The Day After

I spared you my gut reaction to yesterday's playoff loss but I did post it on Unabated Sports. So you can go there to hear my initial thoughts. They haven't changed too much today. I think if you look at the four games this weekend, two themes stand out. The first is experience mattered. A guy who took Jacksonville to the AFC championship game outplayed a neophyte Simms. These new Jaguars didn't fare too well in Leftwich's first start while Brady won his tenth. Eli Manning looked like a rookie as the Giants were the first postseason team to get shut out at home since 1981. And the Steelers bounced back like a team that's been to the playoffs in 10 of the last 14 years. The other factor was defense. In the games not played in Cincinnati, the winning teams gave up only 10, 3 and 0 points. That's why I really point the finger of blame at that side of the football. They gave up more points than the other winning teams combined. Carson Palmer or not, I still feel like the Bengals would have lost because of the defense. No matter how many points the O would have put up, the D would have given up more.

Speaking of Palmer, he was a much bigger loss than the game. Now he won't be ready to step on the field again until training camp, IF we're lucky. Unfortunately, since he just signed that huge extension, this was the type of thing I was worried about if he can't get back to form. So now the back-up quarterback spot is a priority as John Kitna is an unrestricted free agent. That awful defense I mentioned will need a LOT of attention in the coming months. The safety position was a glaring crap-spot for most of the season due to injuries. Take these uncertainties and combine it with a first place schedule... looks like a tough uphill climb to repeat an 11 win season in 2006.

Next week, Seattle takes on Washington, the Patriots go to Denver, the Bears face the Panthers, and the Steelers go to Indianapolis. Should be a good weekend of football, even without the Bengals.

"Chief got his tee pee back."