SUPER BOWL MATCHUP SET, GIANTS VS. PATRIOTS
Two championship games decided by a field goal, one in overtime, gave us the best Sunday of conference title games I can remember in a long while. It didn't require non-stop scoring or a 6-3 outcome, they were the perfect mix of offense & hard-hitting defense. The Harbaugh brothers came so close to opposing each other in Super Bowl, but a dropped touchdown pass, a field goal attempt that hooked wide left & two punt return blunders kept this matchup from happening. What we got was a rematch of Super Bowl 42(still not doing the Roman numerals), won by the New York Giants at the 2-minute warning, 17-14. I'm looking forward to this game, but with the four teams that played yesterday would have created good matchups no matter how they fell.
New England 23 - Baltimore 20
The AFC Championship game had several surprises. Tom Brady didn't throw a touchdown for the first time in 38-games. He didn't play well, throwing 2 interceptions & had two more called back on Baltimore penalties. "I sucked pretty bad today but our defense saved us" Brady said minutes after the game. Brady made a great play on a 4th & goal at the one-yard line by leaping over the top for a touchdown after seeing Ray Lewis & Jameel McClain positioned 4-yard deep in the endzone. They couldn't get there in time. It's the worst playoff game I can remember Brady playing. I don't expect that to continue at Indianapolis. After the game he promised owner Robert Kraft he'd play much better in the Super Bowl.
Vince Wilfork was a man yesterday. The massive Pats defensive tackle consistently pushed blockers right back into Joe Flacco's lap. He stuffed Ray Rice inside down after down, he was the biggest impact player on the Patriot defense. Baltimore safety Bernard Pollard played a brilliant game yesterday, I wonder of Scott Pioli took notice of his ability to play true centerfield & not get sucked in on play action. That was one of the main reason Kansas City sent him packing. OLB Terrell Suggs was once again a non-factor in the Raven pass rush. in both playoff game Suggs has made zero impact.
The much-maligned Joe Flacco played as well as he could have yesterday. He did everything possible to secure a trip to the Super Bowl for his team. He did underthrow a wide open Torrey Smith in the first quarter. Smith came back for the ball & caught it, but the drive resulted in a field goal instead of a touchdown. Their last drive that started at the Raven 21 with 1:44 left in the game & 2 timeouts. Flacco completed 5 of 7 to get Baltimore to the Patriots' 14-yardline. He threw a perfect pass to WR Lee Evans in the endzone which was knocked out of Evans' hands by Sterling Moore. A veteran receiver like Evans has to make that catch. On the very next play, Flacco threw to TE Dennis Pitta at the 4-yardline but Moore swatted it away at the last second. Enter kicker Billy Cundiff to attempt a 32-yard field goal to send the game to overtime. I know I've railed on coaches who've "iced" their own kickers, but in this case, John Harbaugh might have been better served by calling a timeout to get everyone on the field without rushing to snap the ball. Cudiff hooked the attempt wide left, game over.
In the Raven locker room, team leader Ray Lewis said all the right things, "one player doesn't lose a game, we all made mistakes that cost the team." He's right, but Evans' drop & Cundiff's whiff will be the plays everyone remembers. Lewis also made it clear he was coming back for next season. Regardless of the naysayers who try to diminish Lewis' game, let me say this, he's still better than most inside linebackers in the league. Is he as good as he once was? Hell no, that would be impossible at age 36, he set the bar so high, there's no way he can still play at that level. But he had 12 tackles yesterday & can still run well enough to get the kind of 25-yard pass drops to cover the middle of the field. He tipped a pass away from Wes Welker in the endzone because he was where he was supposed to be.
I don't expect Ravens' offensive coordinator Cam Cameron to return next season, they need a little more imagination in their gameplans. I didn't care for the sour grapes attitude coming from the Ravens. A few players started Tweeting negative messages almost as soon as the game ended. After the other Harbaugh lost later in the evening, even the Ravens team Twitter account echoed their players whining from early in the day, "Doubt we watch the unsuper bowl since 2 best teams are sitting @ home." hang onto sure TD passes & make 32-yard field goals & you wouldn't be "sitting at home."
New York Giants 20 - San Francisco 17 O.T.
Game two featured overtime, rain, wind, some great defense from both sides & one of the guttiest quarterback performances I've seen in a while. Eli Manning took a helluva beating but stood in there & made the throws the Giants needed to prevail. He was sacked 6 times & knocked down another 13. Frisco's defense is really stout, they have a great foundation for this team going forward. But their offense has to improve dramatically, the Saints game was somewhat of a mirage. They try to run the ball & play defense, which many teams try to do, especially in January. But if their passing game is essentially Vernon Davis deep & RB Frank Gore out of the backfield. All of the Niner wideouts totaled 1 reception for 3-yards, that's it. That won't get it done. Michael Crabtree was a top-10 draft pick, he has to make more of an impact than 1 catch for 3-yards. All the other WR's were thrown to a total of once. QB Alex Smith was Tebowesque with a 12 of 26 passing performance.
Every week in this 5-game winning streak, a different wide receiver has come up large for the Giants. In the first half Victor Cruz caught 8 passes for over 120-yards. He caught two in their 1st second-half possession & then went silent the rest of the day. Mario Manningham was shutout all game but in the 4th quarter he caught a 3rd & 15 laser beam from Manning for the go-ahead touchdown. Tight end Bear Pascoe, primarily a blocker who has 21-career receptions & zero touchdowns in his 3-year career, caught a Manning touchdown pass as well. This is how effective Manning was, he saw the entire field even under the fierce pass rush San Francisco was putting on him snap after snap.
But the biggest plays in this game were both on special teams. Ted Ginn Jr. is one of the better return specialists in the NFL. But his knee wouldn't permit him to play yesterday & Jim Harbaugh trotted out Kyle Williams to sub. Unfortunately for Williams, a 2nd year WR from Arizona State, Harbaugh & the Niners, he wasn't up to the task. One Steve Weatherford punt bounced off his knee for a muff recovered by Giants' gunner Devin Thomas. After New York's second overtime possession ended in a 37-yard punt by Weatherford, Williams caught it & headed upfield only to have it stripped by Jacquian Williams, a Giants linebacker. Once again, the hustling gunner, Devin Thomas, was Johnny on the spot to recover the ball. Five plays later, kicker Lawrence Tynes boomed the game-winning 32-yard field goal. Holder Steve Weatherford handled a wet ball that skipped back to him, getting in into position for Tynes to be successful.
Tom Coughlin has survived being fired about 5 times in his tenure with the Giants. I've always liked him & thought he was overly criticized, probably because they play in New York(Jersey). His teams win a helluva lot of must-win type games. They come up big when it counts. Of course having Eli Manning & a rock-solid defensive line helps a lot.
I couldn't finish this post without mentioning the awesome play of the Forty-Niners front seven of LDE Ray McDonald(5 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 2 QB knockdowns), NT Isaac Sopoaga(3 tackles), RDE Justin Smith(7 tackles, 1 sack, 4 QB KD's), Patrick Willis(8 tackles, 1 sack, 2 QB KD's), Navarro Bowman(14 tackles, half a sack & 1 QB KD's), Aldon Smith(1 tackle, 1 sack, 2 QB KD's) & Parys Harrelson(3 tackles). This is a never-quit, high motor, well coached front seven. They amaze me every time I watch them play.
How bad will Peyton Manning feel to see his little brother playing in his 2nd Super Bowl in Peyton's building? Eli has played at such a high level this season, he has easily joined the truly elite QB's in the NFL. The TV ratings were thru the roof, best in nearly 20-years for both games, the NFL has had a monster year TV ratings-wise. By the way, the Patriots are a 3 1/2 point favorite with a point total of 54 1/2.
Oregon head coach Chip Kelly had a couple of very secretive interviews with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. When I first heard of this yesterday, I started thinking Pete Carroll. When the NCAA was about to bust Carroll's USC Trojans, he bailed out, going to the Seattle Seahawks. I thought the same thing yesterday. But after some intense negotiations, Kelly decided he wanted to stay at Oregon, so maybe the impending investigative report isn't as bad as was first thought.
With Eli Manning going to the Super Bowl, the NFC needed another quarterback, so they did the right thing & selected Carolina rookie Cam Newton.
Ram fans are really steaming about owner Stan Kroenke's decision to stage three home games in London over the next three seasons. What really peeves the fans is the game that was selected for this season, the New England Patriots. In a game that would certainly pack the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, it has been moved to England. Can't say I blame them for their outrage.
I told you the other day former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel was high on Indy owner Jim Irsay's list to replace Jim Caldwell as the Colts' head coach. I'm watching The Dan Patrick Show as I write this & he's interviewing Tony Dungy right now & he thinks it's going to be Tressel. Yahoo, tattoos for everybody!
I'm not going to dwell on the death of Joe Paterno, I've talked a lot about the scandal at Penn State with Jerry Sandusky. I just want to mention one thing regarding Paterno's funeral. Kansas' Westboro Baptist Church plans to be there to protest. The wife of their founder was all over Twitter yesterday announcing their plans to travel to Pennsylvania to create more sorrow, more sadness & more outrage. I don't understand how these people can hate with such a white-hot passion & believe in the same God that I do.
New England 23 - Baltimore 20
The AFC Championship game had several surprises. Tom Brady didn't throw a touchdown for the first time in 38-games. He didn't play well, throwing 2 interceptions & had two more called back on Baltimore penalties. "I sucked pretty bad today but our defense saved us" Brady said minutes after the game. Brady made a great play on a 4th & goal at the one-yard line by leaping over the top for a touchdown after seeing Ray Lewis & Jameel McClain positioned 4-yard deep in the endzone. They couldn't get there in time. It's the worst playoff game I can remember Brady playing. I don't expect that to continue at Indianapolis. After the game he promised owner Robert Kraft he'd play much better in the Super Bowl.
Vince Wilfork was a man yesterday. The massive Pats defensive tackle consistently pushed blockers right back into Joe Flacco's lap. He stuffed Ray Rice inside down after down, he was the biggest impact player on the Patriot defense. Baltimore safety Bernard Pollard played a brilliant game yesterday, I wonder of Scott Pioli took notice of his ability to play true centerfield & not get sucked in on play action. That was one of the main reason Kansas City sent him packing. OLB Terrell Suggs was once again a non-factor in the Raven pass rush. in both playoff game Suggs has made zero impact.
The much-maligned Joe Flacco played as well as he could have yesterday. He did everything possible to secure a trip to the Super Bowl for his team. He did underthrow a wide open Torrey Smith in the first quarter. Smith came back for the ball & caught it, but the drive resulted in a field goal instead of a touchdown. Their last drive that started at the Raven 21 with 1:44 left in the game & 2 timeouts. Flacco completed 5 of 7 to get Baltimore to the Patriots' 14-yardline. He threw a perfect pass to WR Lee Evans in the endzone which was knocked out of Evans' hands by Sterling Moore. A veteran receiver like Evans has to make that catch. On the very next play, Flacco threw to TE Dennis Pitta at the 4-yardline but Moore swatted it away at the last second. Enter kicker Billy Cundiff to attempt a 32-yard field goal to send the game to overtime. I know I've railed on coaches who've "iced" their own kickers, but in this case, John Harbaugh might have been better served by calling a timeout to get everyone on the field without rushing to snap the ball. Cudiff hooked the attempt wide left, game over.
In the Raven locker room, team leader Ray Lewis said all the right things, "one player doesn't lose a game, we all made mistakes that cost the team." He's right, but Evans' drop & Cundiff's whiff will be the plays everyone remembers. Lewis also made it clear he was coming back for next season. Regardless of the naysayers who try to diminish Lewis' game, let me say this, he's still better than most inside linebackers in the league. Is he as good as he once was? Hell no, that would be impossible at age 36, he set the bar so high, there's no way he can still play at that level. But he had 12 tackles yesterday & can still run well enough to get the kind of 25-yard pass drops to cover the middle of the field. He tipped a pass away from Wes Welker in the endzone because he was where he was supposed to be.
I don't expect Ravens' offensive coordinator Cam Cameron to return next season, they need a little more imagination in their gameplans. I didn't care for the sour grapes attitude coming from the Ravens. A few players started Tweeting negative messages almost as soon as the game ended. After the other Harbaugh lost later in the evening, even the Ravens team Twitter account echoed their players whining from early in the day, "Doubt we watch the unsuper bowl since 2 best teams are sitting @ home." hang onto sure TD passes & make 32-yard field goals & you wouldn't be "sitting at home."
New York Giants 20 - San Francisco 17 O.T.
Game two featured overtime, rain, wind, some great defense from both sides & one of the guttiest quarterback performances I've seen in a while. Eli Manning took a helluva beating but stood in there & made the throws the Giants needed to prevail. He was sacked 6 times & knocked down another 13. Frisco's defense is really stout, they have a great foundation for this team going forward. But their offense has to improve dramatically, the Saints game was somewhat of a mirage. They try to run the ball & play defense, which many teams try to do, especially in January. But if their passing game is essentially Vernon Davis deep & RB Frank Gore out of the backfield. All of the Niner wideouts totaled 1 reception for 3-yards, that's it. That won't get it done. Michael Crabtree was a top-10 draft pick, he has to make more of an impact than 1 catch for 3-yards. All the other WR's were thrown to a total of once. QB Alex Smith was Tebowesque with a 12 of 26 passing performance.
Every week in this 5-game winning streak, a different wide receiver has come up large for the Giants. In the first half Victor Cruz caught 8 passes for over 120-yards. He caught two in their 1st second-half possession & then went silent the rest of the day. Mario Manningham was shutout all game but in the 4th quarter he caught a 3rd & 15 laser beam from Manning for the go-ahead touchdown. Tight end Bear Pascoe, primarily a blocker who has 21-career receptions & zero touchdowns in his 3-year career, caught a Manning touchdown pass as well. This is how effective Manning was, he saw the entire field even under the fierce pass rush San Francisco was putting on him snap after snap.
But the biggest plays in this game were both on special teams. Ted Ginn Jr. is one of the better return specialists in the NFL. But his knee wouldn't permit him to play yesterday & Jim Harbaugh trotted out Kyle Williams to sub. Unfortunately for Williams, a 2nd year WR from Arizona State, Harbaugh & the Niners, he wasn't up to the task. One Steve Weatherford punt bounced off his knee for a muff recovered by Giants' gunner Devin Thomas. After New York's second overtime possession ended in a 37-yard punt by Weatherford, Williams caught it & headed upfield only to have it stripped by Jacquian Williams, a Giants linebacker. Once again, the hustling gunner, Devin Thomas, was Johnny on the spot to recover the ball. Five plays later, kicker Lawrence Tynes boomed the game-winning 32-yard field goal. Holder Steve Weatherford handled a wet ball that skipped back to him, getting in into position for Tynes to be successful.
Tom Coughlin has survived being fired about 5 times in his tenure with the Giants. I've always liked him & thought he was overly criticized, probably because they play in New York(Jersey). His teams win a helluva lot of must-win type games. They come up big when it counts. Of course having Eli Manning & a rock-solid defensive line helps a lot.
I couldn't finish this post without mentioning the awesome play of the Forty-Niners front seven of LDE Ray McDonald(5 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 2 QB knockdowns), NT Isaac Sopoaga(3 tackles), RDE Justin Smith(7 tackles, 1 sack, 4 QB KD's), Patrick Willis(8 tackles, 1 sack, 2 QB KD's), Navarro Bowman(14 tackles, half a sack & 1 QB KD's), Aldon Smith(1 tackle, 1 sack, 2 QB KD's) & Parys Harrelson(3 tackles). This is a never-quit, high motor, well coached front seven. They amaze me every time I watch them play.
How bad will Peyton Manning feel to see his little brother playing in his 2nd Super Bowl in Peyton's building? Eli has played at such a high level this season, he has easily joined the truly elite QB's in the NFL. The TV ratings were thru the roof, best in nearly 20-years for both games, the NFL has had a monster year TV ratings-wise. By the way, the Patriots are a 3 1/2 point favorite with a point total of 54 1/2.
Oregon head coach Chip Kelly had a couple of very secretive interviews with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. When I first heard of this yesterday, I started thinking Pete Carroll. When the NCAA was about to bust Carroll's USC Trojans, he bailed out, going to the Seattle Seahawks. I thought the same thing yesterday. But after some intense negotiations, Kelly decided he wanted to stay at Oregon, so maybe the impending investigative report isn't as bad as was first thought.
With Eli Manning going to the Super Bowl, the NFC needed another quarterback, so they did the right thing & selected Carolina rookie Cam Newton.
Ram fans are really steaming about owner Stan Kroenke's decision to stage three home games in London over the next three seasons. What really peeves the fans is the game that was selected for this season, the New England Patriots. In a game that would certainly pack the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, it has been moved to England. Can't say I blame them for their outrage.
I told you the other day former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel was high on Indy owner Jim Irsay's list to replace Jim Caldwell as the Colts' head coach. I'm watching The Dan Patrick Show as I write this & he's interviewing Tony Dungy right now & he thinks it's going to be Tressel. Yahoo, tattoos for everybody!
I'm not going to dwell on the death of Joe Paterno, I've talked a lot about the scandal at Penn State with Jerry Sandusky. I just want to mention one thing regarding Paterno's funeral. Kansas' Westboro Baptist Church plans to be there to protest. The wife of their founder was all over Twitter yesterday announcing their plans to travel to Pennsylvania to create more sorrow, more sadness & more outrage. I don't understand how these people can hate with such a white-hot passion & believe in the same God that I do.
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