The Pittsburgh dig is a little low. Yeah, they lost to the Ravens, but they were also resting many of their best players (particularly on offense, but on defense as well), and the game was almost meaningless, since it was pretty clear that San Diego was going to beat the Raiders, and as long as that happened Pittsburgh's seeding would be the same whether they won or lost the game. That said, I don't think the Steelers are going to go all the way this year, but I do think they have a shot. While they have a number of losses, all of them (except to the Pats, which I will elaborate on) were by one score or less, and while one of the losses (to the Jets) was inexcusable and one of the wins was ugly (over Miami by just 3 points) (and let's not forget, though, that New England came very close to losing to Baltimore and to the Eagles), the rest of the defeats were to tough teams. Two of the losses - Arizona and Denver - came after very long road trips (into the Arizona heat and into the always-tough Mile High environment). The loss to Jacksonville sucked, but it was a close game that could have gone the other way if you take away a few dropped passes. Let us also not forget that Pittsburgh beat some quality teams - they handled Cleveland twice, blanked Seattle, put up 26 points on a stout Buffalo defense, and held Cincinatti's offense to less than 14 points in each of the two games they played against them.

Now, the loss to the Patriots looked bad, but again, it could easily have been much closer or even gone the other way. Two of the Pat's scores came on long bomb passes - they generally had some difficulty keeping up sustained drives. Relying on a long bomb passing game can work out, but even Randy Moss has an off day sometimes, and if those passes aren't connecting for some reason things can go south pretty quickly. Likewise, Pittsburgh's offense had some pretty good drives, but twice went for it on fourth down in the red zone and twice didn't score. That sort of thing can party be chalked up to good defense by the Pats, but also comes down in large part to luck. Given another game, the breaks could easily fall the other way.

So - do I think Pittsburgh will go all the way? No, I'm not optimistic (especially since half the starters are injured in one way or another), but I do think they have a shot. Given that their last Super Bowl run actually started with them seeded eighth, anything's possible. If I was putting down serious money, though, here's how I'd bracket it:

AFC Wildcard Weekend:

Jacksonville over Pittsburgh

San Diego over Tennessee

NFC Wildcard Weekend:

Seattle over Washington

Tampa Bay over New York

AFC Divisional

Patriots over Jaguars

Colts over Chargers

NFC Divisional

Seahawks over Packers

Buccaneers over Cowboys

Conference Championships

Patriots over Colts

Buccaneers over Seahawks

Super Bowl

Patriots over Buccaneers

I say that as a Philadelphia Eagle fan and NFC stalwart.  But, even when the Pats are having an off day, they still manage to find a way of beating whomever they're playing.  They already beat six teams in this year's playoffs: Chargers (34-14), Cowboys (48-27), Redskins (52-7), Colts (24-20), Steelers (34-13), and the Giants (38-35).

It's my belief that the Jags represent the only viable roadblock to the Pats in the AFC and the Pack the only real threat to them in the NFC.  Therefore, I gotta believe that within a few weeks Brady and Belichick will have their latest piece of bling and those old Dolphins can just leave that jereboam uncorked down in Miami.  Having said that, it should be noted that I suck at predictions.

Illegitimi non carborundum.

In the see-saw of the Colts-Pats rivalry that has essentially defined the NFL this decade, there was already a season in which one of the two (flirted with) perfection and got tons of pub for their passing offense despite a questionable defense while the other flew under the radar as disrespected defending champs with solid all around play led by the best defensive safety in the NFL. Now that the roles are reversed and Brady has broken Manning's touchdown record, I've mentioned this to a couple Pats fans. It seems to be the only thing that can really scare them as they live in their rosy perfection-colored world where the Red Sox are 2-time champs, the Celts breaking of the single-season NBA win record is "imminent" and the Pats are simply god's greatest gift to football.

I used to hate Peyton Manning. I loved to see the Pats take down the NFL's over rated golden boy like clock work in the playoffs. While the Colts exorcised their demons last year, I don't doubt that they've got a chip on their shoulder about what it would mean to beat New England in New England in the playoffs. And oddly enough, I do think they're the team better built to win in that style of wintry outdoor playoff game. A lot of things have actually gone right for the Colts since that loss to New England at mid season. Gonzalez developed into that third receiver with Harrison out and Bob Sanders is playing the kind of dominant football Rodney Harrison once did.

If New England has to play Jacksonville the week before, that is a mean team that can also give 'em hell and beat 'em up. I'm not saying the Colts will knock them off but that's absolutely one team that will be able to go toe to toe offensively and just like last year it will likely come down to who has the ball last.

It is easy to buy small plaster models of what you think life is like.

    I haven't been able to follow the NFL as closely as years past- working day shifts instead of swing shifts will do that- so this don't have much to add on the players and coaches side of the game. I have caught a few Patriots games, mainly because they've been more available (and interesting) than others, and from what I can tell, the teams real strength is versatility on offense: an opponent can shut down one or two options, but the Pats still have choices after that. (Wes Welker in particular seems to be a kind of Swiss army knife of a player in this respect.) Whether or not this can work all the way to the Superbowl remains to be seen, as the weather might be enough to take away one option (say Randy Moss) before either team steps on the field.
    But that won't be the reason I'm rooting for Belicheck and the Patriots. No, I'll be doing that because that mechanical, pushy, surly, even domineering team (depending on which detractor you're reading) is putting the lie to a cherished NFL cliche, namely the giving of praise by saying, "he's all about winning." This 2007 Patriots team is all about winning, apparently from top to bottom, and has gotten a lot of grief for being so. (And a little bit of muted respect, to be fair.) In the sports world, near as I can tell, it's very rarely said that being too competitive can be just as bad as not being competitive enough; losing is part of the game, and any player that can't accept this won't last long.
    But it's not even the players that I'm thinking of most, but the fans. Almost any fan would like for their team to go undefeated . . yet when another team is poised to do so, out come the knives. Are Boston fans obnoxious? Sure, but I have trouble thinking they'd be that much worse than Seattle fans, had the Seahawks actually won that Superbowl, and I've heard very little about Dallas fans to make me believe they're shining stars of modesty and restraint by comparison. In short, the Pats are exposing the gaps between fandom and sportsmanship, and personally, I believe only good things can come from this. YMMV.

Ex ignorantia ad sapientiam; e luce ad tenebras

So,  most of you know that I was born and bred in an unfashionable part of Connecticut, and as such, I grew up as a insane Red Sox fan, a devoted Patriots fan, and an indifferent Celtics fan with equal affinity for the Knicks.  The Bruins and the Rangers/Islanders can go straight to hell--I only like college and Olympic hockey (go Boston U. and Finland!)  

I love the Pats--my Pop Warner (that's age 8-12 for you n00bs) team was the Patriots. Hence, it was very natural to root for the local pro team, the adult Patriots.   I grew up in the 80s, watching Steve Grogan and Tony Eason come close to glory, but fall short.  Super Bowl XX (Chicago Bears 46, Patriots 10) made the 9 year old me sad.   The 1997 Super Bowl that Brett "America's preferred cock to suck" Farve defeated the Patriots in also annoyed me.   And of course, the Red Sox losing my entire lifetime (until recently) got me down.

I am well aware that current football fans hate the Pats for cheating, for having a dick of a coach, for having a handsome quarterback (or gay porn star, you pick) or for totally kicking ass.  However...

Y'all can suck it--my team sucked forever, and now they are kickass.  It will all be over soon, and you can resume rooting for other steroid-using, wife-beating, angry, mostly thug beefcake morons.  As a Patriots fan, I will be emotionally, metaphysically, spiritually, and most likely, literally masturbating until the Super Bowl.

And if the Pats don't win?  I will likely get drunk, smoke some pot, and abuse myself...just like every other night of my pathetic life

p.s. Most New England fans (the Chowds) are idiots.  I disown them.  

"...Paul Pierce over Larry Hughes..."

It is easy to buy small plaster models of what you think life is like.