The Divisional round began with a lot of pairs. A pair of teams from the AFCE, AFCN and NFCN were left on the playoff slate. Since the pairs from the AFCE and AFCN were matched against each other, only one from each division could move on to the AFC Championship. But the pair from the NFCN did advance to face each other in the NFC Championship. Coming into this weekend, a pair of six seeds advanced (where a pair of ones and twos waited, by necessity). By the end of the weekend, a pair of NFCN teams were left, and both conferences held a pair of six and two seeds. There was and is an odd symmetry.
It was a bad weekend for birds: the Ravens, Seahawks and Falcons all came up short.
It was equally bad for number one seeds, as New England and Atlanta can be found in the Bad and Ugly, respectively. Neither looked worthy of the number one seed.
The pair of twos, Pittsburgh and Chicago, did enough to win and looked good at times, not so hot at others. The Steelers tried to give the game away in the first half, but a tenacious defense ratcheted up the performance even higher in the second half, giving up less than 35 yards of offense and collecting three turnovers to dispatch the Ravens. The Bears spent three quarters building a large enough lead that Seattle’s valiant comeback bid fell short.
Seattle, who as we noted was left for dead, sprung back to life and fell short in their comeback bid. But, while they dug a hole into Ugly territory for three quarters, their effort to climb out was strong enough to not earn a spot in the Bad or Ugly.
The Ravens were offensively inept all day. But their defense was Good for most of the game, scoring a TD themselves and almost single-handedly building a 14 point halftime lead. They just could not survive being stranded on the field or the turnovers the Steelers defense collected in the second half, and finally imploded, yielding a 58-yard bomb on a 3rd and 19 to set up the winning score. In the end, while the Ravens were closer to Bad than Good, they were neither.
That leaves us with the pair of number sixes. You can read about their exploits below.
Thanks to Ben and BG for their work. Without their efforts this week the keg of GBU would have been dry.
Good
Green Bay – Tim Mathsay did not punt once on the day. Other than seeing the final score, that may be the surest statistical marker that a team won a game, because it is usually indicative of how many things went right for them. Turnovers, the one potential blind spot in that assessment (not punting once suddenly looks a whole lot less impressive if you threw 5 INTS) were not a factor as, one lost fumble on their first drive aside, Green Bay executed a clean, relatively penalty free game and held onto the ball. Never punting usually means you won the time of possession battle with numerous sustained drives, and that was the case here with the Packers wearing the Falcons D down, by way of a nearly 2:1 advantage in holding the ball. Last but certainly not least, no punts usually translates directly into more scoring drives, and a prolific output on offense. The Packers’ 5 straight TD drives, spanning the middle of the 1st quarter to the middle of the 3rd put the game out of reach before the Falcons ever had a chance to get going. The Packers got hot at the right time and now take their road show to Chicago, where they hope to become only the second #6 seed in league history to advance to a Super Bowl.
New York – After years of playoff frustration and heartbreaking losses at the hands of their division-rival New England Patriots, the Jets finally got over the hump and are moving on to the AFC title game. Coming off of a 45-3 massacre last month, many thought New York was in for a very ugly repeat but, as it turns out, Gang Green outplayed the Patriots in every phase of the game. Deploying a defense that frustrated Brady all afternoon long, the Jets held their high-powered offense to just 21 points (the final seven coming in garbage time). Returning to the AFC Championship game for the second year in a row, the Jets will look to reach the Super Bowl for the first time in over 40 years.
Bad
New England – New England’s disappointing exit to the playoffs proves two things about the NFL: Any given Sunday isn’t just a cliche, and what happens in the regular season has absolutely no bearing on the postseason. With QB Tom Brady having one of the best seasons in his Hall of Fame career, the Pats were expected to coast right through the AFC competition en route to the Big Game. But it appears they weren’t up for the challenge against a Jets team that were clearly hungrier for the win. It appears the Jets’ trash talking might’ve got into the Patriots’ heads; Wes Welker was benched at the start of the game for his foot fetish comments toward Rex Ryan and coach Bill Belichick greenlit a very questionable decision to attempt a fake punt just before halftime. The Jets capitalized on Belichick’s gamble and never looked back. The Patriots have now lost three straight postseason games dating back to their upset loss in Super Bowl XLIV.
Ugly
Atlanta – Like the Patriots, the Falcons, who owned the NFC’s top playoff seed, looked more like an 8-8 team than a 13-3 squad that had their sights set on the Super Bowl. There’s no doubt their competition, Green Bay, was no slouch, but to get blown out at home coming off of a two-week preparation period shows Atlanta was just a pretender this year. It looked as if the game was headed toward a shootout, as both teams traded touchdowns to start, but the Packers just pulled away and left their opponents in the dust. The Falcons are immensely talented on both sides of the ball and have most of the pieces in place to become a perennial contender, though they could use some retooling on defense. It wouldn’t be surprising to see them back on top of the NFC South in 2011.
Awards
Ciron Black (Best of the Good): Green Bay. The Pack just looked — and were — unstoppable in their triumph over the Falcons
Aunt Esther (Ugliest of the Ugly): Atlanta. The Falcons simply looked meek.
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Tagged as:
divisional playoffs,
gbu
NFL Divisional Playoffs: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
January 19, 2011 - 9:30 pm · 0 comments
by Zack Kelberman
in Community Commentary, Weekly Segments
The Divisional round began with a lot of pairs. A pair of teams from the AFCE, AFCN and NFCN were left on the playoff slate. Since the pairs from the AFCE and AFCN were matched against each other, only one from each division could move on to the AFC Championship. But the pair from the NFCN did advance to face each other in the NFC Championship. Coming into this weekend, a pair of six seeds advanced (where a pair of ones and twos waited, by necessity). By the end of the weekend, a pair of NFCN teams were left, and both conferences held a pair of six and two seeds. There was and is an odd symmetry.
It was a bad weekend for birds: the Ravens, Seahawks and Falcons all came up short.
It was equally bad for number one seeds, as New England and Atlanta can be found in the Bad and Ugly, respectively. Neither looked worthy of the number one seed.
The pair of twos, Pittsburgh and Chicago, did enough to win and looked good at times, not so hot at others. The Steelers tried to give the game away in the first half, but a tenacious defense ratcheted up the performance even higher in the second half, giving up less than 35 yards of offense and collecting three turnovers to dispatch the Ravens. The Bears spent three quarters building a large enough lead that Seattle’s valiant comeback bid fell short.
Seattle, who as we noted was left for dead, sprung back to life and fell short in their comeback bid. But, while they dug a hole into Ugly territory for three quarters, their effort to climb out was strong enough to not earn a spot in the Bad or Ugly.
The Ravens were offensively inept all day. But their defense was Good for most of the game, scoring a TD themselves and almost single-handedly building a 14 point halftime lead. They just could not survive being stranded on the field or the turnovers the Steelers defense collected in the second half, and finally imploded, yielding a 58-yard bomb on a 3rd and 19 to set up the winning score. In the end, while the Ravens were closer to Bad than Good, they were neither.
That leaves us with the pair of number sixes. You can read about their exploits below.
Thanks to Ben and BG for their work. Without their efforts this week the keg of GBU would have been dry.
Good
Green Bay – Tim Mathsay did not punt once on the day. Other than seeing the final score, that may be the surest statistical marker that a team won a game, because it is usually indicative of how many things went right for them. Turnovers, the one potential blind spot in that assessment (not punting once suddenly looks a whole lot less impressive if you threw 5 INTS) were not a factor as, one lost fumble on their first drive aside, Green Bay executed a clean, relatively penalty free game and held onto the ball. Never punting usually means you won the time of possession battle with numerous sustained drives, and that was the case here with the Packers wearing the Falcons D down, by way of a nearly 2:1 advantage in holding the ball. Last but certainly not least, no punts usually translates directly into more scoring drives, and a prolific output on offense. The Packers’ 5 straight TD drives, spanning the middle of the 1st quarter to the middle of the 3rd put the game out of reach before the Falcons ever had a chance to get going. The Packers got hot at the right time and now take their road show to Chicago, where they hope to become only the second #6 seed in league history to advance to a Super Bowl.
New York – After years of playoff frustration and heartbreaking losses at the hands of their division-rival New England Patriots, the Jets finally got over the hump and are moving on to the AFC title game. Coming off of a 45-3 massacre last month, many thought New York was in for a very ugly repeat but, as it turns out, Gang Green outplayed the Patriots in every phase of the game. Deploying a defense that frustrated Brady all afternoon long, the Jets held their high-powered offense to just 21 points (the final seven coming in garbage time). Returning to the AFC Championship game for the second year in a row, the Jets will look to reach the Super Bowl for the first time in over 40 years.
Bad
New England – New England’s disappointing exit to the playoffs proves two things about the NFL: Any given Sunday isn’t just a cliche, and what happens in the regular season has absolutely no bearing on the postseason. With QB Tom Brady having one of the best seasons in his Hall of Fame career, the Pats were expected to coast right through the AFC competition en route to the Big Game. But it appears they weren’t up for the challenge against a Jets team that were clearly hungrier for the win. It appears the Jets’ trash talking might’ve got into the Patriots’ heads; Wes Welker was benched at the start of the game for his foot fetish comments toward Rex Ryan and coach Bill Belichick greenlit a very questionable decision to attempt a fake punt just before halftime. The Jets capitalized on Belichick’s gamble and never looked back. The Patriots have now lost three straight postseason games dating back to their upset loss in Super Bowl XLIV.
Ugly
Atlanta – Like the Patriots, the Falcons, who owned the NFC’s top playoff seed, looked more like an 8-8 team than a 13-3 squad that had their sights set on the Super Bowl. There’s no doubt their competition, Green Bay, was no slouch, but to get blown out at home coming off of a two-week preparation period shows Atlanta was just a pretender this year. It looked as if the game was headed toward a shootout, as both teams traded touchdowns to start, but the Packers just pulled away and left their opponents in the dust. The Falcons are immensely talented on both sides of the ball and have most of the pieces in place to become a perennial contender, though they could use some retooling on defense. It wouldn’t be surprising to see them back on top of the NFC South in 2011.
Awards
Ciron Black (Best of the Good): Green Bay. The Pack just looked — and were — unstoppable in their triumph over the Falcons
Aunt Esther (Ugliest of the Ugly): Atlanta. The Falcons simply looked meek.
You might also like:
Tagged as: divisional playoffs, gbu