I'm working on a column for Sunday on whether momentum is really necessary heading into the playoffs. I thought it would be a decent topic since a certain purple-clad team is lacking in that area heading into the regular-season finale.
Is momentum overrated in the NFL?
You tell me. As Brad Childress points out, there are examples on both sides of the argument.
December 31, 2009 at 3:39PM
Vikings coach Brad Childress was asked about it Wednesday. He gave one of those answers that's hard to follow, but I think made sense given recent NFL history.
"You would love to have momentum," he said. "With all that said, it's a 12-team tournament. You can site any number of cases where people have come in with momentum, all the records fall by the way side at that point. It's a single-elimination tournament. Whether it's a bounce of a ball or how you are feeling or `we get no respect.' Whatever it is that motivates you at that time, the game is going to be won on the football field, and regular-season records won't have anything to do with it."
I'm looking for cases in which momentum meant something (like the 2005 Steelers, for instance) and cases in which momentum meant squat.
In the latter catetory, the 2008 Cardinals lost four of five heading into their season finale. Then they stormed to the NFC title and almost won the Super Bowl.
The 2006 Chargers were a team that won 10 consecutive games heading into the playoffs. They had homefield advantage and a week off. They also lost their playoff opener at home to the Patriots and coach Marty Schottenheimer was fired soon after. So the greater momentum hardly paid off in that case.
If anyone out there has examples where momentum did or didn't matter, let me know. I'd love to hear them.
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
