What We Learned from the NFL Playoffs

And so, the 2011 NFL season comes to a close this weekend as the New York Giants and the New England Patriots battle again for the Lombardi Trophy. Meanwhile, coaches and executives from the 30 other teams remain at home, licking their wounds, reviewing what went wrong, and dreaming up dozens of new ways to sell “wait ’til next year” to their loyal fans.

But as they plan, and re-plan, and contingency plan on how to reach Super Bowl XLVIII in 2013, it might help to examine what we can learn from this year’s football season, and see how some traditional logic on how to build a contender actually played out.

“It’s All About Defense”

Does the old adage that “defense wins championships” still apply? We will see on Sunday night. What we know for certain is that fielding a stout defense will get you far. Just look at the teams that played in the Conference Championships. Of the four (New York, San Francisco, Baltimore and New England) only New England was not among the statistical leaders – though they tightened up their “D” immensely in the playoffs.

Watching the Giants shut down the juggernaut Packers, and the Niners stifle New Orleans’ vaunted aerial attack made believers out of many who scoffed at the notion that a good defense will beat a good offense.

Go back further to the wild card round and you will see that “defense first” teams like Pittsburgh, Houston and even Denver all made the tournament. In fact more than half of the twelve playoff teams are identified more by their defense than their offense, so clearly defense is important.

But is a smothering “D” enough? It obviously wasn’t for the Steelers, or the Texans, or even the Ravens.

“Gotta Have A Premier QB”

If it’s not the “D” then it must be the QB. Everyone knows you need to have an elite quarterback to make it deep in the playoffs. But what do the following Quarterbacks have in common: Tom Brady, Tim Tebow, Eli Manning, Joe Flacco, Drew Brees, TJ Yates, Aaron Rodgers and Alex Smith?

Answer… absolutely nothing.

So why were they the last QBs standing in the playoffs? Why were they playing while Ben Roethlisberger, Phillip Rivers, and Matt Stafford were all watching from home? If it’s all about having the best passer then the idea of neither Rodgers nor Brees reaching the NFC Championship game seems virtually impossible, yet it happened

Whittle it down some more, the final four QBs included Flacco and Smith – good signal callers, yes, but hardly elite.

Of course, Brady and Manning are two of the top five QBs in the game right now (and yes I do mean Eli), and they have led their teams to the brink of another championship. So certainly having a top notch quarterback seems important, but it looks like even teams with “second tier” guys can get far. So what gives?

“You Need a Ground Game in the Playoffs”

Among the four finalists, the Giants sported the worst rushing attack in the league. The Patriots primary running back is… gimme a second, it’ll come back to me. Ray Rice was a non-factor in the playoffs. Only SF’s Frank Gore made a difference,

With ten QB’s passing for more than 4,000 yards this season, the playoffs were again a testament that it is a passing league, so that’s not it.

“The Hottest Team Takes It”

Time was, a wild card team never won it all, until the Steelers did it a few years back. Then the Giants did it. Then the Packers last year. There’s something about maintaining intensity every week versus trying to turn on the switch after sleepwalking through a few games that seems to work wonders.

Now we have the Giants – not technically a wild card team but they came into the playoffs with the worst record of the NFC contenders and are on the cusp of winning it all. How did they do it?

On a combination of a strong defense and top notch QB play. By getting just enough rushing when they needed it and bringing the “nothing to lose” attitude of a team that found its stride at just the right time.

The Giants seem to have it all right now, which is why, as an Eagles fan, it pains me to predict that they will once again upset the Patriots and take home the trophy this Sunday in Indianapolis.


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