I’d sell my soul to win The Bowl

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I’d sell my soul to win The Bowl

Sports

Friday, 08 January 2010 19:00

Ken Jackson
Sports Writer
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It’s playoff time and I’m ready to go, well-rested and free from writer’s block. But, in my last column of the regular season, I stopped writing about a third of the way through and brought on an intern from Valencia Community College to finish up.
Didn’t matter, it was meaningless, written after I locked up my chance to pick the playoff games. It may not have been the best column of the year, so I’m not 16-0 or even close. But, trust me, I’m peaking at the right time.
It’s within your right to be outraged or cheated ... but deal with it.
The pursuit of perfection these days replaced health care as the public outrage in Indianapolis. “Gotta chase the ‘72 Dolphins! Give those old guys something to think about!”
Trust me, those guys are thinking about stuff — like their next doctor’s appointment. Leave Don Shula and Mercury Morris alone and start getting excited about winning the Super Bowl.
To do it, your team must be healthy across the board. Once games become meaningless for seeding, you pull back the reigns. It’s common sense.
Yes, the Colts are one of four teams sitting back this week on a bye. You really think Peyton Manning’s going to be rusty next week not having played meaningful ball for nearly a month?
He’ll be back next week, and he’ll have his “edge.” If having two weeks off makes him lose the edge, then he wouldn’t already have one trophy, and he won’t be playing for another next month.
The guy is Peyton-stinkin’-Manning. He just wins. But he’s got to be healthy to do it. How many players go through the season never showing up on the injury report? Every game, every play, is a risk.
The Colts and Cincinnati Bengals admittedly didn’t put their best winning foot forward, and lost to the New York Jets, who are a playoff team today because they faced two teams at the end who didn’t try to win. No, that’s your opinion.
The Jets will play today because they won their last two games. They were lucky against opponents in a unique position, but isn’t it better to be lucky than good, anyway?
The Patriots, guaranteed a division title and a first-round home game, stuck with their starters in Sunday’s schlock-fest with Houston. Now Tom Brady is feeling 16 games worth of aches, and won’t have Wes Welker to throw to over the middle. The guy with 320 catches over the last three seasons will be as useful to the Patriots this weekend as Steve Grogan and Irving Fryar.
You don’t have to go undefeated to win the Super Bowl, but you have to win the Super Bowl, and the games leading up to it, to be undefeated. Isn’t it scary when you feel like you “have to” do something?
16-0 means nothing unless it becomes 19-0. In this day of competitive balance in the NFL, it’s next to impossible. Forget about trying to do that to “cement your place in football history.” Reputation is like the wind, and worth about as much.
Do you want to see your team win games, or championships? I’m an Eagles fan in an office with Steelers, Cowboys, Colts and Bucs fans. That’s 14 Super Bowls for them, zero for me. I’d sell my soul — and yours and your kid’s — to join that club.
Instead, I’m rattling off the Mighty News-Gazette Top 13 Plan B Guys:
1. Jim Sorgi (Indy’s December QB du jour). 2. Vince Young. 3. Steve Young. 4. Matt Leinart. 5. Kurt Warner, for that matter. 6. Any Raiders QB who isn’t Jamarcus Russell. 7. Whoever the Lions put at QB after the starter gets beat up. 8. John Brantley. 9. E.J. Manuel. 10. The guy who replaced Matt Groethe. 11. Ruffin McNeill (not a player; he came off the bench to coach Texas Tech to a bowl win). 12. Tom Brady (anybody remember Drew Bledsoe?) 13. Tom’s backup. (Anybody know his name?)
Now for my solid playoff picks ...
N.Y. Jets at Cincinnati (-2.5): Isn’t this Carson Palmer’s first playoff game since the Steelers took his knee out about four years ago? And aren’t the Jets countering with a rookie QB? Maybe Ken O’Brien can step in. Bengals, 21-17.
Philadelphia at Dallas (-4): Tony Romo took every Cowboys snap. He must be tired. And after last week, the Eagles are mad. I mean maaaaaad. My Eagles, 23-21.
Baltimore at New England (-3.5): We know the Pats are banged up. The Ravens beat the Raiders to get in, which is like having an off week. Watch this: Quoth the Ravens ... win 20-16.
Green Bay at Arizona (-1.5): The third “deja-vu” game. So something has to have happened before. Pack, 31-21.
Next month, it’s Peyton’s Colts 28, Favre’s Vikings 21 for the whole enchilada.
Rick Pedone says: The Pokes by 4, the Pats by 1, and the Super Bowl will go just the way I predicted: San Diego 28, Dallas 24. Of course, I picked that in 2008.
Brian “Big Man” McBride’s Super Sniffer Upset Special (He’s won three in a row!): J-E-T-S by 4.
Last week: Eagle of Hope (6-3, 101-54) still trails Sullen Steel Skull (6-3, 102-53).