The shinning knight and doer of good for many people is the bully and ruthless man others have accused him of.
I don't mean to put down what LiveStrong is and does. LiveStrong helped, and still does help, many people with Cancer live better lives. That didn't change and hasn't changed. Opinions on Lance Armstrong isn't opnions of LiveStrong....had to get that out of the way.
Cycling was a sport that was riddled with participants that where
doping. Many past champions were busted for doping along with
numerous participants. Lance just never got caught. If you thought
that Armstrong never used performance enhancing drugs to win 7 Tour de
Frances you where either very loyal to him, turned a blind eye, or knew very little about the sport of cycling at that time.
In the big scheme of things, if all he did was cheat to win a bunch of cycling events...what's the big deal? Does anyone outside the Cycling world care if Armstrong used PEDs? As a normal working stiff, I don't recall any "water cooler" arguments at work on whether Armstrong's Championships are legit or not.
The people and articles that concentrate on Lance cheating to win are missing the point. I don't know how many articles and posts I've read that concentrate on that. Do a Google search on "Lance Armstrong" and just read the titles. Not one points out Armstrong's behavior and some of them never mention the things Armstrong did to preserve his reputation. You have to dig into the articles to see the real crimes that he has done.
I can't believe there are articles out there that praised Oprah's interview. To be truthful, I haven't seen the whole thing, but from what I've seen/read she never pressed him about his behavior to those around him, concentrating on the doping part...which in my book is weak. At this point, even the hardcore Armstrong loyalist knew that he lied about not doping. I'm siding with the crowd that said it's a publicity stunt for Oprah and her failing TV channel.
Oprah let him slide when asked about what his teammate and his wife (Frankie and Besy Andreu) said about over hearing the doctors say to Armstrong. Something Armstrong has denied happening and he avoided commenting about in the Oprah interview except to say he didn't call her fat. Armstrong had publicly bashed the couple, saying that Frankie's wife was crazy and ridiculed her. He could bash them in public, but couldn't apologize to them in public. Oprah never pressed him about the other people he sued...money he took from them for reporting the truth. She never pressed him about Greg LeMond, who Armstrong has seemed to have a personal vendetta against since LeMond talked about Armstrong's relationship with Doctor Michele Ferrari who has been accused of administering PEDs. Oprah never pressed him about the $1.5 million he collected in a settlement with London's Sunday Times. Nothing about the stories written about Armstrong threatening teammates that came forward to say they had seen him do PEDs. Tyler Hamilton claimed that Armstrong told him he would make his life a living hell after Hamilton admitted on 60 minutes that he saw Armstrong taking PEDs.
I really can't take seriously the articles that say, "Armstrong comes clean..." when he hasn't really been confronted with his real crimes.
The real crime is that Armstrong used his position as a highly regarded, loved by many, championship athlete to get what he wanted. He prosecuted people in public and even sued some of them for telling the truth. He let friends and family, including his children, defend his lies. Although, all that was because he doped, his doping to win is the least of his crimes. He publicly went after anyone who came forward with what they new about him. People took Armstrong's side of the argument because of who he was....Lance new it and did it for his entire career.
What I really don't get is the people who are now defending him. I've even seen a small upsurge in sportscasters now pushing to legalize PEDs in sports. Look, I understand that Armstrong did a lot to help people with cancer, but how does that translate to defending his actions for crushing the reputations and credibility of those other people?
I really can't take Armstrong seriously until he comes clean about the things he did to the people and the organizations who accused him.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Mike McCoy Hired As Charger Head Coach
I was just telling a friend of mine that I was a little surprised and somewhat disappointed. I heard about it early today and saw the press conference that was held about an hour ago.
I read McCoy's history when his name came up as a possible Head Coach for many of the teams searching for one. It isn't a highlight filled history. He was on the Panthers coaching staff from 2000-2008 as a position coach, then became the Broncos' offensive coordinator. His claim to fame is changing the offense to fit Tim Tebow in 2011 and Kyle Orton having a career best season in 2009, the first year with McCoy as OC. So how does that make him a Hot Head Coach candidate? I don't remember anyone fearing Orton and the Broncos offense or that their scheme was difficult to defense. Tebow's offense in 2011 wasn't impressive unless the game was close and Tebow made his magic happen. I would also think that Peyton Manning would have success this season no matter who the OC was.
I'm hoping there's something about this guy that I'm missing.
On the plus side, he isn't one of those "we're going to run my style, no matter what the personnel is" kind of coach. He revamped the offense to fit Tebow, then revamped it again to fit Manning. I believe the "lets run a scheme that fits our talents" philosophy lends itself to a quicker turn around than, "Lets get guys in that can play the way I want to" philosophy.
In the press conference, McCoy promised to bring changes to team routines like practice and travel schedules, and even the food. I said before this team needs a culture change to turn it around, hopefully this will be it.
McCoy said he would hire an offensive coordinator and that the OC would call the plays. Norv Turner called his own plays while he was HC. McCoy also said he needed to meet with defensive coordinator John Pagano before making a decision on whether he would be retained. I liked the direction the defense was heading under Pagano this season and hope he stays on. The Chargers have always had good linebacker play and Pagano was the LB coach from 2005 until being promoted to DC prior to the beginning of this season.
If McCoy had a hand in the Broncos' draft choices I'll be a happy man come draft day. The Broncos used a 2nd round pick in 2012 to get RT Orlando Franklin and a 2nd round pick in 2010 to get LG Zane Beadles. Franklin and Beadles have started every game since joining the club. RT Ryan Clady has made 3 Pro Bowls and started every game since being drafted in 2008. That's 3 drafted lineman that started every game...can't be a coincidence. RG Chris Kuper was drafted in 2006 and is the only Guard in NFL history to not allow a sack in an entire season (2008). C Dan Koppen is the lone starting lineman that was acquired by trade, coming from New England where he played from 2003-2010 (he was injured in 2011). They are one of, if not the best, o-line in the NFL.
The Broncos made the O-line a priority, something the Chargers haven't done in years. SD hasn't drafted an O-lineman before the 5th round since 2009 when they grabbed RG Louis Vasquez with their 3rd pick. SD's offensive line has been suspect since 2006. In contrast, the Broncos' offensive line was one of the reasons Peyton Manning choose to go to Denver.
I'm hoping it's those little things that will make McCoy a great head coach for the Chargers because I couldn't find a big reason for why he will be the next great coach.
I read McCoy's history when his name came up as a possible Head Coach for many of the teams searching for one. It isn't a highlight filled history. He was on the Panthers coaching staff from 2000-2008 as a position coach, then became the Broncos' offensive coordinator. His claim to fame is changing the offense to fit Tim Tebow in 2011 and Kyle Orton having a career best season in 2009, the first year with McCoy as OC. So how does that make him a Hot Head Coach candidate? I don't remember anyone fearing Orton and the Broncos offense or that their scheme was difficult to defense. Tebow's offense in 2011 wasn't impressive unless the game was close and Tebow made his magic happen. I would also think that Peyton Manning would have success this season no matter who the OC was.
I'm hoping there's something about this guy that I'm missing.
On the plus side, he isn't one of those "we're going to run my style, no matter what the personnel is" kind of coach. He revamped the offense to fit Tebow, then revamped it again to fit Manning. I believe the "lets run a scheme that fits our talents" philosophy lends itself to a quicker turn around than, "Lets get guys in that can play the way I want to" philosophy.
In the press conference, McCoy promised to bring changes to team routines like practice and travel schedules, and even the food. I said before this team needs a culture change to turn it around, hopefully this will be it.
McCoy said he would hire an offensive coordinator and that the OC would call the plays. Norv Turner called his own plays while he was HC. McCoy also said he needed to meet with defensive coordinator John Pagano before making a decision on whether he would be retained. I liked the direction the defense was heading under Pagano this season and hope he stays on. The Chargers have always had good linebacker play and Pagano was the LB coach from 2005 until being promoted to DC prior to the beginning of this season.
If McCoy had a hand in the Broncos' draft choices I'll be a happy man come draft day. The Broncos used a 2nd round pick in 2012 to get RT Orlando Franklin and a 2nd round pick in 2010 to get LG Zane Beadles. Franklin and Beadles have started every game since joining the club. RT Ryan Clady has made 3 Pro Bowls and started every game since being drafted in 2008. That's 3 drafted lineman that started every game...can't be a coincidence. RG Chris Kuper was drafted in 2006 and is the only Guard in NFL history to not allow a sack in an entire season (2008). C Dan Koppen is the lone starting lineman that was acquired by trade, coming from New England where he played from 2003-2010 (he was injured in 2011). They are one of, if not the best, o-line in the NFL.
The Broncos made the O-line a priority, something the Chargers haven't done in years. SD hasn't drafted an O-lineman before the 5th round since 2009 when they grabbed RG Louis Vasquez with their 3rd pick. SD's offensive line has been suspect since 2006. In contrast, the Broncos' offensive line was one of the reasons Peyton Manning choose to go to Denver.
I'm hoping it's those little things that will make McCoy a great head coach for the Chargers because I couldn't find a big reason for why he will be the next great coach.
Monday, January 14, 2013
NFL Playoffs - Random Thoughts
As underwhelmed I was with the wild card round, this weekend made up for it....well, except for the Pats-Texans game which I had a feeling wasn't going to be much of game considering the performance of both teams going down the stretch. I was actually surprised the Texans beat the Bengals...and as said in my last NFL post, if Andy Dalton hits a wide open AJ Green with 2:57 left in the game, it would have been the Bengals facing the Pats. Instead the Pats blew out the Texans 41-28 and it wasn't as close as the 13-point margin would suggest.
The games got off to a heck of a start with the Ravens-Broncos game. I have to give the Ravens big time credit for tenacity. Talk about possible heart breaking plays. Ravens go down 7-0 before Peyton Manning even takes the field by giving up a 90-yd punt return. Then they tie the game at 21-21 just before the half, but give up a TD on the kick return to start the 3rd and then turn it over on their first possession of the 2nd half. The defense came up big in the 3rd, not letting the Broncos' offense score. Of course, we all know what happened in the 4th. Down 28-35, 3rd and 3, on their own 30 yard line, 41 seconds left. How the Broncos secondary let Jacoby Jones get that wide open deep...wow! Fans always like to criticize teams for playing the prevent, but if they were in a prevent, that play never happens. Instead the Broncos were in their base cover 2 and the safety misplayed it.
I know everyone is on John Fox (and to a lesser extent, offensive coordinator Mike McCoy) for Manning taking a knee at the end of the game with 31 seconds left...I was shocked to see that too, considering they had time outs left (all three I think). Just look at the end of the Falcons-Seahawks game. But doesn't Manning call his own plays? Don't all the sportscasters praise him for his ability to call the offense on the field? Even if Fox did say, "Go take a knee," wouldn't you think Manning would say, "We can win this in regulation" or something like that? Don't you think Fox would then say, "Go for it."
And speaking of Manning...you're Peyton Manning. It's overtime and the playoffs, the time when great players do great things. You get two chances to win a playoff game and you don't. In fact, you make a bad decision throwing back over the middle while scrambling and essentially cost your team the game. Wow, that's something Tony Romo would do, not Peyton Manning.
Who would have thought we would be talking about Colin Kaepernick having the great playoff performance and Peyton Manning being the goat.
Kaepernick started off his first ever playoff drive by throwing a pick-6, but man was he money after that! 186 yards, rushing, 263 passing, 4 TDs, and that 1 INT. That's a gaudy stat line and you probably already know that it's a NFL rushing record for QBs. Kap's performance made you forget the Packers were up 14-7 at the end of the 1st quarter and the score was tied 24-24 with 8:38 in the 3rd.
I wasn't impressed with Russell Wilson when I watched him play in the win over the Redskins, but he really got my attention in the 2nd half of the Falcons 31-28 win. Down 20-0 at half and not doing much on offense, the Seahawks came back to lead it 28-27 behind some inspired play by Wilson. Matt Ryan throwing a pick-6 and Atlanta's defense going into conservative mode way to early helped, but Wilson gets some props for the comeback.
Of course, you have to hand it to Matty Ice for living up to his nickname. 31 seconds, 2 time outs, and Ryan hits a 22 yarder to Harry Douglas and 19 yarder to Tony Gonzalez in consecutive plays to set up Matt Bryant to kick the 49 yard winning field goal. I don't know who felt worse watching that, the Seahawks' fans or the Broncos' fans. If you where a Seahawks AND Broncos fan you probably threw the remote through the TV screen and vowed never to watch another NFL game again.
Does that get the monkey off Ryan's back? I don't know, but it was big time clutch when the game seemed lost and all the positive emotion on the Seahawks side of the ball. That has to be good for something.
The games got off to a heck of a start with the Ravens-Broncos game. I have to give the Ravens big time credit for tenacity. Talk about possible heart breaking plays. Ravens go down 7-0 before Peyton Manning even takes the field by giving up a 90-yd punt return. Then they tie the game at 21-21 just before the half, but give up a TD on the kick return to start the 3rd and then turn it over on their first possession of the 2nd half. The defense came up big in the 3rd, not letting the Broncos' offense score. Of course, we all know what happened in the 4th. Down 28-35, 3rd and 3, on their own 30 yard line, 41 seconds left. How the Broncos secondary let Jacoby Jones get that wide open deep...wow! Fans always like to criticize teams for playing the prevent, but if they were in a prevent, that play never happens. Instead the Broncos were in their base cover 2 and the safety misplayed it.
I know everyone is on John Fox (and to a lesser extent, offensive coordinator Mike McCoy) for Manning taking a knee at the end of the game with 31 seconds left...I was shocked to see that too, considering they had time outs left (all three I think). Just look at the end of the Falcons-Seahawks game. But doesn't Manning call his own plays? Don't all the sportscasters praise him for his ability to call the offense on the field? Even if Fox did say, "Go take a knee," wouldn't you think Manning would say, "We can win this in regulation" or something like that? Don't you think Fox would then say, "Go for it."
And speaking of Manning...you're Peyton Manning. It's overtime and the playoffs, the time when great players do great things. You get two chances to win a playoff game and you don't. In fact, you make a bad decision throwing back over the middle while scrambling and essentially cost your team the game. Wow, that's something Tony Romo would do, not Peyton Manning.
Who would have thought we would be talking about Colin Kaepernick having the great playoff performance and Peyton Manning being the goat.
Kaepernick started off his first ever playoff drive by throwing a pick-6, but man was he money after that! 186 yards, rushing, 263 passing, 4 TDs, and that 1 INT. That's a gaudy stat line and you probably already know that it's a NFL rushing record for QBs. Kap's performance made you forget the Packers were up 14-7 at the end of the 1st quarter and the score was tied 24-24 with 8:38 in the 3rd.
I wasn't impressed with Russell Wilson when I watched him play in the win over the Redskins, but he really got my attention in the 2nd half of the Falcons 31-28 win. Down 20-0 at half and not doing much on offense, the Seahawks came back to lead it 28-27 behind some inspired play by Wilson. Matt Ryan throwing a pick-6 and Atlanta's defense going into conservative mode way to early helped, but Wilson gets some props for the comeback.
Of course, you have to hand it to Matty Ice for living up to his nickname. 31 seconds, 2 time outs, and Ryan hits a 22 yarder to Harry Douglas and 19 yarder to Tony Gonzalez in consecutive plays to set up Matt Bryant to kick the 49 yard winning field goal. I don't know who felt worse watching that, the Seahawks' fans or the Broncos' fans. If you where a Seahawks AND Broncos fan you probably threw the remote through the TV screen and vowed never to watch another NFL game again.
Does that get the monkey off Ryan's back? I don't know, but it was big time clutch when the game seemed lost and all the positive emotion on the Seahawks side of the ball. That has to be good for something.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Hire GM...check!
As a fan the announcement tonight by the Chargers that they hired Tom Telesco as the GM wasn't that big a deal. I'm sure internally it's more important than most of us fans think, but what most fans are waiting for is, who will be the coach?
In his news conference after the introduction from the Chargers, there were two things that I found interesting, one from Telesco and the other from owner Dean Spanos.
Telesco said that he already had a list of candidates he would consider and that his list was very similar to what the Chargers management had. I'm pretty sure that Telesco's list included Colts' offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, considering Telesco was the vice president of football operations for the Colts, but I'm wondering who else could be on that list. The problem with Arians' is his health, considering Arians was hospitalized with an illness that caused him to miss the Colts-Ravens playoff game. I would think that would put a big question mark next to his name.
The other guy that I would have to believe is on Telesco's list is 49er Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman. Roman was an Assistant Coach for the Panthers while Telesco worked there.
Spanos peaked my interest by saying that request letters had been sent to other teams regarding coaching candidates, including teams in the playoffs. Considering there's only 8 teams left, who are the Chargers sending these letters to? One of the names that keep popping up in the rumor mill is Broncos' Offensive Coordinator Mike McCoy. I can understand the interest, considering where the Broncos are at, but you have to wonder if McCoy would have been a consideration if Peyton Manning went somewhere else. I don't see any of the other coordinators that I would want to be coach, but honestly I don't know much about most of them.
The first thing I thought when I saw Telesco was how young he was. Just 40 years old, he's the youngest GM in Chargers' history. The thing that impressed me about him was that he worked his way up, starting as a talent scout with the Bills and worked just about every job in between then and today. If nothing else, he knows every aspect of a Pro Football organization. I also liked that Telesco said that there were no parameters of on the (coaching) candidates. My translation; he's open to a first time head coach, which I believe is a really good thing.
How all this translates to putting together a competitive football team is yet to be seen, but I like what I've read about him.
In his news conference after the introduction from the Chargers, there were two things that I found interesting, one from Telesco and the other from owner Dean Spanos.
Telesco said that he already had a list of candidates he would consider and that his list was very similar to what the Chargers management had. I'm pretty sure that Telesco's list included Colts' offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, considering Telesco was the vice president of football operations for the Colts, but I'm wondering who else could be on that list. The problem with Arians' is his health, considering Arians was hospitalized with an illness that caused him to miss the Colts-Ravens playoff game. I would think that would put a big question mark next to his name.
The other guy that I would have to believe is on Telesco's list is 49er Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman. Roman was an Assistant Coach for the Panthers while Telesco worked there.
Spanos peaked my interest by saying that request letters had been sent to other teams regarding coaching candidates, including teams in the playoffs. Considering there's only 8 teams left, who are the Chargers sending these letters to? One of the names that keep popping up in the rumor mill is Broncos' Offensive Coordinator Mike McCoy. I can understand the interest, considering where the Broncos are at, but you have to wonder if McCoy would have been a consideration if Peyton Manning went somewhere else. I don't see any of the other coordinators that I would want to be coach, but honestly I don't know much about most of them.
The first thing I thought when I saw Telesco was how young he was. Just 40 years old, he's the youngest GM in Chargers' history. The thing that impressed me about him was that he worked his way up, starting as a talent scout with the Bills and worked just about every job in between then and today. If nothing else, he knows every aspect of a Pro Football organization. I also liked that Telesco said that there were no parameters of on the (coaching) candidates. My translation; he's open to a first time head coach, which I believe is a really good thing.
How all this translates to putting together a competitive football team is yet to be seen, but I like what I've read about him.
Monday, January 7, 2013
NFL Playoffs: Random Thoughts
While the last two Super Bowl winners have come out of the Wild Card
round, I wasn't impressed with any of the winners this weekend, especially with the
Texans win over the Bengals (19-13) and the Seahawks win over the
Redskins (24-14).
The Texans could have easily loss. They struggled to get into the end zone and dodged a bullet late in the 4th quarter on the Bengals last possession. With 2:57 left and facing 3rd and 11, WR A.J. Green made a great move on the corner and had him beat down the sidelines and was wide open...but Dalton over threw him. Bengals went for it on 4th, but came up 3 yards short. The Texans should have put this game away earlier, getting into the Red Zone on 3 of the first 5 possessions. They settled for 3 field goals and Schaub was picked for a TD leaving the score 9-7 at halftime and the Bengals still in the game.
I was very underwhelmed by the performance of Russell Wilson in the Seahawks-Redskins game. There was some talk that Wilson should be in the Rookie of the Year discussions, but after what I saw I can't believe that was even brought up. I will confess that this was the first time I saw him play so it may have been playoff jitters or just a bad game, but if you're in the running for an award, the Playoffs should be your time to shine.
Wilson's stat line: 15-26, 187 yds, 1 TD, 0 Int., 8 rushes, 67 yds...but that doesn't tell the whole story. In two consecutive critical drives in the 3rd quarter trailing 13-14, Wilson missed two TDs that should have put the game away. First, one of the WRs (I think it was Tate) beat his man and had a good 10 yard cushion. Wilson had a good look at it as the pocket opened up in front of him giving him plenty of room to step up and make the easy throw. Instead, he took off. He did gain 28 yards, but it should have been 6 points. Later in the same drive, Baldwin caught the safety flat footed and easy ran right past him, Wilson over threw him so badly that Usain Bolt couldn't have got under that ball (Could a sprinter have a better name than Bolt?). The drive ended in a punt.
All I have to say is that the Seahawks were lucky that RGIII wasn't 100% and that he got hurt and played 3/4s of that game on one leg.
Meanwhile the Ravens took care of the Colts (24-9) and the Pack beat the Viks (24-10) in what looked liked impressive fashion on the scoreboard, but not so impressive when you look at it closer.
The Packers pretty much coasted to a win over the Viks. Tony Dungy in the pre-game show said that Joe Webb would give the Viks a better chance to win than Christian Ponder....he was big time wrong. Don't know if Ponder would have done better (you would have to assume so), but it was painfully obvious after his first few attempts at throwing down field that Webb wasn't going to complete anything deep unless the DBs completely missed an assignment. He finally did hit his last 3 passes deep, but that wasn't until the 4th quarter with the score 24-9. He finished, 11-30, 180 yards. Those last 3 passes combined for 103 yards. Do the math. Once the Packers went up 17-3 in the 2nd quarter, Adrian Peterson became a non-factor.
Ravens had the most impressive win, bouncing back from their late season defensive and offensive woes, keeping the Colts out of the end zone, and getting in the end zone themselves 3 times. If you watched the game though, it wasn't that impressive. Ray Rice had a decent game, but coughed it up twice. Joe Flacco made some bad throws, but got away with it and didn't get picked.
The defense, which seemingly was getting beat up by everybody, played well (probably inspired by Ray Lewis' retirement announcement). You would have thought I would have said, "played great" since they only allowed 3 FGs, but again if you watched the game you wouldn't say "played great." Andrew Luck had 288 yards passing; Reggie Wayne had 114 yards receiving, and Vick Ballard had 91 yards rushing. Watching that game you didn't think the Colts where getting blown out. Colts drive chart: 6 plays, 14, 6, 4, 10, 8, 6, 16, 7, 13, 8. Luck did have 2 turnovers (1 INT, 1 FUM), but it seemed like the Colts consistently moved the ball well. I guess I have to give the Ravens defense credit for bending, but not breaking.
I wouldn't bet on the Ravens, Seahawks, or Texans getting past the next round, let alone making it to the Super Bowl and the juries' still out on the Packers.
The Texans could have easily loss. They struggled to get into the end zone and dodged a bullet late in the 4th quarter on the Bengals last possession. With 2:57 left and facing 3rd and 11, WR A.J. Green made a great move on the corner and had him beat down the sidelines and was wide open...but Dalton over threw him. Bengals went for it on 4th, but came up 3 yards short. The Texans should have put this game away earlier, getting into the Red Zone on 3 of the first 5 possessions. They settled for 3 field goals and Schaub was picked for a TD leaving the score 9-7 at halftime and the Bengals still in the game.
I was very underwhelmed by the performance of Russell Wilson in the Seahawks-Redskins game. There was some talk that Wilson should be in the Rookie of the Year discussions, but after what I saw I can't believe that was even brought up. I will confess that this was the first time I saw him play so it may have been playoff jitters or just a bad game, but if you're in the running for an award, the Playoffs should be your time to shine.
Wilson's stat line: 15-26, 187 yds, 1 TD, 0 Int., 8 rushes, 67 yds...but that doesn't tell the whole story. In two consecutive critical drives in the 3rd quarter trailing 13-14, Wilson missed two TDs that should have put the game away. First, one of the WRs (I think it was Tate) beat his man and had a good 10 yard cushion. Wilson had a good look at it as the pocket opened up in front of him giving him plenty of room to step up and make the easy throw. Instead, he took off. He did gain 28 yards, but it should have been 6 points. Later in the same drive, Baldwin caught the safety flat footed and easy ran right past him, Wilson over threw him so badly that Usain Bolt couldn't have got under that ball (Could a sprinter have a better name than Bolt?). The drive ended in a punt.
All I have to say is that the Seahawks were lucky that RGIII wasn't 100% and that he got hurt and played 3/4s of that game on one leg.
Meanwhile the Ravens took care of the Colts (24-9) and the Pack beat the Viks (24-10) in what looked liked impressive fashion on the scoreboard, but not so impressive when you look at it closer.
The Packers pretty much coasted to a win over the Viks. Tony Dungy in the pre-game show said that Joe Webb would give the Viks a better chance to win than Christian Ponder....he was big time wrong. Don't know if Ponder would have done better (you would have to assume so), but it was painfully obvious after his first few attempts at throwing down field that Webb wasn't going to complete anything deep unless the DBs completely missed an assignment. He finally did hit his last 3 passes deep, but that wasn't until the 4th quarter with the score 24-9. He finished, 11-30, 180 yards. Those last 3 passes combined for 103 yards. Do the math. Once the Packers went up 17-3 in the 2nd quarter, Adrian Peterson became a non-factor.
Ravens had the most impressive win, bouncing back from their late season defensive and offensive woes, keeping the Colts out of the end zone, and getting in the end zone themselves 3 times. If you watched the game though, it wasn't that impressive. Ray Rice had a decent game, but coughed it up twice. Joe Flacco made some bad throws, but got away with it and didn't get picked.
The defense, which seemingly was getting beat up by everybody, played well (probably inspired by Ray Lewis' retirement announcement). You would have thought I would have said, "played great" since they only allowed 3 FGs, but again if you watched the game you wouldn't say "played great." Andrew Luck had 288 yards passing; Reggie Wayne had 114 yards receiving, and Vick Ballard had 91 yards rushing. Watching that game you didn't think the Colts where getting blown out. Colts drive chart: 6 plays, 14, 6, 4, 10, 8, 6, 16, 7, 13, 8. Luck did have 2 turnovers (1 INT, 1 FUM), but it seemed like the Colts consistently moved the ball well. I guess I have to give the Ravens defense credit for bending, but not breaking.
I wouldn't bet on the Ravens, Seahawks, or Texans getting past the next round, let alone making it to the Super Bowl and the juries' still out on the Packers.
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