NFL talk

[holden]

My hometown Steelers are driving me crazy! Too many games this year they've eked out in the last minutes or OT! With their very tough schedule, at least they are beating quality opponents, and doing it through defense if not offense, but it does make my blood pressure rise while watching.

I agree, it has been fun seeing the Dolphins bounce back this year, along with the surprising Cardinals. It's always nice to see the underdogs win or a bit of fresh blood in the playoff hunt.

[stimpee]

I dont agree with it being nice to see the Dolphins bounce back. I'd like to see them, the Bills and the Patriots lose as many games as possible. But being the pessimistic Jets fan I am (like most), it will never happen

[potatobroth]

Originally Posted by stimpee

I dont agree with it being nice to see the Dolphins bounce back. I'd like to see them, the Bills and the Patriots lose as many games as possible. But being the pessimistic Jets fan I am (like most), it will never happen

Imagine my typical Monday morning living in the greater NYC area and being a Dolphin fan. Removing the Pats from the picture, it doesn't matter what happens this week for Miami or the Jets. The winner of the division will be the team that beats the other one. Consequently, if the Ravens drop two (which is very possible looking at their remaining games) and the Fins top the Jets, then Miami takes the division and NYJ takes the Wildcard. Well that and the Pats need to lose one game.

I've been to many MIA/NYJ games at Giants' Stadium and they are almost always unbearable to watch all the way through. This year's promises to be ridiculously tense.

[34958hq439-qjw9v5jq298v5j]

Originally Posted by holden

My hometown Steelers are driving me crazy! Too many games this year they've eked out in the last minutes or OT! With their very tough schedule, at least they are beating quality opponents, and doing it through defense if not offense, but it does make my blood pressure rise while watching.

I agree, it has been fun seeing the Dolphins bounce back this year, along with the surprising Cardinals. It's always nice to see the underdogs win or a bit of fresh blood in the playoff hunt.

Ahh, but you could have it so much worse, I am from Green Bay, try watching your team lose in the last minutes or OT every week! Try having a team where every huge play is nullified by a holding call! Try having a team where all the players don't always even know what play is being called! Guess I can still root on the Jets, as much as I hate what he did to Green Bay this offseason, I can't help but root for Favre. Sadly, my two other favorite teams have really dropped the ball - the Browns (QB of the future looked shaky, QB of the present played awful, 3rd stringer doesn't have a clue), and the Lions (enough said). Despite all that I think this season has been much more interesting than last years - okay, the Super Bowl was a great David vs. Goliath story, but the season was mostly very predictable. With the Titans and Giants faltering lately, I feel like every playoff team will have a legit shot. There is simply no dominating team. The Giants are close, but they have weaknesses, and I have never felt the Titans deserved their 11-2 record. Cowboys and Colts will both make it but neither has looked particularly dominating this season. My pick for champ this year is the Steelers. Plus there are lots of great side stories - Aaron Rodgers' first year as starter (he's doing great but it's been fruitless so far), Matt Ryan, the Plax thing, Tom Brady making way for the almost-as-good Matt Cassell, the Dolphins going from 1-15 to playoff contenders, the blown call to mess up the AFC west (Broncos and Chargers should have their records tied), the Lions potentially going 0-16, the bizarre T.O. controversy, Donovan McNabb's weirdo season...actually makes me sad it'll be over soon...

[potatobroth]

Originally Posted by 34958hq439-qjw9v5jq298v5j

Ahh, but you could have it so much worse, I am from Green Bay, try watching your team lose in the last minutes or OT every week!

foretold!

[34958hq439-qjw9v5jq298v5j]

Originally Posted by potatobroth

foretold!

Wheeee!! The Bears practically gave us that game. All we had to do was take it Once again the Pack dominate in practically every stat and come away with an L.

[den]

Originally Posted by 34958hq439-qjw9v5jq298v5j

Wheeee!! The Bears practically gave us that game. All we had to do was take it Once again the Pack dominate in practically every stat and come away with an L.

Wheeeee indeed! That was a fun game once it ended. That was vintage 2005 Bears. That is much better than 2006 where it appeared all the pieces were in place, and 2007, where all the pieces were expected to be in place but in fact were anything but. The Bears offense is so frustrating, that when they're down by 1 TD, it feels like they're down by 3 TDs. You think, "Ok, this is the drive" and then they fuck it up. And then the defense makes some ridiculous stop. And then you think, "Ok, now THIS is the drive" and then it all gets fucked up again. But still, the defense somehow makes another ridiculous stop, and then just by the odds of trial and error, the offense eventually does something. This was exactly like the Cardinals-"The Bears are who we thought they were!"-game. The Bears win in spite of themselves.

And I think that is much better than expecting them to win and being disappointed. Every win is an unexpected treat and guilty pleasure. All that game meant is at least one more weekend of relevant football for the Bears.

I think this situation is typical of defensive-minded teams, like the Ravens. The defense will keep them in the game and allow them to win, but the offense will never win the game outright.

Yeah, the Packers deserved to win that game, and they certainly won the previous meeting. But in the most prolific rivalry in all of football ever (college and pro), the only thing that matters is the win. That, and not already being eliminated from the playoffs...

[holden]

What a heartwarming scene to see the Cowboys humiliated so badly at the hands of the surprisingly-reborn Eagles! Dallas has swaggered and infought all season, so i don't mind at all that they're dropped a peg and out of the playoffs.
Too bad about the Patriots - Cassell has played admirably in place of Brady, and it really was down to the wire as to who'd get in from the East. But again, it's nice to see some new blood in the playoffs, in this case, Miami.

AFC: Though i'd love to see the Steelers get back to the SB, the offense hasn't been firing on all cylinders, and the likes of the Ravens, Titans, and Colts seem more balanced and dominant. Especially the Colts, who also turned it around in the second half of the season.

NFC: Panthers and Giants probably still the teams to beat, and i'd say the Panthers are the stronger team (Giants have folded in recent weeks). But you know, with the Championship to defend and how Eli Manning has come on as a big star QB, i gotta think it's gonna be the Brothers Manning in the Superbowl, Colts vs. Giants.

[kagenaki koe]

Originally Posted by holden

My hometown Steelers are driving me crazy! Too many games this year they've eked out in the last minutes or OT! With their very tough schedule, at least they are beating quality opponents, and doing it through defense if not offense, but it does make my blood pressure rise while watching.

you should try seeing this from another teams/fans perspective, in this case I'm a Bolts fan:

they've won 2 games against the Chiefs on the very last play (missed FG, then failed 2 pt conversion)

and 5 games, they've lost in the final minute (including vs the Steelers)

[den]

I forget about how bad the Dolphins were last year, but what about the Falcons? Who saw that coming? Who would've thought the NFC South would become such a tough division (and with the Saints at the bottom)?