NFL Playoff Super Summary
by Coach Fabius ‘the fabulous’
This year’s NFL season was dynamite, with a record 5 rookie starting quarterbacks. That has never happened before, and these guys lit it up with the new era of running QBs playing a big part. But this all started with late 80’s and 90’s QB star Randall Cunningham. He began the era of mobile quarterbacks that can pass decently, and after him came Michal Vick.
But back to today’s age. Here are the rookies and their colleges: Russell Wilson - Wisconsin, Robert Griffin lll - Baylor, Ryan Tannehill - Texas A&M, Brandon Weeden - Oklahoma State, and Andrew Luck - Stanford.
Only 3 made it to the playoffs: R.G.3 with the Redskins, Russell Wilson and the Seahawks, and Andrew Luck with the Colts. After the first week of playoffs, when the Packers had beaten the Vikings, the Ravens knocked out the Colts and the Seahawks overcame the Redskins, it left only one the second-round pick rookie QB still in the running.
That was Russell Wilson from Wisconsin. With his leadership and ability he proved the doubters wrong, because most people thought he was too short to play pro. He also played a big part in building the hottest team in the NFC and tried to overcome his next challenge: the 14-2 Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons had struggled with running QBs before with one of their defeats being to last year’s rookie sensation Cam Newton.
Week 2
The Seahawks lost a heartbreaking game by only 2 points against the Falcons. The Seahawks had tasted the win after having come back from a 20-point deficit in the 4th quarter, but they choked and let the Falcons score 3 in the last minutes. But this is still a nice accomplishment for the team with rookie start Wilson at the helm. Especially against an offense with good rhythm like the Falcons, it was surprising for most viewers.
The Packers got destroyed by the 49ers. The lack of speed and physicality on the side of the Pack really showed as the 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick outran the whole defense on a 60 yard touchdown run. This was one of the most embarrassing plays I have ever seen made against the Packers. He ended the game with 181 rushing yards.
In the AFC the Patriots and Texans game was close in the first half, but after that the Patriots running game was just too much for JJ Watt and the Texans. The score ended at 28 to 41.
The Broncos-Ravens game was very emotional game with Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis’ last pregame dance. But the game was neck and neck the whole time. Trindon Holliday of the Broncos had the longest TD punt return in playoff history (90 yards), and in the second half he returned a kickoff for a touchdown. He is the first person to have a kick return and a punt return for TDs in a single playoff game. But in the fourth quarter with only 45 seconds on the clock Joe Flaco threw a 40-yard TD pass to Jacoby Jones to tie the game. The Broncos took a knee to take the game to overtime. The Broncos put up a fight but the Ravens forced a second overtime. In the second overtime Peyton Manning threw an interception in Ravens territory. Ray Rice made a 10-yard run and the Ravens kicked a field goal to win it.
Conference Championship Matches
The AFC championship this year was a smash mouth football kind of game with a Patriots and Ravens rematch from last year’s AFC championship. Smash mouth football is a tough running with little passing. That game was all Ravens with the punishing defense and decent offense and the emotional edge from Ray Lewis retiring after this season; they want to send the first ballot Hall of Famer out with his second Super Bowl. A first ballot hall of famer means you’re sure you will go to the hall of fame the first year of eligibility. This game was surprising. The Patriots got off to a fast start. At the end of the first quarter it was 13 to 3 Patriots. But the Ravens hit back as hard as possible and the Pats slowed up. The hard hits took their toll and the Ravens blew out the Patriots 28-13, scoring 25 unanswered points.
On the NFC side I had picked the 49ers to take the NFC championship. Their defense was just too good for Atlanta. Atlanta could have won if Asante Samuel and the Atlanta defense had showed up. The conference round of the playoffs was crazy in the 49ers game. The 49ers were down by 17 at half. Falcons’ wide out, Julio Jones was phenomenal in the first half; he had 100-yards receiving. But the 49ers battled back and this time Colin Kaepernick did it in the pocket with help with Frank Gore and LaMichael James.
In the 4th quarter the 49ers fumbled on the one yard line, and down by three, it was crucial. The 49ers defense amazingly held them to a three and out. The 49ers scored, followed by a Falcons drive down the field where they were stopped on 4th down. The ball went to the 49ers, and the Falcons got it back with 6 seconds to go. Matt Ryan could not throw it to the end zone, and the score was 28-24; 49ers’ victory.
This year’s Super Bowl will be a hard fought game, but I predict that the Ravens will take it. Tune in next week for Coach Fabius’ take on the big game.
by Coach Fabius ‘the fabulous’
This year’s NFL season was dynamite, with a record 5 rookie starting quarterbacks. That has never happened before, and these guys lit it up with the new era of running QBs playing a big part. But this all started with late 80’s and 90’s QB star Randall Cunningham. He began the era of mobile quarterbacks that can pass decently, and after him came Michal Vick.
But back to today’s age. Here are the rookies and their colleges: Russell Wilson - Wisconsin, Robert Griffin lll - Baylor, Ryan Tannehill - Texas A&M, Brandon Weeden - Oklahoma State, and Andrew Luck - Stanford.
Only 3 made it to the playoffs: R.G.3 with the Redskins, Russell Wilson and the Seahawks, and Andrew Luck with the Colts. After the first week of playoffs, when the Packers had beaten the Vikings, the Ravens knocked out the Colts and the Seahawks overcame the Redskins, it left only one the second-round pick rookie QB still in the running.
That was Russell Wilson from Wisconsin. With his leadership and ability he proved the doubters wrong, because most people thought he was too short to play pro. He also played a big part in building the hottest team in the NFC and tried to overcome his next challenge: the 14-2 Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons had struggled with running QBs before with one of their defeats being to last year’s rookie sensation Cam Newton.
Week 2
The Seahawks lost a heartbreaking game by only 2 points against the Falcons. The Seahawks had tasted the win after having come back from a 20-point deficit in the 4th quarter, but they choked and let the Falcons score 3 in the last minutes. But this is still a nice accomplishment for the team with rookie start Wilson at the helm. Especially against an offense with good rhythm like the Falcons, it was surprising for most viewers.
The Packers got destroyed by the 49ers. The lack of speed and physicality on the side of the Pack really showed as the 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick outran the whole defense on a 60 yard touchdown run. This was one of the most embarrassing plays I have ever seen made against the Packers. He ended the game with 181 rushing yards.
In the AFC the Patriots and Texans game was close in the first half, but after that the Patriots running game was just too much for JJ Watt and the Texans. The score ended at 28 to 41.
The Broncos-Ravens game was very emotional game with Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis’ last pregame dance. But the game was neck and neck the whole time. Trindon Holliday of the Broncos had the longest TD punt return in playoff history (90 yards), and in the second half he returned a kickoff for a touchdown. He is the first person to have a kick return and a punt return for TDs in a single playoff game. But in the fourth quarter with only 45 seconds on the clock Joe Flaco threw a 40-yard TD pass to Jacoby Jones to tie the game. The Broncos took a knee to take the game to overtime. The Broncos put up a fight but the Ravens forced a second overtime. In the second overtime Peyton Manning threw an interception in Ravens territory. Ray Rice made a 10-yard run and the Ravens kicked a field goal to win it.
Conference Championship Matches
The AFC championship this year was a smash mouth football kind of game with a Patriots and Ravens rematch from last year’s AFC championship. Smash mouth football is a tough running with little passing. That game was all Ravens with the punishing defense and decent offense and the emotional edge from Ray Lewis retiring after this season; they want to send the first ballot Hall of Famer out with his second Super Bowl. A first ballot hall of famer means you’re sure you will go to the hall of fame the first year of eligibility. This game was surprising. The Patriots got off to a fast start. At the end of the first quarter it was 13 to 3 Patriots. But the Ravens hit back as hard as possible and the Pats slowed up. The hard hits took their toll and the Ravens blew out the Patriots 28-13, scoring 25 unanswered points.
On the NFC side I had picked the 49ers to take the NFC championship. Their defense was just too good for Atlanta. Atlanta could have won if Asante Samuel and the Atlanta defense had showed up. The conference round of the playoffs was crazy in the 49ers game. The 49ers were down by 17 at half. Falcons’ wide out, Julio Jones was phenomenal in the first half; he had 100-yards receiving. But the 49ers battled back and this time Colin Kaepernick did it in the pocket with help with Frank Gore and LaMichael James.
In the 4th quarter the 49ers fumbled on the one yard line, and down by three, it was crucial. The 49ers defense amazingly held them to a three and out. The 49ers scored, followed by a Falcons drive down the field where they were stopped on 4th down. The ball went to the 49ers, and the Falcons got it back with 6 seconds to go. Matt Ryan could not throw it to the end zone, and the score was 28-24; 49ers’ victory.
This year’s Super Bowl will be a hard fought game, but I predict that the Ravens will take it. Tune in next week for Coach Fabius’ take on the big game.