That was a good weekend of football. We saw some really good, close games and some thoroughly dominating offensive and defensive performances leaving us with one Cinderella team, the Jets, one Cinderella story, Favre and the Vikings, and two teams that delivered after promising regular seasons.
NFC Divisional Games
The Saints made the Cardinals look bad. I felt this game had blow-out potential, I just wasn’t sure which way it would go and the Saints poor play down the stretch had me leaning away from the Saints.
Way to prove me wrong.
I loved how the Vikings completely dismantled a hot Cowboys team. The combination of good preparation, the right game plan and a veteran quarterback like Favre who can bring it all together makes Minnesota a threat to any team.
As good as their respective offenses played, much of the credit has to go to the defenses who were in lock-down mode. It will be interesting to see whether it’s the veteran savvy of Favre or the overwhelming force of Drew Brees and the other Saints stars that gets the upper hand on the defenses.
Early NFL conference final odds have the Saints favored by four points. I don’t want to under-estimate the Saints after underestimating them last week, but I’m going to have a long hard think before betting against the Vikings.
AFC Divisional Games
The Chargers-Jets game played out almost exactly as I expected, although I didn’t account for the Jets ability to wear down opposing defenses and thought they’d be up early. The Jets aren’t going to play any pretty games, or at least they aren’t going to win them, but it’s nice seeing a team buck the trend to pass-heavy offenses and succeed.
Too many coaches are like sheep always building teams that emulate the most recent Super Bowl winners when there’s more than one way to win.
I also got the Ravens-Colts game right except that the Ravens surprised me with how much they passed. When the Ravens got the early field goal, it felt like Manning just decided that there was no way the Ravens were going to outplay the Colts and immediately quelled any doubt.
The AFC Final odds favor the Colts by 7.5. It’s a lot to cover and you know the Jets will play them tough, but the Colts are better equipped to deal with the Jets than the Chargers who really didn’t match up well.
All Signs Point to Kurt Warner Retirement
Kurt Warner with his wife
Kurt Warner has not officially retired yet, but when you hear what he’s saying, you know his time is up.
“It’s the whole week,” said Warner. “The whole commitment, the ability to sustain it to your fullest, day in and day out.”
That doesn’t sound like someone who plans on working out all summer to get ready for another season.
Warner’s career, toiling from obscurity, has been an inspiration to many and I think his struggles are what make him so down-to-earth and likable.
It’s not like his career ended on entirely a sour note. His victory over the Green Bay Packers went in to the record books as the highest scoring game in NFL playoff history while that crushing hit he absorbed in the loss to New Orleans will quickly be forgotten.
Kurt Warner, good luck in whatever you choose to do next.