NFL Thread: Lets talk some football!

[cjphotog]

I cant believe how the Pats got away again on Monday. That 4th and 1 that they stuffed Brady on should have sealed the deal for the Ravens.

Nothing really to discuss about my 'fins except for the humongous goose egg we carry around our record.

RIP Sean Taylor.

[crystalcarroll]

my theory on the football season is if the pats go undefeated then by the time the boys see them in the bowl it will eb all the sweeter when they comeback and win in the only game that matters

[Jeff_Green]

Well, they will lose this week to Pittsburgh. Almost getting beat by Baltimore and getting run over. Now they are facing the number 1 Defense and the second best running back in the league. Pittsburgh hasn't been playing their best ball as was evident with their 3-0 win against Miami, but have been getting back on track. If Palomalu is back in the game, expect Brady to need a pillow to sit down next week!!

[cjphotog]

Originally Posted by Jeff_Green

Well, they will lose this week to Pittsburgh. Almost getting beat by Baltimore and getting run over. Now they are facing the number 1 Defense and the second best running back in the league. Pittsburgh hasn't been playing their best ball as was evident with their 3-0 win against Miami, but have been getting back on track. If Palomalu is back in the game, expect Brady to need a pillow to sit down next week!!

I hope your right. I just HATE the Pats (blech) and their cheating coach...

[Duffy Pratt]

192 games played. 284 players on IR or PUP. That's only 1.5 players knocked out per game. The league is getting soft. There needs to be at least 3-4 players carried off on stretchers each week.

Oh, and BTW, the Cowboys success is at least as much owing to their only having 2 guys on IR as it is on anything else. When the average team loses 8 players to injury, losing only 2 is a significant advantage.

The Pats let up a bunch against two consecutive weak opponents. I wouldn't read a trend into that. The last time they faced a "top defense," they wiped them out. I won't predict which way it will go this weekend, but I think there's as good a chance that the Pats will step up and wipe out the Steelers as there is that the Steelers will shut them down.

Duffy

[cjphotog]

My fins curently have 14 players in the IR List (out of 52 players): not a formula for winning.

[Jeff_Green]

Originally Posted by Duffy Pratt

The Pats let up a bunch against two consecutive weak opponents. I wouldn't read a trend into that. The last time they faced a "top defense," they wiped them out. I won't predict which way it will go this weekend, but I think there's as good a chance that the Pats will step up and wipe out the Steelers as there is that the Steelers will shut them down.

Duffy

The Colts are the number 2 defense and NE struggled to beat them 24-20 while the colts rushing game is 12th in the league. Philly is #11 defense and they struggled to beat them 31-28. Baltimore is #6 defense and 17th rushing and they ran all over NE and barely lost at the end of the game!

So you put NE up against the number one defense and the number three rushing team and it spells a tough matchup. The Steelers defense has given up the fewest points, total yards, and passing yards in the league.

[Mike G]

Gonna be something if the Dolphin's go winless the same season another team goes 17-0 after they whup the Cowboys.

[Detonate]

I'm trying to decide what would please me the most. Assuming the Patriots are only going to loose a single game between now and the Super Bowl. Which would be the most embarrasing.

Patriots loose to Dolphins.
Patriots loose to Giants (last game of the year)
Patriots loose in the 1st round of the playoffs.
Patriots loose in the AFC Championship game.


Loosing to the Dolphins would be an obvious blow, but it may just get their head straight to finish out the season strong. Everyone is waiting for them to drop a game, and as soon as they do, that will be a huge weight off of their shoulders.

Loosing the last game of the season to the Giants may actually scare them going into the play offs.

If they lost their first game of the playoffs, I would be in tears with laughter.

Pretty much the same if they got one game from the Super Bowl and chocked.

However, I think I'd rather them loose to the Giants, and then the Cowboys kick their ass in the Super Bowl for some super sweet revenge. I truely believe the Cowboys are a much better team since the last time we played the Pats. As long as Wade Phillips calls out the dogs and pressures Brady I think we could beat their ass.

[cjphotog]

Originally Posted by Detonate

Patriots loose to Dolphins.

AND loose to the 'Boys in the Bowl.

That would make my season as a Dolphin fan!

[crystalcarroll]

addressing the IR of the cowboys, we have been without Glenn all season and we have had some movement all over the place with people dropping in and out but as a whole the cowboys have been fortunate, agreed... but aside from that, their skill level has stepped up this season with several strides to better scheming of plays and thus more movement of the ball around the field rather than just in one distinct zone like many teams who show more strenght to the right or left, romo has strength across the board

furthermore, he is on the way to a record season for the franchise, and much of that is at the credit of his ability to play outside of the pocket while also being able to have strong offensive linemen making the way for some of those great passes as well as breakthrough runs by barber...

overall this is the revival of that old style football dallas loves to play (that of the 90s) and despite the win of the pats in the first showdown, the cowboys have continued to evolve and prove they could handle some sticky situations and make the most of teamwork as a whole and exploite their many options (reference Green Bay and Buffalo)

now to the question which would be more painful for their franchise....JMHO
AFC Championship game by far... while the giants game is the last game of the regular season, they will surely be able to pass off a loss there as "we are resting some of our better players and limiting playing time to assure their health in the playoffs"... while a first round loss would be horriffic it would be quickly overshadowed by ongoing action of the next week of play for other teams and would be looked at as very similar to that of the mavs last season where as it was covered over and over again then suddenly it was like mavs who as the playoffs continued and was not really spoken of with commanding authority until the season began again...pats lose to dolphins while HUGE and one for the sports reels for years to come again somewhat falls into the category as the giants, blame can be easily offset by a win the following week and while people will talk about it for a long time, unless it were a blowout by the dolphins then the miracle would be a fluke.. (no offense)...

Thus I say the Championship, someone from their past will come back and bite them and then they will fall just shy of the poster boy wonders of the Bowl... it will be the come from behind win of the year for another team and they will be blasted from here to china headlines of the perfect record shattered down to the wire, talked about over the bowls time and time again and remembered as the storm of the AFC as a rivalry will be begun which will pit the teams time and time again against one another in the future with more heat to the fans and more passion about the win.. no longer will the perfect season matter.. it didn't result in a bowl and as we all know you can't be perfect without being the winners in the end...

[Duffy Pratt]

Agree that the Steelers are a tough match-up. And I'm not sold on the Patriots being the greatest team ever. All I was saying is that I wouldn't read to much into relatively weak, but winning, performances against the Eagles and the Ravens. Is Pats/Steelers a game that will actually be on here in Houston?

The point on the IR is that overall its just ridiculous. I may be wrong, but I don't remember the casualty rates for teams being so high in the 80s, and certainly nowhere near as high when the big quarterback controversy was Staubach/Morton. I can't remember anyone on those Cowboy teams going down for a significant period of time. Even Namath, with the worst knees in the history of mankind, was durable compared to your typical QB nowadays. And running backs basically no longer stay healthy for long enough to have memorable careers.

Duffy

Duffy

[crystalcarroll]

speaking of running backs... i am really eager to see how A.D. turns out.. he has already set the pace for an impressive career, i think his downfall however will be that he to some extent has the earl campbell mentality to keep going no matter the cost, given all backs should have that drive, but i don't think A.D. has the strength campbell did to take on the world all by himself and eventually much like with the recent knee it will catch up to him... however if he can play smart and be able to utilize that speed while keeping healthy, he is someone who will be talked about for years to come i think

[cjphotog]

0-13. I am running out of Prozac.

[Detonate]

For those watching the Dallas game.

TOUCHDOWN!!! YES! YES!!!

I was at the Lions game last year. So this game was killing me.