Buffalo Bills defeat New England 47-17

The Bills destroyed the Patriots last night 47-17.   I was really worried about New England.  As much as any other team.  Playing them and Bilicek a third time seemed like trouble but the Buffalo offense shook off the inconsistency seen at the end of the season and dominated the Patriots.  I loved that Devin Singletary was the focus of the run game and he responded.  Allen did have a masterful game as well throwing for 300 yards while only throwing four incompletions.  He also added 66 yards on the ground.  And the Bills' defense was as good as advertised.  The Bills will need all of this going for them in the Divisional round.  They'll play in KC which isn't a surprise.  I figure they would have to play them sooner or later.  Hopefully they are firing on all cylinders.

New England Defeats Los Angeles 13-3, Super Bowl LIII Champions

Last night was a great SuperBowl.  I know I’m in the minority on that but in an era when the offenses are handed so many advantages it was great to see two defenses play so very well.  NewEngland was able to move the ball some but Wade Phillips’ defense played so well limiting the Patriots to 13 points.  No matter how great they were they were outplayed by the Pat’s defense who befuddled Los Angeles all night long.  It was an amazing game plan for the Pat’s defense and Jared Goff seemed lost all night.  But don’t be fooled.  So props to the New England coaching staff and the players who executed the gameplan.  While the offenses did make mistakes what you really saw was the defenses getting pressure on the quarterbacks and covering receivers very well.  So good on both defenses.  

As for the Rams, Sean McVay has to take blame for the offense’s inability to adjust during the game and to his credit admitted he was out coached.  I also have to wonder why Todd Gurley wasn’t given the ball more. He is a rare talent at running back but ran the ball only 10 times for 35 yards and caught one pass.  The game was 3-3 going into the 4^th so they had plenty of time to run it and maybe create opportunities for play action.  Maybe try some screen passes?  I was at a loss as to Los Angeles’ lack of direction and creativity.  

The Patriots deserve a ton of a credit on defense but the offense did do enough when needed to win the game.  Julian Edelman starred and took home the MVP.  He seemed to be open so much in this game and it wasn’t until late they Gronk really got in a groove.  To be honest the defense deserved the trophy.  Again I think it is awesome a team could scheme so well as to shut down an offense that stood among some of the greats all-time.  You have to hand it to New England.  Bill Belichick figured out a way to win even when his offense wasn’t at its best.  It is just amazing what he and Tom Terrific has done.  I enjoyed the game and ate lots of good food in the process so it was a win all around for me. 

AFC and NFC Championship Games - Just Wow!

"Are you not entertained?"  Great games yesterday.  The first time both conference championship games have gone into overtime.  Did the Saints get hosed?  Oh yes.  That was a horrible call.  The easy answer is to say don't put yourself in that position.  Don't go silent for almost two quarters while the Rams get back into the game.  Don't call for a pass on first down with under two minutes to go and definitely don't let it go incomplete.  It will be so hard to think of this game though and not think of the non call at the end of the 4th quarter.  Still New Orleans had the ball in overtime and failed.  Congratulations to the Rams.  They adjusted on offense to the stadium noise and their offense came alive.  I'm still confused as why Todd Gurley wasn't in the game more.  The touches he did have weren't great but when you have a beast like him you have to ride him.  This is great young team and I can't wait to see what they can do in the Super Bowl.

    We keep wanting to pick against the Patriots and they keep snubbing their nose at everyone.  This will be their 8th Super Bowl appearance in the Tom Brady era and 10th overall.  Just crazy.  Give it to their defense for shutting down Mahomes and the crazy good Kansas City offense long enough to give New England a 14-0 lead at the half - and they needed it.  The KC offense finally appeared and the rest of the game was back and forth never quite knowing which was it would end.  Again we went to overtime and the Pats made sure the Chiefs revitalized offense didn't get a chance to steal the game.  This was a fun game to watch.  I was hoping the Chiefs would win even though I have a self proclaimed man crush on Michigan alum Tom Brady.  They don't call him the G.O.A.T. for nothing.  Hopefully Kansas City will be back in force again for years to come.  For now we'll see what greatness the Pats can dial up in the Super Bowl.

Eagles Win Super Bowl in a Thriller

What a great game.  I like defense as much as the next guy but this game kept me on my toes and I never knew which way it was going to go.  And with all that offense it came down to the only sack of the game and a Tom Brady fumble.  Wow.  Give it to Nick Foles and the Eagles - they deserved this championship.  For New England, Tom Brady gave it everything he had, everything, and still came up short.  Tells you what kind of game that was.  I mean Philly went for it on 4th down in two situations where if they don't make it, there are huge repercussions - you either take points off the board or you give New England the ball with great field position with a chance to sew up the game.  

Doug Pederson has guts, the likes of which we may never see again in a Super Bowl.  I was beside myself when he made each of those calls because of what was on the line each time.  And he threw it to his quarterback for a touchdown in the first instance - what?  Great stuff.  You have to be excited for Philly for getting their first Super Bowl win.  Doesn't get much better than that for an NFL franchise who has been around as long as them.  My man crush aside, I can't be sad for Brady and the Pats.  Brady played out of his mind and they had a chance at the end.  In fact who didn't think they were gonna march down the field and take back the d game to watch which is all we can ask for, right?

Falcons Collapse Gives New England Super Bowl Championship

I

am not at a loss for words but I am beyond shocked at how the Atlanta Falcons lost to the New England Patriotsin Super Bowl LI.  I am a Falcons fan but I’m very much grounded and at no time was I comfortable with the score even with a 28-3 lead or even with the score 28-9 early in the fourth quarter.  Did some happy thoughts go through my head?  Oh yes but I know how great Tom Brady can be.  Still Atlanta lost this game in what will go down as an epic collapse by a team who all but had the Super Bowl won when they went up 28-3.

You have to question, and the Falcons and Atlanta fans will forever question, the play calling and play in general in the second half of the game.  With 2:06 left in the third the Patriots scored to make it a 28-9 game and tried a failed onside kick.  The Falcons had the ball at the New England 41 and promptly got it to the 32 yard line.  A holding penalty and sack later they were back to the Atlanta 49 and out of field goal position.  FAIL 

After a Patriots field goal Matt Ryan fumbles on a 3^rd and 1 play from the shotgun.  Why don’t you run the ball?  Your running game has been excellent all day and you only need one yard.  Not committing a turnover and keeping the clock running should be the number one priority.  FAIL 

New England got withing eight points late in the game but Atlanta had managed to get to the Patriot twenty-two yard line thanks to a spectacular catch by Julio Jones.  After a rush for a loss of one Matt Ryan is sacked on the next play.    Then a penalty on the next play moves the ball to the NE 45 before Matt Ryan throws an incomplete pass on third down.  There was 4:40 left in the game when Jones made his catch.  Why don’t you just run three times, kick the field goal and win the game?  Their running game had been great and even if you don’t get any positive yards you have a very makeable field goal chance and have either forced New England to use timeouts or you burn time off the clock.  Heck, just take a knee three times.  Yes a touchdown is great and you want to run your game plan but passing the ball provides more opportunity for bad things to happen.  Know the situation.  FAIL

Again second guessing will haunt the franchise forever.  For a team who had played so well in the playoffs up until the third quarter they did everything wrong after that to allow New England back into that game.  One talking head after the game stated it best by saying (paraphrasing) Atlanta had “horrible game situational awareness” late in the game.  It really was horrible.  You have to look at the play calling and Matt Ryan’s inability to get rid of the ball, taking sacks and his fumble.  In a vacuum those aren’t the only reasons they lost but those are the ones Falcons’ fans are getting ulcers over today.

The defense had a very good pass rush in the first half rushing just four as the announcers pointed out.  So when the pass rush disappeared in the second half and Brady was shredding their secondary why didn’t Atlanta blitz?  You have to try something right?  They weren’t able to stop the passing game late.  Again you have to look at the coaches to help here.  The defense was on the field a ton and I would think they were tired.   So at least try something different scheme wise.  Why just watch them fail time and time again?

New England, to their credit, did everything they had to mount their historic comeback which was not easy mind you.  In doing so they had 93 plays in this game compared to the Falcons 46 while dominating the time of possession with 40:31.  Reference:  teams average between 59 and 75 per game.  While the offense faltered early in the game it came on with a vengeance in the latter stages.  The defense also came through and were able to get to Matt Ryan and held Atlanta to seven points in the second half.  New England deserved to win this game. They were the better team and should get all the credit coming their way.  Brady deserves his title of greatest of all-time and Bill Belichick deserves to be looked at in the same light.  And that Edelman catch?  How?  What?    

I had to type this all out.  It is my therapy.  I have always told folks that if my team makes it to the championship game I’d prefer a blowout no matter what the outcome.  Why suffer?  And last night was the worst case scenario.  The mental terrorism that was that fourth quarter can never be forgotten.  I’ll be fine.  I’m an adult and can deal with this stuff but man why did the Falcons have to make it this tough?  And that Julio Jones catch should be the one seen over and over for years to come but will not be largely forgotten. 

 

Denver and Carolina Win to Get to the Super Bowl

I think the only big surprise from this weekend's Championship games was the disaster that was the Arizona offense.  Granted the offense, mainly Carson Palmer, hadn't been that great of late but this was a total meltdown.  Hopefully it was just the lingering finger injury that Palmer has been dealing with and it will be resolved by next year.  The Carolina Panthers for their part still dominated both on offense and defense.  Carolina has to like the way their offense and defense are clicking going into the Super Bowl.  Whether or not Denver can move/counter move will be key.  If I'm Carolina I just keep on doing what I've been doing.  There will always be some new wrinkles the coordinators will throw into a game plan but the Panthers are good enough to win with what they have going right now.  Cam Newton is definitely on top of his game and is the MVP of the league this year.  While he has had bigger numbers before, this year he has been more accurate throwing the ball and downright scary when he runs.  It is fun to see a young team do well and if the franchise wins their first Super Bowl this year it will be well deserved.

Denver made an excellent New England Patriots team look pedestrian.  While the Pats' defense played well enough to win, the offense didn't look good and if it hadn't been for the Denver fumble in their own territory in the second quarter I wonder if the game would have been as close as it was.  Peyton played well not throwing an interception and was on point while helping Denver score two early touchdowns to put pressure on New England.  To see Brady and the rest of the offense have no answers for a defense is pretty scary but that is how good this defense and coordinator Wade Phillips have been.  Great game by Denver and you have to love that Peyton Manning goes back to the Super Bowl in what may be his final game.  I hope it is his final game and, win or lose, he'll be going out on a high note.  In the Super Bowl Denver will need to find ways to run and get the ball in their receiver's hands.  They did that well this game and even had Manning rolling out much to everyone's surprise.  Against Carolina though I'm not sure three points in the second half is going to cut it.  It is nice we have two great teams and all we can hope for now is a great Super Bowl ala last year.      

NFL Championship Games

New England @ Denver -  I expect New England to win this game.  New England and most folks breathing know Peyton Manning is not the Peyton Manning of old.  I think if they can control the Bronco's running game this is New England's game to win.  That said, I'm not sleeping on Denver's defense.  They can control Brady.  He doesn't like pressure and Denver can bring it. Then it is that cat and mouse game of whether Brady can hit Edelman, Gronk, or Amendola.  I'd love to see this be a slugfest with Manning showing flashes of old.  I'm not sure that will happen but it would be awesome to watch.  Still this should be a fun close game.

Arizona @ Carolina - This game has good offense  and defense on both teams which should make for a good game.  Carolina's weakness is their ability to cover receivers.  The Cardinals' offense has to get out of their funk and take advantage of the receivers they have, specifically Larry Fitzgerald.  If Arizona can do that I think they win this game.  While Carolina can score points I'm not sure they win a shootout.  I love Cam Newton and what he can do.  He should give the Cardinals' defense fits.  There aren't great receivers on the Panthers sans tight end Greg Olsen.  Still Carolina just gets it done on offense.  I think this is also a close game with Carolina winning.

No matter what match up we get in the Super Bowl it will have great stories.  Can Brady and Belichick win their 5th Super Bowl together?  Can Peyton get his 2nd Super Bowl win while hopefully going out on the ultimate high note?  Can the Arizona Cardinals and a very deserving Larry Fitzgerald win their first championship?  Can Cam cap a MVP type season and win a Super Bowl?  It should be a fun weekend of football and I can't wait to see who we'll have in the Super Bowl. 

New England Defeats Seattle 28-24 For Fourth Super Bowl Win

They did it and they did in about as exciting a fashion as you could imagine.  Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks for their fourth NFL title.  This puts Brady and Belichick in some elite company among quarterbacks and coaches with four Super Bowl wins.  This game lived up to the hype.  Going down to the final seconds after two New England fourth quarter drives to take a 28-24 lead.  Seattle, as they did at the end of the first half went right downfield and again looked like they'd score a touchdown this time to win the game.  And then little used, even less known rookie cornerback Malcom Butler jumped a route and made a fantastic interception to seal the victory with 20 seconds left.  A great breakdown of the play can be found here.  Tom Brady was smartly named the MVP.

What a game.  I think we were able to see the best of both teams throughout the game.  The Patriots' offense looked as good as ever on their four scoring drives and had it not been for a horrible Tom Brady pass on the first drive of the game, that would have been five drives.  Their game plan wasn't the most sexy but the dink and dunk got them 28 points in the end helped by an offensive line that did very well at protecting Tom Brady.  Their defense also stepped up big in the fourth quarter with stops on Seattle.  Yes, they did play poorly at the end of both halves but they played well when it counted allowing Brady and the offense to retake the lead.  And then with 20 seconds left they made maybe the biggest play of any Super Bowl ever.  New England showed they deserved to be champions.

Seattle also showed they deserved to be there on the cusp of winning their second straight title.  While the offense wasn't spectacular it did show some brilliance but too many times didn't show enough of what made them so good.  That run option is almost unstoppable, or so it seems and I thought they didn't showcase that enough.  Marshawn Lynch was very good and I thought they should have counted on his and Russell Wilson's legs more.  The defense was not as stout as I expected it to be.  The injuries probably played a part but even a dinged up Seahawks defense is better than probably 90% of the league.  Still they weren't quite up to stopping the Pat's offense when it counted and they just didn't seem to have those "oh wow" moments where you thought "now this is the Legion of Boom".  That swagger just wasn't there. 

Again a great game!  I can't say enough about how fun it was to watch.  I of course rooted for my Michigan guy in Tom Brady.  I felt good when the Patriots took the four point lead with just over two minutes left in the game but it was nagging at me that Seattle had way too much time left to score.  They didn't disappoint.  Then came "the call".  Don't hate on it.  It might not have been smart, or maybe it was.  Maybe it was the execution.  I'll never know.  But as Tom Brady said after the game "I'm glad they ran it". 

Super Bowl XLIX: Seattle Seahawks vs New England Patriots

Great matchup in the Super Bowl this year and I can't wait.  My wife called this matchup before the season.  Don't ask what I predicted.  I just hope the game lives up to the expectations.  I think Seattle wins the Super Bowl in a close game.  I am very surprised Seattle isn't favored in more forums.  True they barely beat Green Bay but I look at that as their offense playing horribly for 43 minutes, turned the ball over five times and they still won.  How many times does that happen?  I thought the Seattle's defense was excellent giving up only 22 points and allowing the offense to finally get on track sending the Seahawks to their second straight Super Bowl.  New England should make this a good game.  Their offense was the fourth best scoring offense in the league this year but like the rest of the NFL should struggle against the Seattle defense.  The other issue I see is New England dealing with the Seattle run option.  They haven't seen it much this year and I worry about how they can defend it.  Marshawn could have a big day. 

 

All that said I'm rooting for the Patriots.  I want to see Brady (my man crush) and the Patriots get their fourth Super Bowl ring and join the all-time greats in rarified air.  I just think it will be tough.  Seattle can always shoot themselves in the foot again like they did in the Green Bay game but I think that is too much to ask for.  New England is great at game planning their offense but I doubt Seattle really has to do much different no matter what is thrown at them.  Their corners allow them to just play their game without much concern on the outside.  Hopefully Gronkowski can be the disruptive force New England will want him to be and maybe make Seattle do things they don't want to.  Again I think Seattle wins this but I don't see a blowout - 23-17 Seahawks.  

2013 NFL Championship Weekend



 

 Last weekend there were no major surprises.  This sets up a great weekend of games.  Pats @ Broncos and 49ers @ Seahawks.  Probably the four teams most believed to be the top four teams before the season and arguably the four best at the end of the year. 

 

In Denver Peyton Manning and the Broncos face a Patriots team that while not healthy has still found ways to win.  Denver must also overcome injuries to their defense and offensive line.  This is billed as Manning vs Brady and I wouldn't argue that point.  While it will more than any one man to win, no matter how great a QB, these two deserve all their accolades and we have to be excited to see these two greats square off in the conference's biggest game of the year.  At first glance Denver and their offensive weapons and a good (even though depleted) defense seem to be the better team.  Still New England and Bill Belichick never seem to unprepared for any foe.  The Pat's recent run game resurgence should frighten Denver as much as any of Brady's passes.  Still I'm leaning towards Denver in this one.  They just seem to have too many weapons against a New England defense that will give up yards if not points.  I can't see Denver falling apart in the second half as they did in their first meeting this year.  I'll go with Peyton and the Broncos in a close game which I hope is the classic we are wishing for.

 

As everyone is saying the San Francisco-Seattle game looks like a typical slugfest.  Two excellent defenses with offenses that feature very good runners and young quarterbacks who can throw and run the ball.  While pretty evenly matched I like the 49ers in this game.  This goes against my normal tendancies.  If a game is evenly matched I like to lean towards the home team.  This time San Francisco appears to be peaking at the right time.  This game should be close but I won't be surprised if one does pull away.  Colin Kaepernick also seems to have the edge at QB.  I think this will give San Francisco the advantage on third downs which will be key.  Again I'll go with San Francisco here but Seattle is sure to give them a good game. 

 

 





Super Bowl XLVI

I really enjoyed the Super Bowl.  I had no rooting interest per se.  I do have a man crush on Michigan alum Tom Brady so going into this game I wanted to see him grab ring number four.  I stated to friends that New York was the better all-around team and gave the edge to the Giants in this game.  Their running game was healthy, they were peaking in the playoffs, the defense was playing very well and Eli was a stud this year.  On the other hand I woudln't make a career of picking against Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.  

New England was no slouchin this game but they did themselves in with mistakes.  Tom Brady started it off with the intentional grounding call.  You just had to know those two points would be critical  in this game and they were.  Then a critical 12 men on the field penalty by the Pat's defense on third and three at the New England 11 was huge.  NY fumbled though it might have been overturned but still three points would have been better than the eventual touchdown the Giants got.  Huge mistake.  Then Brady threw the interception on first down.  He basically threw it up for grabs.  I don't understand that when it was a first down play.  On third down maybe as you'd have to punt if it didn't work for you.  Last but not least the Patriot's receivers dropped some passes on New England's final drive.  As good as the Patriots are I have to believe they will drive themselves crazy all offseason thinking about what could have been.

New York on the other hand won this game.  They played very well on both sides of the ball.  With zero turnovers they played the game they had to play to win.  Eli had a wonderful game completing 30 of 40 passes for 296 yards and one touchdown.  Add to that another signature moment hitting Mario Manningham on their late fourth quarter touchdown drive for 38 yards and this team was meant to win.  New York added 114 yards rushing keyed by a healthy Ahmad Bradshaw and his 72 yards.  The MVP though should have been punter Steve Weatherford.  He had four punts and three of them were inside the New England 10 yard line.  Wow.  I thought this was huge to the game making the Pats go 90+ yards putting them at a disadvantage.  His fourth punt also had a chance to be downed inside the 10 but the New York Giant player downfield was unable to make a play on the ball. 

Some seemed critical of Tom Brady and wonder if his star is fading.  What?  This was his fifth Super Bowl and he has won three.  Add to that this year's 13-3 season and he has no reason to hang his head.  That kind of talk is ubsurd.  He is one of the great quarterbacks of this era hands down.  On the other hand it may be too early to start the bust in Canton for Eli Manning but I will say you must start the discussion.  While his career hasn't been marked with greatness he is only 31 and if he adds some addtional years like this one (Super Bowl ring or not) I think he'll have to be in the disucssion.  Very few quarterbacks have two Super Bowl rings to their name so it will be interesting to see which side of the argument he lands on when his career is over. 

I thought this was a very good game.  New England players and fans will think they were one catch or non-mistake away from winning the game.  I think New York just won it.  They capitolized with a touchdown after the 12 men on the field penalty and made the long touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.  That is winning football.  Congratulations to the New York Giants.  Now I can't wait for next season!