OT: NFL Playoffs

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 9:06 pm

Well, despite an ugly (or truly offensive) offensive performance by the Redskins they hold on for a 17-10 victory on the strength of their defense.

Congrats to Zep and tough luck to Cincy.

I'm torn on the second game today. I'm very sick of the Patriots but the NFL fan in me really wants to see a Patriots/Colts matchup. Jags should play them tough but of all the games this weekend this is the one I could see being lopsided.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 9:14 pm

Can someone tell me what the hell the Patriots have at the 50-yard-line on each side of the field? My wife and I noticed that earlier in the season but never figured it out. I'm probably just being stupid but I'd like to know.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 9:22 pm

ScoopBrady wrote:Can someone tell me what the hell the Patriots have at the 50-yard-line on each side of the field? My wife and I noticed that earlier in the season but never figured it out. I'm probably just being stupid but I'd like to know.

I think it is the logo for their stadium.

These are two of my least favorite teams...I want to see the completely underrated, not-respected Patriots (per Tom Brady) lose, but I think the Jags are a dirty and unlikable squad.

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 9:35 pm

Holy crap! I can't believe it! Is is Christmas? Joe Gibbs is amazing. That team looked very Bears-like out there. I am not happy that Taylor is suspended for an additional game, that's BS. I hope he can appeal. Gene Upshaw, can he appeal? He was ejected already, that should be enough punishment. This is the playoffs! Grr. Taylor is key to this defense. But this offense better get going. I sure hope the TB D is as good as they say, because that was very familiar from this Offense and not reminiscent of good times. The game ended up almost identical to the last one, shanked punt and all. But this time the guy couldn't make the catch, and the D stopped 'em time after time after time.

Wow.

On to Seattle!

Zlax45 · Post by **Zlax45** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 10:18 pm

It is the logo to the stadium which is named after a major company up here (might be national too) in Gillette.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 11:42 pm

Zlax45 wrote:It is the logo to the stadium which is named after a major company up here (might be national too) in Gillette.

I'll be pretty happy if we get to see that logo again this season

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 11:44 pm

If there is a worse NFL announcing team than Patrick, Theismann and Maguire, I haven't heard them. And to think I actually liked these guys once.

From Patrick's histrionics on every play to Theismann's "I'm going to make a prediction here" about 15 times per game to Maguire's "That pass was thrown as well as any in NFL history" on Simms' dropped TD pass, these guys are hyperbolic idiots.

Oh, and I love how Patrick was licking the ass of Gregg Williams earlier in the game when his contract extension was discussed, saying "He has had numerous chances to become a head coach ... " Uh, dipsh*t, he was a head coach in Buffalo and sucked worse than a Hoover.

F*cking amateur hour when these clowns are behind the mike. A shame, too, as that was one HELL of a football game.

Take care,
PK

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 12:03 am

pk500 wrote:If there is a worse NFL announcing team than Patrick, Theismann and Maguire, I haven't heard them. And to think I actually liked these guys once.

I'll channel Bill Walton and say that those guys are HORRIBLE. I liked them once, as well. They probably were good at one point, but an overzealous director told them how great it was when they were dramatic and argued...and stuff.

When the Redskins locked Williams up for a few more years, I felt better about the Vikings chances of getting a decent coach. PK, help me out here, but didn't the Bills D go from one of the best to one of the worst once Williams arrived with his gambling style?

After the Pats took the lead, I stopped watching--would playing Garrard have made any difference?

WillHunting · Post by **WillHunting** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 12:15 am

Willie McGinest is awesome, setting a new post season sacks record. Jaguar looked like a very ordinary 12-4 team.... bring on Denver or Indy, that will be an awesome game regardless.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 12:19 am

Dave wrote:PK, help me out here, but didn't the Bills D go from one of the best to one of the worst once Williams arrived with his gambling style?

Dave:

Actually, the Bills' defense stumbled initially under Williams and then improved.

In 2000, Wade Phillips' last year as Bills' head coach, Buffalo was 18th in overall defense in the NFL. In 01, Williams' first year, the Bills were 30th. The Bills' D was 27th in 02 and fifth in 03, his final season.

Bills' D fell to eighth in 04, Mularkey's first year.

Williams still sucked, though. He seemed out of his league as head coach. One of those guys who is a great coordinator but simply can't manage a complete game on both sides of the ball.

Take care,
PK

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 12:25 am

WillHunting wrote:Willie McGinest is awesome, setting a new post season sacks record. Jaguar looked like a very ordinary 12-4 team.... bring on Denver or Indy, that will be an awesome game regardless.

The Jags made the most of a fairly week schedule, but they did beat both Seattle and Denver early in the year. But look at their post-bye (week 7) schedule--only Indy was above .500 and I'm not sure if any of the other teams had more than 6 wins.

As a Colts fan, the Pats still scare the sh*t out of me. I'd prefer a Steelers win tomorrow...

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 12:05 pm

Leftwich started out well his first couple of years but he seems to have plateaued.

Plus he seems as brittle as Brunell. Maybe he could stand to lose that baby fat.

Every time they got in the red zone or in FG range, the Patriots were going to blitz him and he seemed unprepared for it, even though they were in that situation several times.

The one time they didn't blitz, he rushed the throw and threw the pick.

It could have been a different game if the Jags could have put up some points early while the defense was holding the Pats.

hellbent · Post by **hellbent** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 12:40 pm

wco81 wrote:Leftwich started out well his first couple of years but he seems to have plateaued.

Plus he seems as brittle as Brunell. Maybe he could stand to lose that baby fat.

I agree on losing the weight - Leftwich needs to put less pressure on his legs, knees and ankles, IMO. How many of his injuries in his career have been leg-related? Some additional flexibility would help too.

I disagree that he has reached his potential, however. Maybe if he stays in Jacksonville, that would be the case. He reminds me a lot of a young Vinny Testaverde, throwing those passes too hard and high and not using touch in the right places. He made some amazing throws last night, placing the ball in between multiple defenders to his receiver on many occasions. The problem is, the passes were coming in so hard, the receivers were having trouble bringing them down. There were a number of drops that would have been huge gains.

Yeah, he had trouble with the Pats' scheme. So has the allegedly best QB in the NFL these past few years, especially in the post-season.

Ideally, Jacksonville needs to bring in a solid QB coach to work with him and get some consistency in the running game if they want to maximize his talents. Who knows, maybe they've soured on the kid and are going to go with the cheaper Garrard next season while they shop Leftwich to QB hungry teams in the off-season (Washington, maybe?).

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 12:58 pm

Leftwich was thrown into a very tough situation last night--face a Belicheck playoff defensive scheme in his first game back. So it is tough to say he has reached his potential based on that game.

But I think there are some things that do raise some flags. First, he hasn't shortened his throwing motion at all. It still takes him forever to wind up and get the ball out of there. Combine that with what I think is poor pocket presence, and it is going to lead to him being injured a lot. He needs to learn to get rid of the ball before a defender is right on top of him. During, the first Jax-Indy game this year, I have no idea how he didn't get hurt since it seemed like he was hit every time he dropped back.

I'm not sure how much his weight has to do with his injuries, I think it has more to do with how often he gets hit at the end of his throwing motion.

He's a damn good leader and has, over the course of the last couple years, been an amazingly clutch player. But I understand why the Jags want to hold on to Garrard as well.

Badgun · Post by **Badgun** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 1:32 pm

Dave wrote:
WillHunting wrote:Willie McGinest is awesome, setting a new post season sacks record. Jaguar looked like a very ordinary 12-4 team.... bring on Denver or Indy, that will be an awesome game regardless.
The Jags made the most of a fairly week schedule, but they did beat both Seattle and Denver early in the year. But look at their post-bye (week 7) schedule--only Indy was above .500 and I'm not sure if any of the other teams had more than 6 wins.

As a Colts fan, the Pats still scare the sh*t out of me. I'd prefer a Steelers win tomorrow...

Actually, they lost to Denver 20-7.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=251002030

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 2:24 pm

Badgun wrote:Actually, they lost to Denver 20-7.

OK, Jacksonville wasn't even as decent as I thought they were...and it was painful to even give them feint praise.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 4:01 pm

pk500 wrote:If there is a worse NFL announcing team than Patrick, Theismann and Maguire, I haven't heard them. And to think I actually liked these guys once.

They have become a parody of what once made them a good announcing team. On the Sean Taylor play, they went apeshit about the call, without pausing to think "gee, maybe Sean Taylor did something to get a flag before he got slapped." I mean, the ref isn't blind, he was standing right there. Instead they launched right into Joe Barstool mode and shrieked about how bad the call was. Then, when they found out that there was a reason, not a peep about how they were wrong for jumping to conclusions.

Aikman has become one of the few guys I can stomach -- he isn't afraid to offer his opinion, but also isn't a running op-ed during the game.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 4:08 pm

Eli Manning is playing like ass today. He's got some work to do before there's a possibility for a Manning brothers Super Bowl.

Carolina is easily the most schizophrenic team in the playoffs. They have very good talent and a good coach, yet lollygagged their way into the postseason. I wouldn't be surprised if they made it to the Super Bowl or got shut out by the Bears next week.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 4:20 pm

Brando70 wrote:Eli Manning is playing like ass today.

It's a family trait to look terrible in playoff games early in their career.

Agreed on the Panthers' potential for next week.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 4:31 pm

Dave wrote:It's a family trait to look terrible in playoff games early in their career.

Until such time as they play really well in the playoffs and advance deep...I'd say it's a career long trait for the Manning family...not just an early career thing.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 4:33 pm

Well to be fair, it's not just Manning. There's no running game and the defense is not slowing down the Panthers at all.

Yes Carolina is Jekyll and Hyde. I thought they wouldn't slow down Tiki as much as they have but they've turned the game into Eli beating them and obviously, he's not ready.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 4:34 pm

dbdynsty25 wrote:Until such time as they play really well in the playoffs and advance deep...I'd say it's a career long trait for the Manning family...not just an early career thing.

Ugh.

A perfect passing rating through the first two rounds isn't looking good.

Yes, Peyton's looked bad against New England in the playoffs the last couple years...by your definition, getting deep is Super Bowl-only, right?

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 4:35 pm

At least make it to the Super Bowl...

WillHunting · Post by **WillHunting** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 4:40 pm

I can't wait to see NY run Eli out of town. Karma for refusing to play for San Diego.

Zlax45 · Post by **Zlax45** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 4:58 pm

pk500 wrote:
Williams still sucked, though. He seemed out of his league as head coach. One of those guys who is a great coordinator but simply can't manage a complete game on both sides of the ball.

Take care,
PK

They used to say that about Bill Belichick too..