2005 NFL Season

[Lord Blackadder]

I'm glad you hate the Steelers, and next week you can join the Cincy and Indy fans sitting at home asking themselves "what happened??"

I'm from Cleveland, so I have had plenty of those experiences already, thank you.

All season on this thread I've been talking about how the Steelers are the team in the AFC, and all the talk was about the Colts, the Pats, the Broncos..bla bla bla...that's fine, the Steelers don't get any respect in the Media either...even after the game all the talk was about how the Colts lost... not how the Steelers won...whatever...

I think that all talk of "respect" is just so much hot air. It's simple: you win, you get respect. I didn't hear any smack talk about the Steelers any more than any other team. How can they not be getting enough respect? The Colts deserved respect for going undefeated so long, whatever their schedule. And now they are not getting respect since they choked in the Playoffs. Only fair.

Anyway, you want to talk about lack of respect? There are few teams that get less respect than my home team, the Cleveland Browns. You know why? because the last time they won the Superbowl was...before there was a Superbowl. In fact, it was decades before most of us were born. And then there was The Fumble. Which is why I find it funny that they call the Browns/Steelers game a "rivalry". Maybe it was once, but that was back when most cars had carburetors...respect is a myth.

Here in Cleveland I will be hoping that everyone in the 'Burgh will be wiping their teary eyes with their fruity Terrible Towels come sunday evening.

 

[iRachel]

I'll tell you the other thing that sucked this weekend.

Peyton Manning's comments after the game. For once, we could actually see emotion as he said that all he could do was try again.

But then came the statement that implied that he always played hard and that it was was his O'line's fault. Really? What about those overthrows when they did give you protection? Not impressed...

And while he was praising Vangerjagt by saying that he usually made those kicks - was anyone else waiting for him to call him a liquored up kicker again?

Did anyone else in Chicago have an unpleasant flashback to the Cade McNown era after hearing Manning blame his O-lline?

 

[clayj]

And while he was praising Vangerjagt by saying that he usually made those kicks - was anyone else waiting for him to call him a liquored up kicker again?

Liquored-up IDIOT kicker, to be more precise.

 

[quigleybc]

Here in Cleveland I will be hoping that everyone in the 'Burgh will be wiping their teary eyes with their fruity Terrible Towels come sunday evening.

Fair enough....

I guess if my favorite team was the lowest of the low then I would feel the same way you do..

I was mostly referring to the lack of respect from the media, but also all the hype for the Colts and how no one gave the Steelers a chance to win.

But, I look forward to the game in Denver, and all the blowouts against the Browns for years to come.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

I was mostly referring to the lack of respect from the media, but also all the hype for the Colts and how no one gave the Steelers a chance to win.

I think the hype was deserved...The Colts were so dominating for most of the season, while Pittsburgh at one point was defeated by Baltimore...a team that lost to the Browns. Now that Big Ben is back they are more productive, but for most of the season the Colts were the better team. But the playoffs can be very unforgiving.

 

[clayj]

But the playoffs can be very unforgiving.

And now Peyton Manning has been revealed to be not only a choker when the stakes are high, but also an ill-tempered brat who pissed off both his coach (by waving the punt team off the field... a gamble that DID pay off for him, luckily for him) and his O-line (by pretty much saying that they failed him).

Maybe he should concentrate more on football and less on filming cutesy TV commercials. (The same goes for Tom Brady, but at least he HAS 3 Super Bowl rings and a 10-1 record in the playoffs.)

 

[Thomas Veil]

Did anyone else in Chicago have an unpleasant flashback to the Cade McNown era after hearing Manning blame his O-lline?

Yeah, I know what you mean...it wasn't cool for Manning to take it out on them in public.

But that doesn't mean he was wrong. The O-line wasn't the only problem Indy had in that game, but the word that comes to mind when thinking about their offensive line in that game is "porous".

 

[iRachel]

Yeah, I know what you mean...it wasn't cool for Manning to take it out on them in public.

But that doesn't mean he was wrong. The O-line wasn't the only problem Indy had in that game, but the word that comes to mind when thinking about their offensive line in that game is "porous".

I didn't mean to imply that he was wrong in his analysis of what happened- the o line that game was indeed problematic - but I think he was wrong in calling them out like that, especially when, as you say, they weren't the only problem for the Colts in the game, and because I think calling out teammates publically rarely works to anyone's advantage.

 

[LethalWolfe]

Should Manning have said that publicly, no. But obviously he has to be frustrated to no end. The past few years the Colts have been one of the teams to beat, this year they were one of the most dominant teams in NFL history, yet they still can't get it done in the playoffs.

Is this any different than Tiki saying the Giants were out coached? Or Portis, last season, saying that the 'Skins O playing calling was too predictable? I think these are all examples of some of the more upstanding NFL players just getting frustrated because they are all competitors and they all want to win.


Lethal

 

[watcher2001]

I'm still way jacked up about the Steelers' big win today. I'm scanning the web, and while people mention the call, no one is outraged over that interception by Polamalu that was overturned. Was anyone else utterly baffled by this call? I'm not being biased just because it's my team that it hurt when I say that it had to be the worst overturned instant reply call I have ever seen. Anyone agree/disagree?

Anyone on the boards that knows me can attest to the fact that I am a HUGE Colts fan. That being said I was surprised that they called that interception back. I had actually walked away from the tv right after the IT and got in the shower. Imagine my surprise as I got out and saw Edge crossing the goal line. My first reaction was WTF happened. I then grabbed the Tivo remote and rewound it.. Needless to say I was thrilled. Then I walked away again right after the steelers regained the ball at the 2 yd line with a little over a minute left, only to hear my wife screaming 2 seconds later "It's not over yet".. I was emotionally done. Then to see Mike miss that kick<GRRRR> I agree with the comments about the football gods making him miss to take back that F'ed up interception call.

 

[xsedrinam]

Well my weekend hopes went south, fast. I guess I'll shift allegiances and pull for a Pittsburgh vs. Seattle Super Bowl with Pittsburgh pulling it out.

 

[watcher2001]

Well my weekend hopes went south, fast. I guess I'll shift allegiances and pull for a Pittsburgh vs. Seattle Super Bowl with Pittsburgh pulling it out.

I can't stand Seattle and I don't think the steelers have the chops to take it to Denver so I will hope for a Denver-Carolina SB with Carolina on top by 14.

 

[clayj]

I can't stand Seattle and I don't think the steelers have the chops to take it to Denver so I will hope for a Denver-Carolina SB with Carolina on top by 14.

I like the way you think.

 

[wordmunger]

I'm going to be completely torn this weekend. I grew up in Seattle, I was there when the Seahawks were founded; I rooted for them through the Zorn and Krieg years; I even forgave them for Bosworth. But now I live in North Carolina, and I was here when the Panthers were founded, too. I've actually attended more Panthers games than Seahawks games (even counting the Panthers/Seahawks game here in Charlotte). I'm honestly not sure who I'm going to root for next week.

The bright side is, at least I'll know who to root for in the Super Bowl!

 

[yojitani]

Polamalu call "a mistake" - NFL says

It's official, the call was wrong. Glad that in the end it didn't matter.
Here's the link to the story: http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=1511623

 

[saunders45]

Manning has always been a choker when he gets good pressure against him. I remember this little game in '97 where he was getting run ragged, and he could only complete little dump passes. All you have to do is hit him once or twice, and just let him know that you're always coming....

 

[xsedrinam]

So the odds makers have a 25-1 Denver - Panther Super Bowl with Denver coming out on top, claiming no team has won three in a row on the road? Lots of cliches come to mind like "that's why they play the game".

 

[clayj]

So the odds makers have a 25-1 Denver - Panther Super Bowl with Denver coming out on top, claiming no team has won three in a row on the road? Lots of cliches come to mind like "that's why they play the game".

Erm... Carolina has now won 4 playoff (not counting Super Bowl) games on the road IN A ROW.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

And now Peyton Manning has been revealed to be not only a choker when the stakes are high, but also an ill-tempered brat who pissed off both his coach (by waving the punt team off the field... a gamble that DID pay off for him, luckily for him) and his O-line (by pretty much saying that they failed him).

His O-line didn't fail him - there was nobody open. ever. Except Polamalu, of course. And they had no luck running the ball.

I was disappointed in the way the Colts collapsed at the end of this season. But Manning was sour grapes about it. I imagine they'll be watching that game many times in the next few months. And if he's smart Manning will apologize to his O-line and get down to business.

 

[watcher2001]

It's official, the call was wrong. Glad that in the end it didn't matter.
Here's the link to the story: http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=1511623

I agree that it was a bad call but what purpose does it do for the NFL to come out after the fact and admit it? It doesn't help anyone and all it does is make the officating team look worse than it already is. As it stands I don't like the thought of one person reviewing the play anyway. I think they should have three people look at the play, each person forms an independant decision and then go with the majority decision.

Another thing I would like to see is for them to imbed some form of sensor chip into the football so we could tell where on the field of play the ball is at all times (Didn't they do that with hockey at one time?). That would do away with the "Bad spot" calls on 4th down situations.

 

[Lord Blackadder]

Actually, I think they should go back to the way things were done before all this challenge/video review crap was implemented. Let the refs use their eyeballs and no other tech.

 

[jefhatfield]

Actually, I think they should go back to the way things were done before all this challenge/video review crap was implemented. Let the refs use their eyeballs and no other tech.

the challeneges rarely hold true since either the review shows the ref was right about 90% percent of the time and a bad attitude from the challenging coaches and players does not seem to help in the case of the ref being wrong

different camera angles, at least shown to the tv audience, are very often deceiving and i agree, even with bad calls, that the ref should remain the boss of the call

the players play, the coaches coach, and the refs make the calls...that's football the way it was and the way it should be

i will always see something unfair from time to time when i think the refs are wrong and if the announcers agree with me i get especially pissed off at the refs, but it's a cop out when a fan says, "my team lost because of the ref"

...maybe your team lost because they didn't complete passes, run up a lot of yards, or couldn't put a strong defense on that day, etc and that is the bulk of the reason for losing, not a ref

 

[Applespider]

I agree that it was a bad call but what purpose does it do for the NFL to come out after the fact and admit it?

So that it doesn't happen again? So that all of us who were convinced it was an interception at the time, don't have to refigure out the rules of possession and defenders don't feel that if they hit the ground when they make a pick, they don't have to stay there.

Despite thinking that the Pats generally have had more 'luck' than any team deserves in the past few years, I still feel they got gypped on Saturday. I'm taking nothing away from the Denver defense who played well (and who were unlucky that their pick went through the endzone and should have been a touchback) but their offense was awful; they were gifted 2 TDs on the 1 yard line after all. I know it's in the books but something about it still doesn't feel right.

For what it's worth, I quite like further review. Lots of opportunity for arguments, discussions and bets over the right call while standing at the bar. I've won a lot of bottles of beer from Yanks who don't believe a Scottish girlie can call a review correctly

 

[jefhatfield]

I've won a lot of bottles of beer from Yanks who don't believe a Scottish girlie can call a review correctly

well then i will keep my eye out for you and make no stupid bets

 

[LethalWolfe]

Actually, I think they should go back to the way things were done before all this challenge/video review crap was implemented. Let the refs use their eyeballs and no other tech.

That's not gonna change anything. As long as replays from multiple angles are shown on the the JumboTron or TV people will always be able to second guess and complain about the refs (who only get to see the play once and in real time).

What I would like to see is the refs given the ability to penalize teams, players, and/or coaches that keep arguing calls/harassing them. I think peer pressure plays too big a role in some calls. How many times have we seen a "late flag" that is only thrown after a player complains to a ref (WR complaining of pass interference, for example)? Or of head coaches chewing out refs on the sidelines? You can't tell me that doesn't get inside a ref's head every now and then. I would love to see NFL refs have the same "protection" that soccer refs have. If a player gets in the face of a soccer ref over a call there is a very good chance said player will get a yellow card.


Lethal