This post has nothing to do with Barack Obama. But neither did last week's, and I used this picture then too.
Speaking of last week's
predictions, ahem, I went four for four. There was one upset, Baltimore over Pittsburgh, and I called it. Just saying. To stay with last week for a moment, there was a bit of controversy over a penalty called, and then not, against Dallas in its 24-20 victory over Detroit. After admitting that I still harbored ill feelings about a pass interference call from almost 36 years ago (granted, it did occur in a Super Bowl), I won't begrudge fans of the Lions their displeasure. All I will say is, it made up for the fact that the best player on their team was suspended, and then not, for the Dallas game. Either way, the better team won, namely the team that, after an admittedly awful first quarter, dominated the scoreboard after that to the tune of 24-6.
To stay with the Cowboys, they go to Green Bay to play on—deepen your voice if you're reading aloud—the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field (a moniker coined not, as many believe, by John "The Voice of God" Facenda, but instead by ESPN's Chris Berman, although Berman typically utters it in a Facenda-esque voice) for the first time in the postseason since the 1967 Ice Bowl. How cold was that game? Here's ex-Cowboy Dan Reeves, just this week, sharing memories:
I had gotten a tooth knocked through my upper lip and it didn’t bleed. Have you ever had your lip busted where it wouldn’t bleed? That’s cold. I had to get my face mask fixed, and when I went over to the sideline and got in front of the heater, of course it started bleeding. I still have a scar where that tooth went through my upper lip that I can look at every day when I shave, and I don’t have any feeling there. So I’ve got a memory of the Ice Bowl every day. You know, the official, Norm Schachter, blew the whistle to start the game and when he pulled it off, it peeled his skin off.
This Sunday's weather
forecast is for a relatively balmy 19 degrees, with little wind, although Reeves noted that the forecast for the Ice Bowl had been for temperatures that were 32 degrees higher than what they ended up being. There are a lot of other projections that will affect the outcome of this game. How will Aaron Rodgers' strained, torn calf affect his play, in particular his mobility? According to one doctor
quoted by ESPN, "The question is whether he'll be 95 percent or 50 percent." Does Rodgers tear it even further, forcing him out of the game? We'll see. The Cowboys have serious injuries as well. Their best defender, Rolando McClain, (who barely played against the Lions) didn't practice Wednesday or Thursday, and may not play due to a concussion. A number of other defenders are equally
iffy to make it on the field Sunday against an offense as explosive as any in the league.
Who's going to win? I honestly think it's about 50-50. The health of Aaron Rodgers is really the key, although don't underestimate the importance of McClain who, if he can pass the concussion protocols and get permission to play, should be fully healthy. A moderately injured, relatively immobile Rodgers is enough of a downgrade to give Dallas a fighting chance. If Rodgers can't be effective, then Dallas should win decisively. We won't really know what Rodgers can do until kickoff. The emotional high of an amazing comeback win last week does give the Cowboys momentum, and Tony Romo, who has demonstrated that he is a great clutch quarterback, will find a way to pull out a win.
Dallas 31, Green Bay 27
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In the other NFC matchup, the defending champion Seattle Seahawks host the lowly Carolina Panthers, the only team in history to make the playoffs with a losing record, other than, interestingly enough, the 2010 Seattle Seahawks, which was the first Seattle team to feature "Beast Mode" Marshawn Lynch. The Seahawks defense is simply too strong, and Carolina's quarterback Cam Newton is too mistake-prone, despite his talents, for this to go the Panthers' way. Newton's teammates on the defensive side will give Lynch, quarterback Russell Wilson & Co. more trouble than one might think, but it won't be enough.
Seattle 16, Carolina 6
Andrew Luck has run out of it this week. I heard one commentator point out that not only does Luck have to live up to the ghost of Peyton Manning as the quarterback in Indianapolis, but now he's got to face Peyton in the flesh, in Denver, if he wants to advance to the AFC title game. Not going to happen. Luck is a truly gifted passer and field general. His teammates, on the other hand, are underwhelming at best. The Colts dropped a higher percentage of passes than any other team in the NFL save one. Just think what Luck could do with receivers like the ones Peyton has, let alone a running back like CJ Anderson (who emerged just a bit too late to save my fantasy football season). I'm sure he is.
Denver 35, Indianapolis 24
We've got another rematch in New England on Sunday, although there will be just a few more players returning from the most recent playoff game between the Ravens and Patriots than players returning from the 1967 Packers and Cowboys. The most important returning players are Tom Brady, who is just about always brilliant, and Joe Flacco, who is not much better than mediocre in the regular season, but who, when playoff time comes, plays like, well, Tom Brady. Baltimore has come into Foxboro three times in recent years during the postseason, losing only once—and that when Billy Cundiff missed a chip shot field goal with eleven seconds left in regulation that would have sent the game to overtime. Two players for New England who were not there two years ago, when a Ravens' win propelled them to the Super Bowl, will make the difference this time. Rob Gronkowski missed the 2012 AFC title game, having been knocked out the week before. Other than Brady, he is only real difference-maker on the Pats' offense, and without him, it is a middling unit at best. On defense, Darrelle Revis will shut down Flacco's best receiver on Sunday, whereas two years ago he was on the Jets' roster, and had missed most of the season after tearing an ACL (frankly, I'm not sure which is worse. Sorry, Jets fans).
New England 24, Baltimore 17