Smokin' Aces

Allow me to make an obvious, although sort of stupid statement: "Is anybody aware of the fact that the New Orleans Freaking Saints are poised to make the Super Bowl?"

Perhaps it was just me, but I sensed this week a bit of collective sleeping by us in the media about how monumental this would be.

The franchise that INVENTED the bag-over-the-head-in-shame move in sports, is favored to go to the Super Bowl!

This franchise has been plagued in almost biblical fashion over the years. If not hurricane induced flooding and refugees in their stadium for weeks, then it was man made disasters like Danny Wuerrfel at quarterback or Mike Ditka trading his entire basket of draft picks for a reclusive Ricky Williams.

Nothing against the Vikings and their (almost as suffering) fans. But I'm rooting for the Bag Heads here.

Reggie Bush probably won't have the same kind of nuclear game as last week, but I am excited at the thought of him and Percy Harvin on the same fast track in the same game.

As for Favre and Brees, I hate the former and love the latter. But I can at least admit that #4 has played phenomenal football this year. He stuck it up my ass real good. I figured there was no way he a) would last a whole season un-injured and b) keep the picks under 20, much less 10!

He'd be insane to retire after this season, even if they win it all.

I'm not even sure he'll string the Vikings out this off-season either. It's too perfect of a fit.

In the AFC, I'll just be blunt: no fucking way I can stomach listening to Mark Sanchez for a whole week at the Super Bowl. So Peyton is just gonna have to git-r-dun here.

When you think about it, what are the purely statistical chances of Manning getting beat by a rookie QB - at home - in a stakes game this high? Especially when Manning has had a chance to see this defense once already this year, albeit for a little more than a half of play?

No rookie QB has ever started a Super Bowl, while Big Ben and Dan Marino are the only 2nd year guys to do it.

I have tremendous respect for the way Rex Ryan has his defense tuned up and set to "Seek and Destroy." And I know that if you can run and stop the run, you can be in just about any game.

But this is where closers, close. Peyton and the boys are gonna say: "We let you in this thing, and now we're going to let you out."

As for the schedule Sunday, I must admit I'm not a fan of the late skewing 3 and 6:40 starts. While I think that works great for us married dudes with families on the previous two Saturdays - those being the "honey do" days - I think it's un-necessary on this most glorious Sunday.

I'd love to invite some fellas over for the games, but that late game is gonna wrap at 10 p.m. minimum. Knowing how fellas like to get a little tuned up on Leinie's when they are over at the 5-hour dome, that could make for a rough Monday.

Let's push these back to 1 and 4:30, or better yet, 12:30 and 4 and give us a chance to cool down the BAC jets on our way to a crappy two week wait until the Big One itself.