- Besides learning that catching Jason this year was never in the cards for me, I learned that Seattle wasn't going to be stopped in the Divisional Round with Beast Mode having a week of rest, but otherwise, they appear to still be vulnerable in the ways I thought before. Russell Wilson still didn't impress me with his throws when standing still in a clean pocket; his longest pass of the day was 25 yards to Jermaine Kearse after avoiding the pass rush. Now, the weather has to be cited as a factor because someone we know can throw with accuracy, Drew Brees, also saw his balls take off in weird directions. And if you can't throw in the wind and rain and you're facing Beast Mode, the game's basically over, so props I guess to the Saints for even forcing a push on the spread. They should have been destroyed by all rights. New Orleans smartly played the Seahawks and the elements, using quick snaps to counter the 12th man noise and grinding it out with the run game. Then Brees got into a throwing rhythm to start the 2nd half, only to get sacked to end the drive. Every time Brees started to perform and bring the Saints back, he got sacked or pressured, and his big bomb, 52 yards to Robert Meachem, should have been picked off by two guys. It was a very rough assignment for New Orleans, and they should feel no shame in losing. Seattle tried to use Percy Harvin the right way, as a flea stretching the field horizontally to open up things for Marshawn Lynch up the middle, but Harvin's getting to be a China Doll, coming up hurt after a couple of different plays before being shut down for the day with a concussion. If Seattle doesn't have him for the conference title game, they will need more plays from Wilson and Golden Tate and Doug Baldwin to make the defense loosen up. Lynch is a marauder, but he can only do so much.
- The lack of offensive identity finally bit Indianapolis in the ass versus New England. On their first drive, Trent Richardson, the bruising tailback the Colts needed so bad, checked in on 3rd-and-2, but since he can't be trusted, Andrew Luck threw and got picked off by Pats CB Alfonzo Dennard. For shame. As they've done all year, though, the Colts hung around after trailing by a lot early. They could have tied New England late in the 3rd quarter if not for Jamie Collins, an unknown Patriots linebacker who seemed to sack Luck or pick him off every time Indy got close. Collins was everywhere. I may have never heard of him, but he was THE SHIT. The Colts know they have a dangerous combination in Luck-to-Hilton, as in big-play WR T.Y. Hilton, so now they need to stabilize the run game and the playcalling. Hilton was blanketed by Aqib Talib for the most part, but he still shook free for some big catches. And Luck made some throws to Hilton and LaVon Brazill that made me say "Holy Luck!" a few times. But the night belonged to the Patriots running backs, who absolutely ground the Colts into fine powder. Don't let New England get in a goal-line situation, because they're going to run it in and you can't stop them. I don't know how much I want to trust LeGarrette Blount to be that reliable in the future, but he was unstoppable on this night. Add on Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley, and you have a RB corps that basically held up Tom Brady. His big throws all came on play-action after the run game had been established. It allowed Brady to conserve his energy for those handful of throws, some of which were gunned through the air in a manner we don't see from Peyton Manning. Brady's arm strength isn't being questioned. I think Brady may have one more title run in him if he draws an opponent that will stifle the run game, which should come in Denver. His receivers aren't All-Pros, but they might be good enough.
- San Francisco continued their assault on the NFC, beating down Carolina and talking shit to them the whole way. (That ref crew handled all the chatter terribly, randomly penalizing guys for headbutts and not penalizing others, and there was a total bullshit roughing-the-passer penalty late. Those zebras almost ruined one of the most intense games I've ever seen. They were THE DRIZLING SHITS.) The first play of the game was Carolina DE Charles Johnson drilling the hell out of Niners RB Frank Gore, and the tone was set. The Panthers looked like they were going to rise up to that level and beat the 49ers at their own game, but man, you gotta play a perfect game in order to do that, and they were far from perfect. Cam Newton was sharp on his throws in the 1st half save for an interception that was a bit behind his receiver. There were a couple of goal-line stands by SF that kept the Panthers from polishing off nice drives with TDs, and that may have affected Newton's confidence and his game in the 2nd half, but that's what happens with inexperienced players. The first stand, where "Riverboat" Ron Rivera went for it down 6-0 on 4th-and-goal at the 1 and failed, wasn't a bad call I don't think because you make the Niners start a drive at the 1 if you don't get it and you blow the roof off if you do. It didn't hurt them because they forced a punt, got a nice return by Ted Ginn, then threw a TD pass to Ginn. The second stand came later in the 2nd quarter, when a penalty (beautiful flying bodypress by Ahmad Brooks) put the ball at the half-yard line and Carolina got stuffed and had to take a FG. That one, Newton should have snuck it being so close to the goal line. SF took advantage of defensive breakdowns and put up points to build pressure on the Panthers, and they weren't able to respond. A long drive by the Panthers down 20-10 was shoved back by two sacks, forcing a punt and basically ending the game. Jason Tweeted that he didn't know how SF was winning at halftime because Carolina was outplaying them. I think it was a matter of experience. The Niners stayed calm and executed when opportunities presented, and the Panthers stayed with them for a half, which isn't enough in the playoffs. Seattle will stay with them for a whole game. Count on that.
- That San Diego late comeback to lose by only seven was a complete backdoor cover that they didn't deserve. I totally admit that, but Jay and I picked it, so we'll take the credit. But Denver was much the better team. The Chargers had been relying on a running game renaissance during their five-game win streak, but the lead back, Ryan Mathews, only lasted 5 carries before succumbing to a sore ankle. The other big failure for the Bolts was RG Johnnie Troutman, who was a revolving door in the 1st half. He alone stopped QB Philip Rivers from developing any kind of rhythm. The Broncos didn't miss injured pass rusher Von Miller in this one, but they will miss him when they play a team that can block. It was yet another careful run-heavy game plan, which was en vogue this weekend. Denver didn't have Peyton Manning throwing much besides screens and short passes; one drive saw only two throws by Manning, but one was the TD throw. But Peyton wasn't perfect--the first Broncos series should have ended with a terrible INT, but SD DB Shareece Wright has no hands, and the drive ended with a Denver TD. Peyton only threw long a couple of times after that. His best contribution was getting the city of Omaha trending on Twitter. It drew the Bolts offsides five different times! I noticed that every time he called the Omaha snap and drew San Diego offsides because they didn't actually snap it, the play clock had more than ten seconds on it. I'm sure Bill Belichick noticed that if I did. San Diego covered because they finally stopped the run down 17-0, forcing a missed Denver FG, and they pass protected for Rivers, allowing him to get yardage to his targets, mostly the awesome Keenan Allen. An onsides kick factored in as well. But it was Denver's day. Peyton wins in the playoffs, and he wasn't bad, but he wasn't spectacular either. Will that be enough against New England?
Dre--96.4 + 6 = 102.4 pts; Jay--111.2 + 6 = 117.2 pts
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