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2005 NFL Season

Well, the Patriots lose and the Steelers win. What a wonderful late Christmas gift! :)

The Pats/Broncos game was certainly one where you could smell the winds of change taking place. It was finally the Patriots who were getting the bad bounces... The clincher was when Vinateri missed that field goal - that's when you knew it was over.

As for the Steelers-Colts game - I don't think you can really say the Colts choked. It was more that the Steelers had a really great game plan, especially on defense. They exposed a flaw in the Peyton Manning call-the-play-at-the-line strategy. Namely, Peyton never snaps the ball before the play clock winds down, so there's no sense in showing your D until 5 seconds on the play clock. Second, they did a 1-2 blitz, with their usual blitz of Troy Polamalu followed by a delayed blitz of Joey Porter. The back or tight end would pick up Polamalu, leaving Porter free reign. Brilliant scheme.

The officiating was one of the worst perfomances I've ever seen. The Polamalu interception reversal was the absolute worst call I've ever seen. It's one thing when you blow a call on the field, with everything happening at game speed. But when you have a chance to watch it on replay, there's no excuse. Worse, by his explanation, the official was clearly not informed about the NFL rules on possession - inexcusable for an official in a playoff game.

And then there were four......
 
yellow said:
That was one of the WORST officiated games I have ever seen. Terrible.
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(referencing the Broncos/Pats game)

How about now, after the Steelers/Colts? I think that one takes the cake. And yes, if the New England tight end had actually caused a touchback on the interception return, that would've been one of the greatest plays in the history of the playoffs... alas, it wasn't called that way.

Dave
 
Dave00 said:
(referencing the Broncos/Pats game)

How about now, after the Steelers/Colts? I think that one takes the cake. And yes, if the New England tight end had actually caused a touchback on the interception return, that would've been one of the greatest plays in the history of the playoffs... alas, it wasn't called that way.

Dave
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You know, there's really no PHYSICAL reason why there can't be cameras mounted directly above each pylon (say, 100 feet up), pointing straight down, so that the motion of the ball can be correctly observed in a situation such as that one or the one in the Carolina/Chicago game where the ball went through the end zone (although that one was MUCH more obvious).

And goal line cameras (aimed straight down the goal line, not at any angle) should be standard issue for NFL stadia now.
 
jefhatfield said:
...seattle seems to be the team to beat, but they don't look as bulletproof as indy has all season so it could be anybody's game come superbowl sunday...but i now have to predict the seahawks by 14 points over either afc challenger now that my earlier pick, the colts, are out of the playoffs
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Woah, are you on crack? Seattle is going to have a rough time getting by Carolina, unless Carolina comes out and has one of their mystifying complete breakdowns. Carolina has a good stout defense like Washington, which gave Seattle fits, but a MUCH stronger offense. If they get a lead and start running the ball, Carolina wins this one. If Seattle gets a big lead, Carolina won't be able to come back.

Seattle by 14 points over Pittsburgh or Denver? I dunno, I'm still not buying into Seattle being that good a team. They're in the worst division in football - the other 3 teams were a combined 15-33, in the only NFL division without two teams over 0.500 - and their only win against a quality team was in overtime vs. the Giants. (Sorry, the game against Indy's backups doesn't count.)

This Superbowl is going to be a gem - a nice close one.

Dave
 
Dave00 said:
Woah, are you on crack? Seattle is going to have a rough time getting by Carolina, unless Carolina comes out and has one of their mystifying complete breakdowns. Carolina has a good stout defense like Washington, which gave Seattle fits, but a MUCH stronger offense. If they get a lead and start running the ball, Carolina wins this one. If Seattle gets a big lead, Carolina won't be able to come back.

Seattle by 14 points over Pittsburgh or Denver? I dunno, I'm still not buying into Seattle being that good a team. They're in the worst division in football - the other 3 teams were a combined 15-33, in the only NFL division without two teams over 0.500 - and their only win against a quality team was in overtime vs. the Giants. (Sorry, the game against Indy's backups doesn't count.)

This Superbowl is going to be a gem - a nice close one.

Dave
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I hate to burst anyones buble here, but the #1 NFC seed couldnt beat the #6 AFC seed if they met in the Superbowl. The NFC is the JV league now. Much like the AFC was a number of years back.

I'm hoping for a Broncos/Seattle Superbowl, and thinking the Broncos win 52 to 1 (out of sympathy, they let Seattle attempt an extra point at the end of the game). But even if its Pittsburgh, the NFC representative is gonna get rolled. The real Superbowl is this weekend in Denver.
 
Mr. Durden said:
I hate to burst anyones buble here, but the #1 NFC seed couldnt beat the #6 AFC seed if they met in the Superbowl. The NFC is the JV league now. Much like the AFC was a number of years back.

I'm hoping for a Broncos/Seattle Superbowl, and thinking the Broncos win 52 to 1 (out of sympathy, they let Seattle attempt an extra point at the end of the game). But even if its Pittsburgh, the NFC representative is gonna get rolled. The real Superbowl is this weekend in Denver.
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Dave00, THIS is the guy who's on crack.
 
Dave00 said:
Woah, are you on crack? Seattle is going to have a rough time getting by Carolina, unless Carolina comes out and has one of their mystifying complete breakdowns. Carolina has a good stout defense like Washington, which gave Seattle fits, but a MUCH stronger offense. If they get a lead and start running the ball, Carolina wins this one. If Seattle gets a big lead, Carolina won't be able to come back.


Dave
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i admit i have underestimated carolina and perhaps it's their destiny to go to the superbowl and maybe win...seattle does look tough though and next weekend will speak volumes

neither the steelers nor the broncos look like their previous superbowl winning teams, but one or both can start their dynasty now

i don't have money to put on any team, but i still think the safest bet right now is the seahawks
 
clayj said:
Dave00, THIS is the guy who's on crack.
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i remember the long streak of nfc champions in the superbowl with only the raiders of 1983 being an exception amongst the mighty redskins (3 rings), 49ers (5), cowboys (3), giants (2), and other nfc superbowl champions from 1981-1996, sixteen nearly unbroken seasons!

elway and the broncos broke that afc (junior league) curse with back to back superbowl wins for the broncos, and afc, in the 97 and 98 seasons

but after that, the balance of the superbowl wins have favored the afc and it has already produced an afc dynasty team in the three time patriots...the afc is the dominant league with the likes of the patriots and colts (who are not kicked out of greatness quite yet)

i think the afc will have the better record from 1999 to 2013 (fifteen year period) in the way the nfc was so dominant in the 80s and most of the 90s so there is a point in the belief that the afc is the senior league and nfc the junior league but i wouldn't make the statement that the #6 seed afc team can beat the #1 nfc team most of the time, or easily
 
Mr. Durden said:
I hate to burst anyones buble here, but the #1 NFC seed couldnt beat the #6 AFC seed if they met in the Superbowl. The NFC is the JV league now. Much like the AFC was a number of years back.
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I'll agree that the AFC has more strong teams at the moment but I disagree about #1 NFC not being able to beat #6 AFC. The top few teams in the NFC are probably reasonably equivalent to the AFC top. Where I'd agree is that the middle rank of teams in the AFC is much stronger than the middle rank in the NFC.

The year that the Pats didn't win, the Bucs beat the Raiders. Super Bowl 38 was a lot closer than people thought; the Panthers were written off coming into that game and it was only Kasay's dodgy kickoff that helped the Pats get a short field and a great Vinatieri kick that stopped it going to OT. There also haven't been as many blowouts as there were in the 80s when the NFC dominated. At least the last few Superbowls have been games!
 
~Shard~ said:
Carolina did indeed play solid today - they were able to do what pretty much no other team could do to the Bears D all year - impressive.
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Unless you count the 190 yards rushing the Steelers mauled them for a few weeks earlier...
 
Kwyjibo said:
so I have no rooting interest so now all I root for is some awesome games, good reffing, and exciting football. well I have to root against the panthers ... they knocked us out.
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heh, I tend to root for the team that knocked my team out... it seems like less of a loss if you lose to the team that wins it all, as opposed to a team that gets blown out the next week.

--dave
 
Dave00 said:
heh, I tend to root for the team that knocked my team out... it seems like less of a loss if you lose to the team that wins it all, as opposed to a team that gets blown out the next week.

--dave
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I agree, unless the team that knocked us out was the Steelers or Ravens.

One thing I noticed with the Panthers, was that Kaysay was doing some crappy punts...you don't need to give a team a short field in the super bowl.
 
Applespider said:
But then came the statement that implied that he always played hard and that it was was his O'line's fault.
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It's absolutely mindblowing to me that players continually make that critical mistake of blaming others after a loss. All quarterbacks should have to take Leadership 101 - to be an effective leader, you have to adopt the policy of "the buck stops here." When you lose, accept responsibility - even if it's not yours. Sure, Peyton Manning got a lot of pressure in his face. But the way to handle this post-game is to ignore that and instead talk about your own mistakes. Guarantee you if Peyton Manning had come out and said, hey, I let my team down, everyone would be talking about how it was really the offensive line's blocking, and forget about the phantom passes to no one. Big Ben understands this. Tom Brady understands this. But apparently no one ever got through to Peyton Manning. How disappointing that with all that money, you don't have the common sense to hire someone to explain public relations to you...
 
The real question is, who is playing the BEST football right now...at this moment..

And the answer to that is obviously Pittsburgh...

6 seed doen't mean jack...Pittsburgh plays better on the road...Denver sweaked past the Pats cuz the Pats fumbled and turned the ball over way too many times..

Seattle beat a shaky Skins team, at home where they play their best.

And Carolina can beat any team at any time, so you never know what you're going to get with them..

This time of year it's who is the healthiest team, who is playing with the most confidence and who is the most prepared.

I would be careful counting the Steelers out of this one...
 
quigleybc said:
The real question is, who is playing the BEST football right now...at this moment..

And the answer to that is obviously Pittsburgh...

6 seed doen't mean jack...Pittsburgh plays better on the road...Denver sweaked past the Pats cuz the Pats fumbled and turned the ball over way too many times..

Seattle beat a shaky Skins team, at home where they play their best.

And Carolina can beat any team at any time, so you never know what you're going to get with them..

This time of year it's who is the healthiest team, who is playing with the most confidence and who is the most prepared.

I would be careful counting the Steelers out of this one...
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well...don't count out denver either. They have been playing pretty good football the last two months. I believe they've won 5 or 6 in a row. My favorite one was actually the win against San Diego. They played with great intensity even though the game meant absolutely nothing. Winning that game put them into a good mindset going into the playoffs. The Colts approached their last games in the opposite fashion and we all know the result of that.

I really hope the broncos win, but I think all four teams are playing very well and are all deserving of being where they are. The steelers-broncos game will be very good.

daniel
 
If there was a way to see both the Donkos and the Burp loose.. it'd be sweetness. Can the Burp overcome their obvious fear of success in the AFC Championship? We'll see. We KNOW they're good at loosing it.
 
I would like to see Seattle win, but I really don't think the Panthers are gonna be stopped...I don't really like the Panthers, although I do like when Jake D gets all cajun fired up,

Basically I have very little faith in the Seahawks. Not enough experience.

The Steelers have gone to the AFC championship as the #1 seed 15-1 in the regular season, played at home and lost, now they're the #6 seed on the road, maybe that's our key to a Super Bowl....I just don't want to turn into the Bills of the AFC championship game...consistantly getting to the game, and then not winning it...

If we do win, it will be a feel good under dog story...


Let's go BURGH
 
quigleybc said:
Basically I have very little faith in the Seahawks. Not enough experience.
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That's one of my concerns as well. The way I look at it, it's their ticket to the SuperBowl to lose, and they just might do it if they're not careful... ;)

quigleybc said:
The Steelers have gone to the AFC championship as the #1 seed 15-1 in the regular season, played at home and lost, now they're the #6 seed on the road, maybe that's our key to a Super Bowl....I just don't want to turn into the Bills of the AFC championship game...consistantly getting to the game, and then not winning it...
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They're definitely an underdog against Denver, but they were against Indy as well, so we'll have to see what will happen. Regardless a couple great games this weekend, looking forward to watching them both! :cool:
 
~Shard~ said:
Regardless a couple great games this weekend, looking forward to watching them both! :cool:
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Agreed, it will be a good weekend of F ball for sure...I have no idea what to make of playing Denver, I don't even remember that last time we played them..

And I barely know who's who on their team other than the key positions..

I'm hoping Jake soon to break, will start trying to win the game by being elusive which would fall right into the Steelers plan. If we can stop the run and put the game on Jake's shoulders, our odds of winning go way up.
 
yellow said:
I wouldn't. It's a virtual PLEASURE counting them out.
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I like the way you think. I want to hear the gagging noises on Sunday.

But I think the Steelers are playing better football right now than the Broncos. Both NFC teams are IMO better than the Broncos as well.

Manning needs to suck it up and stop being a man-child. Pittsburg outplayed the Colts, not just the Colts' O-line. If only the O-line was at fault then the D would have given up less points. Maybe it was just a moment of frustration but tasteless all the same.
 
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