All four Super Bowl Previews

Many people accused me of homerism when I selected the now 12-1 Brady/Belichick combo to over-come the 5-12 Schotemhimer (Both records are post season only). What say you now? In this post, I am going to react to LT's outrage at the Patriots, preview all four possible Super Bowl match-ups and then let you know what I think the outcome of this weekends games will be.

Let's start with LT. Ladanian Thomlinson was outraged that the Patriots celebrated in the middle of the field in San Diego saying that the New England player should not have been mimicking Shawn Merriman's sack dance, that they were "classless" and that probably originated with "their head coach." He went on for several days, going so far as to compare it to TO's celebration on the star in Dallas stadium.

LT, do you know why we fought the Revolutionary War and not the Colonial Uprising? Or the Civil War and not the Confederate Revolution? Because the victor dictates the ending. If you want to have a say about how things end, try winning the game. And the difference between the Pats and TO is that the Pats were down by 11 at one point and were headed to the AFC Championship game. TO ran out to the star after scoring a touchdown in a regular season game.

I admit, I respect you for not calling out your teammates and coaches for dropping passes, muffing punt returns, intercepting fourth down passes and then fumbling, and for challenging a play (and wasting a time out) because they really really didn't want it to be true. I find it appalling, however, that you'd take your frustrations out on the first team to defeat you in your home stadium this year. Not to mention that you specifically called out one of the most respected, honorable men in the game. Belichick is all about class. By the way, a wise man once said that the truely classy people don't talk about how classy they are. That wise man? Seattle Seahawk wide receiver Deion Branch.

And now, a preview of all four possible Super Bowls: (in alphabetical order)

Chicago Bears vs Indianapolis Colts
This would probably be the most boring Super Bowl match-up. No "rematch talk" no "Dynasty debate" or "America's comeback" team. That and it would be a blow-out. Indy's protection of Peyton is fantastic and would easily negate Tank, and Indy's wide receivers and tight ends are too fast even for Urlacher. Chicago's strength is run defense, but thier defensive backs are suspect. So they could stop Rhodes and Addai but they'll have to have their line backers drop into zone to protect the underneath passes. Grossman isn't good enough to stay neck and neck with Peyton. Final score: 34-10 Indianapolis

Chicago Bears vs New England Patriots
If this is the match-up for the Super Bowl we get to hear two weeks of "rematch" talk. The over/under on the number of times we see the Refridgerator Perry crashing into the end zone is 315 (that's an average of 27 1/2 times per day). Of course, this is the team that Belichick would prefer to play. Grossman is ok, but he better close his eyes before the snap or his head will be spinning with the defensive alignments that will be dancing in front of him. The Patriots might take a quarter or two to fully figure out the Chicago D, they'd end up winning this contest. The first half would look like a defensive battle. The second half would be an example of first timer's mistakes and veteran's capitalization on those mistakes. Final score: 17-6 New England

New Orleans Saints vs Indianapolis Colts
This may be the game the network is hoping for. "Everyone's second favorite team" in the Saints vs Peyton's first chance at winning the big game. If the Saints defeat the Bears, they will set a Super Bowl record: They will have had the worst record the year before they played in the Super Bowl. The four teams that defeated Indy this year provided a blue print for this feat: run the ball. That's it, if you can successfully run the football against the Colts, you keep the ball out of Peyton's hands and the game is yours. The Saints have McAllister and Bush. It may be close, but the Saints would pull this game out. Once again Peyton's hopes would be thwarted. Final score: 27-24 New Orleans

New Orleans Saints vs New England Patriots
One would think that, win or lose, if the Patriots make it to the Super Bowl yet again, the debate over whether or not they are a dynasty would finally be settled. Even Bengals fans would have to admit that we have the first dynasty of the salary cap era. The question we have to ask is: can the team who stopped LT contain McAllister and Bush? The answer: yes. If the Patriots get to this game, they will have defeated the Jets, Chargers, and Colts. The Saints would have played the Eagles and Bears. It's pretty clear that after the giants the Pats have faced, the Saints would seem like they were knee high to a hobbit. The Pats would play their usual game of keeping it close till the end. This game would secure the Patriots fourth Super Bowl victory in six years. Dynasty Debate Done. Final score: 24-20 New England

So which Super Bowl do I expect to see? New Orleans vs Indianapolis. New Orleans should have no problem with Chicago. That game looks like a no brainer to me. Chicago will force a turn over or two, but their offense won't be able to turn those into points. The real question is "can Peyton beat Brady in the playoffs?" Peyton has taken the last two regular season meetings, but has yet to overcome the Patriots in the post season. The game is in Indy, but Brady and Co. won two of their three conference championships in Pittsburgh. Is there a tougher stadium in the AFC than the home of those terrible towels? That and most of the Patriots losses this year were at home. But when the final seconds tick off of the clock in the AFC championship game, Indy will be up by a score of 23-21 and will go on to lose to New Orleans in the Super Bowl.

You may not want to put any money on all of this, though. Because it is just my opinion.