Scribbler's Wrap-Up: NFL Playoffs, Divisional Round

What if I told you that you may have just watched the last best weekend of NFL playoff football until the 2015 season begins?  Coming into this weekend, there were so many compelling storylines with each game.  The Ravens always seem to have the Patriots' number in Foxboro.  It's always a defensive dogfight between the Panthers and Seahawks.  An injured Mr. Discount Double Check might appear mortal after all in the "Ice Bowl II".  Peyton faces his replacement for the first time in the playoffs.  Some things turned out as expected while there were a few surprises and controversies along the way.  Nevertheless, if you're a true fan of the sport like I am, none of these games disappointed.  Instead of regurgitating statistics, I'll give you my biggest takeaways from this weekend.

 

THIS JUST IN: the New England Patriots are pretty good.  Although Joe Flacco gave it more than the college try and was on his way to a flawless performance, nobody got him the memo that you cannot make even one mistake against Belichick, Brady & Associates because they are one of the best teams at stealing momentum.  (I know you Jets and Giants fans were thinking that they're better at stealing other things, but don't be those fans right now.)  Down two TDs twice in a game and you win the game?  However, other than Flacco's mishaps or falling for a fake screen, the fatal flaw was settling for a field goal to go up 31-28 with 10:17 left in the game.  BB&A are not going for field goals once the ball is in their hands; they always go for the kill shot and up the ante.  Forcing Flacco to go 79 yards to score a touchdown with 5:13 left was the perfect setup because Belichick knew he would force the issue with a deep shot--hence the disguised single-high-safety coverage to bait him into the throw to Torrey Smith.  Moral of the story: when you ask yourself how many points does it take to beat the New England Patriots, the answer is always "more" and you always need TDs.

NOBODY is beating the Seahawks in Seattle...NOBODY.  Let's ignore Carolina's sub-.500 record...they played a darn good game despite the final score.  Truth be told, they followed the Dallas Cowboys' blueprint of successfully running the ball on "The Legion of Boom".  However, you cannot get cute if you're Cam Newton and think that you can do what Romo did against this secondary; your accuracy is not as sharp, bruh.  If you can't turn the ball over against the Pats, then that goes double for the Seahawks because their offense might not have to score.  Forget Russell Wilson and playing a masterful game on offense.  Never mind Richard Sherman nearly having two INTs.  Take away the emergence of tight end Luke Willson.  What the NFL may have been robbed of with the tragic death of Sean Taylor in 2007, Kam Chancellor may be providing ample restitution.  He can knock 250-plus-pound running backs sideways.  He can leap over piles of "big, meaty guys" (a la the always eloquent John Madden) without his feet touching anyone on the line of scrimmage...twice...on back-to-back plays.  Oh yeah...and he's fast.  Message to the Green Bay Packers: get your running game going early or run the risk of being another victim of the L.O.B.

Dez Bryant didn't get robbed by the CALL; he got robbed by the RULE.  Once upon a time, catching a pass was a simple as two feet inbounds and counting "1001, 1002, 1003" in your head.  Bryant, who is my favorite wide receiver in the NFL despite playing for my least favorite team in all of sports, clearly met those standards...until that troublesome ground got involved.  According to Rule 8, Section 1, Article 3, Item 1 of the NFL Rule Book, this is what's now defined as a "completed" catch:

If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball after he touches the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete.

So for anyone that thinks it was a terrible call, you couldn't be more wrong according to the NFL.  However, if you think it's a terrible rule, then you'll get no argument from me.  Like Calvin Johnson got robbed in a game against the Bears, so did Dez Bryant. The rule needs to be changed IMM-MEED-CHET-LEE.

How-and-ever, other than this statutory faux pas, a few reasons stand out as to why the Cowboys took an "L".  First, Rod Marinelli's defense stopped getting pressure on a quarterback who's pretty much operating on one good leg.  Aaron Rodgers is arguably the best QB in the league because he can beat you with pinpoint accuracy from both inside and outside the pocket, so if you don't keep him on the ropes, he'll wake you up with a right hook and make you take out the trash.  Second, when the Cowboys led 21-20 but couldn't score on their second-to-last drive with 13:29 left in the game, I knew it was curtains.  Third, going back to the Bryant catch, Dez is my dude and I absolutely love that fight in him, but you gotta pick and choose your battles.  It was 4th and 2 and y'all only needed a first down; although it was an astute decision by Romo since it was one-on-one coverage with no safety help and Dez wins that matchup most of the time, do one thing at a time by completing the catch and picking up the first down instead of lunging to score.  Besides, you didn't wanna give Aaron Rodgers that much time to respond anyway, especially since all he would've needed was to get in field goal range.  Ah well...that was the Cowboys' game to win, but I sure as heck ain't mad at them sitting home now.

 

Peyton Manning should embrace retirement post haste.  Since the St. Louis game where the Broncos lost 22-7, he lost a lot of his early-season luster.  In fact, Denver became a 30-plus-rushing-attempt team with the emergence of C.J. Anderson while Manning played hurt.  However, forget all of the statistics that I could throw at you...body language tells this unfortunate tale.  After losing his second head-to-head matchup against his younger replacement, Andrew Luck, Manning had that "I'm so over it" look on his face and that walk to the locker room read like someone who just played his last NFL game.  Despite two turnovers, his Indianapolis successor outplayed him in his own house while his accuracy was quite un-Peyton-like.  Playing hurt for a good amount of the year and not having many impressive games in the second half of the season as he did in the first half, he looked more like he did in the first five games of the 2012 season when Denver was 2-3 and folks back then were saying he was done.  He's still the Chicken Asiago sandwich that most chicken little QBs only dream of being, but it's time to hangout with Abe Simpson and Sophia Petrillo.

The AFC and NFC championship games should be interesting because it's two rematches of last year's AFC Divisional Round game and an opening week blowout by the defending Super Bowl champs.  Luck looked good against the Broncos, but if he makes those same mistakes against the Patriots, the Colts will get ram ridden again in Foxboro.  (Heck, Tom Brady already has a pic of himself riding the Colts' logo.)  As for Aaron Rodgers, it might not even be a matter of being under constant pressure that could pose problems for the Packers offense; he might not have anywhere to throw.  He might end up looking like he did in the Buffalo loss.  Ummm yeah...I got the Seahawks and Patriots meeting up in Super Bowl XLIX and I'll have a special post for y'all when that happens...