What I Learned on Championship Weekend (Part 1)

by Andrew Neumann

Championship Weekend is really the last stand for NFL die-hards. After 17 weeks of Sunday games from early afternoon until well after midnight, the first 2 rounds of the playoffs provide us with games all day Saturday and Sunday each week. By comparison, Championship weekend is paltry. Only 2 games, which don’t begin until 3:00PM. But the stakes of each game, with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line, more than make up for the diminishing quantity of remaining games.

These are games that are still played on someone’s home turf, in front of real fans, and most importantly, not watched on television be people who “Only care about the commercials.” Because make no mistake, as much as the championship game of the NFL should be the highlight of any football fan’s season, you’ll spend most of your Super Bowl Sunday being forced to “try this new salsa recipe” or rolling your eyes while your friend tries to explain to his girlfriend the difference between an incomplete pass and a fumble.

So Championship Sunday remains the last refuge of the real fan. While not the smorgasbord of 14 games a Sunday in November with Sunday Ticket presents, the fact that good teams are going at it for a shot to play in the game that will ultimately be ruined by your horrendous buffalo wing and 11 Heineken induced bathroom excursion that takes up the whole 3^rd Quarter, is reason enough to take notes.

Here are 5 things I learned from the NFC Championship Game, with 5 on the AFC tomorrow.

1. The Bears Are What We Thought They Were- Fortunate.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying the Bears stunk, or that they didn’t make some of their own luck, but looking back; practically everything broke right for the Bears this year. They got that Calvin Johnson call in Week 1, which was the right call, but still was a break for the Bears. They then won their next 2 games by 10 total points to get to 3-0. In fact, 7 of the Bears 11 wins this year were by less than a touchdown. The only teams they beat handily? Minnesota twice, Carolina, and Detroit. Looking to be in a dogfight for a Bye with 2 weeks to go, Philly inexplicably drops a game at home to the Vikings, being Quarterbacked by Joe Webb. The Bears are locked into the 2 Seed.

Then, in a huge upset, the 7-9 Seahawks beat the defending champion Saints in the first round of the playoffs. So the Bears were in the NFC Championship game this week, simply by beating the worst playoff team in history in the 2^nd Round. And since the Packers hammered the top seeded Falcons, the game is in Chicago.

2. Jay Cutler is Whatever You Think He Is

There might not be a more enigmatic player than Jay Cutler. One game, he’s playing catch with DeAngelo Hall in an embarrassing loss to the Redskins. A month later he’s making all the right plays as the Bears stun the red-hot Eagles. On Sunday, he was either pulling a LaDanian Tomlinson (milking an injury so you can miss the Championship Game) or suffering from a torn MCL and being held off the field by the doctors. Cutler is one the few QB’s who could come out of the NFC Championship game, and people are seriously wondering whether he was benched. Trying to figure Cutler out is ultimately going to be impossible, because there’s nothing to figure out. He’s every bit the artist he is at his best, and every bit the clown he looks like at his worst. He’s a fiery leader of his teammates, and a self-absorbed asshole who literally cares only about himself. Equal parts Ryan Leaf and Peyton Manning.

3. The Packers Are A Better Dome Team

As much as people love talking about the Frozen Tundra and showing footage of the Ice Bowl, this current Packers team is suited best for indoor ball. With their offense clicking on all cylinders Sunday in the first half, and seemingly on their way to a blowout, all of a sudden the momentum died. In fact, the only points scored by the Packers in the second half were on an Interception return from the Nose Tackle. It’s because the Packers are playing with roughly their 8^th string Running Back, have lost their starting Tight End, and feature Wide Outs best suited for the deep route. Even the defense, with speed guys like Clay Matthews Jr. are really better suited for a mild climate. Now that they’ve survived the hostile climate of Soldier Field, they go play indoors at Cowboys Stadium and can run the same kind of game-plan they had last week in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome. That’s bad news for Pittsburgh.

4. A Punter Can Win You a Game

Maybe I didn’t learn this on Sunday, but I was reminded of it. I’ve had a rather rough year with my Punter, Matt. I’m sure he’s a nice guy, but my patented move of “Predict something horrible all year and you’re either miserable or wrong” was never more true than with “Matt Dodge will cost the Giants a game this year.” What I didn’t realize is he would cost us the game, the 2 seed, the Division title, the Playoffs, and many hours of sleep, all with one swing of his horrible, awkward leg.

Anyway, where was I, oh yeah the Packers. Green Bay’s Punter Tim Masthay neutralized Chicago’s biggest weapon, Punt Returner Devin Hester all day Sunday. Masthay punted 8 times, with an average of 41.8 years. Chicago had 4 returns of 38 yards. Total. Only 16 of them came from Hester.  On a day when neither offense did much in the second half, a Punt Return TD could have changed the whole complexion of the game. But Punting in the cold, in the wind, Masthay didn’t let Hester get even a moderate return off. Thanks Tim, for restoring my faith in Punters.

5. Seeding Is Becoming More and More Meaningless

Know how many times the NFC’s #1 Seed failed to reach the NFC Championship game in the first 36 years of the NFC? 0. Know how many times it’s happened in the last 4 years? 3.

It used to go like this: A few decent teams would lock up on Wild Card weekend. There’d be some good games and some exciting finishes. Then, the top seeds in each conference would kick the hell out of everyone the next week and we’d see 1 v.2 in the Conference Championship Games. Not anymore.

In 2005, the 6 seed Steelers went on the road 3 times, won 3 times, and won the super Bowl. In 2007, the Giants did the same things from the 5 seed. The Packers have won 3 in a row on the road to get to the Super Bowl from the 6 seed. In both 2006 and 2008, one conference lost both their Bye teams in their first playoff games. This year, both 6 seeds beat both 1 seeds.

I think this speaks to the overall parity of the league, rather than a need to change the system. But in the next few years, don’t be surprised to see teams worrying less about seeding, or even winning their division, once they wrap up a playoff spot. 2009 ’s 1 seed v. 1 seed Super Bowl notwithstanding, recent history suggests it’s more important to be healthy than it is to be the 1 Seed.