Now that the Divisional Round has had some time to breathe, Robert Wheel takes a look at the key takeaways from each game this weekend. The 49ers-Packers game was a link to the game's future, the Broncos-Ravens one was a link to the past, Atlanta finally arrived for the NFL and the Patriots dynasty faces the same hurdles that it always does.
Ravens 38, Broncos 35
TAKEAWAY: I'm grateful for Ray Lewis, Champ Bailey and Peyton Manning.
Former MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, who'd be the worst graduate of my law school if we hadn't produced a racist Supreme Court justice, once said he wanted baseball to change as little as possible -- for the on-field product to be the same in 1984 as it was in 1934. Kuhn's leadership is one of many reasons why baseball is no longer the national pastime, but one advantage that it still has over the NFL is that continuity. The NFL's dynamism means stars are frequently cast aside and it's tough for the casual fan to keep track of everything. Even the man upstairs has trouble keeping track sometimes.
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Which is why I'm grateful that Lewis, Bailey and Manning are still playing. Continuity prevents you from wandering in and wondering what the hell happened. Ray Lewis was once on the same team as Earnest Byner. Champ Bailey played with Bruce Smith. Without these links to the past, everything else just seems like churn.
Keep in mind that Lewis, Bailey and Manning have all been playoff heroes before. Lewis was the whirling dervish in the middle of the unstoppable 2001 Ravens defense, the one that let Trent Dilfer Gerald Ford his way into an "I'm Going to Disneyworld!" ad. Bailey returned a Tom Brady interception 101 yards to prevent the Patriots from three-peating (a prospect we all dreaded) back in 2005. And Manning, of course, finally played the hero when he came back from 18 points down to prevent the Patriots from winning the next year.
None of them were in '00s vintage on Saturday. Champ Bailey was burned by Torrey Smith, which is a default cornerback setting these days but Champ's supposed to be a Pro Bowler. Ray Lewis missed a tackle on what would've been the game winning touchdown if Rahim Moore hadn't lost a pass in the sun. And Manning threw a backbreaker of an interception in a big game, which never mind that's pretty typical for him.
But leave it up to the old timers to give us a bit of showmanship. When you play a game that's as breathless as The Comeback and The Fumble it's nice to know that some of the participants once played with the principals of those epics. It gives you hope that, 20 years from now, we'll still be watching these fantastic games.
Niners 45, Packers 31
TAKEAWAY: The read option is now part of the league so you better deal.
Colin Kaepernick isn't a fad. If he were a fad, then Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson wouldn't be winning by using the same concepts. This isn't Ronnie Brown beating the Patriots on a fluke because they'd never practiced against the Wildcat. Or Michael Vick juking Vikings defenders out of their shoes even though he's being coached by Dan Reeves. Those were one-offs; they weren't repeatable.
But the read option is here to stay. Poor Green Bay trotted out Erik Walden as a QB spy, but they simply had no answer for the read option. The read option looks unstoppable now, but give it time. People said the same thing about the West Coast Offense back in the day. But 100 defensive assistants watching 100 hours of tape each week will come up with an answer. my guess is the QB spy in a read option has to be a safety who can't cover and not a linebacker who can't pass rush. Will Hill totally has a future in this league.
Every offense is a West Coast Offense now. Every playbook has short passes that require timing and accuracy. If you're a quarterback who can't hit those passes then you need to go to the CFL or the Jets. I feel bad for the 6'5 statues who spent their lives thinking they could make a living staying in the pocket, but that's America. Dynamism cuts both ways, Brock Osweiler. Your support group of print journalists and coal miners meets at the bar every day at noon.
Falcons 30, Seahawks 28
TAKEAWAY: Let's welcome the Dirty Dirty to the NFL.
When I was in high school I looked at going to Emory because if you're from the North and have good SATs then you're legally obligated to look at Emory. I visited Georgia in the fall and I was shocked to find that more than half of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution sports section was devoted to high school football. That's when I knew I wasn't in Connecticut any more -- this was a place where football was played on Fridays and Saturdays, not Sundays.
But you can't blame Atlantans for indifferent fandom during some pretty lean years. Growing up I had Bill Parcells, not Jerry Fucking Glanville. The only time the Falcons ever made the Super Bowl everyone hated them for it because we wanted to see the Vikings play the Broncos instead. I don't oblige anyone who chooses not to care about a bad football team. If you've got real problems then there's no point in adding a 5-11 season to them.
But now Atlanta finally gets to experience Sunday football with the rest of it. My favorite anecdote was that MARTA conductors were yelling "Rise Up!" after every announcement. Public displays of team affection are the hallmark of a good sports town. It's like when the homeless guy yelled "Who Dat" at me in New Orleans in 2009 or the bartender at Red's Java House talking about the San Francisco Giants in 2010. Atlanta is ready for its close-up.
Patriots 41, Texans 28
TAKEAWAY: Nick Saban doesn't have to put up with this shit.
I did a pretty good job recounting the Patriots' playoff failures earlier. Champ Bailey, Peyton Manning and a couple of Giants wide receivers stand between them and four titles since 2004 instead of zero.
Bill Belichick doesn't have to put himself through this. If he took the University of Texas job he wouldn't even have to win a conference championship game; he could just get through the season with zero to one losses and beat the SEC champ in the title game.
There's one reason why it's easier to build a college dynasty than a professional one. Smaller sample size. Fewer chances for the real champs to screw up. Saban only needs to win two playoff games and one of them is against Mark Richt. Bill Belichick has to win three and two of them come against Harbaugh brothers. There's more time for a fluke ending.
It's easier to build a college dynasty. Not because of recruiting or the relative lack of regulation (seriously, all they have to do is outfox Mark Emmert). No, it's easier to build a college dynasty because you only have one or two playoff games instead of three or four. That's more chance for your process to go astray.
So congrats to Bill Belichick for this win. Sorry you still have two more to go.
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