AFC Game: The Pats and Broncos game seemed somewhat dry and boring to me. After Talib's injury, Denver's perimeter simply outmatched New England's secondary in every sense. Denver's two six plus minute drives really symbolized this game to me - during these drives (and much of the game), the Pats defense couldn't freaking get off the field on third down because they seemed to have difficulty pressuring Manning on a consistent basis (even when they knew a pass was coming)/couldn't cover one on one. This is not a good recipe for success, especially playing on the road against Peyton Manning.
With all this being said, the game may have turned out differently had Brady completed those two long throws that were for all intents and purposes open and for the taking (especially the one to Edelman in the first half). I think that the Broncos clock hogging offense had a negative impact on the Pats offensive rhythm. Tough to get *NSYNC on offense when you're on the bench most of the game.
On a side note, I'm happy to see Champ Bailey reach a Super Bowl after all these years.
NFC Game: As I expected, there was nothing non-awesome about this game.
To start, I've never watched an NFL playoff game where the fans were so consistently loud the entire game. Even when Seattle had a bad play, those fans supported them. Respect.
In general, I really enjoy watching physical play and human confrontation. This was the Seattle-San Fran game in a nutshell. Despite the league"s supposed efforts to "establish control" on the game via the zebras, this game was gonna be what it was gonna be regardless.
In a day and age where defenses have their hands tied behind their backs and get penalized for looking at an offensive player wrong/hurting their feelings, the play of those two defenses all year long astounds me. Best two defenses I have seen in a game since the old Steeler-Ravan matchups.
I feel like this game hinged on Colin Kaepernick in many ways. His speed caught even Seattle's premier defense off-guard several times where guys thought they had angles on him one second and were biting dust the next - Kaepernick's fifty plus yard run demonstrated this well. This being said, Kaepernick will generally make several throws each game that he shouldn't have. Part of this is his style (his highly contested touchdown to Bouldin) and part of this is due to poor decision making/where he currently is in his development as a player. In the two previous playoff games, defenses were unable to capitalize on Kaepernick's mistakes. However, Seattle's defense did (unsurprisingly).
In other notes, I was very sad to see Bowman's injury. He's one of the better players I've watched in my lifetime. I wish him a speedy and complete recovery. Also, people seem to be making a big deal about Sherman's post-game interview. Michael Jordan once said that "You're not bragging if you back it up." While Sherman may have offended some people, professional football isn't one giant freaking tea party with Kumbaya playing in the background.
"So that's all I have to say about that." (Forrest Gump in case you didn't know).
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