- Does anyone else find it interesting that Tim Tebow throws for 316 yards in his first playoff game and the first game he throws for over 300 yards? Think about it. 316 yards, 3:16. This has to be a coincidence, right? Tebow completed 5 passes of 30 yards or more against a defense that had allowed only 7 passes of 30 yards or more all season.
- Speaking of Tim Tebow, 2011 was the 25th Anniversary of the Giants-Broncos Super Bowl. During the course of the 2011 season, the Giants and Broncos both made it into the playoffs. Denver did on the legs, and sometimes the arm, of Tim Tebow who engineered enough 4th Quarter miracles to make John Elway do a double-take.
- Lost in Tebow-Mania has been the play of Denver's defense. Denver's defense deserves a lot of the credit for Denver's resurgence. Also, the ability of Denver's wide receivers to get open. Have you seen how wide open these guys are when Tebow throws? I don't know if it is defenses breaking down because they don't want to be beaten by Denver's rushing attack or if it is the wide receiver's ability to get open. I think it is a combination but whatever it is it is helping Denver win football games.
- I think Denver's run in the playoffs ends against New England. The Patriots beat the snot out of Denver earlier this season and I think they can do it again. But, then again, I thought Denver didn't stand a chance against Pittsburgh either so take it for what it's worth.
- The New York Giants defense played their best game of the year yesterday. They didn't allow a single point to Atlanta's vaunted offense. Atlanta was held to just 247 total yards. Matt Ryan threw for 199 yards but the Falcons accrued only 183 yards through the air when you take sacks into account. Michael Turner was held to just 41 yards rushing and a 2.7 yard average. Roddy White was targeted 12 times but came away with only 5 catches for 52 yards, thanks to stellar play by Corey Webster. Julio Jones was targeted 8 times and had 7 catches but was never able to break free, averaging just over 9 yards a catch for 64 yards. The Giants defense had only 2 sacks but also had 7 QB hits and never allowed Matt Ryan to get comfortable in the pocket.
- Eli Manning is proving to everyone that he really is elite. First, he sets all-time single season team records for yards passing, shattering Kerry Collins' mark of 4,073 with a 4,933 yard season. He throws for the 4th highest TD total in franchise history with 29, falling 2 TD's short of his career high of 31 set last year. He went from throwing 25 interceptions last year to just 16 this year despite throwing a franchise record 589 times. He also beat his own franchise mark for completions in a single season, completing 359 passes. He has had four straight seasons of a 60% or higher completion percentage. Yes, kids, Eli is elite.
- The last three teams to beat the Falcons in the playoffs have gone on to the Super Bowl. The Eagles in 2004, the Cardinals in 2008, and the Packers last season. Could the Giants make it 4 for 4?
- The officiating in the playoffs so far has been dreadful. In yesterday's Giants-Falcons game both Troy Aikman and Joe Buck made light of missed calls or calls that shouldn't have been made, like the David Diehl holding penalty. In the Denver-Pittsburgh game, the officials dropped the ball by ruling a pass by Ben Roethlisberger incomplete when in fact it was a backwards pass and should have been ruled a fumble. Denver fell on the ball but a whistle blew and the refs told John Fox he couldn't challenge the ruling on the field. The Steelers maintained possession and ended up scoring. If that play is called correctly, there is no overtime, there is no chance the Steelers would have had a chance to win the game. In the Lions-Saints game, the officials might have cost the Lions a defensive touchdown. In that play Drew Brees was sacked and the ball came loose. The ball was recovered by Detroit's Justin Durant who might have scored easily had a referee not blown his whistle. They upheld the fumble but because of the whistle they didn't allow any advancement. That is 2 calls this round that official's whistles have blown and might have influenced the momentum of the game. To make matters worse, the officials in the Lions-Saints game and the Steelers-Broncos game had similar plays with different applications of essentially the same rule. Inadvertent whistles are not reviewable but the Lions were allowed possession while the Broncos were not. Hmmm. Seems like the NFL has some cleaning up to do. I see a rule change coming this offseason.
- The Giants' Aaron Ross left yesterday's game with a concussion. There is no telling whether he will be healthy for the Packers game next weekend. If Ross can't go, the Giants will have to depend on rookie Prince Amukamara to fill in. Prince has had a spotty rookie season, mostly due to missing almost all of camp and nine games this season. He has the talent but this could be an area of concern given the ability of the Packers receivers to exploit secondaries around the league. However, if the Giants can get pressure on Aaron Rodgers, that would mean less time for Green Bay receivers to get open and so Amukamara might not get exposed. Then again, it might not matter.
- Tonight is the NCAA Championship game. LSU vs. Alabama, again. LSU won the previous meeting, a defensive 9-6 OT battle that also featured 3 missed field goals by Alabama. This time, I think Alabama wins. I don't think it will be such a defensive battle, and even if it is I don't think Alabama will need to kick as many field goals, or attempt to as the case may be. I just see Alabama winning this thing.
- If I had a vote in the NFL MVP race I would give it to Aaron Rodgers. Despite Drew Bress' record setting season, Rodgers threw one fewer TD pass than Brees in 155 fewer attempts. He also ran for 3 TD's while Brees only ran for 1, giving Rodgers more TD's than Brees this season. I do have a hard time overlooking Brees' season, however, especially when you take into account that the top two receivers on the Saints were the tight end and a running back. It's also hard to overlook Brees' 71.2 completion percentage. Okay, if I could I would have them share the award.
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