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Westward
Bound This week, I'm heading west to broadcast live from Phoenix and capture all the festivities surrounding Super Bowl week. It's always a good time regardless of the location, but given the "Valley of the Sun" and the close proximity to Vegas, this is bound to be a fun week. If Super Bowl week in Detroit can be a blast, imagine the hospitality that awaits in Phoenix. As far as the game goes, it should be a good one. The Giants are on a roll, winners of 10 straight road games...and the Patriots, well....they're the Patriots. These two played a great game in week 17, with the Pats rallying in the second half for a 38-35 victory in the Meadowlands. There is no question that the Giants gained momentum from that effort, and they've carried it into the post-season with impressive wins at Tampa, Dallas and Green Bay. Can the Giants win? Absolutely. Will they win? Ask me later in the week, once I've gotten a feel of the Phoenix vibe. You'd have to be nuts to pick against the Patriots, given their 18-0 record this season. But when it's a "one-and-done" deal, anything can happen. The Giants' wild card run has been nothing short of sensational. Of course, the Pats are favored by nearly two touchdowns and you can't discount that tidbit. Keep in mind that the "wild card teams" have had good success in the Super Bowl. The overall record stands at 4-4 in the big game, but the last four wild card teams that have made it to the Super Bowl....three of them won the Lombardi Trophy. The key for a Giants upset will be the continued solid play at quarterback of Eli Manning. He has been terrific in January, and the one stat that jumps out is the fact that the N.Y. Giants' last offensive turnover took place in the fourth quarter in their week 17 showdown with New England. The Giants have gone 33 straight offensive possessions without a turnover. Manning was lukewarm in the regular season, as he compiled the NFL's 25th-best passer rating. Ironically, Rex Grossman of the Chicago Bears had the 25th QB passer rating last year, as his Bears made it to the Super Bowl before losing to Eli's brother, Peyton. When it comes down to it, Eli Manning must continue to do what he has done in the post-season...play smart, and don't turn the ball over. There is no question that the Patriots will do everything they can to confuse Manning, and Bill Belichick is one of the greatest ever in drawing up a defensive scheme. The winner of Super Bowl XLII will automatically fall into a "greatest category". If the Patriots win, they will finish off a 19-0 record and lay claim to being the greatest NFL team of all-time. Given the salary cap era restrictions, it is hard to argue against their claim. If the Giants pull off the upset, they will have the single greatest run of playoff wins in one month by a team. Can you imagine winning on the road against all division champions: Tampa Bay (9-7), Dallas (13-3), Green Bay (14-3) and potentially New England (18-0)? Let's head west, and see what Phoenix and Super Bowl XLII deliver. I have a few odd and ends to address, since the Super Bowl will absolutely dominate the sports world this week. While the Super Bowl takes place in Phoenix, the PGA Tour also comes to town. That's a pretty impressive sports week in the Valley of the Sun...the Super Bowl and the PGA Tour during the same seven-day span. Tiger Woods' debut on the 2008 PGA Tour was rather impressive. I turned it off on Sunday once the lead reached 11 strokes over the rest of the field. As it turns out, he somehow only won by eight shots. The only person who had a more impressive performance than Woods was Barack Obama, who proceeded to do the same thing to his competitors in the South Carolina Democratic primary. For Woods, you didn't even need a Kelly Tilghman commentary to know what he did to the rest of the players in San Diego. It shouldn't come as any surprise; the man is simply the greatest player in the world, and he keeps making the game look remarkably easy. Tiger has now won 62 PGA Tour events, tying him for fourth all-time with the legendary Arnold Palmer. That's pretty good company...especially when you consider Tiger probably has another ten to fifteen years of playing great golf. I plan on getting to Vegas after our final Super Bowl show on Friday. I couldn't help but laugh on one of the prop bets that is listed on the board. Tell which way you would go on this one: What will be a higher number on Sunday.... The number of receptions for Randy Moss...or the number of birdies for Tiger Woods in the final round of the Dubai Classic? After watching Tiger the past few days at Torrey Pines...Randy Moss and Tom Brady might have their hands full. |
Packman
on Sports Commentary
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