matt weighs in

As a Minnesota Vikings fan, the NFC Championship game puts the final nail in the coffin of the Vikings 2010 season. I have to watch…well, don’t have to, but probably will…the Green Bay Packers travel to Soldier Field to play the Chicago Bears for the right to go to the Super Bowl.

I dislike both teams, so seeing either have success is terrible, but knowing one and their fan base will be insanely happy at the end of the day is almost too much to bear. But bear it I will, but it will only be tolerable if the Bears come out victorious. See, I dislike the Packers many times more than the Bears, so watching them suffer defeat will provide just a little bit of consolation.

It is no consolation for what we endured this year watching the Vikings. A year after playing in this very game, and feeling very confident they would win in New Orleans, we are stuck watching our rivals, knowing how far away the Vikings were to getting back for another chance with basically the same team. But they couldn’t get out of their own way right from the beginning.

A list for you: Favre being Favre in the off-season (when I thought he was going to declare coming back by the 2010 NFL draft), Sidney Rice’s injury and poor decision-making on timing of the surgery, Cedric Griffin had another knee injury, Percy’s migraines and extended training camp absence after the death in his family, Head Coach Brad Childress fired, and Favre’s consecutive games played streak ends due to injury. And that’s before we even bring up their play on the field.

I argued all season with Childress haters that the play on the field, and, therefore, the Vikings players, was the reason the team finished so poorly. Missed throws by the QB, missed open holes by the RB (AP was awesome, but missed two TDs at the goal line in losses this year), dropped passes by WRs, dropped INTs by the defense, defensive line disappearance in September and October, and finally, too many times allowing the opponent to convert a first down on third and long.

The job of all coaches is to put their players in position to make plays, which, in turn, will usually lead to wins. The Vikings players were in more than enough positions to make plays, but failed. In 2009, they made those plays and ended with 12 wins and were within one play of the Super Bowl. In 2010, they just didn’t make the plays, which led to loss after loss, and eventually, at 3-7, the coach getting fired (had to be done only to rid the team of the public relations nightmare it had turned into).

Favre wasn’t the same as 2009, when he was awesome and exceeded everyone’s expectations. He missed open receivers, couldn’t move around, was out of shape, and looked…old. The Vikings defense could not get off the field and give the offense a short field to work with early in the season, especially in the two road losses to the Patriots and Jets. They needed a stop in the 4th quarter after the offense scored to make it close, but in both games, the opponent held the ball to end the game.

Those quarters were the season. The Vikings failed, so the season failed. Which is too bad, because Adrian Peterson would have been in the MVP conversation had the team been winning. His season is overlooked, but he was running lights out early on. The offensive line struggled, but AP, stung by the criticism of 2009, ran like a beast.

He fought for yards, and most importantly, hung onto the ball – only one fumble in 2010, which happened in week 15 versus the Bears. He did miss those open holes on the goal line, which was disappointing, but he, along with Percy when he was healthy, were two bright spots on an otherwise underwhelming and underperforming team.

Which brings us back to the 2010 NFC Championship Game between the Packers and Bears. The Packers, despite also underwhelming for most of the year, turned it around at the right time (although only winning 10-3 in the final week over the Bears is still embarrassing). Aaron Rodgers is playing at a very high level, and the defense is giving up very little. Why it took so long is probably due to injuries, but their season didn’t seem to be as good as it is finishing. Whatever…good for them.

The Bears, on the other hand, just wouldn’t go away when everyone expected them to at some point. I made more than one comment in September to Bears fans that they need to enjoy 1st place, while they can, as it wouldn’t last long. Well, I was wrong. Their old defense kept playing well, and the offense, for the most part really bad, did enough to win ugly games.

They’re just an ugly team, with a QB who doesn’t show any enjoyment for playing his sport, but like the Packers, the team’s finish is better than their season seemed to be (I do count their opening game versus the Lions as a loss, but since they were given that one after the Calvin Johnson ruling in the end zone, we should have known they were possibly going to have a winning season).

I guess I hope the Bears win the game and advance to the Super Bowl. I don’t want the Packers to even have a chance to win the Super Bowl. So the Bears must win.

However, I predict a Green Bay victory in Chicago (puking now). They won’t run it up like they did against the Falcons in the climate-controlled atmosphere of the Georgia Dome, but they’ll win by at least a touchdown. The weather will be brutal, and shouldn’t favor either team. I’m taking the Packers, because I can’t predict the Bears will win after not believing in them at all this year.

No matter who wins, however, they need to get destroyed by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl. I do not want to listen to Rex Ryan for two weeks and do not think the Jets are that good, either (like the Bears). Watching Roethlisberger for the Steelers in the Super Bowl after the off-season he had last spring and summer isn’t great either, but I like Mike Tomlin, and since I’m a homer, I want to see the former Vikings coach win his second Super Bowl.

Since I can’t root for purple and gold, I’ll settle for black and yellow. Pass me a Terrible Towel, please.