Monday morning division playoff recap

Game One: Now we get to listen to the media talk about Peyton Manning going out with a win at the 50th anniversary of the Super Bowl as if they believed this was what would happen all along. Pfft.

• Was it just me or was anyone else bored with the whole tablet nonsense? The Patriots had several Microsoft tablets on the sidelines that they were using to examine plays. The tablets quite working and suddenly it became the biggest story of the game. CBS had two reporters on the investigation which resulted in "the tablets are now working". 
• Once again we had a player slip off the field after going out of bounds. Just like Reggie Bush, Rob Gronkowski slipped and fell and had to receive treatment by his medical staff. I certainly hope that issue will be on the agenda at the next owner's meeting.
• Kudos to the Denver defense who kicked ass in that game! Wow! That's the way to play your heart out, stopping the Pats on fourth down not once, but several times, especially at the end.
• Patriots coach Bill Belichick will have to answer a lot of questions, I'm sure, about why he didn't kick a field goal on fourth down, but really, don't we know the answer? Belichick has Tom Brady as his quarterback. Belichick has a huge ego. He believed those things could get the job done. Sometimes you take a chance and win and sometimes you don't. 
• Tom Brady spent more time on the ground and running from being on the ground than he did standing. His line let him down despite his going off on them in the last game. You have to protect your quarterback and the Pats line did not do that. Another kudos again to Denver's defense that also helped that not happen.
• And the first analyst to mention Peyton going out with a win in Super Bowl 50 was Boomer Eiason!

Game Two: If it weren't for the turnovers this game would have been a snore, but the fumbles and interceptions and Cam Newton's leaping kept it interesting. 

• The crazy "let's talk about this subject forever" in his game wasn't tablets but Carson Palmer's injured finger. If I had to hear speculation on whether his piss poor throws were due to that finger one more time...
• I think Erin Andrews is the best female sports reporter in the NFL.  Instead of tablet reporting she was down in the trenches giving us quality information, and her interviews are not fluff pieces, but detailed, intelligent, and she isn't afraid to ask tough questions. 
• Michael Strahan, on the other hand, is getting on my nerves. He's getting too full of himself in this business and needs to take a step back. His disrespect for Terry Bradshaw is very apparent with eye rolling and talking over him, but his telling Jimmy Johnson to shut up was way over the line. 
• With a little more than four minutes in the game and the Panthers up by a gazillion points, Fox's Troy Aikman made a comment wondering what the Denver coaches must be th thinking about how to stop the Carolina offense. His booth partner Joe Buck then came back with, "If that's who Denver will be playing." Really Joe? I understand being impartial, but being stupid?
• Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is certainly no longer a rookie. He has turned out to be quite the leader, and Denver's defense is going to have come up with something extraordinary to stop him. 
• After the game Newton told Erin Andrews during her interview that he didn't know who they were playing in the Super Bowl. When she told him his reaction was the best. His face took on an "oh no" look and he said, "ah, the sheriff ..." Respect!