Giants, Pats aren't who we thought they were

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hector amezcua / mct 49ers quarterback Alex Smith (11) found a receiver only once and converted a third down only once. (TRIBUNE MEDIA MCT)

The New York Giants and the New England Patriots, who will meet in the Super Bowl on Feb. 5, have become pro football's version of the Transformers as a byproduct of their experiences en route to the NFL finale in Indianapolis.

They are two teams that are dramatically different from who they were in the regular season, and they weren't the only franchises that had the identities of their teams and players made over in the playoffs.

After putting a dent in my couch for eight consecutive hours on Sunday, several things became clear to me as I watched the NFC and AFC championships play out.

The first was that Tim Tebow, formerly of the Denver Broncos, had apparently broken into Candlestick Park, pulled on an Alex Smith jersey and infected the 49ers offence with his limited quarterbacking prowess.

Smith, normally a pivot who completes more than 60 per cent of his passes, completed one pass to his receivers the entire game. I could hit Michael Crabtree more often than that through four quarters. He was one-for-absurd (13) in third-down conversions. He completed less than 50 per cent of his attempts and was 12 of 26 for 196 yards. Sounds like another quarterback you know?

The two turnovers won this game off of the hands and knee of inexperienced kick returner Kyle Williams, but Smith should return to sender all of the praise heaped onto his shoulders last week. He had Tebow-like numbers and a Tebow-like performance in the biggest game of his career, which now amounts to 19 wins against 31 losses.

In the AFC championship, it was the New England Patriots' turn for an about-face. Who would have thought Tom Brady would be the problem on the day, throwing two interceptions (a penalty prevented a third pick)? And the vaunted defence, ranked 31st overall, winning the game for them when it mattered most?

Joe Flacco acquitted himself well, but he didn't have the weapons or offensive wizardry at his disposal like the Patriots do, and he can't kick field goals.

If you would have told me you thought Flacco would outshine Brady in this game and the Patriots defence would outperform the Ravens' legacy defenders, you would need to stop cooking your quinoa in paint thinner.

The Giants used to be a team that would finish the regular season at 9 and 7 and whose M.O. was erratic inconsistency on offence and defence.

As the NFC's lowest seed they went into Atlanta and played better than they had all season, particularly rushing the ball and on defence. Then they shocked the world with their encore performance in Green Bay by defeating the odds on favourites to repeat as Super Bowl champions with an aerial display the likes of an Independence Day celebration. I thought their luck may finally run out on the road in San Francisco, but they showed their front four could be just as disruptive as the Niners.

The New England Patriots of today aren't what they looked like during the regular season either. While their defence was high on the list of scoring units in the NFL, to say they were porous against the run and pass was to say that Brady only dates 7.5's out of 10.

After sitting out the first round with a bye, they took the run away from Tebow with great prejudice, which no one thought would be possible after the Broncos succeeded on the ground and in the air against the much higher rated Pittsburgh Steelers defence. Then, facing the much more sophisticated and conventional offence of the Ravens, with the second-leading rusher in the NFL this season (Ray Rice), they were the difference makers on a day where Brady and co. were only scoring threes in the red zone for the most part.

So it's important to remember when we break down and look at these teams preparing for the championship game, that in the spirit of former Cardinals coach Dennis Green, "they aren't who we thought they were."

They are what the post-season has transformed and moulded them into: two optimally balanced and performing football teams with characteristics unlike what we saw all regular season long.

Doug Brown, a hard-hitting defensive tackle with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and even harder-hitting columnist, appears Tuesdays in the Winnipeg Free Press.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 24, 2012 D6