Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots
"I think Joe was kind of rattled a bit."
"I think a couple times he needed to get rid of the ball. It just didn't look like he had a hold on the offense."
"He can't play like that."
Ed Reed earned his pay last week by getting under the skin of his quarterback Joe Flacco and can arguably add the titles of head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach to his resumé in doing so. At the time it seemed reckless, deserving a Caution: Highly Flammable label for criticizing the most important player on the field before the biggest game of the year. Did the long-time standout safety on defense take one too many hits to the head? What was he thinking?
Not only did Flacco show up to play in Foxboro against the Patriots, he did something that was thought to be unthinkable--outperform Tom Brady in the NFC Championship (a.k.a. "Uggs vs. Suggs"). The mustache-growing, illegally skateboard-riding Flacco was 22-36 for 306 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He counterpart for the Pats was 22-36 for 239 yards with two picks. In a season where Ray Rice put the Ravens' offense on his back game after game, it was Joe Flacco who carried Baltimore to a near victory. Had Lee Evans held onto the game-winning touchdown pass with twenty seconds remaining in the game, Flacco would have been paraded out of the stadium on his teammates shoulders and hailed in the state of Maryland as the hero who took them to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2000. Give Flacco credit, he set his team up to advance to the Super Bowl and his teammates couldn't finish it for him. The players I do feel bad for are Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. The former "The U" defensive stars are both growing old in terms of football years and probably have less than four years combined left in the NFL. They carried the Ravens for years and finally were set to make it back to a Super Bowl and their offense let them down. That would have been one hell of a way for them to go out-win their second championship after shutting down Brady and Manning, and then retire.
Speaking of the defense, the Ravens had two of the most acrobatic interceptions of the season. Ladarius Webb caught one diving backwards, followed by a deep pass to the endzone that was tipped to Jimmy Smith and returned for 39 yards.
Courtesy of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIb1kgqJ_vA
San Francisco 49'ers vs. New York Giants
The other conference had an equally thrilling matchup, that sadly, was won off of mistakes. Who would have ever thought that Ted Ginn Jr. would be such an important player in the NFL. Ginn, one of the most electric special teams players in the league, did not play in the NFC Championship Game due to an injury. His backup, Kyle Williams was sent deep to field punts for the 49'ers on Sunday. Williams didn't turnover the football once, but twice against the Giants. In the fourth quarter, he let a bouncing ball scrape his knee deep in San Francisco's territory and it was recovered by New York. Even though the game was one of the best playoff matchups I've ever watched, I hated to see it be decided by mistakes as opposed to phenomenal plays.
Give Mike Singletary some credit. Even though the former Bears linebacker was fired after a 5-10 season coaching the Niners, he deserves some praise for San Francisco's success this year. Singletary lit a fire under Vernon Davis, going as far as sending him to the locker room after a personal foul penalty after a touchdown. Davis was a young, cocky player and Singletary was trying to tame a wild horse. Harbaugh showed faith in Daivs and has developed into an All-Pro Tight End.
3 receptions, 112 yards, 2 touchdowns. To prove that's not a fluke performance, the game prior he set the record for most receiving yards in a playoff game with 180 on 7 receptions for 2 touchdowns.
Other than Rob Gronkowski, Davis is the best tight end in the NFL. I would argue that if Davis was on the Patriots, where Tom Brady was targeting him ten times a game, he would be a better receiver than Gronk.
We can all settle down on Alex Smith, including myself, because I know as a reactionary NFL fan, I thought the number one pick in 2005 was the greatest thing since Sony TV, which I got the week previously. However, the real Alex Smith showed up on Sunday--an above average quarterback, but one who is nowhere near elite or skilled enough to reach the Super Bowl. Completed less than half of his pass attempts for under two-hundred yards. Smith can work as Harbaugh's QB in a rushing offense in a weak division but as long as he stays in San Francisco, the 49'ers will remain on the verge of the Super Bowl.
Time to sign or trade for Peyton Manning? I think so. Jim Harbaugh, Peyton Manning, Vernon Davis, Frank Gore, the 49'ers defense. Give Peyton one legitimate threat at wide receiver and I think you can pencil in San Francisco in the Super Bowl representing the NFC next season.
Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Syracuse Orange
I turned on the TV Monday night believing that UC would win. I wasn't being optimistic, I wasn't being irrational, but I was being realistic. The Bearcats beat #22 Pittsburgh, #11 Georgetown, and #11 UConn all on the road. Cincy developed a new identity ever since the Crosstown Shootout--a guard-heavy team with center Yancy Gates down low. Syracuse was coming off of their first loss of the season against Notre Dame, which I think gave them the motivation to not double their losing streak at Fifth Third Bank Arena.
The game seemed to be a perfect opportunity for UC. Syracuse was at their weakest point of the season after dropping three spots to #4 in the country (which seems ridiculous to me since they only lost one game, on the road, in the Big East), as well as the Orange were without seven-foot center Fab Melo (possibly one of the greatest sports names ever, especially with the combination of the Fab Five and Carmelo Anthony) due to academic reasons. Melo, whose head is only five feet below the basket and weighs nearly 250 pounds would have been a huge difference maker in the game against Yancy Gates. 'Cuse lacked a big body in the paint to slow down Gates.
I would put my money on the line saying that UC's fans have never been as excited for a game as they were for the Syracuse game. The arena was sold out nad the student section did an amazing job whiting out the stands. I doubt there were any fans sitting in their seats during the first ten minutes of the game. Cincinnati started out looking like they were going to beat the Orange by double digits. Their first trip down the floor resulted in a deep three from Sean Kilpatrick. Cashmere Wright decided to play horse with his teammate on the Bearcat's next possession and swished an even deeper three. Cincinnati started the game on a 13-6 after two more threes from Wright. However, UC lives and dies by the three. They cooled down after their initial lead and finished shooting 32% from behind the arc and 34% overall as Syracuse's zone defense expanded beyond their typical positions.
Cincinnati's guards besides Cashmere Wright cooled down and the lack of height on the court hurt them in the battle of the boards. Their only rebounds that were grabbed by Gates were mostly from tips to open teammates. The Orange picked up their defense and forced turnover after turnover, causing eleven total. The Bearcats had been extremely protective of the ball in the games leading up to Monday and they picked the wrong game to be loose with the ball. Syracuse finally reached their first lead in three halves and went into halftime up 28-25.
UC started the second half with a driving floater from Cashmere Wright. Justin Jackson showed his potential to develop into a heads-up passer with a handful of no-luck and behind-the-back passes but they were too out of control for his teammates to handle. Yancy started wandering outside of the paint occasionally on offense and defense, which was highly questionable since Syracuse clearly lacked a defender to cover him. The crowd was at its peak when Jackson blocked Rakeem Christmas from behind on a lay-up and the arena erupted. As the game approached its end, the Orange were dominating off of the dribble-drive offense and led by eleven with two minutes remaining. UC dropped the deficit to six with twenty-six seconds left and had the opportunity to make the game closer but Yancy Gates failed to grab a rebound after a missed Syracuse free throw. Syracuse ended up winning 60-53 as UC fans walked away downtrodden. Kris Joseph finished with 17 points and 6 rebounds for the Orange and Scoop Jardine has 13 and 6 assists. Cashmere Wright scored 17 (5-9 for three) and Gates had the only double-double with 16 and 10.
While Cincinnati blew a major opportunity to be tied for the lead in the Big East. The Bearcats look to be in good position to make the tournament and have shocked the basketball world with their wins on the road against ranked teams so far this season and no one can fault them for losing to one of the best teams in the country.
Full-Court Shot at the Buzzer
Even though North Carolina is leading their in-state rival NC State 72-49 and there has been no reason to watch the game because of the blowout, Wildcat guard Lorenzo Brown made a shot from behind his own free throw line at the buzzer for halftime. While the shot had absolutely no significane, I've never seen a longer shot made in college basketball.
Courtesy of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TygnoaW2hs
"I think Joe was kind of rattled a bit."
"I think a couple times he needed to get rid of the ball. It just didn't look like he had a hold on the offense."
"He can't play like that."
Ed Reed earned his pay last week by getting under the skin of his quarterback Joe Flacco and can arguably add the titles of head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach to his resumé in doing so. At the time it seemed reckless, deserving a Caution: Highly Flammable label for criticizing the most important player on the field before the biggest game of the year. Did the long-time standout safety on defense take one too many hits to the head? What was he thinking?
Not only did Flacco show up to play in Foxboro against the Patriots, he did something that was thought to be unthinkable--outperform Tom Brady in the NFC Championship (a.k.a. "Uggs vs. Suggs"). The mustache-growing, illegally skateboard-riding Flacco was 22-36 for 306 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He counterpart for the Pats was 22-36 for 239 yards with two picks. In a season where Ray Rice put the Ravens' offense on his back game after game, it was Joe Flacco who carried Baltimore to a near victory. Had Lee Evans held onto the game-winning touchdown pass with twenty seconds remaining in the game, Flacco would have been paraded out of the stadium on his teammates shoulders and hailed in the state of Maryland as the hero who took them to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2000. Give Flacco credit, he set his team up to advance to the Super Bowl and his teammates couldn't finish it for him. The players I do feel bad for are Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. The former "The U" defensive stars are both growing old in terms of football years and probably have less than four years combined left in the NFL. They carried the Ravens for years and finally were set to make it back to a Super Bowl and their offense let them down. That would have been one hell of a way for them to go out-win their second championship after shutting down Brady and Manning, and then retire.
Speaking of the defense, the Ravens had two of the most acrobatic interceptions of the season. Ladarius Webb caught one diving backwards, followed by a deep pass to the endzone that was tipped to Jimmy Smith and returned for 39 yards.
San Francisco 49'ers vs. New York Giants
The other conference had an equally thrilling matchup, that sadly, was won off of mistakes. Who would have ever thought that Ted Ginn Jr. would be such an important player in the NFL. Ginn, one of the most electric special teams players in the league, did not play in the NFC Championship Game due to an injury. His backup, Kyle Williams was sent deep to field punts for the 49'ers on Sunday. Williams didn't turnover the football once, but twice against the Giants. In the fourth quarter, he let a bouncing ball scrape his knee deep in San Francisco's territory and it was recovered by New York. Even though the game was one of the best playoff matchups I've ever watched, I hated to see it be decided by mistakes as opposed to phenomenal plays.
Give Mike Singletary some credit. Even though the former Bears linebacker was fired after a 5-10 season coaching the Niners, he deserves some praise for San Francisco's success this year. Singletary lit a fire under Vernon Davis, going as far as sending him to the locker room after a personal foul penalty after a touchdown. Davis was a young, cocky player and Singletary was trying to tame a wild horse. Harbaugh showed faith in Daivs and has developed into an All-Pro Tight End.
3 receptions, 112 yards, 2 touchdowns. To prove that's not a fluke performance, the game prior he set the record for most receiving yards in a playoff game with 180 on 7 receptions for 2 touchdowns.
Other than Rob Gronkowski, Davis is the best tight end in the NFL. I would argue that if Davis was on the Patriots, where Tom Brady was targeting him ten times a game, he would be a better receiver than Gronk.
We can all settle down on Alex Smith, including myself, because I know as a reactionary NFL fan, I thought the number one pick in 2005 was the greatest thing since Sony TV, which I got the week previously. However, the real Alex Smith showed up on Sunday--an above average quarterback, but one who is nowhere near elite or skilled enough to reach the Super Bowl. Completed less than half of his pass attempts for under two-hundred yards. Smith can work as Harbaugh's QB in a rushing offense in a weak division but as long as he stays in San Francisco, the 49'ers will remain on the verge of the Super Bowl.
Time to sign or trade for Peyton Manning? I think so. Jim Harbaugh, Peyton Manning, Vernon Davis, Frank Gore, the 49'ers defense. Give Peyton one legitimate threat at wide receiver and I think you can pencil in San Francisco in the Super Bowl representing the NFC next season.
Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Syracuse Orange
I turned on the TV Monday night believing that UC would win. I wasn't being optimistic, I wasn't being irrational, but I was being realistic. The Bearcats beat #22 Pittsburgh, #11 Georgetown, and #11 UConn all on the road. Cincy developed a new identity ever since the Crosstown Shootout--a guard-heavy team with center Yancy Gates down low. Syracuse was coming off of their first loss of the season against Notre Dame, which I think gave them the motivation to not double their losing streak at Fifth Third Bank Arena.
The game seemed to be a perfect opportunity for UC. Syracuse was at their weakest point of the season after dropping three spots to #4 in the country (which seems ridiculous to me since they only lost one game, on the road, in the Big East), as well as the Orange were without seven-foot center Fab Melo (possibly one of the greatest sports names ever, especially with the combination of the Fab Five and Carmelo Anthony) due to academic reasons. Melo, whose head is only five feet below the basket and weighs nearly 250 pounds would have been a huge difference maker in the game against Yancy Gates. 'Cuse lacked a big body in the paint to slow down Gates.
I would put my money on the line saying that UC's fans have never been as excited for a game as they were for the Syracuse game. The arena was sold out nad the student section did an amazing job whiting out the stands. I doubt there were any fans sitting in their seats during the first ten minutes of the game. Cincinnati started out looking like they were going to beat the Orange by double digits. Their first trip down the floor resulted in a deep three from Sean Kilpatrick. Cashmere Wright decided to play horse with his teammate on the Bearcat's next possession and swished an even deeper three. Cincinnati started the game on a 13-6 after two more threes from Wright. However, UC lives and dies by the three. They cooled down after their initial lead and finished shooting 32% from behind the arc and 34% overall as Syracuse's zone defense expanded beyond their typical positions.
Cincinnati's guards besides Cashmere Wright cooled down and the lack of height on the court hurt them in the battle of the boards. Their only rebounds that were grabbed by Gates were mostly from tips to open teammates. The Orange picked up their defense and forced turnover after turnover, causing eleven total. The Bearcats had been extremely protective of the ball in the games leading up to Monday and they picked the wrong game to be loose with the ball. Syracuse finally reached their first lead in three halves and went into halftime up 28-25.
UC started the second half with a driving floater from Cashmere Wright. Justin Jackson showed his potential to develop into a heads-up passer with a handful of no-luck and behind-the-back passes but they were too out of control for his teammates to handle. Yancy started wandering outside of the paint occasionally on offense and defense, which was highly questionable since Syracuse clearly lacked a defender to cover him. The crowd was at its peak when Jackson blocked Rakeem Christmas from behind on a lay-up and the arena erupted. As the game approached its end, the Orange were dominating off of the dribble-drive offense and led by eleven with two minutes remaining. UC dropped the deficit to six with twenty-six seconds left and had the opportunity to make the game closer but Yancy Gates failed to grab a rebound after a missed Syracuse free throw. Syracuse ended up winning 60-53 as UC fans walked away downtrodden. Kris Joseph finished with 17 points and 6 rebounds for the Orange and Scoop Jardine has 13 and 6 assists. Cashmere Wright scored 17 (5-9 for three) and Gates had the only double-double with 16 and 10.
While Cincinnati blew a major opportunity to be tied for the lead in the Big East. The Bearcats look to be in good position to make the tournament and have shocked the basketball world with their wins on the road against ranked teams so far this season and no one can fault them for losing to one of the best teams in the country.
Full-Court Shot at the Buzzer
Even though North Carolina is leading their in-state rival NC State 72-49 and there has been no reason to watch the game because of the blowout, Wildcat guard Lorenzo Brown made a shot from behind his own free throw line at the buzzer for halftime. While the shot had absolutely no significane, I've never seen a longer shot made in college basketball.
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