If you like football, yesterday is one of those rare days that we dream about. We had two great games yesterday. In the first game, the New York Jets showed everybody why they had the number one defense in the NFL. Much to their offensive coordinator’s credit, they figured out a way to generate some offense. Mark Sanchez threw a beautiful 80 yard bomb to Braylon Edwards. I was amazed he didn’t drop the perfect pass. The Jets also brought in Brad Smith who was a quarterback in college. I ran a kind of halfback option with Smith throwing a perfect 45 yard strike to a wide-open receiver.
The Indianapolis Colts started off a little shaky on offense. Peyton Manning was sacked twice early in the game. The good news for the Indianapolis Colts is that 60 minutes is a long time. After the first 15 minutes, the Colts were beginning to figure things out. Peyton Manning led a brilliant drive in the last two minutes of the game. The second half, it was all Peyton Manning and the Colts. The worries that many had about the Colts defense holding up to the Jets running attack were put to rest midway through the third quarter. The combination of Jones and Greene only generated 83 yards on the ground.
This was an excellent game. There were few penalties. Both defenses played well. Actually, the New York Jets offense played well. The Jets need a few more pieces and they will become a great team. They need a dominant receiver. They need Mark Sanchez to mature. He has a great arm. He moves fantastically in the pocket. Peyton Manning’s performance was brilliant.
The second game of the day was just as entertaining. The New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings put on a show. In the first half, we saw two precision offenses moving up and down the field. In the second half, it was really the defenses that shined. The Vikings completely shut down the high-powered offense of the New Orleans Saints. The Saints only made three of 12 third-downs. Drew Brees completed 17-31 passes for only 197 yards. There were some games this season where he had more yards in a quarter. He threw no interceptions. This was key. In spite of being harassed, he still took care of the ball. Future Hall of Famer Brett Farve really played a good game. He did throw two interceptions. For most of the game he played great. The whole Viking offense played great but they began to self-destruct. It was clear that the New Orleans defense had a plan of attack — hit Brett Farve and try to force fumbles. The Vikings had six fumbles and lost three. Five turnovers are the story of the game. For Vikings fans, this game was all about the agony of defeat. Both the offense and the defense played well. They drove the ball up and down the field only to fumble or throw an interception. Extremely disheartening. From the New Orleans side of things, they kept battling. They were resilient. They are now NFC champions. The New Orleans Saints are in the Super Bowl. What a great story!
