Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Written by: James Burulcich
Edited by: Allie Fontana

The NFL Playoffs are the gift that keeps on giving. Epic games, fantastic upsets and even Tim Tebow haters were vindicated last Saturday night. As a New York Giants fan, I’m ecstatic with the 37-20 romping the team gave to Green Bay on the Packers’ home turf. Here are the 10 things I learned during the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs:

 

1. Montana to Clark?

Reminiscent of old San Francisco playoff heroics, the 2011 version of the 49ers found magic once again on Saturday. Alex Smith—yes, that Alex Smith—led not one, but two late fourth-quarter drives to give his team the lead. In fact, he added another page to the 49ers’ history book on the final drive. Joe Montana and Dwight Clark had “The Catch” and Alex Smith and Vernon Davis now have “The Grab.” Davis agreed postgame that’s what it should be called and after his amazing performance and game- winning catch, who are we to argue? “The Grab” it is.

2. Saints Falter.

The only way that I could have seen the New Orleans Saints losing on Saturday would have been if the San Francisco 49ers defense had really contained Drew Brees. Although he threw two interceptions and his team set a playoff record with three first-quarter turnovers, Brees was Brees. He threw for an impressive 462 yards and that should have been enough, except that Niners quarterback Alex Smith out gunned him to end the game. That’s someone no one could have or would have expected. A tough loss for Saints fans and fantasy owner “all in” on the team to swallow.

3. Patriots Buck the Broncos.

All week long the analysts worried that the New England Patriots might be in trouble because they’ve been ousted from home playoff games over the last two years by sophomore quarterbacks. First it was Baltimore’s Joe Flacco, then the Jets’ Mark Sanchez. Could Tim Tebow be the third signal caller to end their postseason dreams after one game. Thirty minutes into the game, we saw how foolish those concerns were. Tom Brady had five touchdowns and the team went into halftime with a 35-7 lead.  Brady proved once again why he is considered one the greatest quarterbacks of all time. No doubt that Brady follows the Kobe System (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MwwHJXLjg4).

4. R.I.P. Tebow-Mania.

Born: Sunday, October 23rd, 2011; Died: Saturday, January 14th, 2012.
Here lies Tebow-Mania. Born out of a crazy American obsession with underdog stories, Tebow-Mania ran wild across the United States. Week in and week out its inspiration, Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow pulled off miraculous comeback after miraculous comeback despite numerous inefficiencies, or deficiencies depending on who you talk to. After each win Tebow would drop to a knee unlike any before him. “Tebowing” became the modern day “Macarena.” A tragedy occurred last Saturday night.  Tebow-Mania was essentially dead-on-arrival in Foxboro, Massachusetts. It was fun while it lasted and it’ll be missed by some. 

5. Saturday Tight Live.

Those of you who follow me on twitter—@Burulcich—may have seen my tweet on Saturday night about the tight end position. In case you missed it, I tweeted “Tight Ends combined for 28 receptions, 495 yards and eight touchdowns on Saturday.” I think that stat is ridiculous. The tight end position has become another receiver on the field in the current version of the NFL. You could make a case for either Rob Gronkowski or Jimmy Graham being the second “receiver” taken off the board after Calvin Johnson in fantasy drafts next summer. I wouldn’t blame you.

6. Ravens Rock.

Well, not really but Terrell Suggs put it best, “There’s the right way to do things, the wrong way to do things, and the Raven way of doing things.” Baltimore looked far from pretty in their home victory on Sunday, however this is the type of team that they are. Never flashy, always gritty. Future Hall of Famers Ray Lewis and Ed Reed didn’t play they were a day over 25 and covered the field with ease. While I know it’s been said a lot in recent years, I do believe this year is the last opportunity for these two Ravens veterans to get that second ring. Not sure if they can stop Brady.

7. Open the Flood Yates

This is exactly what we expected right? It was one thing for rookie T.J. Yates to have success against the Cincinnati Bengals defense at home last week, but playing in Baltimore is a whole other animal. I give the Houston Texans a ton of credit for keeping this game close and Arian Foster’s play speaks for itself. That said, a seven-point deficit against the Ravens might as well have been a 40-point deficit against any other team. Yates looked uncomfortable and nervous and that led to him throwing two interceptions on the final two drives while trying to tie the game. The Texans will be back again next year and as long as they’re healthy, they’ll win it.

8. 7-11?

It’s virtually impossible to describe the New York Giants Version 2011 without seeing remnants of the 2007 Super Bowl Edition. What more can I say? I’m a huge Giants fan and now, like then, I go into each playoff game with minimal expectations. Then as now, it’s always better to get rewarded with surprising victories. The Giants’ pass rush is playing at the same level as the Super Bowl winning team did. However this time around Eli Manning is truly playing ELI-te. There’s nothing to cheer for yet…a lot of work still to be done.

9. Packers ELI-minated.

Well you can’t spell elite without “Eli” and the Packers can’t spell eliminated without it either. Then again, I’m not that surprised. While Green Bay was phenomenal this season, the team was definitely not as solid as last year’s. One of the main differences between then and now is that they had a defense that could get after the opposing quarterback. That wasn’t the case this season.  I feel like I didn’t hear Clay Matthews’ name all year long and no matter how good your offense is, you need a defense to win titles.  The Giants’ Eli Manning had almost all day to throw the football for most of the game, and took advantage of it. Take heart Green Bay fans. Your team is still so young that they will have numerous opportunities in the future to get Rodgers a second ring.

10. And Your Super Bowl Matchup Will Be?

It goes without saying which team I’m taking in the NFC matchup. For the AFC Champion, it comes down to which team I’d rather see the New York Giants face. Do I want to see my Giants beat up the New England Patriots in a Super Bowl XLII rematch because I believe they’re a better matchup? Or do I want my Giants to get revenge on the Baltimore Ravens for that Super Bowl XXXV loss? As much as I want to face the Patriots, I think Joe Flacco would look like a deer in headlights against the G-Men’s pass rush. On the other hand, I don’t see the Ravens defeating the Patriots in New England this time around, so I believe Super Bowl XLVI will be the rematch between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots.