| Authored by Andrew Perna - 12th January, 2009 - 2:38 pm
 The divisional round of the 2008 NFL playoffs was certainly a strange one.
Three road teams were victorious, and a fourth took an early lead on one of their trademark home-run plays, a Super Bowl MVP reverted to the same struggles that plagued the early part of his career, two players showed surprising sportsmanship in a very important game, and RealGM's own prognosticators nearly laid a pigskin-shaped egg.
Oh, and there was that whole 'delay of game' penalty that wasn't called against Joe Flacco in Baltimore's 13-10 win over Tennessee on Saturday afternoon.
--Road Teams Go Wild
The Chargers had the chance to complete the first four-game sweep by road teams in the divisional round, but struggled after taking an early lead against the Steelers in snowy Pittsburgh. I picked all four home teams to win, even though I felt as though the Ravens and Eagles had a decent shot at upending the favored Titans and Giants, but the Cardinals have set the world on fire with their absolute dismantling of the Panthers.
Some will contend otherwise, but the NFL has exactly what Bud Selig and Major League Baseball claim they possess – a fair amount of parity. It's strange to say such a thing with New England coming off their reign of dominance and Philadelphia having appeared in five of the last eight NFC title games, but on a year-to-year basis there is always a new "hot" team.
Last year it was the Giants, this year it's the Cardinals.
--Eli Manning Reverts
Eli Manning had been playing great football for more than a full year, and his Super Bowl MVP award from February of 2008 appeared to have removed all the undue pressure pundits and New York fans placed on his genetically-gifted shoulders. However, all his success came crashing down after one stinker against the rival Eagles that sent the defending-champions home earlier than expected.
He had what was far-and-away his best professional season, despite the Plaxico Burress saga and the loss of the team's two best defenders (through retirement and injury). Like his brother Peyton, he's turned into an iron man and he put up very good, Pro Bowl numbers with 3,238 yards, 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on 60.3 passing this season.
So what happened against the Eagles? The absence of Burress snowballed and dealt a final blow to a team that struggled in final third of the season. Without Burress, teams are able to load the box to stop the run and play single coverage on a receiving corps that probably gets more credit than they deserve. Thankfully for Giants' fans, general manager Jerry Reese realizes that New York isn't the same team without Burress. It remains to be seen if he'll actually take the field for the team again, but they'd certainly have a better chance to win games.
--A Warm Moment At Chilly Heinz Field
I'd like to think that I'm an observant person, and something from Sunday night's Chargers-Steelers game really caught my eye. Pittsburgh receiver Santonio Holmes returned a punt 67 yards midway through the first quarter to tie the game 7-7, just five minutes after San Diego drew first blood on 41-yard bomb from Philip Rivers to Vincent Jackson.
There is no play more deflating than a punt (or kick) return for a touchdown in football. A long offensive play, whether it be via the run or pass, isn't welcomed by the opposing defense, but at least the possibility of a score is expected. Special teams play is over overlooked, but it's imperative to the success of teams, especially those who make the postseason.
Holmes charged up the field those 67 yards and placed the momentum in the favor of the Steelers for the first time, and it would, in essence, remain on the home team's sideline for the remainder of their 35-24 victory. But what really caught my eye took place a few seconds after Holmes entered the end zone.
After Holmes celebrated his touchdown in customary fashion, he walked through the end zone and towards the Steelers' sideline. On his way, Chargers linebacker (and special teamer) Matt Wilhelm extended his hand to offer congrats to Holmes, who without flinching smacked hands with Wilhelm and continued trotting to his bench.
It was a very small part of the game, and had absolutely zero bearing on the outcome, but to me it represented something significant. Old school guys, whether they be players or fans, would chastise such a gesture by Wilhelm, but I applaud it. What makes it even stranger? The game was played just minutes after the Eagles-Giants tilt -- which was full of pushing, shoving and trash-talking -- ended.
--The Now-Infamous 'No Call' Against Flacco
You know the story by now, but referees blatantly missed a delay of game call on Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco in Saturday night's AFC Divisional game. With just 2:51 minutes left and the ball on the Ravens' 32-yard line, the ball was snapped long after the clock hit zero on a third-and-2 play.
On that play, Flacco connected with tight end Todd Heap on a 23-yard pass that moved Baltimore closer to range for their game-winning field goal. Tennessee's Jeff Fisher called the mishap "unacceptable", but also said that the call didn't play a direct role in the team's loss. Fisher is a better man than I, because how did that no-call not play a considerable role in the loss?
"There's always a delay, the back judge looks at the clock and when it hits zero he looks at the ball and if the ball is in the process of being snapped there is no penalty, so the back judge has to make a determination," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said on Sunday.
You can bet that this incident will be brought up by the Competition Committee when the league hosts its annual meetings in March. And we'll probably hear about the incident for quite some time (my apologies to both Baltimore and Tennessee fans for that). The Ravens deserved to win that game without controversy, and the Titans deserved the best officiating possible.
--Risdon And I Stumble, Save Face
I'd like to think that I know more about football than the average person, and my RealGM colleague Jeff Risdon is an overflowing fountain of pigskin knowledge. With that said, we both went 2-2 in the Wild Card round with our predictions (although different ways), and after agreeing on all four games this past weekend we both stand at 3-5.
Some guy in Wisconsin, still wearing a worn-out Brett Favre jersey, is blogging about his perfect 8-0 record and longing for the day that he'll get recognition for his expertise. Well, Jeff and I aren't going anywhere ... so the wait will continue.
Thankfully, the Steelers downed the Chargers to save us from a dreadful 0-4 mark. The Conference games should be interesting -- let's hope Jeff and I don't lay a huge Panther-sized egg.
Andrew Perna is Deputy Editor of RealGM.com and co-host of RealGM’s Radio Show. Please feel free to contact him with comments or questions via e-mail: Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com |
