The Parcells Bowl

Sure, Super Bowl XLII exemplifies David vs. Goliath, as the undefeated New England Patriots attempt to cease a season of perfection by conquering the 14 point underdog New York Giants. But, beyond the Tom Brady ankle injury or lack there of, the Giants defensive line’s accusations of Patriot players being bush league, or the Randy Moss alleged assault ignominy, lies a storyline that has garnered little attention. With that said let’s call Sunday’s spectacle “The Parcells Bowl.” Since both head coaches represented in the big game come from future Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcell’s coaching tree.

We have to go back some 20 years in New York where Patriots coach Bill Belichick and Giants Coach Tom Coughlin were on the Giants staff together. Belichick served as the defensive coordinator, preparing defensive schemes for a hard-hitting defense consisting of Lawrence Taylor, Carl Banks, and Harry Carson. Coughlin served as a wide receivers coach, and helped Lionel Manuel have the best season of his career. Both coaches influence on that G Men’s team helped conjure up a 10-6 Giants season and more importantly enabled them to learn from one of the gridiron’s finest coaches.

As Belichick and Coughlin became head coaches themselves, the Parcells’ philosophy remained intact in their coaching operations, however not in the way each wanted it. Initially, both coaches struggled socially with their teams and caused some uncomfortable feelings amongst players and coaches; Belichick with the Cleveland Browns and Coughlin with the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars. Despite this impediment, both men did find some success at these destinations. Belichick led the Browns to an 11-5 season in 1994 and Coughlin led the Jags to four playoff appearances including, two AFC Championship games. Eventually, both men would get a prospect at deliverance and to modify their communication skills. Belichick, now in his eighth season as the architect of the Patriots juggernaut has an assumed unproblematic possibility to win his fourth Lombardi trophy Sunday. Coughlin is in his fourth campaign with the G Men and has taken them to post season play each of the last three seasons. Both former Parcells understudies enter Sunday coaching as superlative as ever, yet only one will hoist the most coveted trophy in football at a parade downtown in the city their team represents. Perhaps, it is that man who coaches his team as analogous as possible to the way Parcells would have coached that will be victorious.

NFL Playoffs Predictions (Championship Round)

AFC:

Patriots over Chargers

I dont need to explain this game more than a paragraph. The Chargers top three offensive players all have serious injuries. Thats the quarterback Rivers, the running back and last years MVP Ladanian Tomlinson and the best tight end in football Antonio Gates. The Pats are undefeated and beat the Chargers by 24 points in their week two meeting. The Chargers will play inspired ball in this game and will keep the game close, however the injuries will hamper them and give the Pats a 10-14 point game win. Look for Quintin Jammer and Antonio Cromartie to give Brady trouble, but look for the MVP to adjust.


NFC:

Giants over Packers

Sure no one is giving the G Man a chance to win but as I said on previous blogs this team is a different animal on the road. The defensive line always applies pressure on the quarterbacks, just ask Jeff garcia and Tony Romo. The Cowboys and Bucs O line are better than the Packers o line so what does that tell you. These teams are so evenly matched, however I think the difference will in the game will be which wide out can step up the most out of Donald Driver and Plaxico Burress. I give the edge to Burress. driver is solid, however Sam Madison of the Giants is healthy again and has played Driver well in the paast. As far as the Charles Woodson and Al Harris match up on Plaxico, I give the edge to Plaxico. Three weeks ago Plaxic tourched Ahante Samuel of the Pats at only 50 %. he is about 75% now and AlHarris and Woodson struggle against big wide outs. look for Eli to take this team down for a final drive and set up a field goal game winner. Giants win by 1-3 points.

NFL Playoffs Predictions (Divisional Round)

NFC:

Giants Over Cowboys

The Cowboys dominated the Giants and beat them handily twice this season. So this should translate to a third Cowboy victory over the Giants this season, Right? Wrong!!! The Giants are a way more confident team and you had to be blind not to observe the confidence and spark in their face last week when they found out they would play the Cowboys. They are familiar with the Cowboys and are 8-1 on the road this season. Eli Manning is playing the best ball of his career and Michael Strahan is putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks reminiscent of the year they went to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys have an injured T.O. Owens has torched the Giants, however the injury he has will limit his explosiveness Ala the Super Bowl match up against the Patriots when he was an Eagle. Moreover, Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has been a distraction for the team with his Mexico getaway with Jessica Simpson. I personally have no problem with it , but the media is ripped him for it and therefore its a distraction. I think the Giants D steps up big and stops the running game which forces Romo to beat them. He can but if the Cowboys are coming from behind he will force balls to an injured T.O. Giants win this one by a touchdown.

Packers over Seahawks

Perhaps the most difficult game of the round to choose. I've switched the winner everyday of this week. Bret Favre and the Green Bay Packers have been excellent at home this season and the Pack has a solid defense. The problem for the Packers are that they are a young team. The Seahawks struggled last week with a victory over the Redskins and did not run the ball particularly well. The Seahawks have struggled with their ground game the entire season and have played deplorable on the road this season. The extinct Seahawk running game will force Hasselbeck to throw and force balls that will be interceptions. Packers win by ten.

AFC:

Colts over Chargers

The Defending World Champions are healthy!!!! Future Hall of Fame receiver, Marvin Harrison is back!!!! The Colts have been disrespected all season despite not having a Super Bowl hang over and going 13-3. So the Chargers beat the Colts this season. It was a game in which Peyton Manning threw six picks, and the Colts allowed to returns by Darren Sproles for a TD. With all that said the Colts still had a chance to win the game at the end with a chip shot by Adam Vinatari who surprisingly missed it. Manning wont have six picks this game and the Colts will have Harrison in this game. The colts will put nine in the box as they did the last game to stop Ladanian Tomlinson and will force Philip Rivers to beat them without his number one target Antonio Gates who will not play. That means pressure on Rivers and mistakes by Rivers. Colts win by at least two touchdowns.


Patriots Over Jaguars


The Jaguars have a solid defense, however has a suspect pass defense. They did give up over 300 yards plus last week to Big Ben and Tom Brady is a better qb than Big Ben. Yes, the Jags are physical and can hit the Patriots receivers and bang up up Brady but can they score 31 points. That's what its going to take to beat the undefeated Pats. It comes downs to whether David Garrard can play mistake free football which he has not done the last few games and put touchdowns on the board not field goals. The Pats know they have to contain the two headed monster of Fred Taylor and Maurice Drew, so that will make them try to get up early in this game so the Jags can play from behind and ultimately would limit their running in which the Patriots can not stop for four quarters if the game stays close. Expect to see Brady throw the deep ball early to moss and Stallworth and get up early which will force the Jags to abort the run. Patriots win by two touchdowns.

Redskins Coach Joe Gibbs Retires Again

In perhaps a season that was the most arduous and with circumstances on a team that the majority of coaches would have failed, Hall of Fame Coach Joe Gibbs demonstrated to not only the old generation that was familiar with him, but a new generation why the entire sports universe respects him. Perhaps the season ended up draining the 67 year old legend as he retired from the Washington Redskins organization this afternoon.

Gibbs had a phone conversation last until 2:30 in the morning with owner Daniel Snyder who attempted to persuade Gibbs to come back, yet Gibbs sited spending more time with his family and grandchildren.

Having dealt with the tragic murder of Pro bowl safety , Sean Taylor and rallying his guys to win four straight games to make the playoffs put a greater perspective on family and made him realize how short and precious life is.

Nevertheless in four season he did guide the Redskins to two post season births and even a post season victory. Prior to his second stint with the Skins the franchise had struggled with a plethora of coaches including Norv turner and Steve Spurrier. Gibbs will forever be missed by the Redskins organization and will always be known as one of the gridiron's greatest coaches. Why? Three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks, including the only African American qb to win a Super Bowl in Doug Williams. Gibbs success this year in a now in circumstance can only reassure fans that the game did not pass him by, but that he passed the game by.

NFL Playoffs Predictions (Wild Card Round)

Wild Card Match ups

AFC:

Chargers over Titans

-We don't have to look too far back of when the Titans and Chargers played. In fact week 14's match up between the two teams the game ended in a hard fought battle in overtime with a 23-17 Super Charger victory. The game did provide fans with some controversy as Chargers pro bowl linebacker Shawn Merriman blasted Titans stud quarterback Vince Young and alleged that Titans Coach Jeff Fisher put a bounty on his head or should I say legs. The game was a very defensive game in the first half as the Titans lead 3-0 at half time. That's when L.T. carried the Chargers in the second half and overtime and compiled nearly 150 yards and the game winning overtime touchdown. That game was in Tennessee and in that game Lendale White ran for 130 yards. Guess what? Those two x factors wont be in the wild card game. White is out and the game is in San Diego where the Chargers are very tough to overthrow there. In addition, Titans quarterback Vince Young is banged up bad with a quad injury and is a game time decision. The Chargers are playing their most efficient ball of the year and this sums up to a Charger victory easily. Expect Young to play, but be ineffective because of the injury which translates to a sufficient chance of seeing backup Kerry Collins. Chargers win in something like a 38-14 route.


Jaguars over Steelers


Another rematch of the regular season. Expect an old fashion gridiron bang em up and hit em game. The conditions in Pittsburgh and Heinz Field are suppose to be nasty. Wiat, doesn't this feel like deja vu all over again? Yes it does, same conditions as per say week 15's match up between the two clubs. Well in week 15 The Jags looked like Michael Johnson. Yeah I said Michael Johnson because they ran all over the Steeler defense. Jaguar backs Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones Drew combined for 224 rushing yards, mommy wow, the Jags are some world beaters now!!!! At that time the Steelers were 7-0 at home. Same setting minus Steelers pro bowl running back Willie Parker. Parker has 100 yards in that game but he wont be playing this weekend. Possibly out his All Pro safety Troy Polamalu. And even if he plays he will be about 60 percent. While I do not believe the Jags will run for 200 plus yards on the Steelers this time around I expect Parker's absence to be the reason why the Jags win in a close, old fashioned football game 17-13.


NFC:

Seahawks over Redskins

Perhaps the most difficult game to pick. Yes, the Redskins are the second hottest team in the NFL behind the 16-0 Patriots and yes Joe Gibbs and his ball club have united since the funeral of Safety Sean Taylor. And yes I know that Gibbs won three super bowls with three different quarterbacks. But Todd Collins has not faced a defense like the Seattle Seahawks and have not endured a hostile environment like Qwest field in Seattle. The Seahawks defensive features four pro bowlers and are led by Patrick Kerney who will put a great amount of pressure on Collins due to an above average Redskin offensive line. The biggest thing going for the former NFC Champs is that they played in the Super Bowl two years ago and they know how to win in the playoffs. Look for the Seahawks to win 28-14. They will force Todd Collins to beat them by placing eight men in the box to impede the production of Redskin back Clinton Portis.


Giants over Bucs


Eli Manning is not a winner! Eli Manning throws too many interceptions, he can't win the big ones. Didn't big brother Peyton endure this as well when he lost his initial three playoff games. Well Eli is no Peyton but the Giants have an abundance of momentum going for them after nearly stopping the Patriots from going undefeated in the regular season. The Bucs have rested their starters for three weeks so at least in the first half of the game the Buccs will not have a rhythm. Whats even worst is that the Bucs are not exactly an explosive offense. Hell, I don't think they can even be an explosive offense on xbox 360 or Playstation 3 football games. Both defenses are very good and the Giants offense is way superior and now have a healthy Plaxico Burress. That spells trouble for Ronde Barber who essentially said Plaxico is no Randy Moss. Moreover, the Bucs defensive line is small and can be ran on by a big, powerful back like Brandon Jacobs. Giants win 24-13 in this one.