Who Do You Like?- Randy Routier
This is a great weekend for the NFL. I really like all four teams that are left with three teams I expected and one surprise. Last week I admitted I was a lifelong Cowboy fan and I still am. They stunk and were defeated by a superior Viking team. Usually as a fan I personally like to cheer against teams as well as for teams. In these two championship games there is not a team I dislike. The Washington Redskins are a team that I will usually root against. I used to root against the Raiders but they have been so bad that I actually feel sorry for the team and their fans. It is bad when at the end of the season your most hyped player is your punter Shane Lechler! This year I like all four teams so I am having trouble deciding which match up I would like to see in the Super Bowl.
Let’s start with the AFC first. I am on record as I said when the season began that I like Rex Ryan as a coach. He has breathed some fresh air into the league and does not always resort to using pat coaching answers. Coaches usually say how good the opposition is and boy we are lucky to be on the same field with them. We have a lot of things to work on and, well you know how they talk. How many coaches have you heard say, I think we should be favored to win the Super Bowl! Rex said it even though his team was lucky to make the playoffs. I also like Mark Sanchez and I normally like to root for a California connection. You had to love the dig he threw at Pete Carroll and Pete’s choice to go back to the NFL. That was classic and I am happy that it has worked out for him. I did not expect the Jets to be here. Did the Chargers really give Norv Turner a contract extension?
I like the Colts and love Peyton Manning. I was for him a few years back when they won the Super Bowl, as he and Tony Dungy both were able to shed the “Can’t win the Big One” label. There was so much uncertainty coming into this season and then Peyton wins his fourth MVP. I love Dallas Clark who is from Iowa and amazing. Dallas may be headed to the Hall of Fame. I will root for a player like Pierre Garcon from Division III Mount Union College. Finally there is Austin Collie, a rookie from BYU and Oak Ridge High School in Northern California. I have to root for this player and he even took two years off to go on a mission! How many players are there that would take two years off and maybe lose a shot to play in the NFL? I like both teams but I will be going for the Colts in this one. The great thing is that if the Jets got in that makes for great story lines as well.
Over in the NFC we have the two best teams in the conference meeting up. I have supported Brett Favre before the season began. I have been amused this week in the way the talk has changed. The Favre only came back to stick it to the Packers has given way to he came back to win the Super Bowl. Do you wish sportscasters would admit when they were wrong? I know that I do. No big deal, if you were wrong so what. Most of these guys now are raving about what a season Brett has had. I have not heard that he will throw a pick and lose the game. I have not heard that he cannot make it a full season. He has had a memorable season and who knows about next year. The Vikings have never won a Super Bowl and they have great fans that deserve one.
What is not to like about the Saints? This franchise has never even been to the Super Bowl even though they have hosted it numerous times. The Super Dome has been home to some of the biggest sporting events of all time. These fans are hungry and they deserve to have their team as in the Super Bowl as well. I loved Drew Brees at Purdue and with the Chargers. What he has done in New Orleans is stunning. Sean Payton was an assistant with the Dallas Cowboys and it was my hope that he would be the head coach there. The timing was not quite right. So I guess I do not have to say how much I like Payton. If Reggie Bush has another game this week like last the Saints will win. Where has that Reggie Bush been? I thought that Reggie would be an all time great running back. Is last week the game that maybe brings him back? This one is tough but I will be pulling a little bit more for the Saints. Enjoy this weekend because sometimes one or both of these games are better than the Super Bowl.
Tags: Add new tag, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, NFL, Payton Manning, Super Bowl
January 25th, 2010 at 11:02 am
Randy,
Being from New York I understand the haughtiness of a New Yorker, but the fact that Buddy Ryan is a outlandish overweight buffoon who happened his way into the playoffs is no reason to praise him. Most New Yorkers know that this Jet team was a surprise and they surprised their opponents, next year the Jets are going to be fresh meat on the table. Next year will well find out how good the coach, the quarterback and the team really is, this year they were a aberration that everyone bought into ..yes most of NEW YORK
January 25th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Thanks for your comment Mike. I never liked Buddy Ryan either and I am sure you are talking about Rex. I think Rex is a pretty good coach and you are right, next year we will know more. I think he was a good coach with the Ravens and he did a good job this first year with the Jets. I think he had some fun with the media. So you do not think he is a good coach or you just don’t like him?
January 25th, 2010 at 8:06 pm
jaxxo if a pass play is called in a huddle it is the responsibility of the quarterback to try and progress one by one thru all of his reads. Then if there is nothing there tuck the ball and run. Some quarterbacks continue their reads on the move and do a quick read again, at the time Favre saw a read that was open. During that reread a receiver needs to work back towards the quarterback to help find an open space, make a space for the quarterback to place the ball and to break on a thrown ball quicker than the readjusted defender.In Favre’s last throw it was a mistake on his part and a mistake on a receiver that sat down in a spot and did not help him out. Both were at fault(JUST READ ON NFL.COM-by someone named-sportsnetusa)