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Divisional round

1. I think somebody screwed with the date on my computer. One weekend preview said,

[McNair] usually elevates his play under pressure, and not many quarterbacks can say that.

and I must have thought it was 2001 when I wrote that.

2. Seriously, though, what were the Ravens thinking? Brian Billick gave Hole Punch Sports an exclusive look at the secret formula behind his third-down game plan for Saturday's contest. It read:

If it is third down and x yards to go, select and successfully execute a play designed to gain (x-2) yards.

Just in case you were wondering.

3. Adam Vinatieri was one the biggest signings of the offseason. Certainly, he's behind Drew Brees on any serious list, but his clutch kicking is one element the Colts have sorely needed over the years, and he delivered Saturday.

4. From the "Completion Percentage is Overrated" Dept.: Steve McNair was 18/29 Saturday. In John Elway's last game, when he was Super Bowl XXXIII MVP, he went 18-for-29. No one on the planet thinks McNair had a good game yesterday, so why do I still hear people mention a 60-percent completion rate as if it were meaningful?

5. I have to give the Colts a little respect, even if I think their postseason success this year is a result of favorable matchups. They faced a Chiefs team starting the wrong quarterback, and a Ravens team that refused to win. But even if they were lucky...they've won more playoff games in the last nine days than the Broncos have since Elway retired.

6. Saints-Eagles. I was glad to see Deuce McAllister have a huge game in the playoffs, because he goes largely ignored playing ahead of Reggie Bush. Bush is a lot of things, but "a good NFL runner" is not yet one of them. (Y'all saw him try to catch that pitch.)

7. Props to Brian Westbrook for finishing his breakout year with an excellent postseason. Are the Eagles smart enough to keep calling his number when McNabb returns?

8. Rex Grossman's touchdown bomb to Bernard Berrian was sweet. No, the degree of difficulty wasn't there, but how often do you see a pass that deep where the receiver has to make no adjustment whatsoever?

9. Grossman's good, then, for this week. But the Bears barely squeaked it out over an overmatched Seattle team-it'll be interesting to see how they fare against the Saints, who played a nail-biter of their own.

10. The Chargers and Marty Schottenheimer did lose, but I don't think they lost because their coach was too conservative. I just think they got beat by a tremendous team. (I know I picked the Patriots to lose, but I said and still think that Chargers-Patriots was the real Super Bowl.) That said, some Chargers could have played a lot better, like Eric Parker and Shawne Merriman.

11. The Patriots really couldn't run the ball today, but that's never been their strength. I do think they do as a good a job as anyone of mixing up runs and passes, though, and giving you one when you expect the other.

12. I used to feel kind of bad for LaDainian Tomlinson, who seemed destined to spend his career on .500-and-under squads. Now he had his chance, and they lost. How will the Chargers respond? Can they get back to this spot next year? I think they might be the most intriguing team going in to next season. They're too young and too talented to write off forever, of course, but things were really lined up for them this year (sort of like Denver last year), and they couldn't capitalize. You never know how that will affect a team-look how the Broncos bounced back in '97 versus how they "bounced back" this year.

13. I was a little bummed I went 0-2 in the AFC this week, but Patriots at Colts? Oh, yes, I'll take that.

Comments

Mike said…
You're right, Reid made a terrible call, and I was thinking the same thing at the time.

I think Tomlinson really was more upset about getting beat and his frustration just boiled over a little bit. I do agree with him, though, that the Patriots are not particularly good sports. I don't really care that much, but I really hate it how some players are excused for that kind of behavior. (In other words, while I of course endorse good sportsmanship, almost no one practices it, so I'm annoyed that different players are held to different standards.) Take Hines Ward, for example. Last year, I think it was, he did someone else's dance in the end zone, and Chris Berman said something about how Ward wasn't drawing attention to himself because we all know what a team guy he is, or some nonsense like that. Obviously he WAS drawing attention to himself-we just saw it happen-so why lie? Ward and the Patriots get away with it; someone like, say, T.O. gets villified for it. (Which is weird, because T.O. does plenty of stuff actually worth criticizing.) I don't think it's that big of a deal in the first place, but if you're going to be outraged, be consistent. (For the record, I find T.O. far more entertaining than Ward, so I'd actually cut Owens more slack.)

I think Tomlinson is a better sport than most everyone, not that it does him any good today.
12:10 PM
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