The NFL is Poop - Conference Championships

Har-Bowl
This is going to be the big story this week. Two brothers facing each other in the Super Bowl. It really is remarkable. As amazing as if it were Eli vs. Peyton. I have no idea who the Harbaughs are going to root for, must be an incredibly weird feeling knowing one of your children is going to have the ultimate triumph, but it has to come at the expense of the other who will feel the ultimate disappointment.

Ray's Last Dance
I attributed no weight to the emotional lift Ray Lewis would give his team by coming back from injury and announcing he would retire after the season. I still don't buy into it, but they certainly are playing great right now, though more so on offense than defense. Regardless of how or why it's happening (Lewis might say God is great and allows no weapon raised against hm to prosper) but it will certainly be fun to watch him one more time.

Blueprint for Brady
As great as Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are, individually and certainly together, one of the greatest coach/QB duos in NFL history. But in the past 8 years they have lost 7 playoff games (vs. 8 wins) and missed the playoffs in 2008 when Brady had his knee shredded in the opening game of the season. Here are the Patriots point totals in those 7 losses: 13, 34, 14, 14, 21, 17, 13. Now I don't claim to be an expert in defenses but clearly there's a blueprint developing for how to beat the Patriots, pressure Brady, hit him, and force a few turnovers (and get a little lucky).

Bernard Pollard, Patriot Killer
I wrote this last year in this very column about Ravens safety Bernard Pollard:
"If there is one name that strikes fear in the hearts of the New England Patriots it is Bernard Pollard. Pollard, then on the Kanas City Chiefs, is the guy whose hit tore Tom Brady’s ACL on the first play of the 2008 season. A year later while playing for the Texans, Pollard dragged down Wes Welker, injuring his knee. Now on the Baltimore Ravens, Pollard tackled Rob Gronkowski and rolled over his ankle. Gronk was able to return, though he didn’t catch any passes after the injury, and he is expected to play in the Super Bowl. But maybe the biggest atrocity committed by Pollard is his famous locker room dance from Hard Knocks."
Pollard now adding one more incident to his lore, forcing Stevan Ridley to fumble near midfield in the third quarter. At that point the Patriots were trailing 21-13, and driving. That fumble gave the Ravens the ball in good field position and they scored a touchdown to take the decisive 28-13 lead.

Falcons Choked
No other way to describe, the Atlanta Falcons choked, for the second week in a row. In their two playoff games they scored 44 points in the first half, and 10 in the second half (while allowing 42 second half points). It's hard to pinpoint exactly what went wrong in these games, but they lost their aggressiveness on both sides of the ball, and it cost them.

Worth It
I dealt with this a lot when the Redskins traded for Robert Griffin III but in light of the great performance of Julio Jones (11 catches, 182 yards) it might be worth repeating: you can't judge a trade by the value of what you gave up, only by the value of what you got. The Falcons got the game-breaking receiver they needed, so the trade was certainly worth it.

Bill Belichick is a Lowlife
You'd think being a professional coach with years of experience would teach someone how to lose with class, grace and dignity. Didn't happen for Bill Belichick. He refused to make himself available for an interview with CBS after the game, sending Devin McCourty in his stead. And when he did appear for the league mandated press conference he said "we gave up too many points and we didn't score enough points." What a complete classless, petulant primadonna.

Kaepernicking is Here To Stay
We knew Colin Kaepernick wasn't going to be able to recreate his rushing performance but he showed himself to be a versatile quarterback who can beat teams with his arm and his legs. He throws hard, and he's accurate and as long as he can stay away from getting too aggressive and throwing into coverage, I think he will be a good quarterback for a long time to come.

If the Super Bowl Were Played Today
San Francisco 49ers 21 Baltimore Ravens 16
I think the 49ers defense is better and I really love the way Kaepernick is playing. Obviously Flacco has been on fire recently too, but I just have the feeling this is the 9ers year.