NFL Divisional Playoffs Review

The second round of the NFL playoffs featured the final four teams in each conference.  In a reverse of last week's predictions, I actually got 3 out of the 4 games right.  Although each game was higher scoring than I anticipated - what ever happened to defense winning in the playoffs?  Unfortunately, the one game I got wrong was the one I cared about the most.  I'm sure you can guess which one.

One year after the two top seeded teams made it to the Super Bowl, the top seeds this year have been eliminated in only the second round.

Here are some things that I noticed this week:

• We knew this game would be physical.  Steelers vs. Ravens part III had been compared to everything from a war to Armageddon, and it didn't disappoint.  During the regular season they split their match-ups, with each team winning on the road by 3 points.  The home team got the win this week, but as I predicated, it was by 3 points.
• These are supposed to be two of the toughest defenses in the league, so how did this one become so high scoring?  Their regular season match-ups were not.
• Hines Ward and Ed Reed fueled the rivalry with plenty of trash talk on the field.  They went at it a couple of times and needed to be separated by teammates and officials.
• Neither team was able to get much done in the running game, with each team's stud RBs being held to under 3 yards per carry and under 50 yards each (Rice - 32, Mendenhall - 46), but they each reached the endzone.
• Another poor postseason performance for Joe Flacco (125 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 61.1 rating).  Just when you think he's ready to turn the corner, he lets you down again.
• Ray Rice had not fumbled all year, so of course he lets one get away in this game.  Great defensive play by Ryan Clark to punch it loose, but Rice needed to keep the ball tucked into his body more.  A rare mistake for him, and it cost them.
• Despite the high score, there were plenty of other big defensive plays in the game.  The Steelers forced 3 turnovers and had 5 sacks, while the Ravens forced a couple of turnovers as well while recording 6 sacks.
• I had a feeling going into this game that the Packers were the team with all the momentum, but I didn't expect this kind of a blow out.  They went on the road to Atlanta to destroy the Falcons, 48-21.
• Aaron Rodgers had a huge game (366, 3 TDs, 136.8 rating).  If the Packers win the Super Bowl then he may supplant Drew Brees as the NFC's best QB.
• Matt Ryan showed a lot of improvement this year, but he's not quite at the level yet where he can get it done in the playoffs.  
• Greg Jennings' early fumble put the Packers in a first quarter hole, but apparently the hole wasn't big enough because they had no trouble climbing out.  After being essentially a non-factor last week, Jennings had a big day, despite the turnover.
• I realize the game was out of reach given the 27 point deficit with only 2 minutes left, but I was disappointed to see the Falcons punt the ball at the end.  It's the playoffs, win or go home!  By punting the ball they essentially ended the game (the Packers knelt down to end the game on the next play).  Why not go for it on 4th down?  If you don't convert then the game's over anyway.  Who cares about field position, they aren't going to try to score again.  By running on 3rd down and punting on 4th the Falcons sent the message that they had accepted defeat and just wanted the game to end.  A miracle comeback probably wouldn't have happened anyway, but why wouldn't you try?
• Speaking of miracles, the Seahawks improbable run was finally stopped in Chicago.  They made a valiant comeback attempt by scoring 3 TDs in the 4th quarter, making Matt Hasselbeck's day look much better than it actually was.  It was too little, too late, as the Bears had dominated them too much through the first 3 quarters.  Don't be deceived by the box score.  Most of those stats for Seattle were accumulated during garbage time, so their offense wasn't really that good and the Bears defense wasn't as bad as it looked.
• Nonetheless, I give Seattle credit for attempting a furious comeback attempt rather than lying down and taking a loss like the other birds did this week.
• As I've said before, it's hard to trust the Bears because you never know when the "bad" Cutler will strike and throw away a game. This week we saw the "good" Cutler, who made good decisions, found open receivers and didn't turn the ball over.  
• One of his best throws of the game came on their first drive when Cutler connected with TE Greg Olson for a 58 yard TD.  Olson's production dropped this season due to the change in offensive philosophy.  Mike Martz's offense requires TE's to stay in and block more and are often ignored in the passing game.  Yet Olson came up with several big catches in this game and was the Bears' leading receiver.
• Now for the hard part.  The part I've been dreading since yesterday.  The top seeded Patriots, led by MVP favorite Tom Brady, genius coach Bill Belichick and everyone's pick to win the Super Bowl.... lost at home to the underdog Jets.  Excuse me while I go throw up.
• For most fans that have no ties to either team it's sometimes fun to root for the underdog.  The problem is, the Jets never really came across as the typical lovable underdog.  Despite that nobody picked them to win this game, they talked so much trash leading up to the game that it was clear they certainly didn't consider themselves underdogs.   Is there anyone outside of NY that even likes this team?
• The worst part about this loss isn't that the Patriots won't get a chance at another Super Bowl this year.  The worst part is that now we have to listen to Rex Ryan and the Jets gloat all week about how they are the better team.  I have a headache already just thinking about it.  Had the Patriots won they wouldn't have said a word, other than that they respect their opponents, they played a good game and they are ready to move on.  The Jets won't do that, they'll shove it down our throats all week, until they eventually lose in Pittsburgh next week.  Congrats to the Jets, they played a great game and deserved to win this week.  It doesn't mean they are a better team, but they played better this week and that's all that matters.  Move on and prepare for your next game instead of talking trash about a game you already won.  Keep it classy Jets.
• Leading up to the game Rex Ryan somehow turned this game into a battle between himself and Belichick (funny, I thought the players were the ones out on the field).  Now we have to listen to Rex gloat about how he's now the best coach in history?  Here's the problem though.  What did Rex Ryan do to out coach Belichick in this game?  I give him credit for having his team prepared, but it's not like the Patriots weren't prepared too.  They just didn't execute and the Jets did.  
• You could argue that Rex's coaching nearly cost them the game in the end.  They had the ball with a 7 point lead in the red zone with under two minutes to go in the game.  Why even run another play when it could potentially lead to a turnover that would give the Pats a chance to comeback?  They could have knelt down three times to force the Patriots to use their final two timeouts, then kick a short field goal to go up by 10 with only about a minute remaining.  Instead, they decide to run the ball and end up scoring on a 16 yard run by Shonn Greene.  So they go up by 14 points, seemingly sealing the win.  Probably true, but why take that chance?  Why even give Brady another chance to get the ball.  Instead of scoring, Greene should dropped to the ground once he picked up the first down.  Kneel downs then could have ended the game to seal the Jets victory.  Why didn't Rex tell his players this?  Instead, they got overly excited about another TD.  So excited that Rex nearly pulled a hamstring running onto the field to celebrate with his team.  So excited that it cost them a 15 yard penalty for excessive celebration.  Plus there is still over a minute and a half left.  Brady marched the Pats quickly down the field and scored a TD with 30 seconds left to make it a one score game again.  All it would have taken is an on side kick recovery, which they almost got, and Brady would have one last chance to even the game.  It didn't happen, and it probably wouldn't have happened, but it could have, because Rex and the Jets kept that chance alive instead of just ending the game.  They got a little too cocky in the end and it almost cost them.  That's not great coaching.
• Not that the Patriots aren't guilty of some questionable play calling as well.  Trailing by 10 points in the 4th quarter the Pats drove down into Jets territory with a series of short passes and runs up the middle by Danny Woodhead.  I can understand that they did it because the Jets weren't expecting it, therefore the running game was working, but it took way too much time.  The drive took almost 8 minutes off the clock and they came away empty handed in the end.
• The Patriots got as close as the 31 yard line, but a sack pushed them back a few yards and may have altered the game.  Brady was sacked 5 times in the game, but this was the most costly.  Had Brady just thrown the ball away then they still could have kicked a manageable 48 yard field goal.  The sack pushed them back to where it would have been more like 51 yards.  I think they would have been better off trying a kick from that distance rather than going for it on 4th and 14, but if they hadn't lost those few yards on the sack then it's more likely they would have taken the points.
• Speaking of that failed 4th down attempt - the throw wasn't great, but Branch got his hands on it and should have caught it.  With the game on the line, that's a catch you have to make.  If he makes the catch and the Pats go on to score then we'd be talking about another genius moment for Belichick and the outcome could have been much different.
• Near the end of the first half the Patriots attempted a fake punt from around mid-field.  Patrick Chung mishandled the snap and turned the ball over.  There wasn't much time left, but the short field allowed the Jets to score another TD to take a 14-3 lead into the half.  Had they punted the ball away and backed them up further the Jets likely would not have had time to score.  Even if Chung didn't fumble the snap, it didn't look like he was going to get a first down anyway.  If it worked it would have been clever, but it's failure is yet another ugly stain on this game.
• Perhaps Brady set the bar too high for himself because we are so used to him winning these types of games.  He didn't play that poorly, he just wasn't good enough by his standards.  
• Brady set an NFL record for consecutive passes this season without an Interception.  He hadn't thrown an Interception since week 6 against Baltimore (and that was on a Hail Mary attempt at the end of regulation, so he can't really be blamed for that).  So of course he throws a pick on the Pats first drive of the game.  It didn't end up hurting too much since the Jets missed a FG on their next drive, but considering the turn over occurred in Jets territory, it likely took away a chance for at least 3 points. It was a bad play all around, as the Jets appeared to be prepared for the screen pass.  The pass sailed too high and was easily picked off.
• Here's the biggest issue I had with Belichick's coaching in this game.  He benched Wes Welker for the first series of the game due to his tongue in cheek press conference where he made several veiled references to feet as a shot at Rex Ryan.  It was hilarious to everyone else, but Belichick wasn't happy about it.  So reprimand him if you must, but why do so in a way that hurts the team in the biggest game of the year?  That's not to say that the turnover wouldn't have happened anyway, but had their best receiver been out on the field maybe the entire drive would have turned out differently.  
• Alge Crumpler had some big ups and downs in this game.  He saved a TD by running down David Harris after the Interception.  The veteran TE also added a TD of his own later in the game, but he also dropped a sure TD in the first quarter.  The Pats had to settle for a FG on the drive.  Those four points we missed out on may have altered the game plan at the end of the game.
• Mark Sanchez's state line was pretty good (194, 3 TDs, 127.3 rating), but I don't see how he really out played Brady by that much.  He's getting a bit too much credit.  Watching him play, he didn't look that great and was his usual inconsistent self for most of the game.  The difference between his game and Brady's is the Jets receivers made big plays while the Pats receivers dropped the ball in key situations.  The Jets played an all around great game, but I didn't see anything that led me to believe they won because of Sanchez.  They win with him, not because of him.
• The Patriots have now lost three consecutive playoff games: Super Bowl XLII against the Giants, last years meltdown against the Ravens, and now this.  They are 4-5 overall in the playoffs since their last Super Bowl title.  Brady will no doubt be in the Hall of Fame, but if this trend continues then it may impact where he inevitably ranks along with the games best QBs in history.
• Great, so now I'm stuck having to see either the load mouth Jets or the Ben Rape-lisberger led Steelers in the Super Bowl.  Those are probably my least two favorite teams.  I'm officially hoping on the Green Bay Packers bandwagon.  Just hand me one of those cheese head hats, I'm going all in on the Packers!