Sunday Football Afterword: 49ers vs Packers

Clay Matthews spoke all week about hitting the QB. He forgot you can't
hit him out of bounds during Sunday's playoff rematch with the 49ers.

Cory Puffett

San Francisco’s coaching staff banned Colin Kaepernick from running during the preseason and most of training camp. It certainly seemed to help Sunday afternoon as he kicked off his first full season as a starting quarterback with an impressive performance with 412 passing yards. It was his first game with 300+ passing yards, and he became just the fifth quarterback in the Super Bowl era to throw for 400 passing yards, 3 touchdowns and no picks in a season opener.

Green Bay had a tough game as they tried very hard to establish the run but couldn’t get much going against San Francisco’s stingy front seven. Aaron Rodgers had a solid game and Jordy Nelson was fantastic, answering everybody’s questions concerning his time off after knee surgery a month and change ago.

Unfortunately, a late hit out of bounds by Clay Matthews, followed by an error by the officiating crew in replaying a down on offsetting penalties led directly to a San Francisco touchdown that helped keep this game just out of Green Bay’s reach. In most situations, offsetting penalties result in a replay of the previous down, but when the penalties both occur after the play, it is a dead ball foul and the down still counts. It should have been fourth down for San Francisco.

But in football, you have to overcome errors. You prefer not to have to overcome officiating errors, but occasionally it happens. The Packers failed to overcome, just as they failed to cover Anquan Boldin who hauled in 13 passes for over 200 yards in the opener.

San Francisco is looking to return to the Super Bowl this year, and they took a nice first step on Sunday.

Keep up with the Football Freaks but liking The All-Sports Crew’s Facebook page and listen to their live shows on WMUC Sports and as well as their podcasts on iTunes.

2013 Offseason Update, Week 6

Wes Welker was introduced as a member of the Denver Broncos this week.
Photo credit to ESPN.

As I promised last week, I will continue my weekly updates even as I continue to be counted on to cover Maryland basketball for ACC Battles. Speaking of which, if you are an ACC fan, be sure to check out the site.

The biggest news of this past week was of course free agency, so that’s my focus today.

Major Additions

The biggest names among free agent signings this past week were the wide receivers. Peyton Manning already has two young receivers who are beginning to make their mark on the league, but now he has a seasoned veteran already used to playing with one of the all-time greats as the Broncos signed Wes Welker.

Greg Jennings felt “wanted” in Minnesota, so the Vikings signed their former division rival and the Patriots, to replace Welker, signed former Ram Danny Amendola.

Steven Jackson considered retirement, but found a home in Atlanta. The Falcons still have Jacquizz Rodgers, so they will share the load which should definitely help Jackson last a few more years in the league.

Former Lion Cliff Avril landed in Seattle as they want to bolster their defensive front and the Vikings found some potential competition for Christian Ponder by signing Matt Cassel, who was released by the Chiefs after Kansas City got Alex Smith.

Reports came out last night that Jake Long, who was considering returning to Miami, decided to accept a deal from St. Louis, which Sam Bradford must be ecstatic about.

Trying to Get it Right

The Dolphins and Browns have not been particularly competitive in my lifetime. I became aware of sports as Dan Marino’s career wound down and they have only had a couple of decent seasons since. The Browns just haven’t been good since Baltimore took their original team.

Both teams are trying to get it right and have been big players in free agency so far.

The Dolphins added Mike Wallace to complement Brian Hartline and give Ryan Tannehill a much needed second option. A bigger emphasis has been placed on defense so far. Dannell Ellerbe and Philip Wheeler were added to their linebacker corps and they brought back safety Chris Clemons. Expect them to continue to play their hand.

The Browns made several nice additions, but none better than on their defensive front. End Paul Kruger and Tackle Desmond Bryant were signed on the first day of free agency as Cleveland appears to be building around the defensive line. I’d like to see them emphasize the offense, but maybe they’re going about this as a multi-year project, which isn’t a bad idea when you’re as bad as the Browns.

High Profile Trades

Last week it was Chiefs acquisition of Alex Smith via trade with San Francisco. The NFC West again worked some deals this week. Anquan Boldin was likely going to be released by Baltimore. Instead, San Francisco managed to convince the Ravens to give him up for a sixth round pick as the 49ers did some nice thrift shopping.

Seattle preceded that move by trading for Percy Harvin. The Seahawks are going to be dangerous this year and these two teams are making it even harder for St. Louis and Arizona to have any chances of digging their way out of the abyss.

Fax Fiasco

The Broncos were seething, Elvis Dumervil was seething, and Dumervil’s agent was looking for anywhere to pass blame until he was fired just hours after huge mistake caused Dumervil to land in free agency.

Elvis Dumervil has just signed a contract to stay with Denver when suddenly it all came undone. Apparently the fax with his signed contract did not reach the Denver offices until minutes after the 4 p.m. deadline, causing Dumervil to become a free agent. This is a huge loss from a Denver defense already in need of some patchwork. This is a big step back that will be difficult to fully recover from this offseason.

If I’m missing anything important, or if you just want to hear my thoughts on any other offseason news from the past week, feel free to contact me via my blog’s Facebook page or my Twitter account, @cpuffnfl.

2013 Offseason Update, Week 1

Gregg Williams has a new look that we can only hope corresponds to a
new motivational philosophy. Photo credit to titansonline.com.

We are now a full week into the offseason and I’m already having dreams of pre-season starting, a sure sign I’m going through withdrawal.

I’m not sure yet what I will write about for the rest of this week, but today I am just going to cover a few of the big stories from last week that some of you may not have seen.

Because I took the past few days off from writing, my flow may be a little off today.  Forgive me while I get back into the swing of things.

Anquan Boldin Done?

Joe Flacco’s upcoming contract has been over-covered and over-analyzed since winning MVP for Super Bowl XLVII. The problem with his raise is that either Jacoby Jones or Anquan Boldin may not get new contracts because of cap limitations. Boldin said last week that if he does not get a new contract, he will retire. He says he will never put on a uniform other than that of the Ravens.

Michael Vick Remains an Eagle

This one just came in today. Vick signed a 1-year contract that could be worth up to $10 million, though I would assume too many fumbles and interceptions would cost him on payday.

Gregg Williams Returns

Williams was banned from the NFL indefinitely after news of his involvement in a bounty system with the New Orleans Saints. The ban was lifted a few days ago and Williams joined the Tennessee Titans’ coaching staff as a senior assistant defensive coach.

Giant Changes

While the Yankees were fairly quiet during the offseason, being unusually frugal, the Giants are going about a similar quest with a different philosophy. The Giants have released a few big names, including running back Ahmad Bradshaw and defensive tackle Chris Canty as they look to free up cap space for the offseason.

If you would like to hear my thoughts on any other offseason news from the past week, feel free to contact me via my blog’s Facebook page or my Twitter account, @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.

Divisional Round Afterword: Broncos vs Ravens

Rahim Moore watching painfully as Joe Flacco's pass sails just over his
finger tips and into Jacoby Jones's waiting arms.
Photo credit to Gridiron Rats.

I know the Broncos had one of the easiest second-half schedules this season, but I am at a loss as to how their defense was ranked #3 in the NFL against the pass.

Forgive me if you find fault with me for still being hesitant to give full credit to Joe Flacco. No doubt he played a pretty good game. But when you complete barely over 50% of your passes, and still average nearly 10 yards/attempt and toss 3 TD passes, that’s an indication that your receivers, and the opposing defense, are bailing you out.

And with that, I turn my attention to those fantastic Ravens receivers. Anquan Boldin had six receptions in the game and extended several drives, but was not a scoring factor like he was against Indianapolis. Torrey Smith, the Maryland graduate, had three catches for 98 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including one fantastic hanging catch. I don’t know another way to describe it besides that he hung in the air for what felt like forever while the ball was vacuumed into his hands.

The play of the game, of course, came with just over 30 seconds left, with the Ravens trailing by 7, when Joe Flacco just threw the ball as far as he could. Rahim Moore was caught way out of position and couldn’t get back, even as Jacoby Jones waited for the ball to get to him.

Surprisingly, the Broncos, who had three timeouts, did not try to drive the field for a field goal to win in regulation, and the Ravens ended up winning with a field goal early in a second overtime period.

Certainly, some blame has to fall on Peyton Manning. His first interception was absolutely not his fault. Not only was the pass tipped, but also, after watching the replay from several different angles, I could see that there should have been defensive pass interference called on the play. There wasn’t, Baltimore scored a touchdown, and you have to live with that. Peyton was stripped of the ball later in the game, and in overtime he made a very poor decision, tried to force something, and was picked off again.

But did Baltimore really deserve to win that game? You can say what you want about the Ravens making plays when they mattered, and you would be right. But what the heck was that play calling about? About 15 times in that game I watched Ray Rice gain one yard on a first down run and another yard or two on a second down run.

So why do I think Baltimore deserved to win? Because Denver didn’t deserve to win. How do you force your opponent into that many 3^rd & 7-or-longer situations and still allow them to convert? How does a team force that many difficult situations and still give up 35 points in regulation? I can’t answer that question, but I know that the answer will be the same answer to the first question I posed in this paragraph.

It was a disappointing end to the season for Denver, but Peyton Manning put things in their proper perspective after the game. “When you’re not playing, you miss out on all the highs, but you also miss these disappointments. But I would rather be in the arena to be excited or be disappointed than not have a chance at all. That’s football. That’s why everybody plays it. You have to be able to take the good with the bad.”

As for Baltimore, they advance to the AFC Championship game for a second consecutive year, and will play in New England, just as they did last year. New England won that game, or, rather, Baltimore lost that game. This year, in Ray Lewis’s final go, they hope to turn the tables and advance to Super Bowl XLVII.

The AFC Championship will kick off Sunday at 6:30 p.m. on CBS.

Divisional Round Preview: Broncos vs Ravens

Game 1:

Saturday, January 12, 2013

4:30pm – CBS

Baltimore Ravens @ Denver Broncos

Von Miller (58) and Ed Reed (20) will be key to their teams' defensive
game plans. Miller will have to slow down Ray Rice while Reed will try
to confuse Manning in coverage. Photo credit to ESPN.

Peyton Manning is in uncharted territory in many ways. This is his first postseason playing in anything but white and blue. It is also the first time he played all 60 minutes of all 17 games during the season and still got a first round bye. In addition, he has a solid defense, and a run game, for once.

So it should not come as much surprise that I am picking his Broncos to win at home against the Baltimore Ravens. But let’s get more specific about why they will win this game.

I have yet to see four solid quarters in a single game from Joe Flacco in the second half of this season. He made some strides last week by playing very well in the second half, and his receivers made up for a mediocre first half. That, however, will not be enough against the Broncos.

Denver’s defense ranks in the top 3 in the NFL against both the run and the pass, so don’t expect Anquan Boldin or anyone else to be able to save Joe Flacco if his passes aren’t on point. With Elvis Dumervil and Von Miller coming at him, I don’t expect Flacco to have a fun day in Denver.

Ray Rice is what will keep Baltimore in this one. Denver has a tendency to over-pursue at times, and Rice has the athleticism and awareness to take advantage of that. Still, there is only so much you can do if the run game is the only thing you can establish.

Baltimore’s defense tends to give Peyton Manning fits. He has not touched 300 passing yards in any of his last seven meetings with Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. Despite that, he has not lost in any of those seven games. I think Manning will prove to be the most valuable player in this game, but not based on stats. It will be his ability to read Baltimore’s defensive coverages and effectively use Knowshon Moreno and Ronnie Hillman that will prove his worth to Denver’s offense.

Usually in a matchup between Manning and this defense, I would pick a low final score, but Denver’s defense is much better than anything Indianapolis ever had while he was there. I think they will create some scoring opportunities Manning normally wouldn’t have.

Puff’s Pick:

Baltimore Ravens – 13

Denver Broncos – 27

MVP: Peyton Manning

Wild-Card Afterword: Ravens vs Colts

Anquan Boldin had 5 receptions for 145 yards and this
touchdown in Baltimore's Wild-Card matchup with Indy.
Photo credit to USA Today.

The Colts got out to a terrible start and never recovered. They had multiple opportunities to steal this game from the Ravens, and they never took them.

Joe Flacco didn’t look very good in the first half. He wasn’t protected well, he made poor decisions and often even poorer passes. But his receivers came to play, Anquan Boldin more than anyone else.

A pair of very impressive receptions by Boldin in the first half went a long way to settle down his quarterback. Flacco looked like a completely different player in the second half, putting great touch on balls thrown down the field and trusting his receivers to keep making plays. Boy, did they.

The game had a closer feel than the 24-9 final score would suggest, but Baltimore’s offense played like they were never threatened.

On the other side of the ball, Ray Lewis was a bigger factor than I expected. I knew he would provide a huge emotional boost, but to have 13 tackles in his first game since Week 6? He was everywhere on the field. That wouldn’t have surprised me much, but even before his injury he didn’t appear as involved as he was Sunday.

What impressed me most was the overall play by Baltimore’s defense. Indianapolis ran roughly 23 plays in the first quarter. Baltimore was in the single-digits. Even though Baltimore kept Indy from scoring, that is a lot more time spent on the field than they would like to have spent. Remember that the Colts have come up with explosive plays throughout the season, so to play so tired but keep Indy out of the end zone all game impressed me very much.

An emotional season for the Colts ends in Chuck Pagano’s old home, and the coach shared an emotional moment with a Baltimore defensive player as time expired, which was very touching.

Baltimore will play in Denver next week, a tough task for anyone. It will be a much bigger challenge to take on Peyton Manning and his receiving corps, as well as to face a much more talented defense, but Baltimore’s performance today certainly did not hurt their outlook for that game. It should be a good one, and I will preview it Thursday.