I guess we can count on the Raiders for something...

[pepperlandgirl]

That when it really matters, they'll fold under the pressure. It's been true for the past 18 years, I guess I'm not surprised to see it true this year.
It was almost like watchin a 49ers game.

[nowalls99]

At least they didn't lose to the Broncos again. And, on a different note GO GIANTS

[Torgo]

Cry me a river, pepperlandgirl. Ever hear of the MINNESOTA VIKINGS????????????????????

[nowalls99]

I almost forgot pepperlandgirl, at least the Raiders scored in their game. hehehe

[Snooooopy]

I want the Ravens and the Giants to both lose the Super Bowl. Is there any way that that could be arranged?

[douglips]

Originally posted by pepperlandgirl
That when it really matters, they'll fold under the pressure.

Pressure, hell. Did you see that 500 pounder land on Gannon? Holy mother of God.

[oldscratch]

Yep.. They woulda won if that hadn't happened. It's a fact. Fuckin' Ravens

[meek]

I wonder what odds Vegas would have given for a Giants/Ravens Superbowl at the start of the season?

I also wonder how low the over/under will be for this game? Single digit? Wow. I am still stunned.

To all the Raiders and Vikings fans out there, cheer up, it could be worse.... you could be Bengal fans.

[Lizard]

Originally posted by smug
I wonder what odds Vegas would have given for a Giants/Ravens Superbowl at the start of the season?

No doubt! Of course, with such odds, nobody actually bet on it. The second straight year where both teams in the Super Bowl didn't even make the playoffs the year before. It's both exciting and nerve-wracking.

To all the Raiders and Vikings fans out there, cheer up, it could be worse.... you could be Bengal fans.

If by "worse" you meant "as bad as it could possibly be."

I am a Cleveland Browns fan (ironic, I know, given my above statement) and this is from the bottom of my heart: GO GIANTS!!

[RTFirefly]

I pretty much expected the Ravens-Raiders game to go pretty much as it did.

But the Giants-Vikings game - that was one of the most completely unexpected single-game results in decades, IMO.

Not that the Giants could've won, mind you. I picked the Vikes, but figured it was hardly a given.

But 41-0?? Both those numbers still seem wildly improbable, even now that it's happened: that the Giants could've scored 41, and that they - anybody - could've shut out the Vikings.

Of course, they'll score about 3 points against the Ravens. The real championship game was played a week ago in Nashville.

[Fredge]

I'm predicting this is going to be the lowest rated Superbowl ever. Could two more boring teams possibly have made it?

I like a game with a lot of offense. I seriously doubt we'll see that in the Superbowl. The Giants of yesterday were a fluke. They'll probably be lucky to score 10 points in the big game. The Ravens went 5 straight games without scoring an offensive touchdown this year. They should make a new rule that if you go 5 games without an offensive touchdown you can't be in the Superbowl.

Trent Dilfer and Kerry Collins are two of the most uninspiring QB's to ever play the game. Now they're names are going to be on a list that includes Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, Joe Montana, Steve Young, John Elway and Dan Marino. Thanks for ruining the season Raiders and Vikings. Thanks a lot.

[Aglarond]

I'm a lifelong Vikings fan and wasn't even upset yesterday. There comes a point where you just really don't care anymore. Year after year after year, the Vikes inevitably manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. For the frist time ever, I honestly don't care who wins the Super Bowl. There had better be some damn good commercials to keep me entertained this year.

[chique]

Originally posted by Torgo
Cry me a river, pepperlandgirl. Ever hear of the MINNESOTA VIKINGS????????????????????

The only Vikings I'm aware of are a bunch of sea-faring Scandinavians who terrorized northern Europe for 400 years. Why are you speaking of them as if they play a game called.....?football?

Football? Vikings? I don't get the reference













_{Why do I get the feeling that I'm repressing something?}

[pepperlandgirl]

Weren't the Giants the number one team in the NFC this year? Come on guys, give them a bit of credit.

Well, I didn't want the Raiders to win. But I've had a theory for ten years now. The Raiders will fuck themselves when it matters the most. It's problably something they practice. "Well men, we don't want to lose. The fans don't want us to lose, but we have a tradition to worry about!"

Well, do you have a better way of explaining it?

[oldscratch]

Well yes ... yes I do... but this isn't the pit

[Clucky]

The Viking must be both commended and ridiculed. They are the only NFC team to make it to the playoffs the past three years. And, yet, they continue to choke when it matters.

I can't wait to see the Rams get back to the Super Bowl next year, and I'm assuming the Vikings will be one of their victims.

[Mr. Cynical]

Cough cough, BUFFALO, cough cough.

[Gazoo]

Originally posted by smug
I also wonder how low the over/under will be for this game? Single digit? Wow. I am still stunned.

33 1/2 or 34 depending on the book you're looking at. Almost all of 'em that I've seen so far have the Ravens as 2 1/2 point favorites. I think these early lines are pretty accurate as to what the final may be. Prior to seeing them, I ran a bunch of stats and came up with a final score of 16.5 to 16.5. I have picked a final score of Ravens 17 - Giants 16 in a pool here at work.

Pressure, hell. Did you see that 500 pounder land on Gannon? Holy mother of God.

Man, Siragusa actually bounced when he landed on Gannon!!

[Odieman]

And the worst thing about the hit on Gannon was the refs completely missed the pile driver to the head.....I hope Baltimore fans can live with winning by a cheap shot

Keith

Proud fan of the Silver and Black for 25 years.

[Biggirl]

Originally posted by Odieman
And the worst thing about the hit on Gannon was the refs completely missed the pile driver to the head.....I hope Baltimore fans can live with winning by a cheap shot

I think the irony of a Raider fan saying this is too much to pass up.

The Giants still get no respect. But like the owner said "Some people say we are the worst team ever to clinch home field. Now we are the worst team ever to win the championship and we'll be the worst team ever to win the Superbowl."

[Drain Bead]

I heard some sports talk radio guy today talking about how Art Modell thanked the fans in Cleveland who supported him in his acceptance speech. Classless fuckhead. I hope he roasts in hell, but before that, I hope he loses the Super Bowl and then never wins another playoff game, ever. Art Modell's success proves to me that there is no God. Everyone who cheers for that abortion of a team should be objects of public ridicule and scorn.

And as for whether Baltimore fans can live with winning by a cheap shot...the entire team is a cheap shot, and they don't seem to mind. Two wrongs don't make a right, Baltimore fans. You gave whiny Art Modell what he wants, and I hope you choke on it. You're like the girl who steals some other woman's man. When things go bad, what makes you think that slime isn't going to go looking elsewhere again, just like he did last time? Every time I hear someone is a Baltimore fan (and mind you, they're pretty rare, but two or three people haven't been too ashamed to admit it to me), I can't help but think that they're unrepentant whores.

The Giants just gained a HUGE fan base for the Super Bowl. Boring or not, I know more people who are watching just in the hopes that Art Modell and his team of killers, cheaters and slimebuckets will go down.

[Gozu Tashoya]

Originally posted by smug
To all the Raiders and Vikings fans out there, cheer up, it could be worse.... you could be Bengal fans.

You think that's bad, my friend's dad has season tickets for the Chargers.

[kevja]

The 49ers have won FIVE Super Bowls. They may have not won every big game they played in over the past 20 years, but they won more big games than any other team since the 1981 season.

[Manduck]

Originally posted by chique

Football? Vikings? I don't get the reference

How appropriate is it that the "confused" smiley is purple?

[RTFirefly]

Originally posted by Biggirl

I think the irony of a Raider fan saying this is too much to pass up.

Ain't that the truth!

Drain: don't hold back - tell us how you really feel.

And what were the people of Baltimore supposed to do, exactly - wait and take their chances? As a former Washington Senators fan, I can tell you how well that works.

[Crack'dOff]

Originally posted by Odieman
Proud fan of the Silver and Black for 25 years.

Preach it brother.

Let me give you a hug.

Oh wait.. let me wait a bit, then give you a hug

[Weirddave]

I hope Baltimore fans can live with winning by a cheap shot

As Shannon Sharpe said, it's not like Gannon was playing like Joe Montana before he got bounced by Goose. The Raiders were dominated like a little schoolgirl. Accept it.

I heard some sports talk radio guy today talking about how Art Modell thanked the fans in Cleveland who supported him in his acceptance speech. Classless fuckhead. I hope he roasts in hell, but before that, I hope he loses the Super Bowl and then never wins another playoff game, ever. Art Modell's success proves to me that there is no God. Everyone who cheers for that abortion of a team should be objects of public ridicule and scorn.

And as for whether Baltimore fans can live with winning by a cheap shot...the entire team is a cheap shot, and they don't seem to mind. Two wrongs don't make a right, Baltimore fans. You gave whiny Art Modell what he wants, and I hope you choke on it. You're like the girl who steals some other woman's man. When things go bad, what makes you think that slime isn't going to go looking elsewhere again, just like he did last time? Every time I hear someone is a Baltimore fan (and mind you, they're pretty rare, but two or three people haven't been too ashamed to admit it to me), I can't help but think that they're unrepentant whores.

The Giants just gained a HUGE fan base for the Super Bowl. Boring or not, I know more people who are watching just in the hopes that Art Modell and his team of killers, cheaters and slimebuckets will go down.

Jesus fuckin Christ Libby, you're better than this. Don't tell me the pain of being a fan of the four time Super Bowl LOSING Bills has rotted your brain. It's been 5 years, the NFL gave Cleveland the blow job of all blow jobs to placate them, and still they won't stop whining! Jesus, every time I hear this I picture an entire town full of people in diapers. Thanking the people of Cleveland was about the classiest thing Modell could have done. The city forced him into a corner where he had no choice but to move, he has been the target of scorn, hate and death threats, villified by a town which he had done so much for for 35 years, and still he thanks them. Were it me, I would have thumbed my nose at the entire lot of them.


I'm an unrepentent whore? Listen, sister, after 14 years of getting screwed by the NFL, Paul Tagliabue and Jack Bent Crook, I have no qualms about getting paid for it. Zero. I can't wait until the 28th when I get to watch the Sun King hand that trophy to Art Modell in Tampa. The commissioner is so classless that he'll probably make someone else do it.
As for things going bad? They won't. The Ravens are the pride and joy of a city that supports football like no other in the USA. Since the team came here, there isn't a single game that hasn't been a sellout. Not one, even in the losing seasons. The mighty Raider fans, fawned over by the national media in a saccerine display this past week, sold out exactly 5 games this year, and 2 of them were playoff games. Yea, that's just wonderful support.

As to the suddenly huge Giants fan base, it dosen't matter a bit. You can have every other whining, uninformed jock wannabe in the country rooting with you, it won't make a fig's worth of difference. By the second quarter, Kerry Collins will be lying on his back muttering racial slurs and counting the pretty birdies orbiting the lights at Raymond James Stadium, Tiki Barbor will be pondering a Super Bowl stat sheet of negative yards, and Ike Hilliard and company will be wondering if they will ever catch a Collins pass instead of Starks and McCalister.

So post all you want in the above vein. To me it all sounds like the desperite ramblings of a fan who knows their team is outclassed, and is trying to distract attention from that. Giants are gonna get pounded.


GO RAVENS!!!!!!

[chique]

Originally posted by Manduck

How appropriate is it that the "confused" smiley is purple?

I hate you.

[Lizard]

Originally posted by Drain Bead
Art Modell...Classless fuckhead

Boy, some words just go well together! Well said, Drain Bead. Some things just can't be put any better.

weirddave, I agree. Continuous sellouts are an impressive display of support for a team. Not that Modell didn't have that in Cleveland!!! Yet somehow he was "forced into a corner." I guess $50 million from the city of Baltimore makes a great escape hatch, doesn't it?

[Weirddave]

Ok, do you want to consider the facts? Or do you just wanna weep and cry for 'poor ole abused Cleveland.' The oldest and most run down sports facility in Cleveland was old Municipal Stadium. The most popular team in town was the Browns( althought the concept of constant, complete sellouts is a myth that has been repeated ad nausum) So, what does the city do? They spend three quarters of a billion (with a b) dollars to build the R&R Hall of Fame, Jacobs Field and the Gund Arena. They ASSUMED that the Browns would never leave, and kept putting Art off.( Browns leave? Why, thats unthinkable! That would be like the Colts leaving Baltimore!)Then they tell Art, sorry, no money left for a new stadium. ( tho they found it quick enough when the NFL told them it was a prerequsite for a new team. Hmmmm. if the situation was that rosy in Cleveland, wonder why the new team couldn't play in the old stadium? Cuz it wouldn't have made any money. For God's sake, people, use your brains for more than paperweights!) IF they had agreed to build the stadium they have now before, the Browns wouldn't have budged. I urge anyone who doubts what I'm saying to take a few basic level economics classes. What makes a stadium profitable for a team is not a huge number of fans in the seats ( the "true fans", and I'll cheerfully admit Cleveland has plenty of those), but the luxury boxes and ammenities that allow corporate money to flow in to the team's coffers. For God's sake, they are even renovating Lambeau Field for this purpose, and the goddam community owns the team! As much as you might not like it, football is a business as well as a sport. Take of your kneejerk blinders, people, and look objectively. Cleveland made out as well, keeping their name, tradition, colors, records, getting a new stadium and having the NFL kick in funds. We in Baltimore are proud to have Art Modell as our owner, and nobody will be more pleased than us when he finally hoists the Lombardi trophy in 2 weeks. After 40 years, he deserves it.

[pepperlandgirl]

I made the reference about the 49ers, cuz let's face it, the past couple of seasons they have sucked. Big time. Kinda like the Raiders did last Sunday.

[Eo Echo]

Pro football is a cutthroat business. Just ask Phoenix, or Indianapolis. Not to mention Al Davis. They set the standard, the precedent. Modell merely followed it. Go RAVENS!

[Nacho4Sara]

Well, I'm a Ravens fan, but not a huge football fan. I don't particularly consider myself an unrepentant whore, more a person who likes to see her city have some sense of spirit and pride, so that instead of arguing about the crime rate and housing costs and Mayor O'Malley, we are all actually joining together over something that doesn't matter all that much in the long run but matters right now.

Baltimore can be a sad place to live. It's nice to see people smiling right now, even though it's temporary.

Go Ravens! Woo hoo!

[John Corrado]

Just call me an unrepentant whore.

Go Ravens!

[lurkernomore]

Originally posted by chique

The only Vikings I'm aware of are a bunch of sea-faring Scandinavians who terrorized northern Europe for 400 years. Why are you speaking of them as if they play a game called.....?football?

Football? Vikings? I don't get the reference

[/sub]

That's them. The guys that played the Giants played like they were a thousand years old.



_{John Corrado is an unrepentant whore.}

[Knighted Vorpal Sword]

Originally posted by Odieman
And the worst thing about the hit on Gannon was the refs completely missed the pile driver to the head.....I hope Baltimore fans can live with winning by a cheap shot

I would bet that if it was the other way around, Odie, that if one of your precious Raiders had injured Dilfer the same way, you would think it would be fine and dandy. Wake up, Odie, and welcome to pro football.

[Clucky]

Originally posted by JBirdman12
Pro football is a cutthroat business. Just ask Phoenix, or Indianapolis. Not to mention Al Davis. They set the standard, the precedent. Modell merely followed it. Go RAVENS!

Yeah, talk about a cutthroat business. St. Louis always had great football fans -- but anybody would be distresed about a team Bill Bidwill owns? He destroyed any chances for the Cardinals when they were in St. Louis, but the joke was on Arizona when the team moved. It was an easy move, too, boy. Not much resistance from the NFL. Now, poor Phoenix has the Cardinals.

So, in turn, the City of St. Louis paid a king's ransom to take away LA's Rams. I feel bad for the die-hard fans out their on the coast, but you said it, Birdman -- it's cutthroat.

[idiotboy]

Originally posted by weirddave
As to the suddenly huge Giants fan base, it dosen't matter a bit. You can have every other whining, uninformed jock wannabe in the country rooting with you, it won't make a fig's worth of difference. By the second quarter, Kerry Collins will be lying on his back muttering racial slurs and counting the pretty birdies orbiting the lights at Raymond James Stadium, Tiki Barbor will be pondering a Super Bowl stat sheet of negative yards, and Ike Hilliard and company will be wondering if they will ever catch a Collins pass instead of Starks and McCalister.

So post all you want in the above vein. To me it all sounds like the desperite ramblings of a fan who knows their team is outclassed, and is trying to distract attention from that. Giants are gonna get pounded.


GO RAVENS!!!!!!

Alright, before any misunderstanding begins...I am not, and never was, a Browns fan. I'm a Giants fan through and through.

So, animosity aside...

Wanna start a QB war here? Mr. Dilfer...feeling all high and mighty now...to show Tampa Bay that he's "back"...like the Giants give a flying ape-shit. They could have Elvis taking snaps...they're still gonna nail him like a cheap 2x4. As for Collins' success...I this it's the environment that changed him. Originally playing for a "southern" town, I think some of the local attitude rubbed off on him. Moving to NY, has made him a better athlete, and more importantly, a better person. I wouldn't underestimate him and his wide array fo receivers. Before ya know it, he'll be lobbing pigskin over your head like it was Christmas dinner all over again. I agree, Tiki Barb[b]e[b/]r and the "Thunder and Lightning" rushing attack have sputtered and failed as of late...but only to open up the "Air Force" of Collins and his Wingmen, who now hold NUMEROUS Playoff yardage records!

And if the Ravens have ANY hope of winning SuperBowl XXXV, they'd better assassinate Strahan and Armstrong pre-game, or their offense isn't gonna go anywhere but backwards. This Giants defense obliterated one of the best offense teams in the NFL with Duante, Randy and Chris. Can anyone say, "Sehorn for President!!!"?

Good luck...they're gonna need it!

Go Giants!

[Falcon]

Um, Collins put up great records against the VIKINGS. Whose defense SUCKS. The Ravens ain't the Vikings. I have a feeling that Kerry and Ray Lewis are gonna get REAL well acquainted.

I see a defensive battle, with the first team making a mistake to lose. Ravens, 10-3.

[Clucky]

[quote]Originally posted by idiotboy
[b]

Originally posted by weirddave
And if the Ravens have ANY hope of winning SuperBowl XXXV, they'd better assassinate Strahan and Armstrong pre-game, or their offense isn't gonna go anywhere but backwards. This Giants defense obliterated one of the best offense teams in the NFL with Duante, Randy and Chris. Can anyone say, "Sehorn for President!!!"?

Good luck...they're gonna need it!

Go Giants!

Uh, who's Armstrong? You mean Jesse Armstead? Oh, is Sehorn going to play? You mean, he's not injured?

My bold prediction: Baltimore 9, Giants 6.

[Clucky]

Sorry, Weirddave. That above quote was supposed to be of Idiotboy, and somehow it got all mixed up when I quoted from him. (Newbie error. Still not sure what the hell I'm doing.)

Still, Ravens 9, Giants 6.

[Jackknifed Juggernaut]

I'd like to start out by saying that I'm a Steelers fan, so I don't particularly like the Ravens or the Raiders. But I have to admit that the Ravens probably have the best defense in the history of professional football. And they're one of the cleaner teams around. Sure, they perform their share of cheap shots, but who doesn't? (BTW, the Siragusa hit on Gannon was clean. Its not Siragusa's fault that Gannon is such a wuss.)

And Art Modell had no choice but to leave Cleveland. Football is a business. You've got to at least break-even to keep going. The city of Cleveland screwed Modell every way possible. He did the right thing by leaving. And personally, I think the NFL screwed up by allowing Cleveland to have another football team. While the fans probably deserve a team, there are other cities who would've done more for their home team. They should've had to wait as long as Baltimore did when it lost the Colts.

And finally, the Ravens defense is going to crush the Giants offense. The NFC is like the minor leagues of football. There are at least 8 AFC teams better than the Giants (Titans, Ravens, Steelers, Jets, Dolphins, Colts, Raiders and Broncos). Don't be fooled by what you saw in the playoffs. The Giants beat a mediocre team at home followed by a bad team at home. This may be the first shutout in Super Bowl history. It'll be 85 degrees in New York on Super Bowl Sunday before the Giants win that game.

[idiotboy]

Originally posted by Clucky
Uh, who's Armstrong? You mean Jesse Armstead?

Yeah, so sorry...Armstead...my fingers are going faster than my brain feels like thinking right now.

Oh, is Sehorn going to play? You mean, he's not injured?

Dude, I would SO love to see you break your freaking leg and go do what he did Sunday and the week before...did you happen to see that interception he made against the Eagles?! Poetry in motion, baby!

So the smart-ass answer to the smart-ass question is: NO Jason Sehorn is NOT injured...but go ahead and keep thinking that and ignoring him...

Giants 7, Ex-Browns 0 (On a Sehorn interception return)

[Clucky]

Idiotboy, Sehorn is overrated. He made a great play on that interception, sure, but he's no Duane Starks. The Ravens defense is superior. They shut down the freakin' Broncos and the Raiders, two of the best offensive teams in the league (behind the Rams).

As we've established, the Vikings have no defense. The Giants are not going to be able to do to the Ravens what they did to the Vikings.

However, I will give props to Armstead. He's one of the best defensive players in the league. Strahan is, too, when inspired. But, Sehorn? He has a lot to prove. Even if he has a good game against the Ravens, for crying out loud, the Ravens don't even have a passing game. Their version of a passing game is their secondary's returns of interceptions, which I predict will set up two the three necessary field goals for victory.

9-6, Baltimore.

[idiotboy]

OK, fair enough. We'll leave it to the 60 minute defensive showdown in 12 days. Like Falcon said...it'll be down to who makes the mistake...

[Nacho4Sara]

But I have to admit that the Ravens probably have the best defense in the history of professional football.

Oh baby! Talk dirty to me! I'm gonna paint my car with purple grease paint right after work!

(I already wrote, "GO RAVENS!" in the dirt on my bumper.)

I'm calling it 12-3. This will be my first ever SuperBowl too! Yay!

[UrbanChic]

Go Ravens! The Giants don't stand a chance against the Ravens' defense - I mean, come on!

It's one thing to be a fan but let's be realistic, Baltimore has this win pratically cinched! Oh, did I mention Go Ravens?

[RTFirefly]

Originally posted by idiotboy
the "Air Force" of Collins and his Wingmen, who now hold NUMEROUS Playoff yardage records!

One-game records, even in the postseason, don't necessarily mean much. Anyone remember Timmy Smith? (Besides my fellow Redskin fan Falcon.) Set the one-game Super Bowl rushing record in Super Bowl 22, I think, in 1988 (Redskins-Broncos). It had been something like 168 yards; Smith obliterated that by rushing for over 200. Then he virtually vanished from the face of the earth.

There are days when everything comes together for a team - internal and external factors, everything you can imagine. The Giants just had a day like that. It's not repeatable on command; it'll only happen again when the constellations align just so. In the 1983/84 postseason, the Redskins demolished a fairly good team, the Rams, by about 55-7 in the opening round. They squeaked out a win in the NFC championship, then got shredded in Hyperbole 18.

That's not to say the same thing will happen to the Giants, although I question the ability of any offense to survive the onslaught of the Ravens defense right now. Being 'shredded' by the Ravens might take on the dimensions of 9-0; this is a team that can make the task of coming back against that small a deficit look hopeless. The Raiders had to settle for a FG after 1st-and-goal on the 2. The Ravens have played three of football's best offenses in the past three weeks; they've scored a total of 16 points.

I remember the Bears' '46' defense, and the Steel Curtain. This defense is in that class. It's a truly amazing thing to watch.

Ravens, 12-3.

[Clucky]

I remember Timmy Smith. He was a stud on one of those Nintendo football games back in the day, the year after that Super Bowl. What [i]did[i] happen to him? I wonder if [i]Sports Illustrated[i] or some other magazine has ever done a retrospective on his one-game career and subsequent plummet from the face of the earth?

[Snooooopy]

Ravens 2, Giants 0.

In overtime.