WaPo/Tony Kornheiser: "Me and the Football Gods Kinda Like the Steelers"

[Penndems]

By Tony Kornheiser

Tuesday, January 17, 2006; Page E02

Oh, it is sooooo wide open now.

The gene pool quarterbacks -- Peyton Manning, Eli Manning and Chris Simms -- are gone. The overwhelming favorites, the Indianapolis Colts, are shockingly gone, without winning even a game. The defending champs, the New England Patriots, who never lose in the playoffs, are gone. (Oh, and DeShaun Foster is gone, if you're riding with the Panthers.)

What remains are four flawed, unconvincing teams: Seattle, which hadn't won a playoff game in 22 years -- wow, that's before Ray Brown joined the league! -- and whose MVP running back, Shaun Alexander, got a concussion against the Redskins and fell to the ground like Sonny Liston in Lewiston, Maine; Denver, which hadn't won one playoff game since John Elway retired, and whose current quarterback reminds nobody of Elway; Pittsburgh, a sixth seed, a team that as recently as last month didn't look like it would get to the playoffs (until San Diego gagged), and is an unfortunate 1-4 in AFC title games under Bill Cowher; Carolina, which wasn't in the playoffs last season, has played like a yo-yo this season, is now down to its third-string running back and is completely dependent on a midget wide receiver who evidently nobody can guard.

The only way to go here is out on the skinniest limb, picking the Steelers to go through the Broncos -- please, if it snows in Denver, it's hardly going to bother a team from Pittsburgh -- and win the Super Bowl. The best story on the board is the Redemption of Jerome Bettis. Last Sunday, he caught The Great Break: his terrible, terrible fumble against the Colts didn't make him the Bill Buckner of football because the Colts' place kicker gaacckkked hideously, bailing out Bettis. Instead, Bettis will go back to his home town, Detroit, and ride out in glory. Cut. Print.
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Link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/16/AR2006011601015.html

[joeybee12]

1. I might pick Pittsburgh, but I think the team everyone is overlooking is

Seattle--they've been under-rated all year in my humble opinion.

[anti_shrub]

2. Seattle's good, but....

They benefitted a great deal from playing in the worst division in football. Most teams would like to play SF, Arizona, and the Rams twice a season.

If Seattle can cover Smith they'll win. Sounds easy, but no one's been able to do it so far. The Steelers D should be able to make Plummer turn back into the guy who got shown the door by the Cardinals.

[joeybee12]

3. Part of the reason why I like them is that no one seems to be giving

them a chance...anyway, I'm predicting Steelers and Seattle in the Super Bowl. Watch me be wrong and it'll be two red-state teams!

[Captain Hilts]

5. Agreed, but are they peaking at the right time? I think Pittsburgh is. n

[Mojambo]

4. Boy, Sportswriters just don't want to let that little nugget go

"Seattle, which hadn't won a playoff game in 22 years"

That fucking streak is over, Tony. Let it go.

Citing that statistic now just seems like lazy goddamn writing and I'm sick of it.

How about talking about the Seattle team that exists NOW for once?

[omshanti]

6. Shouldn't that be "The football Gods and I...?"

You'd think a journalist would know better. Sheesh.