Monday Morning QB
1 – Rex Ryan is quite a salesman. He came out at the beginning of the playoffs and said his New York Jets should be favored through the playoffs. That drew chuckles and smirks from the pundits, realizing Ryan was trying to inspire confidence in his players. It worked. The Jets are playing spectacularly winning two road games with a rookie quarterback, the last being against the hottest team in the league who had just won 11 straight games. They may not get past the Colts, but if you ask Rex Ryan, an Indy win would be an upset.
2 – I love the Minnesota – New Orleans match-up this weekend for the NFC Championship. New Orleans has never gone the the Super Bowl and the Vikings haven’t been since they were led by Fran Tarkenton and the Purple People Eaters. Both teams stomped their worthy opponents and are riding in high. I think this is a tight game and just feel the home-field will give the Saints the edge. My early line is New Orleans 31 – Minnesota 28.
3 – The Dawgs bark back. After a woeful stretch of games, the Husky men’s hoops team climbed right back into the race by blistering the Bay Area schools. Stanford may not be a huge threat, but Cal is the odds on favorite to win the conference. Neither game was close. Perhaps the silver lining of those three straight losses will be an inspired Husky team that carries this momentum through the rest of the season.
4 – Pete Carroll is making wise choices. Yes, he’s brought in a few of his assistants from USC. However, his offensive coordinator, Jeremy Bates has NFL experience with Mike Shanahan. His new line coach, Alex Gibbs, is highly respected in the NFL and was just pried away from Houston. And now it sounds like they are talking to former Redskins defensive backs coach, Jerry Gray. He was the coach given the “interview” to satisfy the Rooney Rule by Washington prior to hiring Shanahan. Bringing in savvy and seasoned coaches will make the transition that much quicker and smoother.
Dan
