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This year’s NFL playoffs have largely been devoid of the drama we expect from America’s favorite postseason. Scattered through the mess of blowouts and utter collapses — New England — three nail-biting games have come to define this year’s quest for the Super Bowl. Oddly enough, each round of the playoffs leading up to the Super Bowl has produced exactly one competitive game upon which we can gauge the postseason climate.
The first came in Arizona, where the NFL charity division — NFC West — benefactor Cardinals stole the game away from the Green Bay Packers in overtime by returning an Aaron Rodgers fumble for the game-winning touchdown.
The second came in San Diego, where the playoff specter that haunts Nate Kaeding proved alive and well, coercing the near-perfect regular season kicker into missing three field goals that effectively doomed the Chargers.
The final game occurred last week when resurgent, old-time, all-time quarterback Brett Favre, who had in large abandoned his gun-slinging ways this year, fell victim to himself. He threw an unforgivable interception in the game’s waning seconds to give the Saints a new life and New Orleans won the game in overtime.
All these games prove that while the players change, the game remains the same. On football’s biggest stage, surrounded by the mystique and aura of tangible glory, players show their true colors.
Each noteworthy game this postseason has been a testament that playoffs reveal who a player really is. Smoke and mirrors bought Aaron Rodgers enough time in the pocket to orchestrate a brilliant regular season stretch run. In the playoffs, his tendency to hold the ball too long and his porous offensive line wrote the story of their fall.
For the past five years, San Diego has put itself at the mercy of Nate Kaeding’s diffident foot, only to be burned again.
Favre showed even though his hair has “grayed” and his uniform has “purpled,” he is still a shoot-from-the-hip Mississippi Cowboy.
The Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints have both braved the unmasking ceremony that is the playoff gauntlet, but neither has emerged unscathed.
In their AFC Championship matchup with Minnesota, New Orleans were absolutely dominated on both sides of the ball in every category except for one — turnover margin. The Saints aggressive, opportunistic defensive unit, which forced 39 turnovers in the regular season, recorded five game-defining takeaways. Their defense is predicated on forcing errors, so the Vikings otherwise dominant offensive stats could be a conceit to their philosophy. They are unlikely to have as much luck employing that style against Peyton Manning.
Manning’s playing this year has been some of the most efficient of his career — though the numbers are skewed from mailing in the season’s final two games — prompting ESPN personality Scott Van Pelt to deem him an alien life form designed to play the quarterback position. Analyst Mark Schlereth said Manning is the most difficult single player to gameplan for in NFL history.
Still, the Colts’ edge at quarterback is not insurmountably great. Drew Brees had one of the greatest years in quarterbacking history in 2010, setting the NFL record for completion percentage at 70.6. He threw for 34 touchdowns, compared to 11 interceptions (both better than Manning) and recording 4,388 yards passing. I wrote earlier in the year that to join the fraternity of the game’s elite quarterbacks, Brees still needed both a regular season performance and championship to cement his status. Now all that remains is the latter, and Brees will be hungry to get it.
Without being able to poke holes in the team’s elite quarterbacks and offensive lines, and ignoring both of their pass-to-establish-the-run rushing attacks, this game will likely be decided on defense. With two weeks to prepare and a promise from Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams to harass Manning and an insinuation they would try to injure the Colts quarterback, New Orleans will not be abandoning their all-or-nothing approach. Whether they are able to get to Manning and make him think twice with a couple of “remember me shots,” as Williams calls them, may decide the outcome of the game. Quarterback pressure can fundamentally change the course of a game — just ask Tom Brady.
With Colts All-Pro defensive end Dwight Freeney out, or at least severely hampered by a torn ankle ligament, Indy’s ability to get that kind of pressure will be severely diminished. Both quarterbacks can dismantle secondaries when given time to work in the pocket, so the team that most aggressively pressures the quarterback will come out on top. With the Colts’ best pass rusher now sidelined, my pick goes to the novel and audacious New Orleans Saints, 28-24.
Bangor Daily News