NFC Playoff Thoughts

Over in the NFC, things were awfully exciting as both games ended with a score of 27-24. Anytime you get close contests with lots of points on the board, you can’t really complain. Here are some thoughts on the divisional games as well as a prediction for Sunday.

Chicago 27 Seattle 24 (OT). Even though I am living in Chicago right now, I was pulling for Seattle to win this game. I felt bad for the Seahawks all year, as they were constantly decimated by injuries yet never could seem to catch a break from anyone. People acted like they somehow choked this year or something, when in reality they suffered injuries to their starting quarterback, running back, receiver, and almost the entire offensive line and entire secondary.

Yet they still made the playoffs and found a way to advance in the Wild Card round, which, to me, was pretty impressive. And they absolutely outplayed the Bears on Sunday, only to come up a little short.

If I had to fault Seattle for one thing, it would be that stupid angled running play they employ in short yardage situations. I don’t know if it is supposed to be a trap or something, but it never works. By running at a sharp angle, they are giving up leverage and allowing blitzing linebackers to come through and annihilate the running back. They did it against Dallas and lost eight yards one a first-and-goal from the one yard line and then they did it four more times against Chicago and lost yardage every time. If you are going to run, slam it up the middle or toss it outside. Don’t go halfway between the two.


New Orleans 27 Philadelphia 24. Once again, the first thing that comes to mind is play-calling on the part of the losing team. In every game, the loser was victimized by poor playcalling. The Ravens didn’t run the ball nearly enough, the Chargers got too tight late in the game and forgot about LT (especially in the passing game), and the Seahawks insisted on repeatedly trying a terrible running play … that had been a disaster the week before. As for the Eagles, they failed to treat their last possession like it was all “four down territory.” They threw the ball down the field on third-and-ten rather than shave up some yards to make fourth down more manageable. Then, to make matters worse, they actually punted the ball away. Why did Andy Reid do that? Your whole season is on the line, you are trailing, and you know that the opposition (who has run for almost 200 yards at the point) needs only one first down to end the game. Yet out comes the punting team. Just an amazing decision.

On the plus side, we got to see some vintage Reggie Bush. No, not the fumble that almost cost the Saints the game, I’m talking about everything else before that. He took a viscous hit right at the outset, but managed to shake it off and have a really nice game. He had a breathtaking 20-yard run early, a powerful draw play a few moments later, and then the ridiculous touchdown run.

Of course, Bush was only the second best Saints running back in the game. The honor of best goes to Deuce McAllister, who ran all over the Eagles for 143 yards and scored two touchdowns.

The only thing I didn’t like about this game from the Saints standpoint is that they were just a little too excited when they won, like that was their Super Bowl. Of course, the Bears managed to top them on that front, so I guess nobody is at a “just happy to be here” disadvantage.

Saints at Bears. I would like nothing better than to see the Saints go to the Super Bowl and then win it by upsetting either the Patriots or the Colts. And since I picked them to win it all, you would think I could stay the course. However, I had them beating Dallas and the Ravens, because I liked the matchups. I like these matchups less. The Bears feel due for some big plays on defense and I think Urlacher will leave his imprint in the running game. On offense, I think Grossman now has confidence after narrowly avoiding that early interception (when Jordan Babineaux inexplicably missed the ball) and then going over the top to Berrian for a long touchdown.

Deep down I think the Bears will probably win, but I will stick with my original pick out of loyalty.

The Pick: Saints 24 Bears 21.

AFC Playoff Thoughts

I've been meaning to post some thoughts on the divisional round of the playoffs as well as my predictions for the title round, but have been hypnotized by Bravo's Top Chef. So you have my apologies.

Indianapolis 15 Baltimore 6. Even though this game was the least exciting and had by far the fewest points tallied of any of the divisional round games, it might have had the most interesting subplots. The Colts bailed out on the city of Baltimore back in the early 80's, only to be replaced by the Browns-turned-Ravens, who - led by Art Model - snuck out of Cleveland under the cloak of darkness nearly a decade ago. In addition to this intriguing bit of history there was the unstoppable force of Indy's offense going up against the immovable object of B-More's defense.

Then the game started, the Ravens defense prevailed (Manning had yet another terrible playoff game), and yet Baltimore still lost the game. How?

- For starters, Steve McNair came through with a classic Veteran Mistake when he threw a horrific interception at the Colts' goal line, which took points off the board and halted Baltimore's momentum when they finally had something going. Not only that, but then the vaunted defense failed to pin Indy deep, instead allowing the Colts to go marching back down the field.

- The Ravens were also victimized by bad luck, when two interceptions were tipped away by Ray Lewis.

- They got hosed by the officials, who blew the play dead when they incorrectly thought Ed Reed (who was by far the best player on the field) went out of bounds before lateraling the ball to Chris McAllister. The officials also made a terrible holding call on Jonathan Ogden and missed a blatant unnecessary roughing call on Cato June.

- Baltimore really missed B.J. Sams' return abilities on special teams.

- But mainly, they shot themselves in the foot with bad playcalling. Despite facing a run defense that many have called one of the worst in NFL history, the Ravens only ran the ball five times out of 22 second half plays. It wasn't until the 3:15 mark of the third quarter that Jamal Lewis got his first carry of the second half (after nine passing plays and a fullback dive) and for the game he got just 13 totes. How is this possible? Not only did Lewis look better than he has at any time since he had his soul taken in prison, but the Colts are porous against the run! Here is the problem with exploiting a bad run defense: it only works if you actually run the ball.

Give the Colts credit for being able to move the ball on the ground when they had to – especially on the last drive with Rhodes - and for getting the job done on defense, but don't mistake this victory for any kind of dominance. In fact, that is the irony here. The Colts are now playing at home in the AFC title game and will probably win the Super Bowl, but they are only this far because the first two teams they played just absolutely gagged. The Chiefs should have given them a run for their money and Baltimore absolutely should have won the game. Amazing.

New England 24 San Diego 21. In my playoff "guesses" I forecasted matchup and result, because I just couldn't picture the Chargers beating the Patriots. It turned out that was correct, but for the life of me, I still don't know how this happened. My dad suspects that Belichek has some sort of voodoo doll that he employs on the sidelines. I keep flashing back to the movie The Last Boyscout and wondering about a point shaving scandal. I mean seriously, how in the hell did this happen? The Chargers were bigger, faster, stronger, and better all game long. They had the unstoppable Tomlinson, Rivers was handling the situation well, and Brady was taking a giant dump on the field. But then the dust cleared and the Pats were doing the Merriman Lights Out dance and celebrating yet another huge postseason win.

I'm still in shock, as you can probably tell from this scattered recap. The hardest thing here is to assign blame. I guess you can blame Marty since he has a track record and a few key mistakes can be traced back to him. Eric Parker fumbling that punt should never have happened, because once he dropped three passes and showed that he was the leader in the clubhouse for the Worst Hands Award, he never should have been back there. Florence getting the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on fourth down has to go back to the coach, at least on some level. The conservative playcalling after the game was tied, that definitely falls on Marty. But a guy intercepts a fourth down pass and then fumbles it? How can you anticipate or prevent something like that?

I couldn't feel any worse for the Chargers at this point, I don't think.

Patriots at Colts

I personally don't think either team deserves to be in this game. The Colts have had two opponents just roll over and give them the path to the Super Bowl, while the Patriots' victory called to mind the putt at the end of Happy Gilmore. And I don't know about anyone else, but I am sick and tired of the Colts and Pats. It is worse than Sox-Yanks, I think. Blah.

That said, I think this is now the Colts year. They've absorbed two more classic Manning playoff games in which he has thrown five picks and played with the world's tightest sphincter. Now they get a home game to win the AFC and go to the Super Bowl as at least a seven-point favorite. Unless the Patriots can find a fountain of youth for Corey Dillon and/or get Laurence Maroney to run like he did before be bruised his ribs (or somehow acquire Maurice Jones-Drew and disguise him as Kevin Faulk), they won't be able to exploit this run defense. And they certainly don't have the receivers on offense or the corners on defense to win a shootout. Unless, of course, Manning actually poops his pants on the field. Then all bets are off.

The pick: Indy 27 New England 17.

Worst Officiated Super Bowl Ever?

I can't say for sure, but this might have been the worst officiating in any Super Bowl. Seattle was constantly undermined by the officials and never given a chance to win. Here are just a few of the many horrible calls that come to mind:

- The offensive interference called on Darrell Jackson in the first half. Not only does Hines Ward push off on virtually every route, this wasn't even a push off. Jackson put his arm out for balance and to get himself untangled with the defensive back. Unbelievable that they called something that had previously gone unflagged probably a hundred times in 39 previous Super Bowls.

- The bizarre "undercut" call on Hasselbeck. I still have no idea what they were thinking. How does a guy make a tackle and get called for a blocking penalty? Not only that, but Roethlisberger actually did go low and undercut a guy on that Randel-El pass play moments later.

- The no-call when Alexander was drug down by Porter. This is the infamous "Horse Collar" play that was made famous in the offseason when the rule was changed (spawned by Roy Williams busting TO's leg last year). For such a recent and notorious rule, the refs sure didn't know about it. And here's the thing: Alexander had the corner and Porter's only hope was the old horse collar. You HAVE to call that.

- The phantom holding call on Locklear that negated a pass play to Stevens. Seattle would have had the ball at the one for a sure 17-14 lead. Instead ... well, you know how it went.

These are just the plays that come to mind. I didn't even count the disputed TD from the first half. What an embarrassing effort to cap off an embarrassing playoffs for NFL officials.

History in the Making?

The NFL has featured 39 Super Bowls since the game's inception in January of 1967, and never before has a team seeded fifth or sixth reached the final showdown. Now, suddenly, there is a chance that TWO teams might do it. The red hot Steelers take on the Broncos and the unstoppable Panthers go to Seattle, both looking to pull of the improbably feat. Not only that, but both teams have a great chance at winning. They are each 3.5 point underdogs, which isn't a whole lot for a low seed playing on the road. Both teams made huge statements last weekend, have momentum, and take on teams that didn't look terribly impressive in the previous round. Needless to say, it should be interesting. Consider this your place for reports, updates, comments, and bad jokes for the conference championship games this weekend.

Yellow is Denver's Favorite Color

It is halftime of the Broncos-Pats game and right now, Denver has to be downright giddy. They were on the verge of going into halftime scoreless, down anywhere from 3-0 to 10-0. Then, Kevin Faulk gift-wrapped a fumble and things spiraled out of control for the Patriots. Another fumble by Ellis Hobbs bracketed a touchdown by Denver that was controversial to say the least. With their offense sputtering, Plummer heaved one deap toward Ashley Lelie. Now, if you play fantasy football at all, you know that Lelie sucks. Sure enough, he got abused on the deep route as Asanti Samuel read it so well that he became the receiver on the play. He beat him to the route, got inside position, and made a move to intercept the pass. Despite the fact that he played the ball perfectly (and the fact that Lelie committed offensive pass interference about six times on the play), Samuel was flagged for one of those ridiculous "first and goal at the one" PI penalties that result when the foul occurs in the end zone. Denver punched it in on the next play and took a 7-3 lead. It was honestly one of the worst calls I've ever seen in an NFL game. Wow.

The Worst 66-Yard Pass of All Time

Can you recall a 66-yard pass play with more negative fallout than the Carson Plamer-to-Chris Henry hookup from today's AFC Wild Card game? Not only did Henry suffer a knee injury and miss the remainder of the game, the Bengals saw their franchise player go down in a heap. Carson Palmer tore his ACL and MCL. He threw only one pass in his first playoff game. Jon Kitna had to play. I mean, this was a horrific injury. 66 yards on one play is pretty good, right? Safe to say that the numbers lied on this one.