Another year, another four Ole Miss players in the final round of the NFL Playoffs. Michael Oher (Baltimore), Patrick Willis (San Francisco), Brandon Bolden (New England) and Peria Jerry (Atlanta) all have a chance to get to the Super Bowl by winning their NFL or AFC Championship Games next weekend. Ole Miss is guaranteed a claim to somebody's ring. My money is on Willis. And with that football season is almost at a complete close.
My interest in the NFL Playoffs has waned this year, especially with the absence of the New York Giants, my favorite team. My default teams were the Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos and now even they are done for the season. That said, it is still the playoffs. Last I checked I'm still a man, and I wouldn't be an American one if I didn't watch, and so watch I did.
Yesterday the finality of the playoffs hit me like never before. Their sudden death nature is merciless and it doesn't play favorites. Resume's go in the garbage. The playoffs don't care who you are or what you did. There is one rule and one rule only: Win or go home.
It almost seems unfair.
Peyton Manning had a fantastic, MVP worthy season after coming back from a neck injury and a trade to Denver. He won 13 games and the Broncos were easily the class of the AFC. Manning seemed destined for his 2nd Super Bowl ring. It was all lined up so perfectly. On the other hand their Saturday opponent, the Baltimor Ravens, were one of the least worthy teams in the playoffs. The Ravens had lost three of their last four, including a 34-17 loss to Denver and finished 10-6. Baltimore's offense, led by stale quarterback Joe Flacco, had been a bore to watch (no offense Michael Oher). On paper, the Ravens should have been a speed bump for the Broncos on their way to the next round, but when the two teams took the field Saturday night the credentials that got them there mattered none whatsoever. The Ravens won in overtime, and Manning fell short another year.
With the playoffs an entire season of greatness can be completely nullified in a moment.
The Atlanta Falcons, playing with the NFC's best record, needed a last minute field goal to beat the wild card Seattle Seahawks. An entire season, 16 games and 13 hard-fought wins, all came down to one kick. The fortunes of an entire team after six months of painful, soul wrenching, body degenerating work all rested on a snap from the center to the holder, his ability to place the ball on the turf perfectly presented for a collision with the kicker's foot which must strike in such a way as to make the air-filled piece of leather travel through the air 49 yards and through two poles that are roughly 18 feet apart. If the ball goes through those tall, narrow, yellow uprights everything Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has done this year still has meaning, as he still has a chance to make it to the Super Bowl. If the kicker misses Ryan is not a "winner" and those 13 wins are erased by one pervasive thought - "he can't win the big game."
Manning has to wait until next year. Ryan lives another week. The Playoffs are like the Hunger Games with dudes, but nobody dies.
How about some Ole Miss headlines?
OLE MISS HEADLINES
1. Ole Miss is Seth Davis' Flavor of the Week.
2. Rebels up to 20th at KenPom.com.
3. Rebels, Bulldogs to collide in conference championships.
4. Rebels atop SEC standings.
5. Ole Miss officially an SEC title contender (scroll down).