Football Thoughts

7/6/08
The "What If" Super Bowl over the Past 10 Years
We all know who has played in the big game the past few seasons, but let’s take a look back and see could have participated the last decade if they had won in the Championship game. Here is the list all the way to Super Bowl 32 listing the losers of the Championship games, and if they would have achieved their goal of becoming Super Bowl Champion.

Super Bowl 42:
San Diego Chargers vs Green Bay Packers
- What a great story line this would have been. The Packers in the Super Bowl with Brett Favre playing his last game. Standing in his way, LaDainian Tomlinson and the San Diego Chargers. However, would he even be playing in this game? After all, he did sit out the Championship game against the 17-0 Patriots. He wasn't the only one injured though. Phillip Rivers had been playing on a bum knee the whole playoffs, and there is no telling how much worse his injury could become if he kept playing. The Packers defense is one of the best in the league, and they would most likely hold the Chargers offense without Tomlinson. The Chargers defense is also solid, but they would be going up against a legend Brett Favre and a now top flight running game with Ryan Grant. They have even showed they beat this Chargers team when they were fully healthy, so this time around should be no different. Brett Favre would win, and most likely retire (for good this time) on top.
Packers: 24 Chargers: 16

Super Bowl 41:
New England Patriots vs New Orleans Saints
Sure, the Saints at the time were the feel good story, fighting their way into the playoffs after a 3-13 record the season before, not to mention having to deal with the distractions of Hurricane Katrina, but there is no way they would be able to win this game. At this time, the Patriots are hot, and Tom Brady is doing what he usually does; winning in the playoffs. New Orleans barely squeaked through a weak NFC with a 10-6 record, and now they would have to defeat a team who soared there way through the superior conference. The Saints on the season against the AFC were 1-3, with their only win coming against the Browns Week one. Tom Brady would have a field day with the Saints extremely weak secondary. The Saints offense, even though number one on the season, would not be able to keep up with the Patriots. Expect New England to win big.
Patriots: 42 Saints: 27

Super Bowl 40:
Denver Broncos vs Carolina Panthers
- Not the most glamorous matchup, but an interesting one at that. During this time, Steve Smith is demolishing every team he plays, and he is the number one reason why the Panthers are in the Super Bowl in the first place. However, this would be his toughest match yet. Why? Well, only because he'll be going up against the best corner back in the league Champ Baily. Just a hunch, but I believe Baily wouldn't let Smith run wild on the Broncos defense. With Smith out of the game plan, the Panthers would be left relying on the run game. That certainly would not be a good thing, considering running backs Stephen Davis, DeShaun Foster, and Nick Goings are already out with injuries. That means the Panthers offense would be completely shut down. This would pave the way for a low scoring, defensive game which I could see Jake Plummer and the elite Denver running game managing the game enough against an also tough Panthers defense to pull away with a victory. Carolina had been road warriors in the playoffs, but this would be the final stop on their miraculous run.
Broncos: 20 Panthers: 10

Super Bowl 39:
Pittsburgh Steelers vs Atlanta Falcons
- Mike Vick against the tough gritty Steelers defense. All season long there had been three top teams in the league; the Patriots, Eagles and Steelers. All three had the league’s top records, and were clearly the top choices to go to the big game. However, behind them were the Falcons, an 11-5 team led by a marvelous unique type of quarterback named Mike Vick. All season long Vick had been clutch and has been able to lead his team to clutch victories, but I just could not see Vick pulling out a victory in this game. A big part of Atlantas offense had been their running game, but that is where the Steelers succeed in most, stopping the run. Rookie quarterback Ben Rothlisberger had been outstanding his rookie season, completing a 15-1 record. Him and the Steelers run game were a big part of their success, and in this game it should be no different. Vick would be able to keep them in it for a little while, but it is very clear the Steelers are the better team. The lack of run game by Atlanta would shut down their offense enough to the point the Steelers would be able to control the game with Jerome Bettis and Willie Parker. With this win, Bettis would likely retire on top like he would do one year later at Super Bowl 40.
Steelers: 30 Falcons: 14

Super Bowl 38:
Indianapolis Colts vs Philadelphia Eagles
- Well, he did it. Peyton Manning is finally in the Super Bowl. This would be where he would eliminate all the talks of people comparing him to Dan Marino. First, he would have to defeat the NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles. With their third straight trip to the Championship game, the Eagles would finally win and defeat the Panthers to make their first Super Bowl in 23 years. McNabb had been hot in the playoffs, but over the past three seasons he has not been clutch enough to win the big game. Speaking of not being clutch, Manning hasn't been Joe Montana the past few seasons either. Out of all these "Super Bowls", this one is the toughest to pick, but I will go with the Colts simply because they have one of the best quarterbacks playing in the game. It's no fluke he won MVP that season. Expect a close one.
Colts: 24 Eagles: 21

Super Bowl 37:
Tennessee Titans vs Philadelphia Eagles
- Steve McNair and the Titans are back at it again, trying to finally bring home the Lombardi trophy after coming one yard short three seasons ago. This time instead of going up against a tough offense like the Rams, they'd have to defeat a top notch defense. The Eagles have gotten hear because their defense and great quarterback play by Donavan McNabb. The Titans got their the same way, but add in a stellar pound the rock rushing game with Eddie George. This has all the makings for a close defense game played with two great quarterbacks, but in the end I see the Titans controlling the clock with the legs of Eddie George. Finally, Steve McNair and screw would make up for that one yard three years ago.
Titans: 23 Eagles: 13 

Super Bowl 36:
Pittsburgh Steelers vs Philadelphia Eagles
- An all Pennsylvania Super Bowl. This would be the Eagles first trip to the "What If" Super Bowl, but this time unlike the first two ahead I believe they would pull out a victory. One huge factor that makes up my mind is looking at the Steelers quarterback Kordell Stewart. There is no doubt in my mind the Eagles would be able to prevent Stewart from making any big plays on their defense. For both sides, it would be a struggle putting up points considering these were two of the top defenses in the league during the 2001 season. Since both running games weren't very dominate, it would all come down to who has the better quarterback, and at the time I think McNabb has Stewart beat. All season long the Eagles had been clutch and were able to take down the league’s top teams. In the end Donovan would prevail and put up just enough points to keep the Steelers in panic mode.
Eagles: 21 Steelers: 14

Super Bowl 35:
Oakland Raiders vs Minnesota Vikings
- I still don't know how both of these top offenses in the league were held to a combined number of 3 points in both Championship games, but that won't matter now considering they're past that and now go up against each other. This one is tough decide. Both have stellar players at skill positions so it will be hard to choose a winner. The Vikings have a better run game with Robert Smith, but what really leads me to pick the Raiders is due to their defense. During the season, they were ranked 9th in points allowed, so you have to believe that will come into play during this game. I think Daunte Culpeper’s youth would also show, as well as Rich Gannon’s veteran leadership. Yes, it will be a sure shoot out, but the Raiders will start to pull away during the end of the game all due to the reasons ranked above.
Raiders: 38 Vikings: 28

Super Bowl 34:
Jacksonville Jaguars vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- In real life, the Buccaneers did an amazing job of shutting down one of the best defenses of all time; the St. Louis Rams. Holding them to 11 points just shows you how dominate that defense was. However, there is also a reason they didn't make the Super Bowl. The lack luster play on offense really held them back, and now they would have to go up against who I think was the second best team in the league that season. The Jacksonville Jaguars were the number one ranked defense in the league, and were sixth in points scored. The Bucs defense is tough, but eventually the tough Jags offense consisting of Marc Brunell, Fred Taylor, and Jimmy Smith would score enough points to keep Trent Dilfer and the 27th ranked Bucs offense behind for the whole game.
Jaguars: 20 Buccaneers: 7

Super Bowl 33:
New York Jets vs Minnesota Vikings
- How did the Vikings lose to the Falcons again? To this day, the 1998 Minnesota Vikings may go down as the best team of all time NOT to win a Super Bowl. The offense at the time was just so dominate it is so baffling how they didn't come away with the victory. Since we give them a pass for the Championship game, their opponent now becomes the New York Jets. Led by Vinnie Testaverde, Keyshawn Johnson and Curtis Martin, the 12-4 Jets cruised to a first round by and now end up against the dominate Vikings offense. Being second in points allowed, it appears they would be ready for Randall Cunningham and crew. However, it isn't like the Vikings were a one unit team. Being 6th in points allowed shows Minnesota was a good defensive team too. I see this actually becoming a very close game, but at the end of the game it would come down to a Morten Anderson kick to win the game. Unlike his kick against the Falcons, he would connect on this one and give Minnesota their first Super Bowl victory in franchise history.
Vikings: 26 Jets: 23

Super Bowl 32:
Pittsburgh Steelers vs San Francisco 49ers
- Normally I would choose anyone going up against Kordell Stewart, but in this case I have to think about it simply because of Jerome Bettis. His dominate style of running would greatly benefit Pittsburgh in this matchup. It's not like the 49ers would just lie down though. Having Steve Young is a huge one up. What you may forget though is that Jerry Rice was not present for most of this season, only playing for two games. Without him, the Steelers would have a much easier time controlling the Steelers offense. Both teams play great defense, and both have that premier player on offense so it makes it tough to chose. All in all, it always goes back to quarterback play, and I’ll chose Steve Young over Kordell Stewart any day.
49ers: 26 Steelers: 21