QUOTE: “Serendipity. Look for something, find something else and realize that what you've found is more suited to your needs than what you thought you were looking for.” -- Lawrence Block
An overtime game in New Orleans and a tight game for 3½ quarters in Indy -- Championship Sunday did not disappoint. The Jets played their hearts out, but at the end of the day, the Colts’ “other” players were the difference. Of course, the man who made the biggest difference was Peyton Manning, who once again made throws unlike any I have ever seen. His throw to Austin Collie down the seam was amazing and might rank in my top five of all time. When he let it go, from my view point, I thought it was a pick, but somehow the ball landed softly into Collie’s hands. From that point on, Manning and the Colts offense were simply unstoppable.
The second game was exactly what I thought it would be in terms of both teams’ offenses moving the ball up and down the field, and whoever had the ball last might win (more about that later). However, the best prediction of the day came from Jim Nantz of CBS in the middle of the third quarter. Having to stay over in Indy, I was invited by Lance Barrow, the coordinating producer of the NFL on CBS, to join their entire crew to watch the second game in their hotel. Being around the CBS family is always fun for me, as I started my TV career with them in 1999, and they have always be kind to me ever since.
In this setting, Nantz is in his element, offering commentary along with very hilarious entertainment. Having a sense of the moment is one of his many strengths (yes, he’s an even nicer in person than he appears on TV), and midway through the third quarter, “Nantzerdamus,” as we once called him back in ‘99, proclaims Favre will throw an interception, forcing the game to overtime, and the Saints will win the toss, then march down the field for the game winner. Maybe it appears to be a lucky statement, but having known Jim for some time, this was not luck – it was vintage Nantz.
The game in New Orleans ends, and right away we’re on Favre watch to see whether he’ll be back next year at the tender age of 41. Favre far exceed my expectations with his play in 2009. For a 40-year-old without training camp and without an offseason of training, he had one of his best seasons in a career of great seasons. The poor pass at the end of the game might be the last in his NFL career, and it was certainly costly in the game, but others will share the burden of this loss.
Twelve men in the huddle? Are you kidding me? Not challenging the Pierre Thomas touchdown, getting conservative when you have a first-and-10 at the Saints’ 33, knowing a 50-yard field goal is a little risky considering all the pressure of the moment. Some readers may say I’m too hard on Brad Childress, the head coach of the Vikings, but in reality, this loss is proof that he’s not a good game manager. No, it wasn’t his fault that his team fumbled five times, but when the game is on the line, Childress must be able to make the right call at the right time and not get called for 12 men in the huddle. Should Favre have thrown away the ball? Sure. But should the Vikings have been in that situation? No. The two very conservative runs before the interception are what bother me and should bother the entire Viking nation.
The two No. 1 seeds and two of the best offenses advance to Super Bowl XLIV. This should make it a great game to watch and a great game to break down the next two weeks. Championship weekend did not disappoint, and based on these two teams’ performances, the Super Bowl won’t, either. Congratulations to the Colts and Saints for jobs well done.
Follow me on Twitter: michaelombardi
41 years and counting, Yahoo Dave, 41 years.......
While it's true that if you had to pick one play at the end of the Vikings/Saints game, it would be the Favre pick, it is absolutely imperative that people look at the previous three plays (two running plays and 12-men penalty). What a joke, Childress is! I think I blame Favre more for not audibling out of those run plays. For a moment, I thought Childress was under the assumption that a 50yd fieldgoal is a chip shot! Not ever, and especially not in THESE playoffs!
With that being said, the Saints would have been embarrassed to have lost to a team that turned the ball over five times. I expect that the extra week will help the Saints, but the way Peyton looked in that second half - wow, the Colts look pretty intimidating.
Mike agreed. Peyton proved to me that he is the best to ever play this game. I say this even as a bronco die hard I love elway but the things peyton did to the #1 D was scary
As a certain radio pundit whose last name also happens to be the capital of Italy might say: "Phenomenal. Ridiculous."
I’m not letting Favre off the hook for that terrible interception but I agree 100% about how poorly Childress and company handled that last sequence. How on earth do you come out of a timeout and get flagged for 12 men on the field? That’s embarrassing in preseason and they did it in the biggest moment of the season! The conservative play calls bothered me big time too, the passing game was moving it at will. I feel for the Vikings fan, if that happened to my team, that sequence of plays alone would have been enough to take a few years off my life.
Mike...u summed it up...Peyton just too good..the bertter team won. The collie throw was insane...had him covered with safety help and manning made the perfect throw....hes the best ever
Favre should stick to playing in those Wrangler commercials - picks or completions, who can tell?
Yahoodave, a very gracious note from you. When Bobby Jones saw Jack Nicklaus completely dominate The Masters in 1965, he said, "He plays a game with which I am not familiar." So too with Peyton. It's as though the laws of physics sort of suspend themselves when he's playing at his very peak.
I think you might be a bit hard on Childress and not hard enough on Favre. Eating up the clock, minimizing the chances of a turnover, and getting in range of a veteran kicker who was hitting 52 yards consistently in warmups seemed a pretty good idea. And the rollout right seemed a pretty good call. Favre could have thrown it away or he could have run to make the kick closer, but -- gunslinger until the very end -- he threw the pass everybody tells you never, ever, ever to throw. You'd like to think that he was telling himself coming out of the huddle, "For crying out loud, Brett, don't throw a pick. Anything but a pick." But... no.
So Nantz predicted Favre would throw a horrible, game-deciding INT? I'm expecting you to give me props tomorrow as I predict the sun will rise in the east.
This year, Favre and Childress are intertwined. Kind of the Felix (Childress) and Oscar (Favre) of the NFL. The running plays, we have seen coaches go conservative before. The Vikings are good enough to have picked up at least a few more yards. The 12 men, no excuse for that. But even with that penalty there had to be better options for Favre. It was unlikely that in his battered state that he was going to pick up ten yards but maybe he gets five to eight. He had a guy standing on the 30 yard line at the sideline, didn't see him and threw it to the one guy who had coverage converging fast upon him.
We have seen this act before. In 2003 against the Eagles, in 2007 against the Giants and now this. For a guy like him to concentrate and play disciplined all year only to revert to his natural instincts ( with the same results) isn't sad - just careless.
As for Chilly - You live by the Favre, You die by the Favre
Are you serious? How can you title something, "Best Offenses Adavance", when the Viking outgained the Saints by 200+ yards? Yeah, the Saints are a good offense and for sure Childress is a terrible game manager but...really, that is just terrible headline writing or terrible analysis. The Vikes would have won by twenty had they not put the ball on the ground.
watching the indy game you felt that the colts were figuring out the jets coverage and starting to pick them apart. peyton is definitely one of the best ever. if he continues to play like that in the big game he has to be considered in the talks of the best ever, but he still has some way to go.
is it just me or were there some homer calls for the saints? i looked at the pass interference call a few times on a 120" screen in high def and couldn't see contact that would warrant a call. and the play on 4th down was a stop. the helmet on the ball knocked it loose and when he regained possession it was short. and then the call where the receiver came down bobbling the ball and the ball hits the ground. tough calls. oh, and that blatant hit to the back of the legs. pushed or not (which really had no affect on him hitting him low), a hit to the back of the legs is a penalty, yet the vikings were called for holding. poor reffing. if i was a vikings fan i would have a tough time swallowing those calls.
I thought the golf quote was Jack Nickolson seeing Tiger Woods in a casino saying "He plays a game with which I am not familiar."
when peyton can beat u with austin collie and pierre garcon...u just tip your hat..... hes in another league..jets played retty well...but needed to play game of their life to beat peyton yesterday..
Manning was incredible indeed, congrats to the Colts.
Sanchez played very well, and Jet fans got to watch him grow up during this playoff run. The future looks bright.
Not sure predicting Favre throwing game changing interception qualifies one as Nostradamus. No different then me saying Kobe goes for 30 tonight..
I agree with Mike on the two run plays. 51 yards is not automatic and leaves no room for error. Once they were called for the 12 men, the drive was doomed. call the slip screen to Harvin on 1st or 2nd down and try to have him break one.
Yeah, I disagree with the headline. But the Saints were the better team. As soon as we put the ball down the 100th time of the game like in the 3rd qtr, I thought geez... we don't deserve this game. Inexcusable. I don't blame the refs or the D or even Favre. Yeah, favre should have ran that and set up about a 48 or 49 fg attempt. But all those hits he took. I dont blame him. I blame ap.
As bad - and some would say, predictable - as the Favre pick was, the real WTF? moment for me was when All Day fumbled in the red zone after Bush's muff. If that doesn't happen are we even talking about Favre's throw? I don't know, but I do know this: unless Favre is going after George Blanda's record of playing till he was 49, the Vikes better be a lot more worried about their featured back's propensity for giving the ball and games away.
On a cold night in November at Soldier Field the Vikes were going for the win in OT when AP fumbled away their chance at home field advantage.
Sure, the Vikings had more yards but they didn't take care of the ball. They were not the best offense on the field.
Ask AD and Favre which set of stats they would rather have and they would take the Saints with no turnovers.
Dorkbardi, You and the NFL are a fraud. NFL games outcomes are pre-determined, just like the WWE. The NFL are reverse racists. I wish you and the NFL would just come clean, and admit that the NFL is an entertainment orgainzation, and not competitive sports. Everyone knows the NFL/WWE wanted the Aints to win because of Katrina, just come clean and admit it.
Michael, if you were calling plays in a game or managing a game, I can assure you that not all plays would work the way you called / planned those. That's why they play the games. Chilly may have made a few mistakes, but they could have won the game regardless of those mistakes. the running play a few plays before with Taylor running for 14 yards worked. Ok, the next 2 did not. But they were in a position to make the play and win the game. The call to roll Favre out to the right was brilliant. That was exactly the situation they got him for. Big play in a big game. He had three options to win or at least keep him team alive: 1) Throw to the wide open receiver on the right sideline at the 30. He even had a few more yards to run, but the worst case would have been a 48 yard field goal try 2) Run at least 3-4 yards and set up a manageable field goal try. He had room to run 3) Throw it away and let Longwell attempt the kick with time expiring, the Saints would not have gotten the ball back in reglar time. But he did the one thing that a QB cannot do, throw and INT in this situation, across his body. But of course, it cannot be Favre's fault. It never is, no matter how many bone headed, ill advised throws he'll make. It's only the fault of incompetent coaches, or teammates who fumble, or whatever. Maybe it's the illuminati's fault. But never Brett's. When the Packers won the SB, defense and special teams were both #1 in the rankings. The offense was not. So I am not sure the Packers won back then because of him. They won because of the defense and the MVP of the SB, Desmond Howard.
I'm not a Vikes or Saints fan, but I have to ask this: why does the billion-dollar NFL still allow the outcome of games to be affected by amateur officiating? The refs. were wildly inconsistent throughout the NFC game--several calls should have just never been made (an early roughing-the-passer against NO, the phantom pass interference against MIN in OT). Wasn't Pete Morelli and his crew the same bunch responsible for that horrendous call (denying a Polumalu interception) against Pittsburgh when they upset Indianapolis a few years ago?
Jeez trojan3z3, lighten up on the name calling.
If the NFL wanted to determine who would be in the Super Bowl the Manning vs. Favre matchup would have been a dream come true.
If the Saints had to go into overtime with the Vikings while the Vikings coughed up the ball 6 times, Manning should eat them alive. Mn. put up over 400 yds. against the Saints----SB could be over by half time and have a low audience rating. Top offense but no defense.
Uh Trojan3z3, how are you fixed for tin foil? Remember: it's not paranoia if they REALLY are following you. In those black helicopters. The ones you can't hear.
Once again Green Bay fans prove that bashing Favre is the most exciting thing to do in their fair city. It's the gift that keeps on giving.
Peter, give me a break. Do you think the Vikes are even in that game if T-Jack or Sage Throwsandfalls are QBing?
As a Bears fan, I used to hate him more than you all do now. But I managed to move on from that, just like I moved on from the girl who dumped me in the 11th grade and I'm sure you can too. You have a good team with a great QB. Be happy and stop the "i told you so's" because it's just getting boring.
And remember, no one is giving Favre, or A.P., a pass. They will tell you themselves - they literally threw and fumbled the game away.
One more thing Peter. Favre was in a three year MVP run when the Packs went to two SBs. I'm pretty sure he played a big role in getting there and winning one. What you're saying is just more boring piling on. Bash the guy if you must, and it seems like you must, like all TRUE Packer fans. But don't try to sell us that crap.
Surprising that Mike Lombardi (guy was fired from the Raiders) has something negative to say about the Vikings. Mike predicted that the Vikings would finish 3rd in the NFC North in the preseason. He's got a problem with the Vikings and Childress, so anything he says is completed biased.
As far as the refs in the Viking game go - I've seen worse calls. These were at least close plays. Not conclusive evidence to overturn. Refs have to make those same split-second decisions players and coaches do with the championship on the line. For conspiracy theorists - the Favre/Manning Super Bowl would make more money for the league and the media - so drop that.
Sean Payton went into his shell as bad as Chilly did. In the beginning he was trying gadget runs on third downs instead of rhythm passes. Toward the end he wouldn't pass on first down (like the Ravens). And from the 4th quarter on he seemed to be out of ideas on how to attack Viking defense. Game was too big for him.
@Bob K - I am not sure whether you have seen every Packers game in the last 20 years, I have. What I can tell you for sure is that the single greatest impact during the SB year for the Packers came from Reggie White. Just because a team has the MVP does not mean they win the SB. Yes, he had a lot of hand during the SB year. Not denying that. I never liked him as the Packers QB, and that was even during those years. Which put me into the minority of all Packers fans. I am not piling on. I don't care what happened during the last 2 years. All I want to point out is that he has received more love from media and fans than anybody else ever to play football. He has won 1 SB and played in one other. At the same time, as a Packers fan, I can tell you of 3 critical mistakes that prevented his teams from going to the SB: 94/95 NFC championship game, Cowboys - Packers, 7 mins to play, Packers down 4. Favre throws a horrible INT, just as they were about to go ahead. 03/04 Philly - Packers. Horrible INT on that ill-advised OT throw to Javon Walker. Philly practically in field goal range and puts the game away. 07 NFC Championship game. Ill advised throw in OT against the Giants to the only receiver who is covered...
I have moved on, just want to point out that the game yesterday would have been won if Favre does not make a crucial mistake with 19 seconds to go. What exactly is wrong with that statement?
I'm a Bengals fan, so I watched the Vikings/Saints game knowing I would be happy with either team in the SB. If anything, I was pulling for the Saints since they had never been to the big dance before, but I have to agree with dale j and PR. The officiating in the overtime period was a complete joke. The refs refused to overturn any of their on-the-field calls despite making all the viewers sit through a replay review after EVERY play, and they got every one of those calls wrong.
It was obvious to anyone with eyes that Pierre Thomas bobbled the ball in the air on the 4th down play, and didn't have the 1st when he re-secured it. Unless the turf is now a part of the body, the ball over the middle to Meachem or Henderson (I can't remember which) was never secured. The phantom pass intereference call should have never been called in a game of this magnitude, and I can't believe the ref was able to announce the call with a straight face. I guess all the Saints receivers had to do was have Brees throw somewhere vaguely near them, then fall down, and they would get the call. It was particularly bad considering the number of blatant PI calls earlier in the game by both teams that were no-calls.
I agree that the Vikes did not deserve to win the game, and I'm actually happy to see Brees get a shot at a championship, but this SB is tainted thanks to the refs.
OK Peter you make some good points. Glad you have moved on.
One last point - and this time I mean it - there's no guarantee the Vikes win if he doesn't throw that pick. I still think the most critical turnover of the game was Peterson's fumble before the half. You have to think the Vikes get at least three there on a chip shot FG.
But all turnovers suck. I know. Jay Cutler is my QB. I'm pretty sure we would have won at least one game from you guys if not for his four picks in game one. Well, that and the total breakdown on Rogers TD pass at the end.
Mike, this was a predictable article. I told my brother that all you'd do was bash Chilly and Favre, can I be called Nostradomas? Chilly outcoached Sean Payton in yesterday's game, yet you're only concerned with how terrible he was. Chilly wasn't the one who fumbled 6 times. He wasn't the one who threw 2 stupid ill-advised INTS. He called a GREAT game and deserved to win if his team executed it. Quit you hating on him. I don't even blame him for being conservative at the end considering they were well within Longwell's range and had been having trouble holding onto the ball the entire second half.
The Vikings may have a couple of old guys on their team, but last night they showed their youth. The situation was too big for a few of them, but Chilly had one of the best games of his career as a coach and if you can't recognize that then you are just a hater.
Not sure why I read Lombardi. Articles are predictable and inaccurate ( He hates chilly and the Vikes.). I take Longwell from 45-50 everytime. Cause he will hit it in a dome 8-9 times out of 10. BTW, when did the Saints move it up and down the field? 230 yds in 60 mins??? Say what you want, Sean Payton and his staff were outcoached/ outschemed on both sides of the ball. I admit I am bitter, but I dont feel like the best team won. The game shoud never have come down to officiating, but it did, and as always the Refs got multiple calls wrong. Congrats to the Saints and good luck, but you know you got away with one. Tough day to be a Vikes fan. Lombardi, why havent you been hired in a front office again? just curious. You were s canned from the raiders? That should be good resume builder.
Not sure why I read Lombardi. Articles are predictable and inaccurate ( He hates chilly and the Vikes.). I take Longwell from 45-50 everytime. Cause he will hit it in a dome 8-9 times out of 10. BTW, when did the Saints move it up and down the field? 230 yds in 60 mins??? Say what you want, Sean Payton and his staff were outcoached/ outschemed on both sides of the ball. I admit I am bitter, but I dont feel like the best team won. The game shoud never have come down to officiating, but it did, and as always the Refs got multiple calls wrong. Congrats to the Saints and good luck, but you know you got away with one. Tough day to be a Vikes fan. Lombardi, why havent you been hired in a front office again? just curious. You were s canned from the raiders? That should be good resume builder.
If congress can investigate pro sports for steroid use, why can't it investigate the NFL for fixing and minipulating games? Too me, this is much worse. I'm so sick of seeing teams, year after year, get screwed because of refs determining outcomes of games. Everyone should boycott the NFL until it gets cleaned up through investigation, or comes out and admits it is a entertainment business, like the WWE, not a competitive sports league.
Holy crap...I just realized. trojan is Arlen Specter!
Frasier had a team with one cornerback on its best day get to the Championship. Favre helped that greatly, those passes to Shiancoe and Rice were getting there. For a time in the second half, when Hutch got banged up, they had to run for the fact of protection issues. When the team found that groove they should have rode it out on the passing game.
Fumbles are contagious!
The Vikes D line was getting mauled, credit Brees moving laterally enough to let his blockers stay on those fierce pass rushers.
Holy Crap! I just realized. Yojimbo is Californian, liberal, homo-sexual.
I'm with Jim on this one. I usually like Lombardi's analysis and agree that Childress is an atrocious gameday coach, but I'm sorry, that is completely unwarranted in this case. In fact, I felt the game plans for both the Dallas and New Orleans games were excellent. The Vikings use short passing early to set up the run in the second half perfectly and would have rolled if they hadn't started laying the ball on the turf. Defensively, I don't know what more you could ask for. How can you make the statement both teams went up and down the field when the saints went 3 and out 6 times and produced less than 240 yards in regulation? Idiotic. Minnesota's defense controlled that game and was let down by turnovers and special teams. I don't see anyway you can look at that game and not say that the Vikings staff badly out coached the Saints.
Sure, you CAN blame Favre, but the line of scrimmage on the interception play was the 38, meaning an incomplete pass requires a 55 yard field goal, which is a 50/50 proposition at best. It was third-down, so I can't exactly blame Favre for trying to make a play. I freely admit he tried to make a completely boneheaded play throwing across his body into the middle of the field, but his primary decision-making can't really be faulted. And you'll excuse me if I can't blame the 40 year old QB with a bum ankle for not trying to run for better FG position.
On the other hand, the three prior plays before Chilly decided to play run game netted gains of 10, 20, and 14 yards. And the Vikings had been moving the ball pretty much at will all game. I don't have a problem with the idea of running some clock once you get in reasonable field goal range, BUT THE VIKINGS WERE NOT IN REASONABLE FIELD GOAL RANGE. Even before the five yard penalty, it was still a 50 yard field goal. I agree with Lombardi, running the ball into the line twice in that situation was the act of a scared and/or overmatched coach. He needed at least 15 more yards before playing that hand.
Also, I want to go after Lombardi for two things he said.
1. The end of game management, this is classic play-the-result football. That time and sequence dictated a MINIMUM of 2 runs to ensure that the Saints didn't get the ball back. Considering that the running game had been effective in the second half and the Saints weak D-front, why not on first and second down? A decent gain on either not only gets you into reasonable range (about 45 yards), it gives you the chance to run again on 3rd down, minimize risk, and potentially end up with about a 40 yarder. Given the turnover problems to that point, Favre's injury, the quality of your kicker, and the dome, it wasn't overly conservative to run twice. The mistakes were the penalty and the poor decision by favre.
2. Not challenging the Pierre Thomas touchdown. I'm surprised because I generally find Lombardi to be a quality clock/situation manager. But to use a challenge in that spot? The Saints we're looking at 2nd and goal at the 1/2 yard line two minutes into the 3rd quarter. What were the odds the Saints weren't getting in anyways? The overtime illustrates why you save your challenges. What if the overtime sequence had taken place with 5 minutes to go in the 4th quarter? Why risk only having one more challenge at that point? It would only have been useful to challenge the Thomas touchdown if you were early in the 4th quarter and still had a challenge left or it was just outside the two minute warning.
Also, I want to go after Lombardi for two things he said.
1. The end of game management, this is classic play-the-result football. That time and sequence dictated a MINIMUM of 2 runs to ensure that the Saints didn't get the ball back. Considering that the running game had been effective in the second half and the Saints weak D-front, why not on first and second down? A decent gain on either not only gets you into reasonable range (about 45 yards), it gives you the chance to run again on 3rd down, minimize risk, and potentially end up with about a 40 yarder. Given the turnover problems to that point, Favre's injury, the quality of your kicker, and the dome, it wasn't overly conservative to run twice. The mistakes were the penalty and the poor decision by favre.
2. Not challenging the Pierre Thomas touchdown. I'm surprised because I generally find Lombardi to be a quality clock/situation manager. But to use a challenge in that spot? The Saints we're looking at 2nd and goal at the 1/2 yard line two minutes into the 3rd quarter. What were the odds the Saints weren't getting in anyways? The overtime illustrates why you save your challenges. What if the overtime sequence had taken place with 5 minutes to go in the 4th quarter? Why risk only having one more challenge at that point? It would only have been useful to challenge the Thomas touchdown if you were early in the 4th quarter and still had a challenge left or it was just outside the two minute warning.
Last bastion of the ignorant. You can't attack my knowledge, so you try to call me names. I'm not the one posting ignorant, unsupported suppositions.
So tell us again how Favre has never lost to the Saints (he's 1-3 now in the 21st century.)
Contrary to what a lot of Viking fans have said, I don't think Childress has been bashed hard enough (by Mike and others) for his end-of-game management. The Vikings got first down on the 33 with 1:06 to go, and the Saints had just used their last time out. Even in a dome, a 50 yard FG attempt is maybe, what, 50-50? You've got to try to get the FG at least inside 40 yards before you can start taking it for granted. I mean, what if you get a fluke penalty or something -- oh wait, that's exactly what happened! II don't buy for a second that Childress was just thinking about getting yards when he chose two runs -- he was playing for the field goal. In those two plays, running the ball and without using a hurry-up, Childress let the clock run all the way down to 19 seconds. And it was totally unnecessary in that situation. The Saints had no time-outs left, so if they got closer, they could always have used a third-down play (or a first down if they had gotten one) to run the clock down to almost nothing before kicking the FG. It was ridiculous to take the foot off the pedal when they were still that far out.
Personally, I'm not unhappy to see Farve knife the Vikings in the back at the last second the way he did the Pack two years ago (and as a Giant fan, I was absolutely delighted about that!), but I do feel bad for him that Childress put him in that desperate position in the first place -- by taking the ball out of his hands on first and second downs, and then he (or his staff) screwing up the huddle coming out of the time-out.
I harken back to when the Falcons upset the Vikings to advance to the Super Bowl in 1999, and everybody spent two weeks figuring out why the NFC underdog would give the Broncos a good game of it. The Broncos were only a 4.5 pt favorite--as are today's Colts. The exciting contest never happened, and it won't this time around either. The better, even dominate team lost the NFC Championship (again the Vikings), and the Saints defense is overmatched. Let the tv and radio waves begin the onslaught of conjuring up a riveting match up, one that won't happen. The Super Bore awaits. Thanks, Brett.
Trojan is a free rubber in the Obamacare bill.
Trojan is a free rubber in the Obamacare bill.
My oh my there is, as the nums used to say, much wailing and gnashing of teeth about Col. Klink's playing calling in that last drive. But that really wasn't the game, just the most noticeable one and the easiest part to focus on. Look, a lot of coaches tend to get conservative in the last minute of a tied game when moving into field game range. The LAST thing you want to do is turn the ball over.
D'oh! That's exactly what happened because Favre made a big mistake. If he could roll out I have to assume he could turn it up field. Or toss it out of bounds. But he didn't. And that's not on Childress. But it's not entirely on Favre either.
All those turnovers, that's what did the Vikes in. They literally handed the game to the Saints.
It's not the worst thing in the world to go into OT. But why is no one talking about the atrocious job the Vikes Special Teams did on that Saints return. That was as much, if not more, the game, than Favre's pick. His pick didn't actually lose the game. The Saints didn't turn it into points. But that kick coverage? That would make me want to puke if I was a Vikings fan.
A list of thank yous and a final...
Even if you called me an idiot,...
Their success will depend on QB...
Titans coach wants Chris Johnson...
Now is the QB’s chance to show...
Jan 25, 2010
11:14 AM
Mike..agreed...PEyton was just too good...the better team won... the collie throw was ridiculous...had collie covered..and safety help....and manning made the perfect throw...hes the best ever...