[ul][li]First of all, I’m elated to see my username in a thread title. Even if it is a little dubious that it’s as a result of my absence. [/li]
[li]ShibbOleth, I wasn’t at the game this week, but I’ve booked a ticket to Miami already. I guess you could say I’m saving up. I was at a bar in the shadow of Wrigley for about 12 hours yesterday celebrating though. [/li]
[li]I was just giddy seeing that sexy N’awlins fan sporting the “Fuck The Eagles” shirt. So many things to like about it. First, she’s pretty damn hot. Second, Fox sucks about as bad as a network can suck in covering a football game, at least that one time it worked to our advantage. They even went back to her later in the game![/li]
[li]The Bears won, but it was a close shave. I liked Ron Turner’s play calling but it’s becoming clear that Lovie Smith went to the Herm Edwards school of game management. What were they thinking with that time-out at the end of the half?[/li]
[li]Devin Hester has replaced Rex Grossman as the most simultaneously worrisome and explosive player on this team. He’s always one move from a touchdown and always one fumble from disaster. Good god.[/li]
[li]I’ve got almost zero confidence in Moose Muhammad. This is the guy that threw Orton under the bus last year all while dropping balls himself. That trend continued yesterday with some key drops. The other WRs dropped their share too leading to an INT, that has to stop if we’re going to beat the Saints.[/li]
[li]Did you see that hit on Reggie Bush? He got jacked up![/li]
[li]On the whole this is probably the finest weekend of playoff football in recent memory. Every game had interesting subplots and was closely fought right up to the end. Next week’s games are every bit as compelling too. [/li]
[/ul]
I’m sure there’ll be more thoughts to come and later I’ll get back to analysis and predictions for the upcoming games, but needless to say I’m giddy.
Okay, I admit not following the NFL very closely for…the past several years, actually. But I just gotta ask this. What the bloody hell is it with the Pats?? This seems like the 20th time this franchise got one millimeter from being tossed from the playoffs before catching break after break after break and pulling off the craziest win imaginable. After it was over, I got the sinking feeling that even if McCree held on, the resulting drive would be two incompletions and a sack for a loss of eight, followed by a punt returned to the 15, allowing Tom Brady to tie it up with well over 4 minutes to go, plenty of time for the winning score after the Chargers’ next inevitable 3-and-out.
I swear, they’re like the Takumi Fujiwara of football; NOBODY beats them when it counts. I’d like to think that the Colts will pull it off, but that’s another team that Never Makes It To The Super Bowl, and…well, the Red Sox won it all in '04, so anything is possible, but the smart money seems to be on It Ain’t Gonna Happen.
Seriously, though, I’m happy with any Super Bowl matchup except Bears-Patriots. Because that will inevitably bring up comparisons to SB20, a Bears blowout, and the instant anyone takes that as anything other than a bizarre fluke that has no bearing whatsoever on this postseason, we’re looking at a Pats massacre that’ll make 49ers 55-Broncos 10 look like a double-overtime thriller.
On the plus side, my sister’s a Patriots fan, so at least she’ll be happy.
I would love to see a Bears-Patriots Superbowl this year. It’d be kind of karmic for me.
See, back in 1986, I was an Army brat living in the Chicago area, and I jumped on the Bears bandwagon as they went to the Superbowl. The Patriots were just some crappy AFC team that was little more than a speed bump on the way to a big Bears victory.
Now, 21 years later, I find myself settled in New England, of all places, and I’ve become a big Pats fan.
Oh, and as far as the Pats-Chargers game goes, that was an incredible game. I felt like I was going to have a heart attack by the end.
I think the Chargers turned out to be just as formidable an opponent as was predicted. They dominated most of the game. I never felt like the Patriots were in control of the game.
The Pats were never able to effectively stop the Chargers run game, and I don’t know why the Chargers didn’t stay with it.
It wasn’t until the end of the first half that Brady was finally able to effectively move the ball for the closing drive of the half. Even in the second half, Brady was consistently throwing balls to receivers for incompletions or only a couple of yards.
The way that game went, I can understand the Patriots players celebrating at the end. We were jumping up and down screaming in my living room when the game ended.
When a team is heavily favored to win, it is indeed classless to shove the win in the opponent’s face. When the underdog wins an improbable victory, who can blame them for celebrating?
Apologies if I contributed to the vibe. I agree with everything you wrote.
Split the difference. I saw the highlight about a hundred times on Mike & Mike yesterday morning, and to me Light clearly and undeniably advanced the ball to the 30. However, the (I assume official) play-by-play at NFL.com states:
The next play seems to have been spotted at the 18, not the 22. So instead of the 47 yarder (what I said) or 54 yarder (what you said), it would have been 50 yards on the nose. All his kicks sailed through easily that game, and that included a 50 yarder.
Tomlinson is such a whiny little pussy. “Waaah! They mocked our celebration! Waaah!” Grow a pair, crybaby. Better yet, win a friggin’ game. That way you won’t have to worry about the Merriman Steroid Dance being mocked at midfield.
Seriously, wtf? How many times have signature celebrations been mocked? Terrell Owens waving his arms like Ray Lewis, countless Giants opponents doing the jumpshot, ad infinitum. One thing you can say about the Giants is that they are some of the biggest bellyachers in the league, and not one of them would ever be such a pussy as to whine about their precious jumpshot getting mocked.
As for showboating and smacktalking in general, the Chargers are near the top of the heap. I wonder how many bags of popcorn Merriman will get in the mail to eat while he watches the rest of the playoffs from home? I can only hope it’s roughly the same as the closing scene in Real Genius.
All right, on to next week. Only two games this time, so it should be easy right?
Game 1, NO at Chi: Sorry, Omni, I’m giving this one to the Saints. With two minutes left in the game and Chicago marching down the field for a tying field goal, Grossman will be intercepted on the N.O. 40 by – who else? – Steve Bartman.
Game 2: NE at Ind: This one bugs me. In principle, NE can and should win, for all the usual reasons. At the same time, I’m worried about overconfidence. NE seems to feel, particularly after last week’s game, that they have some unstoppable mojo that will carry them to a fourth Superbowl victory in six years. The Chargers clearly angered the football gods by planning their Superbowl victory parade ahead of time, and I’m afraid the Patriots are doing the same. Pride goeth before a fall, and all that. So, as a Pats fan, I’m not feeling too good about this one.
My heart says Pats vs Bears in the Super Bowl & I think the Bears get there but the Pats will need to come up big again to win this week. Don’t get me wrong I am a total homer Pats fan but to see the Colts win with Manning not playing up to his usual standard is discomforting to me. Kind of reminds me of the Pats. Finding a way to win & not depending on 1-2 players to make it happen. Not a Manning fan at all but definitely a fan of Tony Dungy.
I was completely disinterested observer – I don’t watch any NFL until the college season is over. I saw all 4 games this weekend, and 2 of them were damn near unwatchably dull, and a third (SD - NE) was ugly. Brady & Manning, the poster boy stars of the league, both stank up the joint.
Well, by “finest” I mean that the games were dramatic and undecided up until the final moments. Most of the games had their share of key mistakes, but they are exactly what kept the games in doubt.
I’ll grant they weren’t examples of flawless football, but they were anything but dull. Every game was within one score throughout each 4th quarter with the exception of the final 28 seconds of the Indy game.
Lots of star power in every game. Contrasting styles. I find it tough to argue that this wasn’t a uncommonly entertaining weekend. The only thing missing is a classic shootout, which is usually an example of even sloppier play.
It is just possible that if you haven’t been watching all season you might not be entirely aware of the storylines, you know…
I don’t understand how you can possibly say there were two unwatchably dull games. Seahawks-Bears, yeah, but the Colts game was great to watch regardless of the score.
As far as LTs complaint goes, that guy is about as unflappable a player as there is in the league. If he found something to complain about, I’d give him the benefit of the doubt every time. Besides, I fucking hate them Pats.
Jesus, people. The sudden death overtime game was too dull for you? Apparently that Boise State game fucked up the curve for every game from here on out…
In the defense of the Seahawks - Bears game, I dislike both teams and my only interest in the game was rooting for Lovie Smith as an ex-Buc and Hasselbeck and Grossman as guys who I predicted big things from before they were drafted.
Otherwise, I could care less who gets to lose to the Saints.
I watch 3 out of 4 games & thought they were great. Manning & Brady did stink up the joint but survived to play another day & that is all that matters. It means both are on good teams playing well when it matters. All we (Pats Fans) heard last week was about SD’s 9 Pro Bowlers, NFL MVP, Top Offense, sack leading defense, blah blah blah. None of means anything unless you win the game.
Merriman doing his stupid little dance after anything he feels like, including silly things like QB hurries or stopping rushes for only a two yard gain, in a game where he basically disappeared against a tackle who wasn’t having that great a year: Super-Awesome
Merriman saying that he’s going to “punch Brady in the mouth” when asked about the game, Merriman going on the CBS halftime show last week and saying he thinks the Jets should beat the Pats, Merriman just generally being an idiot any time there’s a camera pointed at him: Great Media Skills and Charisma
The Pats mocking the stupid little dance in the middle of the field after they have won the game: Gets LT… I was gonna say “mad”, but it’s really more “whiny”
I mean, I’m not gonna say the Pats were completely professional about this whole thing, but really. He had to be held back by an ex-teammate (Caldwell) from charging the guys who were doing the stupid little dance. How professional is THAT little impulse?
I’m inclined to agree with most of this sentiment, count me among many that thinks Merriman has become quite an ass. Still, what the Pats did after the game isn’t showing up Merriman (which I’d be OK with) it’s taunting and humiliating the losing team in front of their own home fans, emotionally crushed fans no less. This is every bit as classless and disrespectful as TO running out to the Star in Dallas, probably more so since it followed a playoff elimination.
On the no-class meter Merriman’s premature and needless celebrations, which is utterly idiotic and lame even following a great play, is about a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10. The Pats postgame mocking at midfield is about a 12.
Personally, I’m a little surprised that everyone is saying how out of character this is for the Pats. It’s pretty much dead on I think. Belichick has been a petulant asshole his entire career and Rodney Harrison is the biggest cheap shot artist since Jack Tatum. Of course the Pats poster boys Brady, Troy Brown, Richard Seymour are pure class so that explains the perception, but I don’t get people being so surprised by this.
It must be pointed out that Rodney Harrison was a Charger for much longer than he has been a Patriot.
But I agree with you completely. It’s as if the entire football world has forgotten that the Patriots mocked TO’s dance after beating the Eagles in the Superbowl. That was the exact same deal: game was over and the Patriots then proceeded to mock the star player’s signature move. This latest was right in character.
And really, the Patriots are just another NFL team. All 32 of them are pretty much populated by douchebag players with asshole coaches. Anyone want to get a beer with the coach of your local team? I certainly don’t, and I have two to pick from. They’re both raging assholes.
As I said before, the Chargers are near the top of the list when it comes to showboating assholes. To then whine about somebody else showboating is pathetic beyond measure. For me, with this petty whining, Tomlinson just spent all the considerable credit he built up by handing the ball to the ref after scoring instead of celebrating.
The worst was he actually invoked the “won’t somebody please think of the children” card. Yeah, Ladainian, it would be awful to see your 8 year old son do the same thing after a pop warner game. Just a thought, though: do you let your 8 year old son do the steroid dance after a sack? Yeah, didn’t think so, hypocrite.
To hold the Patriots to some artificial standard that no other team is held to is ridiculous. They are respected because they are winners. Period. The notion that because they are a dynasty they should be held to a different standard is juvenile. Are we all forgetting how the last dynasty comported themselves? Michael Irvin wasn’t exactly the pinnacle of stoicism.
Celebrations by their nature are classless. Mocking a celebration, by contrast, is damn near noble. Anything that gets players to think twice about celebrating is aces in my book. Think about it: if no Chargers had any signature celebrations to mock, there would not have been an issue. Celebrating – especially signature celebrations – is pure unfiltered “in your face” attitude. While he’s clearly fine with his teammates engaging in the behavior, poor widdle Ladainian apparently can’t take it when it’s thrown back in his face. Clean your own house before going after the Patriots, chump.
