NFL chat thread

[JETman]

Looks like the team of Namath is back!

Hm.

Joe Namath's team wouldn't tolerate that arrogant bullshit by #23 after the last Jets touchdown. What a jerk.

Go Steelers.

Really? ALL professional athletes are arrogant in one form or another.

As a lifelong Jets fan, I wasn't holding out much hope for them this year, or any year for that matter. But it looks like they just might surprise not only me, but EVERYBODY.

All pro athletes...really? You may want to take a look at how some of the class acts around the sporting world conduct themselves before making a blanket justification like that, my friend.

Laying down in the end zone while using the football as a pillow is beyond arrogant. Nothing can justify that kind of in-your-face bullshit. What a jerk he is.

Go Steelers.

You can say "Go Steelers" all you want, but that isn't gonna make 'em win.

Do you mean to tell me that what Shonn Greene did yesterday is the most arraogant thing you've seen a football player do this year?

[GA Russell]

I didn't realize that I should have defined my term when I used the word "playoffs". A championship game is not a playoff. Playoffs are when teams other than the two first place teams are added into the mix.

I believe that this concept was created by Shaughnessey of the baseball International League, and they were called the Shaughnessey Playoffs. The idea was to keep more people interested in minor league baseball by increasing the number of teams that had a chance to win the championship (and thus sell more tickets as the season wound down).

Ca. 1975 I attended the Soccer Bowl in Washington, which was the championship game of the NASL between the New York Cosmos and the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers. The game was a mismatch, and I was so angry I dashed off a letter to the commissioner. I received a response from one of his assistants explaining that the purpose of the playoffs is to ensure that the championship game is contested by two teams on a roll. The thinking was that they did not want a championship game to be contested by one team which was hot early but was on a losing streak at the end.

Jim, I remember when the NFL disregarded ties when determining the standings. The standings were determined by the percentage considering only wins and losses. As I recall, in 1962 ( or maybe '63) the Steelers tied a lot of games, and if they had won the last game of the season, they would have played in the championship game. But they lost it.

[Quincy]

But look at the 1932 season: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1932/

A 7-1-6 record tops a 10-3-1 because, I guess, ties don't figure into winning percentage. Whazzupwiddat?

You're right, the NFL used to ignore ties. This sort of thing is why they eventually did what most sports do and count a tie as a half win.

[Man with the Golden Arm]

Laying down in the end zone while using the football as a pillow is beyond arrogant. Nothing can justify that kind of in-your-face bullshit. What a jerk he is.

Go Steelers!

Agreed it was arrogant but the subtlety of his commentary on the narcolepsy of a cocky Pats team was not unnoticed.

Belly getting out-coached by the bigger belly must taste really bad today.

But as Bill said in his most Lombardi-Berra-esque wit and wisdom apres game: "...we gave up too many points and didn't score enough" just about sums it up.

Go Packers!

Edited January 17, 2011 by Man with the Golden Arm

[Noj]

If I had to rank the remaining teams, I'd rank them as follows:

1. Steelers

2. Packers

3. Bears

4. Jets

Really a toss up for the 3 and 4 spots, and I only dropped the Bears below the Pack because I believe more in Rodgers than that douchebag Cutler. Stinky Sanchez will inevitably lay a stinker at some point here, and my guess is it's coming against the Stoolers. Rex Ryan runs his jibs too much, so I'd love to see him lose. Shittsburgh seems to be able to assert their will against even the stingiest of defenses.

I don't like any of these teams, so I don't care who wins. The Steelers have won enough lately, someone take them down.

Condolences to Conn on his Pats going down, although the Raider fan in me is giggling with glee.

[JETman]

Why is everybody so angry?

As a Jets fan who has seen enough losing and playing patsy for far too long, it's nice to finally see a team that has the cajones to back up its coach's big words.

Long live Rex Ryan!!!

And fwiw, the Patriots deserve all of the unsportsmanlike behavior that any team can foist upon them and their classless coach.

[gmonahan]

Well, if both the Bears and the Steelers get in, it'll be a bit tough for me--those are my two teams! I started pulling for them in '69, the year they both went 1-13. I figured those were two teams that needed some help. Since then, they've both done pretty well. Still, I'll probably pull for the Steelers. I really like Troy Polamalu. Brilliant player, and great fun to watch.

gregmo

[GA Russell]

GA and FFA are talking like they were in their teens in the 60s.

Just for the record, I never said anything implying my age. That said, I was born in '58 and do remember 1967.

Forgive me FFA, I thought you were my age!

[papsrus]

Why is everybody so angry?

(...)

And fwiw, the Patriots deserve all of the unsportsmanlike behavior that any team can foist upon them and their classless coach.

Seems as though the four teams left are about right. Three of the four are peaking at the right time. The Bears had the Seahawks, and got a little soft at the end, so it's hard to gauge where they're at.

Jets-Steelers: Lots of defense. Should be a great game. Steelers offense may be a little more multi-dimensional than the Pats offense was Sunday, with no deep threat and basically a dink and dunk passing game that Rex blew up with 18 DBs on every play. Same defensive scheme probably won't work against the Steelers. And I don't see three-man pressure bothering Roethlisberger too much.

Packers-Bears: If Rodgers plays like he played in Atlanta, Bears will be in fast trouble. Don't think Cutler can match him if he's playing at that level -- and he seems to play at that level in the playoff games.

I'm looking for a Packers-Steelers showdown in Dallas. Sweet!

[Noj]

All my "anger" isn't the least bit serious, JETman. That said I don't like media trash talk of any sort when it's done by players or coaches not on my teams. Armchair warriors like you and I are allowed to talk all we want. I pick on Sanchez because he's a Trojan (UCLA Bruins fan here), but he's amounted to far better an NFL QB than I expected. Good luck to your team!

[Jazzmoose]

All I know is that I'm old enough to despise trash talk and think end zone dances are demeaning to the players involved and the game. Now that's old.

[BruceW]

All I know is that I'm old enough to despise trash talk and think end zone dances are demeaning to the players involved and the game. Now that's old.

I remember that also. Does anyone remember when it was class to score a touchdown and turn and give the ball to the ref?? or just lay the ball on the ground and trot back to your team??

Uhhh I guess that is old too......

[Larry Kart]

Went to my first Bears game in 1953 or '54. Was in the stands for the '63 championship win over the Y.A. Tittle-Frank Gifford Giants -- what a game. Went with a friend whose father was the backup QB to Sid Luckman on the 1941 team and who (my friend) had broken his leg in in a motorcycle accident in November, which meant that we had to get to the game (at Wrigley Field) at about 10:30 a.m. so he could make his way to our great upper-deck, 40-yard-line seats on crutches (he was still in a large cast). Game-time (1 p.m.) temp was nine degrees; I recall that we were so out of our minds with excitement that we hardly noticed.

[Larry Kart]

My friend's father:

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=60034156

Hell of a nice guy. Didn't know that he was drafted in order to help teach T-formation quarterback play to Sid Luckman.

I do recall that the reason he threw a pass for an extra point toward the end of the Bears' famous 73-0 championship win over the Redskins is that the referee told him that he had to because this was the last football they had left, and if it was kicked into the stands, the game would be over.

[JSngry]

Was in the stands for the '63 championship win over the Y.A. Tittle-Frank Gifford Giants -- what a game...(at Wrigley Field)

How come it took the Bears so long to start playing in Soldier Field?

[Tim McG]

Looks like the team of Namath is back!

Hm.

Joe Namath's team wouldn't tolerate that arrogant bullshit by #23 after the last Jets touchdown. What a jerk.

Go Steelers.

Really? ALL professional athletes are arrogant in one form or another.

As a lifelong Jets fan, I wasn't holding out much hope for them this year, or any year for that matter. But it looks like they just might surprise not only me, but EVERYBODY.

All pro athletes...really? You may want to take a look at how some of the class acts around the sporting world conduct themselves before making a blanket justification like that, my friend.

Laying down in the end zone while using the football as a pillow is beyond arrogant. Nothing can justify that kind of in-your-face bullshit. What a jerk he is.

Go Steelers.

You can say "Go Steelers" all you want, but that isn't gonna make 'em win.

Do you mean to tell me that what Shonn Greene did yesterday is the most arraogant thing you've seen a football player do this year?

No.

I said what he did was beyond arrogant and that no Namath team would have put up with that crap.

I guess my sister-in-law was right; the Jets are the Raiders of the East Coast.

Go Steelers.

All I know is that I'm old enough to despise trash talk and think end zone dances are demeaning to the players involved and the game.

Hear, hear.

Why is everybody so angry?

As a Jets fan who has seen enough losing and playing patsy for far too long, it's nice to finally see a team that has the cajones to back up its coach's big words.

Long live Rex Ryan!!!

And fwiw, the Patriots deserve all of the unsportsmanlike behavior that any team can foist upon them and their classless coach.

So you justify arrogance then, eh? So long as it's the other guy's team who is the target.

Wow.

Edited January 18, 2011 by GoodSpeak

[Chuck Nessa]

Kind of weird to see "wow" from you in a sports thead.

[Tim McG]

Kind of weird to see "wow" from you in a sports thead.

Take it in the current vernacular, Chuck.

It doesn't mean excited.

[GA Russell]

All I know is that I'm old enough to despise trash talk and think end zone dances are demeaning to the players involved and the game. Now that's old.

I remember that also. Does anyone remember when it was class to score a touchdown and turn and give the ball to the ref?? or just lay the ball on the ground and trot back to your team??

Uhhh I guess that is old too......

Bruce, I noticed that in the Army-Navy game last month. Class.

[Tim McG]

All my "anger" isn't the least bit serious, JETman. That said I don't like media trash talk of any sort when it's done by players or coaches not on my teams. Armchair warriors like you and I are allowed to talk all we want. I pick on Sanchez because he's a Trojan (UCLA Bruins fan here), but he's amounted to far better an NFL QB than I expected. Good luck to your team!

Hey, Noj!

UCLA fan here, too. In fact, a former student of mine plays for the Bruins; Greg Cappella.

As a fellow Trojan hater, you know...the University of Second Choice or the University of Spoiled Children, we have something in common now.

Cool

Edited January 18, 2011 by GoodSpeak

[Larry Kart]

Was in the stands for the '63 championship win over the Y.A. Tittle-Frank Gifford Giants -- what a game...(at Wrigley Field)

How come it took the Bears so long to start playing in Soldier Field?

Here's the gist:

"The Chicago Bears began playing their games full-time at Wrigley Field (then known as Cubs Park) in 1921, and continued to play there for 49 years. In 1970, the National Football League ruled that all teams must play in stadiums that seated more than 50,000 fans, and the Bears were forced to find a new home."

Here's the whole story:

http://www.bearshistory.com/lore/soldierfieldhistory.aspx

As that article says, the old Soldier Field was a terrible place to watch football. In Wrigley Field from the upper deck down the third-base line toward the middle of the field, the view was superb. The game was in your lap; you could watch entire plays, especially pass plays, unfold without turning your head -- like game film but better.

[Van Basten II]

Both #1 seeds go down...

This is why I don't like playoffs. I've always disliked them most of all with baseball. I think the regular season should determine who the two best teams are, and then the championship game should be between the two best teams. With playoffs, the championship is awarded to the team that is hot at the end, on a winning streak, no matter how many teams were better over the course of the previous four months.

When the Steelers won the Super Bowl a few years ago, weren't they the last-seeded team?

That's kind of funny coming from such a CFL fan.

[GA Russell]

Both #1 seeds go down...

This is why I don't like playoffs. I've always disliked them most of all with baseball. I think the regular season should determine who the two best teams are, and then the championship game should be between the two best teams. With playoffs, the championship is awarded to the team that is hot at the end, on a winning streak, no matter how many teams were better over the course of the previous four months.

When the Steelers won the Super Bowl a few years ago, weren't they the last-seeded team?

That's kind of funny coming from such a CFL fan.

Yes, I've come to terms with the fact that the two Canadian leagues (the CFL and the NHL) let almost everybody into the playoffs.

What redeems the CFL situation to me is that the Eastern and Western Divisions are older than the league itself. I believe they (the IRFU and the WIFU) used to have playoffs before they began competing against each other.

By the way, speaking of old age, the first year I collected Canadian league bubble gum cards (1959), the Eastern and Western teams didn't play each other until the Grey Cup game. I think that started in 1961.

[JETman]

Both #1 seeds go down...

This is why I don't like playoffs. I've always disliked them most of all with baseball. I think the regular season should determine who the two best teams are, and then the championship game should be between the two best teams. With playoffs, the championship is awarded to the team that is hot at the end, on a winning streak, no matter how many teams were better over the course of the previous four months.

When the Steelers won the Super Bowl a few years ago, weren't they the last-seeded team?

That's kind of funny coming from such a CFL fan.

Yes, I've come to terms with the fact that the two Canadian leagues (the CFL and the NHL) let almost everybody into the playoffs.

What redeems the CFL situation to me is that the Eastern and Western Divisions are older than the league itself. I believe they (the IRFU and the WIFU) used to have playoffs before they began competing against each other.

By the way, speaking of old age, the first year I collected Canadian league bubble gum cards (1959), the Eastern and Western teams didn't play each other until the Grey Cup game. I think that started in 1961.

Don't look now, but the NHL is hardly a Canadien league anymore!

[alocispepraluger102]

there's a flap over the national anthem singer in chicago.

the nfl, who gets the big big check has ceded control of this emotional matter to tv to promote their latest manufactured 'artist' of the month.

the local hero, singer is left standing in the dust, with no microphone.

chicagoans aren't taking this lying down.