NFL: Playoffs---“Weekend Departures” // ALL SPORTS:  “Books About Sports, 2012.”

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.  .  .   SPORTS NOTEBOOK posts its columns Tuesday and Friday of each week. Ed. & Publ., Marvin Leibstone; Copy & Mng. Ed., Gail Kleiner.

NFL   ---   WORDS can measure up for kills against grief but only part of the way. Lose an NFL playoff game and, as Denver Broncos quarterback, Peyton Manning, commented after his team’s playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday, “It stings, because it’s supposed to.”

The Ravens defeated the AFC’s number-one seeded Broncos, 38-35, which could have been avoided had Denver’s offense built up enough insurance against theft of a lead even in final seconds of a challenge. That insurance may have existed were it not for a bad Broncos kick, two interceptions, a call by Broncos head coach, John Fox, that had his offense go passive instead of working from its usual cool aggression, and from the Broncos secondary employing zone coverage instead of one-on-one/on-the-man shadowing, which allowed a receiver to catch a deep throw by Ravens QB, Joe Flacco.

An overarching and obviously accurate post-loss comment has been that the Broncos defense allowed the Ravens to stay victory-relevant in the game, preventing the Broncos from maintaining a leading edge that couldn’t be matched. During regulation, each quarter ended in a tie, but the Denver offense would have been behind “big time” were it not for kick and punt returns by Broncos wide receiver, Trindon Holliday, which delivered 14 points for the Broncos.

Surprisingly, the Ravens defense was enough of a moving fortress to hold Denver’s running backs from the extended yardage usually theirs for first downs leading to end-zone occupation.

And, a Ravens secondary kept Manning’s favored wideouts from sufficient freedom for the Manning TD throw (Manning holds the 2012 record for most TD throws during a regular season).  

            Exit, the NFC’s Green Bay Packers, having lost to the NFC’s San Francisco 49ers, 45-31. Say goodbye to the AFC’s Houston Texans, their having lost 41-28 to the AFC’s New England Patriots, and to the NFC’s Seattle Seahawks, losing 30-28 to the NFC’s Atlanta Falcons. These now away franchises had fine regular seasons, each close in skills and stats to the Broncos and to the teams that beat them over the weekend. During the regular season, these teams built a series of wins that demonstrated command of superb football prowess, signaling that either could be playoff-viable next season.

Meanwhile, and still in the running for a Super Bowl shot, are the 49ers, largely from another unexpected turn, from a QB running for more than 170 yards, 69 of which bought a TD, leading to its victory over the Seahawks. The NFC’s Atlanta Falcons weekend defeat of the Seahawks was expected, but with less difficulty, a score with a greater spread.

During the final AFC playoff round, the Ravens will challenge the Patriots. For the NFC elimination game, it’ll be the Falcons vs. the 49ers. Super Bowl XVII (February 3, New Orleans) will welcome the winners (See our Friday column for analysis and picks).   

Yes, losing is the ticket that can put a team on the grief bus, and surely the best of athletes need to ride that bus after a key loss. The trick is to know when to get off, know where one’s stop is. Broncos head coach knows and understands this, and that’s why his earliest comment to his team after its defeat to the Ravens was, “Don’t let this loss define who you are.”

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Books Re. Sports, 2012

DREAM TEAM, by: Jack McCallum, Ballantine Books----it’s about the 1992 U.S. Olympics team that included Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley and Larry Bird.

OVER TIME, by: Sportswriter legend, Jack Deford, Atlantic Books---his life and times covering all sports.

SPORTS & THE HEROIC, by: Marvin Leibstone, XLIBRIS books---a primer re. American sports (the proverbial good, bad and ugly, and what it could mean for enhancement of our daily lives).

CALICO JOE, by: John Grisham, fiction; about baseball rivalry and redemption, being wrong at one’s game and then being right (making amends before too late).

These are available thru barnes&noble.com, Amazon.com, XLIBRIS.com and at or through nearly all bookstores.

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