Last Saturday night, ABC aired a fairly important pair of presidential debates in New Hampshire. If you couldn't be bothered to watch them live, because they were up against playoff football, this column is for you.
Before my predictions for the divisional round of this year's playoffs, let's attend to a few items concerning the 2007 regular season, beginning with Sports Central's sixth annual All-Loser team, an NFL all-star team made up entirely of players whose teams missed the playoffs.
2007 NFL All-Loser Team
QB Drew Brees, NO
RB Brian Westbrook, PHI
FB Tony Richardson, MIN
WR Brandon Marshall, DEN
WR Braylon Edwards, CLE
TE Kellen Winslow, Jr., CLE
C Matt Birk, MIN
G Eric Steinbach, CLE
G Shawn Andrews, PHI
OT Joe Thomas, CLE
OT Jason Peters, BUF
DT Pat Williams, MIN
DT Haloti Ngata, BAL
DE Jared Allen, KC
DE Mario Williams, HOU
OLB Lance Briggs, CHI
OLB Thomas Howard, OAK
ILB Brian Urlacher, CHI
ILB Patrick Willis, SF
CB Lito Sheppard, PHI
CB Ken Lucas, CAR
FS Ed Reed, BAL
SS Sean Jones, CLE
K Robbie Gould, CHI
P Michael Koenen, ATL
KR Devin Hester, CHI
Honorable Mentions: Adrian Peterson (RB, MIN); Larry Fitzgerald (WR, ARI); Tony Gonzalez (TE, KC); Darnell Dockett (DT, ARI); Kevin Williams (DT, MIN); Karlos Dansby (OLB, ARI); Josh Cribbs (KR, CLE)
Offensive Loser of the Year: Brian Westbrook, RB, PHI
Defensive Loser of the Year: Jared Allen, DE, KC
Most Valuable Loser: Westbrook
And as long as we're on the topic of losers, the best and worst among this season's NFL announcers, in the booths and the studios:
Best play-by-play: Sam Rosen, FOX
Worst play-by-play: Bryant Gumbel, NFLN
Best color/analysis: Ron Jaworski, ESPN, and John Madden, NBC
Worst color/analysis: Tony Kornheiser, ESPN, and Cris Collinsworth, NFLN and NBC
Best studio analysts: Curt Menefee, FOX; Keith Olbermann, NBC; Boomer Esiason, CBS; and (I hate myself for this) Deion Sanders, NFLN
Worst studio analysts: Keyshawn Johnson, ESPN; Terry Bradshaw, FOX; Bill Cowher, CBS
Most improved: Mike Tirico, ESPN, and Deion Sanders, NFLN
Most disappointing: Collinsworth and Cowher
Praise For 2007
CBS: No sideline reporters? Love it. Keep up the good work.
ESPN: I don't miss Michael Irvin in the studio.
FOX: Jay Glazer seems to be most reliable "insider" around these days.
NBC: Getting Keith Olbermann back into sportscasting is the best move of the century.
NFLN: Airing the Week 17 Giants/Patriots matchup on free stations gave the NFL the moral high ground over cable companies.
All I Want For 2008
CBS: Your studio guys lost their personalities. The show would be more fun if someone finds them.
ESPN: Kornheiser was better this year, and he's still the worst announcer in the league. Please have him stick to PTI.
FOX: Sweet heaven, get rid of Joe Buck.
NBC: If Al Michaels could restrain himself from sharing his political opinions during football broadcasts, he and Madden would easily be the best booth combo in the league.
NFLN: Bryant Gumbel doesn't understand football. This network, most of all, has no excuse not to find someone better.
Divisional Forecast
And finally, some quick predictions for this week's games.
Seahawks at Packers
The toughest game of the weekend to call, especially after the way Seattle manhandled Washington's offensive line on Saturday. I think the Packers will give Brett Favre better protection than that, and the 'Hawks will miss their homefield advantage. Packers by a field goal.
Jaguars at Patriots
Possibly the most intriguing matchup of the divisional round. The Patriots have looked vulnerable in the last month, and the Jags are a lot better than the Eagles, Ravens, and Giants. I'm not picking against the Pats at home this week, but I don't think a Jacksonville win would be shocking. Patriots by 10.
Chargers at Colts
This is the one I don't think will be close. I know San Diego has given the Colts trouble the last few seasons, but the Chargers looked like pretenders last week, the Colts are clearly the better team, and the game is in Indianapolis. Colts by 20.
Giants at Cowboys
The Giants haven't lost on the road since Week 1. The Cowboys haven't been impressive since their Week 13 win over Green Bay. Terrell Owens might not play. This is a tempting upset pick, but I just have no faith in the Giants. Dallas by six.
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