NFL Discussion - 2008-09 Playoffs

[Captain Ice]

^Have to say I'd be very surprised to see Bradshaw pick the Cards this game.....

In Philly, they'd have probably thrown batteries at him.

In Glendale they'd have no idea what to throw, being as familiar with this situation as they are.

They're still in shock.

The streets of Phx will flood with the tears of cardinals fans. Soon to be washed away in the same town by the celebrations of all the Steelers fans that live that live in Pheonix. Three or more Steeler bars in that city unite and show these rookies how it is done.

HERE WE GO STEELERS, HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!

Only Steeler fans are so delusional as to mistake the blood of Steeler fans for tears...

 

[siskostemper]

^^^ I sure hope that's the mentality of the commentators and media.

Every game this post season with the exception of Terry Bradshaw yesterday
(smart man) they picked against the Cards... well look how that's turned out.

Cardinals 27 - Steelers 21

Hey I love Bradshaw and all but he says a lot of shit he does not mean. As a young child i got to see some of his acts on the field. They are legandary here. He would do some stuff just to get a reaction from folks. So I will wish the cards good luck. They seem to be a team of good character but ya'll gonna lose.

Steelers 30 cards 21

 

[siskostemper]

^Have to say I'd be very surprised to see Bradshaw pick the Cards this game.....

In Philly, they'd have probably thrown batteries at him.

In Glendale they'd have no idea what to throw, being as familiar with this situation as they are.

They're still in shock.

The streets of Phx will flood with the tears of cardinals fans. Soon to be washed away in the same town by the celebrations of all the Steelers fans that live that live in Pheonix. Three or more Steeler bars in that city unite and show these rookies how it is done.

HERE WE GO STEELERS, HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!

Only Steeler fans are so delusional as to mistake the blood of Steeler fans for tears...

Sorry to disapoint you but there are more Steelers fans in AZ than cards fans.

 

[Captain Ice]

^And which one of us is actually IN Arizona again?

Steeler fans here are an absolute minority. Granted, the Cards don't have huge numbers of fans here, but they handily outnumber the Steeler fans.

Cowboys, Niners, and Broncos are another story entirely...

 

[tomalak301]

I'll certainly be rooting for the Cardinals.

Same here. Go Division that everyone thought was the worst.

Congrats to both teams. The Cardinal game was pretty good, but the second game was a bit slow going. Can't say I'm really excited about the Super Bowl but we still have two weeks.

 

[archeryguy1701]

The Cardinals have hopefully made it far enough to silence the "Change the faulty playoff system!!" screams. Now that they've done their job, I want the Steelers to win. That is all.

 

[chrisspringob]

I thought Bob Griese started for Miami in that Super Bowl, not Morrall??

You're both right. Morrall did start for the Colts in 1968. He also started in lieu of Griese for most of the 1972 season. However, Griese did start the Super Bowl itself

Give me Craig Morton for the win, please. Dallas Cowboys in 1970 and the Denver Broncos in 1977. He was the first, and until Warner, the only.

Looks like you're correct. Other interesting historical things about this Super Bowl:

First Super Bowl in 25 years in which both quarterbacks have already won a Super Bowl before (last one being Super Bowl XVIII: Joe Theissman's Redskins vs. Jim Plunkett's Raiders).

Arizona is the first 9-7 team to reach the Super Bowl since the 1979 Rams.

Mike Tomlin is the youngest head coach ever to lead his team to a Super Bowl. Actually, interestingly enough, Mike Tomlin is younger than Kurt Warner.

 

[siskostemper]

^And which one of us is actually IN Arizona again?

Steeler fans here are an absolute minority. Granted, the Cards don't have huge numbers of fans here, but they handily outnumber the Steeler fans.

Cowboys, Niners, and Broncos are another story entirely...

Sorry, been there, got family there. Know for a fact. Look up some of the local Steeler bars and get back to me.

All in fun and I hope it is a good game both teams deserve to be there.

 

[trekkerguy]

^And which one of us is actually IN Arizona again?

Steeler fans here are an absolute minority. Granted, the Cards don't have huge numbers of fans here, but they handily outnumber the Steeler fans.

Cowboys, Niners, and Broncos are another story entirely...

Sorry, been there, got family there. Know for a fact. Look up some of the local Steeler bars and get back to me.

All in fun and I hope it is a good game both teams deserve to be there.

I always love these statements from people who don't even live in a place and "know people there".
The family Steelers fans? Who else are Steelers fans going to notice/associate with but other Steelers fans.
I run into more Jags fans in Boise than any other team, but I am a Jags fan. I know for a fact there are more
Broncos/Seahawks fans here based on regionality. I guarantee most those "Steelers fans" will turn Red come
Sunday. What have they had to root for before?


I'll believe the sea of Red I saw on Sunday along with the people who actually live there.

^Have to say I'd be very surprised to see Bradshaw pick the Cards this game...

He said after the Carolina game he wouldn't pick against them anymore. He held true to that Sunday, I think
he will for the Super Bowl aswell, I've seen him pick against his Steelers in the past and this Cardinals team
certainly has the right stuff to beat them.

 

[SmoothieX]

The Cardinals have hopefully made it far enough to silence the "Change the faulty playoff system!!" screams.

The guy that went to see them bend over and take it 47-7 in Foxboro disagrees.

I disagree with the system, but as currently implemented, they earned a spot. They've gotten hot at the right time and made the most of it.

I'm sure everyone outside of Pittsburgh is rooting for them. When you get droughts like that, the common fan latches onto that storyline.

Kinda like the Red Sox a few years back or the NY Rangers in the 90s.

 

[Demiurge]

Thought I posted this before, but don't see it - apologize if I'm repeating myself.

Looks like a great super bowl to me! I don't see why there's a 7 point line myself.

Demi's positional analysis:

QB: Slight edge to Warner. Roethlisberger is very good, but Warner has a quicker release and is more accurate. Big Ben's stats in the passing game are mediocre this year (17 TDs to 15 Ints), but he's a big game QB with great escability. If he only plays average, the edge clearly goes to Warner.

RB: Actually a push, though I know most people would favor the Steelers. If Meandenhall was healthy I'd give it to the Steelers, but Parker isn't an upgrade at this point over James/Hightower, and Arrington is a better 3rd down back than Moore.

WR: Edge to Cards. Big edge to Cards if Ward can't play. As much as I respect Ward, Fitz is having the best post season of all time, and I don't see the Steelers shutting him out if Dawkins, Samuels and company couldn't. And Boldin/Breaston is a big edge over Holmes/Washington.

TE: Edge to Steelers. Spach is out, and while most haven't heard of him he was burying folks in the running game. Miller is the best of this bunch, Spaeth is good. Pope has great talent but is a head case. Patrick is a hard working journeyman.

OL - Push. In the regular season it was no contest, but Grimm has taken these guys up a notch in the postseason. This is a good but not great Steelers line; they've had better. It took a long time for the Cards to jell together, but they actually have better talent than the Steelers, with Levi Brown and Deuce Lutui guys that might earn a lot of pro bowls over the years.

DL: Slight edge Steelers. Both lines are good against the run, but the Steelers line provides more pass rush. Aaron Smith is probably the best of the group on either side, Darnell Docket and Casey Hampton are similar in talent and efficacy.

LB: Big Edge to Steelers. Harrison, Farrior and Foote are fantastic, and Woodley is getting that way. The Cards LB is above average, with Dansby really showing up in the playoffs, but the Steelers LB are among the best ever as a unit.

S: Push. Polamlu is amazing, but then so is Adrian Wilson. The best pure cover guy is Cromartie. But the Steelers play better team defense in the secondary.

ST: Push. Neither team is really special here. Both have very good kickers, but everything else is pedestrian.

Coaching: Normally even, Tomlin is very good and LeBeau is an all-time great.. But this is a matchup that really favors the Cards, because not only are the Cards coaches familiar with the Steelers, they are familiar with them in that system with those player. Edge cards, big edge with 2 weeks to prepare.

Last time these two team met was 2007, and the Cards beat them then.

Should be a great game. I call it 27-24 Cards.

 

[trekkerguy]

The Cardinals have hopefully made it far enough to silence the "Change the faulty playoff system!!" screams.

The guy that went to see them bend over and take it 47-7 in Foxboro disagrees.

Meh, they beat better teams in Atlanta and Carolina.
AZ had already secured their playoff spot, there wasn't much to play for at that point.

 

[JM1776]

The guy that went to see them bend over and take it 47-7 in Foxboro disagrees.

Ah, yes. The specious "we blew them out once, we'll do it again" reasoning.

You're referring to the game for which they traveled East into frigid temperatures to play one the Patriots had to have and was utterly meaningless to Arizona?

We saw exactly how much it meant to have been blown out on the East Coast earlier in the season when they crushed the Panthers a week ago and handled the Eagles Sunday afternoon. They would, arguably, have done the same to your Patriots.

Bottom line: Every player on every team (with the possible exception of Donovan McNabb) knew the rules when the season began. The Cardinals did what they had to do to reach the playoffs. The Patriots didn't.

 

[Demiurge]

Ah, yes. The specious "we blew them out once, we'll do it again" reasoning.

You're referring to the game for which they traveled East into frigid temperatures to play one the Patriots had to have and was utterly meaningless to Arizona?

We saw exactly how much it meant to have been blown out on the East Coast earlier in the season when they crushed the Panthers a week ago and handled the Eagles Sunday afternoon. They would, arguably, have done the same to your Patriots.

Bottom line: Every player on every team (with the possible exception of Donovan McNabb) knew the rules when the season began. The Cardinals did what they had to do to reach the playoffs. The Patriots didn't.

Agreed with that point.

But no professional team should ever give up on a game. The Cards gave up on that one.

It was the wakeup call they needed, and I agree a rematch would be a totally different situation.

But that was the low point in the season for the Cards, to be sure, and it required a gut check. They could have folded. Instead they are playing inspired ball.

Reminds me a bit of the 40-8 drubbing the Eagles gave the 49ers during the 1994 season that woke them up and they dominated the rest of the way including winning the Super Bowl against the Chargers. Or the Thanksgiving Day Massacre way back in 1962 when the defending champion Packers got ambushed by the Detroit Lions, giving up 11 sacks. The Packers got the cussing out of all cussing outs by Lombardi and didn't lose that season again.

Of course, no one expected the Cards to get here except a few die hards. I've been arguing with my coworkers for a while that they'll win a game in the playoffs this year, and was told I was out of my mind.

But I didn't expect this!

 

[archeryguy1701]

The Cardinals have hopefully made it far enough to silence the "Change the faulty playoff system!!" screams.

The guy that went to see them bend over and take it 47-7 in Foxboro disagrees.

I disagree with the system, but as currently implemented, they earned a spot. They've gotten hot at the right time and made the most of it.

I'm sure everyone outside of Pittsburgh is rooting for them. When you get droughts like that, the common fan latches onto that storyline.

Kinda like the Red Sox a few years back or the NY Rangers in the 90s.

Any one recall the seasons before the Broncos went on the 3 year playoff drought? Specifically, the seasons where Denver would show up, kick some regular season Colt ass, and then bend over and take it from the very same team in the playoffs? For arguments about who the better teams are, one regular season game doesn't mean squat.

Actually, the comparision you're make doesn't mean anything in any context. It doesn't matter if NE is better than AZ. They're in difference conferences. Neither one really effects the other one's playoff position. NE wants to get to the playoffs? They should have looked into winning one more game, or better yet, beating one of the other 11-5 teams. And, how do we know that NE would have been a better choice? To use your example, SD beat down NE in regular season. In post season, SD beat Indy, a team with a better record than NE, and they didn't do a terrible job against Pittsburg.

 

[the 4th hanson bro]

Willis McGahee was released from the hospital yesterday. Apart from a concussion and stiffness, he suffered no serious injuries and is expected to make a full recovery.

 

[Captain Craig]

If Warner wins does he come back or retire?? He is 37 and going out on top is a rare opportunity, just ask Favre or Bettis. One did, one didn't.

I assume you mean Bettis and Farve.

Must be a Ben Stiller fan.

I agree Mariner I count FAVRE(happy Trekkerguy?) as never reallly having retired. Yes, Bettis is who I meant as having gone out on top.
Neroon I think Stiller is alright but he's no Adam Sandler.

Still though, through all that my real question wasn't addressed.
Should Warner win, will he retire?



Is it time to start a SUPERBOWL thread?? Playoffs are over now.

 

[trekkerguy]

Still though, through all that my real question wasn't addressed.
Should Warner win, will he retire?

I think if he wins he is more likely to consider it, if he loses I think he'll feel
there's unfinished business there and may want to try again.

But win or lose, my feeling is he stays. I also hope he does. Watching Warner is fantastic.

Everyone talks about Favre playing young(at least in years past) though he
was aging. Warner seems much younger a guy to me at his age, alot of it is his demeanor.

And it's "trekkerguy"

 

[Roger Wilco]

McNabb's Arizona residence vandalised

AP video

But the story actually started two days before, when McNabb came home to his house in the Ocotillo neighborhood on the Thursday to find a Cardinals flag hanging from a tree in his yard. The quarterback found the prank amusing and left the flag hanging in the tree, Favazzo said.

When McNabb came home late the next night, he saw the cardboard box that the vandals made into a makeshift sign - "Go Cards" was written on one side and "Beat Philly" on the other. Again McNabb brushed it off, but when he woke up early the next morning on the day of the game, he smelled diesel fuel and called police.

"Police did a very, very quick investigation," said Sgt. Joe Favazzo, a Chandler police spokesman. Officers quickly spotted the postage sticker on the box with Perkin's name and address. They went Perkin's home, where police arrested him at about 6 p.m. when he admitted to the prank and outted his co-worker, Hanlon. Perkins wore a Cardinals cap in his booking photo.

The incident as a whole really isn't funny, but the bolded part is.
And it was cool of McNabb to be a good sport about it, until things started to get out of hand.

 

[JM1776]

But no professional team should ever give up on a game. The Cards gave up on that one.

I disagree. I don't think they gave up.

I don't think they tried at all!