THE TYGRRRR EXPRESS

In 1990, The New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers were both 10-0, with a showdown two weeks away. They both got their clocks cleaned in week 11, but a pair of 10-1 teams still played one of the greatest games ever played. Several weeks later in the NFC Title game, they played a game even better than the first one.

In 1994, after several epic battles, The Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers played in the NFC Title game. Pat Summerall coolly stated, “Two weeks from now we play the Super Bowl. Three weeks from now we play the Pro Bowl. Today, we play both.” The game lived up to its billing.

In 2009, we play a game that could be better than all of them combined.

www.nfl.com

The 8-0 Indianapolis Colts are playing the 6-2 New England Patriots in Indianapolis. As Terrell Owens would say, “Get your popcorn ready.”

Forget David vs Goliath. This is Goliath vs Goliath. This is a collision course at top speed.

Tom Brady is healthy again,  and in 2007 shattered NFL quarterback records in a single year. Peyton Manning is on pace to shatter all NFL quarterback records for all time.

Coach Bill Bellichick is a cool, calm, stoic chess master. Coach Jim Caldwell, likeTony Dungy, is an even keeled, thoughtful, disciplined master of calm.

Over the last several years, these two teams have dominated the NFL, and have taken turns dominating each other.

From 2001-2004, the Patriots racked up three Super Bowl rings, often after tough, hard fought, and occasionally lucky victories over the Colts. A 6-3 battle of field goals turned into a 20-3 Patriots win in the snow. A 4 interception game by Peyton Manning led to a 24-14 playoff win for the Patriots. A season opener had Edgerrin James fumbling at the one yard line and Mike Vanderjagt missing a field goal on the last play of a game the Patriots won 27-24. The best of the bunch might have been a 31-10 Patriots lead that turned into a furious Colts rally, where four Indianapolis tries from the one yard line turned an aerial show into a goal line stand and a 38-34 Patriots win.

Then in 2005 the tide turned, and it was the Colts who racked up the wins. They went into New England on Monday Night Football and thrashed them 40-27. Another night game had them winning 27-20, again on the road.

the 2006 season brought the greatest battle of them all, the AFC Title Game. That game will be a classic 100 years from now. A Peyton Manning interception for a touchdown had the Patriots up 21-3 in Indianapolis, on the way to their 4th Super Bowl and another year of crushing questions for Dungy and Manning.

Then the Colts came back, not by Manning throwing, but by running the ball. The last drive of the first half and the first drive of the second half had the New England defense on the field a long time. The Patriots led 21-13, but the defense was exhausted. The Colts defense continued to give up yards to the Patriots as well. The game was tied at 21, 28 and 31. The Patriots led 34-31 late in the game.

With Dominic Rhodes and Jooseph Addai ramming the ball down the throats of the gassed New England defense, the Colts took the lead 38-34 with one minute left. Tom Brady, whose career has many controversial miracles, had his luck run out that day. It was he who threw the interception that sent the Patriots home, and the Colts on the way to their first Super Bowl championship.

Both of these teams in 2007 had chips on their shoulders. The Patriots were caught in a cheating scandal, and wanted to prove their victories were earned honestly. They also wanted their crown back. The Colts were angry at being seen as underdogs on their home field, even though they were 7-0 for the 3rd straight year.

The Patriots had wide receiver Randy Moss, who was seen as the last piece of the puzzle. The Colts had hard hitting defender Bob Sanders, who the Colts would not have won a Super Bowl without.

The 2007 regular season game, billed by my as Super Bowl 41 1/2, lived up to the hype. The Patriots rallied from a 20-10 deficit to beat the Colts in Indianapolis 24-20.

The Colts went 14-2 in 2007, which got overlooked by the Patriots being the first team to go 16-0. The AFC Title Game dream matchup never happened as the Colts were shocked at home in the divisional round. An even bigger shocker had the Patriots losing in the Super Bowl.

2008 saw this rivalry ever so briefly disappear when Brady went down for the season in Week 1 with a knee injury. The Patriots went 11-5 but missed the playoffs. The Colts went 12-4, and gaain somehow exited early.

Yet 2009 has both of these teams back in top form. The 8-0 Colts have struggled at home the last couple of weeks, but Peyton Manning is as ridiculous as ever. Despite being 6-2, the Patriots are every bit as hungry and talented, especially on offense.

The argument for the Colts in the past is that they played in a real division. They beat quality teams such as the Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars on the road, and soundly in some cases. That argument does not hold this year.

The Patriots played in a pathetic division in 2007 where the 1-7 New York Jets are not even bad enough for last place thanks to the 0-8 Miami Dolphins. Those teams are better, but average at best. So neither team has a tough division.

Unlike past years, this game is expected to be less of  a pinball machine than  the Greatest Show on Turf Rams played from 1999 through 2001.

Whoever wins this game will most likely host the AFC Title Game for the 2009 season. After one of them wins the Super Bowl, they can open the 2010 season with another classic against the other team.

The Colts have the home field. However, the defense of the Colts has been riddled with injuries, with standout Bob Sanders out for the season. The Colts have barely survived the last two weeks at home against average teams.

My prediction: New England Patriots 27, Indianapolis Colts 24.

This game is not a Super Bowl or a Pro Bowl. It is both.

Are you ready for some football!!!!!

Super Bowl 43 1/2…Let’s get it on!!!

eric

Chicago Bears At San Francisco 49ers

(49ers by 3, they cover)
Jacksonville Jaguars  At NY Jets

(Jets  by 7, they win but fail to cover)

Denver Broncos     At Washington Redskins

(Broncos by 3.5, they cover)
Cincinnati Bengals     At Pittsburgh Steelers

(Steelers by 7, they win but fail to cover)

Buffalo Bills    At Tennessee Titans

(Titans by 7, they win but fail to cover)
Detroit Lions     At Minnesota Vikings

(Vikings by   17, they win but fail to cover)

New Orleans Saints  At St. Louis Rams

(Saints by 13.5, they win but fail to cover)
Atlanta Falcons   At Carolina Panthers

(Falcons by 1.5, upset special, Panthers win outright)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers At Miami Dolphins

(Dolphins by 10, they cover)

Kansas City Chiefs  At Oakland Raiders

(Raiders by 2, they cover)
Seattle Seahawks  At Arizona Cardinals

(Cardinals  by  8.5, they win but fail to cover)

Philadelphia Eagles   At San Diego Chargers

(Chargers by 2, upset special, Eagles win outright)
Dallas Cowboys   At Green Bay Packers

(Cowboys by 3, they cover)
New England Patriots    At Indianapolis Colts

(Colts by 3, upset special, Patriots win outright)

Baltimore Ravens   At Cleveland Browns

(Ravens by 10.5, they win but fail to cover)

eric

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 14th, 2009 at 10:25 am and is filed under SPORTS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.