It’s down to Final Four, Mike Smith will break down winners
Peyton Manning faces the Jets' top-ranked defense.
Brett Favre will battle the noise in New Orleans
The two best Sundays of the NFL season are the first one and this one.
The first Sunday is filled with hope. Today theoretically determines the two best teams in football, with the NFC and AFC championships. Generally the games live up to the hype — unlike the Super Bowl, which too often is less entertaining than the commercials.
Both games have great story lines. In the AFC, the New York Jets haven’t lost a game since losing to the Falcons last month. (Afterward, the distraught Jets coach, Rex Ryan, said: “This obviously is t0ugh because now we’re obviously out of the playoffs, and it’s unfortunate.”) But even with the league’s No. 1 defense, it’s difficult seeing the Jets upsetting Indianapolis. Even if they slow down Peyton Manning, it’s hard to see the Colts scoring less than 20 points, or New York scoring even that many.
The NFC game is harder to call. The Minnesota Vikings are a better overall team than the New Orleans Saints, if only because of their defense (No. 6 vs. No. 25). But having covered games in almost every stadium and arena in the country, I can tell you that none is louder than the New Orleans Superdome, particularly after the fans have had several hours to “prep” on Bourbon St. That’s something Brett Favre will have to deal with. (The Metrodome in Minneapolis is close to the Superdome in noise level, but fans obviously are quiet when the Vikings have the ball.)
This might be a prediction stemming more from desire than my head. But I’ll go with the Saints. (Favre winning would justify — in his mind — all of his prima donna actions leading up to this season. My stomach couldn’t take that.)
Drew Brees and the offense seem to show us something new every week. The team has shown a t0ughness and resolve this season that often has been missing in the past. Suffice to say, the win would be a huge boost for a city that needs it, and for a franchise that never has been to the Super Bowl.
When the games are over, I’ll have Falcons coach Mike Smith break it all down. I plan to speak to Smith after each game for a column that will be posted tonight. If you have any particular questions you want me to ask Smith, let me know.
Until then, I’ll be here watching the games and blogging live (from my couch). Coffee time. Back in a few minutes.
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510 comments Add your comment
Mr Charlie
January 24th, 2010
7:59 pm
I agree, as bad and sorry as the Falcons have been, we always had the Saints to look down upon, we can’t let them get to the Superbowl.
Saints Hater
January 24th, 2010
8:00 pm
Jeff, that is the main reason anyone would hate the Saints, is because of a rivalry.
The only other reason I can think of is that there might be some back lash for the general media love fest that surrounds the Saints. It gets kinda sickening.
BugKiller
January 24th, 2010
8:00 pm
Yeah… and Bobby the Boob went to Charlie Leibrandt… AGAIN.
If the Braves had ANY other manager since 1991, they’d be guaranteed AT LEAST two most World Series trophies.
Most overrated manager in the history of baseball.
Worst postseason manager in the history of baseball.
If you need to win in October, I’d love to see the man or woman who would honestly want Bobby the Boob sitting on the bench.
Mr Charlie
January 24th, 2010
8:00 pm
I never hated the Saints, I was just glad we could look at them and realize we did not have the sorriest team in the NFL. Oh well, there is always Detroit.
GoodTraction
January 24th, 2010
8:01 pm
Sonny – You’re the best and so under appreciated. You should charge admission. Never stop . . .
Jeff Schultz
January 24th, 2010
8:03 pm
That’s a tough call.
J dubb
January 24th, 2010
8:04 pm
haha – yeah Elam may have actually caused some minor vein bursting fo sho.
Its like ‘reality’ put it….AND their fans are some of the most obnoxious ones I’ve been around. they almost make Iggles fans look humble.
But i’m torn a little because I do think their city could use it. Of course, then it would make their fans even more obnoxious.
Mr Charlie
January 24th, 2010
8:04 pm
If Bobby is the worst post season manager in the game, he was the best regular season manager too.
Mr Charlie
January 24th, 2010
8:06 pm
If Lonnie steps on 2nd, and Lebrant strikes out Kirby like he did the other two times, Bobby is one of the greatest post season managers every. Seems like a fine line.
Saints Hater
January 24th, 2010
8:07 pm
J Dubb.. good points on their fans. If they were to win the Super Bowl, they would be insufferable, good winners they are not.
I think
January 24th, 2010
8:08 pm
Wayne is still handcuffed to the bumper of a state troopers Ford.
Saints Hater
January 24th, 2010
8:09 pm
I do not understand that rule.
Saints Hater
January 24th, 2010
8:09 pm
Nothing warms my heart like seeing Bush mess up like that.
Jeff Schultz
January 24th, 2010
8:09 pm
Oh, Reggie … That’s not going to make Kim very happy.
BugKiller
January 24th, 2010
8:09 pm
@Mr. Charlie,
In ANY other city that actually has a tough press and that cares about baseball, Bobby Cox would have been fired after the 1996 debacle.
Fact.
J dubb
January 24th, 2010
8:09 pm
Mr Charlie – Dude, you need to let it go….its been over tens years.
Wooooo – Reggie just gotta whole lotta purple stuffed in that grill!
Saints Hater
January 24th, 2010
8:09 pm
You have to be kidding me.
reality
January 24th, 2010
8:09 pm
Wow, neither team wants to take control of this game…
waw
January 24th, 2010
8:11 pm
I don’t hate the Saints because it was a tiny consolation to have Jerry Rice beat somebody else as bad as us.
Jeff Schultz
January 24th, 2010
8:11 pm
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
todd grantham
January 24th, 2010
8:12 pm
Jeff, what was that noise? it was reggie bush heaving a sigh of relief.
Jeff Schultz
January 24th, 2010
8:12 pm
Sorry …I know we have a lot of Saint-haters here. I’m laughing at Favre.
reality
January 24th, 2010
8:13 pm
Could that be the 1998 moment all over again for the Vikings? Remember, it was a key fumble by Chuck Smith that kept us in the game and gave us momentum to eventually win the game.
Only time will tell at this point…
BugKiller
January 24th, 2010
8:13 pm
AD stands for: FUMBLES All Day!!!
ChrisB.
January 24th, 2010
8:13 pm
These weather updates are ruining the broadcast! We do not need to know the weather in Alabama
Saints Hater
January 24th, 2010
8:15 pm
Jeff it is OK, I am still laughing at him too.
todd grantham
January 24th, 2010
8:15 pm
whose Kim?
todd grantham
January 24th, 2010
8:16 pm
isnt that the truth Chris
BugKiller
January 24th, 2010
8:18 pm
Look… as a rule, I don’t have an NFL “home” team. I don’t like rooting for guys on one team, just to see them leave and go to another team I “hate.”
I don’t like rooting for laundry.
I do, however, root for specific players. Tom Brady and Matt Ryan being a couple of the players I root for.
Eli Manning being a specific player I root against.
Brett “Jay Leno” Favre is now also someone I root against. So while normally, I would not root for the Saints, because they’re in Matt Ryan’s division, I cannot root for Brett “Jay Leno” Favre.
Anyone on this board who roots for Brett “Jay Leno” Favre is certifiable.
After what NOLA went through, I have no problems with rooting for the Saints.
Sorry to the Falcons die-hards, but that’s the way I see it.
The NFL just isn’t like college football. I’m far more invested in the Dawgs, being a student and soon to be alum.
So GEAUX SAINTS!!! Down with Brett “Jay Leno” Favre!
And COCO FOREVER!!!
Mr Charlie
January 24th, 2010
8:20 pm
Bugkiller, maybe so, but then Bobby would have been hired elsewhere and probably kept playing post season ball, while the Braves would have went straight down hill like almost always happens when you fire a coach for only getting to the World Series.
Deciding when hit and run or pitch a righty against a lefty is not what makes a good manager. It is giving your team the opportunity. They guy has coached for 50 years, but you point to one or two situations to says “he is the worst ever”.
Saints Hater
January 24th, 2010
8:23 pm
Bug Killer, you are everything that is wrong with NFL fans in or around this city.
Cuz
January 24th, 2010
8:23 pm
I saw the front page of the AJC on the way here and it said Kim put out a restraining order. I had to check to make sure it was not against Reggie or me. Kim drop that sucka, he can’t love you like me. Is it the money? Are you that shallow?
Wait a minute, I am talking about Kim Kardashian being shallow. Nevermind.
Mike Smith
January 24th, 2010
8:24 pm
Jeff, about our later call, make it in the morning, ok? I’m bored and headed for bed. Smitty
J dubb
January 24th, 2010
8:24 pm
Well BugKiller, tell me you still feel that way after you sit in the Dome next year when the Saints play here…(especially if they WIN the SB this year).
Actually, i bet if you went to your local sports bar right now (somewhere in or near ATL) you would immediately see why (most) Falcons fans hate them………
greg
January 24th, 2010
8:26 pm
Iam pulling for the Saints but believe th Vikings will win this one.
Mr Charlie
January 24th, 2010
8:27 pm
I don’t know, if the Vikes win, just imagine all the Farve stories? I mean, I don’t think I have gotten enough of him.
Saints Hater
January 24th, 2010
8:27 pm
Man the Vikings are tackling like the Dawgs now.
BugKiller
January 24th, 2010
8:29 pm
@Mr. Charlie…
… I look at the fact that Bobby the Boob took some of the best teams in baseball history into the playoffs and totally choked when it mattered most.
I look at the fact that he is probably the worst tactical manager in baseball history.
I look at the fact that he never used his players correctly, waiting for the three-run homer, and refusing to manufacture runs when you had guys with speed.
I look at the fact that Bobby the Boob treated games in October, do-or-die games, like they were games in April, and REFUSED to change his approach… even when it NEVER worked.
Do you know how Einstein defined insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again, in the exact same way every time, yet always expecting a different result.
Ladies and gentleman, I give you Bobby the Boob… the DEFINITION of insanity.
They call baseball playoffs a “crapshoot.” You know what’s a crapshoot? Winning four world series in 12 trips to the playoffs.
Joe Torre did that with the Yankees. 1 out of every 3 tries. THAT’S a crapshoot.
Bobby the Boob? 1 in 14. NOT a crapshoot.
I had a word to describe Georgia’s defense under Soft Willie Martinez since he took over: TREND.
As in, EVERY year, the team defense gave up more points and more yards under Martinez. If you were to put those two stats on a line graph, the lines trend up, with NO break going down.
The only reason why Bobby the Boob won the Series in 1995 was because of Glavine and the fact that Hargrove might possibly be an even worse postseason manager than he is.
Look at some of the managers that Bobby the Boob lost to in the playoffs:
Bruce Bochey
Phil Garner (TWICE!!!)
Jim Fregosi
I mean… COME ON!
Boston fired Grady Little for being exactly like Bobby the Boob.
What happened for Boston the very next year???
waw
January 24th, 2010
8:30 pm
Any city that has radio advertisements on the best buy for beads is already psychotic. Let the Saints win one so they will calm down.
Cuz
January 24th, 2010
8:30 pm
J dubb, Killer is right. This is pro football. Not the same as college. College ball is love, life, blood, mud, sweat, cheers, jeers, tradition and rooting for your team no matter the score. Pro ball just cannot compare. The heck with the Saint fans, they do not bother me.
Uh-oh, nother touchdown, nother shot.
Saints Hater
January 24th, 2010
8:32 pm
Waw, you are giving them way too much credit. They will only get worst. They act this way and have never won anything, imagine when they do.
J dubb
January 24th, 2010
8:36 pm
I did not think the Vikes were going to lose because they couldnt tackle……after last week’s game I didnt think the Saints would be able to run against them…..they look tired. Maybe they partied in NO last night.
BugKiller
January 24th, 2010
8:39 pm
I root for the Falcons because of Thomas Dimitroff, Matt Ryan, Mike Smith.
Not out of loyalty to the team, but because of guys like them who are involved with the team.
Like I try to explain to people who prefer the NFL to College: I’m actually a part OF my University.
No fan of an NFL team can claim to have that kind of connection to their team outside of Green Bay, where the team is actually owned by the fans.
I see all pro sports like this. When I was a kid, I cared about the Braves. I cried when they lost the 1992 Series.
But when Glavine left to go to the hated Mets because of one extra year on a contract because of union pressure, I’m sorry… but that was the end of me caring about pro sports like I care about UGA.
So, while you may see me as “sorry,” I actually have good reasons to not care about a bunch of mercenaries.
How will YOU feel when in two years, the NFL has a work stoppage? It won’t bother me at all.
J dubb
January 24th, 2010
8:41 pm
cuz/BK – I get your love for the Dawgs may water it down for you…..but I am just as passionate about the Birds as I am the Dawgs and I put the Saints fans in the same category as the effing gator fans (and the Saints havent even won anything till now.)
Damn i do feel bad for AP. Hold on to the ball bro!
UA Alum92
January 24th, 2010
8:42 pm
Good for the Colts for winning and I sincerely hope the Saints can hold on for the win, but watching the games with my wife has me laughing. She’s a kindergarten and Sunday school teacher, and a great Mama, but she’s also a Bama grad (ADPi 93) and she has football in her blood. She just can’t forgive Peyton for playing for the hated Orange or Harvin for playing for those b*stard Gators. Put her anywhere near a bottle of Jack and a Bama game day, and you’ll hear language that would make s sailor blush.
I’m a lucky, lucky man. ROLL TIDE!!!
Mr Charlie
January 24th, 2010
8:43 pm
I root for the Falcons just so I have a dog in the hunt so to speak. Win lose, draw, I still have to get up in the morning and go on with my life. I learned long ago that my life is not affected whatsoever by wins and losses by a football/baseball/college team. However, being a UGA grad, I too have more of a connection to the Dawgs, and do hate their rivals.
J dubb
January 24th, 2010
8:44 pm
Don’t they have those rubber neoprene arm sleeves that AP can wear and they actually might keep the ball from slipping on his forearms?
ooooh nice catch.
AP + fumbles = TD
Saints Hater
January 24th, 2010
8:45 pm
Nice answer by the Vikes.
BK – like I said before, you are everything that is wrong with NFL fans in this area. This not an argument about what you prefer, college or pro. Believe it or not, you can be a die hard of both.
I love all Atlanta sports teams because they are my teams, it is not about players, coaches or front office folks. All that changes with time, just like with OUR precious Dawgs.
tomcable
January 24th, 2010
8:47 pm
imagine what Percy could have done with a real QB at Fla.
BugKiller
January 24th, 2010
8:47 pm
J dubb… hey man, love the Falcons all you want.
I love good football. I’ll root for the Falcons any day of the week. But they’re not in the playoffs, so Man Law dictates I find a team to root for from game to game.
I choose the Saints because of Katrina and because I cannot stomach rooting for Brett “Jay Leno” Favre.
I give him that nickname because he is a backstabbing douche bag who pretends to be a “regular, nice guy.”
Sorry, can’t root for him.