The NFL Football Thread v2

[DeathlyH]

I can't believe how unexcited I am for the Pats-Colts game next week. Last year they played each other Week 9 and both were undefeated. Now the Patriots have lost Brady, are tied with the Bills for first place in the East, and the Colts will probably come into that game with a losing record. Ah, I hate you Bernard Pollard...

[Fury]

Originally Posted by DeathlyH

Ah, I hate you Bernard Pollard...

Dude, you just made my day with that line. I laughed out loud when I read that.

Come on, it wasn't Bernard Pollards fault, and I am glad to see some change in the football season. Colts and Pats are always teams who are threatening for the playoffs, and I like to see them losing sometimes!

*Ducks incoming tomatoes*

[DeathlyH]

I can understand that- I imagine every except their own fans were getting sick of seeing them dominate! But Tom Brady is the most exciting player in the game, and to not have him play for the year in my opinion is a loss to the NFL, and not just the Patriots. The Patriots have lost two games now, sure, but what gives someone more satisfaction: beating Tom Brady and the Pats, or beating Matt Cassel and the Pats? It just makes everything much less exciting.

[TheLastHorcrux]

Agreed. Obviously, I'm no fan of the Patriots, but when a player like Tom Brady goes down it is bad for the entire NFL. Beating Tom Brady is much more satisfying than beating Matt Cassell, who may or may not be around in 2 years. When it's Tom Brady under center, well, I have the 06-07 AFC Championship Game on DVD and STILL love watching the interception late in the 4th quarter that sealed the win for the Colts. Ahh... memories...

Speaking of the Colts... yeah... not much to say about last night. Still a bit confused by the decisions to go for it on 4th down in the second half. The first time, the game was tied and the second they were only down by a field goal and there was plenty of time left, so we're not talking about going for it when the situation is desperate and they might not be able to get the ball back if they punt. As much as I love Peyton Manning, he's the quarterback- of course he wanted to go for it. Every good quarterback does. But Coach Dungy shouldn't have allowed it in those situations.

[Rush]

Originally Posted by TheLastHorcrux

Agreed. Obviously, I'm no fan of the Patriots, but when a player like Tom Brady goes down it is bad for the entire NFL. Beating Tom Brady is much more satisfying than beating Matt Cassell, who may or may not be around in 2 years. When it's Tom Brady under center, well, I have the 06-07 AFC Championship Game on DVD and STILL love watching the interception late in the 4th quarter that sealed the win for the Colts. Ahh... memories...

That was my favourite game of all time. Surprisingly As a colts fan, I was even more excited after that game than after the Super Bowl. I was such a great comeback and it was so intense, even Manning couldn't watch. It was nice to see the Colts finally beating the Pats in the playoffs after many unsuccessful attempts.

Speaking of the Colts... yeah... not much to say about last night. Still a bit confused by the decisions to go for it on 4th down in the second half. The first time, the game was tied and the second they were only down by a field goal and there was plenty of time left, so we're not talking about going for it when the situation is desperate and they might not be able to get the ball back if they punt. As much as I love Peyton Manning, he's the quarterback- of course he wanted to go for it. Every good quarterback does. But Coach Dungy shouldn't have allowed it in those situations.

I don't think the call to go for it was wrong, but rather the play they chose. You have a 6'5" 230lb QB, go ahead and run him right over the centre. I really disliked that play as it allowed for the Titan's d to get in the backfield. In my mind that was the turning point in the game. Also, some Colts players need to learn how to catch the ball. Bob Sanders' backup had an easy pick, possibly able to be returned for a TD and he just dropped it. The receivers also need to catch the ball. Most of Manning's picks this year have been off tipped balls. Either catch it, leave it, or if you're gonna tip it, tip it down wards.

Overall, I was pretty disappointed in the outcome. As much as I hate to say it, the Titan's are going to win the division.

[jordmundt6]

See on 06-07, I remember that fumble where the ball popped straight in the air and the Colts just barely managed to recover it. If a lineman had just fallen on the ball, there would have been no Addai touchdown and better than even money that the Pats would have shut down the sputtering Bears in the Super Bowl.

The Colts are having...for them...a down year--but they're three plays away from a 1-6 record and see ya next season. So, they've actually managed to be quite fortunate in a year of injuries. And the Titans defense is for real--not sure about their offense yet. I know they can run, but it's hard for me to believe that Kerry Collins won't implode at some point.

Fury--If you read my earlier posts, you know that I was a Chiefs fan from Montana's trade to Vermeil's second retirement, but I find it in poor taste to celebrate (even in a joking manner) Pollard's hit. He's going on the wall of defenders I hate, right between Leonard Marshall and Pepper Johnson who shortened Montana's career and gave us the yawnfest Super Bowl 25 we had to live through. And for you Belichek haters, it was that hit that made his head coaching career possible.

[TheLastHorcrux]

Several good games this week. Glad the Colts won this one. They needed it badly to go to 4-4 and stay in the Wildcard hunt. It was a physical, in the trenches type of game, which would tend to favor the size and power of the Patriots rather than the speed of the Colts, but Indy somehow came out on top, with a bit of help from Patriots tight end David Thomas who drew a game changing 15 yard personal foul for a late hit with less than 5 minutes to go in the game. The Bob Sanders interception late in the game kind of summarized the Colts' season to date, showing that they can't even do something good without somehow messing it up. If he had just knocked it down, they would have taken over on downs with much better field position. Next week will be a tough one at Pittsburgh, but I've got my fingers crossed.

Can't believe how bad the Raiders are. Getting shut out at home by the FALCONS??? Having a game total of 77 yards offense and 10 yards passing??? Atlanta has improved from last year, but they aren't THAT good. The Lions, Chiefs and Bengals may have worse records than the Raiders, but there is little question about which team is the worst in the NFL. Raiders owner Al Davis needs to die. Seriously, that is the only hope for the team to get better. This is one of the few situations in which I don't put the blame on the players or the coaches, because the psychotic, paranoid owner is at fault for everything that is wrong with his team.

[jordmundt6]

The Falcons aren't as good as they were in '81, but they aren't the decimated pushovers of last year. I was pleased to see Future Hall of Fame gent AV kick another 50+ yard game-winner, even against the Pats. I'd have preferred him having to do it again in overtime--that was a STUPID penalty by Thomas (though I've seen offensive linemen do more in front of the officials and not get flagged for it). Strange that for all of the wonderful thinks that Faulk did for the Pats last night, the game COULD be defined by 18 inches or less that he wasn't able to get on the second-down play and the inch or so tht he got but could be called either way on the two-point conversion. So it comes down to two great plays (Faulk getting stopped twice) and two bonehead plays (Coach B challenging the 12th man non-call and Thomas getting into a meaningless shoving match after a great play).

[hpbando]

I'm feeling my team is going to be getting it done very frequently the rest of the season. Tennessee is on a roll sure they needed overtime to win, but they won. The offense is good enough not to turnover the ball and our defense soars to the ball. What more can you ask of a team most people didn't think would win 8 games the whole season let alone standing at 8-0 midway through. So I'm pretty proud of my team and wondering what happened to the rest of my division.

Indy is just playing out of synch I guess that recovery time during the offseason for Manning put his game off kilter. Plus they are an aging team and it's starting to show. Marvin Harrison can't make the same plays he used then again Manning isn't do so swell either.

Jacksonville....well they are mighty disappointing considering this team at the beginning was picked to be a superbowl contender. Garrard just isn't having the same season as last year and that defense has been all kinds of iffy.

And Houston...well they are very on and off. They get wins then they lose a big one. They can't stay consistent to save their lives. And this team has been fixing the wrong things in the offseason and drafts. You have your defense done and you didn't need another quarterback. They need the oline to complimented their quarterback otherwise the Texans are going to be the quarterback killers. I mean look at David Carr the man is scared of his own shadow.

I could probably go on and give an analysis on all 32 teams but I honestly feel like that takes up to much space heh. And plus this is my first post in over a year and I've been here a couple so this is kind of my coming back post. Cheers!

[TheLastHorcrux]

I expected the AFC South to be similar to last year, with the Colts winning the division but the Jags and Titans both doing well enough to get a wildcard and the Texans finishing somewhere around .500 again. Barring a major collapse, it now appears as though Tennessee will win the division, (they have a 4 game lead and so far all of the tiebreakers are in their favor) and Indianapolis will have an outside shot at a wildcard, depending on how they do in the second half of the season (crosses fingers) and what happens in the AFC East. While the Jags aren't mathematically out yet, so many things would have to happen for them to make the playoffs, I think they are for all practical purposes out of the race.

With the AFC East cannibalizing itself and the North and West thoroughly mediocre, (the Steelers are good, but their remaining schedule will keep their record in check) Tennessee may find themselves having clenched homefield advantage with as many as 3 games remaining. I'll be interested to see how they handle that, as protecting/resting your starters vs keeping them sharp has proven to be tough balancing act for most teams.

[jordmundt6]

The Colts always seemed to have a tough time walking that tightrope. Not so much for the Pats, though.

Do you folks have a favorite cover corner or safety? Not necessarily a guy who was a pick artist like Woodson or Sanders, but someone who would go out there and do clean blanket coverage, make great plays, shut down tough receivers, and not get flagged? While I loved Atwater and Dennis Smith for vicious hits, I always come back to a guy like Myron Guyton for coverage--a guy who'd be glued to Rice or Taylor or Irvin--wouldn't interfere with them, but would anticipate cuts and knock the ball away cleanly. No Prime Time high-steppin', Harrison dirtiness, or Merton Hanks chicken-neck, just be there play, after play, after play. I hated Guyton as a kid, but looking at some of the films I have from the '80s and '90s, I had to admire the way he could play tough, clean defense.

[DeathlyH]

Originally Posted by jordmundt6

The Falcons aren't as good as they were in '81, but they aren't the decimated pushovers of last year. I was pleased to see Future Hall of Fame gent AV kick another 50+ yard game-winner, even against the Pats. I'd have preferred him having to do it again in overtime--that was a STUPID penalty by Thomas (though I've seen offensive linemen do more in front of the officials and not get flagged for it). Strange that for all of the wonderful thinks that Faulk did for the Pats last night, the game COULD be defined by 18 inches or less that he wasn't able to get on the second-down play and the inch or so tht he got but could be called either way on the two-point conversion. So it comes down to two great plays (Faulk getting stopped twice) and two bonehead plays (Coach B challenging the 12th man non-call and Thomas getting into a meaningless shoving match after a great play).

Don't forget about Jabar Gaffney dropping and then booting a touchdown in the third quarter. If he catches that, the Patriots win the game.

Originally Posted by jordmundt6

Do you folks have a favorite cover corner or safety? Not necessarily a guy who was a pick artist like Woodson or Sanders, but someone who would go out there and do clean blanket coverage, make great plays, shut down tough receivers, and not get flagged? While I loved Atwater and Dennis Smith for vicious hits, I always come back to a guy like Myron Guyton for coverage--a guy who'd be glued to Rice or Taylor or Irvin--wouldn't interfere with them, but would anticipate cuts and knock the ball away cleanly. No Prime Time high-steppin', Harrison dirtiness, or Merton Hanks chicken-neck, just be there play, after play, after play. I hated Guyton as a kid, but looking at some of the films I have from the '80s and '90s, I had to admire the way he could play tough, clean defense.

Champ Bailey. He's so good. He's the best defensive back in the game and I think he's always been.

He was also involved in one of my favorite plays ever, in the 2005 Divisional playoff game against the Patriots, where he intercepted the ball at the goal line, and it appeared he would take it all the way back for a touchdown, but big Ben Watson came sprinting down the field and took out Bailey at the one-yard line. The Broncos scored anyways, but that play was the highlight of the game.

[R_U_Sirius]

Teams are scared of Champ Bailey, but they'll go after him. Same with Antoine Winfield, Chris McAlister and Ty Law. However, I'd love to have any of them on my lowly Lions. Please?
Deion Sanders will always be the #1 "shut down" corner. In fact, he seemed to cover half the field.

By the way, that was Ty Law BEFORE the foot injury. Not many teams worry about him at the moment.

[jordmundt6]

A Lions fan? They exist? Well, hello there. The Lions had younger brother Boss for several years, and he played hard until the whistle, but he didn't have quite the talent that Champ does. The other thing I notice is that a lot of players leave the Lions and are solid once they escape, or were good in other places and tank in Detroit. They have a serious shot at going 0-16 this year.

[Fury]

I dunno what this means for Tom Brady coming back this season, but I hear he's been training in the Pat's locker room. So that's some good news.

[DeathlyH]

From the sounds of it Brady's infection has nearly cleared up so he should be starting rehab any day now. We can only hope he's ready for training camp. Honestly, if he hadn't gotten injured, the Patriots would easily be 9-0 and he would once again be setting all sorts of records.

[Chris]

Right now I think the best cover corner is Nnamdi Asomugha . Totally underappreciated because he's in Oakland but he's the real deal. Unlike the other half that cornerback tandem who just got released

[R_U_Sirius]

A Lions fan? They exist?

As you can probably guess, Lions fans are not made, they are born into their fate.

The other thing I notice is that a lot of players leave the Lions and are solid once they escape, or were good in other places and tank in Detroit. They have a serious shot at going 0-16 this year

You noticed that too? Since this is a Potter site I don't feel silly telling you that I believe the city of Detroit is SWARMING with dementors. The Pistons play their home games about 30 miles out of town so they do pretty well. Not even a dementor would mess with a hockey player so the Red Wings are safe as well. (Sorry, I know this is a footbal thread but I could skate before I could walk).
Oh! By the way, a perfect 0-16?!?!? They'll screw that up too, just wait and see.

[jordmundt6]

You want them to--you don't want to bump the '76 Bucs out of the record book. What is it about born proximity that makes for diehard fans who allow themselves to get pummeled--I have friends who are diehard everything Michigan because of an accident of birth. I never understood that.

Okay--Congrats to the Jets for not completely imploding--how is it that a guy can throw for 400 yards and three TDs and look--well, pedestrian would be the nicest way to put it.

[DeathlyH]

This goes down as a loss for the Patriots in the record books but really it wasn't They clearly outplayed the Jets the entire second half and the only reason the Jets won was because of a coin toss. Sudden death is really a bad idea. The NFL needs to adapt college's way of doing overtime, where each team gets at least one possession before the game ends. That was just stupid.