Yeah, that sucks, bro. Really sucks. So close. So effing close. Yeah, the rest of us keep playing those picks over in our heads, too. Really sucks, man. This one stings. Stings bad. And New England is SO beatable this year....

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Bet you didn’t get much sleep last night.

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You know, when Matt Cassel went down early in the year, I thought KC would still be tough, after all, they won their division last season. And Oakland... they beat us at Reliant before Campbell went down, but I thought they were still a lock to win their weak-ass division with Palmer. Didn’t happen.

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Chicago also won their division in 2010, and since Martz is such a system guy, I’d have figured that Hanie could have at least enough success to get them a wildcard berth. No such luck. And Manning.... you talk about being exposed. The Colts were so bad they even surprised themselves with the mess they put behind center for 4 months.

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Somehow I’m sure no one is giving you as hard a time as you’re giving yourself right now.

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The fact is dude, you got us into the playoffs. You did enough to win some big games... to win our division. You brought home the gold in Cincinnati. You hit Dre with that 40 yard TD to seal the deal last week, right in front of my seats. I thought I was gonna lose it, right there in public. Did you notice Dre carried that ball off the field with him? Wonder how special it was for The Greatest to score his first postseason TD?

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Ya know, I’m kinda wishing that you’d have had about 2 years on the bench before something like this happened. I can’t help but think you guys would be hoisting Lombardi on Feb. 5th if you had....

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When bad things happen, a man is always compelled to evaluate what’s happened, so he can apply what he’s learned. It’s not easy, and it’s not painless. But you gotta do it. Do it, bro. Be the massive student of the game for the next couple seasons. Soak it all in... push yourself to the limit. Pick Matty and Greg and Rick and Kubes brains until they tell you to shut up. Do it.

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I keep thinking about Aaron Rodgers first couple years behind what’s-his-name. Didn't turn out too bad for him, ya know? And I keep thinking about you, and all your brothers in steel blue, hoisting Lombardi... soon .