Feeling Powerless?

The NFL is kind enough to give the Super Bowl participants an extra week off to prepare. Because of the intense focus and the hype, everything is heightened when the soup's on. 

Everything football related is scrutinized and over-analyzed. The teams live in the familiar structure of a 60-minute football game so that they're not distracted by all the extraneous nonsense that comes with being in the Super Bowl, and the supersized halftime. But nothing prepares you for a power delay.

Even with a 28-6 lead, playing defense on a 3rd & 13, John Harbaugh completely lost it on what looked to be an NFL rep in about the 26th minute of a 35 minute delay.

And you feel for him. Power surges and half-hour delays are forgettable tap-dances that happen at the Tad Smith Center in Oxford, Mississippi (I was there two weeks ago), not at the SuperDome during the SuperBowl. 

Meanwhile, the Niners were completely on their heels. The Jacoby Jones kick return let the air out of them coming out of halftime. But the second halftime (as it were) gave SF a chance to recharge their batteries. 

Bill Cowher on the CBS set even questioned whether they should go to Alex Smith. You wonder whether it crossed Jim Harbaugh's mind for a split-second (he seems to think about everything).

Harbaugh (Jim) didn't waver and Kaepernick was brilliant. What happened in the game's final three minutes was remarkably similar to the end of the NFC Championship game, but on the other side: wasted time on the clock, misspent timeouts, confusion right up until the end of the play clock, turnover on downs with no time left to do anything of substance. Does that about cover it?

It was also very similar, on the flip side, to San Fran's 41-34 win at New England when they blew a 28-point lead.

Congrats to the Ravens, but tomorrow on Backtime: The game's most fascinating moment, and why Jim Harbaugh is worth every cent.

Concussions And Football Double Talk

"Every time I call it a game, you call it a business. And every time I call it a business, you call it a game!"   

~ The late John Matuszak, North Dallas Forty

Some of that tension still exists in football, though not too many people think it's anything but a business. Still guys go out there and give it their all, they'll run through the proverbial wall for their teammates, their pride, and their next contract.

NFL players have always played hurt. You can't ever question the heart of an NFL player since they've taken hits and gotten up thousands of times since they put on their peewee shoulder pads.

Now the science has caught up. We know more about concussions than we ever have, and teams and players are far more cautious than they've ever been. A player with a head injury doesn't just go back in. He has to go through a battery of tests before he's cleared to re-enter, and team doctors now side with caution. Even if it means sitting their star quarterback for the rest of the game or even into the next week.

Players will ultimately try to prove how tough they are - it's their nature. If they come out, their teammates will be let down or they may lose their job.

Alex Smith was the starting QB for the 49ers when he sustained a concussion against the Rams. He went against every instinctive football principle and told his team personnel he wasn't quite right.

Alex Smith sat out the rest of the Rams game (the only tie of the season), and was replaced by Colin Kaepernick the next week against the Bears (a huge win).

The old adage is "you can't lose your job because of an injury." But Coach Jim Harbaugh decided to stay with Kaepernick, and Smith's concussion forced him out of the huddle and onto the sidelines. And barring an injury to Kaepernick, Smith will be holding a clipboard during the Super Bowl.

So Alex Smith made the right move as far as his overall health goes, but the health of his career - and possibly his finances - took a big hit.

Maybe Jim Harbaugh would have made the move anyway, Kaepernick has proven he belongs at the highest level. But for Smith, he has to make sense of it all. And I'm sure he understands as much as anyone that pro football is a business.

Why Can't Georgians Just Believe?

C'mon Falcon fans, visualize it.

Past performance is a predictor of nothing. Well that's not entirely true, if you have Tom Brady you're probably going to win and if you're the Cleveland Browns you're probably going to lose. But outside of that, nothing is pre-written in today's NFL.

But it's all doom and gloom for the Falcons faithful. Despite having the #1 seed and the home field for the NFC Championship game, the fans are pointing to disappointing previous playoff exits, a blown 4th quarter lead last week (they still won y'all!), and the unstoppable Colin Kaepernick and his 8 career starts riding into town.

What makes the plight of the Atlanta Falcons so special? A home blowout two years ago at the hands of Aaron Rodgers and the eventual Super Bowl champ Pack? Eugene Robinson? The Cowboys comeback in 1980?

Let me put on my reality glasses and I see a team that was devastated after Michael Vick, and an embarrassment after Bobby Petrino. But a magic wand got waved and it all got fixed. Underrated coach Mike Smith and undersung QB Matt Ryan have the Falcons in the playoffs for the 4th time in 5 tries. And Ryan is 34-6 at home, 8-0 this season in games that counted.

So what's the problem? Is it that the Braves came up short so many times? Is it that Georgia's national championship hopes ended on the same field on the last play of the game?

Get over it. Or don't. Just enjoy the ride, you might just win the Super Bowl.