Beautiful Playoffs

I just won the Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs over the San Francisco 49ers on the Nintendo game Tecmo Super Bowl. I got off to a great start in the first quarter and was able to respond to each effort by the 49ers to make a comeback. Great game capping a great season.

The Chiefs got into the Super Bowl with some week 17 magic. A win over the Raiders that week put them at 8-8, good enough for a tie with the Raiders. Luckily, the Chiefs held the tie-breaker and won the AFC West. An improbable run through the playoffs which included handling Peyton Manning and the Colts ensued. That, along with the aforementioned victory over the 49ers, and the team that could barely squeak out a .500 winning percentage in the regular season was your Super Bowl champion.

Was this Chiefs Tecmo Super Bowl squad the worst championship team ever?

The Packers v. Bears game this Sunday pits a team with a premier QB, arguably the NFL's best wide receivers, as well as a solid defense fueled by front-runner for Defensive POY at linebacker versus a team with an inconsistent QB, average skill players, and a solid defense fueled by a great, but aging linebacker. The sentiment shared by many is that the Packers are just playing too well to lose this game and are the favorite to represent the NFC in the upcoming Super Bowl. I personally think that Green Bay is in for a dogfight. An early loss to the Bears as well as the more recent week 17, 10-3 victory over the Bears, who, that latter game had nothing to play for an rested many of their starters, are not facts that scream an easy Packers victory. Other aspects working in Chicago's favor is that Green Bay was not spectacular on the road this season and the sloppy playing surface at Solider Field which may slow down the Packers' receivers. I still am going to pick the Packers in this game but have no expectation that the game will approach anything like unto the blowout in Atlanta last week.

So, what if Chicago wins, are they the worst Super Bowl team ever?

In all actuality, a Chicago win may not even implicate them as the worst Bears team to play in the Super Bowl. The 2006 squad led by Rex Grossman may even be worse than this years. I digress. Regardless, the 2010 Bears would be an underwhelming Super Bowl participant. They lean heavily on their defense and special teams to win games, and just hope their offense will not cough up the ball. Shaky, inconsistent quarterback play, average wide-receivers, an offensive line that has struggled at times to protect Jay Cutler. These are attributes not normally associated with potential Super Bowl teams. Nevertheless, I do not think you can neglect giving Chicago credit for getting where they are, even if it included a win over the only NFL team in history to get into the playoffs with a losing record. They worked within the same system as every other NFL team.

Let us pause for a moment and talk about the playoffs.

This is what you get when you use a playoff system--unpredictable results. Would I rank the Chicago Bears in the top 4 of NFL teams this year? Not even close. If given a vote, my top four would look something like New England, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore. There is not voting in the NFL. Like the Seahawks exhibited so excellently this year, you don't have to win a lot of games, you just have to win enough. There was no computer ranking system that was combined with voter-built polls to determine which two teams would play for the championship and which teams would get the consolation prize. New England v. Atlanta in the Super Bowl Championship Series Championship game presented by Ford Motor Company. Pittsburgh and Baltimore, #3 and #4 respectively, would play in the Heinz Ketchup Bowl. Green Bay would be pitted against New Orleans for the (insert sponsor) Bowl. Can you imagine this happening? Of course not. The idea would be ridiculous beyond all measure. Yet, every year it happens in College Football.

I understand that there are stark differences between College Football and the NFL. The NFL draws from 32 teams, while college draws from 115+. The athletes are different. The game is different. The principle of competition is the same, win. In the NFL, you just need to win enough games. In college football, you have to win all of your games. I am no advocate for opening the flood gates and giving all schools access to the college football championship. I do like the idea of a playoff. For me, eight schools is the most that should be included in a college football playoff. The idea of the "plus one" format intrigues me as well, in which a championship game is played between the top two teams after all of the BCS games have been completed. To me, these ideas make sense. Give all of those teams who, by their record, have shown that they are the best in college football a fair shot at proving it.

Chicago, though underwhelming, is a product of the playoff system. Their fans started this season with low expectations. After winning a few games, the division, and then a playoff game, they are now on the doorstep of the biggest game of the year. They were not voted into this position. They played themselves into it. No 6-5 college football team deserves a shot at the championship. An 11-1 team in the top 5 with something to prove probably does deserve that shot.

Thank you to all who stuck with me through this post. Expect more rants like this, but also, hopefully, more succinct and shorter posts.