Who Will be in the Superbowl?

This year's playoffs have been a crazy ride. But when it comes down to it, the 2 teams everyone thought were favored to face each other in the Superbowl still have a chance to make it a reality. Of course, everyone thought they would be facing each other as 2 undefeated teams but looking back that kind of fairy tale is too far fetched and unrealistic.

Tomorrow the Saints will face the Vikings for the NFC championship. The Vikings have a potent passing game, the potential for an explosive running game if they ever actually let Adrian Peterson loose again, what looks to be a rejuvenated defense and did I mention one of the best Quarterbacks to ever play the game? The Saints...well, they're the Saints. Highly potent offense, solid running game, potentially explosive special teams and a defense that plays well when it wants to. By the way, Drew Brees is certainly no slouch at QB either. This is a tough game to call, and I could see it going either way. For the sake of making a pick, I will go with the New Orleans Saints.

In the AFC, the Colts will be facing the Jets. On paper this seems like such an easy pick. But in reality the Jets are playing really good football. They remind me of that Ravens team that won the Superbowl several years ago. Outstanding defense, solid running game and less than stellar at the QB position. That being said, there's no way you can go against the Colts in a game like this. They've won every game this year that they've actually tried to win. Brett Favre may be one of the best (or arguably the best) QB to ever play, but Peyton Manning is the best in the league right now. He will not allow this team to lose. The Colts defense is fast...not necessarily great, but fast...besides the Colts offense is their defense. With the Jets its the opposite. Their defense is their offense. This game is not as easy to call as it seems, but I'm definitely going with the Colts. How could you not?

So that would leave us with The New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts in the Superbowl. This was a foregone conclusion about 5 weeks ago, but then the Saints lost some important games and the Colts intentionally lost some games and everyone abandoned hope. Now, if conventional wisdom holds true, they should have a chance to atone for what everyone else saw as "backing into the playoffs."

The Colts and the Saints, yup...sticking to it. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Oh, Brett Favre's back? Ho hum...

So what can you say? You can't say you're surprised that he's back because he's played this game of 'I will, no I won't, yes I will' for the last couple of years. You can't say you wish he would've stayed retired (unless you're a Packers fan) because he's a future hall of famer, one of the best ever to put on a helmet...and hey, if the guy wants to play then let him play. So what can you say? Perhaps you can say what I did - whatever.

I'm so tired of Brett Favre stories I really don't care anymore. And I wasn't surprised that the Vikings made this move despite the denials by coach Childress, mainly because they passed on Vick when they didn't really have a solid option at Quarterback. I feel like the Vikings and Favre led us on a wild goose chase during the whole summer and finally ended up doing the exact opposite of what they said they would do just in time for Favre to miss enough of training camp to rest his body (quite convenient). But then again, I'm numb to the whole thing and don't care anymore. Let's just get the season started.

Are the Vikings better with Favre? Absolutely. Can they do some damage in the playoffs? Definitely. Will they win a SuperBowl? I can't see that happening. The talent pool in the NFC is deep and I expect that Brett will start to wane toward the end of the season again just like last year. And though he signed a 2 year contract, I think its pretty much this season or bust as far as any hope to win a championship.

So what can you expect from the Vikings and Favre? Big plays, an even more potent running attack from Adrian Peterson now that there is a legit deep threat, and for you fantasy leaguers...expect Bernard Berrian to have a really good year. His numbers last year were pretty impressive without a solid QB in the huddle. This year Favre should be dialing up the deep ball plenty.

I'm not going to write a whole lot on this topic right now. Instead I will reserve judgement. Partly because the season hasn't started yet and there's a lot of football to be played. Partly because I know I will end up writing ten thousand articles about Brett before the season is over. But mostly because I'm pretty apathetic to the whole Brett Favre saga right now. In a few weeks when football is coursing strong through my veins and we've had a chance to actually see him play, perhaps I will start caring.