Another weekend of NFL Playoff action is in the books, which means it’s time to drink some water and pop a couple Advil because I know that all of you have a hangover.
That Other Picked Up Flag
The Carolina Panthers weren’t going to beat the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday, but it would’ve been nice if they were given a fair chance. The same officiating crew that picked up the not-quite-but-maybe-it-was-pass-interference flag in the Detroit Lions vs. Dallas Cowboys game worked the Panthers/Seahawks game. This time they threw a flag indicating a personal foul against the Seahawks for hitting Cam Newton in the head as he was sliding. Then they decided to pick it up. At least they didn’t announce it this time.
The non-flag came with the Panthers down a touchdown in the fourth quarter and would’ve given them a first down. It would’ve at least given them a chance to continue their drive and march down the field. Instead the refs stabbed the drive and Mike Tolbert killed it one play later with a dropped pass.
I just want to know why this crew was allowed to work another game after the Debacle in Dallas a week before? Whether or not the penalty against the Seahawks should’ve been called is irrelevant. It was called. Then it was not called because these referees are morons. Last week I blamed Roger Goodell for setting a bad example. This week I’m once again blaming Goodell for letting this crew officiate another game.
Again, I don’t think the Panthers would’ve won the game, even if they turned that drive into a touchdown, but the officials certainly didn’t help their cause.
Cold Weather Manning
I talked about how bad Peyton Manning plays in the cold weather in a recent Power Rankings column and he appeared this past weekend. Manning looked good on the opening drive of the game, but as the night got colder, Manning got worse. He struggled to connect on any downfield throw and was limited to throwing nothing but short passes across the middle or screen passes. As the Broncos fell behind, Manning was forced to throw the ball more, and it was obvious to anyone watching that he was afraid to throw it more than 10 yards.
The knock on Peyton was that he always struggled in the cold weather, even during his prime. You put an aging Manning with a noodle arm thanks to neck surgery in cold weather and you saw the end result.
I don’t know if this is the end for Peyton Manning, but if it is, he’s had one hell of a career. He’s the greatest regular season quarterback of all-time, but his playoff track record is always going to be a sticking point when it comes to his greatest of all-time ranking, especially since he’ll always be compared to Tom Brady.
Unless Manning can find a way to end up in St. Louis or Houston, I think we’ve seen the last of him, at least as a playoff threat.
Is It A Catch?
The NFL rules are dumb. Dez Bryant made a spectacular fourth down catch to put the Cowboys, down 26-21, on the one yard line. Then the call was overturned because even though he caught the ball and rolled, the ball kinda hit the ground and bounced a bit, but never really left the hands and arms of Dez. According to the rules, Dez didn’t complete the act of a catch because no one knows what the hell a catch is anymore.
Here’s what I hate and don’t really understand: A runner can immediately fumble the ball in the endzone as long as the ball breaks the goal plane and it’s still ruled a touchdown. But a receiver has to catch the ball, maintain control as he hits the ground, and get up with the ball still in his possession.
We all know that the rules aren’t consistent between the offense and defense, but I think that we’re ignoring the fact that the rules aren’t consistent anywhere in football. I can’t put full blame on the officials because I guess they called it by the rulebook, but the rulebook is dumb and needs to be heavily looked at in the off-season.
Brady’s Last Stand
Tom Brady found himself down by 14 points twice on Saturday. And twice he led a comeback before eventually winning the game. Bill Belichick pulled out all the stops on Saturday, including a trick play that confused John Harbaugh so bad that he didn’t think it was legal.
This is Tom Brady’s last chance at one more Super Bowl and I think everyone knows it. He’s not getting any younger and his re-worked contract allows the Patriots to cut him without taking much of a financial hit. And we all know that the Patriots have no problems with cutting veterans. The Patriots re-tooled their defense to stop potent passing attacks and have a healthy Rob Gronkowski for the first time in forever. They’re also getting something out of Danny Amendola, which certainly won’t continue.
Brady got by a tough Baltimore Ravens team that has haunted him the past couple of seasons and now he gets to face the best young quarterback in the league and the Indianapolis Colts, who should still be considered an arch rival even without Peyton Manning. If he wins, he’ll either face the league MVP and the guy many people consider to be the best QB in the game right now or the best defense in the league and the last year’s Super Bowl champs.
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