March to Super Bowl XXXX!! (Predictions and Trash Talk Galore!)

In My Humble Opinion
141

I think the Pats have a pretty high likelyhood of getting a quality RB at the end of the first round. Morency out of Minnesota would be the guy I’d be eyeballing, and if LenDale White shows some flaws in the combine and/or workouts he might just slip that far too.

If that piece falls into place I don’t doubt they’ll be back. Also, I think the secondary is not as bad or thin as the media led us to believe. If the front 7 stay healthy and apply pressure they’ve proven they are good enough to shut down the opponent. If I were Belichick I’d be looking at an RB first and a WR taller than 5’6" second.

142

I, too, am looking forward to his column. I hope we get at least a quick Cowbell column on Monday.

143

Better yet a running diary.

144

So what was the deal with the INT that wasn’t - the one that the Steeler with the serious long hair made?

The ruling on the field was an interception, and the booth ruling was that because the guy still had a knee on the ground when he lost the ball again, it wasn’t an interception. Where do they get these rules? It’s not like he hadn’t had it more than long enough to establish control of the ball before he fumbled and recovered.

Sure made for a wild and woolly ending, though.

145

It is, with 100% certainty. For evidence, try to recall back to week 2, in the extra Monday nighter that got relocated from underwater to East Rutherford. Joe Horn dove for the endzone, fumbled the ball in midair, and the ball hit the top of the pylon and dropped out of bounds. Result was a touchback, Giants ball.

It isn’t even just the pylon, btw. The endzone extends infinitely far left and right. This means that if you dive into the endzone along the sideline with the ball in the sideline-side hand, even if it’s stretched out so far as to never enter the rectangle painted on the field, it’s still a touchdown.

Btw, great post upthread. (#130)

146

I have to say, the ending to THAT game was pure schadenfreude :slight_smile:

I definitely think that was a pick, NO idea where they pulled that ruling from. But it just made the ending that much better.

147

Not looking good for the Bears. If they lose I will have officially have picked the losers in every game this week.

Jim

148

Guess who is going to Seattle.

Hint.

It ain’t Da Bears.

I must admit I blew the under.

But don’t bet against the Road Warriors.

I must admit it was a great game.

149

Crying towels here…get yer crying towels!

Bears who?

150

Yeah… not so much that the Bears lost, but HOW they lost. If you had told me they’d have three 65+ yard TD drives on offense I’d have told you they had the game in the bag.

I like both away teams next week, at first glance. Unlikely that’ll happen, though - it’s rare enough you get ONE team to win three road games and go to the Super Bowl. Maybe Denver and Seattle will be sharper than they were this week, and maybe our road teams will show fatigue. Or maybe they won’t. Either way, hell of a weekend.

151

Wow impressive to be 0-4. I really picked them this week. :smack:

Jim

152

I thought you were a longtime member…did you really just join in June? (I know you changed your name, but that was today, not last June.)

That’s an error; 4000+ posts in 6 months can’t be right, can it?

153

Afraid so, I am very eclectic and post too often. The only thing in my defense is at least I don’t start many threads and the ones I have started have been popular about half the time.

Jim

154

But the Panthers can’t have won. What about November?

:smiley:

Woohoo!

155

3 for 4 this weekend, only missing the Bears, Panthers game.

I’m ok with that, though. Grossman played ok, but not great. But if you told me before the game he would have put up 21 points, I would have liked their chances. But the Panthers just ran the ball down their throats.

The Steelers crushed the Colts today. One of the worst replay calls of all time with the 4th quarter interception being overturned. This is why I hate instant replay. Why use it at all if you can’t get the call correct? The ending was as bizarre as I’ve seen in a long time. I usually don’t root against kickers, but Vanderjagt is such an ass-munch, it was hard to feel sorry for him.

Thank you Peyton, for living down to all my expectations!
Steelers & Seattle in the SB! If the Steelers actually get there, I might have to change my pick. But not yet.

156

All the teams I wanted to win this weekend were all teams I wouldn’t bet on. Steelers have been my team since they lost to the Cowboys in their last SB, mainly because I have a much stronger connection to my mother’s side (Monongahela) than my father’s side and my birthplace (Houston/DFW). However, I just could not see them winning against the Colts. Pats I just wanted to see lose at any cost, and I have always had a soft spot for Denver. No way I was going to bet against The Champs, though. As for Carolina, they are my assumed “hometown team”, and since I don’t care much for the NFC they are the automatic team I root for in said conference. But against the Bears?

(Seatle I wanted to win simply because they are such an odd team to have as serious contenders in the post-season.)

What I am trying to say is, it was an amazing weekend for football. Except for Seatle, all the underdogs dominated and won. Hopefully, it will be a Carolina/Pittsburgh SB - I would root for Steelers, but wouldn’t be terribly upset if they lost.

157

OK, I’m very drunk and very angry and totally incapable of making a reasonable assessment of what happened. A couple quick comments though.

That Steelers-Indy game. I agree that that random INT review came out of nowhere. Tangentially I was rooting for Indy, but it was seriously strange decision by the Refs. I almost have to believe that there’s a rule which I don’t know about (think tuck rule) in order for them to have made that call.

In the Bears game, damn. Someone above said that the Bears couldn’t handle the running game, BULLSHIT. The Defense played pretty well with the exception of Steve Smith. Grossman played well enough to win the game. We ran the ball as well as I’d hoped. Everything turned out to be in the Bears favor. The one GIANT caveat is that for some baffling reason Ron Rivera decided to not cover Steve Smith. I love the guy, hell of a player, but I’m hard pressed to think he dominated that game by superior talent. The Bears allowed him to catch 3 LONG passes in which he wasn’t covered AT ALL. The Panthers only had one real offensive threat, exaggerated by the Foster injury, and somehow the Bears coaches chose to single cover him. :confused: The most embarrassing loss in the history of this franchise.

The Bears D was pretty tough really. If they hold Steve Smith to 125 yards the Bears win that game easily. On the first long TD it was blatant offensive pass interference. Smith totally ran over Tillman, who is entitled to his position, and was left wide open. Still he should have been double covered, no excuse for that. If you take away Steve Smith’s reverse plays and Delhomme’s scramble (which are pass defense issues IMHO) they held that running game to 88 yards. The supposed dominant running attack (in a game which they led the whole way) was shut down. If the Bears do a smarter job of double covering Smith, and tackle him after a catch or two holding him to 118 yard we win the game.

Still, there is no excuse for Steve Smith to be single covered EVER, and frankly single coverage would have been an improvement of what we saw tonite. Horrible scheme by Rivera who probably ruined any opportunity he had for a head coaching job in that game.

Everyone except Ron Rivera and Lovie Smith knew that Steve Smith was going to be the entire Panther offense today. Everyone knew that you had to stop him to beat the Panthers. How could the Bears have possibly not double covered him on every snap. Had he beaten double coverage regularly I could stomach that, but this gameplan was retarded.

It was a good effort by the offense, and by the run defense, but Tillman and the rest of the pass defense got undressed. It’s 75% the fault of the gameplan and coaches 25% the fault of the DBs.

Additionally, as I’ve been saying here for 2 months, the Bears punting game was so bad, without exaggeration or hubris, I could have done better today.

If we average closer to 45 yards per punt we probably win this game. If we double cover Smith and force Proehl to try and beat us we win this game. As it happened Steve Smith jammed the ball down our throats. The memory of the '85 Bears has been shat upon.

One last comment: The football gods were angered in early 2003 when Vanderjagt chose to criticize his QB. Today they got their vengeance.

158

I feel your pain, Omni. At least you scored on them. Trade ya Eli for Grossman, straight up?

I think I’m kidding.

159

I still believe Eli will get better. I am not sure why I believe this, but I have to keep telling myself this.

160

1-5.

I must be a glutton for pain.

Carolina: They really convinced me today. Plus, Alexander will be absent literally or figuratively. Maybe they could beat the 'Skins without them, but the 'Skins once again showed no inclination to play decent offensive football. That the Panthers could carve up Soldier Field like they did, is proof enough for me.

Denver: Pittsburgh is good, real good, but not that good; they benefited from a hurt quarterback in Jacksonville and a quarterback with a persistent case of playoff impotence in Indianapolis. The Broncos are my Rodney Dangerfield pick.