The NFC Defeats The AFC In The 2008 Pro Bowl

All I heard all week is how ESPN (of all companies) was downgrading this game and making jokes that hinted at how boring this game could be. Well, for what it was worth, it was an offensive showdown that wasn't as boring as ESPN made it seem. Granted, I understand that in an All-Star game, one generally wants to see a high-scoring offensive show, but the defenses also stepped up as well.

Making up for early sloppiness, Terrell Owens caught two touchdowns passes, including a 6-yarder from Tampa Bay's Jeff Garcia for the winning points in the NFC's comeback 42-30 victory over the AFC on Sunday.

Adrian Peterson made this Pro Bowl look easy. He ran for 2 touchdowns and 129 yards (second most in Pro Bowl history) to take home the MVP award. When he is at his best, the numbers he puts up are ridiculous. The New England Patriots better not get a hold of him.

Neither side held back the tricks, to the delight of the sellout crowd of 50,044 at Aloha Stadium. There was a fake punt, a throwback kickoff return and a handful of fourth-down gambles.

One of those was a 34-yard pass to Owens from fellow Cowboy Tony Romo that sparked the comeback. Before that huge play, Owens had a pair of ugly drops that drew boos.

He quickly turned them into cheers. Who could stay mad at Tony Romo and Terrell Owens?

What a way to cap off an incredible 2008 season of twists, surprises, victories, and defeats.

The New York Giants Advance In The Playoffs

Not one, but two upsets in the same day. Vegas must be rollin in money. Manning advanced, but not Peyton. Rather, hours after Peyton's Colts were stunned by the Chargers in an AFC divisional game, Eli Manning and the Giants ousted the NFC's top-seeded team. It appears that little brother is all grown up.

Tony Romo can go wherever he wants with Jessica Simpson now. Eli Manning and the New York Giants knocked him and the Dallas Cowboys into the offseason Sunday.

Having to wait out long, slow drives by Dallas, Manning made his few chances count, throwing two touchdown passes to Amani Toomer and getting a 1-yard touchdown run from Brandon Jacobs for a 21-17 victory that put New York into the NFC championship game for the first time since the 2000 season.

Cornerback R.W. McQuarters intercepted a pass into the end zone with 9 seconds left, ending the Cowboys' final drive and marking Romo's second straight last-minute goof to cost Dallas a playoff game. His flubbed hold of a short field goal in Seattle ended the Cowboys' season last year.

Manning is heading to his first NFC Championship Game, at Green Bay next Sunday. Manning had a much better day than his brother, Peyton, whose Indianapolis Colts were stunned by the San Diego Chargers.

This loss by the Dallas Cowboys this post-season has arguably one of the worst impacts on a team's legacy. Dallas' failure is huge, much bigger than last season's flop in Seattle when Romo botched the hold on a go-ahead field goal in the final minutes.

The Cowboys just wasted a 13-3 season, which matched the best in team history. They're the first No. 1 seed in the NFC to lose in this round since the NFL went to the 12-team playoff format in 1990. They also became the seventh team to lose a playoff game against a team they'd beaten twice in the regular season -- joining Dallas' 1998 club.

Worst of all is the extension of all the skids: Romo now 0-2 in the playoffs, coach Wade Phillips 0-4 and the team 0-for-the-postseason since winning a wild-card game in 1996. The Cowboys have dropped five games since then.

Even worse, the Cowboys might be headed into a potentially stormy offseason in the near future. Team owner Jerry Jones said Thursday he would keep Phillips regardless of what happened in the playoffs. Now that will be tested, especially with highly valued assistant coaches Jason Garrett and Tony Sparano interviewing for jobs elsewhere.

And people better not dare point to Romo's trip to Mexico last weekend with his latest celebrity girlfriend as a disruption. The Cowboys' problems this game ran a lot deeper. There were all kinds of penalties that hurt Dallas drives and helped New York's, sloppy tackling on defense and special teams, dropped passes and wasted timeouts.

More Good News For Giants: TO Game-time Decision

Terrell Owens was limping on his sprained ankle today and his status for the Dallas Cowboys' playoff game against the New York Giants next weekend is uncertain. Coach Wade Phillips stated, "It looks to me that it's going to be a game-time decision on him...He probably couldn't have played today." Owens has a high ankle sprain and was limited in a light workout earlier today. This is good news for the Giants since Owens has an NFC-high 15 touchdowns with 81 catches for 1,355 yards. If he proves to be unable to play next weekend, the Cowboys' offense will be short a key weapon for quarterback Tony Romo. This will be a huge advantage for the Giants who have a relatively weak secondary. If TO sits out, expect the Giants to blitz early in the game to force Romo to make passes to less spectacular backup receivers. This places the Giants in a strong position defensively against the offensive-powerhouse Cowboys. And if Eli Manning continues to play like he has for the last two games, expect the Giants to pull off a major upset.

Some Comments on the 2008 Pro Bowl Voting

NFC

-It's very nice to see the public give Favre (possibly) another farewell game after the season is over. I agree with voting him in as QB over Tony Romo, especially this year.

-Terrell Owens and Larry Fitzgerald should bring out the best in Favre, who isn't used to throwing to receivers of this caliber.

-The public really loves the new guy Adrian Peterson. Based on his inconsistency, I wouldn't have picked him over Westbrook, who you can always rely on.

-Did anyone not see Al Harris get burned repeatedly when he played the Cowboys. He's terrible. Good thing Terrell Owens is on his side this game. It doesn't matter though, if not T.O, then Randy Moss will exploit Al Harris.

-Watching Devin Hester return kicks is the only exciting aspect of the Bears. There isn't anybody who can do it better.

AFC

-As a Manning fan, I think he is more of a team player who would do a better job managing his team, the time, and get the overall win. However, the Pro Bowl isn't really about who wins. It's not like baseball where a win determines home field advantage. The Pro Bowl is all about flash and showing off. So in that regard, I can see why Brady would be voted the starter. This year, a Brady pass to Randy Moss is more exciting than a Manning pass to Wayne.

-How can you go wrong with the #1 receiver in the league (Moss) and the #1 receiver (Wayne) on the second best team in the league? You can't possibly lose with Moss. He'll push off the defender every time and never get flagged for it.

-How can you go wrong with the #1 tight end in the league (Anotonio Gates)

-LaDainian Tomlinson is becoming more like the LT of last year more and more and if he keeps this up he'll put Adrian Peterson in his place.

-Ed Reed and Bob Sanders is a good duo at safetys. As is Champ Bailey and Asante Samuel at cornerbacks.

The NFC Pro Bowl Team Unleashed

NFC Offense
Pos.	Name	Team
WR	Terrell Owens*	Dallas
WR	Larry Fitzgerald*	Arizona
WR	Donald Driver	Green Bay
WR	Torry Holt	St. Louis
OT	Flozell Adams*	Dallas
OT	Walter Jones*	Seattle
OT	Chris Samuels	Washington
OG	Leonard Davis*	Dallas
OG	Steve Hutchinson*	Minnesota
OG	Shawn Andrews	Philadelphia
C	Andre Gurode*	Dallas
C	Matt Birk	Minnesota
TE	Jason Witten*	Dallas
TE	Chris Cooley	Washington
QB	Brett Favre*	Green Bay
QB	Matt Hasselbeck	Seattle
QB	Tony Romo	Dallas
RB	Adrian Peterson*	Minnesota
RB	Marion Barber	Dallas
RB	Brian Westbrook	Philadelphia
FB	Tony Richardson*	Minnesota

NFC Defense
Pos.	Name	Team
DE	Aaron Kampman*	Green Bay
DE	Patrick Kerney*	Seattle
DE	Osi Umenyiora	N.Y. Giants
DT	Kevin Williams*	Minnesota
DT	Pat Williams*	Minnesota
DT	Tommie Harris	Chicago
OLB	Julian Peterson*	Seattle
OLB	DeMarcus Ware*	Dallas
OLB	Lance Briggs	Chicago
ILB	Lofa Tatupu*	Seattle
ILB	Patrick Willis	San Francisco
CB	Al Harris*	Green Bay
CB	Marcus Trufant*	Seattle
CB	Terence Newman	Dallas
FS	Sean Taylor*	Washington
FS	Ken Hamlin	Dallas
SS	Darren Sharper*	Minnesota

NFC Special Teams
Pos.	Name	Team
Punter	Andy Lee	San Francisco
Kicker	Nick Folk	Dallas
Kick returner	Devin Hester	Chicago
Special Teamer	Brendon Ayanbadejo	Chicago

* = Starter

My Thoughts On The Packers-Cowboys Game

First, I have no idea why a game of this enormous magnitude and popularity was seen on the NFL Network instead of a Sunday or Monday night football game. Not everyone has the NFL network. The NFL doesn't mind showing the Patriots win for the third Sunday or Monday night in a row (which gets boring after awhile), but they don't show a game that matters more and has major implications

Why do I emphasize the Packers-Cowboys game matters so greatly? Because the Dallas Cowboys have finally ended the debate over who is the best team in the NFC and most likely won home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The world already knows how good the Patriots are and we don't need to see that every week.

I did originally pick the Packers to win. However, if I could of foresaw Favre getting injured in just the 2nd quarter of play, I would have easily picked the Cowboys. Favre was hit hard while throwing a pass that was intercepted in the second quarter, leaving his status for Green Bay's next game against Oakland on Dec. 9 and his NFL-record run of 249 straight starts in question.

The Packers lost to the Cowboys 37-27, though Aaron Rodgers did a great job backing up Favre with 201 yards and his first career touchdown on short notice.

Al Harris has to be the worst cornerback I've watched play in a while. He looked as if he didn't have a clue where he was. The Packers picked on him all night, especially Terrell Owens, who blew right by the guy almost every time for 156 yards and a touchdown. Terrell Owens is equally as talented as Randy Moss.

Tony Romo was impressive as usual with 309 yards and 4 TDs in a game which clinched a playoff berth for the Cowboys. These two teams will meet again in the playoffs for the NFC Championship, but after watching the Packers play yesterday, even with a healthy Favre, they still won't be able to top the Cowboys.

My Interpretation of Week 9 in the NFL

At this point we are at the midway point of the NFL season. Allow me to recap the games in Week 9 and discuss where some of the highlight and disappointing teams stand so far:

Green Bay 33 def. Kansas City 22 - This was a no brainer. Kansas City isn't going to make a run for anything and Larry Johnson is basically non-existent. I am, however, impressed by the Packers this year. They have proven to be the real deal and I look forward to the NFC matchup of the Packers Vs. Cowboys. Favre wants to go out with a bang.

Detroit 44 slaughtered Denver 7 - Denver just doesn't have it anymore. For years they were a dominant team. Now, they lack the talent offensively and defensively. Detroit, on the other hand, is convincing more and more that they aren't a joke. I'm still not sold, but Kitna did promise 10 wins at the beginning of the season.

Buffalo 33 def. Cincinnati 21 - Just a meaningless game. The Bengals are another team, like the Broncos, who should be good, but just aren't. As for the bills, its nice to seem them with a .500 record. However, when you play in the same division as the Patriots, no record will really get you a division title.

Atlanta 20 def. San Francisco 16 - Another meaningless game. Its nice to see Harrington get a win.

Tennessee 20 def. Carolina 7 - Vince Young may not be a terrific QB, but unlike many mobile QBs that have come and gone, his team and him find a way to win. Watch out for the Titans in the playoffs.

Tampa Bay 17 def. Arizona 10 - I had no idea Tampa Bay had a winning record. Garcia has yet to throw an interception. He is even more careful with the ball than many of the other top QBs. As for the Cardinals, they are hopeless yet again. The acquisition of James and the Leinart hype was a bust.

Washington 23 upset Jets 20 - I don't recall who was favored in this game, but in my book the Jets were upset. Why? Because yet again, they had the lead going into the fourth quarter, and st it. The Jets have to be one of the most aggravating teams in football. They are not a terrible team, but they just can't seem to hold onto their leads. As for Washington, they are the real deal this year. Sadly, though, the Cowboys and Giants will remain ahead of them in their division.

New Orleans 41 slaughtered Jacksonville 24 - I will admit I am speaking with a bias, but I HATE THE SAINTS! Drew Brees ruined my fantasy team by playing horrible the first 5 weeks of football and now I'm supposed to be convinced that he is back to his MVP form just because he threw almost 450 yards in one game? I'm supposed to be convinced the Saints are back to normal now that Reggie Bush can run in the right direction? Let them score over 40 points 2 more weeks in a row and then I'll tell you I'm convinced. I still wouldn't pick Brees back up on my fantasy team though.

Minnesota 35 shocked San Diego 17 - I have a lot to say about this one. First, the Chargers annoy me because they went from a dominating team to a very inconsistent team. Rivers is overrated and LT (if that's who he is these days) will do decent one week and then poorly the next week. How does the leader in TDs in a single season go from being so good to so bad? He got showed up by a rookie, which leads to my next point. Where did Peterson come from? Did the Vikings realize this talent who they had hibernating. If they would have used Peterson constantly from week 1, I would make an argument that they could be undefeated at this point. Now, they are 3-5 and its a little too late to make a run. But, watch out for them next year.

Cleveland 33 squeaked by Seattle 30 - What an exciting division. Cleveland is finally the real deal this year. Derek Anderson has proved to be good. I had the Ravens making a Wild Card, but having realized the Ravens' offense can't score to save their lives, it wouldn't surprise me if the Browns replaced their spot. This was a hard fought game as Cleveland drove down the field in OT to win by a field goal. If I could ask Seattle one question, I would ask them about the whereabouts of Sean Alexander. Is he even playing anymore?

Houston 24 def. Oakland 17 - A meaningless game. My only comment is the addition of Matt Schaub was a nice move. As David Carr proved on the Panthers, no offensive line could help him from not getting sacked.

New England 24 squeaked by Colts 20 - The reason I say squeaked by, other than the scoring being close, is that the Colts were clearly the dominating team going into the fourth quarter. In fact, I can't recall a time when the Colts were leading the Patriots going into halftime. These two teams have build such a rivalry equivalent to the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox that even those who aren't football fans could appreciate watching these two teams play. Though nothing made me happier than watching the cheating, cocky, arrogant Brady throw interceptions and eat grass (a very rare thing to see), in the end the Patriots proved to be slightly better than the Colts. However, based on how close the score was and that the Patriots did not blow the Colts out of the water, the Colts proved to the world that the Patriots have a little potential to be exploited and beaten when they play a very good team. Now, the downside is the Patriots will most likely go undefeated. The positive news is the Colts will meet them again in the playoffs. If the Colts lose there, then they could always go out and buy the best available receivers, steal signals and radio them to Manning through his helmet, or whatever means to cheat just as the Patriots did. I apologize for speaking with a bias, but this team could get all the rings in the world, but I will always distrust Brady and Belichick.

Dallas 38 Slaughtered Eagles 17 - I stopped watching this game at half. Bottom line: Dallas is the dominant team in the NFC. No team can nearly come close except the Packers. Its as if Dallas is a college team and all the other teams in the NFC are high school teams. Dallas will be in the Super Bowl, but can not contend with the heavy-hitters in the AFC.

There you have it. I'm spent. Oh yea, as for Monday Night, its a must win for the Ravens to make it a 3-way tie in that division. Will it happen? Of course not. Steelers have too much offense while the once scary Ravens defense is nothing more than a crow left at the murder.