There is nothing better than the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. Four games over two days featuring the eight best teams in the NFL. And I didn’t have to work a single hour over the weekend. Life is good …

The following is a recap of each of the four contests.

Steelers vs. Jets

The first game of this great weekend of football was definitely the best game in terms of last second heroics, or lack thereof. Pittsburgh-NY Jets was in fact the only game of the four that was not a blowout. What made this especially fun for me, was that I also had the privilege of watching the game with four rabid Jets fans, among them fellow Zubazkateers Isaac Cass and my brother Bryan Byrne, who were frothing at the mouth for almost the entire game. It was quite an experience.

Being a Bills fan, I know how the kind of loss that these Jets fans suffered feels. In the words of Chip Douglas in The Cable Guy, if feels like “a kick to the teeth on a Saturday night from a steel-toed Kodiak work boot.”. What made matters worse is that these fans had to go through an overtime playoff game two weeks in row. I wouldn’t be surprised if these people drop dead at 60. The Jets were leading 17-10 in the fourth quarter and had two kicks to essentially win the game. There is no doubt that this was their ballgame to win. In the end, as Herm Edwards so passionately spoke against leading up to the game during the week, they were just the “same old Jets.”

Two kicks, two chances to advance to the AFC Championship. Brien went 0-2 … “Same old Jets.”

As I said before, I was able to watch the game with a host of die-hard Jets fans, and it was hilarious to see them react to things outside of the contest as the game got close. Everyone was a target, but none more than the incompetent commentator crew of Dick Enberg and Dan Dierdorf. Cass looked as if he was having Chinese Water Torture performed on him as he listened to the two buffoons talk in the fourth quarter, and by overtime, the television was on mute.

I for one, do not blame him at all. Dierdorf is just a straight up moron who has no right to be in the broadcast booth, and Enberg has been senile since 1996. I first knew of Enberg’s senility during the ’96 Olympic Games when he rambled on about what “the rings” (as in the rings in the Olympic insignia) meant for a record-setting 17 minutes. It was pure agony, and more people suffered second-hand embarrassment from that than from John Tesh’s “She’s hurt …she’s hurt BADLY!” call during Kerri Strug’s gymnastics performance.

Would you be surprised if Enberg doesn’t get paid for commentating anymore? I bet the old fossil just shows up every day thinking it is still 1972 and the brass at CBS points him where to go. Poor guy.

I felt bad about trashing Enberg after seeing this picture. Damn, now I feel like an asshole.

If you wondering who else felt the wrath of the scorned Jets fans, I only have two words for you: Jared Fogle. You should have heard the venom-laced tirades launched in Fogle’s direction after each Subway commercial.

A thought from Jim Byrne

Have you seen the new NFL Playoff commercials they are running this year? If so, then you have probably seen the new fu man chu-sporting Benjamin Bratt spots as well as the Don Cheadle repeats from last year. That’s all fine and dandy, I mean Bratt is an interesting choice, but whatever.

What I’m confused about is the choice of placing Renee Russo in these ads. Can you even imagine the boardroom meeting when they were deciding on which celebrity to get for the ads?

“Hmmm…let’s see, who should we get this year for our NFL Playoff commercials that everyone loves?”

“How about Russell Crowe? Or Leonardo Dicaprio?”

“Naaaah…”

“Jason Biggs?”

“You’re fired, get the hell out of here.”

“Wait … how about Renee Russo?!? She’d be perfect!”

“That’s genius! You’re back on the team! Get me on the line with Russo, hopefully she isn’t too busy with making any movies these days. Boy, did I love her in that Tim Allen flick, Big Trouble!”

Atlanta Falcons vs. St. Louis Rams

After the Jets-Steelers game, one chock full of defense and hard-nosed football, it was interesting to watch what was the antithesis of that game in the fast paced Rams-Falcons match set in Atlanta’s dome.

A lot of people thought that the Rams stood a chance, a very good one at that, against the Falcons, and needless to say, those people were dead wrong. Atlanta ran the train on Marc Bulger and the Rams, flying out of the gates and putting up points in rapid succession. St. Louis never had a chance against Mike Vick, Warrick Dunn and the rest of the Falcon rushing attack, and this one was over early in the third quarter.

The punctuation mark came in the fourth quarter when Bulger was driven into the ground in his own end zone for a safety. The hit was so hard it made me cringe, and I think it’s safe to say that even former Rams quarterback Jim Everett felt that one.

Oyyyyyyyyyyy

It will be interesting to see how the Falcons adjust to playing outside in inclement weather next week against the Eagles in Philadelphia. Hopefully they don’t end up like their fellow dome brethren, the Colts, faired this week.

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Minnesota Vikings

I’m really starting to feel bad for Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper. His best weapon, Randy Moss, is essentially a lunatic and you can’t tell if he is ever giving it his all, and his head coach Mike Tice is one of the worst coaches in the league. I feel bad for Culpepper because you can tell that he is giving max effort 100 percent of the time. This guy pours it all out in every game, and it’s just sad to see the frustration on his face during moronic plays like the botched fake field goal attempt in Sunday’s loss. Either Culpepper needs the Vikes to trade Moss and fire Tice or he has to get the fuck out of dodge himself. This relationship will not last forever.

Da doy dought da dasketdall!

As for the Eagles, could there be a more boring team in football? I don’t know what it is about these guys, but their games are always boring to me. All they have on offense right now is Donovan McNabb. The league and commentators try to shove Brian Westbrook down your throat, but I for one am not buying it. If it wasn’t for the dominating defense the Eagles have, yesterday’s game could have been a win for Minnesota.

But alas, the Eagles will continue to bore me for at least one more week, and hopefully the Falcons can knock them off during the NFC Championship to prevent an Eagles-Patriots Super Bowl.

The only thing I really like about the Eagles is Freddie Mitchell. Did you see this guy’s attire and speech during the post game press conference? It was classic. He was rocking some crazy hat all the while wearing a big bow tie. It was A-Mazing. And then he opened his mouth:

“I'm a special player,” he said to ESPN.com, wearing an Indiana Jones hat and bow tie. “I've just got to thank my hands for being so great. I've just been chillin' being patient, being humble. I knew my time was going to come.”

Freddie, you are the man.

New England Patriots vs. Indianapolis Colts

The big one turned out to be the big stinker as Peyton Manning and the Colts could not live up to the hype and ended up laying one of the bigger eggs in recent history. Truth be told, the Patriots flat out dominated the Colts on Sunday in Foxboro, Mass.

I will never doubt the Patriots again, and if you think that they will not win the Super Bowl this year, then you are delusional. There is not a better team in sports than the New England Patriots. Never underestimate these guys. NEVER. They will beat Pittsburgh on Sunday and they will defeat whomever the NFC throws up for sacrifice in the Super Bowl.

And then there is the great quarterback debate. Manning may be the MVP, but Brady is clearly the go to guy when you want to win the big game. Maybe Manning can put up all those gaudy numbers, but that means jack shit when it comes time to win a playoff game. A lot of people out there still think that Brady sucks for some reason. If you are one of those fools, look no further than his flawless 7-0 record in the postseason. As a fan of a team, you cannot ask for more than that. It is perfection. Lucky Boston bastards.

Brady: You’re my fucking bitch. Manning: I know.

This was the most disappointing game, as all week long we were led to believe that Colts were going to take care of business in New England. Sadly, this vaunted offense could only score three measly points. It is evident that Indy relies on playing in that dome, which is sad, because football was not meant to be played inside. If they ever want to win a Super Bowl, they better hope and pray to lock up that home field advantage throughout the playoffs, because if they have to go on the road to a New England, Pittsburgh, Buffalo or New York, it’s game over.

Despite getting annihilated a week ago, maybe the Broncos were right after all. The Colts looked like a soft team yesterday in Foxboro. Their offense was absolutely abused by the Patriots defense. Between Rodney Harrison getting under their skin, Asante Samuel delivering a crushing blow to Brandon Stokely and Teddy Bruschi’s steal, the Patriots clearly owned the Colts. It was pathetic, especially that steal by Bruschi.

And what’s most upsetting is that a Colts win would have put an end to that damned Visa commercial. Now we have to watch Corey Dillon and the rest of the Pats talk trash in that commercial for at least one more week, and in all likelihood, probably another whole year.

I think I’m going to be sick …

Questions or comments? E-mail Jim at Y2JimProblem1@yahoo.com