A few weeks ago I blogged about how it seemed that every week in the NFL, a couple of teams became the "Flavor of the Week", a squad that was anointed by the masses as the best in the league (http://klassybreeze.blogspot.com/2010/11/nfl-flavor-of-week.html). The week that I wrote on the subject, two teams that were getting that praise was the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Finishing the regular season with an NFL best 14 - 2 record, a head coach that is being considered the "Coach of the Year" (Bill Belichick) and a quarterback that seems to be the consensus league MVP (Tom Brady), the Patriots are certainly still a "Flavor of the Week" team. They have had impressive wins in the second half of the season, most notably a home assassination of the New York Jets and an equally impressive road crushing of the Chicago Bears in a snow blizzard. They finished off their regular season handily defeating the Miami Dolphins while playing all of their starters for a good portion of the game, regardless of the fact that they had the number 1 seed in the AFC already locked up. Many experts are picking the Patriots to hoist the Lombardi trophy in Dallas. I say "not so fast!!" I am very impressed with the Patriots especially the way they carried on after trading Randy Moss, which I thought was a critical mistake at that time. The experience of Belichick and Brady in the post season will be invaluable to the team as well. But there are teams in the post season that I think can win in Foxboro. As a matter of fact, all of the AFC teams in the playoffs I think could beat the Patriots on their field. Ironically, I think the Indianapolis Colts, the long time playoff rivals of the Patriots, has the slimmest chance of winning at New England. The Jets, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens all have an excellent running game that could keep Brady off the field and good enough defenses to handle him when he is out there (though the Ravens secondary, sans Ed Reed, is questionable). One of the strengths of the Pats, is Belichick's knack for great game planning and in-game adjustments. He certainly gives the Patriots a chance to get to Dallas but my gut tells me that they won't make it there.
The Eagles certainly are not looking like the "Flavor of the Week" going into the playoffs. After nearly losing to the New York Giants, the Eagles finished the season with two consecutive home losses. More importantly, aside from the last eight minutes of the Giants game, the team has looked flat as they finished up their season. MVP candidate Michael Vick, definitely hit a bit of a bump in the road over the last couple of weeks. He started to turn the ball over more and he has been taking a lot of big hits. Eagles' head coach Andy Reid, wisely benched Vick for the season finale, if for anything, to give his body a much needed rest. I still think the Eagles are a dangerous team but they could be "one and done". The Eagles host the Green Bay Packers Wild Card weekend, a team that has emerged as a current "Flavor of the Week" themselves. Needing to win their last two games of the season to secure a playoff spot, the Packers came through with a blowout against the Giants and a gutsy defensive squeaker against the Chicago Bears. The Packers definitely seem to be the sexy pick in the NFC. If the Eagles get past the Packers, they will have to go to Chicago and play the Bears. The Bears already beat the Eagles in Chicago this year and some credit their defense for giving the league the blueprint for stopping Vick. A win in Chicago would probably send the Eagles back home against the New Orleans Saints or down to Atlanta to play the Falcons (sorry, I mean no disrespect Seattle Seahawks. I do totally recognize your division championship despite your 7 - 9 record). An Eagles - Falcons NFC Championship game would be a matchup made in media heaven. That of course would create a huge spotlight on Vick returning to Atlanta to try to beat his former team for the right to play in the Super Bowl. It would be a tough game for the Eagles as would a matchup at home against the defending Super Bowl champion Saints. Clearly the one time "Flavor of the Week" Eagles have a tough road and I don't hear many experts picking them. And as much as I would like to see the "Vick returns to Atlanta" NFC Champioship game, I don't think they will get that far either.
Now that the field of 32 has been cut down to 12, some former "Flavor" teams from the regular season have already been eliminated. A few "Flavor" teams still do remain but not for long; Wild Card weekend will certainly eliminate some more. The Patriots, Steelers, Falcons and Packers seem to be the current "Flavor" teams. All of these teams except the Packers have a bye this week but that won't save them from possibly losing their "Flavor" status. Any team that plays lights out this weekend could suddenly find themselves with that moniker. Is it possible that the Seahawks will become a "Flavor" if they crush the Saints on Saturday? I doubt it, but crazier things have happened.
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