The Games of Sunday

Someone made the comment on Facebook that NFL Conference Championship Sunday is better than Super Bowl Sunday, and it is hard to argue that point.  The games of two days ago are certainly a case in point with two home, higher seeded (one a #1 seed at that) teams losing and NOT SCORING a point in the second half of each game.  Remarkable.

And here's an amazing fact about the upcoming Super Bowl of which you might not be aware.  The opposing coaches are brothers!  Can you believe that?  Two guys born of the same parents, who grew up in the same house, are actually going to be coaching against each other in the Super Bowl.  I can't believe that no one has mentioned that before.

Anyway, some thoughts and comments on the two games on Sunday, many of which I had previously shared on Facebook.....

• Concerning the results, the Bad News: Two more weeks of Ray Lewis b.s.  The Good News: We won't have to see a thousand or so shots of Bob Kraft in the Owner's Box during the Super Bowl.
• Before you point it out to me, yes, I know I went 0-for-2 on my predictions for these games.
• As mentioned in my pre-game comments, the Atlanta coaches certainly did figure out a way to stop Colin Kaepernick from running all over the place on Sunday.  Too bad for them, it turns out that Kaepernick is a pretty good passer, too.
• I saw Julio Jones did more for the Falcons in three quarters than the Steelers "Young Money" troika of Wallace-Brown-Sanders did all season.   
• The ease with which Frank Gore could get in the end zone when the 49'ers were inside the ten made me wonder if the SF offensive line is THAT much better than the Steelers line, or were the Steelers running backs that much worse than Gore.
• While I did believe that New England would beat Baltimore, I did feel that Baltimore had a reasonable chance to win.  That they won with such dominance and comparative ease amazes me.
• Even though he was on the losing side, Wes Welker is an amazing football player.
• Did you catch the look of complete disbelief on Tom Brady's face in the fourth quarter, particularly after throwing that interception that sealed the deal for Baltimore?
• Speaking of Brady, am I the only guy who thought that his foot was aimed just a bit too high on that Baltimore defender when he slid towards the end of the first half?  Ty Cobb would have loved it, but Czar roger should relieve him of some cash, in my opinion.
• When Matt Ryan threw that incomplete pass on fourth down from the 10 yard line late in the game, how many of you flashed back to Neil O'Donnell against the Chargers in the '94 AFC Championship Game?
• So, Bill Belichick goes true to form and refuses an interview with CBS after losing the game.  (a) Stay classy, Coach, (b) aren't coaches REQUIRED to do such interviews with the NFL's network partners?, (c) if so, will coach Bill be fined by Czar Roger?, (d) Shannon Sharpe now becomes a folk hero, and (e) to take another point of view, did we really miss anything by NOT hearing from Coach Bill?
• Contrary to many Pittsburghers, I do not find the Harbaugh Brothers repellent, in fact, I kind of like both of them (even if I don't care for the Ravens), and I think the Brothers Coaching Against Each Other is a pretty cool story, even if it will get beaten to death over the next two weeks.
• I also know that despite what they may say in public, I am pretty sure that each brother wants to beat the hell out of each other.
• Speaking of coaches, was it Walt Harris or Dave Wannstedt who thought Joe Flaco wasn't worth playing at Pitt?  Yeah, I know, hindsight is 20/20, but still...
• As for me, I will be rooting for San Francisco in the Super Bowl for the following reasons.  (1) In like Jim slightly better than John, (2) I don't like the Ravens, (3) the Ray Lewis sycophantry, (4) The Colin Kaepernick Story is a very cool one, and (5) unlike many Steelers fans, I am not threatened by the idea that a 49'er win will tie them with the Steelers with six Super Bowl titles.

That Was The (Football) Weekend That Was

I am pretty sure that you are expecting my ruminations on the football weekend that just was, and that is just what you are going to get, but why, you are no doubt asking, am I leading with the picture above, albeit one of the more famous photos in American political history?

For you youngsters out there, this was taken on election night in 1948 when just about everyone thought New York Governor Tom Dewey (aka, The Man on Top of the Wedding Cake)  would defeat President Harry Truman and become the nation's 34th President.  As you can see, the Chicago Tribune even issued their early edition on election night proclaiming Dewey's victory.  Again for you youngsters, in 1948 there were no computers, exit polls, or Nate Silver.  As even the most history challenged among us surely know, Harry Truman won the election.

All of this is a lead in to summarizing the results of the predictions I made on Friday for the four NFL playoff games of the weekend.  I will save you the trouble of going and looking it up, but I went 1-3 on the weekend, and in my finest "Dewey Defeats Truman" moment, I made the following authoritative statement:

 Green Bay Packers vs. San Francisco 49'ers

Aaron Rodgers vs. Colin Kapernick.  Need I say more?  Should be another easy win for the PACKERS.

Yeah.

I even misspelled Colin Kaepernick's name, a mistake that I will surely never make again.

Some quickie comments on the games themselves.....

• While I was rooting for Seattle against Falcons, I was delighted to see Pete Carroll get bitten on the ass when he called that time out to ice the Falcon kicker at the end of the game, only to see the kicker miss the field goal, which would have won the game for Seattle.  Given a second chance, the kicker made it, Falcons win, Seahawks lose, Pete Carroll looks like an first class dunce.  Maybe this will stop these "brilliant" coaches from  employing this insipid bit of strategy.
• Next time all you Steelers fans want to run Ben out of town for those inopportune interceptions in the Cowboys and Bengals games this season, think about that one Peyton Manning threw in OT in Denver on Saturday.
• Maybe it's time we stop ridiculing Joe Flaco's abilities as an NFL QB.  He really undressed Denver in the waning moments of regulation.
• Same for Matt Ryan in Atlanta.
• OK, that Denver game.  Tied with 31 seconds and two times out in your pocket, and Peyton Manning at quarterback, and John Fox chooses to nave Manning take a knee and go to OT.  Are you kidding me?  Don't you take at least one shot down field to try to get into FG position?
• (Did you notice that I said "times out" in the above bullet?  That, friends, is the correct plural of the term "time out" - you can look it up - but I don't think that there is a single sportscaster in America who doesn't mistakenly say "time outs".  The last guy I heard say "times out" was Ray Scott, and he stopped doing network broadcasts in the late 1970's and has been dead since 1998.)
• Getting back to Colin Kaepernick,   He was easily the most outstanding player of the weekend.  Wish he wouldn't strike that pose when he scores a touchdown, but he's just a kid, after all, and I'm a grumpy old man.  In any event, I can't wait to see him play again next Sunday.
• Only words I can use to describe the New England Patriots:  ruthlessly efficient.
• Of the eight teams playing this weekend, only the Houston Texans looked like they didn't deserve to be this far along in the Playoffs.
• I know that I am in a distinct minority here, but I don't mind the Harbaugh brothers. They are obviously good coaches, and I like it that they are emotional on the sidelines (as opposed to robots like Bill Bellichick and Nick Saben), and while I am not a fan of the Baltimore Ravens, I think it would be a cool story line to have brothers opposing each other as Head Coaches in the Super Bowl, although it would be a story that would be totally and completely beaten to death in the run up to the game.

In closing, let me weigh in on the controversy surrounding Brent Musberger's observations about Alabama QB A. J. McCarron's girlfriend.  Yeah, maybe it was creepy, and yes, he definitely went on too long with it, but he was broadcasting a game that had ceased to be a competitive contest, and he had to talk about something, right?  He got going and he just couldn't stop.  It happens, and who knows what YOU would do in front of a live microphone in such a situation.  The suits at ESPN who are reprimanding Musberger and apologizing for what he said, maybe ought to reconsider all the cleavage-and-cameltoe shots they give us of cheerleaders, especially the pole dancers who "cheerlead" for NFL teams, on the sidelines before they get too sanctimonious over Brent Musberger.