By The Rabbi, Video Editor for
"On The Sportslines"
This weekend was Divisional round weekend and if I had published my picks...I would be 0-4. Yup, that's right....against the spread I would have been 0-4, game picks I would have been 2-2. I lost my pre AND postseason Super Bowl picks in one freaking day. I would think that deserves a recap, don't you?
Hey, did you hear that Ray Lewis is retiring at the end of the postseason? Just thought I'd mention that somewhere in this column if you hadn't heard it 10 million times on TV.
Baltimore 38, Denver 35 (In a game so nice, they almost had to do OT twice)
Summing this game up in 10 words or less: Peyton wasn't MVP-like, Baltimore's offense was.
Why Baltimore won: Blame it on Denver, but the answer is simple...Joe Flacco? Yup, Joe Flacco (sorry, had to convince myself that he was good this weekend). Here's a shocker for you...in the last two years, Joe Flacco has OUTPLAYED Tom Brady and Peyton Manning in playoff games. The potential of having a good receiving corp like Mr. Boldin, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Reliable Tight End that comes up in the clutch (this was Todd Heap for so many years, now it's Dennis Pitta) finally came to fruition in a big playoff game.
Why Denver Lost: Peyton Manning is 8-11 in his playoff career. That's not a good record. Remember when one Super Bowl got you vindication for all the failures of your career? That might not work with Mr. Manning at all. Peyton just has to always be one Super Bowl behind Eli. Also...can we talk about that touchdown that Jacoby Jones had to tie the game for Baltimore? How does one person get so open? Denver was such a mess defensively; nowhere near resembling the unit we saw for the past two months. Peyton's second loss as a #1 seed may be just as, or even more devastating than the first one he had in 2005 when his Colts lost to the 6th seeded Steelers.
What I'm looking for from Baltimore Sunday: Ray Rice touches in the first half hitting double digits. He only had seven in the first half Saturday. The Ravens may have a problem if he has single digit touches early again.
San Francisco 45, Green Bay 31
Summing this game in 10 words or less: Colin Kaepernick was nice on his feet, 180 yards worth.
Why San Fran won: Colin Kaepernick's 444 total yards is a nice place to start. The best thing about this game to me wasn't even the fact that he torched the Packers secondary; it's that he torched the Packers secondary after starting the game with a Pick-6. Don't players who are in their first playoff start feel any pressure? Colin Kaepernick is not an ordinary man at all. Just watching him on Saturday pretty much means there's no way that you can prepare a good defensive game plan against the Niners. Want to put eight in the box? Colin's gonna throw to a rejuvenated Michael Crabtree. Want to go Nickel? Frank Gore can run the ball. Want to go Man-to-Man and only rush four? Oh yeah, Colin Kaepernick can run for a TD at any time.
Why Green Bay Lost: Okay, now let's put this in perspective...no team in the history of the NFL Playoffs allowed a 100 yard rushing QB...and the Pack almost allow a 200 yard rusher? It may be a little bit of Green Bay's Defense contributing to that when that's the case. Also, Green Bay was outrushed 3-1 by the Niners. Remember how I just mentioned the layers of dimensions to San Fran's Offense? That's how One-Dimensional the Pack are and going to be until they find a decent runner. It doesn't even have to be a superstar, just a solid threat to go for 100 yards sometime in a 16 game season. The Packers don't have that right now.
What I'm looking for from San Francisco Sunday: This was the highest scoring weekend of playoff football EVER. Can San Francisco's Defense rise up next Sunday? We'll get into this later on in the week, but I don't truly believe that San Francisco is going want to have to score 30 again next week...they may lose if they do.
Atlanta 30, Seattle 28
Why Atlanta won: They had the ball last. They played amazing in the first half of the game and Matt Ryan played loose. The Falcons played like they had nothing on the line and a had a lot of fun. They built up enough of a lead and used the running game in a big way, going for 162 yards. That set up Atlanta's already dangerous passing game, which accounted for three touchdowns. Matt Ryan wasn't the most steady QB during the game (that second interception to set up the Seahawks third TD being the prime example), but just like most times this season, when the Falcons needed a game winning drive with 30 seconds to go, Ryan delivered. It's not the way you want to live all the time though.
Why Seattle lost: 30 minutes and 30 seconds. The first 30 minutes when the Seahawks should have come up with a minimum of six points (which would have put the game within two TD's going into halftime at worst) and the final 30 seconds where Seattle's secondary completely folded. You're going to tell me that twice when a team needed a game-tying or game-winning score within the final minute, that team didn't just deliver (Baltimore and Atlanta), but deliver with ease? Yup, this is the NFL in 2012-2013. A Two-Minute Drill used to be a special thing to me. I used to see memorable drives to win games. This drive just seemed commonplace to NFL fans. 17 seconds to get into field goal range? Come on! Oh, and the two defenses that gave up these drives were Top 10 defenses in the NFL this season. Seattle just fell victim to not being the last team with the ball. That's what did them in.
What I'm looking for from Atlanta Sunday: A lot. Matt Ryan looks like the overmatched QB in this game against San Francisco and he needs to prove that he's far from that. The Falcons need the same running attack they had against the Seahawks, get all three of their big time backs going. Remember when I said a few paragraphs ago that the 49ers probably don't want to have to score 30 to win again? This is what Atlanta has to do. When you're the underdog (which even though the Falcons are home, they are), the more points that are scored, the more unpredictable the game can be. This is what Atlanta has to do next Sunday: get into a shootout.
New England 41, Houston 28
Why New England won: They're a better team? Yup, I'm going with that. Even without Rob Gronkowski, the New England Patriots showed just how dangerous they are offensively. In this day and age in the NFL, the teams with the best QB's and best offenses usually come out on top, and Tom Brady is one of the best QB's and the Patriots are one of the best offenses. The best of the best of the rest of the teams left in the playoffs. The sad thing is, this wasn't even close to the Pats best offensive performance. We know they can be better, and I have a feeling when they're playing an elite team, they will be.
Why Houston lost: Oh yeah, I'm implying that Houston is not an elite team. They came into their regular season matchup with the Pats 11-1, flying high, and well on their way to a #1 seed and the most favorable matchups in the AFC. They left that matchup on their way to disaster-town. Matt Schaub played less confidently as the last month of the season wound down. Houston's defense got shredded the last month of the season by Indianapolis, Minnesota, and New England. They need a kick in the ass for next season because they cannot continue the way that they've been playing; at the second tier level that they've truly been at.
What I'm looking for from New England Saturday: I want to see the offensive performance from the Patriots this year against the Ravens that they didn't have last year. Baltimore was able to do what they wanted defensively against New England last year, they just couldn't finish the deal. If Tom Brady can save his best offensive performance in the last few years for this Sunday against the Ravens, the Patriots will make the Super Bowl. Again. Shoot me now when that happens.
I'll get more into the conference championships later this week. Until then, I'm out.
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