Wednesday, January 16, 2013

4th and Long

Divisional Round of Legend
By Ryan Frisco

           The word epic was thrown around a lot this past weekend.  My brother claims that his weekend away was epic.  My mother-in-law made an epic dish of breakfast casserole.  I sat on the couch for over 16 hours and watched four of the most epic football games I have ever seen.  It was an epic weekend.
Photo Credit sportingnews.com
           These four football games cannot be categorized by just one word.  Yes, they were epic.  They were also shocking.  They were exhilarating.  They provided an adrenaline rush that gives 5-Hour energy a serious run for its money (I’m only speculating, I’ve never actually tried that garbage).  These games had me fooled.  Not once, but twice this weekend I tweeted an in your face comment to a team I thought was toast, only to eat my words minutes later in humbling fashion.  This Divisional Round will go down in history right next to the Miracle in the Meadowlands part I AND II.
           To start the weekend off with a Baltimore vs. Denver game seemed like a good idea.  Everyone picked Denver to win, and Baltimore’s been written off ever since being dominated by Houston and Denver in the regular season.  They had been floundering for weeks and many thought they didn’t deserve to make the playoffs.  Good, we’ll get this blowout of a game out of the way fast and get on to the good stuff, the games that would actually be a game.  And at first, it looked like my prediction was about to be spot on.
           But, somehow or another, we witnessed an epic meltdown.  Even behind TWO kick return touchdowns from standout Trindon Holliday and three more passing touchdowns from Peyton Manning, the Broncos stellar defense, who has been their key to victory for 2+ years, let up 38 points in disturbing fashion.
           For one, Champ Bailey, who has been top dog in the secondary for close to a decade, got burned not once, but twice by Torrey Smith for a touchdown.  That’s not counting the other times Joe Flacco missed.
           The icing on the cake came with 35 seconds left in the game.  With Denver up by a touchdown, all the defense had to do was not let the Ravens in the endzone.  Seems like a pretty easy task with Baltimore backed up to their 30 yard line and no timeouts.  But no, even this was too much to ask, as Rahim Moore made the deadly mistake of letting Jacoby Jones behind him, while playing deep prevent, on his way to a 70 yard touchdown.  The Ravens go on to win in double overtime, and the world is left jaw dropped shocked.  This is going to be an epic weekend of football.
           So that sequence of events started the ball rolling.  Next in line was a Green Bay vs. San Francisco game that did not disappoint.  Unless of course you’re opposed to records being broken and minds being blown.
Photo Credit examiner.com
           Colin Kaepernick.  That’s it.  This kid has no boundaries.  He cannot be harnessed.  To do what he did in his first ever playoff start is ridiculous.  263 passing yards and two passing touchdowns.  That’s not bad.  181 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.  That’s a freak of nature.  This kid’s going to be good.  The Green Bay Packers already admitted this, as Kaep single handedly tore them apart.
           And then I had to wait over 12 hours to absorb anymore of this awesomeness.
           Seattle and Atlanta was just more of the same.  The Falcons put the game away early, then rookie Russell Wilson does what he does best and brings his team back from the dead.  Down 20-0 at the half, Seattle had a one point lead with 30 seconds left in the game.

This is the point that I go to Twitter and tweet “Hey Matt Ryan, your playoff record continues to disappoint.”  And once again, I eat that later, as Matty Ice goes 40 yards in two plays, with Matt Bryant sealing the deal.  Congrats Matt and Tony, definitely deserved.
   The Texans and Patriots followed, and Tom Brady pulled out the usual stunts: Dominate the competition.
   The eight best teams in the NFL provided amazing viewing for everybody tuned in.  I can’t wait for what the final four will bring.  This time, I’ll wait till the end of the game to tweet an ending; I’ve learned my lesson.


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