Craig: For old-school football fans, the weekend was satisfying

GREEN BAY, WIS. - At the risk of sounding like an old man who actually enjoyed life before Twitter, that was about the most satisfying weekend of NFL football that's ever been played.

Defense was rewarded. Hype was rejected. Patience was repaid.

Purged from the playoffs in an old-school form of justice were the worst pass defense in NFL history (Packers), a rookie fifth-round quarterback (T.J. Yates), Tim Tebow and a Saints team that set the NFL season record for offense (7,474 yards) but couldn't overcome its penchant for being on the wrong side of football's most revered statistic: turnover differential.

Meanwhile, heading to the conference title games on Sunday are the league's top two run defenses (49ers, Ravens), the overlooked Manning (Eli), Tom Brady and a New York team whose coach leads with substance (Tom Coughlin) over sound bites (Rex Ryan).

Even a dejected Vikings fan can find some optimism in a Sunday slate that features the Ravens at the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game and the Giants at the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.

The Ravens continue to show doubters that it's possible to have sustained success in the 21st century with a run-oriented, defense-minded philosophy. The Giants showed again that a key to beating the Packers -- besides an off day by Aaron Rodgers -- is a formidable four-man pass rush. And the 49ers showed that if you truly believe in your highly drafted quarterback and get him the right coaching, things can work out, although the Vikings would prefer it if Christian Ponder doesn't need the seven years and seven coordinators it took Alex Smith to reach the playoffs and win with one of the best closing performances in postseason history.

Not to be overlooked, of course, is a 49ers defense that proved it's still possible to be intimidating and hard-hitting without resorting to cheap shots. They also showed the Vikings how far a pass rush can take a team when paired with four quality defensive backs.

A record 11,356 points were put up during the regular season, but the two highest-scoring offenses -- Green Bay (560) and New Orleans (547) -- were bounced in the second round of the playoffs over the weekend. Neither of the top two MVP candidates -- Rodgers and Drew Brees -- could overcome turnovers or carry two of the league's three worst pass defenses into the NFC Championship Game we all thought was preordained.

"We play to win championships," Rodgers said. "You win a championship, have the top of the mountain, and you forget how bad this feeling is."

Tebow and the Broncos won't forget this feeling any time soon. An embarrassing 35-point, prime-time beatdown at New England was served up by one of the best quarterbacks (Brady) and defensive game-planners (coach Bill Belichick) the league has ever seen.

While Brady was throwing a record-tying six touchdowns, the befuddled Tebow was reduced to running option plays while trailing by four touchdowns in the second half. Afterward, Brady made a not-so-subtle reference to Tebowmania.

"I think that everyone [else] focused on one player all week," Brady said. "I think we were focused on the entire Denver Bronco team."

Tebow is a likable guy who would be easy for all of us to root for if not for the modern-day media coverage of him and the zealots who revere him and consider any football-based criticism of him to be based on religion. Unfortunately, the hype and the zealots are a package deal.

So, sorry Tim. It's truly nothing personal, but the fact that a three-time Super Bowl champion and a two-time Super Bowl MVP was able to stomp up and down on the Tebowmania pause button definitely was one of the many enjoyable old-school moments in what was a satisfying weekend of professional football.