NFL Week 1 Reaction to Key Games

Here's my Week 1 Reaction to the Key or Important games.

Ravens vs. Broncos (49-27 Denver) 

The opening game of the NFL season debuted on Thursday night with the reigning Super Bowl Champs heading out to the Mile High City to compete in a rematch of last year's dramatic AFC Divisional playoff game. The Ravens looked good, holding a 17-14 lead at the half but it all went south from there. Peyton Manning ended up throwing for 7 touchdowns on the way to a bashing of the Ravens. Manning with his new weapons Wes Welker and Tight End Julius Thomas each had 2 touch downs and Demaryius Thomas added a pair of his own. The Broncos offense looked unbelievable and is why I can't see them not winning the AFC crown. They have 6 cup cake games against the Chiefs, Chargers, and Raiders. A 13-3 or 14-2 record is in their future. The only question I have for them is come playoff time when it is time to grind out games. Who's their running back? Remember these 2 things. Once everyone went to bed, the Ravens started coming back because Denver started running the ball. Also, Denver ran 23 times for only 65 yards. That's not going to get it done come playoff time.

As for the Ravens, they just looked abysmal. Flacco actually played solid but between Dallas Clark and Ed Dickson's drops and Jacoby Jones freak injury, Flacco had no chance. Marlon Brown stepped in well as the 2nd wide out but Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce were ineffective. The defense couldn't cover or tackle especially the secondary. Their poor performance could force rookie Matt Elam into the lineup as well as rookie linebacker Arthur Brown. But with all the bad, I saw some hope for the Ravens. Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil each recorded a sack and as I mentioned above, the Broncos only rushed for 65 yards on 23 carries. The Ravens with Ray Lewis would be fine but going forward I'm not sure exactly what is in store for Baltimore. I believe they will murder the Browns but after that we'll have to wait and see.

Falcons vs. Saints (23-17 New Orleans)

All the hype going into the game was about Sean Payton's return after his Bounty Gate suspension. All the talk of the Saints offense getting their mastermind play caller back was great but what should truly be acknowledged is the addition of Rob Ryan as defensive coordinator. Set as a predicted shootout, Rob Ryan's defense allowed only 17 points in a spectacular effort. If before the game you told me Matty Ice would have the ball down 6 in the redzone on the last drive, 10 out of 10 times I would've said the Falcons would have come out victorious. Give credit to the Saints, they held and showed me two things. They improved magically over the offseason on defense. Their record setting defense (bad records) had greatly improved. And two. Bold prediction. The New Orleans Saints will win the division. The Saints just have their mojo back.

The Falcons will be fine. They should easily grab a playoff spot and it wouldn't shock me if they won the division. They have a stupid good offense and Roddy White was hobbled the entire game. The Birds will be fine just fine.











Packers vs. 49ers (34-28 San Francisco)

In a great sunday afternoon shootout, we saw Colin Kaepernick completely dominate the Green Bay defense. This time, though, he did it with his arm rather than his legs. Kaepernick threw for 412 yards and three scores and showed us again why Anquan Boldin was Joe Flacco's favorite target. Boldin could not be stopped. He quickly ridded all doubt that he would be able to fill in for the injured Michael Crabtree. Kaep also seemed to find a new connection with TE Vernon Davis. After not targeting Davis much in the 11 games they played together last season, Kaepernick found him for 2 scores. The defense was put to the test against Aaron Rodgers but faired alright. Especially rookie safety Eric Reid who picked off Rodgers and did well in his first career game.

The Pack will also be alright. People are really sleeping on the Bears who I think will be a solid squad this year but with that being said, Rodgers will claim the division title. They simply have too many weapons to be stopped. They totaled 28 points against arguably the best defense in the league. All I have to say is good luck Washington.






Eagles vs. Redskins (33-27 Eagles)

The score doesn't really tell the real story of this game. The Eagles ran an NFL record 51 plays in the first half with Chip Kelly's new up tempo offense. While I think there was a major over reaction to the Eagles success, I still think the Eagles may establish themselves as a very dangerous team. People saying they'll win the division now or McCoy will lead the league in rushing are nice thoughts but I think at least for now are a little quick on the trigger. The defense played great in the first half but struggled when RG3 shook off the rust. Also, Vick came up hobbled a few times and there's a slim chance he starts all 16 games this season. Would it surprise me if the Eagles won the division? Absolutely not. A weak division and a good looking offensive scheme. But talk to me at the quarter mark and I'll update my thoughts on the BirdGang.

Woah. The 'Skins defense looked horrible. They got thrashed by McCoy, Vick, and Bryce Brown. RG3 looked mediocre at best. And Alfred Morris struggled early and often. I can't see this team returning to the post season. You might say, and rightfully so, isn't that an overreaction. It may be but I believe all 3 teams in the NFC East made nice additions in the offseason and Washington did not. My prediction, the Redskins will finish LAST in their division.

NFL Trades

Free agency has officially begun but the bigger news has come by way of the trade. As you probably know Percy Harvin was sent to Seattle and Anquan Boldin was traded to rival San Francisco. Sportacular Sports takes an in depth look at the trades.

Percy Harvin-WR (Minnesota to Seattle)
Star running back and now former teammate, Adrian Peterson tweeted: "The best all around player I ever seen or you'll ever see! Goes to Seattle! I feel like I just got kicked in the stomach. Several times!!!"
To hear the League MVP say those words about another player validates the claim that Percy is a great player. Percy Harvin brings great value as be is an excellent slot receiver in a league that lacks that position. To augment to his value, he is capable of returning punts and kickoffs at a high rate. Even more special is his running ability out of the backfield. To say the least, Harvin is not a one trick pony. Harvin is going to join an already special team. Seattle's defense is stifling and their offense is loaded with talent. Imagine Russel Wilson, Marshawn Lynch, and Percy Harvin lining up in the backfield and tell me defenses won't be cringing. Then flank him out wide with Doug Baldwin and you'll see a much improved passing offense than the 27th ranked team last year. Agreeing with Vegas, this takes the Hawks to the top of the NFL as lead contenders.

Anquan Boldin-WR (Baltimore to San Francisco)
Even Anquan Boldin was surprised by this trade (as reported by ESPN). Q as they like"d" to call him in Baltimore is heading off to the Bay Area to play for another Harbaugh. Jim this time. After Boldin's comments that if the Ravens released him he would retire a Raven, Baltimore asked Anquan to take a pay cut and stick with the team. But Boldin was having none of it. It is true that the Ravens could have kept him but that would have meant letting Paul Kruger, Danelle Ellerbee, and Ed Reed into free agency. Baltimore needs to get younger and not retain older players like Q.
The major uproar of the trade came when Baltimore fans found out that they were receiving only a 6th round pick for them top Wide Receiver. After Minnesota got a 1st founder why was Baltimore only getting a 6th? The reason why, the Ravens just wanted something. Ultimately, Baltimore was going to cut Boldin so to get a 6th was just extra. The Super Bowl Champs cut 6$ million off their cap to clear space for the aforementioned free agents.
What does this mean for San Fran? Once again, agreeing with Vegas, the Niners are co-favorites with Seattle to win the 2014 Super Bowl. Both these teams have young, stud Quarterbacks and unbelievable defenses. Anquan will bring sure hands and excellent leadership to a young offense.

Who will be better?
My early pick is San Fran because of their SB47 appearance but who knows. These teams replicate each other in amazing ways. All I know is these trades make a playoff team and SB contender even better. A scary thought for the rest of the NFL

The Baltimore Ravens are Super Bowl Champions

The Baltimore Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl 47 by the score of 34-31. Super Bowl 47 was the longest SB of all time and included perhaps the most exciting non-4th quarter in Super Bowl history. Before we recap the amazing 3rd quarter, lets first look at the beginning half.

The Ravens got off to a roaring start. After causing a quick Niners possession, the bird gang scored quickly with a Joe Flacco to Anquan Boldin connection. Unfortunately while the Ravens were putting up points, safety Bernard Pollard was in the locker room for the first time in this injury plagued Super Bowl.

When I talked to Pollard early in the team hotel on Monday he said, "I feel sore, I'm just hurting from the broken ribs. I've been dealing with them all season, I'll be fine though. " I thought to myself, what, this guy has broken ribs? But then again these are the toughest guys in the world and Pollard is one of the hardest hitting safeties in the league. Could his rib situation have led to an uncharacteristic missed tackle on Michael Crabtree's third quarter touchdown, sure, but that comes later.

The scoring was capped by a David Akers 34 yard field goal. I commend Akers on his Super Bowl performance after all the scrutiny he faced leading up to the game. Even though he received a mulligan on one attempt, Akers finished a perfect 3 for 3 on the night.

Joe Flacco got the scoring started in the 2nd quarter with a 1 yard pitch and catch to Tight End Dennis Pitta. The real big play in the quarter though came from hometown hero Jacoby Jones.

"It's always the goal to win the Super Bowl and by me being able to come home and play, that was like icing on the cake. You can drop the cherry on it, the strawberry, and the sprinkles." Jones had mentioned how excited he was to play in his hometown throughout the week and him scoring his ankle-breaking touchdown was truly an amazing moment yet not his greatest of the night. An Akers field goal closed the scoring for the half and left us with an incredible halftime show.

Now to the 3rd quarter. As I mentioned above, this quarter could have possibly been the most exciting or action packed quarter before the final 15 in NFL history. The excitement began with the beginning kickoff of the 2nd half. Jacoby Jones took Aker's kick 109 later changed to 108 yards right down the middle of a suspect Niners coverage team. It was one broken arm tackle and then the rest was history. (See who it costs $600,000)

After this amazing kick return even more excitement followed including a 34 minute delay caused by the outage in the Super Dome. Had the Ravens not held on, this Super delay would have been the most disputed event ever in football. Why would it have been so disputed? Because this outage clearly changed the momentum and killed all the rhythm the Ravens had going for them. Ravens fans were so loud and the Ravens were rolling but all of a sudden the lights go out and we see a whole new 49er squad. The 49ers eventually went on a 80 yard drive including the aforementioned Michael Crabtree touchdown. As the Niners fans began to get loud, the Ravens had a quick possession and poor punt by Sam Koch leading to a walk in touchdown by Frank Gore. All of a sudden a 22 point lead was down to one score.

Ray Rice coughed up the pigskin only a few plays later but a key stand by the Ravens defense somewhat weathered the storm. An Akers field goal put the game within 5 points. This ultimately raps up the greatest 15 minutes of the game yet we still had 15 more to play.

The Ravens really needed to stop the bleeding and Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco took that challenge under his belt. Flacco led the Ravens down the field but were held to a short field goal by rookie Justin Tucker. The FG at least pushed the lead back to 8 points but Colin Kaepernick wasn't done. He answered quickly including his run down the left sideline in which he scampered 15 yards into the red and gold endzone. Kaepernick did his trademark kissing of the bicep and the Niners had a chance to tie the game. A questionable play call on the 2 point conversion left Kaep zinging the ball over top of Randy Moss' head.

Up 31-29, Flacco answered again. He led the team back into the redzone but Patrick Willis and company held on again. This was the moment that one realized the Niners had stormed all the way back and had implemented the "bend don't break strategy". The Ravens had given up a little over 350 yards per game during the regular season ranking 17th in the league but Baltimore always buckled down in the redzone. The irony seemed to be rising as San Fran came up with 2 key holds and had given themselves the chance to win the game a formula Baltimore had been utilizing all season.

Kaepernick got the ball back and simply marched down the field. A Frank Gore rush sent the Niners down to the 7 yard line. A read option for two yards by LaMichael James sent the clock tumbling down to the two minute warning.

As the Ravens prepared for 3 more plays Joe Flacco sat on the sideline wondering if he would get the ball back one more time. "I was sitting there thinking there's no way, there's no way we stop them here. But we did."

While Joe didn't fully trust the defense Ray Lewis knew there was no greater way to go out on his final ride than with a goal line stand. "The most exciting things ever were the conversations we were having on the goal line. Nobody ever panicked. There was no panic. When you have that, when your back is against the wall … for us to stand up like that is just a testament to what we've been through all year."

With Haloti Ngata sitting out the final 20 minutes of the game, San Francisco opted to throw 3 times within the 5 yard line. Kaepernick showed who his favorite receiver was as he targeted Crabtree on all three throws. The final one coming with a minute and fifty seconds as the ball sailed out of bounds. Jimmy Smith grabbed a handful of Crabtree's jersey but the referee's indecision let the play stand and left the Baltimore Ravens as Super Bowl Champions.











Super Bowl MVP-Joe Flacco

Final Score: 34-31

3 Underdog Stories of Super Bowl 47

Super Bowl 47 is only 2 more days away and if you have recently flipped onto any type of ESPN channel you will see continuous coverage of the Big Game. When watching Sportscenter you might have heard of Ray Lewis or Colin Kaepernick or possibly even the Harbaugh brothers but like most of the free world I am getting tired of those stories. This is why we are breaking down the top 3 underdog stories of Super Bowl 47.

3. Ray Lewis' first career sack
I have seen the story about Niners coach Jim Harbaugh being a starting quarterback a multitude of times. One thing they leave out, unless you catch it on the bottom ticker, is who got his first career sack on Jim. Obviously from the headline above you guessed it Ray Lewis. It's quite ironic even in the circle of life that Ray Lewis would bring down the coach of his opponent for his second Super Bowl. I think that this story deserved more publicity and would've like to heard that question posed at Media Day.

2. Randy Moss riding off into the sunsets? (G.O.A.T)
I'm sure you've heard by now Randy Moss' comments pertaining to being the best wide receiver in NFL history. I'm pretty sure not one person reading this will agree with that (see Jerry Rice) but still a classic quote from old Randy. Randy Moss does not have a Super Bowl ring and this may be his last chance. He claims he wants to play another year yet with a different team. I'm not sure how many Super Bowl contending teams still believe in Moss therefore Sunday could be his last chance to establish himself among the top 3 WR of all time.

1. Ed Reed "Final Ride" (Free agency)
We all know that this is the great 52's last run at the Lombardi trophy but while it won't be for Ed Reed, it might be in the Purple and Black. Ed Reed has been very forthcoming in his answers to questions regarding playing in Foxboro next season. As a die hard Raven fan this is tugs at my heart and reminds me of Brett Favre playing for the Vikings. Whether or not Ed leaves, the ball hawk could cement himself atop the greatest safeties with a Super Bowl ring.

Notable stories:
Niners/Ravens distractions
-Both the 49ers and Ravens have had to deal with the usual distractions throughout the week but how will each team react is the question. Chris Culliver's anti-gay statements and Ray Lewis' deer spray report have flooded the news. From multiple reports from New Orleans, the looser team is Baltimore but will that be a good thing come game day. The Ravens have been plagued with injuries and bad omens all season including a move from the practice facility late on Thursday. But the bird gang won't be distracted, or will they? We'll see come Sunday.

If you want a personal account from Super Bowl Sunday save this link as I will be fortunate to be attending the game and will be giving live updates throughout the day.

NFC Championship Game Preview

Headline:
Colin Kaepernick and the Niners travel to the Georgia Dome to face Matty ice and the Falcons for a ticket to the Super Bowl

San Francisco 49ers:
Just like the Patriots, everyone is picking the Niners. Is it because of their over powering physicality compared to the Falcons? Or is it because Colin Kaepernick ran like a wild man last week? Whether its either of those things, the 49ers do have a lot going for them. Last year when they had Alex Smith at the helm, they made it to the same NFC Championship game. Obviously, that is a credit to their defense who clearly remains as the top unit in the playoffs. Now imagine the possibilities. Instead of a very good game manager, San Fran can win the game offensively which was never an option before. The Atlanta Falcon defense is a bit underrated but on the "fast track" Kaepernick will show his explosive speed. Finally, I want to point out two things that could hold the Niners back in this game. A report this weekend came about that WR Michael Crabtree was being investigated for sexual assault. While no one has been arrested or prosecuted, something like this so close to game day will always be at least a minor distraction. My last point comes by way of coach Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh went against all popular decision in the regular season when he decided to go with Kaepernick. Up to this point it has been an excellent decision. But what if this game comes down to the last drive, I know for sure Matt Ryan leads his team down the field but I don't know about Kaepernick.
Atlanta Falcons:
As a Falcon player, coach, or fan I would feel humiliated that my team is a huge underdog (by Championship game standards) in my own building. But then again, isn't this the story of Atlanta's season? Once again, the Falcons will have to prove that they belong and I feel like they've been playing with a chip on their shoulder. If this game was at Candlestick (SF home stadium) their is no doubt in my mind San Fran wins but Matt Ryan simply doesn't lose at home. I think the key to this game will be Julio Jones stretching the defense while Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez survey the open area underneath. I believe Atlanta has an excellent chance of protecting their home turf.

Prediction:
I will again go against the grain and pick the Falcons. They proved me right last week and I expect the same today. This game, as they all do, will come down to 2 drives at the end of the game. First it will be Matt Ryan leading the Falcons to take the lead and then Kaepernick's inability to get the job done. Falcons in a tight one.

Final Score:
Atlanta-27 San Francisco-23

Line:
San Fran -4.5

Over/Under:
49.0