
If the Packers meet the Patriots in Glendale, Ariz., the game will match two future first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterbacks both playing at the height of the powers. In terms of story lines, such a Super Bowl would be brimming. Patriots' faithful could be rooting for the first-ever 19-0 finish; Patriots haters could root for New England to stumble at the last; traditionalists could root for a small town over a big metropolis; a team with an old-fashioned image would face the team that represents hypermodernism. Certain writers who shall go unnamed, such as me, could spin the game as Good vs. Evil: The Sequel, with Favre bringing his honest down-home-boy image against Shady Brady's suspicious Hollywood slickness. (Of course, Favre is a skilled media manipulator who cultivates the aw-shucks aura, and Brady does charity work for African development -- please don't spoil my narrative with these annoying qualifiers.) Merely the privilege of seeing two of the best-ever quarterbacks face off when both are playing at peak form would be worth the price of admission. Or, of the many multiples of the price of admission such a game would command on StubHub.
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Gregg Easterbrook on ...
• Stats of the week • Cheerleader of the week • Giants at Cowboys analysis • Big Apple bites the dust, again • Chargers at Colts analysis • Space, and electricity • Jaguars at Patriots analysis • Bad cheerleader performance • Seahawks at Packers analysis • Single worst play of the season |
Great quarterbacks have paired off in the Super Bowl before. Joe Montana faced Dan Marino in 1985, though the Forty-Niners were clearly the superior team and shut out the Dolphins in the second half. Favre faced John Elway in a 1998 Super Bowl that went down to the final play. Terry Bradshaw faced Roger Staubach in a 1979 Super Bowl that went down to the final play. Jim Kelly faced Troy Aikman twice, though he left one meeting early with an injury. Joe Namath faced Johnny Unitas in 1969, though Earl Morrall started the game and Unitas only made an appearance. Staubach faced Unitas in 1971, though again he was hurt and Morrall played most of the contest. And Montana faced Elway in 1990, but the Broncos were overmatched and the game wasn't close.
If Favre and Brady meet in Arizona, the matchup will be at least as good as any other in Super Bowl history -- perhaps the best, given how well both have played this season. Fan and viewer interest would go off the charts, as half the country cheered for New England to complete the 19-0 project and the other half cheered for Favre to stop the Pats, then immediately retire -- the latter move, if it happened, duplicating the storybook ending that so far has been achieved only by Elway. Yes, the Super Bowl might pair the Chargers and Giants, and that game would have its own virtues. But if you're a football addict -- or if you are Fox, which has the call, or Victoria's Secret or any corporation that has spent $90,000 per second for ad time -- you have to be palpitating over the thought of a Packers-Patriots Super Bowl.

Imagno/Getty Images
A chorus angelorum sings "adoramus Giantus," praising their valor against New England. The football gods rewarded the Giants by allowing them to advance in the postseason.
Stat of the Week No. 1: New England and San Diego, which meet for the AFC title, are on a combined 29-2 run.
Stat of the Week No. 2: Last season, Dallas opened 8-4, then went 1-4 down the stretch. This season Dallas opened 12-1, then went 1-3 down the stretch.
Stat of the Week No. 3: Dallas has lost six consecutive playoff games.
Stat of the Week No. 4: At 9:49 p.m. ET, in the third quarter, Brady threw his first incomplete pass.
Stat of the Week No. 5: At 11:01 p.m. ET, with 32 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, New England punted for the first time.
Stat of the Week No. 6: Brady and Peyton Manning combined to complete their first 30 passes.
Stat of the Week No. 7: Seattle has lost seven consecutive road playoff games.
Stat of the Week No. 8: Since the "We want the ball, and we're going to score" moment, Green Bay has outscored Seattle 48-20 head-to-head in the postseason.
Stat of the Week No. 9: Bill Belichick has 14 postseason victories.
Stat of the Week No. 10: The three other head coaches still in the playoffs have a combined 10 postseason victories.

MiamiDolphins.com
Jennifer of the Miami Dolphins -- at least something about their season was positive.
Giants at Cowboys Analysis: Jerry Jones came down to the Cowboys' sideline for the final drive and was shouting at the coaches and officials. That must have been helpful! On the final possession, Dallas had the ball in Jersey/A territory with an excellent chance to win. Owner Jones, who has long considered his personal genius the essence of the Cowboys' success -- never mind that his personal genius hadn't won a playoff game in 11 years -- shows up and starts shouting at people. Already, the week before, he'd made a point of lending only a lukewarm endorsement to coach Wade Phillips, who had just rung up the best Dallas regular season in a decade but to whom Jones would not give unqualified backing. The best regular season in a decade must have been because of Jones' personal genius! Now Jones is down on the sideline next to Phillips as the coach tries to make decisions on the final drive. Ever see Robert Kraft standing near Belichick in the closing moments as Belichick tries to make critical decisions? When the double whistle sounded, it still had been 11 years since Dallas won a postseason contest, and Phillips had became a career 0-4 in the playoffs. Bonus anti-Jerry Jones note: As pointed out by many readers -- including Gary Toth of Stephentown, N.Y. -- several days before Sunday's game, Jones grandly handed each Cowboys player a pair of tickets to give to friends -- tickets to the NFC Championship Game at Texas Stadium, a game the Cowboys had not yet earned. The football gods surely took notice of that hubris.
You won't see many first-seeded 13-3 teams lose in the postseason at home to a team that gains only 230 offensive yards, but then, you won't see many first-seeded 13-3 teams whose coach is being distracted by the owner in the closing seconds as it goes down to the wire. The Giants' win was a testament to the role of special teams, but also was a meltdown by Dallas. For instance -- in the second quarter, the Cowboys staged a 20-play touchdown drive that lasted 10:28 and put them ahead 14-7 with 47 seconds till intermission. Ahead by a touchdown at the half at home, what's not to like? Except the defense allowed Jersey/A to counter with a 40-second, 71-yard touchdown drive that left it tied at 14 at halftime. The Giants' drive didn't even have any big plays, just several quick, intermediate passes aided by a careless personal foul by the Cowboys. As Jersey/A staged this quick drive for an amazingly easy seven points, several Dallas players were dancing and celebrating on the sideline as if they'd already won. They hadn't even gotten to halftime! Maybe they were looking at those NFC Championship Game tickets from Jones!

Wesley Hitt/Getty Images
So Patrick Crayton has butterfingers. At least after the game he did not wear sunglasses indoors while weeping about vacations.
The 21-17 Jersey/A lead held because Dallas did not score in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys were the highest-scoring team in the NFC in the regular season, then failed to score in the fourth quarter at home in the playoffs, when one touchdown meant advancing to a home-field championship appearance.
What went wrong in the fourth quarter? First, Dallas offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, subject of head-coaching rumors, abandoned the run. Coming into the final quarter, Marion Barber had 125 yards rushing. In the fourth, Garrett called 20 passes (attempts plus sacks and snaps nullified by penalties) versus four rushes. Incompletion after incompletion clanged to the turf when running plays might have established rhythm and made use of crowd energy. Next, Jersey/A, a strong pass-rushing team, began blitzing in the fourth quarter. Though the Giants recorded only two sacks on the game, they regularly pressured Tony Romo into heave-hoeing the ball away in the fourth quarter. Jersey/A seemed to sense that Romo was not properly prepared for the game and would wilt under pressure, which is what happened. Romo kept trying to throw deep, rather than throwing slants, which are the standard counter to the big blitz. You sensed Romo wanted to hit a deep pass so everyone would credit him for winning the game. Garrett never straightened Romo out in the fourth quarter -- perhaps because Garrett's head wasn't really in the game, either.

Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Having the owner bothering the coach during the final drive was really helpful! At least Jones didn't take his headset.
Yes, the Cowboys were hurt when Romo was called for intentional grounding with 4:16 remaining after he threw the ball away despite no Giant being near him. The rule says grounding occurs when the ball is thrown away by a passer "facing imminent loss of yardage because of pressure from the defense." After Romo sailed the pass, he ran over to the zebras and started shouting at them -- instead of doing the smart thing and jogging back to the huddle. When Romo began shouting, the referee pulled his flag and called grounding. It was a bad call, but why was Romo shouting at the officials, practically begging them to flag him?

Paul Spinelli/Getty Images
At least someone in the Cowboys' organization brought their "A" game!
Right now, the producers of "Cloverfield" want you to be scouring the Internet, looking for clues about what the monster is. Projecting out her current rate of increase in cultural footprint, it's Hannah Montana! Can't you envision a gigantic Hannah Montana striding through Times Square, smashing billboards as teens scream? This is perilously close to happening already.

Qian Xuesen -- a great scientist, and also a great justification for defense budget increases.
Marvin Harrison was not on the field either time, so perhaps this pair of wheeze-outs helps us appreciate how much Harrison meant to the Colts' winning run. But the Indianapolis defensive breakdowns in both games are just as puzzling as the pair of late offensive failures. The Colts allowed the fewest points in the NFL in 2007; stretching back to the beginning of last year's playoffs, before Sunday, Indianapolis had allowed an average of just 16.4 points per game over 20 games. That kind of steely performance is no accident. Yet in this season's two biggest Indianapolis games, both at home, the Colts' defense sagged in the second half. In Sunday's contest, one team converted six of 10 third downs, the other team converted three of 11 -- and Indianapolis was on the wrong end of those numbers. This season, the Colts paired high-scoring offense (450 points, the kind of total that usually leads the league) with the NFL's best defense against points, then went down in flames on their home field to open the postseason. Whoever coaches Indianapolis next season, if the Colts win a bye again, please, don't give the starters the season finale game off! Dungy has done this four times, and four times the result has been first-round home-field defeat for Indianapolis.
Was the problem that the Colts defenders relaxed when LaDainian Tomlinson and Philip Rivers went out? Football teams often relax when the opponent's stars leave the game, then end up rending their garments and gnashing their teeth. Indianapolis put no pressure on Rivers or backup Billy Volek, a sign of good San Diego offensive line play. But as Rivers stood calmly in the pocket patting the ball, several times I thought, "How can the Colts hope to beat the Patriots if they can't pressure the quarterback?" Indianapolis finished ranked second in pass defense in 2007, its Tampa 2 coverage designed to stop long completions. Yet San Diego struck deep three times, with breakdowns by backup cornerback Tim Jennings especially painful. With Indianapolis leading 7-0, San Diego scored its first touchdown on a left sideline pass to Vincent Jackson, as Jennings made the high school mistake of "looking into the backfield" trying to guess what the quarterback would do, rather than simply covering his man. Early in the third quarter, with Indianapolis leading 10-7, Jennings gave up a 30-yard touchdown pass to Chris Chambers along the same left sideline -- Jennings was beaten deep despite giving a 10-yard cushion at the snap! It's hard to get beaten deep when you start 10 yards off the ball. But as Chambers headed toward the end zone, Jennings came to a complete stop, frozen by a standard stop-and-go fake. Ay caramba.
Three red zone turnovers were killers for Indianapolis -- one a fumble by normally reliable Harrison, two interceptions that bounced off the receivers' hands. Had the Colts simply gotten field goals on the two possessions with bounced-pass interceptions, Indianapolis would be preparing for Foxborough right now. But in the end, the Colts undid themselves. With San Diego leading 28-24, Indianapolis had second-and-goal on the Bolts' 7 with 2:16 remaining. It's four-down territory, so if the Colts rush, rush, rush -- a touchdown is likely, plus running would drill the clock to complicate any San Diego comeback. Instead, Indianapolis went incompletion, incompletion, incompletion, and the clock struck midnight on the Colts and even on the RCA Dome. (It will be torn down soon.) Indianapolis offensive coordinator Tom Moore is smart and usually respects the percentages about running at the goal line. But here, with his best receiver out injured, Moore kept calling passes when rushes stood a good chance of bringing victory.
On the San Diego side, as noted by reader Scott Parsell of Indianapolis, Peyton Manning threw eight interceptions in two appearances against the Chargers this season; in his other 15 games, Manning threw eight interceptions. Once, the Patriots were said to be inside Peyton's head; now, the Chargers are. San Diego's defensive effort would have been still more dramatic had the 89-yard Antonio Cromartie interception return for a touchdown not been nullified seconds before the end of the first half. The Chargers were holding, though the hold occurred behind the play, and nothing hurts more than to lose a touchdown on a penalty behind the play.
The San Diego offensive line controlled the Indianapolis front seven, and the Chargers' wide receivers blocked well, too. When Darren Sproles took a screen 56 yards up the left sideline at the end of the third quarter to give San Diego a 21-17 lead -- three of the four Chargers' touchdowns were passing plays up the left sideline -- the action began with Chambers and Jackson lined up as double wide receivers on the left side. Normally on a screen, any receivers on that side run their men off by streaking deep. Jackson and Chambers stayed put and blocked their men, an usual tactic, and one that worked.
Whether San Diego can give New England a game in the AFC championship tilt depends, obviously, on the health of its key players. But the Chargers once again look like they looked early in the 2006 season, when they were a Super Bowl favorite. They're playing with emotion. They've scored on 32 consecutive red zone trips, and they've gotten solid special-teams play -- that 66-yard punt with 1:42 remaining against the Colts was a monster play. Just 12 months ago, San Diego was favored at home over New England in the postseason, and sports pundits were shocked when the Patriots pulled the upset. Surely the Chargers will be motivated to return the favor.
Peyton Manning Watch: By my count, there were six commercials featuring Peyton during the game. He now endorses MasterCard, Gatorade, Sprint, DirecTV and Oreo cookies. And I might have missed a few. Why are advertisers still signing him up when he's overexposed? TMQ News: Tuesday Morning Quarterback finished No. 6 on the list of top ESPN.com searches for 2007. TMQ trailed only fantasy football, power rankings and voting features, finishing ahead of all other columnists, commentators, experts, analysts and written-word content in the ESPN empire. This completes Phase 1 of my plan for world domination! And thanks, readers, for so much support. Space: The Saudi Arabia of Electricity: According to a recent estimate by the Department of Energy, human society is using about 15 terawatts of artificially generated energy per year; a terawatt is a trillion watts. The sun generates about 12 quadrillion terawatts per year -- about 800,000,000,000,000 times as much energy as made on Earth.
AP Photo/NASA
The sun makes 800,000,000,000,000 times as much energy as humanity uses -- all we need to do is tap a little.

AP Photo
Historians believe Chuck Howley vacationed in Cancun with Raquel Welch shortly before the Cowboys' loss in the 1966 playoffs.
LOS CABOS, Mexico -- Dec. 28, 1966. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Don Meredith said he was "just relaxing" when he took Gina Lollobrigida to a fancy Mexican coastal resort mere days before the NFL Championship Game against Green Bay in Dallas. "Coach Landry told us to get off our feet," a shirtless Meredith said in an impromptu beachfront news conference, as international photographers jostled for position to photograph Lollobrigida in her Riviera-cut bikini. Reached at Cowboys headquarters, coach Tom Landry told The Associated Press, "Playbook? Who needs to study the playbook, a quarterback can just wing it." Packers coach Vince Lombardi was seen playing golf, then drinking champagne in a nightclub, telling reporters, "I can't stand to look at another minute of game film, I need to chill. Winning isn't the only thing, it's one of many things."
Jaguars at Patriots Analysis: Now the 1972 Dolphins have company at 17-0. This game was even until late in the third quarter, when the Patriots asserted themselves and the visitors began to fold. With the score New England 21, Jacksonville 14, late in the third quarter, the Jaguars faced a third-and-11 on the Flying Elvii's 21 -- Dennis Northcutt flat-out dropped a perfectly thrown touchdown pass in the end zone, and Jax settled for a field goal. It was bad enough that the pass was to Northcutt, whom TMQ previously has called out as having butterfingers. It was bad enough that Jacksonville invested three recent No. 1 draft picks on receivers (Reggie Williams, Matt Jones and Marcedes Lewis), only to flat-out drop the most important pass of a playoff game. Regardless, you can't expect to dethrone a perfect team if you can't make a routine catch. From the point of the Northcutt drop, the night was all New England's. Jacksonville began the contest with a Belichick-like clever game plan: Knowing New England spent the entire week preparing to defend against a power-rush offense, the Jags play-faked and threw often. In the first half, Jacksonville's coaches called 11 rushes and 15 passes, catching New England off guard. David Garrard looked poised and professional, completing 12 of his 14 first-half throws -- and admit it, you'd never heard of Garrard before this season. Reaching fourth-and-1 in the Maroon Zone on their first possession, the Jags properly went for it and threw deep for 34 yards, setting up the visitors' first touchdown and brief lead. (Throwing short on fourth-and-1 is silly, but throwing deep can lead to home runs.) Initially, the game plan of surprising the Patriots with the pass was quite effective. But you can't expect to continue surprising a Belichick team with the same unexpected tactics after halftime! Jax coaches kept calling passes in the second half, abandoning the power-rush game that had defined their season. With New England leading 28-17, the Jags reached second-and-goal on the Patriots' 7 early in the fourth quarter. Incompletion, incompletion, field goal -- and as the kick boomed, TMQ wrote the words "game over" in his notebook. (Both Jacksonville and Indianapolis failed largely owing to going pass-wacky in identical positions at the goal line.) The second-and-goal in the fourth quarter was the mice-or-men moment for Jacksonville, and despite their reputation for daring, the Jags went mouse. Squeak squeak! Jacksonville trailed the highest-scoring team in football history by 11 points in the fourth quarter; reaching first-and-goal, the Jags absolutely had to score a touchdown. So why didn't the coaches assume they'd use all four downs and power-rush three times? Jacksonville had to get a touchdown. The mouselike field goal was all but running up a white flag. You could see at that point that Jack of the River had quit on the game. He wasn't going all-out to try to win, he was trying to hold down the margin of defeat so that on the banquet circuit in the offseason, people would say, "You gave the Patriots a good game." People will indeed say that to him in the offseason. But had he power-rushed at the New England goal line and played to win, del Rio might have defeated the first team to hit 16-0 in the regular season. On the next Patriots possession after the goal-line wimp-out, with the score now 28-20, Brady threw a 53-yard completion to Donte' Stallworth that iced the game. The throw was against a six-blitz, perfectly picked up by the New England offensive line, of course. Until that point, the Jacksonville defense had been playing it straight, and had been preventing long completions. But del Rio's passive offensive decision forced the Jaguars to gamble on defense, and the result was the Pats' sole deep completion in the game. Defensively, New England followed its recent pattern of playing straight in the first three quarters, then using hectic blitzing in the fourth quarter. This seemed to take Jacksonville by surprise, although it's been the pattern of all recent New England game film and has been pointed out here before.Regarding the Patriots' offense, it is getting harder to think of new compliments for the highest-scoring team ever. Like Indianapolis, Jacksonville lined up its safeties deep to take away the New England long pass, so the Flying Elvii patiently threw underneath, underneath, underneath, with Brady completing 10 passes to running backs and tight ends. Last season, Peyton Manning matured into the Super Bowl-winning quarterback partly by the realization that if the other team lines up its safeties deep, it's perfectly OK to keep throwing underneath for intermediate gains. New England has raised this offensive philosophy to an art form. Randy Moss was neutralized by the Jacksonville defense, with only one catch for 14 yards. But it didn't matter, nor did Brady ever try to force the ball to Moss when he wasn't open. New England spent the entire game in the shotgun spread, even lining up in the shotgun spread on first-and-goal from the Jacksonville 3. But from the shotgun spread, the Pats threw underneath, underneath, underneath, never becoming impatient. NFL defensive coordinators, your offseason challenge is to counter short passing from the shotgun spread because, based on New England's success, this tactic might take over the league in 2008.
With the score tied 14-14 at intermission, New England received the opening kickoff of the second half and drove 82 yards in 11 plays -- three rushes, all to the left behind Logan Mankins or Matt Light, and eight passes, all short. The culmination of the drive was one of the sweetest plays ever. A standard high school action is the direct snap to the tailback while the quarterback leaps into the air to make the front seven think it was a high snap over the quarterback's head. This action does not have a name, though the CBS announcers repeatedly and erroneously called it the Statue of Liberty play; The New York Times sports section repeated the mistake. Since the action of a direct snap while the quarterback fakes a high snap lacks a name, let's christen it the Staten Island Ferry play. Anyway, New England faked a Staten Island Ferry play. It looked as though the ball had been direct-snapped to Kevin Faulk; Brady leapt in the air to simulate a faked bad snap; but actually, Brady had taken the snap! He held the ball for an instant with his back to the defense, then spun and threw a perfect touchdown pass to Wes Welker, with Jax safety Terry Cousin totally fooled.
This sweet play worked partly because the snap was perfect and, of course, New England blocking was perfect. Not only was Brady hit only once on the night but most of the time there wasn't any defender near him when he threw. Last week's TMQ noted that five seconds seems too long for an NFL quarterback to hold the ball and usually leads to a sack. TMQ put the stopwatch on the New England offensive line and found there were half a dozen plays Saturday night on which Brady held the ball for five seconds not only without getting hit but without any defender getting near him. When Jacksonville led 7-0 and New England went for it on fourth-and-4 in the Maroon Zone, Jacksonville erred by rushing only three, giving Brady and his receivers ample time. But even when Jax rushed four or five, Brady stood serenely in the pocket, patting the ball. Repeatedly, New England offensive linemen made big plays. Center Dan Koppen hustled way outside and downfield for the key block on a 33-yard screen pass to Laurence Maroney. Left tackle Matt Light made a fabulous block when the score was 7-7 and New England faced third-and-1, with Maroney gaining 9 behind Light.
The single most impressive thing about the 17-0 New England Patriots is that the offensive line never screws up and never has anyone standing around watching. Watch offensive line tape -- for most NFL teams, there are several downs per game on which the line call is totally fouled up or an offensive lineman simply stands there watching, doing nothing. I have not seen a single busted line call or stand-around-doing-nothing down for New England all season! Consider that when Garrard was sacked and lost a fumble in the first half, taking a lot of air out of the Jacksonville challenge, Jax guard Vince Manuwai, who got some Pro Bowl votes this season, was just standing there, blocking no one, watching Garrard get in trouble, not making the slightest attempt to hustle back and help.

AP Photo
Twenty-five points if you can name, without Google or Wikipedia, the person who beat Estes Kefauver at the last brokered convention.
Worst Crowd Response: The annual Punt, Pass and Kick winners were announced before the fourth quarter of the San Diego-Indianapolis game, and when a 15-year-old girl from New Hampshire was introduced as winner in her age group, the RCA Dome crowd booed because she was wearing a Patriots jersey. Indy fans -- you booed a kid! As pointed out by Jacob Skowronek of Somerville, Mass., among many readers, the football gods surely exacted vengeance upon the Colts.
Lack of Cheerleader Professionalism: Reader Pat Mulry of Dallas, who attended Bolts versus Colts at the RCA Dome, reports that, for the first half, the Indianapolis cheer-babes wore miniskirts; at halftime, the home team led. During intermission, the cheerleaders put on pants, and Indianapolis went down to defeat. The event was played indoors; what were the cheerleaders doing in pants! "The Indianapolis cheerleaders, like the Colts themselves, simply did not bring their A-game," Mulry writes.

AP Photo/Jeff Chiu
At the Institute of Perception, they would say this dog appears to have spots.
New York Times Correction of the Week: On Monday, The New York Times managed to work Jesus, Satan and Hitler into the same correction. Don't believe me? Go here. TMQ's theory is that one need never read more than three consecutive days of Times correction boxes to find an entertaining correction. Try this yourself and see! Actual correction from last week's Times:
"A film review in Weekend on Dec. 21 about 'National Treasure: Book of Secrets' referred imprecisely to a scene in the film 'North by Northwest' that takes place at Mount Rushmore, as does a scene in 'National Treasure: Book of Secrets.' While Eva Marie Saint dangles near George Washington's face in 'North by Northwest,' she is not shown dangling from his nose."
Seahawks at Packers Analysis: Ryan Grant lost fumbles on two of the Packers' first three snaps, resulting in a quick 14-0 Seattle lead. Yet Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy did not yank Grant or even chew him out on the sideline. This was smart. Unless a player is a fumbler by reputation, lost fumbles are basically just bad luck. In the regular season, Grant touched the ball 212 times and fumbled once, so he's not a fumbler. By leaving Grant in the game and not even getting mad, McCarthy sent a positive message to the Packers, and they responded positively.

AP Photo
In the director's cut of "North by Northwest," Cary Grant rescues Eva Marie Saint from George Washington's nose.
With Seattle leading 14-0, Green Bay came out in 1950s-style T backfield with two fullbacks, one behind each tackle, and a tailback deep. The T formation is observed roughly once a decade in the NFL -- although San Diego would try it against Indianapolis the next day. Seeing the T, Blue Men Group defenders crowded into the box, assuming a power run. As the Packers approached the line, Favre looked left to wide receiver Greg Jennings, saw Jennings had single press coverage, and nodded to him. The nod was a "hidden audible" -- Favre and Jennings were changing the play to a quick slant, but nobody else knew that. At the snap, the Green Bay offensive line fired out for the power rush they thought was happening; Favre threw a quick slant; Jennings strolled to the end zone. Sweet! Except Packers' guard Daryn Colledge was 5 yards downfield, run-blocking. Green Bay should have been flagged for ineligible man downfield. Seven years ago in the divisionals, in Minnesota versus New Orleans, the same thing happened. The Vikings came out in a power-run set; Randy Moss had single coverage; Daunte Culpepper made eye contact with Moss to call a hidden audible; Moss took a quick slant for a touchdown as all other Minnesota players run-blocked; the entire Vikings' offensive line was ineligible downfield, no flag. Having your offensive linemen go downfield on a passing play makes for a very convincing run fake. But it's illegal, and Green Bay got away with one.
Seattle's luck was bad in other ways, too, with the Seahawks opening in a four-wide offense, seeing Deion Branch get hurt early and having to switch to different sets when they had practiced four-wide all week. But San Diego suffered key injuries at Indianapolis and hung in. Great offensive line play by Green Bay nullified the Seattle defense -- if the Packers and Patriots meet in the Super Bowl, that will match the NFL's two best offensive lines. Right tackle Mark Tauscher had a fabulous game against Pro Bowl defensive end Pat Kerney, turning Kerney into a very highly paid spectator. With Seattle leading 14-7, the Seahawks brought nine into the box in an obvious run situation; Grant gained 26 yards after Tauscher pasted Kerney at point of attack, then spun around and blocked Leroy Hill. On a long third-quarter run by Grant, Seattle put seven defenders in the box; Colledge pulled right from the left guard position as all Green Bay linemen down-blocked right; the Seahawks overpursued, and Grant simply cut back left.
The decisive play occurred with Green Bay leading 35-20 late in the third quarter, facing third-and-3. The Packers came out with an unbalanced line left, meaning three offensive linemen to the left of the center and one to the right. The Seahawks did not react, meaning their defensive front was outnumbered on the offensive left. To top it off, strong safety Brian Russell crept up and blitzed from the offensive left. When Russell was trapped inside, there was no Seattle player in Grant's way as he took the pitch left for 43 yards, setting up the icing touchdown. As Russell crept up toward the line, not realizing there was already a problem on his side that he was about to make worse, I said to my boys, "Here comes Green Bay's winning play." The solid defensive performance that had highlighted the Seahawks' season vanished in the snow at Lambeau.
Then again, perhaps there is a much simpler explanation for the Seattle defeat. A reader phrases it in haiku:
Seattle Seahawks:
smited by the football gods
for Brown's heated pants.
-- John Marx, West Henrietta, N.Y.
Meanwhile, Favre looked great, ducking under Julian Peterson to evade a sack when the game was close, later spinning away from Brandon Mebane to evade another sack and flip a falling-down underhanded pass for the first down. Not many 38-year-olds who star in jeans commercials can make athletic moves to beat NFL players a decade younger. But perhaps you've heard about Brett Favre.

NBC
So then it was fourth-and-99 with one second remaining! We had them exactly where we wanted them!
Friday night: once more,
last-second Panther comeback.
Please -- realism!
-- Doug Helmreich, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Reader Animadversion: Got a complaint or a deeply held grievance? Write me at TMQ_ESPN@yahoo.com. Include your real name and the name of your hometown, and I might quote you by name unless you instruct me otherwise. Note: Giving your hometown improves your odds of being quoted.

20th Century Fox
Homer gave Marge the best kiss of her life -- so far!
Wednesday: Nothing this week.
Next Week: They weren't drafted, or were let go, or both. Yet they're really good players -- better than many glamour boys. Next Tuesday, meet Tuesday Morning Quarterback's annual All-Unwanted All-Pros. That will set the stage for the following week's bestowing of the coveted "longest award in sports," the Tuesday Morning Quarterback Non-QB Non-RB NFL MVP.
In addition to writing Tuesday Morning Quarterback, Gregg Easterbrook is the author of "
The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse" and other books. He is also a contributing editor for The New Republic, The Atlantic Monthly and The Washington Monthly.
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