A Chicago Cubs Kind of Weekend

I can't remember another Superbowl, or any sporting championship for that matter, when I felt like both participants backed into the game. Looking at the box scores, the stat lines, and the overall gameplay of the conference championship weekend, we SHOULD be gearing up for the Harbaugh Bowl. And yet, Superbowl XLVI will be utterly Harbaugh-less, by no fault of their own, might I add.

The Ravens and 49ers undoubtedly had the weaker 2 of the 4 remaining offenses, but they did enough, more than enough, to get the W. John and Jim both fell victim to multiple mistakes by their players, mistakes that had eluded them for most of the game.

In the dying minutes, the Ravens saw a game-winning TD dropped and a game-tying 32 yard field goal missed. The play-by-play simply reads "J. Flacco pass incomplete short right to L. Evans," but that cannot justly describe the heart-wrenching play. Lee Evans had the ball secured in his hands. It was as close to a catch as a drop can be. Now on one hand, it definitely was NOT a catch, he certainly did NOT get 2 feet down before the ball was knocked loose, so don't even bother arguing. But on the other hand, the rules for endzone receptions direly need to be reviewed, because it is simply ridiculous that this is not a catch. As for Billy Cundiff... I don't know what to say buddy, that was just a choke job. You can say that he had to come onto the field in a hurry, and that John Harbaugh uncharacteristically blew the clock management, but you HAVE to make that kick. It's 32 yards. You HAVE to. Quick shoutout: Joe Flacco played really, really well and deserved to win, perhaps more than anyone else that played last weekend. He just needs better receivers around him. I admit he deserves more credit and respect than I have been giving him. Kudos on an impressive performance, Joe.

Jimmy Harbaugh could probably be blamed more than his brother, as he put his faith in an unknown, unproven kick returner named Kyle Williams. Clearly the big game was simply too much for him to handle. Now one fumble is forgivable. Fumbles happen, sometimes they are all but unavoidable. Sometimes the defender hits the ball just right. But 2 fumbles? In the NFC Championship game? The first coming in the 4th quarter with your team leading, and the second coming in overtime in a tie game? That is unforgivable. Let's take a look at those two boneheaded plays:

Fumble #1 - The Knee of God

Apparently, young Kyle forgot that his name wasn't DeSean Jackson, who, incidentally, is the only player who has the right to hang around a punt like that. Especially in the 4th quarter. Especially when your team is leading by 4 with 11 minutes left. Especially when your defense has been playing lights out. What is the best case scenario here for Williams? He decides late to field the ball, jukes 14 defenders, and takes it for a touchdown? Decidedly unlikely. He decided late to field the ball, jukes 4 defenders, and gains legitimate yardage? Also rather unlikely. I think the best possible thing Williams could ask for was for the ball not to touch him. So why stick around? Why stand so close? Maybe coaches need to start playing "Don't Stand So Close to Me" in the locker room. That's what The Police were talking about right? Punt returns?

Bonehead level: 9.5

Fumble #2 - Breadbasket Botch

Following the Giants second unsuccessful overtime possession, Kyle Williams struck again! A more decisive Williams caught the ball out of the air (didn't even let it hit the ground once!) and took off up the field. The problem here is that he was holding the ball in his outstretched arm as if it was a radioactive device. You gotta keeo that ball in the breadbasket, tucked up between your arm and your chest. To give you an idea, here is a list of things that are closer together than that ball was to his body: Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren, the upper and lower classes, the moon and the Earth, Peyton Manning's neck muscles, and Michael Strahan's front teeth. It was almost inevitable that Jacquian Williams (no relation) would stick his hand in there, like a bear in a pot of honey, and dislodge the football.

Bonehead level: 7

As far as I'm concerned, Kyle Williams is responsible for half of the Giants scoring. His two fumbles resulted in fantastic field position and 10 points for New York.

Quite unlike the Ravens and Joe Flacco, however, Alex Smith was crap. No way around it, niners fans, you're gonna have to admit eventually that Smith was a massive let down after the performance he put on in the Saints game. I saw far too many balls bouncing at receivers' feet. I saw an Alex Smith who never seemed to calm his nerves. I saw an Alex Smith who was not ready for this game. It is truly unfortunate that the 49ers defense, the most dominating unit we've seen all year, got no help. They were in Eli's face ALL DAY. They sacked him 6 times, and stymied the Giants on drive after drive. They outplayed the Giants defense, completely and undoubtedly.

And yet we have the Giants and Patriots... again. Because that is how the world works. We don't live in a movie. We don't get outcomes like Harbaugh vs. Harbaugh. We don't get teams like San Francisco who turn it all around in one year and win the Superbowl. We don't see the rewards of Flacco's great play. We only see Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, the New York Giants D-line, and David Tyree's helmet catch. The underdogs don't succeed as much as we would like to think. Sometimes we get exactly what we expect.

With that being said, let me give you 10 reasons as to why the Giants will win Superbowl XLVI:

1. Because it makes too much sense that Eli Manning (an above-average QB) would end up with more rings than his brother (possibly the best QB of all time)

2. Because the game is in Peyton's stadium, and he will be there watching.... angrily.

3. Because Michael Strahan and his gap tooth haven't been wrong about them yet.

4. Because no one fully recovers from a high ankle sprain in 2 weeks.

5. Because the only player the Patriots feel they can throw deep to has one career reception

6. Because David Tyree and Victor Cruz are cousins.

7. Because people are no longer necessarily joking when they say that Eli Manning is the best QB in the league.

8. Because Jason Pierre-Paul exists.

9. Because you actually considered for a moment that #6 might be true.

10. Because this storyline is horribly reminiscent of 2007, and I won't make that mistake again