It is time for my annual beatdown of Pete Prisco, and when he writes garbage like this, it is easy to do so:
Can we cancel the rest of the season and just play the Super Bowl now?It's the Tennessee Titans, the last undefeated team, against the New York Giants, the league's best team.
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Somewhere there is a team that will use the next six weeks and the playoffs to make a run, timing it just right.
It has happened two of the past three seasons, with the Steelers also winning a title as a wild-card team in 2005.
So while we'd all like to race to put the Titans and Giants in the Super Bowl, and it's almost a lock they'll have the No. 1 seeds in their conferences, history tells us that won't be the case.
That doesn't mean we can't picture it and play it out in our heads.
Gee, thanks, Pete. For the love of God, if there is one thing that really pisses me off it is when NFL "analysts" start crowning the best teams in football in friggin' November. We've seen this time, and time, and time again. And I would have thought that last year would have ended this dumb, obnoxious stuff. Last year this time, everyone and their grandmother said the Patriots were the best team in football. Some called them the best team ever. The problem was they still needed to actually win something, and when it came to winning the most important game of the 2007 season, the Patriots choked. The reality was the NY Giants were the best team of 2007.
The team that wins the Super Bowl is the best team in the NFL, not the team with the best regular season record, the model-looking QB, and the record-setting statistics.
Make no mistake boys and girls, the regular season is only there so teams can better position themselves to win in the playoffs. Teams are not crowned in November. They are not crowned in December. They are crowned in late-January, early-February. And while the Titans and the Giants look great now, that does not mean they will look great in January.
If we are going to be selective as to picking the "best teams" now, why not go back to October, when the Bills were 4-0 and looked better than the Titans. Why not pit them against the Cowboys in the new "selective" Super Bowl played out in Pete's mind. Back in October, it was wall-to-wall Cowboys love with Romo tossing TDs and TO mugging the camera. Fast forward to now, and injuries and spotty QB play have the Bills at 5-5 and the Cowboys at 6-4. Both are struggling to stay in the playoff discussion.
Yes, I know Pete is writing a "wishful thinking" article, and that is why I am testy. I personally do not care who is good in November. It means nothing. I am looking forward to seeing who is good in January, regardless of whether it is the Colts or not. The fact that the NFL playoffs have been so unpredictable the last few years is a big reason why the NFL DESTROYS other leagues during playoff time. Why a writer like Prisco is not embracing this obvious plus with the NFL, I don't know.
Two teams that know the philosphy of "any team can win" in the playoffs are the Giants and Titans themselves. So, this isn't a knock at them. They know what they have to do. This is a knock at Prisco, who seems annoyed that another team could walk in and knock off NY or Tennessee, as if that is some kind of crime or tragedy or something. Forget the fact that neither team has won their respective divisions yet. As we have seen this year, injuries have defined the 2008 season. For the most part, the Giants and Titans have avoided injuries. Heck, the injury Vince Young might be the best thing ever to happen to the Titans. But that doesn't mean injuries could start to take their toll on those two clubs. I'm not saying I want them to start getting hurt (I don't). I'm just saying injuries can take a great team and turn them very mediocre very, very quickly.
So, once again I say screw Pete Prisco. He can go off on his own and daydream about the Giants and Titans. The rest of us will enjoy seeing who the real conference champions are. Those champs may very well be the Giants and Titans, but much of the joy of football is seeing teams earn their accolades. In 2006, everyone was on the Chargers and Ravens nuts, all but dismissing the Patriots and Colts. We knew better. Maybe, back then, Pete had dreams of a Chargers v. Bears Super Bowl.
Hopefully, this season Pete is once again disappointed.