NFL Divisional Playoff Roundup

Well, so much for two number 1 seeds playing each other in the Super Bowl.

The Atlanta Falcons were physically abused by the Green Bay Packers, arguably the best 6 seed in NFL playoff history; the New England Patriots squandered every scoring opportunity they possibly could against the 8.5 point underdog New York Jets; the Chicago Bears took care of business against the Seattle Seahawks; and the Pittsburgh Steelers capitalized on 2nd half errors to put away the Baltimore Ravens.

So what exactly did we learn this past weekend?

That Aaron Rodgers is (if he wasn't already) one of the top 3 or 4 quarterbacks in the NFL; that "Matty Ice" needs to actually win a playoff game before anyone can refer to him as that again; that Mark Sanchez has a better QB Rating (94.3) in his last 3 playoff games than Tom Brady (73.5); that Jay Cutler might have actually figured out how to win; and that the Seahawks just need to be thankful they got this far.

Starting with the Packer-Falcon game: Donald Driver is the ageless wonder. He takes such a beating every game by going over the middle even though he was born in the year the first Jaws was released (I'll save you the work. It was in 1975). And you forget that Green Bay was actually losing 0-7 and later 7-14. Can we also get a collective "C'Mon Man" for John Abraham after mimicking Aaron Rodgers's touchdown celebration after sacking him at the start of the 2nd half? Your losing by 2 touchdowns. Pump the brakes.

Speaking of breaks how many times will Mr. "Let-Me--Yell-At-My-Team-Then-Whip-My-Hair" squander a playoff game he's supposed to win? As I was watching this game with some friends eating way too many terrible peanuts to count, I was wondering when Mark Sanchez would pull a Mark Sanchez by either fumbling a snap inside their own 30 yard line or throwing a pass into double coverage after escaping the rush. I kept waiting, and waiting, and waiting...but it shockingly never happened. What this game proves is that it doesn't matter how many yards you get, it doesn't matter how many first downs you get, it doesn't even matter if you had the ball longer. How To Win A Playoff Game 101 goes as follows: turn the ball over least (Jets 0, Pats 1), and convert and get the most red zone opportunities (Jets 4-5, Pats 2-4). Game. Set. Match. Also on a completely unrelated note I could have sworn some one took off their shoes in the endzone after Shonn Greene scored the last Jets touchdown because I have never seen Rex Ryan hobble that fast in my life. (That was too easy not to pass up). Now speaking of pulling a Mark Sanchez...

That has now been officially replaced by "he pulled a Joe Flacco." Winning 21-14 Flacco throws an inexplicable interception into double coverage while at his own 10 yard line. After Pittsburgh scores to even up the game, Flacco fumbles the ball on the second play of their possession on their own 23 yard line. That 2 minute stretch was as bad for the Ravens as the Golden Globes' decision to let Ricky Gervais host the show for a second time. We all knew both were going to happen at some point, just not exactly sure when.  So let's see how the Ravens lost this game using my How To Win A Playoff Game Theory: don;t turn the ball over (Baltimore had 3 to Pittsburgh's 2) and get in the red zone as many times as possible and convert (Baltimore lost 2-3 to 4-5). Now we have a alleged rapist playing against a coach with a foot fetish. I love the NFL.

Finally let's end with the utterly embarrassing Bears-Seahawks game. The score may read 35-24 but the Seahawks scored their last 14 points in garbage time. The one thing I noticed the Seahawks didn't have in this game that they did in their upset of the Saints: they didn't take the chances they did in the first game. Prime example. 1st quarter. Time to set the attitude for the rest of the game. Apparently not. Pete Carroll aka The Poodle decides to punt on 4th ad 1 on CHI 40. I could be crazy but I think if your a 10 point underdog on the road, everyone and their dog would go for it. What this situation proves is that each team should have at least 1 Madden video game expert on the coaching staff.


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Auburn vs. Oregon Quick Hits

Sorry for the delay in posting. Being a student it's hard to find time to do any creative, freelance work like this. So being that time is of the essence here are my initial reactions from the BCS National Championship Game.

• If you asked Chip Kelly before the game, "What are your odds of winning if your offense goes for a total of 449 yards?" I'm thinking at least a 90%. And they only scored 19 points. More on that later...
• Was I surprised that the game was that low scoring? Not at all. Taking the under of 73.5 was an easier bet than taking the over of how many Nicolas Cage movies could replace his previous movie as worst movie of all-time.
• Auburn on 3rd down: 9-17
• Oregon on 3rd down: 5-15
• Did Kenny Rowe take coverage lessons from Roman Harper? (If you do not get this reference, watch the highlights of the New Orleans Saints-Seattle Seahawks game. Watch any Seattle TD. #41 will be there somewhere.)
• Auburn rushing yards: 254
• Oregon rushing yards: 75
• Oregon rushing yards per game before Championship: 304
• Why did Oregon line up under center at their own goal line? I think that's the only time I've seen them do that all year. At least run to the outside AWAY from Nick Fairley. Fairley seemed like he was the girl that everyone knows they should stay away from but end up making moves with.
• Speaking of Fairley, he is a dirty player. Just ask LaMichael James's head.
• After a 43 yard pass down to the AUB 3 yard line to Lavasier Tuinei (try to find me a better name in college football) Oregon runs this set of plays: Kenjon Barner rush for loss of 3 yards, Darron Thomas rush for 1 yard, Kenjon Barner rush for 4 yards, Kenjon Barner rush for no gain TURNOVER ON DOWNS.
• Where is the Heisman runner-up in this series?
• Play That No One Noticed That May Have Decided The Game: 3rd Down and 12 for Auburn on their own 19 yard line. Play clock winds down...and then expires with no Delay of Game penalty. Cam Newton runs for 18 yards for the 1st Down, momentum swings toward Auburn, and they get field position.
• If Oregon ran one more screen pass or out pattern to the short side of the field I would've introduced whoever calls Oregon's plays to my two friends Jack Johnson and Tom O'Leary.
• And finally The Play That Almost Wasn't. Of course I'm talking about Michael Dyer's 37 yard run where everyone on the field including him thought he was down. Just ask Arkansas tight end D.J. Williams about that ruling that his wrist WAS down and therefore negated his touchdown in the Sugar Bowl against Ohio State. Here's the link: D.J. Williams vs. Michael Dyer

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