Bye, Bye Number One Seeds

Added on Jan 17, 2011 by Scott in

NFL

A funny thing happened on the way to a Falcons-Patriots Super Bowl. Both teams dropped the ball and got flattened by number six seeds. Oops. Who the hell saw that coming? The Falcons losing, I get. But the Pats? The anointed ones. The team with the legendary coach and the Golden Boy quarterback. Say it ain’t so. Evidently defense still does win championships because all four of the final four boast Top 10 ranked units. Tom Brady and Matt Ryan might be Pro Bowlers, but something tells me neither is looking forward to the trip to Hawaii.

Atlanta’s 13 regular season wins went for naught. Giving up 48 points at home after resting for a week can’t be what owner Arthur Blank had in mind. Especially when the team that rung up 48 lost in the same building six weeks earlier. Michael Turner got stuffed. Tony Gonzalez was incognito. And the aforementioned Mr. Ryan threw two more bad interceptions, bringing his postseason total to four in two games.

So, where do the NFC South champs go from here? Providing there is an offseason, they need to load up on defense in free agency and the draft. John Abraham is the only “star” player. The rest run the gamut from good to adequate. Cornerback Brent Grimes was abused repeatedly and the pass rush, outside of Abraham, was absent.

As for the Patriots, I’m not sure what to make of them. They didn’t seem to miss Randy Moss in November and December, but they sure did miss him in January. The Jets secondary blanketed their slowish, smallish wideouts, and the front seven was relentless in compiling five sacks.

The normally unflappable Bill Belichick appeared to be at a loss how to counter Rex Ryan’s aggressive scheme. Tom Brady was chased and hit all game long. When he had time to throw, he often found no open receivers. The young defense was overmatched from the beginning. Shonne Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson combined to rush for over 100 yards and Mark Sanchez was rarely pressured.

Needless to say, it was a surprising dud performance by the team most pundits penciled in the Super Bowl at the start of the playoffs. Perhaps there is a changing of the guard in the AFC. The Jets have successfully eliminated two of the most dominant teams in the conference over the last decade. Up next is the third, and maybe toughest of the AFC’s Big Three. The bruising two-time champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

That makes for can’t miss television next Sunday. And that Packers-Bears showdown ain’t too shabby either. To borrow a phrase from a certain wide receiver — get your popcorn ready.