NFL Playoff Notebook

The wild cards are over and now the winners face four rested teams. Teams with the bye week have historically had huge edges. They have two weeks to prepare and game plan, two weeks to rest, plus home field. The opponent has to play a physical playoff game then 7 days later be ready to play again – on the road.

Think back to last season: The Patriots beat the Jaguars easily, then went to rested Denver and lost 27-13. The Redskins pulled the upset at Tampa Bay, then failed to cover in a double-digit loss at Seattle. In 2004, the Colts destroyed the Broncos at home, then lost the next week at rested New England, 20-3. The year before the Colts had consecutive tough playoff games, winning at Kansas City, then running out of steam at New England, 24-14. It’s tough to win on the road in January. The Chargers, Ravens, Bears and Saints are all rested this weekend with home field.

Can one play ruin a career? If it’s injury related, of course, but sometimes non-injury-related plays can ruin a players’ confidence. Buffalo kicker Scott Norwood comes to mind, and Patriots QB Tony Eason faded fast after going 0-for-6 in Super Bowl 20 (the only Super Bowl starting quarterback never to complete a pass).

One wonders about Dallas QB Tony Romo after Saturday’s disaster. He’s a young, mobile quarterback with plenty of talent and upside, but he had his head held low on the sidelines after bobbling the seemingly easy field goal attempt. "I don't know if I have ever felt this low at any point," Romo said. Teammate Terrell Owens said afterward he never consoled a teammate more than Romo on Saturday night. "I can't imagine what he's going through," Owens said. "He's really having a tough time with it." You have to have thick skin when you’re in the public spotlight.

And speaking of impressionable young quarterbacks, how will Rex Grossman play this weekend? He’s been up and down all season and finished with 20 interceptions, which is very poor for any QB. Don’t be shocked if Brian Griese is forced to come off the bench.

After all, this has been the season of the Backup Quarterback in the NFL. Eleven teams have switched quarterbacks at least once, and six others did so for at least one game because of an injury to a starter. The trend continues in the NFC playoffs, where at some point this season the backup quarterback has been a story line for every postseason team except the Saints.

The Cowboys and Eagles might not have earned playoff berths were it not for backups Tony Romo and Jeff Garcia. Seneca Wallace kept the Seahawks going while starter Matt Hasselbeck was sidelined with a knee injury.

The final word comes from the embarrassed Kansas City Chiefs, who put on one of the worst offensive performances in playoff history Saturday, a 23-8 loss at Indy. “I wasn’t surprised,” Chiefs running back Larry Johnson grumbled. “I knew what was going to happen.” That’s a not-so-subtle shot at coach Herm Edwards, whom Johnson has griped at all season because of their unimaginative game plans. “That was ridiculous,” said Tony Gonzalez. “That was embarrassing. Ridiculous.”

“I have no idea,” Edwards said. “I’m puzzled, too.” The answer is that Edwards was a bad hire. I recall a New York fan BEFORE the season started who was delighted Edwards was gone from the Jets. He said, “It took Herm Edwards four years to ruin the Jets, and it will only take one season to ruin the Chiefs.”

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