And then there were four...2012 NFL Divisional Playoff Round Summary

I literally want to kill this man

But seriously, we'll start with the first game from Saturday:

#2 San Francisco 49ers 36  #3 New Orleans Saints 32

Darn It! Another “Road Warrior”, comes up short for me. On the 30^th anniversary weekend of, “The Catch” its fitting that Alex Smith created his own 2012 version, “The Catch: Part 3”. After four touchdowns in the final four minutes, it was Alex Smith and the 49ers coming up with the win vs. DREW BREES! and the New Orleans Saints, 36 to 32. After I thought Darren Sproles had won the game on a 44-yard catch and run, to go up by one, I said to myself, “49ers let ‘em hang around” (forced 5 Saints turnovers in the game). Then came Alex Smith’s 28-yard dash to the end zone only to be topped by a Brees-to-Graham 66-yard TD connection, (all of this happening after I had awoken from falling asleep realizing the Saints had taken a 24-23 lead. haha). Smith and the 49ers (1st playoff win since January 2003) would have the last “WOW” moment of the afternoon. On the Play of the Game, a 3rd and 4 from the NO 14 with :09 left, Smith connected with Vernon Davis for the GW-score. The moments following the Davis score, I remembered back to a similar play made by Steve Young and Terrell Owens back in the 1998-99 NFL Wild Card Game for the 49ers. After, thinking all game that the 49ers were not capitalizing on all those turnovers (seriously 5 to 1 in the turnover margin, should not have came down to the final :09 of the game), but in the end, it was Alex Smith and the 49ers OFFENSE out-scoring Brees and the Saints. The 49ers now turn their attention to next weeks NFC Championship Game vs. the Giants. Hats off to Drew Brees and the Saints for a record-breaking season, in a game where someone had to lose, the Saints got the short stick in this one. WHAT A GAME, perfect start to the NFL weekend. Lets see what #TimTebow has for an encore…. (This sentence was written during halftime of the Pats/Broncos Game, it was a joke!) **Stay tune, later in the week for my Conference Championship preview**

THE CATCH I

THE CATCH II

THE CATCH III

#1 New England Patriots 45  #4 Denver Broncos 10

Honestly, if everyone in the whole world would have “Tebow’d” before this game, it still wouldn’t have been enough to help the Broncos in this one. Clearly, the Patriots unleashed some past playoff frustration, on the Tebow-led Broncos, in a 45 to 10 stomping. There would be no last minute #TebowTime, because this game was over the second Danny Woodhead caught the opening kickoff and took a knee in the end zone. Again, like the 1^st meeting in the regular season, a turnover by Tebow and the inability to stop Patriots QB Tom “I’ve got TWO Baby Mama’s” Brady and his two-headed TE monster (Rob Gronkowski 145 rec.  yards 3 TD’s and Aaron Hernandez 116 total offensive yards 1 TD) doomed the two-touchdown underdog Broncos. Not much more to talk about on this one, I was getting a little tired of the #tebowmania (the Focus on Family commercial, which was very meaningful, but did it for me), and of course my disliking of Tom Brady and “The Hoodie” Coach Belichick. The Patriots now face the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game next week. Here’s to giving the sports world a break from #tebowmania for well shoot, hopefully until August, right?  I’ll leave you with a clip from Jimmy Fallon from his Late Show (if you haven’t seen it already), just “Jimmy being Jimmy”. **Stay tune, later in the week for my Conference Championship preview**

Now onto Sunday’s Games:

#2 Baltimore Ravens 20  #3 Houston Texans 13

Side note: I sometimes wonder what the careers of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed would have been, if the Browns would have been the team to draft them (see Cleveland Browns relocate). Lewis would most definitely be in prison for murder, and Reed would have spent most of his career on the IR. Now on to the recap of the Ravens/Texans game.

The Baltimore Ravens are out to prove, that defense still WINS championships. Although, it was against a rookie QB (T.J. Yates) the Ravens defense forced 4 turnovers, in which the Ravens offense turned into 17 points, and jumped out to an early 17-3 lead, holding on for a 20 to 13 victory against a solid Houston Texans team. The Texans were done in by a three interception day by Yates (all of which were, “why are you throwing that” passes), and a bonehead play by punt returner Jacoby Jones, as well as, not capitalize on finishing scoring drives with touchdowns and had to settle for 2 out of 3 FG’s (#losegameskickingfieldgoals). Just like his brothers team (Jim Harbaugh/49ers), John Harbaugh and the Ravens let their opponent hang around all-game long even with the turnover margin (+4), but were able to make the plays down the stretch to steal a game away from the Houston Texans. The Harbaugh Brothers Rematch in the Super Bowl is still a possibility, however the Ravens will have a tough challenge next week in the AFC Championship Game vs. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. **Stay tune, later in the week for my Conference Championship Preview**

#4 New York Giants 37  #1 Green Bay Packers 20

Turnovers after dropped ball after dropped ball, etc. you started getting the feeling, it wasn’t going to be a magical run for the Packers this time around in the playoffs. Who had the Packers, being the 1^st home team in this years playoffs losing? After a four turnover day and several dropped passes, the Packers will not be defending their Super Bowl title, after falling to the New York Giants, 37 to 20. For the 2^nd time in 4 years, the Packers were eliminated by the Giants in the playoffs at Lambeau Field. Hats off to the Giants (who were pretty confident, all week) for playing an outstanding game on both sides of the ball. Eli Manning (330 passing yards 3 TD’s) connected with Hakeem Nicks (165 rec. yards 2 TD’s) for two 1^st half touchdowns, the second being the Play of the Game. With the game clock running down to halftime, Manning dropped back and his “Hail Mary” was answered with Nicks grabbing it out of the air around a see of “green” jerseys, to give the Giants a 20 to 10 lead at halftime and what seemed to be the games “MO”. The Packers just couldn’t generate much all game and looked nothing like the 15-1 team from the regular season. It is always interesting how that bye week factors in (guess they shot too many State Farm commercials) and with the off-the-field issues they were going though this past week. The Packers become the 2^nd time to go 15-1 and not make the Super Bowl (’04 Pittsburgh Steelers). The Giants now turn their focus to the NFC Championship Game next week in San Francisco. The Giants and the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game, what is this the 1980’s? **Stay tune, later in the week for my Conference Championship preview**

Divisional Round predictions: Well, a 2-2 record isn’t bad. I picked the wrong team to pull the road upset (Saints) and did not see the Packers (15-1) losing to the Giants. Next week will bring some interesting match-ups to pick. Stay tune. At least, now that the Packers are out of the playoffs we won’t have to watch his commercial anymore:

GAINER EDIT:  Boomer may not like the commercial but I love em!  In fact, I'm going to post the new one here for your enjoyment.  Boom roasted.

LOVE ME SOME RAJI!!

Seriously, I'd like to show that lady what a real discount double check is...