2 replies to this topic

[Dave]

Last week, I thought the only real surprises were that the Falcons and Steelers played so poorly.

I'm relieved that a modern NFL defense was finally able to derail the Tebow Train of Godawful QB Play. Thank you Bill Belichick. Thank you for restoring my belief that the level of play in the pros is higher than in college. Maybe now people can start appreciating Cam Newton and his decimation of rookie QB records.

The 49ers/Saints game was better, of course. I couldn't believe New Orleans was able to hang in after giving up 4 quick turnovers. So many mistakes yet they were only 17-14 down. Really impressed by the 49ers front four. They put pressure on Brees all game. Alex Smith had moments of brilliance in the fourth quarter, but it's hard to gush about either quarterback: the cornerback play on both sides was terrible. Still, all the lead changes in the last two or three minutes made for a great finish.

I'm looking forward to 49ers vs Packers/Giants. I don't think one match-up is better than another. In the AFC, I'd probably prefer to see Patriots vs. Ravens but only because I haven't seen the Texans as much this year and I don't know what Yates is going to give you in a playoff game.

[Dave]

The Giants look a lot like 2007 (Jan 2008) when they started playing well only at the end of the season and made a huge run in the playoffs. Nobody is playing as well as they are.

My guess is that the 49ers/Giants game will be the better of the two next week and will be a better game than the Super Bowl. (The week before the Super Bowl is always the last weekend of football for me. The Super Bowl is more event than game. Tedious, distracting event.) It should be a good championship Sunday. I'd pick Pats and Giants because I still haven't seen Flacco shine in the postseason and because the Giants are on fire.

[Dave]

I didn't get to see last week's Houston/Baltimore game until after the 49ers/Giants, but everybody told me Flacco played terribly. Watching the game and expecting the worst, I didn't think he was that bad. Not great, but not bad. Against the Giants last night, however, he was bad. He looked rattled and hurried. Missed several open receivers. He still played well enough to win the game, and I don't know how Lee Evans dropped that pass in the endzone. The gamewinner.

The 49ers never really established a running game. They set themselves up for a lot of long 2nd downs. The defensive line on both sides played great. The punt, punt, punt sequence at the end of the 4th quarter was a downer. And obviously the game would've been different if Ted Ginn hadn't been injured.

Manning handled the pash rush better than Alex Smith, who fit my expectations of him perfectly: one good game, one bad game, rinse and repeat.

Pats/Giants is my least favorite game of the four possible combinations. It doesn't really work for me as a revenge game or as a good rematch. The Pats near-perfect season was its own unique situation. This doesn't build on it for me. That said, I think the Giants are going into this game in much better shape than the last one. They should be the favorite here. That two weeks off will help Ahmad Bradshaw more than any other player, and even though the Giants aren't a running team, he will be able to do some damage against the Pats defense.