- In Denver, the QB exhibition turned out to be a dud. It was one-sided and deflating and as anticlimactic as a naked woman with genital warts. Graphic, yes, but I can't describe how disappointed I was in this game. One guy was as good as it gets, and the other kept responding with nothing. Peyton Manning was THE SHIT, as impressive a single-game playoff performance as he's ever delivered. Tom Brady was THE DRIZZLING SHITS, failing to advance the ball drive after drive, finally looking as helpless as we thought he would all season with those underwhelming weapons on offense. I guess what I learned is, don't let the razzle-dazzle fool you, when weather's not a factor and it's all on the line, go with the better QB and better weapons, both belonging to the Broncos. Home field didn't hurt, either. What left an impression on me was how Denver took the pass rush off the table for New England by playing Peyton Manning in shotgun formation for almost every snap. The one time he slipped under center was in the third quarter at the 3-yard line, so you'd think he'd snap it quick and hand it off, but he ran a play-action slant pass to DeMaryius Thomas for a TD that put the Broncos up 20-3, and that was basically ballgame. Manning was on target on almost every throw, even the wobblers that hung in the air forever that never seem to get deflected or intercepted. Brady's first long attempt was for a special teams bum named Matthew Slater. Incomplete. He had Julian Edelman wide open on play-action and overthrew him by five yards. Incomplete. And when Brady was able to lead nice drives, his interior pass blocking failed him and he got sacked. Jay Tweeted that Peyton picked on the Pats secondary once Aqib Talib got eliminated from the game on a Wes Welker pick (which was not dirty, BTW), and he was right. Logan Ryan, who amassed 5 INTs during the season as a nickel or dime, displayed why he's not a starting CB. He provided nothing but holding penalties and terrible coverage. And when NE's front seven adjusted and leaned back anticipating having to help Ryan, Peyton audibled to runs, and Knowshon Moreno got off. That huge comeback win by the Patriots over Denver during the regular season, they had Rob Gronkowski. This time, they had a whole lot of nothing. A perfect game by Denver. Hats off.
- In Seattle, a game thought to be physical, violent, emotional, and must-see TV actually exceeded the hype. San Francisco's defense waited through the noise and the Ann Wilson national anthem and the anticipation to send a message on the first damn play, as Aldon Smith stripped Russell Wilson and recovered the fumble. Then Seattle's defense sent a message back by stonewalling the 49ers and holding them to a FG. Much brawling and hitting and trash-talking followed, and I learned that the two QBs are right where I thought they were in their development. Wilson is still much more dangerous throwing while moving in or out of the pocket; his 51-yard bomb to Doug Baldwin was classic Wilson. Colin Kaepernick has a Scottie Pippen-like first step and is the most dangerous QB running in the open field since prime Vick, and his throws in the pocket have great heat but no touch. And Kaep's lack of touch is why the 4th quarter played out the way it did, and why Seattle not just won but covered the spread. Seattle down 4 goes for it on 4th-and-7 and throws a 35-yard TD on a ballsy call by coach Pete Carroll, then Cliff Avril gets off like a bullet and strips Kaepernick to give the Seahawks the rock in FG position. But SF's NaVorro Bowman stripped WR Jermaine Kearse at the 1, except the refs blew the play dead with Seattle retaining the ball, plus Bowman gruesomely blew out his knee on the play. So karma stepped in, and Wilson fumbled the ball on 4th down, so instead of Seattle taking the FG and getting a free 3 points they didn't deserve, the Niners got the ball still down 3. And then, oops, Kaepernick threw an INT to Kam Chancellor that was one of the worst picks I've ever seen. Chancellor was standing right there in front of the intended receiver playing zone, and Kaep completely missed him, and I Tweeted out that no QB who throws that pick in a title game should win it. So Seattle got the FG they could have taken on the last possession to go up 6, which means that Kaep has to get a TD on the last drive instead of a game-tying FG, and that's why he threw the INT that was tipped by Richard Sherman and set up the postgame entertainment. That's on Kaep. Not the throw to Sherman necessarily, although I wonder if a better QB with touch gets that ball over Sherman, but the INT to Chancellor is totally on Kaep. He's not ready yet, just as I thought when I started picking against him in the Wild Card round. Took a minute, but eventually he proved me right. And it sets up the #1 offense vs. the #1 defense, and the ad world darling Peyton Manning vs. Public Enemy #1 apparently, Richard Sherman. Doesn't get much better than that.
Dre--102.4 + 4 = 106.4 pts; Jay--117.2 + 4 = 121.2 pts
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