NFL Season 2010

[MizzouRah]

Well, I actually won two bets this week.

Steelers - 23
Packers - 20

[RobVarak]

I've been in FLA all weekend and mercifully absent from Ground Zero here in town.

This Cutler flap is asinine. The guy is a dick. He's got more arm than brains. His mechanics stink, he doesn't seem inclined to improve them and he's arrogant. He's also tough as all hell. He's taken as many bad shots as any QB in the league over the last two season without ever throwing his OL under a very well-deserved bus. He regularly guts it out for extra yardage and has foolishly played through at least a couple of concussions.

And this is the guy who supposedly turns into a p***y one game from the Super Bowl?

Silly.

The Packers quick start was brilliant and the Bears were essentially done at halftime with Cutler's injury. Rodgers just murdered the injured Chris Harris and the mediocre CB du jour Jennings on those first drives. It was ruthless and well designed.

As good as McCarthy's gameplan and play-calling were out of the gate, they were a huge lifeline for the Bears down the stretch. Channeling Andy Reid is never a good idea with a lead, and the Bears put up a spirited fight. Urlacher was a warrior. Despite this badly missed tackle in the middle of the field, he was all over the place. Vintage work. Briggs was strong and Peppers disruptive as hell. It was just too much to ask of a team with essentially no back-up QB on the roster.

Once the silly spectacle of 400lb Bears fans who would pull a hamstring bending over to grab a quick-rolling kielbasa criticizing Cutler comes to an end, they'll all just realize it's just another painful could-have-been for Chicago sports.

Now I get to endure a Super Bowl between the Northern Hillbilly Collective and a team led by worst-date-ever No. 7. Not a banner ending to a fun year.

[Brando70]

Now I either root for the Packers or an alleged rapist.

Here's hoping there's option C, a meteor that destroys Dallas in two weeks.

[Lancer]

I've had both a torn ACL and a torn MCL on separate occasions and the MCL is WAAAAAAAAAAY more painful. In fact, the ACL, besides a little instability, is fairly painless when compared to the MCL. If he did his MCL, I can understand not going back in. It's one of more painful (right behind my dislocated patella) knee injuries a dude can have.

Can you walk with a MCL? On a scale to 1-10, how painful is it?

ACL you can't even put weight on the leg right? how does that feel on the pain scale?

[Lancer]

Sorry Jake.

Jake Plummer was reincarnated yesterday in Soldier Field? Another case of the piss shivers ...

It's Jay. Jay. Jay. Jay. Jay.

When you think about it, they're actually the same guy.

[GTHobbes]

Sorry Jake.

Jake Plummer was reincarnated yesterday in Soldier Field? Another case of the piss shivers ...

It's Jay. Jay. Jay. Jay. Jay.

When you think about it, they're actually the same guy.

Was Plummer as big of a punk, or as much a quitter, as Cutler? Either way, I'm glad neither one of those losers went to the Steelers.

[matthewk]

He didn't have a great half but I think he would have bounced back in the second half ith the adjustments made at halftime that Hanie benifitted from. The play calling, except for that end-around, was much better and balanced in the second half. He played like crap in the first half but you could tell something wasn't right when he underthrew Knox to end the half. That's a ball he easily throws but he came up short due to not being able to plant his foot.

Hanie benefitted from the Packeers letting him sit back and throw the ball. Had Cutler still been in there, the defense would not have been called the same.

The Packers poor 2nd half performance was due to 2 things. The playcalling on both sides of the ball got conservative. Had they stayed more agressive, the Bears never get within 7. The other thing was Rodgers after the double hit to the head. I would not be surprised if he had another minor concussion. After that his throws were off, even when he wasn't under pressure. They also stayed away from any long drops and deep passes, which makes me wonder if they were trying to protect him from another hit.

[matthewk]

Now I get to endure a Super Bowl between the NFC Champion Hillbilly Collective and a team led by worst-date-ever No. 7. Not a banner ending to a fun year.

Fixed

[GTHobbes]

Ratings for the SB should be HUGE this year with the Steelers and Pack in the game:

"The AFC championship game earned its highest television rating in 14 years, while the NFC game also drew the best rating for the early conference championship game in the same span.

The Steelers' 24-19 win against the New York Jets in the AFC title game Sunday on CBS had a 28.3 rating and 43 share, the highest since the Jaguars-Patriots matchup in January 1997.

The Green Bay Packers' 21-14 victory against the Chicago Bears on Fox earned a 28.1, the best since Panthers-Packers, also in '97.

The AFC game was watched by an average of 54.85 million viewers, breaking the record set by San Diego-Cincinnati in 1982 when the population was smaller.

Ratings represent the percentage of all homes with televisions tuned into a program. Shares represent the percentage of all homes with TVs in use at the time."

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11025/11 ... z1C3khlXud

[GTHobbes]

He didn't have a great half but I think he would have bounced back in the second half ith the adjustments made at halftime that Hanie benifitted from. The play calling, except for that end-around, was much better and balanced in the second half. He played like crap in the first half but you could tell something wasn't right when he underthrew Knox to end the half. That's a ball he easily throws but he came up short due to not being able to plant his foot.

Hanie benefitted from the Packeers letting him sit back and throw the ball. Had Cutler still been in there, the defense would not have been called the same.

The Packers poor 2nd half performance was due to 2 things. The playcalling on both sides of the ball got conservative. Had they stayed more agressive, the Bears never get within 7. The other thing was Rodgers after the double hit to the head. I would not be surprised if he had another minor concussion. After that his throws were off, even when he wasn't under pressure. They also stayed away from any long drops and deep passes, which makes me wonder if they were trying to protect him from another hit.

Pretty observant, Matt. Sounds like it was his shoulder, rather than a concussion though:

"Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy says quarterback Aaron Rodgers' shoulder is sore after he was hit in Sunday's NFC championship game victory against the Chicago Bears.

McCarthy didn't seem overly concerned Monday, saying every player has bumps and bruises at this point in the season."

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11025/11 ... z1C3l20UJG

[ScoopBrady]

He didn't have a great half but I think he would have bounced back in the second half ith the adjustments made at halftime that Hanie benifitted from. The play calling, except for that end-around, was much better and balanced in the second half. He played like crap in the first half but you could tell something wasn't right when he underthrew Knox to end the half. That's a ball he easily throws but he came up short due to not being able to plant his foot.

Hanie benefitted from the Packeers letting him sit back and throw the ball. Had Cutler still been in there, the defense would not have been called the same.

The Packers poor 2nd half performance was due to 2 things. The playcalling on both sides of the ball got conservative. Had they stayed more agressive, the Bears never get within 7. The other thing was Rodgers after the double hit to the head. I would not be surprised if he had another minor concussion. After that his throws were off, even when he wasn't under pressure. They also stayed away from any long drops and deep passes, which makes me wonder if they were trying to protect him from another hit.

You mean to tell me that the Packers decided not to pressure a 3rd string quarterback whose only chance would be if he wasn't under pressure? I know you love your team but there were obvious halftime adjustments made in regards to the Bears play calling on offense. Give the Bears some credit at least. There's no way in hell the Packers eased off, they sure as hell didn't against the Falcons. Why would they here? I seem to recall several times in the second half where the Packers went deep going for the kill strike but it never happened. They didn't get conservative, the Bears made adjustments.

[matthewk]

You mean to tell me that the Packers decided not to pressure a 3rd string quarterback whose only chance would be if he wasn't under pressure? I know you love your team but there were obvious halftime adjustments made in regards to the Bears play calling on offense. Give the Bears some credit at least. There's no way in hell the Packers eased off, they sure as hell didn't against the Falcons. Why would they here? I seem to recall several times in the second half where the Packers went deep going for the kill strike but it never happened. They didn't get conservative, the Bears made adjustments.

I'm not saying the Bears didn't make any adjustments, but the Packers did let up on the pressure at some point. The last few series they sent 3 in and had Matthews back in coverage more often than not. The announcers even mentioned it after a while.

I've watched 95% of the Packers games that McCarthy has coached. He loves to get conservative after they get a lead. It's one of the the things he does that drives the fans crazy. He doesn't do it every time, but it happens a lot. Sure, they may have taken a shot or two, but overall the offense was less aggressive in the 2nd half. And those shots were quicker routes. It just looked like they were trying to protect Rodgers a lot more after that shot to the head by makig sure he wasn't sitting back there as long.

[dbdynsty25]

Can you walk with a MCL? On a scale to 1-10, how painful is it?

ACL you can't even put weight on the leg right? how does that feel on the pain scale?

I'll quote myself since I said it like three posts down from that.

And I only know what my knee felt...and it fuggin hurts way worse than when I tore my ACL. Like 9 out of 10 pain instead of 3 out of 10. 10 out of 10 was when I dislocated my kneecap...holy sh*t that sucked.

You can walk on both...ACL is much more comfortable pain wise. Hell, guys have been known to continue playing with ACL tears...you just lose the stability in your knee and a little pain whereas the MCL just fuggin hurts like hell anytime you have any front to back or side to side movement at all.

[wco81]

It could just be that the coach used the injury as an alibi to pull Cutler, who wasn't playing well with or without the injury.

[Brando70]

It could just be that the coach used the injury as an alibi to pull Cutler, who wasn't playing well with or without the injury.

I guarantee it wasn't that. There is no way in the world Lovie Smith would turn to Todd Collins or Caleb Hanie unless Cutler could not play.

Again, this is a case where Cutler's injury forced him out of the game. He couldn't plant his foot to throw, that's why he was taken out. Anyone talking about him quitting or whatever doesn't know what the f*** they are talking about. I saw Deion Sanders discussing Cutler's toughness on the NFL network, this coming from a cornerback who never met a tackle he would try to avoid making. Having watched Cutler in every Bears game, he will always throw his body around to help the team: diving for first downs, taking longer to make a throw even if it means getting hit, etc. He has a lot of issues, but toughness is not one of them, and he's one of the toughest QBs I've seen in terms of taking punishment and still playing.

[Brando70]

I've watched 95% of the Packers games that McCarthy has coached. He loves to get conservative after they get a lead. It's one of the the things he does that drives the fans crazy. He doesn't do it every time, but it happens a lot. Sure, they may have taken a shot or two, but overall the offense was less aggressive in the 2nd half. And those shots were quicker routes. It just looked like they were trying to protect Rodgers a lot more after that shot to the head by makig sure he wasn't sitting back there as long.

I agree with you about his conservative nature. I do think the Bears D also happens to match up well against them -- three meetings this season and the Packers offense scored only 31 points against Chicago. But McCarthy definitely seemed to get a lot more cautious in the second half, especially with the offensive calls, and that certainly helped the Bears get back in the game.

McCarthy's a good coach, but he seems to lack that instinct to go for the kill that great coaches need. He's definitely more Marty Schottenheimer than Belichick 3000.

[GTHobbes]

It could just be that the coach used the injury as an alibi to pull Cutler, who wasn't playing well with or without the injury.

I wonder if the Bears' coach did the same thing with Collins on Sunday. From Peter King's mailbag today:

"TODD COLLINS WAS HURT. "It's obviously of little consequence at this point, but I found it a bit curious at what point the Bears chose to use Caleb Hanie in the NFC Championship. Correct me if I'm wrong, but since he entered with 57 seconds left in the third quarter and I believe he was designated the third quarterback (i.e. inactive), both Jay Cutler and Todd Collins would have been prevented from re-entering the game at any point under any circumstances due to the 'Emergency Quarterback' rule. But Hanie came in and handed the ball to Matt Forte twice to end the third quarter.''
--Lucas Grishabar, Madison, Wis.

As it turns out, Collins suffered a shoulder injury during the third quarter when he was in the game and couldn't have returned. So the Bears determined that Cutler and Collins were both out for the game when Hanie went into the game."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/w ... index.html

Anybody see or hear anything from the telecast that would back up Collins actually being injured, other than he stunk it up when he was out there?

[Brando70]

I think that's true about Collins, but I also think he would have been pulled regardless. He looked completely lost out there, and like Dan has said, it's ridiculous that he was still second on the depth chart.

[dbdynsty25]

He must have been hurt since all Hanie did for the last two plays of the third quarter was hand the ball off. Had Collins been healthy enough to play, I'd assume Lovie and company would know the rule and just have Collins hand off twice to get to the 4th quarter. If they really don't know the rules that well then that contract extension that Lovie may get is WELL deserved. LOL.

[GTHobbes]

From Pittsburgh homer, Bob Smizik's blog yesterday:

"In recent years, I’ve have taken to calling the Steelers a member of the NFL aristocracy. That’s no longer true. The Steelers are not among the aristocracy (Dukes, Earls, Counts, etc) of the NFL. They're pure royalty.

Since coming of age in 1974 with their first Super Bowl appearance -- a win, of course -- the Steelers will have appeared in eight of the past 37 NFL championship games. That once every four or five years. That’s sick. There are teams that have never played in the game and the Steelers are in it as often as some teams merely make the playoffs.

As for their 15 appearances in the AFC title game, that’s even sicker. Since 1974, that’s an appearance once every two or three years. Imagine that! The Steelers are in the conference title game more often than a lot of teams are in the playoffs.

I have to believe The Chief is smiling down on all of this. He never got it right -- too nice a guy -- but he set the stage for all this with his son and now his grandson. It’s good that Dan is still around to pass along some of his wisdom to Art II, but any worries that the grandson was not a chip off the old block have been destroyed."

http://communityvoices.sites.post-gazet ... iziks-blog

It is pretty crazy the success the Steelers have had when a team like the Bengals has had only 2 winning seasons in the last 20 years. No wonder non-Steeler fans hate them as much as they do. They're like football's version of the Yankees, only Pittsburgh does it through great drafting and coaching instead of bringing in the best free agents money can buy every year.

[wco81]

Steelers are the NFL's fair-haired boys. Lets see if any scores are called back against the Packers.

When they couldn't compete in the '80s, they lobbied for the salary cap and parity.

When Harrison got fined for his head-hunting ways, he got the grievance hearing nobody else would have gotten.

Yeah royalty has its privileges doesn't it?

[Rodster]

The Steelers are a lock to win this game.

[Brando70]

Steelers are the NFL's fair-haired boys. Lets see if any scores are called back against the Packers.

When they couldn't compete in the '80s, they lobbied for the salary cap and parity.

When Harrison got fined for his head-hunting ways, he got the grievance hearing nobody else would have gotten.

Yeah royalty has its privileges doesn't it?

The thing is, though, they are a well-run organization. The 80s were somewhat of a down time for them, but they still went to the playoffs four times between 1980-89, and they made a hugely successful transition from Noll to Cowher and then to Tomlin. The only other franchise in recent decades that's had that kind of success is the 49ers, and who knows when they will be consistently competitive again. And unlike the Yankees, they do play by the same financial rules as everyone else.

However, their fans are quickly setting the standard for smug obnoxiousness, much like Niner fans in the 80s and early 90s. They still have a ways to go before they catch Cowboy fans, however.

[pk500]

However, their fans are quickly setting the standard for smug obnoxiousness, much like Niner fans in the 80s and early 90s. They still have a ways to go before they catch Cowboy fans, however.

You must put Patriots' fans in that group, too. Arrogant c*cksuckers.

[Lancer]

The Steelers deserve any good kudos because their ownership is the best in the NFL. They want to win. And they do win. I think most of fans of other teams wish they had the ownership the Steelers have.

If Kordell wasn't their QB throughout the 90s, I think they probably win 1-2 Superbowl during the late 90s era. They had a great defense, running game, and good special teams, but they had a terrible inconsistent QB in Kordell which would lose all those playoff games for Cowher.

Roth is a POS yes, but what pro athlete isn't? I've just been jaded through all these years by pro athletes that I don't have respect for any of them as people any more. It's a board brush but when you have guys you think are good guys (Kobe, Tiger, Roth, others) and they turn out to be true scum, it leaves me with a negative attitude towards pro athletes. Even if they're good guys, there's always the potential and temptation of bad things these guys have to come across and most times they'll give in. It's just the mindset of being given everything and getting all the favors that leaves them with a different mind set as us 'regular' people.