By Zack Cimini

New England?s two Super bowl wins in three seasons, could end up being three real quick. If and when it does happen this team has to go down as one of the best all time. Each and every year when it looks like their team will be susceptible, they somehow manage to defy odds and keep the media fun loving. Everyone knows that the media enjoys nothing better than seeing a championship team fall a part. Eventually the Patriots will falter, but this season is a testament to a true team.

Peyton Manning may have been 0-6 at New England going into Sunday?s game, but 80 percent of people thought this would be the time. Throughout the first half the Patriots dominated Manning just like in the past, but the score was only 6-3. We all know that the Colts offense was stronger than that, and expected for them to figure out something at halftime. Shockingly though, the only team that put up any points coming back onto the field were the Patriots for a 20-3 finish. The Patriots offense could have been ineffective for another thirty minutes and it wouldn?t have mattered.

Tedy Bruschi summed it up best when he said this is what a true team is supposed to be. Any other team that was suffering on defense with two key players in Ty Law and Richard Seymour out, would have made excuses. Bill Belicheck and his championship nucleus of coaches would not allow any sympathy for going this far. Rather they sucked it up and battled to put together their best game all around this season.

The Patriots rise to the top has been all because of Bob Kraft?s moves. It all started by bringing in Bill Parcell?s many years ago. He came in and changed this team from a bassment cellar team, to a steady playoff team. The best accomplishment with him was a trip to the Super Bowl in 1997. It paved the way for learning experiences but also brought about a need for change. Parells wanted out, and wanted Curtis Martin with him. So right there went a big part of the Patriots offense to the Jets. On the defensive side though, many of the players have been together for an extended time, including Ty Law, Tedy Bruschi, and Willie McGinest.

No disrespect to Pete Carroll but the experiment with him in New England is a transition that is never remembered. He had a rough time keeping this team together, and Bob Kraft quickly crafted up an idea. He decided to go after Bill Belicheck who has been coaching in the NFL since the 70?s, and was willing to give up a first round draft pick and other picks for him. Many people thought Kraft was silly, but Belicheck was ready to shine. He had been under Parcells in the 80?s with the Giants, than was the Cleveland Browns head coach in the early 90?s, before rejoining Parcells wing. Parcells is considered one of the best coaches of all time, and you can bet Bellicheck learned everything possible in those long years.

With a background like Belicheck?s you?re going to become a disciple of the game, and make many friends around the league. A great head coach is a key to a teams success, but the overlooked keys are the coordinators. Just look at how Jimmy Johnson did without Norv Turner and Dave Wannstedt? Belicheck is going to lose Charlie Weiss and Romeo Crennel this off season, and they may be irreplaceable. The schemes and concepts both have been able to come up with every week, have been the catalyst to this teams success.

With all of the awards handed out each year, it?s unfathomable why there is never a defensive and offensive coordinator of the year handed out. A head coach can only do so much, and a player gets their one on one attention from their coordinators and position coaches. Why do you think a coach like Dennis Green is quick to fire his coordinators? It?s because they?re pivotal to success on the field.

By Zack Cimini

Truth is a defining testament of sixty minutes of football played on the field. The drama of wild card weekend was wild in itself, but the true warriors didn?t let that affect their mindset for round two. All of the teams that had byes proved they were the better team, with statement wins. In fact Pittsburgh was the only team that was threatened by an opponent. They?ll need to get Ben Roethlisberger to regroup quickly or they will be dismantled by the Patriots defense. They defied all reasoning by shutting down Peyton Manning once again, and it looks like there will be no detour on their way to the Super Bowl.

Atlanta did what all teams are able to do successfully against the Rams, and that is jump on them early. They allowed 200 yards rushing in the first half alone, and seemingly couldn?t figure out how to attack the run. The sole purpose of the Rams brining nine men up to the line of scrimmage was to force Michael Vick to have to use his vertical passing skills. Well, the Falcons weren?t about to settle for that until the Rams could stop the run, and they simply couldn?t do it. Atlanta?s offensive line was destroying the Rams defensive line at the point of attack, and many times left TJ Duckett or Warrick Dunn roaming untouched fifteen to twenty yards down the field.

Looking back at when the Rams started falling apart, was when they weren?t able to use Stephen Jackson. Early on in the game he was giving the Rams a balanced attack, and was the key to setting up Torry Holt?s twenty eight yard touchdown. As soon as the Falcons got back on the field though the offense went straight back to work. Mike Martz isn?t a patient man with his offense, and from then on threw out the idea of a ground game. When you?re one dimensional it makes it simple for a defensive coordinator to figure out what to do, and that means blitzes coming from all directions.

Marc Bulger was nearly killed on the field, because the Falcons knew they were going to throw every time. If I were vice president of operations for the Rams I would add a few players to the defense, and fix the special teams problem. They ranked last or second to last in punt and kick return coverage, and the punt return they gave up near the end of the second quarter corralled the Rams hopes.

It was exciting to see two 8-8 teams win in the wild card round for the first time in NFL history, but the indication of a weak NFC was relevant over the weekend. Atlanta and Philadelphia looked like they were playing a tune up preseason football game right before the regular season. Now is the real show in which they will battle each other.

Donovan McNabb?s facial expression and tone in his voice hasn?t changed all year long, and no athlete has been more devoted to improving each year than he has. This will be the fourth straight year he has got his Eagles to the NFC championship, and he knows this opportunity could be his last. He defied critics when he was picked second in the draft, and has been shooting them down each year he has been in the league. Where are Cade McNown, Tim Couch, Akili Smith, and Daunte Culpepper? The only answer that matters is that they all don?t have a dab of the credentials McNabb has to his resume.

In the AFC the Patriots are still the goliath of the NFL. If they are able to win another Super Bowl, they have to go down as one of the top dynasties in NFL history. With the way the NFL is setup today with free agency, no one thought a team would be able to do this again.

Pittsburgh gave the Jets many chances to win but the Jets just didn?t want it enough. Roethlisberger got away with one, and needs to know that type of performance will get him tore to shreds by the Patriots. It?ll definitely be a game decided by defense and the running game, so that plays in the Steelers hands since they led the league in rushing.

– I hope everyone got a chance to see New England dominate Indy on Sunday. Belichek once again came through with a plan to stop Peyton Manning that was executed to perfection with third, fourth and fifth string cornerbacks. That?s simply unbelievable coaching on the behalf of the Patriots staff. Now they have a chance to go into Pittsburgh, with Corey Dillon this time around, and drag Ben Roethlisberger back down to earth where he hasn?t been in four months. The rookie quarterback will have a tough time picking up the Belichek defensive schemes as his inexperience in the playoffs will come alive this Sunday at Hines Field.

– Neither Minnesota or St. Louis belonged in the playoffs and both proved it on Sunday. The Rams looked like a freshman football team going up against a varsity squad. Amazed at the speed and execution of the opposition. They might as well have not even shown up because they were embarrassed by the Falcons. Both Michael Vick and Warrick Dunn used their tremendous speed to blaze right past the Rams defenders for big time gains and touchdowns. The Rams secondary was non-existent against the run, as they were nearly always unsuccessfully running down Vick and Dunn. The Vikings only showed up on paper. Randy Moss looked like he could care less as he rarely gave a full effort running up the field. The Viking defense has always been atrocious and didn?t come alive for this particular occasion. If you ask me, both these head coaches should be fired because the talent on their teams is heavily misused and the overall game management has just been awful for both the Vikings and Rams. Just look at the misexecution on the fake field goal by the Vikings. Twelve men on the field and the only player that could get off the field in time was Randy Moss, who was the intended receiver of this trickery by the Vikings. That?s all coaching.

– The Eagle-Falcons matchup should be a great one in Philadelphia this weekend. Donovan McNabb was solid in his first meaningful game since Terrell Owens went down, but faced a weak Vikings defense. The question is, how will he fare against a much better Falcons defense. Vick and Dunn ran the ball very well against a suspect Rams defense. This week against Philadelphia, things will be different. Vick and Dunn won?t have the ability to run right past the Eagles secondary the way they did against the Rams secondary. Philadelphia has a very good defense starting up front. Ever since Jeremiah Trotter took over at middle linebacker, the Eagles run defense has drastically improved. Vick and Dunn will have a much tougher time this week but I don?t foresee Philadelphia completely shutting down the Falcons running game. Look for Atlanta to steal one and head to Jacksonville for the Super Bowl.

Getting into the playoffs is a preliminary goal of the bigger picture, but a wild card loss is an illusion of depicting a team?s fate. There are only two scenario?s to account for an early exit in the playoffs. A team is young and inexperienced, or that a team is old and faltering back. For the Chargers, Packers, Seahawks, and Broncos all of them fit in one of the two categories.

San Diego Chargers
Marty Shottenheimer is getting choke job references due to the same parallel results that happened when he was Chiefs head coach. It?s a label that he?ll be stamped with until he proves otherwise. To his credit he was in a situation that no one could fathom happening. It was a great year but now the truth of their definite future will be brought out in the next few months. More than likely they aren?t going to be able to resign Drew Brees, and that?s a lame copout for a team that used Brees as a goat. Before they even drafted Philip Rivers, they showed mistrust in Brees ability by signing Doug Flutie. Flutie has had a great career, but why bring him in to confuse Brees and the Chargers fans? Everyone knew that Flutie wanted the opportunity to finish out his career strong, but Brees opposed that and backed it with his play. If I were Brees I?d move on in a heartbeat to a team that has talent except for at quarterback, and end his business relationship with the Chargers. The bottom line is if he stays a Charger and goes on a rough losing streak, this organization will turn to Rivers in a heartbeat. It?s totally wrong for an organization to dishonor a player and then flip in a 100 percent turnover direction, acting as if their agenda or motive was to develop Philip River?s slowly. This team can still due damage, but the youth that progressed this year is going to have a setback due to Philip Rivers having to learn. It?s going to take at least a season or two for the Chargers to get back in the AFC fold.

Denver Broncos
Now the unruly fans of the world are revolting against Jake Plummer as quickly as Shanahan does with running backs. There is something about Plummer that makes him enticing for coaches to keep, but in all reality he hasn?t made any advances in his career. This is a guy that has been in the league since 1997, not 2000. You?d expect an eight year professional to learn from mistakes and develop on a consistent basis. Instead he continues to display erratic play that has also carried onto the field, as he was fined for an obscene gesture late in the season. The yearly prospective is that maybe the light bulb will finally turn on for him, but instead it only flickers with a dimmer of hope for stretches on a season. Denver has no choice but to keep their faith in Plummer because they signed him to a long term deal. You can bet though that Mike Shanahan is having his scouts go and find an upside youthful quarterback that he can sign for cheap. This situation looks a lot like Drew Bledsoe when he was a Patriot, before Tom Brady took over and the Patriots were able to dump Bledsoe?s contract. If Plummer doesn?t show up early and often next year, look for a young promising quarterback to make Plummer relinquish his position.

NFC

Seattle Seahawks
They just can?t win a playoff game, and now they have to worry about resigning the backbone of their team. Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander somehow were not part of Seattle?s organization game plans to resign last summer. Both have proven they deserve top notch dollars for their position, and as athletes in their situation they will make a career move. Both are entering the phase where they have a good four to five years to be valuable assets in the league, and neither of them are not dumb enough to not realize that. They are going to cash in for top dollars, and that means Seattle will have to fork out more than they would have likely had to, if they would have done this sooner. They really have no choice if they want to improve and have a shot at contending in their division. St. Louis will still have weapons, the Cardinals are improving, and the 49ers are in an adjustment period. Not to mention teams like the Lions, Bears, Panthers, Saints, Bucs, etc were all young teams that hinted with playoff contention this season.

Green Bay
Watching Favre play and digress as the game went on, you could only imagine flashbacks of the last time a future Hall of Famer played like this in the playoffs. The last one was Dan Marino in 2000, when the Dolphins were walloped 62-7 in Jacksonville. Usually a loss gets full blame on the quarterback, even though they don?t deserve the criticism wholly. In this case though, Favre?s play was 80-85 percent of the reason why they lost. It?d be a mistake on Favre?s part to comeback another year, as his body doesn?t need it and neither does his trophy case. He has the coveted goal of winning a Super Bowl, and his reputation amongst fans and NFL personnel is priceless. If he were to come back, he?d be looking at another shot at going to the wild card round. It?s not worth it, and the Packers only chance of being a serious contender next year is if the organization banks on it. Meaning they go out and sign big time players and go after a championship run in one year. That could happen, but after that?s done the organization would suffer from all of the contracts they?ll have to restructure. The end of the quarterback chain has come for Favre, he?ll be missed but it is time to hang it up.

Impulses of inferior hearts will come to attest this weekend in the NFL?s division round. With four teams left in each conference, each team is taking this ride as their chance. Two of those teams in each conference will concede a loss, and take it as a tough lesson learned. No one realizes the true ride that each team is living right now. A successful adventure will link their team and teammates together forever. No matter if they?re a rookie, a transition athlete, or on the brink of retiring, their enchanted run will mystify NFL Films highlights for years to come. From way back in mini-camp each team?s goal is to reach the Super Bowl. Piece by piece, these eight teams have almost completed their puzzle. The question is will a team?s puzzle be two or three pieces short?

AFC

NY Jets vs. Pittsburgh
All of the excitement of the wild card weekend?s high scoring affair will come down from the top floor for a moment. The Jets and Steelers are at their best when they control the clock, and let their defense win games. It wouldn?t be a shocker to see both teams have 35 or more carries on the ground, and only 15-20 passes throwing. You?re probably thinking twenty passes is a legitimate standard for a quarterback. Well, take a look at Daunte Culpepper, Marc Bulger, Peyton Manning, etc. that are throwing the ball 35-40 times a game. The Jets proved that their veteran experience will help their profile, but a one-week extension doesn?t mean anything. Chad Pennington will need to continue with his precision accuracy and utilize his speedsters down the sideline. It?ll open up for him, but will he be able to make the throws? On Pittsburgh?s side, Bill Cowher has the upper hand of almost any coach when it comes to playoff preparation. His team should be ready, and the fans know how to represent their team to the fullest. It?ll be a war, but in the end the Steelers will prove why they are 15-1.

Indianapolis vs. New England
Manning has been able to do everything in his brief career besides defeat New England and win a Super Bowl. He has his eyes on adding both to his resume in the next month. It?s a feat that should happen, because no team has the arsenal to stop Indianapolis. Manning is in such an ozone atmosphere with three great receivers. He can throw darts all over the field with bull?s eye accuracy, without having to concentrate on that red spot. Come on, does New England honestly think Troy Brown can fill in the secondary against this team? He may have had three interceptions in the season, but two of them were from being in the right spot at the right time. With Ty Law and Ty Poole out this is one of those overthrowing the king games in the making. Tom Brady will need to display how great he really is, because he?ll need to stay neck and neck with this Colts team. Is Brady going to end up the same route Kurt Warner did, or will he keep it going?

NFC

Minnesota vs. Philadelphia
Forget about Moss?s spotlight stage acts. Daunte Culpepper is benefiting from Moss?s acts by pulling off a compelling quiet starring role. Every other NFL playoff team has the attention and pressure all on the quarterback except Minnesota. Culpepper is able to be at ease, with the media trying to make Moss a Dennis Rodman type spokesman. Just weigh the scale of pressure for both Culpepper and McNabb, and it?d be at least 80 percent on McNabb?s side. McNabb and the Eagles have been hearing about how the NFC is anybody?s game, and guess what happened in the wild card round? Both road teams went in and upset the home team. Minnesota even did it with ease, and now the Eagles have to center their focus on how to score points. It?s rather easy to depict this game. The only way Philadelphia can win this game is if Culpepper has a horrendous day. He has had a great season all year long, and envisioning that stopping this week is only a probability if Moss?s ankle limits his big play potential.

St. Louis vs. Atlanta
Many would have expected both of these teams to meet in the playoffs in a reversal of seedings. Instead the Rams played below expectations, and the Falcons overachieved. Either way both are talented teams with x-factors on their sides. If Dick Vitale were able to do a ranking of his special players, they?d be filled with a few from both sides. The bad thing with that, is when your impact players aren?t performing their best it results in a bad loss. St. Louis has more big play stars, and in the end I think that?ll be too much for just Michael Vick. He does have a 100 million dollar contract though, which proves he should be able to matchup multiple athletes.

Prior to the season, critics said the Cardinals would be fine offensively but their defense would keep them from winning very many games. Well the opposite took place in 2004.

If you had a chance to watch the Arizona Cardinals play, you would have noticed their need for a running game.

With two future pro bowl wide receivers and a solid third wideout, the Cardinals are in desperate need of a premiere running back to open up the passing game.

This offseason, Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander will become an unrestricted free agent. Prior to the Seahawks game in Arizona this season, Alexander reportedly spoke to a few Cardinals players about talking to the Red Birds following the season.

If the Cardinals can build their offensive line, whether it be via free agency, the draft or by trade, and sign a running back like Alexander, their offense will be something to fear next season.

This season, Alexander rushed for 1,696 yards and 16 touchdowns. Alexander also caught 23 balls this year for 170 yards and four touchdowns making him the 10th player in NFL history to have 20 or more total touchdowns in a single season.

An addition like Alexander and the Cardinals will be on the map. The team many will predict to win the NFC west next season. Josh McCown will have the opportunity to develop into the quarterback he has shown signs of.

With the correct play calling and a running game, receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin should have no problem catching 80 balls for over 1,000 yards each next season. They are that good.

It will be interesting to see how Dennis Green approaches the teams needs after a 6-10 season in his first year as the head coach of the Cardinals. He has said that they will play a role in free agency.

Expect to see a lot of players lose their jobs, even the unexpected. After all, Green has a plan in his head and if his players aren?t willing to abide, they can clean out their locker and look for employment elsewhere. Just look at what he did with Pete Kendall, the anchor of the Cardinals offensive line.

There are plenty of needs to fulfill on both sides of the ball in order for the Cardinals to compete and play football in January of next year. But with the addition of a player like Alexander, a few solid offensive lineman and another stud linebacker, it will be the start of a future contender. A team capable of winning it all.

The Cardinals? Winning it all? That?s something many believed would never happened. But the pieces are beginning to come together. And if Green has a plan, expect to see the Cardinals make some noise as soon as 2006, which just so happens to be the same season their new stadium is on schedule to open. What a way to christen a new home.