Your Thoughts Exactly

First of all, I would like to congratulate myself for not being as self-congratulatory as other Pats fans following last weeks’ “upset” over the Colts. Boston fans remember, as Dave told me, we no longer have the right to complain about anything ever. All of us have seen our ultimate dream come true and a football dynasty (or at least mini-dynasty.) If you are older than 25, you have a basketball dynasty thrown in. What other city can say that? None.

I realize that New England fans are turning the rest of the country against their team and frankly, I don’t mind. It feels good to be loathed. I am worried about this game however. Yes the media has done its usual 180: after near unanimous predictions that the Colts would triumph, the media has swung too far the other way, guaranteeing a Pats Super Bowl victory, or, like Chris Mortenson, naming them the greatest team of all time. That’s a little much. (just a little.) Vegas even has us at three point favorites on the road.

What worries me, however, was the sense of entitlement and satisfaction coming from the Patriots locker room. Granted, it must have been frustrating for the Pats’ players to read Colts/Peyton hype about a team they had beaten 5 times in the last three years but in the big picture, this was a divisional playoff game. It means nothing, win and move on to the next greater task. That’s the attitude that’s needed for the AFC Championship, which will prove to be a much more difficult hurdle.

As TJ pointed out, if you look at the Colts schedule, they didn’t have too many impressive wins; not only that but teams with good d’s were able to contain their offense. The Jets meanwhile, had few bad losses; thus it’s possible that despite the Peyton hype, the Jets were the better team. Plus the Steelers with their physical wide receivers and tougher defense are a much tougher matchup for the Pats.

If the Patriots are going to win, they are going to need to grab some turnovers and take advantage of the Steelers special teams. I’ve seen the Steelers play twice now and remain unimpressed, but they are 15-1 and at home. I think the Patriots are the better team, but if they go in underestimating their opponent, they’ll pay for it. Don’t think for a second I’m picking against them

Patriots 24 Steelers 13

Oh yea there is another game. Atlanta sure looked good against St. Louis, which was the only time I’ve seen them all season. I do expect Philly’s defense to show up for the game however, as typical of the Mike Martz era, it appeared the Rams were asleep at the wheel. Advance scouting reports from a certain feeble Asian have labeled the Falcons “Terrible.” On the other hand, they have to be better than the Panthers, who also pulled out a win in Philly. Atlanta seems to have the right type of team to limit Philly’s offense, leaving Michael Vick to make a few miraculous plays to pull out a victory for the Falcons. In honor of Vick's numerous clutch performances in Madden 03, I’m going with the Dirty Birds.

Atlanta 17 Philly 14