NFL Quarterfinals

Packers 42-20. Seattle was up 14-0 in the first 5 minutes of the game and got smoked 42-6 from then on. I was only vaguely watching this game, just eyeballing it now and again to make sure that Green Bay was still piling on points. The Seahawks continue to be one of the most frustrating squads in all of sports: they occasionally look really good but just as often look inept and untalented. I still like that O line, those LB's, they’ve got an MVP RB, a QB that doesn't make mistakes, wideouts that have gotten over their dropsies and a really unique homefield advantage--why aren't they better? I picked the winner and the over but I missed on the dog.

Pats 31-20. The Jags got the end zone on their first 2 drives and sacked Brady on the Pats' very first play. Not much after that. I watched all of this game but I was pretty hammered by halftime so my perceptions are not interesting even to me. As I recall the Jags played well, it never felt like a blowout but they were 2nd best team on the field. I was right on the winner, the dog and the over.

Chargers 28-24. This was a strange game. Indy out-played them in every way, Peyton was unstoppable, the refs were homering all the way and the Chargers lost LT and Rivers in the first half. How did the Colts lose? I thought they'd win easily in an even contest but somehow with all the slants against them the Chargers made plays when they needed to and took advantage of every opportunity. An interesting performance, they'll need a lot more than that next week in Foxboro. Missed the winner and the fave but I got the over.

NYG 21-17. My prediction of the Cowboys pulling it out late was looking pretty good when the Cowboys got the ball on the 50 with 7 minutes to go. But Romo gave up a bad sack, had a bizarre grounding call and they ended up going back rather than forward. Romo's meltdown in the last 7 minutes was unfortunate, he made some brilliant plays early on but lost his head at the end and everyone else did too. (Where did TO disappear to in the 4th quarter?) It ended with a pick in the end zone but the game was over by then, the Cowboys offense sputtered coming down the stretch right when they needed to step up.

For my money the key play of the game was Crayton's drop with 1 minute left in the 3rd. The Cowboys were struggling to get out of their own end zone when Romo scrambles around and leaning backward against his own momentum in between two guys he hits Crayton dead on his palms perfectly in stride with miles of empty space ahead of him and he drops it. Man, that hurt. Instead of a big gain, something that might have put them in FG range, they punt, NYG drives and goes back on top. The 4th quarter is totally different if he catches that ball. Oh well, that possible future is now closed.

NY's touchdown drive at the end of the 1st half was huge, big momentum swing and Eli really planted his flag right there. And NYG owned the Cowboys on special teams, with many nice returns in the second half. Hard to imagine NYG winning at Lambeau so will a conference championship appearance be enough to earn Eli a little breathing room in the Big Apple media? I missed the winner and the over but I won with the dog.