As the 2011 NFL regular season wound down there appeared to be a shift in the NFL paradigm that a great Running game and a great Defense wins Championships.  This was backed up by the fact taht 4 of the 12 teams in the NFL Playoffs touted a much superior passing offense compared to their run offense and each had a very poor defense.  The Lions, Saints and Packers were among the top passing teams in the league and were labled as virtually unstoppable on offense and on the AFC side was the New England Patriots who threw the ball at will almost ignoring the run and had the 30th ranked defense in the league.  Now all these high powered offenses are going home minus one, the Patroits who in reality got a second week off or another bye week by having to playthe Broncos. In fairness though, the Broncos defense was suppose to be one of the leagues best so we have to give the Patriots some credit here… but still it was Tebow and the Broncos.  The reason the other 3 teams are heading home is because their defense couldn’t tackle or guard any one in a pass pattern. 

The Lions were taken out in an Arena League game vs the Saints at the dome. Then the Saints turned around and gave the 49ers the ball on 5 turnovers and yet still were able to take the lead with just over 2 minutes to play but the defense couldn’t stop Alex Smith and the 49ers from sending the Saints back home in the Divisional round for the second year in a row. Some where in Atlanta a Falcons fan is smiling, as are the Detroit Lions fans. Karma is a bitc$..

The Packers wasted arguably the greatest season in half a dozen years by not only forgetting how to tackle on defense but also how to knock down a hail mary pass.  Of course the 8 dropped passes on offense had something to do with the end result as did the 3 turnovers but yet I couldn’t help but wonder what the game would have been like had the Packers played a  little defense especially against the pass.  Where was the great Clay Mathews at when the Packers needed him to put pressure on Eli Manning?  I know, he was practicing for his newest upcoming commercial.  As the game ended, I couldn’t help but think back to Mark Rypien, who had a Super Bowl and League MVP in a short span only to flame out within a few years. Just sayin’

We are left with 2 great defenses in the NFC with the Giants and the 49ers. The Giants without question have the better offense which should give them the edge in the Championship game but the Giants have also been so inconsistant this year and I am still not sold that they are going to keep playing at a high level. On the other hand, the 49ers offense is putrid. They put together a great couple of series vs the Saints defense in the final minutes on Saturday but before the final few minutes, they were simply terrible on offense vs a terrible defense which does not bode well for them. 

 In the AFC, the Texans and Ravens were both touting solid defenses with questionable offenses.  The game played out as you might expect. A fairly good defensive struggled with the Texans Rookie QB finally cracking under the pressure throwing 3 picks. It was hard to really guage the Patriots vs Broncos. In fairness, Tebow played the same way he has played most of the year only the Broncos defense has kept the Broncos in every game giving Tebow and the offense a chance to win it in the end. This time, there was no Broncos defense that I could see. After 6 touchdown passes by Tom Brady, the Patroits simply called the dogs off mid way through the 3rd qtr or the score could have been 72-10.

The Patroits offense will have a bit more trouble this week vs Baltimore but they are at home. I suspect they can put up 24 points or more even against a great defense like Baltimore. The big question is, can the Ravens score more than 24 against the Patriots weak defense. I am not sold on that proposition so I give the edge to the Patriots.

I think we are headed to a Super Bowl XLII rematch Giants vs Patriots.