NFL General Discussion

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WOW Shock& Awe, the Card's put the Panthers DOWN , Jake 5 INT's, well at least my Falcons played them better than that. I'm gonna say winner of Giants/Eagles will go to SuperBowl though.
 
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Yes! The underdogs won their games! Now I SWEAR that Arizona will go all the way!
 
To think... Arizona used to be the laughing stocks of the NFL. Always falling on their faces. Now, they look like a team destined for Tampa Bay and perhaps send a message to the AFC team that may defend the other end zone in Tampa Bay. If Arizona does go to the Super Bowl, then more power to them.

I saw a little video on ESPNEWS with one of the Titans taking his losing frustration out on some helpless steel guardrails in the tunnel. Probably good advice would be to NEVER tick off a Tennessee Titan.
 
JohnBM01
To think... Arizona used to be the laughing stocks of the NFL. Always falling on their faces. Now, they look like a team destined for Tampa Bay and perhaps send a message to the AFC team that may defend the other end zone in Tampa Bay.
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I think the message they sent was, "Yes, we still cannot run the ball, but we can win if you turnover the ball to us 5 times."
 
Slow down, let's watch today's games before sending the Ravens to the Super Bowl.

Rookie QB's tend to get a reality check in championship games. Last time I checked, the Ravens defense was good, but Pittsburgh ranked #1 in yardage, #1 against the pass, #2 against the run and #1 in points allowed. All of that with a struggling offense.

And yes, they've already beaten the Ravens twice in close games. I think today's game will be a reflection of how they are playing right now.

Real suprises with 2 road teams winning yesterday. To quote ESPN's Tuesday Morning QB -

TMQ
Home teams in the NFL divisional round are the surest thing in sports, except perhaps if San Diego plays Dallas in December. Since the current playoff format was adopted in 1990, home teams in the divisional round are 55-17, a .764 winning percentage. Usually the reason the home teams are at home in the first place is because they are better than the wild-card teams. Equally important, in the divisional round the home teams have spent a bye week relaxing in hot tubs while their opponents were out being pounded.
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So if the past is any indicator, the odds are certainly against either the Steelers or Giants losing today. On average, only 1 of 4 home teams loses in the divisional round. Now, if you had asked me to pick the one game that might go the road team, I would have picked the Ravens. But I'm completely shocked to see Arizona performing where they are, on the road, in the playoffs. Who would have put Arizona Cardinals and NFC Championship game in the same sentence before this season started?

Anyhow, off to watch a little pregame and some football.

Go Steelers!!
 
Back to the Ravens , what if ????? :

ept_sports_nfl_experts-16367904-1231634050.jpg


Another game, another officiating error in the NFL. On a key 3rd and 2 with 2:52 remaining in today's divisional playoff game between the Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans, the play clock clearly expired well before Joe Flacco received the snap, but no delay of game call came from the officials. The Ravens converted the first down on a long pass to Todd Heap, and ended up kicking the game winning field goal later in the drive.

It's not uncommon for officials to miss the play clock hitting zero, but when they do the ball is snapped nearly immediately afterwards.( On this play, the ball was snapped 1.35 seconds after the play clock expired ) (yes, I timed it). That might sound trivial, but it's really, really not. It's a long time. Watch the replay, it's preposterous how long the back judge had to make the call.

This doesn't excuse the Titans for giving up the first down on the 3rd and 2. Nor is it intended to suggest that the Ravens couldn't have converted on 3rd and 7 after the penalty. The point is, they should have had to.

Just a thought. BTW , this is from Yahoo sports.

I am not going anti-Ravens here , but in the playoffs , the refs should be a little more attentive. 1.35 seconds , HMMMMMM
 
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Alright, the Giants are done. I thought Andy Reid was going to eat someone for a while there. Good thing the Eagles pulled through. :lol: Can't say my uncle is too happy though.

Here's to San Diego beating the Steelers. I wouldn't mind them being champions.

edit: OH YEAH! FIRST MINUTE OF THE GAME AND SAN DIEGO HAS 7 ON THE BOARD. Pittsburgh's Defense? WHAT DEFENSE?

edit2: Oh, that defense. :lol:
 
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What a dominating performance by Willie Parker and the Steelers today. The offense finally looked like its old self, and the running game was spectacular. Besides giving up some points during garbage time, the defense was absolutely dominant as well. Bring on the ratbirds in the AFC Championship.
 
I'm never one to make bold predictions about my own team. But we certainly saw a different Steelers offense today than the one that was there in the past several weeks. And the defense and special teams units continued their solid play. Frankly, Baltimore was lucky to leave Nashville with a win. Not sure they can find that much magic on back to back weeks.
 
How 'bout Byron Leftwich too? The few throws he made were absolutely perfect. I don't know why a team like Detroit didn't pick him up.
 
Steelers looked good Sunday against a Charger team that finally ran out of steam & heart it seemed. Mayby yet another playoff game with LT sidelined just ripped the game outta them. Anyway if the Steelers can put up 30+ points dont think anyone has a chance.
 
Steelers dominated , the Chargers were just flat.How about the 3rd quarter : Chargers only had the ball for 17 seconds and only 1 offensive play :ouch:.

Possibility of an all Pennsylvania Super Bowl anybody ? 💡
 
What an awesome AFC championship - Ravens vs. Steelers. I'm psyched.

So I've actually heard a lot of people were saying the Titans played a better game. Maybe they did. Lets just look at some numbers:

Total net yards:
Ravens: 211 Titans: 391

Time of posession:
Ravens: 25:53 Titans: 34:07

Total first downs:
Ravens: 9 Titans: 21

Looks like a win. However...

Total turnovers:
Ravens: 0 Titans :3

Two Titans fumbles and a Collins interception. Zero Ravens fumble and no interceptions for Flacco. End result: Ravens win. That is how much turnovers matter - almost double the total yards gained and drives up the field all night, but killed by the turnovers. And a good red zone defense.

Oh, and there was that missed delay of game penalty. It helped, but didn't guarantee the Ravens a win. And really, it's not like it was the first missed call of the game / season, and we've been on the losing side quite a bit.

Anyway, at the end of the day, the Titans only managed one TD and one FG despite all those yards and marches up the field. If they shoulda won, they woulda won.


Pitt definitely exposed the Chargers though, and rightfully so. What a crappy second half for the Bolts.
 
Zrow
Two Titans fumbles and a Collins interception. Zero Ravens fumble and no interceptions for Flacco. End result: Ravens win. That is how much turnovers matter - almost double the total yards gained and drives up the field all night, but killed by the turnovers. And a good red zone defense.

Oh, and there was that missed delay of game penalty. It helped, but didn't guarantee the Ravens a win. And really, it's not like it was the first missed call of the game / season, and we've been on the losing side quite a bit.

Anyway, at the end of the day, the Titans only managed one TD and one FG despite all those yards and marches up the field. If they shoulda won, they woulda won.
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Your last comment is correct. But it was one of those games where the Ravens needed every one of those bounces to go their way. They had a slim margin for error and needed to be +3 in turnovers just to win by one score.

I would view it differently if they had a significant hand in forcing all 3 turnovers. However, the injury to Johnson had White on the field, and he is prone to fumbling. The Collins throw, probably going to have one of those per game against the Ravens. But the killer was the Crumpler fumble. Had he just gone down normally in the field of play, or had the ball bounced a little differently, we'd be looking at Steelers at Titans next week.

To be honest, I'm not sure which matchup I'd rather see, neither is all that appealing as a Steelers fan. Both would be tough, but I'm glad to see my team playing at home. 👍

Oh, and on the no call delay of game, it's not like they barely converted the 3rd and 2, they gained 22 yards on the play. I know the situational implications change quite a bit on 3rd and 7, but I don't see that play being the key to the game, the turnovers were definitely a much bigger factor.
 
YES!! THE GIANTS ARE OUT!! Now I'll be rooting for Arizona, they're the only possible team that I support somewhat left! :indiff: Or I could support the Eagles, since they knocked the Giants out. But the Chargers are out too, so my least favorites have gone!! Yay!! :)
 
I was actually shocked not to see a Vince Young wildcat formation from the Titans last weekend. I thought for certain that I had figured out the trick play they'd bring out for the playoffs... and when Chris Johnson went down and Collins looked ready to turn the ball over at any moment, I thought for sure VY would be the choice for sprucing up the run game.

Nothing. Ok, so you don't trust him to throw the ball anymore (but Kerry Collins is your man?), why not have him run and fake the throw?
 
According to ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption," the Tennessee Titans are complaining of an obvious Delay of Game penalty that wasn't called late in Baltimore's 13-10 victory. Your thoughts on all of this?

Also, since we have our Final Four to decide the Super Bowl... now would be a great time to name your Super Bowl. So hit it!
 
The play in question WAS a delay no doubt about it, the play clock was at 0 for a good 1.5-2 sec. But also earlier in the game there was a "no-call" safety when Flaco stepped out of the backline. Seems the breaks are going the Ravens way,combine that with the breaks that Reed makes himselfand the Ravens are the team of destiny. NFC plain and simple EAGLES so I got

Ravens vs Eagles Ravens win 20-10 :)
 
JohnBM01
According to ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption," the Tennessee Titans are complaining of an obvious Delay of Game penalty that wasn't called late in Baltimore's 13-10 victory. Your thoughts on all of this?
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EDK
Oh, and on the no call delay of game, it's not like they barely converted the 3rd and 2, they gained 22 yards on the play. I know the situational implications change quite a bit on 3rd and 7, but I don't see that play being the key to the game, the turnovers were definitely a much bigger factor.
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JohnBM01
Also, since we have our Final Four to decide the Super Bowl... now would be a great time to name your Super Bowl. So hit it!
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I'd like to see the Steelers in the Super Bowl. And I'd like to see them play the opponent they matchup best against. So I'm hoping for (Not predicting) Steelers vs. Cardinals.

Chances of that happening are slim. Not very likely that both home teams will win this weekend. Also not very likely that both will lose. Just hoping I can maintain my sanity between now and then. It's a great problem to have, but I've seen the Steelers play in 6 AFC Championships in the last 15 years (This will be their 7th). They've only managed to win 2 AFC Championships and one Super Bowl. But their franchise QB is now at the prime of his career. The losses in the 4 AFC Championships and 1 Super Bowl were by the likes of Neil O'Donnell, Kordell Stewart, and a rookie they called Big Ben. And they were playing against Tom Brady in two of them, John Elway in one, Troy Aikman in one, with the only non-Hall of Fame QB being Stan Humphries of San Diego in the 1994 AFC Championship. Joe Flacco is no Tom Brady, and Big Ben is no Neil O'Donnell.

So I do like my Steelers chances, but there's a reason they play the games......
 
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Honestly, after what I've seen this season, nobody can really predict who's going to win with a straight face. Flip a coin.
 
Tony Dungy is going to somebody's Hall of Fame as he announced his retirement today. I wish him all the best.
 
EDK
I'd like to see the Steelers in the Super Bowl. And I'd like to see them play the opponent they matchup best against. So I'm hoping for (Not predicting) Steelers vs. Cardinals.

Chances of that happening are slim. Not very likely that both home teams will win this weekend. Also not very likely that both will lose. Just hoping I can maintain my sanity between now and then. It's a great problem to have, but I've seen the Steelers play in 6 AFC Championships in the last 15 years (This will be their 7th). They've only managed to win 2 AFC Championships and one Super Bowl. But their franchise QB is now at the prime of his career. The losses in the 4 AFC Championships and 1 Super Bowl were by the likes of Neil O'Donnell, Kordell Stewart, and a rookie they called Big Ben. And they were playing against Tom Brady in two of them, John Elway in one, Troy Aikman in one, with the only non-Hall of Fame QB being Stan Humphries of San Diego in the 1994 AFC Championship. Joe Flacco is no Tom Brady, and Big Ben is no Neil O'Donnell.

So I do like my Steelers chances, but there's a reason they play the games......
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I'd love to see Steelers vs. Cards as well, especially for Ken Whisenhunt, who I still have a ton of respect for.

Amen to the pain of the previous AFC Championships as well, it's been really tough to get up for such a big game only to be totally let down by the Steelers ******** the bed. On the other hand, Ben is in the prime of his career now, and I have never seen a Steelers defense this good in my lifetime. I can't make the comparison as I wasn't around in the 70s but I hear a lot of older people saying that this defense may be even better than the famed Steel Curtain.

Neil O Donnell actually had a pretty good year up until that awful super bowl, where he completely lost t.

Anyway, here's to a clean game with no injuries, bad calls or dirty hits, whoever ends up winning.
 
Kinda hard to not expect dirty hits with Polamalu on your team. That guy tackles with his helmet almost every time.
 
It'll be Steelers-Cardinals in the Super Bowl to me. They both have the advantage of being at their home grounds, so they should come out on top.
 
Danoff
..that hasn't exactly been a good gauge so far.
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It's not a good gauge in general for the NFL Championship Round. I'll post the same Tuesday Morning QB quote I put up earlier, along with the next paragraph.

TMQ
Since the current playoff format was adopted in 1990, home teams in the divisional round are 55-17, a .764 winning percentage. Usually the reason the home teams are at home in the first place is because they are better than the wild-card teams. Equally important, in the divisional round the home teams have spent a bye week relaxing in hot tubs while their opponents were out being pounded. Home teams dominate the NFL divisional round, so check-mark them in your office pool. You don't even need to know who's playing!

A week later in the championship round, the home advantage dissipates. Since 1990, home teams in conference championship games are 21-15, a .583 winning percentage. That's only a tad better than the rate at which home teams won all games over the same period. (So far this season, home teams are .554.) In the championship round, nobody's had the previous week off and the Super Bowl is just one W away. Players leave everything on the field in championship contests. So at the next step, the home team won't necessarily be the favorite. But this weekend, look homeward. And of course, if the visitors win, remember the Tuesday Morning Quarterback guarantee: All Predictions Wrong or Your Money Back.
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Even worse, the Cardinals have never made it this far, EVER. More TMQ -



TMQ
For years this column has called the team in question the Arizona (Caution: May Contain Football-Like Substance) Cardinals. But will they not host Sunday's NFC championship? Sure, it's the Cardinals' first championship appearance in 60 years, but they are hosts, and no other NFC team can make that claim. Did the Cardinals not just blow heavily favored Carolina off the Panthers' own field? Did the Cardinals' defense not recover from games in which it surrendered 56, 47, 37 and 35 points to allow only 13 points to the heavily favored Panthers? Has Arizona not just won two playoff games in the same season for the first time in the franchise's 89-year history?
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So, let's see here -



The Cardinals have already won more playoff games in a season than they have ever won. And 15 home teams have lost Championship round games in the last 17 years, of which the Steelers are 4 (Or more than 25%).


I only have one prediction - Nothing is certain. :nervous:
 

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