Can't question the Eagles anymore
By Marv Levy
Special to SuperBowl.com
(Editor's note: Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy, one of the smartest and greatest coaches in NFL history, provides his thoughts about the players, the coaches and the games each week throughout the season.)
(Jan. 16, 2005) -- In their 27-14 win over the Vikings, the Eagles proved once more that they are a well-rounded team that is good on all sides of the ball. I also think their win proved that having a bye is a good thing -- so many people felt that they had lost momentum going into the playoffs after losing their last two regular-season games and having a week off. The teams that rested were the teams that won! The Eagles didn't lose anything by resting their starters, and that worked out well for them.
I also think they didn't miss a beat without Terrell Owens. How can you tell? Donovan McNabb passed for nearly 300 yards, had plenty of time to throw and threw deep once in a while. That was a question mark since after Owens was hurt, the Eagles had clinched the top seed and had no reason to play their starters. It was all on the line against the Vikings, and this was the game I felt had the best chance for an upset, but there was no weakness shown.
Part of the reason why the Eagles did so well was because of their tremendous defensive play. Take away that last touchdown that came in the waning moments and you've held a potent offense like Minnesota to only seven points. Philadelphia was obviously the stronger team. You see why the Eagles have been so strong and have done so well for so many years.
Patriots deliver team effort
It's not the Patriots' win over the Colts that's so shocking, it's that they held Peyton Manning and his team to three points! That is just startling. Everyone expected a more competitive game from Indianapolis. New England 's defense played magnificently, their offense controlled the ball drive after drive; they held the ball for nearly 38 minutes, leaving Manning to only 22 minutes on the field. That's a fine way to limit the damage that Manning can do.
So what went wrong? Indianapolis had the second-fewest giveaways all season long and the second-most takeaways, and today the Colts turned the ball over three times and didn't get it back once. That's a big reason why they didn't do better than expected. I had also hoped to see the Colts run their no-huddle offense at a faster tempo. They did it for a little while in the first half and they seemed to move the ball a little, but they didn't stay with that approach. A couple of key dropped passes didn't help things, either.
Tom Brady, Tedy Bruschi and the Patriots play as a team, and that makes them very dangerous.
It's also worth noting that Tom Brady's longest pass was for 17 yards, that he threw to 10 different receivers, and the Patriots only had two plays for longer than 20 yards (both runs by Corey Dillon ). Know what that says? They played "small ball," and they wanted to keep Manning off the field. Just banging away and letting the time clock elapse was part of the Patriots game plan.
Is this a case where Bill Belichick and his staff know the Colts better than the Colts know themselves? I don't think so -- there's no magic here. Give credit where it's due, the Patriots play smart, level-headed football. I heard a comment during the telecast that none of the Patriots wear their Super Bowl rings. I know that players on the team have become best friends with each other, and you never hear of any animosity between teammates. There's a team orientation that is really unique. Teams strive so hard to get that, and the Patriots reflect it every time they take the field. And there's no further proof of that when you look at Dillon, a malcontent on the Bengals for years, coming to the Patriots and playing like a true professional on the field and carrying on like one off the field. He's all business and not into the "look at me" stuff. The attitude starts at the top with team owner Robert Kraft, a fine owner.
I was rather disappointed with how the Colts tackled, to tell you the truth. I don't know if it bothered them to be outdoors in the cold or if they were on the field too long. You could come up with a million theories why Indianapolis failed to slow down the Patriots. I do think the weather impacts dome teams in the winter.
Steelers survive a close one
What if I told you that you were going against the best team in the NFL (who are well rested) at their stadium after you played three games in a row on the road, and that your opponent was going to run 43 times for 193 yards and that you wouldn't score any offensive touchdowns nor win the turnover battle nor the time of possession battle? You'd think you'd have no chance, right?
Well, that's the exact scenario the Jets walked into against the Steelers, and they almost defeated them. New York had a chance to kick the winning field goal on the last play in regulation, and before that with two minutes left to play, but Jets kicker Doug Brien couldn't connect either time. Fortunately for the Steelers, their kicker, Jeff Reed, could connect when given the chance in overtime, and Pittsburgh rolls on in overtime, 20-17.
The Jets did one smart thing and one dumb thing towards the end of regulation. With the ball on the Steelers 34-yard line, Chad Pennington threw a terrific screen pass to Curtis Martin with the intention of getting into field-goal position. That was a great call because it picked up nine extra yards, which put the Jets into presumably good position to kick a field goal. But the play before the attempt, Pennington took a knee to run the clock down from six seconds to four seconds. Now Jets head coach Herman Edwards might have wanted Pennington to nudge the ball forward a yard or two rather than kneel, so there might have been a miscommunication. I could see Edwards sort of say something to Pennington after the play. It turned out not to be of any consequence, however, as Brien's attempt was wide left.
Despite the win, there's cause for concern for the Steelers. After all, they kept the Jets in the game with them. Two costly interceptions by Ben Roethlisberger (one returned for a touchdown), a rare Jerome Bettis fumble and a Santana Moss punt return for a touchdown all helped New York stay close. It's obvious that the Steelers have to take better care of the football (they were plus-11 during the season). As long as they focus on playing their game better so that they're not turning the ball over, they should be fine. The toughness gained in this victory will help them. But if they turn the ball over three times again against the Patriots next week, they will be in big trouble.
And here's something a lot of people know but you might not: The Steelers cannot rely on Roethlisberger to win it all for them. Not yet, anyway. Maybe Daunte Culpepper or Peyton Manning can do that for their teams, but a rookie can't do that. The Steelers are going to have to win with defense, kicking and the running game. That said, Roethlisberger should not be pulled unless he is hurt. You don't even consider replacing him if he starts off slowly. If you tell your QB that, you send him in the game uptight. You want the quarterback to concentrate on his opponent more than anything -- distracting him would turn into a disaster.
Atlanta: The best team you haven't heard of?
Believe it or not, this was the first time I had seen the Falcons this close all year. Maybe that's not so hard to believe since they might be the biggest "unknown" left in the playoffs. True, they have Michael Vick, Warrick Dunn, Keith Brooking and plenty of other great players, but the Falcons have sort of flown under the media radar, not getting as much face time. I think that can and will work in their favor, as it did against the Rams.
Atlanta did well and was able to win because of its incredible run game. Dunn, Vick and T.J. Duckett totaled 327 rushing yards -- an amazing amount. They were able to do that partially because they weren't forced to pass, and because St. Louis' run defense isn't that stout (more on them later). What caught my eye was Vick's passing stats: 12 of 16 for 82 yards and two touchdowns. Not exactly a Manning-like performance, but you can get away with that when you have such an awesome running attack. And keep in mind that the majority of Vick's carries were probably drawn up as pass plays that didn't work out, so Vick took off.
Suffice to say, Atlanta was extremely impressive, and the Rams were the opposite. I know, here I go again on the Rams, but gee whiz, this is the playoffs! Can't you cover on kick returns? Their 9-9 record is an accomplishment given the approach they take to the game. They give the ball over, don't pay attention to the kicking game and they couldn't have stopped the Falcons run game if they were allowed an extra defender. Their approach has always been to air the ball out and everything else will take care of itself. That's the impression I get. You have to stress that everything is important in the game, and they don't.
Despite the big margin of victory, the Falcons cannot become overconfident and think they're going to waltz to the Super Bowl. Here's something important to remember: Blowout scores in the NFL can be very misleading. The roof starts to fall in for one team so they start to press and take chances, often leading to a lopsided score. It really doesn't indicate the difference between two teams, nor does it necessarily indicate the strength of the victor. The Falcons are a sound football team, that is true, but there's no reason to believe they're going to score 47 points again in the NFC Championship.
First look: Conference championships
New England at Pittsburgh: The Patriots have to be feeling strong and confident as they return to the scene of their first loss of the year. Remember, they didn't have Dillon against the Steelers last time, and it made a huge difference. But these are two good teams with the best record. The Steelers may be at home, but that guarantees nothing. It'll help, and that will make things difficult for New England, but it's still going to be a very interesting game.
Atlanta at Philadelphia: The Falcons are showing signs of being stronger than I previously believed. If the Eagles avoid the press about how they can't win the NFC Championship Game, that will help their sanity. I think the Eagles will benefit from the fact that Atlanta was so dominant. It tells them that this team isn't going to lay down and they better take them seriously. I think Philadelphia will prevail, but when you get this far, any pick is basically a guess.
What have we learned this week?
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Want an advantage? Earn the bye! Teams that go into the playoffs with a bye have such an advantage over the other playoff contenders. They can nurse their injuries, they can study their opponents longer, they can relax and know they're only two games away from the Super Bowl. There's just so much more preparation involved for the other seeds.
If you're going to run a trick play, make sure you know when it's happening! I cringed when I saw the Vikings attempt the ol' "receiver is running off the field" play when attempting a field goal. What happened was, Randy Moss (or someone on the Vikings) recognized that there were 11 guys on the field and Moss came off. If they run the play with 12 guys, it obviously won't count. When we ran a trick play, we used a code word to cancel the fake. It alerted our guys not to go with the play, and the Vikings may have scored three extra points and possibly changed the momentum of the game if they had the same alert.
The wind plays a role. Going with the wind in the third quarter, the Patriots dominated every facet of the game. They had the game in hand then because they scored to break the game open. Kicking with the wind, punting with the wind and throwing with the wind all help the cause, and it's hard to do anything into the wind.
The Colts must find ways to strengthen their defense. That's pretty obvious given that they've made the financial committments to Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison already. I can't imagine their offense being any stronger, but I can imagine their defense improving. They need to get tougher and be a more physical type of defense. The defensive teams all won their playoff games this weekend.
Don't take your frustrations out on the kicker. Doug Brien was the hero for the Jets a week ago, and now he's going to be the scapegoat after missing two field goals against the Steelers. There's nothing you can really say to your kicker after he misses a game-winning field goal -- maybe pat him on the shoulder and that's it. Just remember that Brien won it for them a week ago to get the Jets this far.
If you need an example of an NFL player with some class, there's Hines Ward. I read a quote in the paper from Ward, who I think is a darn good player, and he admitted that he felt some sorrow for Brien following the game. Not that he wanted Brien to make either of his kicks, mind you, but it's proof that he could commiserate with how the guy felt. I love guys like that.
This week's Marvels
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Corey Dillon, running back, New England Patriots:
Dillon's 144 yards on 23 carries was so vital to the Patriots' win over Indianapolis. He was the big reason why Manning was kept off the field for so long. Who knew that a running back would be the one to tame Manning?
COACH OF THE WEEK
Bill Belichick, head coach, New England Patriots:
There were so many great coaches to pick from this week, but I had to go with the one who may prove to be the greatest of them all. Only he has found a way to completely disarm Peyton Manning -- and I'm guessing he's not sharing his secret with anyone. I wonder what he has in store for Ben Roethlisberger.
Divisional playoff scoreboard
Divisional playoff analysis
Conference Championship analysis
Carucci: Pats find way to muzzle Manning ... again
Carucci: Roethlisberger shows he can recover
Without Owens, McNabb rises to occasion
McNabb, Culpepper linked by 1999 draft
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