First, yesterday *was * a bad day in the Kingdom of Duff. I intended this to be a good-natured thread for Vike and Pack fans to give each other the needle, and in reading your posts I took some as a personal insult. Re-reading them I can’t fathom why I thought that. So sincere apologies. And the Davenport reference was funny as hell. Diogenes, Christmas Eve is possible for me as the game should end around 5 or so and we always the family thing after 7. However, unless Mrs Dio is going to drive to DL, it may hamper your beer intake. (I live in town and can get a ride, so I’ll be partying my ass off)
The week after would also work, and probably be a lot less rushed. Hell, even the 1[sup]st[/sup] would be good as I plan on having a few that day as well.
Players closed a few years ago. But change brought improvement as we have a Buffalo Wild Wings now for all NFL action. For the season finale, the Vikes game will be the audio, with both games shown on big screens and various other sets. (Why the hell the NFL scheduled both games at the same time may breed a true rant thread) Up to you when, I’ll be here.
And SA lives in GF??? I had absolutly no idea. But hell, if you’re here SA join up with us! We’ll have the smallest DoperParty ever!!
No problem, duffer. I enjoy a little smack talk with fans of any team. If you were a Vikes fan, I would have called you a muffin-nosed lutefisk-eating weanie. Of course, there’s no reason to heap more misery on the fans of that blighted franchise.
Enjoy your beer with the Cynic in South Dakota. I’m sure that you will find plenty of cows to tip if you want to get rowdy.
I’m not positive, but I thought ESPN said the other day that if the Vikings win out, they’ll make the playoffs because they will beat both Green Bay and a common opponent.
This is a clip from the Msp Star Tribune from yesterday:
"*After conferring Monday morning with the NFL office in New York, team officials learned the Vikings would hold the tiebreaker if the Vikings manage to win their final three games, which includes a Dec. 24 game against Green Bay.
Even if the Packers win their other two games – Sunday against Jacksonville and Jan. 2 at Chicago – the Vikings would win the division based on the NFL’s third ring of tiebreakers.
At 10-6, the Vikings and Packers would be even on the head-to-head tiebreaker (1-1) and also division record (4-2). The Vikings would win out based on a better record in games against the teams’ 12 common opponents this season. The Vikings’ 8-4 mark would trump the Packers’ 7-5 record against common opponents; the key game would be the *Vikings’ 20-3 victory over Tennessee, a team that defeated Green Bay 48-27."
Personally, I’m not holding a lot of hope that the Vikings can run the table. Maybe they’ll surprise me.
Well, it wouldn’t be all that tough. Their final three games are against Detroit, Green Bay and Washington. Detroit and Washington both suck ass and the Purple should win them (doesn’t mean they will, of course).
The Packers, (and Favre especially) do not play well in domes and the Metrodome, in particular, has been tough for them, plus the Vikings have Moss back now.
On paper the Vikes should be favored in all three games, but we Purple fans know only too well that being favored means nothing.
Gawd, last season “being favored” meant “playing down below your opponents level.”
I can still see the Vikings post-season depending on the last play in Washington.
Means nothing.
One year the Packers started out 8-2 and lost a game to the Colts, 41-38. I think that was the year after they won the Super Bowl.
I also believe it was the Colts first win of the season. It was also the most points they had allowed in a game all season.
The reality is that neither the Vikes nor the Pack is anything more than ok this year. The Vikes are slightly better because of their offense but neither team is going to the Superbowl.
Don’t underestimate the unmatched chokability of the Eagles in the Conference Championship game. Other than the Eagles, who (besides each other) is keeping you from getting there?
Let’s look at the likely playoff scenario, using the generic “You” to mean either the Vikes or the Pack, depending on who wins the division.
Wildcard Round (Eagles & Falcons have a bye)
Total Scrub @ You
You @ Rams
Divisional Round
Wildcard You (Rams suck) @ Eagles
Divison Winner You @ Falcons
So, basically, whoever wins the division will have to beat a scrubby (but hot) team at home, and then catch the Falcons in an off day in Atlanta. When “on”, the Falcons are nigh unbeatable. But when struggling, which is distressingly often, they kinda suck. And scramblers don’t do well in the postseason as a rule. Still, a tough game, but not unwinnable.
I’d love to see the poetic justice of the Pack beating the Falcons in Atlanta in the postseason. How perfect would that be?
Basically, I think you’ll both get a crack at Philly. And if by some blessed miracle they choke yet again one week shy of the Superbowl, not only will I be a happy guy, but you’ll be in the show.
Ellis Dee, I have to say here and now you are one of the most astute and knowledgeable football fans I’ve ever encountered. I doubt either me and my Packer brethren nor Dio and his silly ilk expect our teams to get to the SB. But given the opportunity, I can say 4[sup]th[/sup] and 26 will become a distant memory very quickly.
With Grady Jackson back and Nick Barnett with a chip on his shoulder, Atlanta looks like a good start to avenging that little letdown 2 years ago. And if it’s in Atlanta, there won’t be any wet padding on Green’s arm. (Goddamn fumble!)
And with the Foreskins giving Philly all they could handle, well, that’s what game tape is for. I’m feeling like a BoSox fan hoping for the Yanks in the playoffs. Retribution and all that. :mad:
Even in the SDMB Pick 'Em league, I’m giving relatively low confidence points to the Eagles over the Cowboys. I expect the Birds to win, but wouldn’t put money on it. Even on the moneyline. 2 reasons.
With the parity in the NFC (yes, even at 12-1) the Eagles are set to lose one of those “gimme” games. And what better team to look to than a bitter division rival?
Also, given the history of the Eagles in NFC championship games, 3 straight years is a tough sell when offering up T.O. as the difference. Moss was a complete non-factor in 2000, and I’d rank him above Teammate Ostracizer any week. Even hurt. (Of course, any time you mention a playoff streak, it’s broken. See: Atlanta 2002)
How many people gave Carolina a chance last year? And they damn near pulled it out against the Pats last year. I’m not making SB predictions yet, but get Favre in the mix and I’ll still beleive.
Neither can I, unfortunately. I have an ongoing $20 bet with a buddy, made in 2001, that Michael Vick will not reach the Superbowl in 5 years. (He’s a big Viginia Tech fan.) So if I can get through next season, I get to claim “I told you scramblers can’t win it all” bragging rights. (Steve Young being the exception.)
I am getting very concerned that I will end up between a rock and a hard place this year when the Falcons travel to Philly to determine the NFC Superbowl representative. The only possible representative I’d be happy with this year is the Pack or the Panthers. I don’t like scramblers, I hate the Eagles, I dislike the NFC West on general principle due to their sucktitude, and I think the Bucs are done, though they’d be okay too. So basically, Go Pack Go!
But I don’t think it matters who plays against the Eagles. I think they will find a way to lose regardless. Ideally, TO will cause it by returning to his stonehands form he displayed in that game against the Pack a few years ago. Bad example, in that the game winning play was an improbable clutch TD catch by TO which “redeemed” his game, but I can dream, can’t I?
:::happy dance:::
Nothing brings a smile to my face as quickly as being reminded of the 2000 NFC Championship game.
My time sense in football is way off. By a “few” years ago, I believe I mean “nine”, right? (I think it was TO’s rookie year.) And a decade is 7 years. Alrighty then.
I was just reminded of a lost file I used to have. A few months ago I had to wipe my HD trying to get a program to work. (Don’t ask if you don’t remember :mad: ) It was a pic of Culpepper and Moss standing next to each other in stadium parkas on the sidelines with a Snickers bar superimposed and the quote “Not going anywhere for awhile?”
If anyone has this pic, please e-mail it.
And the T.O. play. Was that the '94 game where it was a fumble the play before but w/o instant replay, SF got the ball back anyway? I assume this is the game you’re talking about. It was Green Bay’s ball to run out and we got screwed.
Shit, just googled it (NOT MY FRIEND!) and couldn’t find the game. It was in the '90’s but may have been a regular season game with post-season implications. I know Owens had a part in it. The fumble, though, if not him was by a receiver I can’t name. It’s on the tip of my tongue!
OK, found the game, but no play-by-play (if anyone can help out). It was JJ Stokes and T.O. on that drive that gave the win to the Whiners. It was the '98 Wild Card game.
And FWIW, it was a Niner fumble, the Pack did recover it, and the rest is history.
(Ellis, I can see where you were confused about the decade limit. My sense of time gets a little skewed as well) :smack:
