AN DIEGO @ NEW ENGLAND:

Belichick will take away what the Chargers do well: run the ball.

Phillip Rivers gets the start. It didn’t go well…they start with a 3-done.

Chargers bring five on the first play from scrimmage against Brady. That will be the match-up of the day for the Patriots offense. Merriman/Phillips will be a problem…what protection scheme will the Patriots use when the Chargers rush both OLB’s? Slide the line or put Koppen on an island?

The Chargers are moving the ball on their 2^nd possession. Had to punt but it won’t hurt their confidence.

The Chargers look like they believe they can beat this team and are playing well. The longer they stick around, the more brazen they’ll become. This is THE key to the game: how long will the Chargers BELIEVE and COMPETE with Goliath?

Going against the wind in this game is brutal. A team that has the wind and doesn’t score points in the quarter they have the wind is going to put them in trouble as this game goes along. New England is not getting it done and then Brady throws a pick! Trouble…with the wind!

The Chargers have weathered the storm, literally, and the giant sleeps…This is why we play the games, baby! You just don’t know…until you know. This game rules…

Something is wrong with Tom Brady. He’s making a lot of high throws and looks like he’s going to barf. He looks detached. I wonder if he’s sick?

The Patriots score a TD but most of the drive happened with the wind.

Now the Chargers have the wind. Phillip Rivers is shredding the Patriots.

If I’m Belichick, I remind the Patriots at halftime what “experts” were saying about them after Spy-gate, bring Don Shula in as a guest-speaker and have Mercury Morris lead them in a team-prayer. Where’s the edge, boys? They look like they were expecting the Colts and were disappointed to see the Chargers.

Asante Samuel’s pick of Phillip Rivers will change the complexion of this game if the Patriots score.

Gaffney scores, complexion changed. Now what happens to Norv & the boys? It’s one thing to believe and quite another to believe when you’re down to the best team ever to take a field, on the road, in cold weather.

Rivers throws a jump-ball pick to Hobbs. Complexion…it’s all about complexion.

If the Patriots score here in the last 2-minutes, this game is all but done.

Darren Sproles just got the Chargers back in this game out of nowhere. To get some points before the half will lift the Chargers and keep them believing and competing. HUGE.

What’s wrong with Tom Brady?

What did the Chargers learn in the first-half?

1. They can move the ball against the Patriots.
2. They can stop the Patriots.
   
3. If they can stop them and score themselves, they can beat them. The Patriots can be beat! Is there a better lesson that could be learned (not just palavered, but learned) by the Chargers? NO.

What did the Patriots learn in the first-half?

1. They’re in a ball game.
2. They might have overlooked the Chargers.
3. They could lose this game.

ADVANTAGE CHARGERS!!!!!!!!

History looms and throats tighten, gulping down chilled Dolphin.

What NE does with the ball on their first-possession is important. Brady is picked-off and the Chargers get the ball at midfield!!! The upset looms…

I need to stop writing and enjoy this…

Antonio Gates being ineffective may have lost this game for the Chargers. The Patriots red-zone defense is their one real weakness, yet they have come up with four-stops in the red-zone. That’s because Gates is knicked-up. If he’s healthy, this game could be a lot different.

Phillip Rivers has been the butt of a lot of jokes but he made huge plays from a wounded drop. He’s got my respect. A couple of huge third down throws. People have dared Rivers to beat them and he continues to do just that.

The Patriots can be whatever they need to be in order to beat you. Lawrence Maroney is exhibit “A”. Brady threw 3-interceptions in this game, the Chargers were doing a great job on defense in the secondary, and the Patriots morphed into a power team. Their ability to run the ball is why the Patriots won this game.

How important is it in the post-season to be able to run the ball? Don’t tell me the running game is dead. Don’t tell me the pillars of the game no longer apply. Over the course of an entire post-season stretch, at some point, you better be able to run the ball and/or stop opponents from running the ball – especially in cold weather games.

The Patriots have gone where no man has ever gone before: 18-0. Incredible.

WHY DID THE PATRIOTS WIN?

1. They were able to run the ball well: Maroney, 25/122/TD.
2. They were able to stop the run (Turner, 17/65) and forced Rivers to beat them (19/37/211/2-ints)
3. Red-zone efficiency: Patriots were ¾ in converting red-zone opportunities into TD’s and the Chargers were 0/3.

NEW YORK @ GREEN BAY:

Almost all the Giants come out in sleeves and the Packers come out with bare arms. Interesting, don’t you think?

The Frozen Tundra looks…frozen.

I love the Packers full-house backfield. They start the game with it because it is very effective when footing is an issue. Out of this, they can run their zone-scheme to either side with a lead blocker – a check-with-me, called by Favre at the LOS – and have the off-side fullback cut the backside. The backside is huge in zone schemes. The stretch-zone, pioneered by Alex Gibbs, is predicated on getting a hat-on-a-hat play-side, while building a wall backside. The full-house backfield is perfect for what they want to do and can be run against virtually any defensive front.

The Packers come out with 2-bootlegs. This is to set-up their zone-scheme with Ryan Grant. They’re establishing the counter to the zone blocking scheme to keep the backside honest. Soon, Favre will hand the ball off and fake the boot action to keep the backside from running down Grant.

Eli Manning looks good…did I just type that? Real good.

Imagine what it feels like to tackle Brandon Jacobs in this game. The extreme cold makes your body contract and hitting another body with your head makes the blood rush through that shriveled body. Man, is that painful.

A good start for the G-Men.

When the footing gets bad, the offense really has a big advantage. The offensive players know what play they’re running; therefore, they know where they’re first-step is going. Lineman know where to step, receivers know what route they’re running and when to break, and running backs know when they are going to cut. Remember, offense acts, defense reacts. The initiative is with the offense. The only time the defense has the initiative is when they force the issue in rushing the passer: the blitz.

The whacko-play might decide this game. As I write this, with these weather conditions, I cannot help but feel like something weird is going to happen in this game. Whenever the weather gets bad, skill and repetition are diminished and strength and happenstance are elevated.

THE PACKERS NEED TO POUND THE FOOTBALL AND ESTABLISH RYAN GRANT. But the Giants are doing a good job of walking the eighth-man into the box late, mixing it up. The team that runs the ball the best in this game is going to win this thing.

Plaxico Burress and Al Harris: this is great! Where are the lineman?

The Giants had it going and then Favre happened. Donald Driver fights off Corey Webster at the LOS and Favre lays it out there.

The Packers are starting to go after Eli Manning, something they don’t like to do. This needs to be monitored as the drama unfolds.

The officials are letting these guys play, especially in the secondary. This makes me very happy.

Plexico Burress is just shredding Al Harris and the Packers.

Plexico Buress…are you kidding me? Green Bay needs to roll a safety over the top of Harris because he’s getting toasted!

Eli Manning is going to be a good quarterback in this league. Breakouts typically don’t happen in the post-season but that is exactly what has happened with this youngster.

What a game on the tundra. With 2:12 to go in the 3^rd Qtr: 20-17, Giants. I picked the Packers 24-20.

And it happened! The whacko-play from nowhere! Favre magic at Lambeau Field! Are you kidding me? Just legendary, man, legendary! McQuarters picks it off and then fumbles the ball and Tauscher catches it in mid-air! But they only got a field-goal out of it, but it tied the score: 20-20.

Eli Manning…let that hang in the air…can you say “Gamer?”

Why did Tom Coughlin take a TO with 2:30 to go when you know you’re going to get great field position and only need a FG to win the game? Let it tick down to the 2:00 minute, so what? 2:00 at midfield with a TO in my pocket is way better than 2:30 with a TO I can’t control (the 2:00 warning).

Eli Manning was the difference in this game. He was the player of the game. He played as well as I’ve ever seen him play.

Lawrence Tynes with a 36-yard FG: Jay Alford (LS) with a high snap! Lambeau Magic, indeed! Lambeau, Lambeau, Lambeau!!!!!!

SUDDEN DEATH:

Favre throws a pick to Corey Webster. Will that be the last pass the legend throws? I wonder…

Tynes does the impossible! A 47-yard FG