Super Bowl XLVII: Media Day

Super Bowl Sunday Countdown: 3 Days

Ray Lewis will play his final NFL game on Sunday. A win would give him
a second Super Bowl ring and send him out on top.
Photo credit to NFL.com.

Tuesday was Media Day at the Superdome. For the second year, the NFL allowed fans to come in, for a fee, to watch the action quietly from a section of the stands.

On Media Day, every player and coach is made available for about an hour to answer questions from the media. There are so many players and coaches involved in this game, so here are just a few of the highlights.

Randy Moss

I had a good time listening to Randy Moss talk. I respectfully disagree with his statement that he is the greatest receiver of all time, but I thoroughly enjoyed his response to a Manti Te’o related question: “ If I did ever have an imaginary girlfriend, I never told anybody about it.”

Ray Lewis

Of course, the allegation that he used deer antler spray to aid his recovery from a triceps injury this season came out on Tuesday during media day. He sidestepped questions about it, saying it was a two-year-old story being rehashed. I wonder why nobody has written anything about that? Interestingly enough, asked a similar question to one asked of Randy Moss, Lewis said he “may have been catfished once or twice.”

Joe Flacco

On Monday, a story I read on NFL.com said Flacco’s father called the Baltimore quarterback “dull.” Asked if he is dull, Flacco said, “I don’t know if I would say I’m dull, but I’m probably close to it.”

Jim Harbaugh

Of course plenty of questions were asked about the Harbaugh brothers. In fact, one of the 49ers offensive linemen, Joe Staley, was asked a serious of questions concerning the brothers, including which is more handsome and dresses better. Jim took a Shakespearean approach to answering one question about the matchup. The quote ended with, “For he who sheds his blood with me today shall be my brother.” I immediately recognized it as a quote from Shakespeare – though I did have to check on which work it was from, it was Henry V – but it was pretty cool to have someone answer a Media Day question in that manner.

Chris Culliver

I’ll end with this bit. Culliver was asked whether he would accept an openly gay football player in the 49ers locker room. I respect his courage to speak his mind when his opinion is not at all politically correct, but that respect is significantly lessened by the way he in which he spoke his opinion, saying, “We don’t have any gay guys on the team. They gotta get up outta here if they do. Can’t be with that sweet stuff.”

The 49ers quickly released a statement saying that Culliver’s words do not express the ideals of the franchise and Culliver later apologized, saying, “The derogatory comments I made yesterday were a reflection of my thoughts in my head, but they are not how I feel. It has taken me seeing them in print to realize that they are hurtful and ugly. … I apologize to those who I have hurt and offended and I pledge to learn and grow from this experience.”

Tomorrow I will publish two posts, one about the 49ers’ history in the Super Bowl and one about the Ravens’. Saturday I will preview Super Bowl XLVII and my official prediction will by published by noon on Sunday.

To stay updated on new posts as they are published, ‘like’ my blog’s Facebook page and follow me on Twitter, @cpuffnfl.

Super Bowl XLVII: Baltimore Ravens

Super Bowl Sunday Countdown: 4 Days

In Ray Lewis's final game, the Ravens look to win their second Lombardi Trophy
and hand the 49ers their first Super Bowl loss. Photo credit to NFL Network.

It would be too easy to just copy what I wrote yesterday about the 49ers and apply it to the Ravens. It would be easy to say that this was a two-year, a three-year, a five-year process that Baltimore’s franchise has worked through to this point. After all, they went to the AFC Championship last season and they are the only team in the NFL that has made the postseason each of the past five years.

But it is for that very reason that I say it has not been a five years process. Something had to have happened to get over the hump, to take this team to that next level that has eluded them since John Harbaugh and Joe Flacco came to Baltimore.

The Ravens, in my mind, are Ray Lewis’s team without a doubt. The most faithful Ravens fans who think they know their team inside and out while say that it wasn’t just Ray who sparked this postseason run. Remember that Bernard Pollard also returned from injury in that wild-card game against the Colts.

But I still point to the teams they played during the Regular Season. Ray Lewis played in Baltimore’s first six games, in which they went 5-1. They should have gone 6-0 – yes, I’m still bitter against the replacement refs for that Week 2 game, even though I didn’t really have much interested invested in it.

The first week that Lewis did not play, the Ravens got pummeled by the Texans, 43-13. They had a bye week and then won four straight, but the only semi-impressive win was their 55-20 victory over Oakland, which was a statement made by their offense. It wasn’t an impressive display by their defense considering nobody else scored 20 against them during that winning streak.

Then they lost four of their last five. Two, and maybe three, of those games were matchups they should have won. Not having Ray Lewis made it very difficult for Baltimore to do what they needed on defense. Not only is Ray Lewis an emotional leader, he is still one of the best middle linebackers in the NFL on a physical level.

Baltimore has given up fewer than two touchdowns in five of Ray Lewis’s nine games played this season. Without Ray, they’ve achieved that feat three times in ten games, and in one of those games they still gave up five field goals.

I look forward to finding out what the Ravens look like without Ray Lewis next season. My outlook isn’t as bright as many Ravens fans’ outlooks. But one thing is for sure, with Ray Lewis in at middle linebacker, this team has a great shot at winning the Super Bowl on Sunday.

It certainly doesn’t hurt that Joe Flacco has found his mojo this postseason. Eight touchdown passes and no interceptions over three games is always a formula for success.

Tomorrow I will recap some of the things that caught my attention during Media Day – not the news of Ray Lewis possibly using Deer Antler Spray; I’ll wait for more info to come out before I address that. Stay tuned all week, as I’ll have a new post every day and my official prediction on Sunday by noon. For links to blog posts as they’re published, ‘like’ my blog’s Facebook page and follow me on Twitter, @cpuffnfl.

Super Bowl XLVII: San Francisco 49ers

Super Bowl Sunday Countdown: 5 Days

The 49ers have appeared in two consecutive NFC title games, but make
their first Super Bowl appearance in 18 years on Sunday. They beat the
San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX. Photo credit to NFL Network.

It is both exciting and depressing that the week of the Super Bowl is now upon us. There is so much anticipation leading up to the main event, but well before midnight on Sunday, the 2012 season will be over.

It hasn’t felt like a long season, but this 49ers team is more than just a culmination of the past six months. When Jim Harbaugh was hired as San Francisco’s head coach during the 2011 offseason, nobody knew what to expect. Few, if any, expected that he would turn this franchise around and bring it back to the sport’s biggest stage. Even fewer, maybe nobody, expected it to happen so soon.

I still remember how the 2011 season began for the 49ers. I may be a little hazy on which team they were playing, though I’m fairly certain that it was Seattle, but Ted Ginn Jr. returned a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns in the final minutes of the game to carry the 49ers to victory.

It was a fluke as far as the experts were concerned. I certainly didn’t think much of it. But they kept finding ways to win. They won close games, they won in blowouts – most of you may not remember the Tampa Bay game from last year – it didn’t matter how they had to win; they won.

Yet, after losing just three games all season, when we reached the playoffs, nobody expected they could outrun the Saints if it turned into a shootout. They hadn’t beaten a team with a high-octane offense like that of New Orleans all season. Sure enough, the game turned into a shootout. The winner, however, was not the team many of us expected, as Alex Smith and Vernon Davis became Steve Young and Terrell Owens.

The party ended the following week, as errors haunted the team and the Giants advanced to Super Bowl XLVI.

This past offseason, Jim Harbaugh schooled his team in preparation. He never wanted his team to find itself in a close game and let it slip away from them. They had some rough games this season, more than they did in 2011, but to their credit every time they lost a game, they came back the next week with a big win, and they only lost one close game.

This week, though, if they lose, there is no ‘next week’ where they can go out and win a game and make a statement. This is the last game of the season. They won’t play another game that matters until September, and that won’t be counted as a part of this team’s accomplishments.

Many of these players came to San Francisco before Jim Harbaugh took over. He has transformed this team and this Sunday they will attempt to tie Pittsburgh as the owners of the most Vince Lombardi Trophies in the NFL. They also look to keep their perfect 5-0 Super Bowl record intact.

Baltimore, meanwhile, will look to duplicate what it did on Thanksgiving night in 2011. This is a different 49ers team than it was then; perhaps more vulnerable in some ways, but also much more explosive since the move from Alex Smith to Colin Kaepernick. This team may have been ready for the Super Bowl last year, but the second year has prepared them even more. Few teams get two years of steady building toward this game. This team did, and they’ve used these two years well.

Tomorrow I will profile the Baltimore Ravens and will continue my Super Bowl XLVII coverage all the way through to Sunday, when I will make my official prediction by noon. For links to new blog posts as they are published, ‘like’ my blog’s Facebook page and follow me on Twitter, @cpuffnfl.

2012 Pro Bowl Afterword

Jeff Saturday and Peyton Manning hooked up for one more snap in-game
during the Pro Bowl, a special moment for everyone. Photo credit to TeamLeaks.

I said I would recap the Pro Bowl, and so I will, briefly.

There isn’t really much to tell. The players seemed to put forth some effort, at least in the sense that it wasn’t a drag up until the fourth quarter before the game really got going.

But it still was the Pro Bowl. It has a negative connotation, understandably so. Yesterday was just the second time I’ve ever watched a whole Pro Bowl, and I’ll admit that the first time I watched one I wasn’t really paying that close of attention.

I have a feeling that this is how it is for most. They never really watched the Pro Bowl, just heard from a friend who heard from a friend who heard from a friend who read online that it’s a dumb game (and of course nothing online can be a lie – French model?).

It was actually worth watching for several reasons. It’s a great opportunity to see the league’s best players in a relaxed environment. They wanted to win, but they were relaxed. One defender even pulled up a bit when he could have laid a blind-side hit on Drew Brees. Some may look at that as not trying. I see it as a competitor who knows that this game doesn’t really mean much in the long run and doesn’t want a fellow competitor to get hurt playing in a meaningless game.

We all think that the Pro Bowl can’t exist because it isn’t played in the same atmosphere as a playoff, or even regular season or preseason game. I say that is the very reason that the Pro Bowl can exist. It’s different, it’s special, and I respect it for what it is, even if most people can’t because someone told them they shouldn’t.

Those who watched the Pro Bowl witnessed a very special moment. Jeff Saturday, who was the center for the Packers this year after spending many years with Peyton Manning in Indianapolis, was playing for the NFC but came into the AFC huddle and snapped the ball to Manning for one play. I really can’t think of a moment in football that was more special, more touching, than that was.

But now the Pro Bowl is over and we can turn out attention to the Super Bowl. I will begin tomorrow by looking at the NFC representatives, the San Francisco 49ers. Wednesday I will focus on the Baltimore Ravens. My official prediction for Super Bowl XLVII will be published Sunday by noon.

Keep up with new blog posts by ‘liking’ my Facebook page and by following me on Twitter, @cpuffnfl.

2012 Pro Bowl Preview

Two rookie quarterbacks will be on their conferences’ rosters tomorrow in Hawaii. Neither was selected to the Pro Bowl when the initial rosters were announced. The lone rookie who was initially selected, Robert Griffin III, will not participate due to knee surgery after the season ended.

Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson will serve on their teams as alternates after several quarterbacks pulled out of the post-season all-star game. For the NFC team, Drew Brees replaces RG3 while Eli Manning is replacing Aaron Rodgers and Wilson is replacing Matt Ryan.

For the AFC, the only change is that Andrew Luck will replace Tom Brady, who pulled out due to an unspecified injury, probably to his ego.

For the 33^rd time, Hawaii is the location for the NFL’s all-star game. It’s a good way to end the season for the league’s best players whose teams didn’t do so hot, or fell just short of every team’s ultimate goal.

The Pro Bowl, however, is in danger of termination. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has stressed that if the game’s level of play is not significantly higher this year, the game will be cut from the league’s schedule.

Most fans are perfectly fine with this. I mean, who even watched the Pro Bowl? I will tomorrow, but the last time I watched and entire Pro Bowl from start to finish was probably four or five years ago, and that was the only complete Pro Bowl I’ve watched. It’s typically a boring game and the most interesting part is the mismatched helmets.

But the Pro Bowl is important, if only for being a way to recognize the best talent the NFL has to offer. Whether they change the setup to purely a skills competition or do something else with the format, the annual trip to Hawaii is a well-deserved treat for the best players in the NFL. They have worked their butts off all season to try and help their teams win and to provide their fans with something to cheer for even as their teams struggled.

Peyton Manning delivered a speech on the first day the players arrived in Hawaii, poking fun at himself and other players, but also very seriously imploring his peers on both the AFC and NFC squads to put their best foot forward this week. He doesn’t want to ruin this treat for future generations of NFL stars.

Monday I will recap the Pro Bowl. Tuesday marks the start of my Super Bowl XLVII coverage. Keep up with new posts by ‘liking’ my blog’s Facebook page and by following me on Twitter, @cpuffnfl.

2012 Postseason Rewind: Conference Championships

I can’t remember the last time there were two great conference championship games in the same season. Oh wait, last year of course. But seriously, it seems like most years have one fantastic game and another where one team just decided they didn’t really want to go to the Super Bowl. We’ve been treated to four terrific games the past two seasons.

This year kicked off with the 49ers and Falcons in Atlanta. Like they did in the divisional round against Seattle, the Falcons jumped to an early lead. But even before they could make the same mistake twice and switch to a prevent defense, Colin Kaepernick began leading a comeback on his own merit.

A couple terrific downfield throws opened up the box and suddenly he and Frank Gore were free to run wild. Once the read-option finally got jump started, there was nothing Atlanta could do on defense. They could either give up four- and five-yard gains on the ground, or they could collapse on it and free Kaepernick to hit Vernon Davis or Michael Crabtree for a solid gain through the air.

Atlanta managed to stay in it, but Matt Ryan was hurt on a late-4^th quarter drive and was thrown completely off his rhythm. He forced a bad pass on fourth down and couldn’t do any more than dump off a pass to Julio Jones as time expired.

In Foxboro, the Patriots were in charge most of the first half. The Ravens only managed one good drive. New England’s offense was much more effective but had to settle for a couple of field goals and a 13-7 lead at halftime.

Tom Brady was 67-0 at home when leading at halftime, so New England had to be feeling good heading into the break, despite a handful of missed opportunities.

The tides turned in the second half, however, and Joe Flacco was as accurate as he’s ever been. A few poor passes in the first half didn’t seem to bother him any and he was on point in the second half, spreading his targets pretty evenly among his receivers.

There isn’t much more I can do to demonstrate how dominant Baltimore was in the second half besides to just point out that they outscored New England 21-0 after halftime.

A year after they both lost in stunning fashion, due to dropped passes, shanked field goals and inexcusable fumbles, Jim and John Harbaugh led their teams back to the brink, and now over and into the Super Bowl.

Tomorrow I will briefly preview the Pro Bowl and Monday I will recap it. Tuesday marks the start of my Super Bowl XLVII coverage. Likely, I will start with the 49ers on Tuesday, then cover the Ravens on Wednesday and continue from there. Keep up with new posts by ‘liking’ my blog’s Facebook page and by following me on Twitter, @cpuffnfl.

2012 Postseason Rewind: Divisional Playoffs

The Divisional round, my favorite round of the postseason, certainly did not disappoint this year. The Ravens and Broncos kicked things off from Denver where the weekend began with a bang, or maybe a different pun would be better. Trindon Holliday took the opening kickoff back for a touchdown.

There would be a lot more scoring, however, as Baltimore’s defense played pretty well for the most part and Denver’s defense did not. All day it was ‘hey diddle-diddle, Ray Rice up the middle’ for a yard on first down and two more on second down. Despite all those third-and-long attempts, Baltimore still scored 28 points on offense to force overtime. Peyton Manning threw an interception late in the first overtime period and Justin Tucker won the game for Baltimore in double overtime.

After beating Minnesota, Green Bay ventured to Candlestick Park to take on the 49ers, who snuck out of the regular season with the NFC’s second seed. The game was very good during the first half, and Green Bay even tied it up early in the third quarter, but Colin Kaepernick and Frank Gore left the Packers in their dust, scoring 21 unanswered.

Atlanta hosted Seattle for the early game on Sunday. The Falcons jumped out to an early lead and poor coaching decisions and even worse clock management kept Seattle out of at least 6 points in the first half, which ended with Atlanta leading, 20-0.

Russell Wilson put up a solid fight in the second half, as Atlanta’s defense went into prevent almost immediately out of the intermission. After concluding their comeback by taking a 28-27 lead, Seattle did the worst thing it possibly could. They went into prevent defense with one of 2012’s best 4^th quarter quarterbacks on the other side. A couple solid throws by Matt Ryan put the Falcons in field goal range and Matt Bryant clinched their first playoff win since Michael Vick was in Atlanta.

The final game of the weekend was also the least exciting. Houston played it fairly close for a while, but they were never really in it. Arian Foster nearly reached 100 yards rushing for the fourth straight time in the postseason, but that’s where the good ended for the Texans. Matt Schaub was shoddy at best and New England dominated Houston’s defense in all aspects.

Tomorrow I will recap the AFC and NFC championships. Saturday I will briefly preview the Pro Bowl because I have nothing better to do. Keep up with new posts by ‘liking’ my blog’s Facebook page and by following me on Twitter, @cpuffnfl.

2012 Postseason Rewind: Wild-Card Playoffs

The postseason kicked off in Houston, where the AFC South champs took on Cincinnati. Houston was at the top of the conference for the whole season, but a Week 17 loss opened the door for Denver and New England to sneak past them for the top two seeds and a bye straight through to the divisional round.

Houston never looked like they were playing with much confidence on offense. Unfortunately for Cincinnati, their offense was even worse. The Bengals’ only touchdown of the contest came on an interception. The Texans only scored 19 points, but it was enough, barely, to advance.

Green Bay hosted Minnesota later that evening. As NFC North rivals, they had already played each other twice this season, most recently in Week 17, just one week before. Minnesota won that game at home in a shootout. The loss kept Green Bay out of the NFC’s #2 seed.

This time, they met in Green Bay and Christian Ponder was unavailable. Joe Webb started for him and looked great running the ball as a compliment to Adrian Peterson on the first drive. Poor passing stalled the drive, forcing a field goal, and that’s all they would get until garbage time. Good defense kept the Packers from running up the score, but the 24-10 final is even closer than the game was.

Sunday’s first game featured Indianapolis in Baltimore. The Colts had won 9 of their last 11 and was coming off a win against Houston. Baltimore hadn’t beaten a good team since before their bye week.

In Ray Lewis’s return from injury, the Ravens dominated Indianapolis on defense and Anquan Boldin made a few very impressive catches down the field to give Baltimore’s offense a lift. The Colts never had a prayer.

Just minutes after that game, a few miles down I-95, the Redskins were set to host the Seahawks. The Redskins had won seven straight, including a game against the Cowboys a week earlier to decide the NFC East Champion. Washington got off to a hot start, quickly building a 14-0 lead on their first two drives.

Robert Griffin III was hurt some time during the second drive and was noticeably inaccurate the rest of the game as Seattle slowly mounted their comeback. In the fourth quarter, RG3 took a bad step attempting to recover a botched snap and hurt his knee badly – he would have surgery on his LCL and ACL a couple days later. The Seahawks, meanwhile, completed their comeback, aided by the Redskins not scoring again after their first two possessions.

Tomorrow I will recap the divisional round, followed by the AFC and NFC championships on Friday. Saturday I will briefly preview the Pro Bowl because I have nothing better to do. Keep up with new posts by ‘liking’ my blog’s Facebook page and by following me on Twitter, @cpuffnfl.

First Impressions: Super Bowl XLVII Matchup

Jim (49ers) & John (Ravens) will lead their teams against each other for the
second time in their careers, this time with a Lombardi Trophy on the line.
Photo credit to ESPN First Take (Facebook).

Over the next three days, I will look back at the 2012 postseason, one round at a time, as a general recap to put a close on yet another fantastic season. Today, however, I want to take the time to give my first thoughts on the upcoming Super Bowl.

The Ravens and 49ers have played four times since Baltimore got their new franchise. San Francisco won the first meeting but Baltimore has won all three since, including last season on Thanksgiving in the first matchup between the Harbaugh brothers.

Despite a pretty low score, just a 16-6 victory, Baltimore pretty clearly was the better team on both sides of the ball.

What has changed since 2011?

The 49ers are pretty similar on defense. They’re still pretty young overall, which means the extra year of experience will pay off a fair amount. On offense, the obvious change is the switch at quarterback from Alex Smith to Colin Kaepernick. His rapport with Michael Crabtree and Randy Moss, another acquisition since last season, will make the 49ers look very different against the Ravens than they did in 2011.

On the Baltimore side, Joe Flacco has been hot all postseason. 8 TDs and no interceptions speak for itself. The other quarterbacks who have had similar numbers in a given postseason have all not only won the Super Bowl but been named MVP in it. Torrey Smith is becoming a deep threat, which is important considering the Ravens only attempted one deep pass in last year’s matchup. Smith is quickly inserting himself with guys like Calvin Johnson and A.J. Green as the league’s top possession receivers.

Baltimore’s defense is pretty similar to last year’s group, and everyone has remained healthy throughout the postseason, so there will be no easy pickings for Kaepernick.

Will I have a rooting interest?

I have to. I always do for the Super Bowl. Even if I really don’t care, I always pick a team to root for, for two reasons. First, it makes the game more fun for me. During the regular season I don’t mind just watching a game for the fun of it. Even during the playoffs I can do that. But I want to get excited during the Super Bowl, not just sit there as an emotionless observer.

My other reason for having a rooting interest is for my Madden prediction game, which I’ll explain in my Super Bowl XLVII preview the morning of the game.

So which team will I be rooting for? This is one of the few Super Bowls I can remember where I really don’t care which team wins; I don’t like either but I also don’t dislike either. However, because I’m from Maryland and will have to deal with poor attitudes from Ravens fans if they lose, I will be rooting for Baltimore.

Just a note for the heck of it, keep in mind that if Baltimore wins, Pittsburgh will retain sole possession of the record for most Super Bowl victories. San Francisco would tie them with a win.

The Harbowl

From what I’ve been able to gather, John and Jim Harbaugh never faced each other as coaches before last Thanksgiving.

John started out coaching running backs and linebackers at Western Michigan in the mid-80s and then, after a couple stops elsewhere, took a job as special teams coordinator at the University of Cincinnati, holding that position for eight years. His first NFL experience was in the same position with the Philadelphia Eagles, a job he kept from 1998 until 2007 when he became the defensive secondary coach with the Eagles. He made the jump right from that position to Ravens head coach.

Jim started his coaching career earlier than you would expect. During his final eight seasons as a quarterback in the NFL, beginning when he moved from Chicago to Indianapolis, he was an unpaid assistant coach under his dad, Jack Harbaugh, at Western Kentucky University. When his playing career ended, he became the quarterbacks coach with the Oakland Raiders for two seasons before taking a head coaching position with the University of San Diego. He held that job for three years and his position as head coach at Stanford for four. 2011 was his first season as the head coach with San Francisco.

Though it felt like a lot of hype was placed on their Thanksgiving matchup last season, it was nothing compared to the hype of what could have been during the postseason. Both John and Jim led their teams to their conference championship games, only to fall to the Patriots and Giants respectively, both due to poor late-game execution.

This year, they led their teams back to the AFC and NFC Championship games, and this time they both won. A lot will be made of their matchup over the next two weeks. I wanted to get mine out of the way. So congratulations to the two brothers, and to their parents, Jack and Jackie, on a fantastic season that will end in New Orleans.

I can’t even begin to imagine what it will be like for their family in the days following the game. There is nothing to base it on. The Manning brothers have never made this matchup happen, and I can’t think of many other brothers who have had the opportunity (Tiki and Ronde Barber both play(ed) in the NFC).

AFC Championship Afterword: Patriots vs Ravens

Another year, another case of Bradying. Brady made some atypical poor decisions
late in the game and was as much to blame as anyone else for their loss.
Photo credit to The Boston Globe.

For a while, neither team really deserved to win this game. The Ravens weren’t playing all that well in the first half and the Patriots, Wes Welker in particular, couldn’t catch to save their lives.

Joe Flacco improved to 8 touchdowns and no interceptions this postseason with another solid outing. He had a few poor throws, but every quarterback does so you won’t see me hassling him over this game. I can’t really think of many, if any, instances where his receivers had to bail him out. He made good throws, they made good grabs, and by the end of the game, the Ravens were clearly the better team.

As I was previewing this game, I talked about a lot of stuff on my radio show, but I focused on previous stats when I previewed the game on my blog. I brought up that Joe Flacco always seems to show up against the Patriots, that there is only one team he plays better against. Low and behold, he had a pretty terrific game yesterday.

And what about Tom Brady? I mentioned that he has played well enough against the Ravens but that he has below average numbers in Conference Championship games. He completed 53% of his passes, threw one touchdown and two interceptions, though to his credit the first one wasn’t entirely his fault.

New England’s predictable passing attack haunted them badly. When your quarterback is Tom Brady and your entire receiving corps only averages about 11 yards per catch, that’s a sign of a pretty conservative passing attack.

The Patriots run this offense often, but when they play good teams they usually switch it up more, it’s what it takes for them to get ‘over the hump’ to beat the NFL’s better teams. They didn’t do so yesterday and I feel it’s a big part of why they lost by two touchdowns.

Wes Welker had eight receptions despite having more drops than I could keep track of, so he is still Tom Brady’s favorite target at receiver. However, when you have as many bad drops as he had yesterday, you can expect plenty of questions about his future with the team.

Baltimore advances to their franchise’s second Super Bowl and the fourth appearance for the city. The Ravens won their last Super Bowl matchup against the Giants in January 2001. The Colts went 1-1 before moving their franchise to Indianapolis.

Check back with my blog daily over the next two weeks, especially next week when the focus will be fully on Super Bowl XLVII. For updates on when new blog posts are published, ‘like’ my page on Facebook and follow me on Twitter @cpuffnfl.

NFC Championship Afterword: Falcons vs 49ers

Frank Gore was very effective once San Francisco's read-option got going
and Atlanta could not stop him. Photo credit to The Arizona Daily Star.

It always seems to be the same story with these Falcons: get out to an early lead, turn ultra conservative, and trust Matt Ryan and/or Matt Bryant to pull off the win after you give up the lead.

Yesterday followed that script to a T. The biggest difference was that Matt Ryan was slammed during their final drive and hurt something in his left chest or shoulder. It wasn’t his throwing arm, but it seemed to be bothering him pretty severely. He couldn’t open up to put much behind his throws, which may have led him to panic on a 4^th down play inside the red zone. I think it also was the reason for the bizarre play call not to throw up a Hail Mary into the end zone and instead throw over the middle to Julio Jones and pray he could do something as time expired.

The better team won. The Falcons deserved to win for about 40 minutes of that game, but conservative offense and prevent defense betrayed them. Colin Kaepernick took full advantage as the Falcons lack of aggressiveness on defense completely nullified any effects of a very loud home crowd.

Once Kaepernick was able to make some plays throwing the ball down the field, it opened things up for the read-option and the Falcons were doomed. Frank Gore ran for 90 yards and a couple of scores, mostly out of the read-option. LaMichael James added another 34 yards on the ground with a score of his own out of the same set.

Neither Jacquizz Rodgers nor Michael Turner reached James’s rushing yards mark in the game.

As I expected, Julio Jones and Roddy White were just too much for the 49ers’ secondary to handle. They are very physical, and Jones in particular made some pretty impressive catches. They also have more speed than a lot of defenses are aware of. When you throw Tony Gonzalez into that mix, this is probably the best receiving corps in football, followed closely by teams like Baltimore and New Orleans.

For Atlanta, their season ends in disappointment, but they finally won a playoff game with Matt Ryan under center. If Atlanta can remain competitive in the NFC South, there will be plenty more over the next several years. One of the biggest hurdles facing them will be replacing Tony Gonzalez if he does in fact retire. Yesterday he said their loss to San Francisco was “probably” his last game. “I’ve been very blessed. I don’t want anyone to feel sorry for me. I’ve had a great ride, an unbelievable ride. I have no regrets,” he said.

San Francisco, meanwhile, advances to their franchise’s sixth Super Bowl. They are 5-0, putting them one short of Pittsburgh’s record for most Super Bowl victories. They will play as the home team in New Orleans on February 3.

Check back with my blog daily over the next two weeks, especially next week when the focus will be fully on Super Bowl XLVII. For updates on when new blog posts are published, ‘like’ my page on Facebook and follow me on Twitter @cpuffnfl.

AFC Championship Preview: Patriots vs Ravens

Sunday, January 20, 2013

6:30pm – CBS

Baltimore Ravens @ New England Patriots

In a rematch of last year's AFC Championship, the Patriots make their
franchise's ninth appearance while the Ravens make their fourth.
The Patriots won last year, 23-20.

Ravens fans are clearly confident in their defense, and they have good reason to be. As far as I’m concerned, Baltimore’s defense matches up with New England’s offense just as well as it did earlier this season and in last year’s AFC Championship.

Joe Flacco, for as much as I give him a lot of grief, always shows up against New England. Despite a 1-2 record against them in his career, he has a Passer Rating of 103.0 in those games. The only team he’s faced multiple times and has a better rating against is the Miami Dolphins.

In those three starts against New England, Flacco has 931, 7 touchdown passes and just 2 interceptions. I’ll buy him putting up another big game this weekend, especially with how well Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith have been playing lately.

Tom Brady, on the other hand, has 5 touchdown passes and 3 interceptions in five career starts against Baltimore. In addition, the conference championship round is by far his worst of the postseason. He may be 5-1 in these games, but he’s thrown 6 touchdowns and 7 interceptions on his way to just a 78.4 passer rating in the AFC Championship.

The more I think about this pick, the less nervous I am about it. I fully understand why New England is such a big favorite in this game, and I won’t be shocked if they win. But I think Baltimore has all the tools to go into New England and beat the Patriots, just like they beat them in Baltimore earlier this season.

Puff’s Pick:

Baltimore Ravens – 20

New England Patriots – 17

MVP: Torrey Smith


Follow me on Twitter @cpuffnfl and on my Puff on the NFL Facebook Page.

NFC Championship Preview: Falcons vs 49ers

Sunday, January 20, 2013

3:00pm – FOX

San Francisco 49ers @ Atlanta Falcons

The 49ers return for a second straight year as they tie Dallas for the most
NFC Championship Game appearances, with 14. This is Atlanta's third
appearance and their first since January 2005.

I did not have an easy time coming up with my predictions for either of Sunday’s games, but this one was definitely the tougher of the two.

San Francisco, of course, has had a fantastic season. Alex Smith played great football early in the season, and when Colin Kaepernick took over, he impressed right away. As bad as I feel for Smith, Kaepernick earned the right to continue starting for the 49ers and he has continued to play great in big games.

Not only has Kaepernick shown an ability to win big games, he’s shown that he can do it regardless of the venue. The Georgia Dome, however, may be the loudest venue in the NFL – no offense to the Superdome or to CenturyLink Field.

I think being at home played a fairly significant role in Kaepernick overcoming an early pick-6 and leading San Francisco to victory last week. I’m not ready to bet on him having as big of a game against Atlanta.

The Falcons have been wanting for a postseason win for several years now, and they finally got one by holding off the Seahawks last week. I think Matt Ryan will benefit a great deal from that confidence boost.

The 49ers dealt with Green Bay’s massive receiving corps quite nicely. They likely won’t get beat too badly by Roddy White or Julio Jones, but I don’t know that they can compete with White and Jones on a physical level.

The one thing that makes me real nervous about this pick is the questionable status of John Abraham, who was severely limited against Seattle with an ankle injury and might not be active at all tomorrow.

Still, I think the home field advantage, a confident Matt Ryan and a defense that is much better than Green Bay’s will be enough to send Atlanta to their franchise’s second Super Bowl appearance.

Puff’s Pick:

San Francisco 49ers – 20

Atlanta Falcons – 31

MVP: Matt Ryan


Follow me on Twitter @cpuffnfl and on my Puff on the NFL Facebook Page.