deficit and five fumbles to beat the Bills and clinch a playoff seed. Then they had to try to prevent the first 16-0 season ever before going on the road and beating Tampa Bay, Dallas, and Green Bay before pulling off the greatest upset in NFL history and possibly sports history. But from Week 1 until they held the Lombardi Trophy up in Arizona, the Giants weren’t given an inch. They weren’t given any help and they didn’t ask for it. But it seems like since Week 1 of this season the Eagles have been given everything. If the Eagles had needed the Lions to win in Week 17, they proably would have. Because the Eagles couldn’t make the playoffs without the failures of others this season.

If you look at the Eagles schedule from this season, where were their legitimate wins? I see three. The first being in Pittsburgh in Week 3, the next being against the Giants in Giants Stadium in Week 14, and the other being against Dallas in Week 17.

Their other wins…St. Louis, San Francisco, Atlanta, Seattle, Arizona, Cleveland.

And their losses…Dallas, Chicago, Washington, Giants, Baltimore, Washington.

And oh yeah, they tied Cincinnati.

Don’t get me wrong the Eagles are a good team. And as a product of the NFC East, they might just be the second best team in the NFC after the Giants. But right now they have a task at hand (beating the No. 1 seed in the NFC on the road) that only one other team in the 18 years of this playoff format has ever accomplished, the 2007 New York Giants. So, before we give the 2008 Philadelphia Eagles the Lombardi Trophy for beating Tavaris Jackson and the Minnesota Vikings, let’s let them win a truly big game.

Team of Destiny? Absolutely not. Team of luck? Definitely.

Philadelphia won at Minnesota and now have to come out on top in the Meadowlands if they want to keep playing writes Hank Gola.

Paul Schwartz says the the Giants and Eagles know each other well and that might scare a lot of Giants fans.

The Eagles are trying to become the Giants of 2007 writes Mike Vaccaro.

Now a starting receiver, Domenik Hixon is excited for his chance to shine in the postseason says Mike Dougherty.

Tom Rock writes that the Giants bye week will help them against a deceiving No. 6 seed in the 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.

But how about what is playing out with that other team that plays in Giants Stadium. That team that wears green and white and pulled off their best New York Mets impersonation and possibly did them one better. The New York Jets are a mess right now and are one poor personnel decision decision aawy from setting their team back years. The owners’ love with Brett Favre and the firing of Eric Mangini have turned the Jets into the AFC’s Cowboys and have turned the Jets players on each other.

The funny thing with the Jets is that you either have Eric Mangini and Brett Favre together or you get rid of both because you certainly can’t keep one without the other. Mangini was given his shot over three years and choked his own job away and I totally agree with his firing. But if the team is so keen on keeping Favre then they can’t get rid of Mangini because no established NFL coach is going to take over a team that is obviously on their way to nowhere with Favre as the starting QB. The Jets have already put themselves in one tricky predicament.

Bill Cowher and Mike Shananhan don’t want to coach the Jets with Brett Favre on the team and if the Jets want to get a coach like Spagnuolo they are going to pay the price. Right now Spagnuolo can get a serious extension with the Giants and make great money off being a defensive coordinator for an elite team. So if he is going to coach the Jets, he is going to want a lot of money and security with multiple years given the fact that the Jets could be pretty bad for the next few seasons and are obviously going to be a completely different team once Favre leaves. So, if the Jets are willing to agree to those demands, then they are rolling the dice because who knows how good Spagnuolo will be as a head coach and if they are already going to be paying Mangini for the next couple of years, do they really want to hire Spagnuolo to a several year deal and then have to fire him and be paying two coaches at the same time? I don’t think so.

Enter Mike Holmgren. Holmgren is leaving Seattle and seems to be the perfect fit for the Jets. he and Brett Favre have a history together from their days in Green Bay and a one-year deal with Holmgren is the exact contract the Jets are looking for until they can get rid of Favre and foster their own young quarterback. If Holmgren says he is officially wants no part of the Jets, then they are going to be in a very bad spot and it could get ugly for the organization for a very long time if the wrong move is made.

But what is Holmgren says no? Cross off Cowher, Shanahan, and Holmgren, and you have to hope that you can please Spags or that Romeo Crenell wants to enter the Barnum and Bailey Circus show with Brett Favre as the ringleader. And if they all say no, then what? Because right now Holmgren is a stretch and Spagnuolo might want to stay with the Giants. This leaves a peanut vendor from the upper tier at Giants Stadium, three of the parking lot attendants, and a handful of NYC cab drives that want to coach the Jets. And apparently a source close to the peanut vendor says he unwilling to coach the Jets unless he can bring in his own coaching staff. This is what Brett Favre has turned the New York Jets into. I am sure all those PSL holders are pleased with their recent purchases.

And while this Jets rant goes on, I have always wondered exactly what goes on in the interviews with coaching candidates for NFL teams. Since I have never been present for one of these meetings it has left me wondering what kind of questions are asked. Today I heard that the Browns were impressed with Eric Mangini. How is this possible? Did he use a lot of fancy words? Did he tell them a bunch of jokes? Did he share similar interest in movies and TV shows? Because I can send over game recaps, columns, interviews, quotes, stats, and a DVD of highlights (or in this case lowlights) of the past two seasons if they want more material? It is just mind boggling that he can “impress” these people or any people. I mean did they not watch Jets game ever, or not watch SportsCenter, or any show that might have discussed football in the United States? Honestly, this is just absurd. The man just led his team to one of the most historic collapses in NFL history and about 96 hours later, the Cleveland Browns are “impressed” by him.

Speaking of NFL coaching interviws what do the front office execs of the Lions say in one of these meetings? Seriously, what positive thing could they possibly say to sell the Lions to acoaching candidate? “Um, at least you can’t do any worse than our last coach.”

The Giants aren’t and shouldn’t be scared of anyone. But if there was one team who could put a scare into them, I am sure I don’t have to tell you who that team is, but I will anyways, the Philadelphia Eagles. 

A few weeks ago while discussing with my friends who at the time were afraid of the Cowboys if the Giants had to face them in the playoffs, I told them they are not the team to worry about, the Eagles are. Because when you play the Eagles, one of two things can happen. The Eagles that played the Bengals and Redskins will show up. Or the Eagles that played the Giants (second time) and the Cowboys (second time) will show up. And while the Eagles are nowhere near as good as the Giants when both are on their games, they are clearly the second best team in the NFC playoffs.

But the Eagles still have to win a game to play the Giants. And if they win, well they will play the Giants. So let’s take a look at the different scenarios.

1. If the Vikings beat the Eagles and the Cardinals beat the Falcons

The Giants play the Cardinals and the Panthers play the Vikings

2. If the Vikings beat the Eagles and the Falcons beat the Cardinals

The Giants play the Falcons and the Panthers play the Vikings

3. If the Eagles beat the Vikings and the Cardinals beat the Falcons

The Giants play the Eagles and the Panthers play the Cardinals

4. If the Eagles beat the Vikings and the Falcons beat the Cardinals

The Giants play the Eagles and the Panthers play the Falcons

So, root hard for the Vikings on Sunday afternoon because if the Eagles fall in Minnesota, the path to Tampa Bay gets a whole lot clearer.

Who do I think will win this weekend? Well it’s hard not to like eveyr road team in these games, but we all know not every wroad team is going to win. It just doesn’t work like that. So here is how I think this wild card weekend plays out.

ATLANTA FALCONS @ ARIZONA CARDINALS
SATURDAY
4:30 PM EST
Arizona fooled a lot of people early on. And they fooled some more when they beat the Cowboys, who at the time were seen as an elite team in the league. But the Cardinals turned out to be nothing more than a bad team in a horrible division. And going back on their season they were lucky to make the postseason given their incredible goal line stand (or goal line mess up by San Fran) against the 49ers way back when on Monday Night Football.

The Falcons surprised everyone and continue to each week. But last Sunday they played against St. Louis in a game that could have given them a first round bye and they barely squeaked out the win against a Rams team that seems like it hasn’t put together back-to-back defensive stops all season long. The Falcons are clearly the superior team in this matchup and if the game was in Atlanta it would be a no-brainer, but I’m not so sure it is this weekend.

Everyone and their brother is going to take Atlanta. It seems almost too easy to take them. But when the Cardinals play at home, they are a different team. With absolutely no running game, Arizona will air the ball out a ridiculous amount of times and it is something that Atlanta has never seen before. Something seems tricky about this game and I might be crazy to pick them, but I am going with the Cards on Saturday afternoon. Cardinals 24, Falcons 23

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS @ SAN DIEGO CHARGERS
SATURDAY
8:00 PM EST
If you read this blog often, or if you have read it ever, you probvably no of may hatred towards the San Diego Chargers, the world’s most overrated professional sports team. But here they are the 8-8 playoff Chargers playing the 12-4 (winners of nine straight) Colts. Last season the two team met in the divisional round with the Colts losing because 2008 MVP Peyton Manning couldn’t find the end zone from the red zone all day long. But this year is a different story.

If I hear anymore nonsense about Philip Rivers, I might give up all hope of wanting to be a member of the media altogether. Let’s get this straight. The Chargers division consists of Chiefs, Raiders, and Broncos. By far the worst division in football and it’s not even close because even the NFC West pulled off some semi-impressive wins. Can you imagine any NFC East QB playing in the AFC West? The numbers would resemble a combination of Johnny Unitas and Joe Montana, and that QB would automatically receive the MVP award, the Offensive Player of the Year award, and probably just be given a spot in the Hall-of-Fame while still active. So, what I am trying to say is that Philip Rivers is nothing more than the product of a guy playing six games against teams without a defense at all and you can take his numbers and throw them out the window.

A lot of people are calling for a close game this weekend. But a lot of people are forgetting what happens to LaDainian Tomlinson in big games. He turns into LaDainian Copperfield and disappears, sometimes he reappears on the sidelines on the bench with his tinted visor on and an oversized coat (2007 AFC Championship). And let’s not forget the Colts have been to the promised land before and won. And they have fought back in every way, shape, and form this season to overcome a 3-4 start and finish at 12-4. They are not about to let the San Diego Chargers end their 2008 season. The New York Giants will be the ones who will do that task. Colts 31, Chargers 17

BALTIMORE RAVENS @ MIAMI DOLPHINS
SUNDAY
1:00 PM EST
The Dolphins have had a miracle run this season, but on Sunday the horse and carriage will turn into a pumpkin when the Baltimore Ravens come to town.

This game is the least intriguing of all the wild card games and mainly  because the Ravens already destroyed the Dolphins earlier in the season. But really the Ravens are just a very bad matchup for Miami. The problem hers is that the Ravnes boadst a great veteran defense that is not about to let some wildcat offense straight out of a video game beat them in a postseason game. It is going to take a lot more and a lot of creativity from Miami coaches to find a way to beat the Ravens.

On the other hand, the Dolphins don’t have the defense to stop the Ravens offensive game plan. Every which way you look at this game, it is a lopsided affair and won’t end pretty for Miami.  While every other game might be a tossup and pick ‘em, this game certainly is not. There isn’t too much to say other than congratulations Miami on a very successful season. Ravens 33, Dolphins 10

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES @ MINNESOTA VIKINGS
SUNDAY
4:30 PM EST
And the matchup that most interest the New York Giants. The Eagles win and they will be in East Rutherford next Sunday. They lose and it changes everything. 

There is no question the Eagles are the better team here. They have a real QB, a great RB, a great defense, and a good passing game. The Vikings have no QB, the best RB, a pretty good defense, and no passing game. As you can see this game is pretty much over before it starts. But like the Falcons/Cardinals game, it isn’t so clear cut.

The world right now is eating up the Philadelphia Eagles because of what they did to the Cowboys. But those same people forget that the Cowboys weren’t any good to begin with. If you’re like me then you remember the Eagles that played the Bengals, and the Redskins (twice), and so on. And then you remember that they are going on the road and who knows what is going to happen in a game against a team you haven’t seen before. Not to mention the best running back in all of football awaits. And that is where I think it gets very interesting.

The Eagles have the chance to score a lot of points, but they have a better chance of not scoring many points. Last week the Cowboys gave them the majority of their 44 with turnovers on offense, but the Vikings should be able to minimize the turnovers with Tavaris Jackson focusing on managing the game and Adrien Peterson doing the majority of the offensive work.

Call me crazy (or call me rooting in the best interest of the Giants) but the Vikings can and will win on Sunday. Vikings 21, Eagles 17