Well the weekend that was the NFL divisional round saw many things, including yours truly going 0-4 in his picks. That would typically be bad, but when you consider that only 1 of 4 home favorites actually won, I know that I wasn't the only one with a dismal weekend. The biggest shock to all was the complete obliteration of the Carolina Panthers at the hands of what Vegas considered to be double digit dogs; the Arizona Cardinals. Not to take anything away from their great win, but if you told me Panthers QB Jake Delhomme would turn it over 3 times I would have thought about taking the Cards. Well he turned it over 6, I say 6 times. Meanwhile "Father Time" Kurt Warner delivered another stellar performance even without having Anquan Boldin at his disposal. With the win Kurt Warner also earned $1,000,000 in incentives just for that one game. The most amazing thing to me is that even Arizona fans have no idea what's going on. You won't hear any, "We told you" coming from them because they can't believe the NFC Championship will be in Glendale, Az either.
Now on to my Chargers spew. Yes the Chargers had a great final leg of the season. Yes they beat Peyton Manning in the playoffs. Sure they lost to the better team in the Steelers. But let me ask you this Charger fan: Do you honestly feel better about the team? Do you feel there's a serious sense of direction for the future? In watching the game with Bolts fans, I noticed they all felt the same way. Norv Turner looked completely overwhelmed by the whole thing. I'm sure most would agree that coaches get a little to much credit for positive things and a little to much blame for negative things. With that being said, am I the only that believes the Chargers would still be better of with Marty Schottenheimer at the helm? He took over a crappy team and instilled a hard nosed attitude that transcended the team ultimately to a 14-2 record. The knock on Marty was that he couldn't win in the playoffs (5-13) and with a Charger team full of expectations he was fired.
The NFL is no joke. It's a man's game. The playoffs are not gimmies. While Marty is the goat, we should look deeper into it before passing such judgement on what I consider to be an excellent football coach. All of his losses in the postseason have come by 5 points or less. He also hasn't been blessed with a truly good quarterback during his playoff run. (He did have Montana in KC, but his legendary years were well passed him) Finally, Marty's coup de grace with the chargers occured in 2004. A 14-2 record, home field advantage and a first round exit to Tom Brady, Bill Bellicheat and the eventual Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots. Like I said, the NFL playoffs are no joke. Give Marty a break.
On the other side of the coaching spectrum is newly retired Tony Dungy. I respect the guy a lot as a coach and a man. All that aside, he has been given a free pass in the media. His 9-10 playoff record is respectable, but his 6 one and dones is not. Between Tampa's dominance of the NFC and Indianapolis' reign as an AFC power, Dungy went one and done often. In Tampa, he couldn't win the big one. His first year removed Tampa wins it all. Then he gets the Indy job, and handed a sure fire Hall of Fame QB in Peyton Manning. His lone Super Bowl win as coach came against Rex Grossman and the Bears. Grand total: 7-6 with Manning and a home field advantage known as the RCA dome.
All this makes me wonder. Dungy's lone Super Bowl win makes him better than Marty? Take out that run and Dungy was 5-10. Marty got burned at the stake every playoff loss. You cannot say the same for Dungy. Finally, winning the big one (Super Bowl) is the crowning achievement for an NFL career. But for those legends without rings, it haunts their status forever. Most people when putting a list together rank in terms of titles. So Dungy's 1 is better than Marty's 0. Would you rather have Trent Dilfer (1) over Dan Marino (0)? Would you build your current team around Eli Manning (1) over Drew Brees (0)? Let me put this into perspective. Nicholas Cage has won an Oscar for "Best Actor" while Clint Eastwood has not. Is Nic Cage the better actor? Please people! Football domination by one man doesnt result in a title the way Jordan did in the NBA. The Super Bowl Championship should not be the be all end all of an NFL legacy.
That's Part 1. Part 2 up tomorrow will consist of some quick thoughts on last weekend's games...
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