NFL Playoffs Down to Eight

The National Football League playoff field has been whittled down to eight remaining teams, and I'm sad to say that I don't care for most of them.  Still, I plan to follow the four games this weekend and root for one team in each game.  Last week, Kansas City, which at the start of the playoffs I had wanted to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl next month, blew a third quarter 28-point lead to Indianapolis and lost 45-44.  That leaves San Diego as the only team left in that conference that I like.  In the NFC, Seattle and San Francisco are still there, hopefully to play each other the following weekend to see which one goes to the Super Bowl.  On the negative side, my least favorite teams New England, New Orleans, and Denver are still in the running as well. In the upcoming games, I want Seattle to beat New Orleans, San Francisco to beat Carolina, San Diego to beat Denver, and Indianapolis to beat New England.  Regardless who advances to the next round, though, I'll always have a favorite lined up for whatever games are scheduled.

Here is a list of the teams according to my preference:

1 Seattle
2 San Diego
3 San Francisco
4 Carolina
5 Indianapolis
6 New England
7 Denver
8 New Orleans

I wasn't always a fan of the Seattle Seahawks, but last year I came to admire and respect their head coach Pete Carroll.  He is very engaged with his players and generates great enthusiasm from both them and the fans.  You can see the imprint of such a leader when you notice how the team is almost unbeatable in their home games due largely to the fan presence there.  I used to feel the same way about New Orleans Saints coach Sean Peyton, but became disenchanted with him when it came out that under his leadership some of the players were being paid extra, under the table, for injuring opposing players in games.  Who knows, maybe Carroll is involved is some kind of insidious subterfuge as well, but at this point I have to evaluate him according to what I see.  And based on that, I wish he were coaching "my" Miami Dolphins instead of the Seahawks...