"Win One for the Limper"

Or, Philip Rivers' pregame speech to Billy Volek. Right before Volek meets Mike Vrabel, Adalius Thomas & Company and finds himself understanding personally why the Pats are undefeated.

The Chargers-Patriots contest might go down as the most one-sided conference championship in NFL history. It might go down as the most one-sided game this season.

These games are supposed to be close. They're supposed to be a dog-fight between the best two teams in their conference, clawing and scratching to see who'll come out on top.

Traditionally, that's been the case.

Since the Plan-A Free Agency went into effect with the 1993 season there have been 28Conference Championship Games played. The average margin of victory: just over 13 points. Competitive Balance has won out. The games have been somewhat close. A bounce here, a break there, and any team is in it.

Well, except for the 2000 Minnesota Vikings, who looked like a WNBA team against the NY Giants, putting up a goose-egg and losing the NFC title by 41 points.

Until Sunday, January 20, 2008, that will be the standard-bearer of beat downs.

That is, until Billy Volek leads the LT-hurtin & Philip Rivers-missin, undermanned & overmatched San Diego Chargers into Foxboro.

Look, you've got The Hoodie-Bill Belichick-who goes for it on fourth down when he's in field goal range with the game in the bag, a quarterback who just set a new TD record, a wideout who's trying to prove he really is just a good football player and not a thug, and a team who has gone from most-loved to most-hated faster than any team in history, and they're going against Billy Volek and the San Diego Chargers?

Well, all you can say is, "You stay classy, San Diego."

Pats win by 45.

(P.S. - My greatest New Years wish is for Brett Favre to demolish the Pats and then ride off into the sunset as the greatest QB in NFL history... And have that feat never, ever, ever passed by Tom Brady.)