OT: Footballed Out

Denver quarterback Peyton Manning and his family waited around for an hour and a half after the game to congratulate retiring Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. Photo by Baltimore Ravens Media Director Chad Steele.

The Divisional Weekend (just concluded) is the favorite weekend of the year for many fans of American football. Four games, two each day, and the eight best teams of the season—no bums or pretenders left standing. NFL.com called this "one of the most exciting playoff weekends in history."

Got that right. I had no energy left by the time the last game was winding down—a conventional thrashing of the Texans by the Empire Storm Troopers of the League, the Yankees of Football, the Boston-based New England Patriots.

My Green Bay Packers (Wisconsin being true football country) sadly got both outplayed and out-coached (sorry, Dom Capers, but you got owned). San Francisco's new quarterback, some mope named Kooperninck or Kappernuck or something like that, hung right with Aaron Rodgers in passing. But—whoops—he also set an all-time NFL record in rushing for a quarterback—first in a playoff game, then in all games, playoffs plus regular season. Okay then: it's Colin Kaepernick. We know the name now. Wish I still didn't.

(More subtly, the game featured the best and worst O-lines still in contention before the weekend. As an old Redskins fan from the Gibbs-Beathard era, I still think the O-line is the bedrock of a solid team. I can only hope that's how the Pack will spend its picks in the next draft. Why waste the best QB in the League behind a rickety, rattletrap offensive line?)

The two best games of the weekend both featured improbable defensive breakdowns in the closing seconds of regulation, to the heartbreak of fans in the losing cities and the wild delight of fans in the winning ones. Seattle completed another remarkable comeback with only a few seconds left to go, and by rights should have won—but it's a tradition in the NFL to stop playing defense when something big is on the line. They used to call it the "prevent," pronounced pree-vent. The singular feature of the prevent defense is that it doesn't. Anyway, the Seahawks promptly allowed Atlanta to march right up the field and kick a long field goal to steal the game back right after it got stolen from them.

The best game, however—and one of the best games ever—was a running gun-battle by two teams at the absolute top of their respective forms. The lead between Baltimore and Denver seesawed back and forth all day, until Denver wrapped it up—only they didn't. Needing a touchdown to stay alive with just seconds left in regulation, the underrated Joe Flacco pulled off a miraculous long bomb to Jacoby Jones that will go down in gridiron history as "the Flacco Fling." Baltimore finally won on a field goal in double-overtime, sending 2012's most impressive powerhouse down to unlikely defeat and putting an unhappy cap on the sparkling comeback of the great Peyton Manning. Condolences, Colorado. Congratulations, Marylanders.

If you missed the game the first time, NFL Network is re-broadcasting a full 3-hour summary tonight.

Good thing I've got a week to recharge my football-watching batteries. I'm footballed out for now. No post next Sunday, just so you know.

Mike

Original contents copyright 2012 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.
A DVD of interest today:

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Ken Jarecke: "Peyton Manning is a class act. This photo gives me a (painful) reminder of an image I failed to make.

"Manning lost his last college game, against the Cornhuskers in the Orange bowl. After the game, I was following Tom Osborne (another class act) looking for an image that showed it was his final game as a head coach. I'm watching Osborne through the open locker room door, Peyton (once again wearing a suit) walks into Nebraska's locker room to congratulate Osborne and shake his hand. Another photographer whispers to me to not make the photo, cause Osborne wouldn't like it. Foolishly, I kind of listened and the hesitation caused me to miss the moment.

"It's true what they say, it's the pictures you miss (or the games you lose) that you remember the most."'

David Bostedo: "I'd just like to add that I think most people's take on the prevent defense 'preventing you from winning' or it's main feature being that is 'doesn't' are mainly a case of selective memory. No one remembers the hundreds of games where the prevent kept a team from making a big play that would have one the game, because those games turn out boring, without a comeback. Everyone remembers the few that do result in some kind of great comeback. And no one ever sees the additional comebacks that would likely have happened without the prevent defense."

Mike replies: If you say so.

psu: "The Denver game was really more decided by a bone-headed play by the safety. It never should have gotten to a lame duck throw on the run that got picked off. The Pats/Yankees comparison is perhaps apt in terms of national perception (evil empire, all that) but the cost structure of the NFL and MLB are so different that that's really as far as you can go with it. In the modern era the Yankees have won with money, the Patriots with reasonably savvy management and the luck of having drafted Brady."

SHJ: 'Just a crucial point of clarification: Foxboro is closer to Providence RI that it is to Boston, so the geographically correct designation is 'Providence-based New England Patriots.' :-) "

Comments

[GH]

Agreed about the O-line. As a Colts fan, I watched Manning hide the O-line's ineffectiveness for years with his fast release. This year, the Colts led the league with 114 quarterback hits (second place had 93 hits,) and it's remarkable that rookie Andrew Luck played as well as he did, considering.

[Stephen]

Pshh. I don't know what you are talking about. American Football season was over last Monday as soon as Alabama beat Notre Dame. I don't know what this "NFL" nonsense I keep hearing about is.

I'm only slightly kidding...

[Ed Buziak]

Keep "media directors" directing media... never allow a camera near their hands!

[Paddy C]

I'm still trying to compute that Denver loss. Brutal. Nothing worse then watching your team forget how to do what they've been doing so well.

Looking forward to next weekend however. Should be great.

[Stephen Levine]

The unkindest cut of all: likening a Boston-based team to the New York Yankees!

[Francisco Cubas]

That Ravens-Broncos is one of the best games I've seen in my whole life, and is sad that It was decided by the main weakness Manning has had along his great career: throwing on the run.

Kaepernick is good but I think the Packers were awfully unprepared for him. I bet the Falcons will show up with a better game plan (And I couldn't agree more with you about O-lines).

Wisconsin still may have the best quarterback for a while, but that kid Wilson really impressed me. I think he may be the best in years to come.

[Mike Johnston]

"Wisconsin still may have the best quarterback for a while, but that kid Wilson really impressed me. I think he may be the best in years to come."

Yes, he impresses me too. That's assuming RGIII is a flash in the pan because he'll never stay healthy, and that Indy will continue to have a crap offensive line. Maybe Luck does deserve RotY because of the number of times he got hammered.

Kaepernick might be a factor in years to come too. Aaron's still young yet, though.

Mike

[Jeff]

I think football is built around both lines, offensive and defensive. (This includes 'hybrid' defensive lines, which may now include a rushing linebacker). Everything behind them works well when they work well. Remarkable how many teams lose sight of this simple notion. But then I still think baseball is built around pitching and defense, not 'moneyball' stats.

I, too, initially thought Seattle erred by playing prevent defense. But some analysts showed that in fact they used a 5 man zone blitz, which was effective at other times in the game. But Atlanta's running back picked up the extra man on one of the plays and made a terrific game saving block. Watch the replay.

The real mistake at the end of the Seattle game, in my view, was made by Pete Carroll, the Seattle coach, when he tried to 'ice' the kicker by calling a time out (and then strangely acted as if he hadn't). It's a bad strategy that has been shown to rarely work. And here it backfired, as the first kick sailed wide right. As a result the wrong team got 'iced'...by Matty.

I'm a Baltimore native, so I won't say anything to jinx our chances from here. But I've seen, and been to, some unbelievable games going back to the 1958 Baltimore Colts (you know, the real ones :) ). This was another one for the ages.

Manning is such a class guy that many Baltimoreans who 'hate' anyone associated with the Indy Colts like and respect him. It started with Manning's praise of Johnny U. (former Baltimore Colt players think Manning resembles Unitas, in looks, demeanor and his game approach), and that automatically endears him to some folks...except when we play him.

[Ned]

Having my football heart broken last year when the niners lost to the Giants because of a fumble and a muff, I know what the Denver fans are feeling. I would rather have me team loose like the Packers or the Texans than how Denver and Seattle lost.

[Michael Coviello]

The Boston-based New England Patriots? Ahem, That's the Foxborough based Patriots ;-)

[Foxborough = Boston anyplace west of I-91. ;-) --Mike]

[Jeff Wilson]

Once upon a time I wouldn't have had a singular clue what this post was all about and I would have cared even less. But in the last few years, since I subscribed to a TV/broadband package that includes a couple of extra sports channels, primarily for the English Premier League football, I've begun to watch the NFL. And I, and my wife too, am loving it. We went to Wembley in October for the Rams vs Patriots game and we'll be back again this year for the Jaguars vs 49ers stoush.

The Ravens vs Broncos game was a terrific advertisement for the sport, as is the way the vast majority of players conduct themselves on the field, with great respect shown to the game officials; something sorely lacking in the EPL.

As much as I like rooting for the underdog though, I don't fancy the Ravens to overcome the Patriots this weekend. I'll be cheering for the Ravens and I'd like to see Ray Lewis bow out in style, but I'm thinking the Superbowl will be a Pats vs 49ers affair.

Jeff

[JTW]

"No one remembers the hundreds of games where the prevent kept a team from making a big play that would have one the game ..."
Duh, because there weren't any.
Agree that a solid o-line, in combination with a solid d-line, is the foundation for success .... too many teams (Philly this year and last?) seem to have forgotten that.

[John Haines]

"I'm thinking the Superbowl will be a Pats vs 49ers affair."

Hope you're right. If they both play up to their abilities that will be one hell of a Superbowl.