On a relatively quiet sports….ok fine, even I couldn’t hold back. The 49ers defeated the Saints 36-32 in a 60 minute thriller/Instant classic game that will go down as this season’s best game likely. While people are trying to come up with a proper title for that amazing comeback engineered by Alex Smith (the Post?), thirty years after “The Catch”, these Niners are writing their own legacy writes Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. Tim Kawakami of the Contra Costa Times (bad ass name for a newspaper by the way), says that Vernon Davis authored one of the greatest moments in Niner legacy which, looking at team history, is extremely difficult to do, but he may just have done it. Monte Poole of the Contra Costa Times says that despite Alex Smith’s modesty claiming this was just one more step, let’s face it, it was his moment and one that he deservedly could take bows on. Don Banks of SI.com writes that Alex Smith, “ran out of town years ago”, stayed home and rallied his team to victory. Jeffrey Chadiha of ESPN.com writes that San Fran was just the toughest team out there yesterday and it showed up in jarring hits that forced 5 turnovers for the Saints. John DeShazier of the Times Picayune writes that this loss is going to hurt for a while for these Saints.
Ladies and gentleman, I give you the game of the year and its not even close. Let’s put this up there now in the top 10 greatest games ever played in the NFL. It had everything you could ask for. It had a great offense against a great defense. It had a maligned QB seeking redemption. It had a head coach looking for further validation that he is indeed the coach of the year. It had a super team going for a ninth victory in a row. It had the hits that will be played over and over again in those epic NFL Film highlight videos. It had that five minute stretch in the final quarter that saw one huge call (the Alex Smith 3rd and 7 play which in my mind is one of the gutsiest calls you can make in that situation), one huge game breaking play (the Jimmy Graham catch and run and think about it this way: the guy had back spasms where he could barely move) and then Vernon Davis replying on the other end with two great plays to seal the win for the Niners.
I can’t begin to describe how much emotion was flowing through me during that game. I was at my anniversary dinner with my wife and I’m sitting there almost choking on a T-Bone Steak (no homo), watching the game. The owner of the shop is watching with me and keeps going its over three separate times when both teams traded punches. I thought it was over when Brees hit Graham for that big play when Patrick Willis lost his footing and Graham turned and ran with the ball. But there was too much time for (gulp) Alex Smith with 1:32 remaining and anyone who thought Alex Smith was going to finish that comeback had to be on meds. Or a 49er homer.
As far as the rest of the game is concerned. I can’t remember a game where one team hit the other harder and faster than the 49ers. Every time Donte Whitner hit somebody there seemed to be chunks of the other player flying off him or he just unconscious. The guy was hitting people like somebody slapped his momma in the stands before the game (stolen from Deion) and played like this guy. The Niners were so fast limiting the ability of the Saints to run their screens that the Saints had to go north and south ONLY as opposed to using all parts of the field. That’s what having Navarro Bowman and Patrick Willis can do for you when they are spying on guys like Sproles. But when the Saints lost RB Pierre Thomas who was slipping tackles all last week against the Lions, I thought that the Niners had effectively eliminated their complement to Sproles. I love Sproles but when the Saints were winning their Super Bowl it was due to Pierre Thomas’ own ability to shed tackles and be a tough run after the catch or run after the first guy gets their hand on him. He’s so hard to stop and when the Saints got him on the field he was being laid out by Donte Whitner who hit him with a helmet to helmet and aside from the hit you knew something was wrong when Thomas just went limp while going down. Those are the toughest hits to watch because its not about pain, because the guy can’t feel anything and you just hope that the guy gets up.
But on this day it was about Alex Smith. Everyone will talk about Alex Smith’s amazing finish and about how he’s seeking redemption and not to jump on the bandwagon but has any guy been under more scrutiny? We all knew coming into the league he was a smart kid having completed a bachelor’s in Econ in 3 years at Utah. He was Urban Meyer’s last great QB prospect. He had the pedigree heading in to the NFL but as most great college QB’s do he fell into a terrible situation. The Niners have had five offensive Coordinators heading into this year. He has been called out by the media, the fanbase who wished they took North Cali’s own Aaron Rodgers, and by former head coaches who either called him soft (Mike Nolan) or just never believed in him (Mike Singletary.
Enter John Harbaugh. It takes a former maligned QB to know one and that connection has propelled this Niner team. They had the defense but they never had an offense help out and that’s what happened. If ever there was a game to show a microcosm of a team’s season it was yesterday. The defense playing lights out for most of the game and just giving up one big play and needing their offense to come through, and them coming through was kind of a watershed moment for this team when you think about it. The 49ers will be a great team for a few years. It starts with Alex Smith who doesn’t make mistakes. Who doesn’t beat himself. A guy that follows the game plan and is athletic enough to make plays when the original one breaks down. The bottom line is this: the San Francisco 49ers have made over the organization on the fly in a year.
That is the hallmark of this great coach. I said before the season that perhaps Harbaugh left a year early from a plum Stanford job JUST to tank the season so he could get Andrew Luck with the number one overall pick. I felt that in my heart of hearts, that would be the best situation for this team in the longterm and that Harbaugh had the job security to do that. But of course what we got instead was a dominant defense, an All-Pro filled Special teams and an offense that controlled the clock built behind a good offensive line and a physical running back that runs hard behind his blockers. No mention of their QB yet right? Because he was a liability heading into this season but Harbaugh’s greatest job coaching was building back that quarterback from Utah. Six years of naysaying and doubting had to be erased in order for Harbaugh to get Smith prepared to handle his job and what a remarkable job he’s done in such a short limited time. That week they spent in the east coast when they had to travel two straight weeks was a blessing in disguise and one that Harbaugh used to unify the team. Small things like that give you a sense of what kind of coach he is and how much he understands the nuances of his title. Its not just about drawing up game plans, its about instilling in your team a sense of togetherness and pride. Its not players that win games, its teams. The 49ers beat Drew Brees yesterday and that’s all you need to know.
From a great team finish to a complete rout. The Denver Broncos got blindsided by the New England Patriots yesterday in what was a mismatch from the moment the teams took the field. Peter King of SI says that Tom Brady and the Patriots have never looked better. Jackie MacMullan of ESPN writes that everyone was worshiping the wrong guy coming into the game. Greg Bedard of the Boston Herald wrote that the Pats defense hadn’t played that well from beginning to end since they faced a fellow southpaw in Tyler Palko. Woody Paige of the Denver Post writes that the wild ride of Tebow time came to a close because there was never anytime for Tebow to work his magic. Forget the negativity of the loss says Dave Krieger of the Denver Post, the rebuilding process that was supposed to take years is way ahead of schedule.
I’m not here to jump on everyone’s parade about this guy but let’s put things into perspective for everyone to understand how Tebow crazy this entire country had gotten. We love a great story and that’s what Tebow was. He was a crazy, improbable, out of the loop and out of left field kind of success that we weren’t ready for. Our football sensibility tells us that Tim Tebow is not a good quarterback capable of doing the things he did over this NFL season and yet those who hold out belief and understand that sports can stop reality for a moment and have us seeing things that suspend our own understanding of things and believe in something magical know that anything was possible heading into Saturday night’s contest between the Pats and the Broncos. Take for instance that the Patriots had a running two game losing streak. The Pats secondary was a maligned group who could be taken advantage of. The Broncos had this feel about them as riding a wave of something into their contest. It was probable and I get all of that emotion.
But the reality set in early. And often. The Broncos couldn’t run. And when they can’t run, we know they can’t pass. And there was Tebow scrambling around like a chicken with his head cut off and trying to make something happen and one too many three and outs cost them against an offense that never stopped moving from the moment the opening kickoff got lofted into the cool air of Massachusetts. Gilette Stadium was the arena in which Tim Tebow and all his Tebowmaniacs would get a lesson in Football 101. NO QB that played with such an unconventional and simplistic offense could win in the playoffs against the best of competition and that’s what the Patriots were.
The Pats defense put the clamps on and held on tight to Tebow affording him no room, maintaining gaps and not giving him outside lanes. Their secondary covered the limited options that they had. Let’s be real, the Broncos offered a subpar receiving group that couldn’t possibly offer up any kind of contest to a former 3 time Super Bowl winning team. Brady and Belichiek though were the major players in this game.
Two full weeks to rest and get their team playing sharper and install new wrinkles. The Josh McDaniels from the Patriots returned in time to see the offense move with a rhythm and execute on a scale that hadn’t been seen before. Aaron Hernandez as a running back? Yessir. Julian Edelman getting more and more snaps as a cornerback? Sure why not. Brady with the hurry up through much of the first half? Yep. Six touchdowns later the Broncos had long thrown in the towel and were left wondering exactly what had been done to them. I watched only portions of that game but never was there any doubt. Even when Brady threw that interception. He made a bad throw. He knew it. He also had enough confidence to know that he would NEVER give them another chance. He was methodical and so dominating in a performance that made you think that the Patriots were conjuring up remnants of that 2007 offense that blitzed the league and gave defensive coordinators nightmares.
And trust me, with McDaniels back, the Patriots have gotten the right guy back at the right time to make it work. They have an almost unguardable TE in Gronkowski. They have the best slot receiver in football in Wes Welker. They have an offensive line that’s relatively healthy. They have a creative playcaller in Josh McDaniels. They have a great QB and a great defensive minded head coach. They have the elements to make another Super Bowl Run. Watch out. The Patriots are now the Patriots of their great teams from the earlier part of the milennia. Big time QB play. Solid defense. Good offense. Great game planning. Watch out NFL.
As for the Broncos, look: you have a decent QB. Next year will be super important and it will be interesting to see how the Broncos go about this offseason especially draft wise. The Broncos aren’t trading up to take any QB’s. But let’s say a kid like Russell Wilson falls to them in the first round (unlikely) or a Taylor Martinez (more likely in the third or fourth), why wouldn’t the Broncos take him and stash him away? The Broncos need immediate help on the defensive end. They need defensive tackles to stuff the middle. They need help in the back end. They need another pass rusher to help Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil who has taken a step back. They need to get better playmakers. But let’s say next year the Broncos don’t duplicate the magic carpet ride run they had this year which is a near certainty. Remember, literally every team they faced had something go horribly wrong either due to injury or having already had a few guys injured, before they faced Tebow and had a lot of defensive coordinators not taking Tebow seriously. That won’t happen next year. Tebow won’t sneak up on anybody. The team will see what they have in Tebow as a QB. Let’s see what improvements Tebow makes. Yes, the intangibles are out of the planet for this kid. Yes, he will try his hardest to improve. If nothing is improved and Tebow remains the same mechanically flawed QB he is today trust me the Broncos organization will scrap the Tebow Time t-shirts and send those to needy kids in Africa and chart ways to get a franchise QB. The Broncos are a rebuilding project and yes, they are ahead of schedule. But the question still remains: WHAT do we do with Tim Tebow? The answer to that question will come next year. Unless we’re in for another crazy season next year, hold on to your bottoms.
And now to today’s game. Mike Lupica of Daily News writes that despite the similarities that people want to draw, this time beating the Packers at the Frozen Tundra will be far more difficult. Stefan Bondy of the News writes that the Big Blue offensive line are out to be tougher Sunday than BJ Raji gives them credit for. Mike Vaccaro of the Post writes that winning at Lambeau is as difficult as they come because of the history and fable surrounding the place. Steve Serby of the Post writes that if the Giants are All In like they claim to be, they will write their own history. Paul Schwartz says that if the Giants want to win today, replaying that Road Warrior mentality in their heads will be a good start. Tom Rock of Newsday says despite Justin Tuck saying there’s nothing to gain from their last meeting on December 4th, there is plenty of material to be gained for their next showdown.
Let’s manage to calm down all the hype and glamour out of the match up and let’s say this for the Giants: they are not the 2007 Giants. They are the 2011 New York Giants. A completely unique identity and entity unto themselves. Fifteen players remain from the team that went on that improbable run in 07 and frankly I, like them, are tired of hearing the remarkable similarities in seasons. We all need points of comparison to draw up some kind of response to everything and we all want to believe that THIS version of the New York Giants will duplicate that run but that would be an injustice to both THIS current squad and the group of men who marched into the sure-fire no doubt coronation of the greatest team ever, New England Patriots and decimated their dreams and sent Patriot fans packing as Super Bowl chumps.
Yes, that team deserves its credit and its OWN unique place in Giant and NFL lore and don’t deserve the injustice that’s been placed on them by the media over the last few weeks. Comparing the two teams are like apples and oranges and we all know that using numbers we can conjure up any comparison we want and have anyone believing anything we want. Yes, that 38-35 score is indicative of something. But its only telling you what the score was on December 4th. Not some harbinger of things to come today at the Frozen Tundra. I believe what’s happening here is that a team is coming together.
Now, you all may be asking yourselves, wait is this the same guy who wouldn’t change his underwear or game day traditions because he had some remote belief that it ultimately mattered in the context of the Giant playoff run? Yes. I’m not saying I don’t believe in de ja vu. I’m not saying that these events don’t bear a striking resemblance to the one from 07 and that having several players from that team on this one doesn’t make these comparisons apt. I’m just saying that we should appreciate what 07 did and not overshadow what this team is doing currently by comparing the two. They are two different teams with different identities on offense and newer leaders on defense.
I said this when it happened and I hold on to this one belief: what the 07 Giants did will stand the test of time and I am assured that I will never see a run like that EVER AGAIN. But that’s not to say that this team can’t put together a run that could rival the one the 07 team did. That’s not to say that the championship earned at the expense of a 18-0 team is any less credible if they do it again against a team that had a loss coming INTO the Super Bowl. All I’m saying is that let’s leave the comparisons at home because it would only be right for both teams. MMkay?
Moving on, here are my final thoughts on this game before it happens: The Giants must run the ball and rush the passer. They can pass on this team but if the Packers only have to defend the pass they have the corners to make game changing plays that can eventually cost the team the victory. Erase the Clay Mathews pick six and the Giants win that game 35-31. The fact is, the Giants held the ball for only 26 minutes and allowed Aaron Rodgers to hold the ball for 34 minutes and no matter how good your defensive line is, in those 7 minutes that offense can score two- three touchdowns in that time. The Giants must control the clock and take their chances deep. Drawing in their linebackers, who they have healthy today will be key. If AJ Hawk and Desmond Bishop aren’t in coverage and the Giants can get their running game going and keeping Rodgers on the sideline, and their pass rush constantly gets the Pack off the field because of hurried throws and bad decision making, the Giants can win. But it won’t be easy. Not against Aaron Rodgers who seemingly performs under ANY kind of condition given to him. Want him to run wtih the ball? Sure. He was the leading rusher in the game. He, like Alex Smith won’t beat himself. He wont give you a game. You have to beat the Packers square. So what the Giants need is a great game from Eli (or a continuation from last week minus the safety), and a great game from their front four who need to play lights out. The Packers have a good offensive line but Chad Clifton and Josh Sitton haven’t played for quite some time and only got reps in Week 17 after missing chunks of the regular season. Bryan Bulaga is hurt. That banged up front is going against a defensive line that is aching to continue their great stretch. IF the Packers front keeps the Giant pass rush at bay it will be a long day. Expect the Pack to go two tight end a lot and having them chip and giving Rodgers 3 to five step drops early and get their guys running slants. They will run into the middle of the defense because they know that the Giants best attribute is speed and those ends can cover the run. They will run off tackle every once in a while but doing that at Jason Pierre Paul will be disastrous and I expect the Pack to stay away from his side. They want Rodgers sitting in the pocket. In my opinion the Giants MUST win the battle up the middle. THEY MUST have Chris Canty, Justin Tuck win their matchups against the guards. They MUST have Mathias Kiwanuka be able to come right over the middle and go after Rodgers and have him running. If they win the interior battle, I have no doubt they can win the outside battles against the two tackles. Osi’s speed and JPP’s overall play are excellent.
Here’s where I think the Giants may have problems. The Pack may play hurry up depending on personnel. They may run the ball against the Nascar package (four defensive ends) if they get it and when they see Osi off the field, they may hurry up to keep the big guys Canty/Rocky Bernard in the game and wear them down. JPP is going to see a majority of the snaps as is Tuck and Canty. A pristine Giant game has Osi playing between 40-50 offensive snaps and coming off either end. I don’t think the Giants can be effective with JPP coming as a speed rusher by standing up. They must attack him as as down lineman.
The matchups for the Giants are out there. The Giants have the offensive weapons to light up the scoreboard and must lean on their strengths. They are a passing offense. But I do think they MUST run the football effectively. They may not need 170 yards today but they need Brandon Jacobs running over people and Ahmad Bradshaw catching passes out of the backfield. They MUST win time of possession handily. Even then, if they don’t score touchdowns it won’t matter. If the Giants can get off to a fast start and have the ball at the end of the game, which I think will be a close game they can win. OTHERWISE, Aaron Rodgers will torch them.
If the Giants don’t get enough of a pass rush, or the Giants can run the ball or you give Aaron Rodgers even a three minute advantage in possession time, you’re asking for trouble. He does NOT get rattled under pressure. He won’t beat himself by forcing passes into tight coverage. He has really good receivers who have a very good relationship with him that can understand when to abandon a route so that he can move the ball forward. Unlike the Saints who you know are looking for the deep ball, the Packers are more than happy to just hit short passes and move the chains. They can live either way. The fact is, this Packer team coming in will play lights out for their head coach who lost his son. The Giants must remember that. Absorb the early blow and go out and punch them in the mouth and then knock the Pack out.
Its going to be close and that’s all I’m going to say on that.
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