By Dalton Del Don
As a 49ers fan, it doesn’t get much better than Saturday. The tailgate started at 8:30 am, so we were all in good shape by gametime. The hit on Pierre Thomas (not sure why so many people thought a penalty should have been called on a clearly legal hit) set the tone, and I couldn’t have been more surprised by the early 17-0 lead…The Saints had half as many fumbles Saturday (three) than they did during the entire 2011/12 season. Saturday also was also the first time Drew Brees was picked off during the first quarter of a game all year…While his touchdown catch on third down was big, Michael Crabtree had bad back-to-back drops that ended another drive…What a crazy good pass from Brees to Marques Colston for a 25-yard score…How about 15 catches for Darren Sproles?
Craziest volleyball rally of all-time.
Aussie tourist’s bungee cord snaps into alligator infested waters.
Justin Smith is a grown ass man. Frequently double-teamed, he recorded five QB pressures and a season-high four QB hits Saturday, not coming off the field for a single snap (a whopping 83)…What a block by Joe Staley during Alex Smith’s 28-yard touchdown run, which was a career-long. Smith has thrown for 300 yards zero times this season, but he led the league with the lowest INT% and made some seriously impressive throws Saturday. He ended the regular season with an 8:1 TD:INT ratio and the third-best QB rating in the NFL when facing a blitz and just led SF on back-to-back 80-plus yard TD drives in the final 2:30 minutes of a Divisional playoff game, becoming just the fourth player ever to throw for three touchdowns with no interceptions while rushing for a TD in postseason history. Hard to believe this happened just last year…This marked only the fourth time in NFL history a team scored a touchdown to take the lead in a playoff game with less than 10 seconds left (somehow I have been at two of these, with both featuring sobbing 49er receivers)…With four lead changes in the final four minutes, seriously, how sick was that game?!!
Crazy brah surfs on his car’s windshield.
Did Tom Brady really throw five touchdown passes before halftime? That’s fairly impressive…Aaron Hernandez had more than twice as many rushing yards as any other Patriot. Of course he did…I’m beginning to think Tim Tebow versus Tom Brady is a mismatch in a shootout…As Cousin Sal will attest, the over/under for completed passes by Tim Tebow Saturday night was just 11.5. He completed nine in a game in which they were trailing by 28 points at halftime against a New England defense that allowed the most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season…With three minutes left in the fourth quarter, Tom Brady punted on 3rd-and-10. Of course he did.
Embarrassing goalkeeper error leads to a goal.
Guy making iced tea like a boss.
What a terrible play by Jacoby Jones, losing a fumble on a punt return at his own six-yard line. Inexcusable. What was he thinking trying to pick the ball up with a defender right there?…There were some really nice catches in this game, highlighted by Arian Foster and Lee Evans, who both hauled in impressive one-handed grabs…T.J. Yates made some really poor decisions and throws on his interceptions, but it appeared to me Andre Johnson is clearly still not 100 percent, as it looked like he could have done a better job trying to break up a couple of those picks…As poorly as Yates played (although Dan Dierdof thought he played an excellent game), Johnathan Joseph was fantastic, shutting down Torrey Smith…Arian Foster also played extremely well, but his fumbling problem has become a serious issue. He’s now put the ball on the carpet seven times over his past seven games…I have no problem with Baltimore going for it on fourth-and-goal, but Ray Rice really struggled during that stretch. He fumbled the handoff before kicking the ball (and advancing his team three yards) on second down and then followed that up by stumbling and falling down on his own during the next carry. He was then easily stopped on a fourth down run straight up the gut. Not his best sequence.
Seriously, why is Brian Orakpo such a dick in those Geico ads?
The Greatest Sports GIFs of 2011.
How was that Greg Jennings play not a fumble? Surprisingly, the Giants/Packers game could have gotten out of hand even earlier if not for a couple of breaks for the home team (of course, the Hail Mary was fortunate for New York). Also the roughing the passer call that extended a Packers drive late in the game was also highly questionable…Aaron Rodgers led all rushers with 66 yards during Sunday’s game. It was a successful strategy by the Giants, as he also took a season-high four sacks and was limited to a season-low 5.7 YPA. Of course, Green Bay certainly didn’t play it’s “A” game (or anything close to it), suffering numerous drops, while Rodgers was uncharacteristically inaccurate at times…What a huge strip by Osi Umenyiora, as not only was it Rodgers’ first lost fumble of the year, but he had a wide open Greg Jennings in the end zone as well…I’m cool with being aggressive, and onside kicks have a much better chance of being successful when they are a surprise, but it was interesting to see the favored home team attempt one early in the second quarter in a tie game…Not that Hakeem Nicks had a bad season, but where has this man/beast been all season when on a lot of my fantasy teams?…Not sure it ultimately matters as far as bulletin board material, but it was interesting to see Vernon Davis openly rooting for the Giants to win while interviewed at halftime, and I must say, I was doing so myself quite authoritatively. It’s really no disrespect to the G-Men, who are clearly playing as well any team in football right now, but there’s no reason not to want to play at home. Go Niners.
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