Playoffs ’08

[foreverfree]

If the ... Cardinals (8-8) ... win the SB I've watched my last NFL game.

Arizona went 9-7, not 8-8, Poacher. Check out http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/standings .

John

 

[Deadlift]

If the Super Bowl is an All-Pennsylvania game, it will be neat to see the media make excuses for Tomlin or McNabb, whoever ends up on the losing end. That's how they operate. ALL blacks must be seen as great.

Tomlin inherited a good team. Black coach worship might bother me more than black QB worship, but I would be going for BEN all the way. I'm definitely going to watch the AFC title game.

There are a number of issues that have made much of the playoffs boring. We CFers are not the only one's that notice it. For one thing, the play-calling in the playoffs tend to be so conservative. The greatest moments for me so far were:

--Flacco made some incredible throws against Tennessee
--The Pittsburgh/San Diego game was a solid game -- Big Ben and Philip Rivers got the ball into some tight windows.


Of the final four teams, 3 of the QB's are White so I don't understand the self-loathing. I don't think Arizona is going to say, "we are just happy to be in the NFC title game so we don't care if we lose now." Don't you guys notice that Arizona is playing a lot harder in the playoffs than they did in the latter part of the season?? So, Don has been proven right that affletes take plays off, maybe even games off.

If McNabb is in the Super Bowl, facing either the Baltimore or Pittsburgh D, I can easily see him throwing at least 2 picks. Whether they win or not depends on a lot of factors that can happen in a game.

 

[Bart]

Anybody else saw the hit that endend Cardinals TE Stephen Spach's season and playoffs? That was a cheap shot knee hit right on the side off his knee by a panthers LB, which tore his ACL.

Is there a video of the hit available? I went to NFL.com to see if it could be found, but the vids are not working on my computer for some reason.

 

[dwid]

if its a black coach vs a black qb i doubt they will say much about the losing one. to the media this is a win win situation. like when lovie smith and tony dungy were both in the superbowl, that was a win win situation. Did the media sit there and talk about lovie smith being the first african american head coach to lose a superbowl?

 

[Jack Lambert]

That is the thing about Tomlin, he is playing with Cowher's old team right now minus Lamar Woodley and sh*tty sumo line. I hope Tomlin and his racist policies will be gone after his decisions send the team down the drain. Then Rooney can sell the team and leave sports forever.

 

[Don Wassall]

Dan Rooney and his son are buying out Dan's brothers and bringing in some new owners, so the team will effectively remain in Dan Rooney's control and be passed on to his son.
<H1>Ownership of the Steelers to Dan Rooney and His Son Approved</H1>


"We are obviously very pleased to be keeping the Steelers' ownership within the Rooney family and are appreciative of our fellow NFL owners' support," Dan Rooney said. "Today's vote ensures that the Rooney family will be associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the NFL for a very long time."


[url]http://www.steelersgab.com/2008/12/17/ownership-of-the-steel ers-to-dan-rooney-and-his-son-approved/ [/url]

 

[Gi-15]

Anybody else saw the hit that endend Cardinals TE Stephen Spach's season and playoffs? That was a cheap shot knee hit right on the side off his knee by a panthers LB, which tore his ACL. 

Is there a video of the hit available?  I went to NFL.com to see if it could be found, but the vids are not working on my computer for some reason. 

I seriously doubt it unfortunatly. Maybe a recording of the whole game can be found somewhere...

 

[Fightingtowin]

if its a black coach vs a black qb i doubt they will say much about the losing one.</span> to the media this is a win win situation. like when lovie smith and tony dungy were both in the superbowl, that was a win win situation. Did the media sit there and talk about lovie smith being the first african american head coach to lose a superbowl?

Keep in mind, McNabb still gets criticized for his Super Bowl performance and Tomlin was criticized for going for 2 against the Jags last year (which was one of the dumbest decisions I've ever seen and I'm a Lions fan). They're not going to be immune, especially McNabb.

Edited by: Fightingtowin

 

[devans]

Anyone see the Kevin Curtis pass interfernece call getting overturned on Sunday? I have never seen that happen before. One official seeing pass interference and throwing a flag, only to be overruled by another official who presumeably told him he must have imagined it. Coughlin was on the field blowing his top at the time. There was interference, and it could only be seen from behind as the defender pulled curtis with his left arm as he reached in leagally with his right. It was well spotted by the official and should not have been overturned.


Also I don't subscribe to the dismay I am reading here at Philly making the championships. For one reason - Kevin Curtis. (backed up by Stewart Bradly and Shaun Considine) It don't see it as any problem for a black QB to be doing well. The QB position is dominated by white players. I think it mush more important to see white receivers and defensive backs in the playoffs to break the public perception that only black players have the athleticism and speed to fill these positions. I hope Curtis gets some receptions in the open filed where he can show his agility and speed. I also think it is great to see three white DB's playing for Baltimore and hope Urban has a good game for Arizona. The one black spot is of course Pittsburg, where there are just no straws to clutch at.

 

[Deadlift]

Celek is likely to outshine Curtis in the NFC title game and possible Super Bowl.

I think it's largely a pipe-dream that McNabb will go vertical, and connect of course, with Curtis.

McNabb was credited with 300 passing yards against Minnesota, but a lot of that was on a very short pass to Westbrook that was taken all-the-way for the TD. That made the game something like 23-14 Philly.

As for McNabb's remaining longevity in the NFL, I think he can dink-and-dunk until he's 50 and rely on a strong defense...

Whiteathlete33 posting that he thought the Giants' would lose is the exact same thing that I felt. I didn't think the Giants' play-calling would be as atrocious as it was though. I may take heat for this, but I don't regard Eli as a scary QB but it wasn't all his fault either. I don't know why they didn't throw a few short passes on some of those 3rd and shorts and 4th and shorts. I knew that QB-(not so)sneak(y) would fail... Maybe Tom Coughlin and Gilbride are BUMS

 

[Bart]

Anyone see the Kevin Curtis pass interfernece call getting overturned on Sunday? I have never seen that happen before. One official seeing pass interference and throwing a flag, only to be overruled by another official who presumeably told him he must have imagined it.

Yes, I saw it. The replay clearly showed Cutis getting held long before the ball arrived. I couldn't believe it was overturned. But, what's new? Just like the NBA. White guys get phantom penalties, and blacks are free to maul them with impunity.

 

[Don Wassall]

Celek is likely to outshine Curtis in the NFC title game and possible Super Bowl.

I think it's largely a pipe-dream that McNabb will go vertical, and connect of course, with Curtis.

McNabb was credited with 300 passing yards against Minnesota, but a lot of that was on a very short pass to Westbrook that was taken all-the-way for the TD. That made the game something like 23-14 Philly.

Did they connect on a single long TD pass this season? I don't remember one. McNabb does seem well on the way to being the next Steve McNair, who became the poster boy for dink and dunkers the latter part of his career.

 

[whiteathlete33]

I'm still not sold on Eli Manning. He has some good games but alot of bad ones too. He's a good quarterback at this point but he will never be great. I'm also a little upset with Manning's comments about Burress. Saying that the Giants need Burress is ridiculous. Manning should have stated what he really feels and said what a distraction Burress is.

 

[devans]

Another bright spot is that last time I watched the Ravens they had Zbikowski returning kicks and Jim Leonhard returning punts.

 

[Don Wassall]

I'm still not sold on Eli Manning. He has some good games but alot of bad ones too. He's a good quarterback at this point but he will never be great. I'm also a little upset with Manning's comments about Burress. Saying that the Giants need Burress is ridiculous. Manning should have stated what he really feels and said what a distraction Burress is.

Well, the Giants passing game really struggled without Burress. Burress is over-rated, but he's like Steve Largent compared to the rest of the team's receivers.


Steve Smith was a second round draft choice who hasn't done much, Sinorice Moss is another second rounder who has been a flop, and Amani Toomer is a decent possession receiver who might have a tough time beating some of the league's sumos in a foot race. Hixson is "raw" and very inconsistent. Kevin Boss was probably Eli's best receiving choice and Manning did start throwing to him a lot more.


The Giants started off slowly last season and then got better and better and peaked going into the playoffs. This year they peaked early and got beat by a hot team.

 

[Freethinker]

To follow up what Don said, Burress (while being overrated), did draw a double team. That freed up the other receivers and opened up larger lanes for the running game. Coach Coughlin did not sound as enthusiastic as his players in a radio interview on NY sports talk radio yesterday about bringing Burress back. If they do part ways, the Giants will need to bring in or draft another imposing receiver.

 

[Thrashen]

I actually think Kevin Boss has been ahuge dissapointment this season. I thought he'd be putting up decent numbers, but he only had 33 catches for 384 yards and 6 TDs. Other than his TD total, not a veryimpressive season.


I think Boss is very similar to Jason Witten in build and ability, and hopefully next season he puts up number more comparable to Witten.

 

[Deadlift]

Celek is likely to outshine Curtis in the NFC title game and possible Super Bowl. I think it's largely a pipe-dream that McNabb will go vertical, and connect of course, with Curtis. McNabb was credited with 300 passing yards against Minnesota, but a lot of that was on a very short pass to Westbrook that was taken all-the-way for the TD. That made the game something like 23-14 Philly.

Did they connect on a single long TD pass this season?  I don't remember one.  McNabb does seem well on the way to being the next Steve McNair, who became the poster boy for dink and dunkers the latter part of his career.

You are right.

Curtis only had 2 TD's, and in those games his longest catch was 16 and 17 yards.

His longest gain of the season was only 32 yards.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?playerId=4532


I can just imagine what Drew Brees or Matt Ryan could do with Kevin Curtis.

 

[PhillyBirds]

This season was kind of a wash for Curtis, as he was hurt for about half of the season. A hernia can be a serious injury. He didn't have his speed back right away, and is I believe is getting it back a little now.

That being said, having McNabb as a quarterback doesn't help. McNabb seems to only look to DeSean Jackson for deep balls these days, even though Curtis has proven he has comparable speed. McNabb wasn't afraid to look his way last year, as is evidenced by his 220yd outburst against the Lions and 1,100yds overall.

I expect a tremendous bounce-back season from Kevin next year.

 

[Deadlift]

I just watched an NFL Films program on Joe Montana's dismantling of Denver in the 1990 Super Bowl.

That San Fran team would probably be one of the Whitest if it was in today's, the 2008, NFL. So, what happened in such a short time? The NCAA's are pathetically black, but the NFL is even blacker.

It appears that more blacks from lower division colleges are in the NFL compared to Whites from lower division colleges. Since tons of Whites are forced down, there certainly should be more of those Whites in the NFL.

Denver's nose tackle - Krager - was a big man but fit and lean. Real athletes that could play all downs; Those were the days.

 

[Jack Lambert]

I just watched an NFL Films program on Joe Montana's dismantling of Denver in the 1990 Super Bowl.

That San Fran team would probably be one of the Whitest if it was in today's, the 2008, NFL. So, what happened in such a short time? The NCAA's are pathetically black, but the NFL is even blacker.

It appears that more blacks from lower division colleges are in the NFL compared to Whites from lower division colleges. Since tons of Whites are forced down, there certainly should be more of those Whites in the NFL.

Denver's nose tackle - Krager - was a big man but fit and lean. Real athletes that could play all downs; Those were the days.

Yeah, now you have the fat slugs like the Casey Hamptons, Shaun Rogers, and Albert Haynesworths or the league that need to sit on the bench, it seems like after every 2 or 3 plays. Disgusting.

Edited by: Jack Lambert

 

[sport historian]

Before last weekend's games, I had a feeling the Eagles would beat the Giants. Now, I have the same sort of feeling that Arizona will beat the Eagles for the NFC Championship. It's just the kind of hunch that you get. If I turn out to be wrong, I will acknowledge it after the game.

 

[White Shogun]

Before last weekend's games, I had a feeling the Eagles would beat the Giants. Now, I have the same sort of feeling that Arizona will beat the Eagles for the NFC Championship. It's just the kind of hunch that you get. If I turn out to be wrong, I will acknowledge it after the game.

I got the same feeling today, but don't want to 'call' the upset. I'm just going to watch and see what happens, I'm rooting for the Cardinals and Kurt Warner.

 

[Bart]

Before last weekend's games, I had a feeling the Eagles would beat the Giants. Now, I have the same sort of feeling that Arizona will beat the Eagles for the NFC Championship. It's just the kind of hunch that you get. If I turn out to be wrong, I will acknowledge it after the game.

I got the same feeling today, but don't want to 'call' the upset. I'm just going to watch and see what happens, I'm rooting for the Cardinals and Kurt Warner.

That makes three of us.Of course, Philly would have to put a major damper on Warner and the passing game to have a chance, but I don't think they can. However, that co-ordinator (Johnson) comes up with some crafty defenses and blitz schemes once in a while.

 

[sport historian]

The last time the Cardinal franchise was in a championship game was 1948 when the then Chicago Cardinals lost to the Steve Van Buren-led Philadelphia Eagles 7-0. The Cardinals won the NFL title the year before over the Eagles 28-21.