Stretching the Field: Championship Round
by Matt Miller
Luke Chandler takes an in depth look at the two championship games of this past weekend, and then reviews some news from around the league.
By Luke Paul Chandler
The AFC Championship game’s end result was predictable, a New England victory because of a stellar coaching performance by Bill Belichick and company. The Patriots of the Championship round looked more like the Patriots of Super Bowl years past. They played smart football and the defense kept the game close till the offense got an opportunity, rather than hanging 50 on their opponent. The goal-line and third down work of the Patriots defense stopped the Chargers potent offense from scoring touchdowns, which ultimately was the key to the game. On a day when Tom Brady was uncharacteristically rattled and played inconsistently, his supporting cast picked him up.
In Green Bay, the frigid temperature factor was hyped up the commentators, but its impact on the game was felt in the tight moments. Quarterbacks Eli Manning and Brett Favre both appeared to be in pain several times as they released the ball. Giants’ kicker Lawrence Tynes, who had missed two earlier field goals, was able to seal up an NFC Championship for the Giants by kicking a clutch 47-yard field goal to win the game in overtime. The real story though was Eli Manning, who for the third playoff game in a row did not turn the ball over, and was a big part of the Giants’ victory.
Patriots 21- Chargers 12
Tedy Bruschi, MLB, Patriots: 8 tackles (7 solo) - Bruschi, the ageless man in the middle for the Patriots, played one of his strongest games of the season against the Chargers and earned a game ball for making the Chargers offense look very vanilla. Once the Chargers turned to Michael Turner as their primary running back, it was obvious that Bruschi was going to be in for an active day. The Chargers’ power run game is keyed off running to their left side behind left tackle Marcus McNeill and left guard Kris Dielman, and that aligns with Bruschi’s weak inside linebacker position.
Despite not being an overly big linebacker, Bruschi handles blocks well and was slipping away from blockers and taking on the powerful Turner at the point of attack and winning the battle. Bruschi often didn’t need his teammates help, but New England swarms to the ball carrier better than any other defense in the NFL, so help was not far away. He rarely can be isolated by just the fullback, and Bruschi was just cleaning up anything near him on Sunday.
Giants 23 – Packers 20
Corey Webster, CB, Giants: 3 tackles, 1 INT - Normally, game balls should be reserved for players who play mistake free games, and are a steady force throughout the game. Webster, who was juked out of his shoes on a 90-yard touchdown pass to Donald Driver in the second quarter, rebounded to play amazing ball in the second half. He ended up grabbing the key interception in overtime that swung the game in favor of the Giants for good.
Webster, who’s up-and-down season has seen him go from starter, to benched, to inactive, to starter again in the postseason was topped off by the overtime interception. Webster, whose flaws are mostly in recognition and biting on double moves, has great athleticism and can run with any receiver in the NFL in man coverage. While he was at LSU, he was converted from wide receiver and has great ball skills. He made a great comeback on an under-thrown ball by Favre, and jumped the route on Driver for the pick. Webster needs to clean up sloppy technique if he wants to become a regular contributor on the Giants, but his strong play on Sunday gave his team a Super Bowl birth.
Quick hits
The coaching of Chargers’ head coach Norv Turner will be drawn into question all offseason. Turner rested star running back LaDainian Tomlinson for the majority of the game due to the health of his knee, yet he let quarterback Philip Rivers play all game with a similar injury. While not enough of a sample was given to be able to see what Tomlinson could do, as early as the second quarter it was obvious that Rivers could not push off or put any power into his throws. If with such small sample, Turner was able to see that Tomlinson shouldn’t have played, why couldn’t the same decision be made about Rivers? By the time Asante Samuel picked him off, which was turned into a New England touchdown, it was obvious that Rivers passes were sailing and floating.
After the AFC Championship game, it appeared obvious that the Chargers will need to work Darren Sproles into their offense more often. Sproles, who’s hard to contain and bring down despite his diminutive size, was giving the slower Patriots linebackers fits. He’s a serious weapon on screen plays and, if used correctly, could become an effective third-down back. His blocking skills have improved to the point where Chargers could trust him in that role more in 2008.
Despite the overall unit being solid for the Patriots, the right side of their offensive line is not as strong in the passing game as the left. In particular, tackle Nick Kaczur has trouble with stronger linemen. He was not winning his battles on Sunday, and while a solid player, he has shown trouble in the passing game all season.
The Giants’ best running back has been on their bench all season. While Brandon Jacobs has a much bigger frame and size-to-speed ratio, Ahmad Bradshaw is clearly the better all-purpose back. Jacobs gets labeled a power back because of his size, but is really a smaller back playing in a larger body. His upright running style leaves him open too many hits, and for a back who doesn’t avoid contact, it’s a recipe for disaster. The more compact Bradshaw has better vision and cutback ability, and is a more powerful runner than given credit for. Look for Bradshaw to be given serious consideration as the feature runner next season in New York.
For those not the in playoffs
The most significant hiring to happen this offseason has happened in Houston. The hiring of offensive line guru Alex Gibbs to be the assistant head coach and offensive line coach for coach Gary Kubiak’s staff will help resuscitate a dying Texans running attack. Gibbs, a key to vaunted Denver Broncos ground game in the late 1990’s has had success wherever he goes. Gibbs, Kubiak, and Denver coach Mike Shannahan are the architects of the infamous zone block/cut block scheme that has produced seven different thousand yard rushers in Denver. Gibbs’ methods are often questionable and deemed to be cheap by his opponents, but the results speak for themselves. Look for Houston to improve greatly on the ground next year, which will help even out their offense.
With the elevation of defensive backs coach Mel Tucker to defensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns, it shows the trust being put in Tucker and the high regard he is held in by team management. Tucker is a noted teacher, who has been publicly praised by former students such as Buffalo’s Donte Whitner, and Dustin Fox. Tucker is a strong teacher of fundamentals, and will be able to help clean up a young and sloppy Browns defense.
Closing Thought
With the strong play of Eli Manning in the playoffs this year, has he finally crossed the threshold? Eli will likely never be in the same category as his brother Peyton, but his play over the past three weeks has been that of a much different quarterback than the one in seasons past. Manning’s biggest flaws usually result from throwing off his back foot and hitting receivers late in their patterns, but those traits have been non-existent so far in the playoffs. What’s sad is the progress he’s made will probably not be recognized unless the Giants win the Super Bowl, and he has an impeccable performance. It’s just Eli’s luck that he is facing the undefeated New England Patriots.