- I don't know what I was supposed to learn from the Cincinnati-Houston game. Maybe that some stats can be ignored and some can't, although I fear that I will die trying to figure out which is which. Only after I decided to pick Cincy did I hear the stat that said three times have the same two teams faced each other in the Wild Card round in consecutive years, and the winning team always won the next year as well. However, I still don't think Houston is any good. That was the best all-around game they've played in weeks, but I don't know if that's because they decided to put it all together in the playoffs or because that's how weak and pathetic the Bengals are. Really, Andy Dalton? 127 yards and a pick? That's your big output in your 2nd playoff game?? I'm very disappointed in the Bengals. I thought they were better than they are. Guess they're just bumslayers after all. They had protection problems early, just like last year when the Texans defensive line, specifically J.J. Watt, made whoopee in the Cincy backfield, and then shit just went to hell from there. I don't know if it's the Houston talent on defense or the atmosphere or everything combined, but the Bengals offense became paralyzed. The Houston D came to play, make no mistake about that, and Cincinnati's offense never found a way to overcome. At that point, the Houston running attack came back from the dead, and Arian Foster put the Bengals away and sealed the casket for yet another year. Not that Houston was perfect; after all, they quit scoring in the 4th quarter and dared Cincy to mount a comeback. But they knew the Bengals were limp and powerless, and so did everyone watching.
- Speaking of limp and powerless, how do you make a one-dimensional team even more one-dimensional? Simple--make them play 2nd stringers at other positions. Say what you will about Christian Ponder, and I do, but the Minnesota Vikings had a significantly much lesser chance of upsetting the Green Bay Packers with backup QB Joe Webb than they did with Ponder. And you know how shitty Andy Dalton was? He passed for less yards and less TDs than Webb! Yeah, I know the TD was the definition of garbage time, so much so that it literally happened two seconds after my wife said, "I think this game is over." You gotta respect the one dimension of the Vikings, though. Adrian Peterson gaining 99 yards even though the whole defense was totally focused on him in a win-or-go-home situation? Impressive. The D would flow to him on every run, and sometimes they would stuff him for no gain, but sometimes he would dance and cut and find yardage where there seemingly was none. Vikings fans had to be excited when Minny took the opening drive for a FG, with Webb breaking some open-field runs to present a dual rushing attack similar to what the Redskins or Seahawks run. But then the time came eventually where Webb had to make a pass or two, and his accuracy was so atrocious, you would have thought his last name was Sanchez. The only thing I observed about the Packers was, Aaron Rodgers still isn't perfectly in sync with his receivers, but he shouldn't expect to be considering how much time they've all missed throughout the season. The key to a long Green Bay playoff run will be if Rodgers can get on the same page with his guys before the clock runs out. Against Joe Webb, it wasn't a concern.
- Even the NFL.com game recap for Colts-Ravens lazily reverted to the easy narrative: "The previously struggling Ravens defense was staunch, no doubt inspired by star linebacker Ray Lewis appearing in his final home game before retiring." Wha?? Look, I'll give you that defenders were better prepared to perform on every play knowing their exact assignments because Lewis was able to communicate with them. I'll give you that the Baltimore D was better just because players could play their usual positions instead of sliding around making up for Lewis's absence. But anyone who tries to tell me that the players played harder and better in a playoff game than they would have just because they were inspired by Lewis and his RoboCop apparatus on his arm will get throat-punched by me. It's so stupid. Baltimore won because the defense was able to stifle Andrew Luck and the Colts consistently when they crossed midfield, and because Anquan Boldin caught some balls that Joe Flacco threw to the heavens in desperation. Ray-Ray's mere presence had nothing to do with it, although his play was a contributing factor. I still don't know what's wrong with Flacco. He did not look sharp again in this game, and his deep balls were basically up for grabs, with the veteran Boldin winning those battles with his athleticism. But all was good for Baltimore, because Indianapolis looked like what they were, which is a team that hasn't been in the playoffs in a while. Luck showed his talent with long drives, then the offense bogged down in the red zone and they couldn't find a single touchdown. On the other side, Flacco may have had a terrible game if it wasn't for Boldin and Colts CB Cassius Vaughn, who was so overmatched that he made the Ravens not need an offensive coordinator. I learned that at Baltimore is no place to pick a rookie QB to cover the spread in the playoffs. I also learned that the Colts will have a hellacious passing game once they find a big possession WR. All those fleas running around and catching midrange throws were great, but in the red zone, they needed one guy with some size who could haul in a 10 or 15-yarder and score, and they don't have that guy on the roster yet.
- Jason and I will both be glad to take the Seattle win over Washington, which looked like a bad pick when the Redskins led 14-0. I'll be happy to furthermore take a bow after calling for the Seahawks to amass close to 400 yards of offense against that mental midget Jim Haslett and the Washington D. Seattle got to 380, so, ahem, I believe I had that one. Before I address the big controversy coming out of this game, I need to get to a few observations just so I don't forget. First, don't toss aside the Seattle comeback as just something they accomplished because Robert Griffin III was hurt. That was an absolutely stunning comeback. To be down 14-0 in a hostile environment with a rookie QB who was only 3-5 on the road in the regular season is a monstrous task to overcome. But they did it, and I couldn't have been more impressed. Doesn't guarantee them success in the next round, but it was just awesome to watch. Washington's defense managed some early stops, but they started to resort to the blitz, which got them this far but really is no way to succeed long-term, and Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch embarrassed them. The Lynch TD run in the 4th quarter with Seattle down 14-13 was I believe on a 3rd-and-5, and it was a brilliant play call against the blitz. Which brings me to my next point, which is, Seattle ain't Dallas. Whatever you think of coach Pete Carroll and the players, Seattle is a damn good team, unlike the Cowboys. The Skins can beat the Cowboys and win the NFC Least with a one-legged QB and constant blitzing, but they couldn't beat Seattle that way. And speaking of the one-legged QB, now let's talk about the controversy surrounding RG3. Should coach Mike Shanahan played Griffin after he was clearly less than 100% hobbling around out there? Should he have yanked him after he almost walked to the sideline during his 8-yard scramble two plays before he twisted his knee in the 4th and went down for good? Should Shanny not have started him at all? Well, I hate to sound flimsy, but this situation isn't easily answered. I do have a straight answer--I wouldn't have started him because as I said before the game, his lack of speed on the outside makes him a different QB, and one not ready to play yet, in my opinion. However, I probably don't play him last week against Dallas, either, and he won. And he was winning 14-0 in the 1st quarter in this game. So how do I make that call? Shanahan can't yank Griffin in the middle of a game he's winning after he won the division last week. No coach does that, although that would show real leadership and guts by doing something no one's done before. That's my conclusion, that Shanahan can't be crushed for letting Griffin play after he succeeded last week in the same limited condition, but that he probably should have held him out anyway. And as for Griffin, I have to feel sorry for him and admire his courage trying to lead his team in an obviously injured state. That said, it's been reported that Griffin assured Shanny that he could go by telling him something to the effect of he knows the difference between hurt and injured, and he's just hurt. Um, Rob? The knee had to be held together by a bulky brace, and every time you tried to hit top speed, the pain overcame you and you had to throttle down to 1st gear. You're a hell of a player, but you actually don't know the difference between hurt and injured, and your bravado may have cost the Redskins a playoff win.
Dre--105.2 + 4 = 109.2 pts; Jay--98.0 + 6 = 104.0 pts
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