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.

Divisional Round Afterword: Falcons vs Seahawks

Julio Jones intercepted Russell Wilson's Hail Mary attempt as time ran out,
clinching Atlanta's first playoff win since January 2005. Photo credit to AL.com.

Here is the snap, Matt Bryant with the kick, and it is NO GOOD!! But wait, a timeout was taken by Seattle! And Pete Carroll wants to know who called for the timeout.

Video clearly showed Carroll asking for the timeout just before Atlanta’s snap, but what most people don’t know is the actual reason Carroll was upset. Before the game, officials told the coaches that they would not allow practice kicks in a situation like that. Carroll made it clear during his post-game press conference that he was displeased that Bryant was allowed to take that practice kick after the timeout was called. In my opinion, though, it was Carroll’s own fault for waiting until the last moment to ask for the timeout.

Bryant had a second chance to kick the game-winner, and he made it to clinch Atlanta’s first postseason win with Mike Smith and Matt Ryan. It was also Tony Gonzalez’s first postseason win in his career, which is expected to end after this season.

Matt Ryan played a very good game overall, though it was far from perfect. He threw two interceptions, but the first one appeared to be at least partly the fault of Tony Gonzalez. The second looked identical to an interception Robert Griffin III threw down the left sideline during last week’s playoff game against Seattle.

Russell Wilson had many more passing yards than Ryan, but that was mostly because of soft defensive play during the second half by Atlanta, who had a 20-0 lead at halftime. Wilson had to throw a lot because Marshawn Lynch was held to just 46 yards on 16 carries.

Atlanta, meanwhile, had the dominant ground game on Sunday. Michael Turner ran for 98 yards on 14 carries while Jacquizz Rodgers had 64 yards on 10 touches.

Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez and Jason Snelling each had touchdown receptions for Atlanta. Julio Jones was a big part of the passing game, with six receptions, but his only touch in the end zone was a game-ending interception when he came in to defend a Hail Mary attempt by Russell Wilson, who already had a game-winning interception this season. This one, however, was ruled correctly and Seattle’s impressive season came to an end.

Atlanta is the only team advancing to the conference championships this season that was not in this round last year. Atlanta will host San Francisco Sunday at 3:00 p.m. on FOX for the NFC Championship.

Wild-Card Afterword: Redskins vs Seahawks

Marshawn Lynch had 20 carries for 132 yards and a score
against Washington's usually-stingy run defense.
Photo credit to USA Today.

The Redskins got off to a fast start and it seemed like they were well on their way to trouncing the visiting Seahawks. Washington’s first two possessions resulted in 14 points while their defense held Seattle to nothing in the first quarter.

The Seahawks remained calm, however, and their defense went to work on the Redskins while their offense came up with some big plays. They pulled the game to within one point at half time.

The Redskins hung in there and the defense forced a big goal-line turnover and some key third down stops, but Seattle’s generally poor rushing defense played very well and their passing defense was up to par with where it was during the season. It certainly didn’t help the Redskins that RG3’s passing mechanics were poor throughout the last three quarters. He just couldn’t keep the ball down in this contest.

Marshawn Lynch, who averaged 5 yards per carry during the regular season, averaged nearly two more yards per carry at FedEx Field.

Russell Wilson played well, too, and is the only rookie quarterback who will advance to the divisional round. The Seahawks will play in Atlanta at 1:00 p.m. Sunday. Atlanta has not won a postseason game with Matt Ryan at quarterback.

RG3 re-injured his knee in the fourth quarter against Seattle and will spend the off-season getting healthy. Monday’s MRI results were inconclusive (difference of opinion with several doctors) so he is flying down to Florida with Dan Snyder today to get another MRI and go through some fitness tests with Dr. James Andrews.

It is a disappointing exit from the postseason for the Redskins. Still, the fact Washington made it this far after a 3-6 start is remarkable.

It does sting Redskins fans, though, that they have been bounced from the playoffs by the Seahawks for a third consecutive time.

Wild-Card Preview: Redskins vs Seahawks

Game 4:

Sunday, January 6, 2013

4:30pm – FOX

Seattle Seahawks @ Washington Redskins

A lot of focus is being placed on Russell Wilson and RG3,
two of a record three rookie QBs in this year's postseason.
Photo credit to ESPN.

The Redskins and Seahawks definitely have a history over the past decade. The Redskins have won six consecutive matchups against Seattle in the regular season, but it is Seattle who has had Washington’s number in the postseason, knocking them out in each of the Redskins’ last two appearances.

Both of those playoff meetings were in Seattle, and the Seahawks won them pretty handily. But this time it won’t be Matt Hasselbeck taking snaps for Seattle; it will be Russell Wilson. And it won’t be Todd Collins or Mark Brunell for the Redskins; it will be Robert Griffin III.

The Redskins are on a 7-game winning streak, during which they have outscored opponents by an average of ten points per game.

The Seahawks, of course, turned heads by scoring 50 points in Weeks 14 and 15 and nearly doing the same in Week 16. But they have not played well on the road this year, where they are 3-5. Those three wins came against the Panthers in Week 5, the Bears in Week 13 - when Chicago was in the midst of the collapse that ultimately cost Lovie Smith his job - and against the Bills in Canada - where Buffalo never wins.

The Seahawks are a solid team, but I just don’t think they can beat a good team when they're on the road.

The Redskins’ defense came to play against Dallas on Sunday Night and I think they will have a solid game plan for Seattle this week. Washington’s defense is ranked very low in the NFL, but they have been one of the better defenses in the league during their seven-game winning streak.

On offense, RG3 and Alfred Morris have enough tools to overcome a Seattle defense that is phenomenal at home and less-than-impressive on the road.

Once I thought things through, I didn’t have as much trouble making this pick as I originally thought I would.

Puff’s Pick:

Seattle Seahawks – 18

Washington Redskins – 27

MVP: Ryan Kerrigan

Monday Night Football Afterword: Seahawks vs Packers

It certainly would appear so.

Words can’t even describe how frustrated and appalled I am at the events of last night. Well, I suppose they can, but what is the point when everything that can be said has been and has not made a difference? It really is getting to the point of near hopelessness. You know the feeling you get when you are so frustrated that all you can do is scream and cry because you don’t know any other way to vent those emotions? I’m so close to that point I’m not sure how I haven’t yet been pushed over the edge.

This game was one of the greatest defensive games I have seen in as long as I can remember. For what should have been an epic battle, exactly what the late Steve Sabol made even the blandest game appear to be, to be compromised by the incompetency of the officials the NFL is putting on the field is outrageous.

Adam Schefter said it well. We had the Immaculate Reception, which was and still is controversial because of the lack of video evidence; we had the Music City Miracle, which is less controversial because we have video evidence, but it is so close that people don’t have to accept one outcome or another; and now we have this. I don’t know how that pass is not an interception; I don’t know how there were two opposing calls on the field; I don’t know how this doesn’t make it a top priority for the NFL to get the real officials back, but I’m sure the NFL and Roger Goodell will figure out how.

My thoughts on the first half of last night’s game? It seemed to be well officiated. It was certainly very well played by both defenses, as the first score of the game ended the longest scoring drought to begin any game so far this season. Also, I finally saw why Russell Wilson beat out Matt Flynn for the starting job in Seattle with his ability to escape from pressure and deliver a flawless touchdown pass to Golden Tate. I saw a game, a legitimate game, a game the NFL could be proud of showing on national television.

How about the third quarter? Also pretty well officiated. We got to see Mike McCarthy outcoach Pete Carroll as the Packers not only continued to put good defensive schemes up against the Seattle offense, but Green Bay also began marching the ball by mixing more consistent running from Cedric Benson with terrific throws by Aaron Rodgers. Green Bay clawed their way back to a 7-6 deficit at the start of the 4^th quarter.

But that final 15 minutes, oh boy what a tragedy it was. But it wasn’t really the entire final 15 minutes. It was the final three drives in particular. Two Seattle drives and a Packers drive in between. Well, the Packers drive was fine, no officiating issues there.

First, there was the bogus roughing the passer call on Erik Walden that negated an interception that would have put the Packers in field goal territory with a chance to extend their lead to 15 (or even up to 20) to 7. Later on the same drive, on 1^st & 25 Sam Shields was flagged for pass interference. I saw so many tweets I was shocked the Twitter servers didn’t go down; but that was nothing compared to the end of the game, as I would find out.

Now, that Seattle drive would stall after a failed 4^th & 3 attempt. No harm no foul, right? Wrong! I already mentioned that the interception that was wrongly taken away would have almost certainly meant points for Green Bay. But even the pass interference was huge because without it, it would have been 2^nd & 25, very unlikely to be converted, and the Packers would have the ball in good field position. Even if they don’t convert a first down, Seattle has a much longer field to drive down for a chance at a last-second game-winning touchdown.

Fast forward to that final drive, the final play. 4^th & 10, eight seconds left in the game, it is the moment that every NFL fan loves! We’re on the edge of our seat, eyes glued to the television set, every muscle tensed, ready to spring up in excitement or grab the nearest object and fling it against the wall, whichever action the outcome of the play calls for. But what happened left me speechless. I already said what happened early in this post, so I won’t say it again. But I sat there, stunned, staring at the screen, head spinning, jaw dropped, not moving a single muscle, not even to shake my head in disbelief.

And here I am, in the same position of so many sports analysts, which is the same position as the ‘common fan.’ That is, I know what the problem is; I know that the replacement refs are not fully at fault and that the fault truly lies with Roger Goodell and the NFL. But what can I do about it? Absolutely (expletive) nothing!! I can choose not to watch the games, but what will that do? Enough people will watch that the NFL losing me as a viewer won’t matter; all that will do is put me at a disadvantage as I attempt to cover the sport. Yet I know that if this continues, and I keep watching, I won’t have any hair by the end of the season.

I will end with this: congrats to the players and coaches on a fantastic, well-played game. I am so, so sorry that the NFL, by placing these officials on the field, have called the legitimacy of the outcome into question.

I originally considered doing a video blog post, but The All-Sports Crew will have another special Tuesday broadcast tonight at 9pm. Eric, Saswat and I plan to talk about a lot of stuff, but no doubt the officials will be a main topic. If we don’t get to much else between tonight and tomorrow, we will get together and put another recording to podcast later in the week. Just ‘like’ us on Facebook and keep up with our updates. Thanks everyone.