As the 8-8 San Diego Chargers are set to do battle with the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday in the opening round of the NFL playoffs, all the New England Patriots can do is sit back and watch after missing the postseason despite finishing with an 11-5 record. How can this be? Bang! Cartoons has the answer in their latest ‘toon, “Karma.”
If you like Bang! Cartoons, check out their latest podcast, which is their annual year end Best edition.
Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback Peyton Manning took home his third MVP Award on Friday, beating out Dolphins’ QB Chad Pennington and Falcons’ RB Michael Turner.
Peyton Manning has joined Brett Favre as the only three-time winners of The Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player Award.
The Indianapolis Colts quarterback was a landslide winner Friday in balloting by a nationwide panel of 50 sports writers and broadcasters who cover the NFL. Manning also was the league MVP in 2003, when he shared it with Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair, and in 2004.
Favre, then with Green Bay, took MVP honors in 1995 and ’96 before sharing it with Detroit running back Barry Sanders in 1997.
Manning received 32 votes, far ahead of Miami quarterback Chad Pennington and Atlanta running back Michael Turner.
I don’t know if anyone is playing as good as Manning is right now. But the playoffs have spelled a different story for him in the past and it’ll be interesting to see how he does on the road Saturday night in San Diego. I know the man won a Super Bowl, but it doesn’t erase the fact that he’s had more bad times than good in the postseason. And with how banged up the Colts are on defense, their game Saturday against the Chargers won’t be a gimmie.
(Boy I’m positive, huh? The man wins his third MVP Award and I dump on him. What a dick…)
According to Las Vegas oddsmakers, the New York Giants and Tennessee Titans have the best chances of squaring off in Super Bowl XLIII February 1.
Las Vegas sports books favor the New York Giants over the 11 other teams in the NFL playoffs to win the Super Bowl, giving 2-to-1 odds on the NFC’s No. 1 seed to repeat as champions.
The Tennessee Titans are the favorite among AFC teams to win a title at 4-1.
Oddsmaker Mike Seba of Las Vegas Sports Consultants says the Giants have the easiest road to get to the Super Bowl on Feb. 1, while the AFC teams are more evenly matched.
The Giants would have to beat either the Arizona Cardinals or the Atlanta Falcons to reach the NFC championship game. The Cardinals are the biggest longshots for the title at 40-1; in the AFC, the Miami Dolphins have 30-1 odds.
Before the season, the two teams that opened with the longest odds to win the Super Bowl were the Dolphins (250-1) and the Falcons (200-1). Now they’re both in the playoffs.
The two preseason favorites — the New England Patriots (2-1) and Dallas Cowboys (7-1) — failed to reach the playoffs.
It’s kind of crazy that oddsmakers feel that the Eagles (the sixth seed in the NFC) have a better shot of winning in the Super Bowl than the NFC West Champion Arizona Cardinals.
Apparently their victory over the Seahawks on Sunday wasn’t enough to make oddsmakers confident in the Cards.
– With their 31-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Detroit Lions wound up on the wrong side of history in 2008, finishing the season 0-16. No team in the NFL history has ever finished 0-16, but the good news for Lion fans is that owner William Clay Ford Sr. doesn’t plan on changing a thing about the organization. Yikes.
– I feel bad for Drew Brees. He needed just 16 more passing yards in the Saints’ 33-31 loss to the Panthers on Sunday to eclipse Dan Marino’s record for most passing yards in a single-season. I’m a little surprised that with Carolina’s defenders playing so far back, that Brees didn’t just zing one over the middle for 10 or 12 yards and let one of his receivers pick up the rest of the yardage. But I admire Brees for slinging it down field in an attempt to try and win the game. (I think that’s what he was doing?)
– In a nightmare situation for the Steelers in their 31-0 win over the hapless Cleveland Browns on Sunday, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was carted off the field after suffering a concussion late in the second quarter. Big Ben’s head slammed hard against the turf after he was crushed by two Brown defenders and it took the trainers nearly 15 minutes to attend to him. It’s unclear at this point the status of his health, although the Steelers do have a bye week before they host a playoff game.
– I didn’t see much of the Ravens’ 27-7 win over the Jaguars, but I do know that Baltimore is one scary looking playoff team. Their defense will allow them to compete with anyone and Joe Flacco might be playing better than any rookie in the league – including Matt Ryan.
– Peyton Manning went 7 for 7 for 95 yards and a touchdown in his final tune up before the playoffs. Whoever wins the AFC West between the Chargers and Broncos Sunday night should savor the moment because it’s going to be short-lived considering they’ll have to play Indy next weekend.
– I can’t believe how far the Bears’ defense has fallen since Chicago’s appearance in the Super Bowl two years ago. I mean, the Texans did whatever they wanted to the Bears and Chicago’s secondary made Matt Schaub look like Joe Theismann.
– According to the St. Petersburg Times, Buccaneers’ running back Cadillac Williams appears to have suffered a torn left patellar tendon in Tampa’s 31-24 loss to the Raiders. I don’t want to speculate before more information is released, but it’s a shame that such a promising career might be cut short.
Dominic Rhodes gets the start, but Joseph Addai is active. I would guess that this will be a 50/50 to 60/40 RBBC, with Rhodes the favorite to get most of the work. If the Colts get a lead, I’d expect Rhodes to bring Indy home. The Colts won’t want to risk Addai out there if they have a substantial lead.
The bottom line is that Rhodes is still a decent start, but Addai’s presence hampers his value somewhat.
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