People assume that just because Bill Walsh invented the West Coast offense out in California that the system won't work in the Northeast when Old Man Winter shows up. But did you watch the Raiders-Patriots divisional playoff game?

The teams combined for 83 pass attempts; add in the 10 times that Rich Gannon and Tom Brady scrambled out of the pocket and there were 93 pass plays called. Neither team had any intention of grinding it out during the blizzard-like conditions.

Two other games were played in sub-freezing temperatures during the weekend. The Bears-Eagles contest had 71 passing plays, while the Ravens-Steelers matchup saw 69.

The quality of play in these three games convinced me of two things. One, coaches today are not going to fall back on some old-fashioned idea about three yards and a cloud of dust package if the weather turns bad. And two, after witnessing firsthand the crowd in Foxboro, the concept of playing a Super Bowl in the Northeast is more than feasible -- it will happen.

Since the start of free agency there has been a notion that unless a team leveraged the future for wins today, championships would not happen. The 49ers adopted this plan of attack, the Cowboys followed suit and recently the Ravens seem to have gone down that path.

The truth is that the four teams left standing going into championship weekend will enter the 2002 season with a combined $43 million of available cap space. The Eagles, Rams, Patriots and Steelers should be atop the standings for years to come, thanks to the way they have built the financial structure of their teams.

Not a single back on any of the eight playoff teams rushed for 100 yards last weekend. In fact, the top back on each of the four winning clubs averaged 3.4 yards per carry (the top runners on the four losing teams averaged just under 4 yards per rush).

That's not to say that these backs aren't capable of hitting the century mark (they've done so many times during their careers). Needing a big rushing performance to gain victory is just another pro football fallacy.

Pat Kirwan, who spent 12 years as a pro football coach, scout and personnel administrator, is an NFL analyst for CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNNSI.com.

 

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