I don't know if there has been a better pair of games to decide the NFC and AFC Championships than yesterday in New England and San Francisco. It was high drama from the opening kick in both games. Nobody could get away from the other, and every snap held the possibility of triumph or disaster.
Sadly, in both games, it was disaster that decided it for one team. A missed field goal by the Ravens punched New England's ticket to Indy, and a fumble on a punt return gave the Giants the field position they needed to win in overtime, and head off to the Super Bowl. Those plays get all the attention, but, lets remember a lot of plays in both games led to those critical moments. That's why football is such a great game. You can look back on 6 or 7 plays during the course of a game, and say the game turned on that play. The beauty is that you never know when those plays are going to happen, so you must play each and every snap like it's THAT play. There was a lot of that yesterday and it upped the intensity and watchability factor tenfold.
Now, lets talk about things that just get to me about these teams and the games. First up, how does New England get away with it? Not that they win. That's easy to see why, they've got a guy named Tom Brady, and they are telented, but, are they the only team in the league that can somehow play Julian Edelman on defense and put him on Anquan Boldin during the final drive? Edelman is a sometime running back, wide receiver, return man, and 3rd string defensive back. WHAT? And yet, there he is in the closing minute covering a very solid, some would say, premiere wide receiver. If I were announcing that, I would have been all over that match up, like, What are they doing? And yet in the end, they got away with it. Amazing stuff. Only New England. Somehow they find these guys and they deliver. Tell me another team in the league that does that. Late in the year because of injuries, the Lions had Rashied Davis play some DB, but In the AFC title game, the Patriots patch together something that works. Amazing.
I was disappointed in Jim Harbaugh blowing off Fox TV for a post game interview. I like Jim, but, he's wearing thin on a lot of people. I like his competitive spirit, and unyielding intensity, but, he also has a responisibility to his organization, the fans, and his profession to represent the San Francisco 49ers in a positive way. By blowing off the national TV audience, he only hurt himself. Jim's brother John, who lost a game the same day, and in maybe an even more heartbreaking way, handled himself with class and grace. John granted CBS the difficult post game interview and handled it perfectly. Jim could learn from his older brother.
Eli Manning has become kind of a play-off wonder. I've never been an Eli fan. But, it is hard to argue with his results. Somehow, he gets it done for the Giants. You look at him during a game, and he doesn't look like an elite guy, and yet, when it's over his numbers are exceptional, and his team wins. He has a ring too. In the end, these kinds of things get judged on playoff wins and Super Bowls. Eli, whether you like him or not, is building his case where it counts.
Defense wins championships and offense sells tickets. I'm not so sure that's the case anymore. The Patriots defense has been a statistical nightmare all year, but, here they are a win away from another Lombardi Trophy. The Patriot defense is playing its best now when it counts, in the play-offs. The regular season is one thing, in this Super Bowl tournament, it's another. It's clear that stats count, but, not when it's winning time. The Patriots are proving it. The Giants are proving it too. Good teams that get hot at playoff time, and mistake free teams, win titles. Never has it become more clear that the difference is what you do in the 60 minutes between opening gun and closing whistle. It doesn't matter what you did in week 6. It matters what you do in the next 60 minutes.
I'll opine on the Super Bowl next week, during game week...so visit the site and check it out.
