Give the Giants a world of credit. They went into Lambeau Field and dominated Green Bay and took the football away and generally undressed a Packers team that appeared to lack urgency and, in fact, played a really stupid and confounding game.
So it's the 49ers and the Giants playing for the NFC Championship, and if anybody saw that coming in September, please raise your hand. And be reminded that you can't win it (Super Bowl) unless you are in it (playoffs), so if I ever hear somebody suggest that making the playoffs as a fifth or sixth seed means nothing, well, you aren't paying attention to the world of the NFL.
The Giants got it done on Sunday in convincing fashion with a great defensive effort, an efficient offensive performance highlighted by an explosive last-play chuck into the end zone to go into halftime with a 10-point lead and a tremendous show of character in the fourth quarter, when they put the game away. Quarterback Eli Manning, as much it hurts to say it, played liked a star, as he has all season. The running game delivered big gains. The receiving corps again played superb football.
Why the Packers didn't press at the line of scrimmage and play downhill football, I don't know. Green Bay played zone defense, rushed three men a lot of the time with zero effectiveness and watched as Manning carved up the defense.
I saw no urgency from the Packers. I saw a team that thought it would win the game. An onsides kick in the first quarter? Are you kidding me? The sloppy ball security? Clearly a lack of focus.
The Packers didn't handle the pressure. New York was a better team on Sunday after winning nine games in the regular season.
What do Eagles fans take from the weekend of football? Pain, mostly. A sense of what could have been had the Eagles taken care of business as they should have early in the season. The Eagles blew it in 2011, that much is certain.
Moving forward, the front office must have a strong offseason. The coaches have to be on the same page. The locker room must develop chemistry quickly, which is why having a high turnover for 2012 is so risky. The Eagles can't afford another 1-4 start to the season.
Otherwise, I mean, it's football. Turnovers killed the Saints, Texans and Packers on Saturday and Sunday. Denver was simply outclassed by New England. Quarterback play is so extremely critical. The better teams don't always win, but the better teams that day stay alive for another week.
I watched the Giants game in a room filled with Giants fans and, trust me, I was in extreme pain. The depth of my desperation to win a Super Bowl is overwhelming at times.
In the end, though, I'm looking forward. I know what I want for the Eagles in the weeks ahead. I want Andy Reid and Howie Roseman to challenge the roster from top to bottom. I'm not sure there is a position on the team that I would say is without any kind of upgrade, either as a starter or a reserve.
Next year, I'm going to study all of the numbers from every game and, as usual, zero in on takeaways/giveaways line. It makes all the difference in the world, doesn't it? As much as Juan Castillo's scheme was evaluated throughout 2011, the drop in takeaways was significant enough early in the season to make a difference. The offense was terrible in that regard, which is why the Eagles were 4-8 at one point, staring at a season without the postseason.
I see a New England-New York Super Bowl, but what do I know? I don't even think I care at this point. The Giants are two wins away from another Super Bowl and I'm stunned. And disappointed. And convinced that the Eagles are in the mix with just about every other team in the league. That's how it works in the NFL: If you get in it, you can win it.
We're seeing that now with San Francisco and New York, the two best teams in the NFC. I just wrote that and I'm not sure I believe it, but here we are watching two teams we know pretty well, in a state of disbelief that it's happened and, for me, giving a nod of kudos to both teams for reaching the NFC Championship Game.
