In the long-awaited Super Bowl matchup between Cheeseheads and Terrible Towels, set aside your allegiance for a moment and ask yourself a simple question.
If you were inventing a merchandising gimmick, what do you think customers would prefer: An easily transportable item they could use to wave, wipe their seats, warm their hands, wash their cars and flag down help in case of emergency?
Or one that makes them look like the victim of a fraternity prank?
If you went with the first option, congratulations! You are a person of style, common sense and decency.
If you went with the second, you are from Sheboygan, Kenosha or Muskego and have a cholesterol level approximately 10 times higher than your IQ.
Unless you bow three times a day toward Vince Lombardi's grave, you would never voluntarily go out in public with a foam-rubber cheese wedge on your head. If Lombardi were still alive, even he would probably laugh at you. I realize them's fighting words for Packers fans, but I'm on your side here.
I like cheese. I'm all for expressing love for your team. I just hate to see you lose your dignity in the process.
And for your own protection, please don't mess with the Terrible Towel. Those who do tend to come back as cockroaches or Bengals fans in their next lives. I can't explain such cosmic powers. I just know the Gods don't offer the same protection to cheddar-headed Packers fans. They simply can't be worried with defending the nobility of a woman wearing a cheese bra.
That's right, a cheese bra. It's one of the many spinoffs of the original cheesehead, which was actually sort of clever.
The snotty people from Illinois used the term as an insult toward Wisconsinites. So a guy cut a foam-rubber wedge out of his mother's couch, burned some holes in it and painted it yellow. He wore it to a Brewers' game in 1987.
A movement was born. Now it has turned into a marketing monster. Besides heads, you can now order cheese caps, sombreros, necklaces, earrings, bowties, blankets, Frisbees, erasers, dice, butt cushions, key chains, toilet seats and women's undergarments.
I'm all for state pride. But unless Victoria's Secret comes out with a Dairy Product line, it's unlikely an NFL quarterback will ever marry a cheese model. Though Brett Favre might text one
After taking out two of the NFL's most dominant teams within the past 10 years, in the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots, Mark Sanchez and the New York Jets will be taking on Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Rex Ryan-led Jets play with a ton of passion and attitude, and have lately caught some momentum. Gang Green did exactly what was necessary to come away with the win against two extremely talented teams when it mattered most.
After already defeating the Steelers in Pittsburgh in Week 15, by a score of 22-17, the Jets will have to take a trip to Heinz Field, and prove that they are the better team once again if they want to make it to the 2011 Super Bowl.
There is absolutely no doubt who the favorite to hoist the Lombardi Trophy is now. With only four teams left, theGreen Bay Packers will play their third straight playoff road game in Chicago for the honor of representing the NFC in the Super Bowl on Dallas! Despite being one of the last teams to qualify for the playoffs, Green Bay has impressively dismantled their competition in two of the tougher buildings in the NFL to win – the latest being a 48-21 beat down of Atlanta at the Georgia dome in a game that the starters were able to sit the majority of the fourth quarter.
Aaron Rodgers is clearly the most reliable pivot left in the NFL playoffs. Last week, he possibly had his best game as a Packer completing 31 of 36 passes for 366 yards and three touchdowns. Green Bay’s defense allowed only 194 yards of total offense. The whole team is peaking at precisely the right time making them the smart money to be victorious in Dallas.
If you subscribe to the notion that defense wins championships, the Steelers may be your team. They are in a great position to succeed now that the Patriots and the Falcons have been eliminated. The fact is that the Steelers manhandled the Ravens last week. Although the final score was close, consider the fact that Pittsburgh only gave up 126 yards of total offense last week. They dominated and now get to face a team that they match up very well with. Pittsburgh should be able to score on the Jets defense (Rex Ryan and the boys may have blown their load last week against the Patriots). But will the Jets be able to score on the Steelers?
Anything can happen when you have Ben Roethlisberger behind center – ANYTHING! He is definitely the best Big Game quarterback left in the playoffs and with a defense like the Steelers have; Pittsburgh could easily be there in the end.
New York Jets +350
Do ya like the underdog? The Jets are the quintessential “Dog with bite” in this post season. Not only have they done what they said they were going to do, but they have done so against two of the best quarterbacks in the history of the NFL! Am I impressed? Yes! Do I trust the Jets to be the last team standing – No!
New York’s offensive troubles and defensive issues appear on the surface to be a thing of the past but problems don’t right themselves over night. Rex Ryan and the Jets coaching staff did a masterful job in scheming against two powerful offenses but they have yet to come up against an elite defense in the playoffs. Mark Sanchez has been relatively untested – let’s see what happens when his is harassed, bullied and completely taken off his game. I am not a believer – I think the Jets run ends this weekend – I can’t justify betting on them to win it all!
Chicago Bears +450
The Chicago Bears deserve a little more respect don`t you think? If Chicago was facing the NY Jets this weekend, the odds might be slanted slightly more in favor of the Bears. But the fact that they are facing the uber-hot Packers has them slight underdog. Hell, they are home dogs this weekend! Chicago has had two very tough games versus the Packers this season and in neither game did Jay Cutler show the poise and confidence that he showed last week against the Hawks. I know that it was just the Hawks, but Cutler passed for two scores and ran for two others.
With a confident quarterback, a solid offensive line, a more than competent running game and most importantly a defense that has terrorized all season long, the Bears, if they can put it all together have an OK chance to win this week. If they get by the Packers, the Bears match up well with a Jets team that they have already beaten and a Steelers team that is beatable as well.
Saturday January 15, 2011 Baltimore 4:30 pm EST Pittsburgh CBS Green Bay 8:00 pm EST Atlanta FOXSunday January 16, 2011 Seattle 1:00 pm EST Chicago FOX NY Jets 4:30 pm EST New England CBS
I thought the Seahawks would play the Saints tough, but I wasn't sure they could beat them. But here they are, moving on as the only home team to win over the weekend.
Last year's Super Bowl teams were eliminated, and a few quarterbacks came of age. The Patriots and Falcons have to be happy the Colts and Saints are gone, taking Peyton Manningand Drew Brees out of the equation.No strangers next week, as all of the divisional showdowns are regular-season rematches, with the AFC matchups pitting division rivals for a third time.As I say all the time, beware the rematch. Seattle had a rematch game with New Orleans, and we all watched a 7-9 team pull off an improbable upset.With that in mind, here are the six things that jumped out at me from wild-card weekend:1. How did the Sea-Shocks do it?I talked with Seahawks coach Pete Carroll a few times last week, and he said two things that really stuck with me about his team: One, they were really confident and didn't need any pep talks to get ready; and, two, they were really relaxed. That's a dangerous combination.The Seahawks clearly were ready to face the defending Super Bowl champs with the proper mindset, but other things contributed to the win. For me, the biggest issue was how much they won the field-position battle all day. Three times on kickoffs they made the tackle inside the 20-yard line, and they also downed three punts inside the 20. The Saints played on a long field all day.In those six drives, New Orleans scored two touchdowns, punted three times and fumbled once. Seattle played on a short field most of the day, with their average series starting at its 40-yard line. Of the four touchdown passesMatt Hasselbeck threw, the drives to score averaged 6.75 plays. The Seahawks did not have one drive of more than 10 plays and still put 41 points on the board.2. The officials let them playThe officials, for the most part, didn't get in the way of the games, which I appreciate. The four winning teams -- Seattle, New York Jets, Baltimore, and Green Bay -- were flagged for just 13 penalties combined. Even the four losing teams had a modest 21 penalties called against them.Thank you, zebras, for letting them play. Hopefully, that will keep up.
3. No. 1 receivers shut down
The top receivers of each of the four losing teams are stars in their own right. As a group, New Orleans' Marques Colston, Indianapolis' Reggie Wayne, Kansas City's Dwayne Bowe, and Philadelphia's DeSean Jackson entered the playoffs with a combined 314 receptions for 4,596 yards and 34 touchdowns. Their weekly average would indicate they combined for 20 receptions, 287 yards and at least two touchdowns.What a difference the postseason makes.They exit the playoffs with a combined seven receptions for 114 yards and no touchdowns: Wayne, one catch for 1 yard; Bowe, zero catches; Jackson, two catches for 47 yards; and Colston, four catches for 66 yards.The winning defenses did a great job of taking these guys out of the game.4. Deferring in OT: An advantage?There is a new postseason-only overtime procedure, but it never came into play. But it was a hot topic where I was in CBS Studios, and it could present a few coaching decisions next week. I had a long discussion Saturday about the strategy of the new overtime with Bill Cowher, and I was hoping to see it come into play.
3. No. 1 receivers shut down
"Hectors Watch Live NFL Football Playoffs!"
The NFL announced its full 2011 playoff schedule on Sunday night, with wild-card weekend highlighted by a rematch of last year's AFC championship game.
The New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts will face off in primetime on Saturday night, 50 weeks afterPeyton Manning(notes) led his team to an AFC title over Rex Ryan and the Jets at Lucas Oil Stadium. Indianapolis rebounded from a 6-6 mark in early December to rally for four straight wins to close out the team's seventh division title in the past eight years. Manning and the Colts are slight favorites over an 11-5 Jets team that has been playing inconsistent football since racing to a 5-1 start.
[Related: Unceremonious ending for legend Brett Favre]
A matchup between two of the top quarterbacks in football will be the featured game on Sunday, when Aaron(notes) and the Green Bay Packers travel to Philadelphia to play Michael Vick(notes) and the Philadelphia. On Christmas, Philly was considered one of the favorites in the NFC, but two straight losses to finish the season have some predicting a Green Bay upset. Don't read too much into Philly's problems, though; losing that bizarre Tuesday game and a meaningless Week 17 affair in Dallas shouldn't outweigh the successes Vick and the Eagles had throughout the season.
The other two games will pit strong wild-card teams against the weakest division winners. The Seattle Seahawks became the first 7-9 team to win a division by virtue of an ugly victory over the Rams on Sunday night. Pete Carroll's squad will host the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints in the wild-card opener on Saturday afternoon. The next day, Baltimore will face off against the surprise AFC West champions Kansas City Chiefs. Both road teams are favored, but don't put it in the books just yet. Seattle and Kansas City are two of the toughest places to play in football, so both games (particularly Ravens-Chiefs) could surprise.
CLICK TO ENLARGE
All Stats Courtesy of Yahoo Sports
