Frandsen - Already Overexposed, But I Like Him

Hard to miss Kevin Frandsen these days...he's been on Ralph and Tom, Fitz and Brooks, the Sharks game with Drew, etc etc. Let's put it this way - he's clearly not shy!

Hard not to like him too. His enthusiasm is infectious. I even found myself thinking 'wow, maybe this Giants team of youngsters really will surprise!'

Well, fat chance. But, you gotta love his positivity, confidence, and can do attitude (God, I sound like a resume, sorry about that!)

Last night on Ralph and Tom Frandsen boldly predicted he'd hit 40-50 doubles, and that he'd be one of several Giants to do so. We'll see. He did raise a good point - that people may be selling the Giants offense short. Yes they don't have a middle of the order hitter, but with speed, aggressive play on the basepaths and a little luck they could have just enough offense to be respectable with their great starting pitching.

It's doubtful, but the fact that Frandsen has me - a true cynic of everything Giants for the last several years - even thinking about believing is a testament to his youthful exuberance and faith. And you know, youth, exuberance and faith have been in short supply 'round these parts for a long time.

Here's to hoping it's justified!

The NFC Playoff Picture

What I saw:

Seahawks/Redskins - Joe Gibbs' swan song, but we didn't know it then.

Which is fine, because I've never liked Joe Gibbs. I still hold the '83 NFC Championship Game loss against him. That phantom PI call...OK, don't get me started.

So, the game last weekend - what a strange game. Seattle dominates, you think they're going to blow Washington out of the water, then out of nowhere the Redskins take the lead! Reminded me a bit of the Seahawks/Niners game last year in Seattle, where the Niners looked like this year's Niners for most of the first 3 quarters only to come alive and win going away.

Ahh, the good old days when Alex Smith seemed like he was developing and the 49ers were on the rise...

OK, I'm back from my daydream.

It really was reminding me of that game though, and just when I was thinking maybe Seattle just has no mental toughness they come on like gangbusters and do end up blowing out the 'Skins. Here's a question - when was the last time there was a 35-14 game where the team with the 14 had the lead and all the momentum in the 4th quarter? Got me, but that's how it went down.

just like in Steelers/Jags the better team won, but in an odd sort of way.

Bucs/Giants - I don't buy all this talk that the Bucs lost because they rested guys down the stretch. Um, those great old Niner teams (here I go again with the daydreaming) always rested guys down the stretch, I don't recall it ever hurting them. Lots of teams do that and it works. That's too easy an answer.

I do put some stock in the idea that the Giants' playing the Pats so tough last week helped them confidence wise. That did play a factor.

Ultimately, though, it was the same story as in the other 3 games last weekend - the best team won. We shouldn't be surprised, it wasn't due to rest. You know, because previous Giants teams have collapsed down the stretch we tend to think this team will too, but remember that they were considered one of the 2 or 3 best teams in the NFC for most of the season, that they are undefeated on the road since week 1, and are a truly good team.

The Giants were just better. It's that simple.

The NFC games as a whole were less interesting than the AFC games, both in matchups and the drama of the games themselves, but it does set up some very intriguing matchups for this weekend, which I'll get in to tomorrow.

The AFC Playoff Picture

OK, a departure from the normally Bay-Centric theme to talk football playoffs...today the AFC, tomorrow the NFC, Wednesday a look ahead.

Here's what I saw in a nutshell:

Pittsburgh/Jacksonville - The best game of the weekend by far. I didn't think it would be that close - at 28-10 the game was going along about how I expected it to, with Jacksonville in control. But a funny thing happened on the way to a blowout - Pittsburgh showed some heart, Jacksonville got a little tight, and before you knew it not only was it a game, but the Steelers were in control.

And frankly, they should have won the game. Mike Tomlin made two enormous coaching mistakes - the 2 point conversions, which are so tempting but really should never be attempted unless it ties the game or it's under 3 minutes to go and makes sense, and the play call on 3rd down that failed and gave the Jags the ball back.

The 3rd down call to me is by far the most egregious. You could see the logic in the 2s, even though it was wrong, but I just don't get that play call at all. 3rd and 7, a first down almost puts the game away, but having to punt, with the wind howling, would create great field position for the Jags, making a go ahead field goal likely.

They went with a QB run which they had to know wouldn't work. It seemed like they just wanted to make Jacksonville use a TO there, which is just a terrible decision. From where the Jags would get the ball after the punt their problem wasn't the clock running out, it was scoring too fast and giving the Steelers too much time.

Plus, the Steeler passing game was clicking. Just an inane decision.

The better team one, but they shouldn't have. The game was decided in the minds of the coaches as much as it was on the field.

SD/Tennessee - Here's a game that I thought San Diego would win, but there was one doubt in my mind. I kept remembering that Norv Turner is their coach. I love Norv - he was fantastic with the 49ers and you could see this year what a difference his absence made with them - but he is a miserable head coach. He just isn't a good motivator, players don't fear him, and therefore his teams tend to play below their talent level.

A great example: he took a Chargers team coming off a 14-2 record and considered one of the top 2-3 teams in the league and turned them in to an 11-5 overwhelming underdog on the road next week.

But, the talent difference on offense between the Chargers and the Titans was great enough to overcome the Norv factor. At halftime I thought just maybe, but the Chargers talent emerged in the 2nd half and once they got up by 2 scores the game was over.

I love Jeff Fisher, and he got his team farther than the talent they had. I'd even go so far as to say that if Jeff Fisher was the Chargers' coach they'd have been off last week and hosting a playoff game this weekend, that's how much of a difference I think there is between he and Uncle Norv.

But, in the end the talent, greater than it's 11-5 record, also proved to be too much greater than the Titans, despite a valiant effort.

One great game and one solid game, not a bad way to start the playoffs at all...