NFL Thread

[peachmangosteen]

Still, I don't understand why so many people dislike Joe Flacco, when he seems like such a great (and funny, though it takes a while to figure that out) guy.

 

I don't understand why Joe Flacco is so disliked either. But I'm biased because I have a bit of a crush on him and think he's funny as shit in the greatest way. But it is a kind of humor that many people don't really take to, so I guess it does make sense.

 

Is anyone else watching the Lions/Cowboys game having weird sound issues? Joe Buck and Troy Aikman sound very far away and the stadium's overhead announcer comes through loud and clear. It's really annoying (unlike the game currently, which is fantastic).

 

I get this a lot and I always wonder if it's my TV or what.

 

People rooting for the Ravens even though it's just because they're against the Patriots? Hey, I'll take it!

Edited January 5, 2015 by peachmangosteen

[Jx223]

The owner of the St. Louis Rams has teamed up with owners of the Hollywood Park Site to build a stadium that seats 80,000 people in Inglewood.

 

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nfl/story/_/id/12122091/st-louis-rams-owner-planning-stadium-site-los-angeles

 

 

Local media outlets are reporting that head coach Ron Rivera's (Panthers) home caught fire early this morning. Everyone got out safely. No word on what caused the fire or if the home is a complete loss or not. Between this and Cams car accident they sure have either some good mojo going on or some real bad luck!

This has been a scary past few weeks for the Carolina Panthers, first with Cam's accident and now the fire at Ron Rivera's home. I am glad that Ron and his family got out of his home safely.

Edited January 5, 2015 by Jx223

[merylinkid]

I don't think people really dislike Flacco, it is more of a "meh" reaction.   He's not flashy.   He doesn't do a lot of endorsements (Peyton Manning sucked them all up).  Etc.   He just doesn't make news except when he wins games.    If there is any hatred it is hatred towards the Ravens because of the belief that Ray Lewis got away with murder.   Its transferred to the rest of the team.    And some residual hate out of Cleveland for "stealing" their team.

[vb68]

 

Part of the problem is that the crews for the playoffs are not the guys used to working together.   THey are individually graded during the season and the crews are created from that.

 

 

That doesn't seem wise to me.  At the very least a situation like that  seems much more likely to happen in my view.

[Moose135]

Or it could be a BS explanation after the fact.

 

This...

[xaxat]

The owner of the St. Louis Rams has teamed up with owners of the Hollywood Park Site to build a stadium that seats 80,000 people in Inglewood.

 

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nfl/story/_/id/12122091/st-louis-rams-owner-planning-stadium-site-los-angeles

 

 

I'd say fifty fifty its just a leverage play to get St. Louis to pay for a new stadium.

Edited January 5, 2015 by xaxat

[DrSpaceman]

I don't think people really dislike Flacco, it is more of a "meh" reaction.   He's not flashy.   He doesn't do a lot of endorsements (Peyton Manning sucked them all up).  Etc.   He just doesn't make news except when he wins games.    If there is any hatred it is hatred towards the Ravens because of the belief that Ray Lewis got away with murder.   Its transferred to the rest of the team.    And some residual hate out of Cleveland for "stealing" their team.

  And there is also the fact that Ray rice played for them. I know they finally cut him and the way the NFL handled it was also a fiasco, but still, doesn't help their image

 

I don't mind Flacco that much.  He does play amazing in the playoffs.   As does the whole team.  During the regular season though is he consistently medicore.  Still don't root for them as a Colts fan, mainly because fans bitched for 20+ years about their team being "stolen," yet they basically did the same thing to Cleveland.  teams move all the time in sports, they weren't the first or last city to lose or franchise but to hear those fans talk for many years it was like the only time in the history of pro sports a team ever left town, middle of the night or not.  Only reason they left in the middle of the night was because they were attempting to seize control of the team from Irsay.  He may have been a crappy owner, but that doesn't justify seizure of the team from him

[Danny Franks]

Irsay was worse than a crappy owner, by all accounts. He actively lied about his intentions, and made promises he never intended to keep, to the authorities in Baltimore. Art Modell probably did too. But even Irsay's own son seemed to struggle to find nice things to say about his dad, in the documentary on the Colts leaving town. The team moving thing is academic, because all teams that move cause hatred. It's a part of American sports. Baltimore hates the Colts, Cleveland hates the Browns, I assume Brooklyn still hates the Dodgers. That's what you get with franchises. I imagine if you talk to any fan that lost their team, they'll be bitter about it. Personally, I don't care about the Colts one way or another, other than occasionally side-eying the way they manage to suck so badly that one year when the next great QB was coming out of college. That was very... fortunate for them. But they've got Chuck Pagano now, and that guy deserves success.

 

As for Ray Rice, he was just the one who was caught on film. Plenty of players in the NFL have beaten their spouses and worse, and no one ever pays much attention to it. But if you dislike the Ravens for Rice, then how could anyone like the Panthers for Rae Carruth, or the Patriots for Aaron Hernandez, or the Chiefs for Jovan Belcher? They did much worse (still allegedly in Hernandez's case, I guess) than Rice has ever done, and their teams had about as much to do with it as the Ravens had to do with Rice getting drunk and punching his fiance.

 

But the Ravens are a team based on solid football and managerial principles, who set a high standard for themselves and expect to compete and win every year, in a tough division. They draft well, they manage cap well, they have approachable faces, in Ozzie Newsome and John Harbaugh, an owner who doesn't meddle and throw his weight around. And they take their name from a poem, of all things. And of all NFL players I've seen interviewed and listened to, Joe Flacco is guy I'd most want to grab a beer with and chat to. He seems so lowkey and unaffected by everything around him, and possesses a great, dry sense of humour. He's also a great tipper.

[DrSpaceman]

You're right, all teams do hate franchises that move.  But I never heard about it nearly as much or as long as Batlimore after losing the Colts. And that was not just because I lived in Indy, this was the national media and Baltimore media it seemed. Even after they had another team, still complaining about it.  It really wasn't until just the last few years these teams could play without someone bringing it up.  Since Pagano was hired, the "bad blood" is not as bad and its not really mentioned, but well into the Manning era, it was still there and brought up every time they played.

 

This would be like if every time the Titans and Texans played, and they do twice a year because they are in the same division, people still bring up how much the teams hate each other because the Titans used to be in Houston as the Oilers, even though Houstan has a team in the texans.  I have NEVER ONCE heard that brought up by just about anyone since the Texans have been in existence, but it was just about 20 years ago when they left, far more recent than Indy leaving Baltimore.  And yes they changed the name after they left Houston, but its not like Houston then chose to keep the Oilers name when they got a new team. 

 

And if Irsay was such a horrible owner,why did they care if they left?  Every owner now plays this game anyway.  "Build a new stadium or I am going elsewhere"  You can put a nice face on it and make it a nice political game with benign language, but its blackmail, pure and simple.  Plus robert Irsay died way back in the 90s, people still complaining long after he died. 

[Danny Franks]

You're right, all teams do hate franchises that move.  But I never heard about it nearly as much or as long as Batlimore after losing the Colts. And that was not just because I lived in Indy, this was the national media and Baltimore media it seemed. Even after they had another team, still complaining about it.  It really wasn't until just the last few years these teams could play without someone bringing it up.  Since Pagano was hired, the "bad blood" is not as bad and its not really mentioned, but well into the Manning era, it was still there and brought up every time they played.

 

I think that when the media bring it up, it's probably because of the part the Baltimore Colts played in the history of the NFL. The 1958 championship game and Johnny Unitas. And the fact that the city campaigned for twelve years to get a team, only to lose out to Jacksonville and Charlotte because Tagliabue wanted the Redskins to have the whole of that Maryland/Virginia market. 

 

The Band That Wouldn't Die is a really good documentary on the subject, albeit one told from a very Baltimore-oriented viewpoint. It talks about the importance of the Colts to a city that was looked down on by its neighbours in Washington, Philadelphia and New York, and didn't really have a lot going for it in terms of sports, until the Colts arrived. It also looks at the circumstances around the move, and actually highlights some of the mixed feelings some old Colts fans felt, when they saw Cleveland losing their team. And I guess the situation is slightly different, in that the Colts kept the name and uniforms and history when they moved. One guy on that documentary likened it to being married to someone, and then she leaves you for another man. And you sometimes see her in the street, looking happy and successful, and it always hurts.

 

The NFL Network did a pretty good one on the old Browns' final year in Cleveland too. One of those A Football Life episodes. It's a subject I find interesting, because as a Brit, I have no experience of sports teams moving. The very idea is ludicrous, in this country. It has only happened once, that I'm aware of, with a team of any note, when Wimbledon moved away from London to play in Milton Keynes in 2003. It was a major talking point for months, before and after. I don't know much about the situation with the Oilers becoming the Titans (a name I hate, by the way. What on earth do titans have to do with Tennessee?), but I imagine Houston sports fans don't care too much for those involved in the move.

[ktwo]

 

The NFL Network did a pretty good one on the old Browns' final year in Cleveland too. One of those A Football Life episodes.

If anyone watches any episode of A Football Life it should be this one. I think it's called Cleveland 1995. Really, really good, especially for this Redskin fan who was living in Maryland group house with two Browns fans and a former Colts fan/new Ravens fan that year.

[Haleth]

Even during the Manning years (it might still happen, I don't know) outraged Baltimore residents would gather to yell at and throw things at the Colts' buses, regardless of how successful the Ravens are. I mean, really? Most of the players weren't even born when the move occurred and current management had nothing to do with it. So childish.

As for the coincidental bad year just before Luck went into the draft, I'd watched Curtis Painter at Purdue. He was no Drew Brees. He really was that bad.

[Rick Kitchen]

The owner of the St. Louis Rams has teamed up with owners of the Hollywood Park Site to build a stadium that seats 80,000 people in Inglewood.

 

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nfl/story/_/id/12122091/st-louis-rams-owner-planning-stadium-site-los-angeles

 

 

 

What a horrible location for an 80,000 seat stadium.  It's waaaay far from any freeways exits.  My past attempts at getting to the Forum were hell.

[Minneapple]

As for Ray Rice, he was just the one who was caught on film. Plenty of players in the NFL have beaten their spouses and worse, and no one ever pays much attention to it. But if you dislike the Ravens for Rice, then how could anyone like the Panthers for Rae Carruth, or the Patriots for Aaron Hernandez, or the Chiefs for Jovan Belcher? They did much worse (still allegedly in Hernandez's case, I guess) than Rice has ever done, and their teams had about as much to do with it as the Ravens had to do with Rice getting drunk and punching his fiance.

Sure. But that's why I don't believe in "this team has great principles" thing anymore for any team. Not for the Ravens, Patriots, Vikings. They're all the same. They would all throw Janay Rice under the bus to keep Ray Rice on their team until advertisers start backing away. I would not be surprised if any team got Janay to apologize for her role in being assaulted. It's all about money with NFL owners, regardless if they're Jerry Jones, Dan Snyder or whoever the hell it is that owns the Ravens. Just with varying levels of crazy.

 

And the crazy part is that I still love the sport. I love football. Somehow I've managed to compartmentalize the ugly part of it away so I can still enjoy the product on the field. Maybe that makes me crazier than guys like Jones and Snyder.

[Fukui San]

What a horrible location for an 80,000 seat stadium.  It's waaaay far from any freeways exits.  My past attempts at getting to the Forum were hell.

Maybe they'll take public transportation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bwah-hah-hah-hah!  I kid!

[Snowprince]

Maybe they'll take public transportation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bwah-hah-hah-hah!  I kid!

Having grown up in Los Angeles and currently residing in Las Vegas/Henderson I have to ask......public transportation, what's that?

[Fukui San]

Having grown up in Los Angeles and currently residing in Las Vegas/Henderson I have to ask......public transportation, what's that?

Like Uber, but worse.

[DrSpaceman]

Even during the Manning years (it might still happen, I don't know) outraged Baltimore residents would gather to yell at and throw things at the Colts' buses, regardless of how successful the Ravens are. I mean, really? Most of the players weren't even born when the move occurred and current management had nothing to do with it. So childish.

As for the coincidental bad year just before Luck went into the draft, I'd watched Curtis Painter at Purdue. He was no Drew Brees. He really was that bad.

 

 

I am sure it didn't help that the Colts just OWNED the Ravens during the Manning years.  Colts may have struggled against the Pats but the Ravens rarely beat the Colts with Manning.  Lost to them 8 straight times between 2001 and 2011, including two playoff losses. 

 

I don't generally like the A Football Life series.  And I love the NFL and the history of the game, it seems like the type of series that I would be into, but the few I have watched have been pretty dull and boring.  I am sure there are good and bad ones, but overall have not been impressed with it. 

[MarkHB]

I recall reading that, when the NFL went to the current 2x4x4 divisional layout, the current Irsay that owns the Colts begged the league not to put them in the same division as the Ravens, because he got death threats every time his team went to Baltimore.

 

I'm pretty sure the Titans name was just used in Tennessee for the alliteration, as well as being a nod to the original name of the Jets.  It's not as bad as the NBA nicknames that rarely change when the team moves (Utah Jazz, Vancouver Grizzlies).

[Danny Franks]

I suppose it's easy to underestimate the depth of feeling if you've never experienced the loss of a team that you adored. That goes for all team moves. The NBA team names amuse me, because is there any state that's less jazzy than Utah? The L.A. Lakers too. I didn't know L.A. was famous for its waterways. But surely there was something in Tennessee that would warrant a team being named after it. I like names that mean something to the area the team is based in.

 

As for the Ravens, here's a hell of an article about John Harbaugh's success since he became head coach. Definitely worth a read for any NFL fan, and probably for a few of these owners who hire and fire every three years, never getting the right guy.

 

I also like the bit about Rashaan Melvin not knowing what his coach was talking about, when he told him he'd been poached by Baltimore. That's a kid who spent half of the season out of the game, and now he's starting for a playoff team. And he was a walk on at Northern Illinois. Talk about making the most of any opportunities that come your way. Again, there are plenty of players who could learn from this kid.

Edited January 6, 2015 by Danny Franks

[Minneapple]

I'm pretty sure the Titans name was just used in Tennessee for the alliteration, as well as being a nod to the original name of the Jets.

It refers to Nashville's nickname the "Athens of the South."

There is not a single natural lake in the city of Los Angeles.

[Bastet]

It refers to Nashville's nickname the "Athens of the South."

 

Including a full-scale Parthenon replica.  It - and the nickname - have been around for a very long time, so Titans makes sense to me.

[MarkHB]

I wasn't aware of the nickname, so thanks.

[twoods]

I can't imagine the LA Lakers having any other name, so I'm glad they didn't change it when they moved.

Broncos/Ravens would be nice to see (like both teams), but my luck it will be Pats/Colts. More teams to hate in the NFC (sad when the only team left I like is the Panthers who have no chance against the Seahawks- Cam is going to probably get knocked out of the game).

[peachmangosteen]

I'd be down for Ravens/Broncos even though I don't particularly like the Broncos. I honestly don't have strong feelings for most teams. I love the Ravens; hate the Cowboys, Steelers, and Patriots; and then am mostly indifferent to all the others.

Edited January 7, 2015 by peachmangosteen

[Snowprince]

Jethro Pugh, former Dallas Cowboy All Pro DT (#75), has passed away. He will always be remembered (unfairly, IMO) as the lineman who was blocked by Jerry Kramer on the Bart Starr QB sneak that allowed the Packers to win the 1967 "Ice Bowl" at Lambeau Field.

 

Pugh was a standout member of the original "Doomsday Defense" of the mid 60s. Bob Lilly is the name everyone remembers, but Pugh was the  run stopper on that line (the other linemen were Willie Townes and George Andrie). For the Cowboys, Jethro Pugh was the Merlin Olsen to Bob Lilly's Deacon Jones. It was a privilege to have seen him play. May he rest peacefully.

 

 ETA: There is a Celebrity Deaths thread elsewhere, but I thought it more appropriate to put it here. Mods, move or delete at your discretion.

Edited January 8, 2015 by Snowprince

[merylinkid]

Pugh was standing on ice at the time.   He had no traction to stop his guy.

 

The story that always got me about that game is that one guy got up early and went for a walk.   He came back to the hotel and woke up his roommate.   TOld him it was freezing outside.   The roommate said "Oh how cold could it be."   The player then threw a glass of water on the window.   It froze on the inside of the window before it could run down.   

 

 

The Mueller Report on the Ray Rice investigation is out.   Not good for the NFL.   They could have had the tape if they wanted it.   The investigation was very flawed.   

[DrSpaceman]

Pugh and the Cowboys also claim Kramer jumped the snap on that last play.

[yourpointis]

Colin Kaepernick To Work With Kurt Warner During Offseason

 

http://www.csnbayarea.com/49ers/warner-aims-develop-kaepernick-pocket-passer

 

 

Jeff Garcia Disagrees With Kap's Choice To Train With Warner

 

http://www.csnbayarea.com/49ers/garcia-disagrees-kaps-choice-train-warner

[JTMacc99]

So, one of the people up for the Jets GM job is a relative. Haven't seen him since we were kids, but yet when I read things about him in the paper, hear them talking about him on the radio, and reading about him on the internet (including the comments), I'm realizing how awful it must be to have somebody like your spouse or brother or sister have a job like that.

 

I mean, I'm not going to stop giving my honest opinion of the people who run the Giants any time soon because I'm a fan.  But I might toss in a few, "I hate to see anybody loose his job" and "I respect the hard work he's put in during his time with the Giants" disclaimers before I call for the next guy to be fired.  Heh.

[mojoween]

I'm not a real fan of Katy Perry but I don't hate her music, it's catchy ear candy. But I know her selection as the SB halftime show has caused more consternation than happiness.

However, now that she's added Lenny Kravitz? I'm so there.

[Mountainair]

In my ripe old age of 30, Katy Perry is definitely someone who will make me change the channel for the halftime show. Adding Lenny Kravits helps but not enough. I've been chewed out on other forums but I still maintain that a DCI quality drum corp would not only be a great show but it would maybe help expand some people's eyes as to what good music is. You see, they could have a drum corp halftime show with special appearances by.........(insert your favorite popular artist here). It's been done before, rather well I might add at actual drum corp shows. I digress, this is one argument I will never win.

[Ohwell]

I guess Katy Perry got the message.  I like Lenny Kravitz but I don't think even he can entice me to watch the halftime show.  I'd much rather see some good marching bands, like Ohio State and Florida A&M.

 

#!%^$%&$#! Patriots!!  I'm not a Ravens fan but I don't hate them like I do the Patriots.  Now all I need is for Dallas to win tomorrow so I can be miserable for the rest of the week.  

Edited January 11, 2015 by Ohwell

[mojoween]

I'll never EVER root for the Ravens so I'm in like the 1% of people outside the Boston area happy enough with the outcome.

I still don't know who I'm rooting for in 'Hawks/Panthers but tomorrow is all about Denver and Green Bay. Dallas cannot win. They just can't.

I don't know who is calling this game, I'm assuming it's FOX's number two crew, but I am not impressed. Personally I like Kenny, Moose and Goose but I guess they were demoted forever. Neither of these guys has a deep enough voice to be pleasing to listen to for three hours.

Edited January 11, 2015 by mojoween

[diet7up]

I dislike the Pats but I hate the Ravens (Steelers fan) so I'm OK with the outcome of that game. That was a great game that was in doubt up to the end. I think I'll root for the Cowboys only because I think they're a better match for the Seahawks (hate them too!).

[DrSpaceman]

I pretty much hate both NE and Balt, but wanted Baltimore to win.

However that was an exciting game

And even as a Colts fan I won't be upset if Denver wins tomorrow because they have a better chance to win in NE

And did these idiot commentators just say that was good coverage by the Panthers on that long TD? Do they know anything? The ONE THING the safety is to do is NOT LET THE WR GET BEHIND YOU. And Lynch, the commentator, was a safety

Edited January 11, 2015 by DrSpaceman

[yourpointis]

If Chris Collinsworth would have said pash rusher one more time, I was going to need emergency dental work. 

[SophiaD]

Kam Chancellor.  Wow.  Just wow. 

 

Happy, happy Seahawks fan here.

Edited January 11, 2015 by SophiaD

[AimingforYoko]

Stat of the week: Seattle is the first defending SB Champ to win a playoff game since NE in 2005.

[twoods]

Poor Carolina didn't stand a chance. The Seahawks better not win another Super Bowl. Their arrogance was enough to stomach this year (along with their fans). Too bad the Cowboys or Packers don't stand a chance.

Damn it, Baltimore! All that Mr January talk about Flacco early on- he was doomed.

[Jx223]

I'm disappointed that Carolina lost. I thought that they were playing solid the past few weeks, and that things were starting to come together for them. Felt sorry for Cam in the last few minutes of the game when he was looking sad after that touchdown from Kam Chancellor. I could tell he felt it was over for the Panthers after that.  Cam Newton tried, but at the end of the day, the Seahawks were too much for the Panthers. The Seahawks played well tonight.

 

Now that Carolina is eliminated, the teams left that I wouldn't mind winning the SB are the Seahawks, Dallas, and Green Bay. Even though they beat the Panthers tonight, I don't mind the Seahawks. I wouldn't be mad at them if they repeated this year.  I don't mind Dallas either, and think they have worked very hard this year. And I really like Aaron Rodgers, ( I think he's the best QB in the league) and would be happy for him if he got another SB ring. At this point, I'm okay with either Seattle, Dallas or Green Bay winning.

Edited January 11, 2015 by Jx223

[Snowprince]

Panthers put up a better fight than the score indicates.

 

The question about Aaron Rodgers calf isn't can it hold up tomorrow, but can it hold up for three more games....I hope so.

[BabyVegas]

I agree, Carolina definitely put up a much better fight than the score indicated. Kam's pick-6 was a major moment, but for the first three quarters the Panthers defense was holding on. I thought the Seahawks showed what they do best, which is to play hard and fast and wear down the other team until they can't hold it anymore and I thought that showed at the end of the game.

 

So happy, though! Also fun to look at: Seismograph measures activity at CenturyLink. Chancellor's pick-6 got a bunch of activity.

Edited January 11, 2015 by BabyVegas

[nowandlater]

I hate this apparent trend of teaming up a young pop star with an aging artist from yesteryear.

 

First the Red Hot Chili Peppers was apparently forced on Bruno Mars. Now, Lenny Kravitz and Katy Perry.

 

Granted, the RHCP and Kravitz are more established and perhaps more prestigious than their younger counterparts.

 

But if you're going to go with somebody, stick with them. Don't water down their act.

 

A lot of people didn't like the Bruno Mars pick, yet he won over a lot of people. Meanwhile, there were a lot of complaints over the RHCP and their 50-something shirtlessness.

 

Katy Perry is a huge, massive star with a lot of universal hits. And she's in her prime. What's wrong with her doing halftime?

 

It reminds me of when she did College Gameday in October... A lot of people were irritated by her presence initially, but she turned in one of the most memorable appearances in the show's history -- and she easily beat the pundits with her predictions, which kicked off one of the craziest days in college football in the last decade.

 

Going back to the NFL: I'm glad tomorrow is the last 10 am game of the season. They have been particularly brutal for me this season since Saturday night is the only night of the week I can stay up late.

 

Also, I wanted to know more about that Roger Goodell cameo. Did nobody recognize him? Did have "secret service" agents around him to protect him? How could such a well-known guy just sit in the stands like that?

 

Also, No. 2: Why does CBS get one game this weekend but Fox gets two? I know it has something to do with ESPN getting in on the playoff action, but why does NBC get an extra playoff game and why was it determined that CBS would lose a playoff game this weekend?

 

Also, No. 3: I believe this was Pam Oliver's last NFL on Fox game. Farewell Pam.

 

 

EDITED TO ADD: Here's The Baltimore Sun's TV critc on the terriblenss of Michaels and Collinsworth tonight.

 

http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/tv/z-on-tv-blog/bal-nbc-michaels-collinsworth-serve-goodell-not-fans-in-ravens-telecast-20150110-story.html

Edited January 11, 2015 by nowandlater

[Moose135]

The question about Aaron Rodgers calf isn't can it hold up tomorrow, but can it hold up for three more games....I hope so.

 

It just has to get them past the Cowboys, I don't care about anything else!

[Popples]

Also, I wanted to know more about that Roger Goodell cameo. Did nobody recognize him? Did have "secret service" agents around him to protect him? How could such a well-known guy just sit in the stands like that?

 

Well, it gave us this. How Deadspin got hold of this audio, I'll never know, but some people said sometimes the international broadcasts can hear what's going on when the US is in commercial break. He was reading so fast, he was tripping over his words.

 

Rex Ryan is apparently going to the Bills.

 

Dick LeBeau and the Steelers have parted ways.

[benteen]

I can't believe Rex Ryan is going to the Bills.  They have no QB so it's going to be like the Jets all over again.

[superdeluxe]

I'm glad the Ravens lost because I was not ready to listen to the pundits and analysts and all that other nonsense drool over Joe Flacco.

 

Cowboys and Packers -- my most hated teams -- are playing each other.  I'm rooting for the earth to open up and swallow them.

[Danny Franks]

After being rather philosophical in the lead up to the game, I'm kind of crushed now that the Ravens lost. Because yet again they thumbed their noses to all the naysayers who claimed they'd get destroyed by the Patriots. They put up 31 points against a team that was praised for having an impenetrable secondary, and came so close (another dropped TD from having the game tied at the 2 minute warning) to beating the Pats in their own home again.

 

Ah well, them's the breaks. Ton Brady was the perfect QB to counter this Ravens defense, because he's happy to take a three or four yard pass play if it's offered. And with Dean Pees scheming to have the Ravens corners allowing a 5+ yard cushion on every play, those short passes were always on offer. The passrush couldn't get to Brady quickly enough, and the secondary never managed to slow down his release to give the front seven more time.

 

But Joe Flacco is the man, yet again, in the playoffs. The simpleton headlines might be about him throwing that pick, but he put this team on his back again, and threw four TDs (should have been five) on the Pats, led his team up and down the field almost at will, and just looked as cool as a cucumber, throughout. He deserved for his defense to help him out a little, and they didn't. 

 

But the good thing for the Ravens is, this team is only two or three players away from being the best in the AFC, in my view. The O-line is beastly, the QB is a fixture, the front seven on defense is dominant, and there are some talented young receivers (Aiken and Campanaro, have impressed me this year). Questions at RB and TE, and a big need at CB, all of which can be answered in FA and the draft.

 

Now the only team left in the playoffs that I don't actively want to lose is the Packers. Yeesh. I would say the Colts, but if they win, the Luck slurpathon in the media will never, ever end.

[peachmangosteen]

Now the only team left in the playoffs that I don't actively want to lose is the Packers. Yeesh.

 

LOL but same. I suspect they'll lose today because of this. I can't have nice things!