Jamie Mottram's Sports Blog - www.misterirrelevant.com

Three things ruled during the divisional round: 1) Home field advantage. 2) Guys playing on rest. 3) Freddie Mitchell. The guy known for dating Elizabeth Hurley in college and being on the receiving end of Fourth-and-26 scored an early TD, reverse mooned the adoring Philly phaithful, turned L.J. Smith's fumble into another TD, coughed up a goal line fumble of his own later on and dressed like Andre 3000 for the postgame press conference. 'Hollywood' said it best: "I'm a special player. I've just got to thank my hands for being so great. I've just been chillin' being patient, being humble. I knew my time was going to come."

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Eagles 27-Vikings 14 (game recap | video highlights)
 Year of the Bird: "As the wind swirled through Lincoln Financial Field early Sunday afternoon, I no sooner thought that I should have worn four pairs of socks instead of three, when I looked up and the Eagles were headed to victory. Did someone say we'd come out cold after nearly a month of rest? That's what I thought.

MVPs: Freddie Mitchell on offense and Jeremiah Trotter on D. Freddie (or 'Hollywood' as he likes to be called) has caught plenty of criticism in the press for his hot-and-cold receiving skills. But bottom line, he stepped up when the team needed him. Jeremiah Trotter was, quite simply, all over the field. A sack here, an interception there. I was expecting him to trot out on offense at some point in the game. Sorry 'Skins, looks like Trotter had little interest in playing for you 'cause he's ripping it up back in Philly.

Notables: Donovan McNabb had approximately 6 days, 15 hours, 32 minutes and4 seconds in the pocket every time he dropped back. Can I get a 'what what!?!' for the offenseive line? Westbrook had more than 100 combined yards and he looked like a WR out there catching passes. Then again, he was coming out of the backfield. Hint: the Falcons D won't know what to do with him."

 Hollywood's becoming a PTPer.

· Bleeding Purple: "Mr. Moss, supposedly the greatest player in the NFL, showed he was not all. He did not help as a leader and dropped enough passes that could have made a difference. The Vikings would be better served trading him."
· Sportz Assassin: "Mistakes screwed Minnesota. Two costly picks by Culpepper…converting only 1-of-3 inside the red zone…and committing 7 penalties for 108 yards killed them."
· Big Blue Notes: "The Viking defense is very weak and only seems impressive when Brett Favre is throwing the ball to them."
· Lions Weekly: "Randy Moss looked disiniterested."
· Ravens Blog: "While the Eagles were busy frustrating and overwhelming a relatively Moss-less Viking team, their police and inspectors were busy harassing, acosting and ultimately confiscating the 'Fear The EAGLE' wristbands that my son and I were selling around the tailgating lots, trying to raise money for UNICEF's Tsunami Relief Fund. Two hours into what was looking to be a successful fundraising effort, out of the blue came two of Philly's finest, grabbing my son and I, taking our merchandise, uncaring of the effort and ignoring the other fans imploring them to let us go and give us our bands back. Nope, they said, you didn't have a permit, we don't care, now go away! City of Brotherly Love? I think not!"

 Email FearBands@aol.com for tsunami relief.

Pats 20-Colts 3 (game recap | video highlights)
 The Belly Check: "Desert Storm was a pile of bombing followed by a left hook through the desert that knocked Iraq back into their own country so fast that Yassir Arafat was laughing at them. Up until last Sunday, it was the worst ass-kicking in history. Then Peyton Manning got up, looked out his hotel window, saw those big grey clouds, and just knew that Mother Nature thinks he sucks. You could see Peyton fall apart- this guy will run in terror from hotel ice machines and the ski jacket section at Eddie Bauer for the rest of his can't-win-the-big-one-on-a-tundra life."

 Dungy's Dungy: "Of course what everyone was asking for happened. A snow storm once again crept its way into Foxboro, much earlier than anticipated, and that was enough to break my confidence. The Colts are going to have to win the AFC in order to make it any further. They simply have to have home field advantage if they want a real shot at the trophy. Or, maybe a summer of counseling, something tohelpwith their confidence when they travel to New England."

 Brady is Montana. Manning is Marino.

· Sportz Assassin: "The Patriots showed why they are the defending Super Bowl champion, and they also made us wonder why we forgot that. This Pats defense, which hasn’t really gotten its due this season, pretty much shut down Manning. Brady made big passes….though nothing spectacular. He got it to an array of different receivers. But it was Corey Dillon running all over Indy that did the trick."
· Seahawks Fans Anonymous: "If Peyton ever wants that ring he should get them to tear down the RCA dome (or whatever they call it this week)."
· Big Blue Notes: "I can't help but wonder if Peyton Manning's biggest nemesis today was not Bill Bellichek or Old Man Winter, but Peyton Manning. From the first quarter on, every shot of Manning was him shaking his head. He did it walking off the field after a failed thrid down. He did it on the sidelines. He never stopped. The look on his face was one of defeat. He looked worried and frustrated.  He seemed to be saying, 'Oh no, not again,'  instead of 'We can do this.'"
· Lions Weekly: "Tom Brady proved once again that he is the greatest QB to manage an offense in years."

Steelers 20-Jets 17 (game recap | video highlights)
 Black & Gold Blog: "The Steelers had to dig deep to find a winning response to self-inflicted adversity in the form of special teams breakdowns and 3 turnovers at critical points in the game - a storyline all too familiar to Steeler fans but not familiar to THIS Steeler team - not THIS year. They gave the Jets every chance to leave Pittsburgh with their 3rd straight overtime win. But almost asif the Steelers were challenging themselves, they would throw the Jets a lifeline then rally the team to see if they could hold off the youngand talented team from ending Pittsburgh's record setting dream season. It was enough to drive a Steeler fan absolutely crazy...if not straight to the emergency room with heart failure!"
 Coztanza's Commentary: "The numberone reason the Jets lost this game today was not Doug Brien. Paul Hackett has deserved for some time to lose his job. Today should erase any and all doubt. One would think that the errors of Marty Schottenheimer getting too conservative after getting into field goal range last week would convince an offensive coordinator to stay aggressive in the same situation. This is especially true at Heinz Field, where kickers have a tough time making kicks. Not Paul Hackett. He absolutely hung Doug Brien out to dry by going into his shell and deciding to play for a field goal, which was missed off the crossbar. Then after an interception leaves the Jets in a similar spot, Hackett stays conservative and bleeds the clock instead of continuing to attack which leaves Brien with a just as difficult kick. We've had to put up with stuff like this for 4 years. This time Hackett cost the Jets a chance to play for the AFC Championship. Is enough finally enough? What else are the Jets waiting for to get rid of this guy?"

 The Lonesome Kicker.

· Sportz Assassin: "Ben Roethlesberger said it best. He tried to lose the game for the Steelers…but the defense had his back. How true. In Big Ben’s first playoff game….he looked puzzled, sluggish and just off his game."
· Big Blue Notes: "The Jets got every break they could have asked for:  a Jerome Bettis fumble, a poor performance by Roethlisberger, a defensive touchdown and a special teams touchdown.  Yet, they still lost because, in the end, they were not trying to win as much as they were trying to avoid losing. Ironically, that cost them the game."
· Lions Weekly: "The Jets ought to be kicking themsleves (or the kicker for that matter) in the head this week."

Falcons 47-Rams 17 (game recap | video highlights)
· Sportz Assassin: "The Falcons O-line thumped the Rams D-line. How is 327 yards rushing for ya?? The NFL’s top rushing team controlled the game and didn’t give the Rams an opportunity to stay in the contest. And for those anti-Vick people….well, sometimes you are right. The guy isn’t the best QB in the game. He only threw for 82 yards. But…the guy just wins. In his first season as a starter…Atlanta got into the playoffs and won in Lambeau Field. When he came back from injury late last year…the Falcons were 4-1. This year, they win the NFC South and received a first round bye. He’s a winner. I mean, when is the last time a playoff winning QB threw for 82 yards?? 1934?? But, he did run for 119 yards….including a huge 47 yard scamper."
· Big Blue Notes: "Watching this game felt like watching a college bowl game. Maybe next week Atlanta will run the wishbone."
· Lions Weekly: "A freak named Vick came, saw and just plain kicked the crud out of St Louis."

 Playoffs? A Mora loves the Playoffs?

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