Sometimes I wonder what went wrong...

...or even more, just what went right?

For me, very little in the world of sports this weekend. I called exactly one game, leading me to 1-3. You had to be blind to not see the Ravens beating the tar out of the Dolphins, and maybe you had to be blind to miss Philadelphia and Arizona.

Arizona surprised me in a way I didn't think they would. They showcased a running game and a defense that made them look like a balanced team, a team you may actually fear, which is shocking because no one, not even last week's Falcons, should.

That being said, they COULD take down the Carolina Panthers if they force the Panthers into playing a game they don't want to, which is a shootout. If Arizona can continue to explode and have Fitzgerald and Boldin both healthy, they can air it out and start racking up points. When you get down a score or two quickly, it's easy to get trigger happy and to want to start throwing deep. Steve Smith is a threat, but he's there to break a game open, especially when you've got a tandem running team that can eat clock. I think if Carolina sticks to their game, they can run away with this, but if they get forced into a shootout, the Cardinals could hang on, especially if they get a nice sunny Carolina day.

What happened in San Diego? The Colts died. On the line. They failed to convert a big 3rd down as they approached the two minute warning and could have sat on the ball and blown raspberries at the Chargers. Instead, Manning gets sacked for a loss...Chargers march down the field, tie it on a field goal, and win it in OT. Chargers were the Sexy pick and for good reason, and that was primarily why I refused to take them, but they took it to the Colts, even with LT sitting on the sidelines most of the game. I will be interested to see if Sproules can do the same thing in Pittsburgh that he did in San Diego, but I doubt it...

Baltimore annihilated the Dolphins. I didn't want to see it happen, but it did, and the Ravens are proving just how dominating their defense is. The Irresistible Force stopped the Immovable Object and caused 5 turnovers. That's how you win ballgames.

Finally, Philadelphia won in Minnesota, which should not have been shocking, except for the fact that Andy Reid is the head coach, and he stuck to his guns. In situations where it looked like he would get pass happy, he stuck with the run, worked the clock down, and maintained the game to a point where they couldn't give it away. It also helps to play against Tavaris Jackson who completely imploded. Adrian Peterson did the same thing to the Eagles that he did to the Giants in week 17, which is get completely stopped except for 1 explosive run which looked like it could change the game. In the Giants game, it did, in the Eagles game, it was merely a footnote. Why they didn't bench Jackson in the 4th is still a mystery to me, always will be, but I guess Minnesota didn't have any desire to go on.

So does Philly have the horses? As I've always said, this is the playoffs, and you have to be realistic...so yes. They completely have the horses. They really look like last year's Giants, getting hot at the right time, bringing it all together, doing it on defense...but I think they have holes. The Giants will miss Burress, but when they played the Eagles they did so with limited production from Brandon Jacobs, who has since only really played one game to get his knee back to full health. This was also shortly after the fallout with Pierce regarding the Burress shooting, and everyone will tell you it shouldn't matter, but it did that week. However, the key matchup is Antonio Pierce vs. Brian Westbrook. Westbrook wins that match ten times out of ten, even with Pierce at his best, and the Eagles exploited that. If the Giants find a way to contain come Sunday, the road to Tampa will still go through the Meadowlands.

-Jobimoto out.
"And boom goes the dynamite..."