- I learned that perhaps I've been a bit too harsh on defense in today's NFL, because both losing teams had dangerous, prolific offenses that could have used a tad more from their defenses in order to win their games. Well, in New England's case, a lot more defense. But Atlanta played their game and could have won by my exact predicted score had they stopped San Francisco from scoring the game winner. I loved how both starting QBs, Colin Kaepernick and Matt Ryan, over and over and over again took the open voids in the opposing defensive zones and stuck accurate passes in there with velocity. Neither guy missed very much. It's easier to do your jobs when you have great pass catchers. Props to Julio Jones, Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez, Michael Crabtree, and Vernon Davis. Those guys were outstanding. Jones helped the Falcons to another big lead early, but Kaepernick was cooler than Matty Ice on this day, calmly leading the comeback with help from RBs Frank Gore and LaMichael James. The key sequence came in the 4th quarter, when the 49ers were going in for the lead down 24-21. Crabtree caught a pass and was ready to put the ball over the goal line, but my X-factor Dunta Robinson made a huge strip and saved the day. However, the San Fran D forced a 3-and-out, giving Kaep and his large offensive line another drive to take the lead, and this time, Gore cashed in. But that left Matty Ice over 3 minutes to lead another game-winning drive, and he got the Falcons down in the red zone. Then Matty Ice melted. I didn't want to observe that because I've become a big fan of Ryan during this season. But that's unfortunately what happened. He clearly tensed up on his 4th-and-4 throw, and he forced the ball in to a covered White, and the pass was broken up. I would even give him an injury excuse, because Ryan got driven to the ground on his non-throwing shoulder a few plays before, and he seemed to be very ouchy. But it still stands as a stalled drive where he threw the incompletion that basically locked it up for the Niners. Atlanta played a great game. They were beaten by a team that's better, but they didn't gag. They just needed a handful of stops on the defensive side, and they would have pulled it out. Or, in today's league, maybe they needed Ryan to take a shot at Julio Jones in the end zone on 4th down. He was unstoppable the other two times he was targeted for TD throws.
- New England already knows that their defense is suspect and needs bolstering, which is why they drafted as many defenders as they could before the season and then traded for All-Pro CB Aqib Talib during the season. It wasn't enough. Talib missed virtually the whole game after pulling a hammy early, and the rest of the secondary tried hard and had a decent game as a whole, but came up short of doing what was necessary to hold off Joe Flacco and the Baltimore Ravens. The lesson to learn is that the Ravens aren't intimidated by any task. The Colts weren't much of a challenge, but they did gather yardage and further the thought that Baltimore's days of devastating defense were dead. The Broncos in the Mile High City should have been scary, but Joe Flacco and his arm weren't afraid to lead his team back. And then the Patriots, who had been destroying all comers. But Baltimore knew this enemy from their many past battles, and they were not only unafraid but eager to conquer. New England's no-huddle offense was problematic early, but even then, the Ravens seemed to be at least lined up and ready to try to stop the next play instead of scrambling under the flurry of offense. Both QBs had accuracy issues and had to figure ways to overcome. Flacco did it by checking down and moving the ball nicely underneath the coverage. Brady did it by taking advantage of Baltimore's blitzes. Wes Welker stopped the first 3rd-quarter drive by dropping a wide-open pass, and that seemed to be a turning point. As has been well reported, New England failed to score at all in the 2nd half. But they were moving the ball fine on that possession before the drop. The wind was the real X-factor in this one, as everything thrown left to right took off. Flacco adjusted, though, and with the help of their own no-huddle, he got in a rhythm and sliced up the Patriots. CBS color man Phil Simms called Ravens RB Bernard Pierce the X-factor, because you expect Ray Rice to make an impact on the ground, but not Pierce. Pierce actually outgained Rice 52-48, but the combined running as a team balanced the offense and let Flacco relax and win the game without too many panicked downfield bomb attempts. I must bow to the greatness of offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell, as he has called a couple of nice games in a row for the Ravens. But it was the D that came up humongous in the 4th quarter, silencing every Brady comeback attempt with 2 picks, a turnover on downs, and a bone-crushing fumble forced by SS Bernard Pollard that put RB Stevan Ridley to sleep. What a symbol of the dominance by the Ravens D--Ridley asleep as multiple Ravens jump on the loose football next to him. It's a game of inches, too, because NE was down 8 and driving near midfield when the hit happened, and Ridley's ass was thatclose to hitting the ground before the ball came out, which would have ruled him down with no fumble. What a postseason for Baltimore, and what a battle this Super Harbaugh Bowl should be. I already love the under. And this year, the pressure's on me to make the right pick and keep my lead and win the IMLD season picks championship. I've never hoped harder for a spread with no hook, so that the game may be a push and I can maybe escape with a cheap win.
Dre--112.2 + 4 = 116.2 pts; Jay--110.0 + 4 = 114.0 pts
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