BTSC NFL Weekly Musings: Divionsal Round Edition
by Michael Bean on Jan 19, 2010 4:36 AM EST
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Print* First of all, congratulations to the winner of this weekend's Bill Cowher signed Terrible Towel. I'll err on the side of liberty and not disclose his name, but you were the only entrant to pick all four games correctly - not having to deal with tiebreakers really was quite a nice surprise, frankly. Anyway, nice job on the picks.
* As for the weekend's games. For the second week in a row in this year's playoffs - three non-competitive blowouts to start the weekend leading up to a much more tightly contested and interesting battle to conclude the week's slate of games. To get things started, Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints dusted the Arizona Cardinals in front of a delirious crowd at the Super Dome. Though that game was decided quite early in the 3rd quarter when Reggie Bush took a punt return to the house, it was still at least an entertaining ballgame in terms of sheer fireworks being put on display by all three units of the Saints team.
In the Saturday nightcap, Indianapolis handily dismissed the Ravens from this year's playoffs. Though one has to acknowledge the fact that Baltimore shot themselves in the foot on three distinct and profound occasions in the second half. Two of those three gaffes were on Ed Reed interceptions - the first when Ed Reed had the ball stripped away from him as he was returning an interception back deep in to Colts territory; the second coming on another Reed interception that he returned down to the Indy 2, only this one was negated by a pass interference call on Corey Ivy that didn't at all help Reed pick off the pass; and then finally, Ray Rice fumbled midway through the 4th quarter with the Ravens desperately needing a score to trim the lead to 7. Think you can overcome Peyton Manning with a hat trick of costly errors like that? Ha, I don't think so.
On Sunday morning, fans were treated to yet another blowout, as the Vikings dominated the visiting Dallas Cowboys. You know what happened - it's impossible to be an NFL fan without being bombarded with Brett Favre coverage after all. But a tip of the cap to the 40 year old, no doubt about it. By the way, anybody who thinks the Vikings were being 'classless' for 'running up the score' late in the contest - puhlease. This is playoff football. Period. Enough said really. One might wonder why Brad Childress would risk an injury to a guy like Favre, Peterson or Percy Harvin, but to think they are obligated to just roll over and keep the score respectable is incomprehensible to me. Anyway, three Tony Romo turnovers when the stakes were at their highest - nothing overly shocking there. I think the Cowboys actually match up fairly well with many of their primary adversaries in the NFC, but I wouldn't say that Minnesota's one of them. The stout rush defense of the Vikings neutralized the usually strong running game of Dallas, holding the trio of Felix Jones, Marion Barber and Tashard Choice to a mere 84 yards on 23 carries.
Finally, wow, how 'bout the New York Jets? Part of me really doesn't enjoy seeing them advance, but I must say, I'm a sucker for Rex Ryan and what he's brought to not only the Jets, but to the NFL as a vocal, charismatic coach that's totally unafraid to stick his neck out on the line for his players. I sure hope they've got one more W in them when they travel to Indy this coming weekend to take on the top seeded Colts.
* Does anybody really think Kurt Warner's going to leave $10 million on the table and walk away? I'd be quite surprised if he does retire, though it's plainly clear that part of him is not only aware, but a bit scared even of the big hits that await him while in the pocket.
* Love the move by Saints head coach Sean Payton to make Deuce McAlister an honorary guest captain and have him lead the team out on to the field last Saturday. Deuce was the heart and soul of that franchise for quite some time and only barely missed out on the team's peak years since Brees and Payton arrived in the Big Easy back in 2006.
* Bet you didn't know that the last time a team was the recipient of 5 straight missed FGs was in 2002. The New York Jets have matched that incredible record in this year's playoffs. They advanced in the Wild Card round thanks in part to two missed Shayne Graham FGs. (Graham is one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history, by the way). Then on Sunday, Nate Kaeding missed three attempts. Will that continue? Sheesh, history says no way. You never know though. Could it just be their year?
* So which is it? Does veteran quarterback play matter or has that theory been debunked in recent years, Heck, guys like Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Flacco, Matt Ryan and now Mark Sanchez have all led their team to the playoffs - and in the case of three of the four aforementioned signal caller, all the way to the conference title game in their first professional season. Those are compelling examples no doubt, but look at the other three quarterbacks still alive in this year's playoffs: Favre, Manning and Brees. Pretty much the creme de la creme right there, and all three have been stellar all year leading their respective teams to the best records in all of football.
I don't think there's a right answer. Columnists might want us to believe that this or that trend has undeniably taken hold in today's NFL, but it's never that black or white. I myself am still a believer that the team with the best quarterback is going to have the best chance to win each and every week. For that reason, I think it's very likely we see Indy in Miami for the Super Bowl (God, I hope I'm wrong). As for the NFC? Who knows. It should be one heckuva game.
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Not running up the score
is something that has always bothered me regarding the NFL. In Australia, you run up the score. If you stop playing 110% before the final whistle, don’t bother showing up to training on Monday. Find a new day job
This is professional football.
I have no sympathy for a team that gets the score run up on them. they are payed millions of dollars to not allow that to happen. They sound like crybabies when they complain about it.
It just irritates me mildly because passive aggressive bellicheat and tom brady run up the score on lesser opponents whenever their egos are hurt
and then the media is all over tom brady’s record setting most touchdowns within the timeframe of 12:43 PM and 12:45 PM and their egos are soothed
I see your point.
So the problem lies with the media. I think the media does overblow this issue a tad.
I’ll concede that if a team is up 49-7 with 5 minutes left, that common decency dictates that they should stick to running the ball. But, if a team chooses to throw (Belicheat and Co. vs. Washington two years ago comes to mind), then the defense shouldn’t complain; they should make a stop. It’s what they’re paid to do. It’s a different story in high school and college, obviously.
I think there's a difference
If you are up 49-7 with 4 to 5 minutes I think that you should be trying to end the game by RUNNING out the clock. The Patriots were throwing the ball deep every play trying to score. The Vikings were running on first and second down and on third down, when they needed to pass, they threw short passes. You could clearly tell they were trying to run out the clock.
I understand that you have to stop them, but I just don’t like teams that try to show up other teams.
by StoneColdSteel on Jan 19, 2010 4:26 PM EST up reply actions
Please ...
many teams have run that much time off the clock from the Victory Formation with closer scores. Playoff status is a fact that is really irrelevent to the discussion as there is no benefit or penalty resulting from the score. The Vikings wanted to score a touchdown they didn’t need … period. That my friends, is calling running up the score … pure and simple. At issue is whether or not that is a bad thing.
No not come playoff time.
If you were playing the Browns and ran up a 42-0 lead in a regular season game, well that’s hilarious to start with, but it’s also kind of mean. There is no need to do that.
Come playoff time, I dont want to hear anything about “running up the score is a bad thing” This is playoff football. If you don’t come to play the whole game, in the 4th quarter your 28-3 could evaporate into a 28-24 nail-biter. Remember San Diego this year?
There is no taking your foot off the gas. You punch it for 60 minutes as hard as you can. No win is guaranteed until the final whistle.
We increased our offensive production by 1,000 yards but our points by only 3 touchdowns?
-Johnny_S
Who Dey?
JETS DEY!
I didn't see Dallas putting their 3rd tier team on the field on that last drive
Neither did I see the defense call any passive plays during that last drive. There were blitzes, jamming of WRs etc. So, if the defense is playing hard the offense deserves to do the same.
"He had no teeth, and he was slobbering all over himself. I'm thinking, 'You can have your money back, just get me out of here. Let me go be an accountant." I can't tell you how badly I wanted out of there."
- Denver rookie QB John Elway, on Jack Lambert, after Lambert and the Steelers knocked Elway out of his first game as a pro (1983).
Not that it's in the realm of possibility
But, let’s say they didn’t score the TD, turned the ball over, Romo takes a shot down field and TD. They on-side. Same thing happens, and then again. I’m not saying with a minute something it is even remotely possible, but in the NFL I’ve learned not to dismiss anything. Favre wants to score another TD, let him. Like so many said, it’s Dallas’ job to stop them, not their job to stop themselves.
As far as the Jets go. Wow. I don’t know what to say. Good for them, even if I can’t stand the Jets.
or even worse what if Favre takes a shot before he releases and injures his shoulder
Then how do they feel about that extra TD?
Yeah really..
but in the NFL I’ve learned not to dismiss anything
See: The Heidi Bowl…
"OOH! A piece of candy. OOH! A piece of candy."
-James Woods
Heidi Bowl revisited
The Heidi Bowl didn’t involve an unbelievable comeback. The Raiders were trailing the Jets by three points with just over a minute to play and about to receive a kickoff when NBC terminated Eastern time zone coverage to show the movie Heidi at its scheduled time. The Raiders scored a TD to take the lead, then recovered a fumble for another TD on the ensuing kickoff. The biggest late-game comeback in modern NFL history was when the Colts scored 21 points in the final five minutes to tie the Bucs and send the game to overtime, then winning in OT. The comeback started with a kickoff return down to around the Bucs 10 yard line. The Bucs were never in position in that game to try to run the clock out.
The Vikings wanted to run the score up and they did. Good for them. The reason everyone is in a kerfuffle about it is because it’s unusual, just as it was unusual when the Patriots were running up the score a couple years ago and even at times this year. You can argue that it shouldn’t be unusual but the fact is that it is. For every game that ends with an unneeded touchdown via a play designed to score a TD, there are hundreds of games that end with a bunch of useless runs into the line, a victory formation and an anticlimactic walk across the field. This is not Australian rugby where guys are fighting to the last second or Roger Federer pounding the last ace in a three-set doughnut win over Joe Schmoe at the U.S. Open, this is the NFL and things are done a different way.
There are many good reasons why most coaches choose not to run up the score with late-game touchdowns, but most coaches are not Brad Childress, who obviously has no control over The Ego that Must be Fed wearing No. 4: A) You don’t need a score to win, you just need to run out time (in this case the Cowboys needed three more possessions, two successful onside kickoffs, three touchdowns and three two-point conversions with no timeouts and less than two minutes to play, a comeback the likes of which has never even come close to happening and never will unless the team leading contributes to it by doing something incredibly stupid); B) It’s incredibly stupid to put the ball in play (and thus risk a turnover that MIGHT get a comeback started) with anything riskier than a simple handoff or taking a knee; C) Why risk injury to a valuable skill position that you probably need to win the next game or a championship; D) Why give any team even more reason to want to stick it to you the next time you play.
by steeler.lifer on Jan 20, 2010 2:33 AM EST up reply actions
I was thinking that too
But he did help get us there, so it’s not totally weird.
We increased our offensive production by 1,000 yards but our points by only 3 touchdowns?
-Johnny_S
Who Dey?
JETS DEY!
Thoughts on Art Rooney II's comments this offseason?
I don’t know if any of you have realized this, but Never, Ever have Steelers Nation received as much insight from the front office on the state of the Steelers this offseason. Art Rooney II has given the media quite a bit of access to what he feels ails the Steelers and what he plans to do about it. I like the fact that he stated that the Steelers WILL get back to running the ball and that he challenged Ben to stop taking so many sacks and move into the elite status of QBs in the league.
I also liked that he challenged the entire coaching staff to get some of the Steelers draft picks and younger players on the field sooner. You never, ever would have got anything like that out of Dan Rooney. I like this. I also wonder if that will change the way the Steelers go into this draft by looking for those players who may be able to make an impact sooner rather than later. For example, would this be the year to trade a couple of picks to go up and get ILB Rolando McClain, who I believe could be a starter for this team from Day One? I still think if they sit tight at no. 18, either get NT Dan Williams or the best OL available. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if the team looks at S Earl Thomas from Texas. I definitely think this is the draft to get a lot younger on D and get back to playing a physical style of football.
This weekend couldn't have gone better
Bye-bye Cowgirls and Ratbirds. With them, the Bungles, and Cheaters* out of it, I no longer have to worry about a team that I despise winning the SB.
Now all I need is for the Saints to win next week, b/c I dislike (not hate) the Vikings, and I really hope that the Saints win it all (I like Drew Brees, and it would bring a lot of happiness to the city of New Orleans).
I guess I’ll be rooting for Indy against the Jets, even though I hate what they did at the end of the season. For me, karma would be them making it to the SB and losing. I can’t root for the Jets given how they got into the playoffs (they got not one, but two teams to lay down for them), and the fact that they’ve got a rookie QB and head coach.
My personal preferences for the winning the Super Bowl:
1) Saints – City of NO deserves it; Drew Brees is a great QB and a class act.
2) Colts – DISTANT 2nd here. Aside from shutting it down at the end of the season vs. trying to go undefeated, I’ve never has a problem with them (except when playing the Steelers), particularly with the Tony Dungy connection, and I think Peyton is hands-down the best QB out there. A huge plus to them winning would be that it should eradicate all of the “Brady’s better than Manning b/c he has 3 rings vs. only 1” nonsense. F Tom Brady and his rings*.
3) Jets – Even more distant. 2 big pluses here though: (1) It would drive the Pats* and their fans crazy that the J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS!! are the champs, and (2) do pretty much the same to the Ratbirds and their fanbase (hmm…maybe Rex “Blowhard” Ryan should have been our head coach). I heard quite a few Ravens fans blowing off Rexie when he left, saying they’d be as good or better without him. I, for one, was ecstatic when he left the division.
99) Vikings – Never liked them (for various reasons), and have enjoyed watching them choke in big games throughout the course of their history. I won some $$$ in an office pool by picking them to lose straight up against the Falcons in that 98(?) NFC Championship game, the year they went 15-1 and set the mark for most points in a season. I knew they’d choke. Also, while I don’t dislike Brett Favre, I don’t like the notion that you can bring in a veteran HOF QB for hire (from a rival team no less) just for one year (you know he’s gone after this year if they win it all), and then win the SB because of it. If I was a Packers fan, I’d be absolutely livid. I also can’t stand some of the Viking players and fans pretty much crowning themselves the champions as soon as he came on. They deserve to fall, and fall hard, this weekend.
by SteelerFanInPatsieLand on Jan 19, 2010 10:26 AM EST reply actions
You bring up a good point about Favre.
I mean, the goal of any team is to win a SB, but it seems like such a cheap way to do it.
We increased our offensive production by 1,000 yards but our points by only 3 touchdowns?
-Johnny_S
Who Dey?
JETS DEY!
But the Vikings were getting bulldogged
for NOT having or getting a high-quality QB to go with their otherwise well-put-together team.
With an excellent run game, good defense and STs, the Vikes needed an experienced, accomplished QB. If they’d stuck with Tavaris Jackson or gone with Rosenfes and ended up around .500 and missed the P/Os i think everyone’d be cutting on them for that as much as they get crap for signing Favre.
Besides, the point IS to win a SB….
Ya I know.
I’m sure having Favre helps the other QBs more then it hurts them.
Maybe McNabb’s future is in Minnesota?
We increased our offensive production by 1,000 yards but our points by only 3 touchdowns?
-Johnny_S
Who Dey?
JETS DEY!
That's my list too.
But, I have to say the Colts are a close second. I just love to watch Peyton play. I think we all will be telling younger generations about him.
Favre, not so much. I get the real feeling that he didn’t come back because he loved the game and couldn’t do without it. No, he would not have come back to a team that didn’t have a chance. And, I don’t care what you say, or he says, there was some factor of revenge in his signing with the Vikings. I’m not a fan of his.
With the Cowboys out, there is no threat of another team winning a sixth Super Bowl to tie the Steelers. You know that has to gall Jerry Jones. It thrills me.
Matt Ryan didn't make to the NFCCG last year
he and the Falcons ran into pittsburgh west in the wild card round last year and lost
Players who should be in the Hall of Fame: DIck Lebeau, Pat TIllman, Dwight White, Donnie Shell, L.C. Greenwood, Ray Guy, Steve Tasker, Greg Llyod, Andy Russel, Cris Carter, Kevin Greene and Jerry Kramer
"If you give Arians a fullback, he won’t use one. Instead, he insists on using Matt Spaeth, who probably doesn’t cast a shadow because it would require blocking sunlight." steelin with some very true words
If the Farves win,
All we’ll hear about the NFL is “Farves stuff”.
Not that that’s different than any of the last five years, but maybe, cross my fingers, he won’t retire or think about retireing this year.
If you buy a foreign made product you give money to a person who will not be buying an American made produdt that you get paid to make. Think about it next time you're at the store.
I really don't think
it’s Favre’s fault that the media makes such a circus of him and his plans.
If Favre wins he'll deserve his time in the sun.
It will be annoying, but I’m sure everyone else around the league was sick of hearing about Bettis’ homecoming before 40.
We increased our offensive production by 1,000 yards but our points by only 3 touchdowns?
-Johnny_S
Who Dey?
JETS DEY!
Also, is Mark Sanchez younger that Ben during SB XL,
only caviot on the JETS, and I usually go for the AFC every year.
If you buy a foreign made product you give money to a person who will not be buying an American made produdt that you get paid to make. Think about it next time you're at the store.
Steeler Fanatic
Hey cowpoos, order a bunch of terrible towels to dry ur sorry azz faces. I no believe that u cowpoos,of all things, cry about the vikings running up the score. The Vikings were running up and down the field from get go and ur sorry azzes couldnt stop the 40 y/o qb from slamming ur faces in the dirt. Eat the dirt, remember how it tastes, n hopefully ur organization will learn. Ask the steelers, they learned the hard way to accomplish 6 lombardiz in 7 attempts.
Sleep in the bed u made.
Vikings/Colts in SB. Vikings 35/Colts 31———————————————-GO STEELERS
hahahahaha
Saints/Colts in SB Saints 40/Colts 38
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Winston Churchill
by PixburghArn on Jan 21, 2010 11:35 AM EST up reply actions
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