Needless to say, this weekend brought the first round of the NFL playoffs, and as with many other years, the first four games had their exciting outcomes, and their boring blowouts (or in this case were closer than they looked). Though many may say that there were three exciting games (Colts-Jets, Seahawks-Saints, and Eagles-Packers), and one blowout (Chiefs-Ravens), I believe that the Eagles-Packers game was just about as upsetting and overhyped as any in recent history.
Therefore, I'd like to begin with that game and the other blowout, and end with the two exciting 'upsets' (I say 'upsets' because of the ridiculous seeding that occurred this year). Though the Eagles were considered by most to be a large Super Bowl contender this year, due to the shockingly impressive play of former convict Michael Vick, and his showboating accomplice DeSean Jackson, who has blessed the league this year, despite anyone who thinks its unnecessary, with his extensive touchdown (or pre-touchdown) celebrations (below):
Either way it appears as if neither of them 'came to play' today, with Vick amassing a little over 300 total yards. As well, Jackson spent most of the game on the sideline with an injured leg, and Vick seemed to favor his ankle after rolling it in the fourth quarter. On the other side Aaron Rodgers did what he does, throwing for three touchdowns en route to the victory. Although the Eagles only lost by 5, they never showed signs of a real playoff contender, and were symbolically called out by the Packers, who managed to contain MVP candidate Michael Vick.
The other blowout deserves perhaps even less mention, as the Ravens beat the Chiefs, 30-7, in a truthfully who cares outcome. This week, TV highlighted Ray Lewis frequently, and he had an impressive playoff performance in his 15th NFL season. The Chiefs were clearly no match for the powerful Ravens' defense, lead by Lewis, as they 'shined' only once, as NFL-leading rusher Jamaal Charles scampered 41 yards for a score. The Ravens' offense, on the other hand, was successful, as they scored early and often. Quarterback Joe Flacco proved his worth by throwing for 265 yards and two touchdowns. As you can see, there's not much to say about this game.
And for that reason I'd like to move on to the exciting games, beginning with the Colts-Jets match up Saturday night. Peyton Manning continued his questionable season, throwing for a lone touchdown. At one point, the analysts even stated that the game would have been the same with Matt Painter at quarterback, given the high frequency of running plays. On the other side running was also key as Mark Sanchez failed to throw for 200 yards. However, I don't mean to give the impression that this game was boring. Although it was dominated by running and field goals, it came down to the final two drives as Adam Vinateri gave the Colts the lead with 53 seconds left, only for the Jets' Nick Folk to respond with a field goal of his own as time expired, lifting the Jets to a 17-16 win in Indianapolis. Thus, although the game was filled with offensive woes, it ended excitingly and gave Rex Ryan his first win over Peyton Manning's Colts.
The key to this weekend perhaps exists in the matchup most people considered to be the least interesting prior to yesterday. The Seahawks somehow made the playoffs with a lowly 7-9 record, and hosted the defending Super Bowl champion Saints. Although the Saints were without two of their leading rushers, Chris Ivory and Pierre Thomas, they were still considered heavy favorites. But the story that unfolded spoke nothing of the Saints being a favorite at all. Despite leading 10-0 early, the Saints went into the half with a 24-20 defecit. I think here it is important to remember, again, that the Seahawks were 7-9! Even to be leading is an anomaly. None the less, the game continued to be a shootout, and at the 9:00 mark in the 4th quarter the score had raised to 34-30 in the favor of the Seahawks.
This next touchdown deserves its own paragraph, as it will most likely be considered the one of the most excellent postseason plays in history. With a little over 3 minutes left in the game, Marshawn Lynch received a handoff from Matt Hasselbeck. But let's pause their for a second and talk about how Lynch got here. After being more or less unproductive in Buffalo early this year, he was traded to the Seahawks to compete with Justin Forsett and Leon Washington for the starting spot in Seattle. Despite being marginally unproductive in Washington, he received 19 carries yesterday and one of them was memorable. Not only did this play secure a Seattle victory. Or should we say upset. It brings to the forefront of the football world a problem that has been apparent in recent years: the lack of tackling ability on many defenses. I always tell my father that big powerful runners don't make it in the NFL because everyone can tackle, or else why would you draft them? Well Marshawn Lynch single-handedly shut me up yesterday, proving that clearly the Saints, the defending Super Bowl Champion Saints mind you, cannot tackle. But at this point I'd rather show you:
Seriously?! Did that actually happen? Yes, yes it did. If you just watched that video, please go watch it again. Anyway it truly proves that in any situation, or to be cliché, any given Sunday (read my first post) even the most unsurmountable victory can be achieved if a team can get a little help (watch the video again!!!).
I'll end by saying that if you guessed that tomorow's post will be about the BCS Championship game, you're right! And I will also discuss what happened to Cam Newton, the best player this year (not arguable).
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| Vick (left), and Jackson |
Either way it appears as if neither of them 'came to play' today, with Vick amassing a little over 300 total yards. As well, Jackson spent most of the game on the sideline with an injured leg, and Vick seemed to favor his ankle after rolling it in the fourth quarter. On the other side Aaron Rodgers did what he does, throwing for three touchdowns en route to the victory. Although the Eagles only lost by 5, they never showed signs of a real playoff contender, and were symbolically called out by the Packers, who managed to contain MVP candidate Michael Vick.
The other blowout deserves perhaps even less mention, as the Ravens beat the Chiefs, 30-7, in a truthfully who cares outcome. This week, TV highlighted Ray Lewis frequently, and he had an impressive playoff performance in his 15th NFL season. The Chiefs were clearly no match for the powerful Ravens' defense, lead by Lewis, as they 'shined' only once, as NFL-leading rusher Jamaal Charles scampered 41 yards for a score. The Ravens' offense, on the other hand, was successful, as they scored early and often. Quarterback Joe Flacco proved his worth by throwing for 265 yards and two touchdowns. As you can see, there's not much to say about this game.
The key to this weekend perhaps exists in the matchup most people considered to be the least interesting prior to yesterday. The Seahawks somehow made the playoffs with a lowly 7-9 record, and hosted the defending Super Bowl champion Saints. Although the Saints were without two of their leading rushers, Chris Ivory and Pierre Thomas, they were still considered heavy favorites. But the story that unfolded spoke nothing of the Saints being a favorite at all. Despite leading 10-0 early, the Saints went into the half with a 24-20 defecit. I think here it is important to remember, again, that the Seahawks were 7-9! Even to be leading is an anomaly. None the less, the game continued to be a shootout, and at the 9:00 mark in the 4th quarter the score had raised to 34-30 in the favor of the Seahawks.
Seriously?! Did that actually happen? Yes, yes it did. If you just watched that video, please go watch it again. Anyway it truly proves that in any situation, or to be cliché, any given Sunday (read my first post) even the most unsurmountable victory can be achieved if a team can get a little help (watch the video again!!!).
I'll end by saying that if you guessed that tomorow's post will be about the BCS Championship game, you're right! And I will also discuss what happened to Cam Newton, the best player this year (not arguable).
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