The San Francisco 49ers came back to beat the Atlanta Falcons, 28-24, in a true thriller. The Baltimore
Ravens came back to beat the New England Patriots, 28-13, in a game
that may have lacked the drama of the first, but still had its moments.
We have a Super Bowl that will be contested between two brothers, John
(Ravens coach) and Jim (49ers coach) Harbaugh.
Ray Lewis (Photo credit: Keith Allison)
A few quick thoughts:
–The Super Bowl matchup could be a good one. You have the brother vs. brother action with John and Jim Harbaugh, which we will be hearing a lot about in the next two weeks. But you also have two very hot teams coming in, teams that outscored their opponents 35-0 in the second halves this weekend (h/t @SethWickersham).
–For all of the glory the NFL should be feeling right now, it is hard to gloss over these games without mentioning the helmet-to-helmet hit taken by the New England Patriots running back, Steven Ridlay. Hits like this—which literally churn the stomach—are the bane of the NFL. When the Ravens Bernard Pollard hit Ridlay, the latter literally went blank, with some gruesome limb-stiffening thrown in for good measure. These hits cast such a strange, hollow tenor on the game. On Twitter, Glenn Stout, editor of the august Best American Sports Writing series, brought up Ray Chapman, the Major League Baseball pitcher who died after being felled by a batted ball. He warned that this moment could happen on a football field. Just something to think about when we talk about the $9 billion behemoth that is the NFL. Pollard, by the way, is a one-man wrecking crew for the Patriots. In his career, he’s taken out Tom Brady, Wes Welker, Ron Gronkowski and now Ridlay. ESPN’s Bill Simmons is something of a soothsayer.
–Is Budweiser Black Crown a response to Guinness and their “black” beer?
–NFL front offices may want to dip into the lower levels of the college game for quarterbacks. Joe Flacco is a Delaware Blue Hen. Colin Kaepernick is a Nevada Wolf Pack (that somehow doesn’t sound grammatically correct).
–Octagon First Call marketing guru David Schwab pointed out that CBS sideline reporters Solomon Wilcots and Steve Tasker had tape over the logos on their jackets. Would love to know the backstory on that.
–I wrote last week how a Falcons Super Bowl win might help them get a new stadium, something their owner, Arthur Blank, has been angling for. I’ve re-thought this. I think that loss—falling within a few yards of a win–coupled with the Georgia Bulldogs doing basically the same thing against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship Game, could be a better reason to tear the old building down. Time to exorcise a curse.
–As fans, we feel the heartbreak when our team loses. But that shot of Falcons owner, Arthur Blank, head down as the Falcons lost, reminds us that most owners take it harder. It’s tough, of course, to feel sorry for billionaires, but remember that the team is literally part of his persona. No, he might not be wearing a Ryan jersey in the parking lot, but these losses must crush him.
–David Akers, the 49ers kicker, missed an easy 38-yard field goal in the win. Keep an eye on this story. We all hit slumps in our lives. Akers is in one now. And it may very well cost his team. Shaky kickers are scary.
–Albert Breer and Peter King, two of the better NFL reporters out there, frequently retweet the “hate-tweets” they get from random tweeters. Why? Indifference towards these folks is the better method.
–The Patriots suddenly the NFL heartbreak kids. Perhaps it’s a little taste of what they used to dish out on the rest of the NFL (yes, I am a Steelers fan). Still, it’s been an incredible run for this team. They have appeared in 7 of last 12 AFC Championship games.
Forbes
Ray Lewis (Photo credit: Keith Allison)
A few quick thoughts:
–The Super Bowl matchup could be a good one. You have the brother vs. brother action with John and Jim Harbaugh, which we will be hearing a lot about in the next two weeks. But you also have two very hot teams coming in, teams that outscored their opponents 35-0 in the second halves this weekend (h/t @SethWickersham).
–For all of the glory the NFL should be feeling right now, it is hard to gloss over these games without mentioning the helmet-to-helmet hit taken by the New England Patriots running back, Steven Ridlay. Hits like this—which literally churn the stomach—are the bane of the NFL. When the Ravens Bernard Pollard hit Ridlay, the latter literally went blank, with some gruesome limb-stiffening thrown in for good measure. These hits cast such a strange, hollow tenor on the game. On Twitter, Glenn Stout, editor of the august Best American Sports Writing series, brought up Ray Chapman, the Major League Baseball pitcher who died after being felled by a batted ball. He warned that this moment could happen on a football field. Just something to think about when we talk about the $9 billion behemoth that is the NFL. Pollard, by the way, is a one-man wrecking crew for the Patriots. In his career, he’s taken out Tom Brady, Wes Welker, Ron Gronkowski and now Ridlay. ESPN’s Bill Simmons is something of a soothsayer.
–Is Budweiser Black Crown a response to Guinness and their “black” beer?
–NFL front offices may want to dip into the lower levels of the college game for quarterbacks. Joe Flacco is a Delaware Blue Hen. Colin Kaepernick is a Nevada Wolf Pack (that somehow doesn’t sound grammatically correct).
–Octagon First Call marketing guru David Schwab pointed out that CBS sideline reporters Solomon Wilcots and Steve Tasker had tape over the logos on their jackets. Would love to know the backstory on that.
–I wrote last week how a Falcons Super Bowl win might help them get a new stadium, something their owner, Arthur Blank, has been angling for. I’ve re-thought this. I think that loss—falling within a few yards of a win–coupled with the Georgia Bulldogs doing basically the same thing against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship Game, could be a better reason to tear the old building down. Time to exorcise a curse.
–As fans, we feel the heartbreak when our team loses. But that shot of Falcons owner, Arthur Blank, head down as the Falcons lost, reminds us that most owners take it harder. It’s tough, of course, to feel sorry for billionaires, but remember that the team is literally part of his persona. No, he might not be wearing a Ryan jersey in the parking lot, but these losses must crush him.
–David Akers, the 49ers kicker, missed an easy 38-yard field goal in the win. Keep an eye on this story. We all hit slumps in our lives. Akers is in one now. And it may very well cost his team. Shaky kickers are scary.
–Albert Breer and Peter King, two of the better NFL reporters out there, frequently retweet the “hate-tweets” they get from random tweeters. Why? Indifference towards these folks is the better method.
–The Patriots suddenly the NFL heartbreak kids. Perhaps it’s a little taste of what they used to dish out on the rest of the NFL (yes, I am a Steelers fan). Still, it’s been an incredible run for this team. They have appeared in 7 of last 12 AFC Championship games.
Forbes
Monte Burke, Forbes Staff
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