View topic - Playoff

[Ohio Profile]

Watching the Playoff I was thinking the following :

- Amazing how many multimillion coaches are able to screw their team in so many ways. The worst was Fox ( Broncos ) who reminded me of Cowher and Schottenheimer. Great in the regular season. Awful in the playoff. The guy must be blamed with his conservative playcalling. He kept the game close. Problem is... He didn't realize he had a chocker ( more on that later )... The Broncos could have scored at the end of both halves or killed the game with just one more pass ( and a normal first down ). He played not to lose. And got what he deserved. Same of the above goes to Mike Smith ( Atlanta ). Even if this choking was more kind of fear. This one was understandable. I don't think it will happen again.
In a smaller way I can say that the same applies to Carrol. He gave away the first half two weeks in a row. The timeout call to "freeze" the kicker still amazes me. Even dumber to make it that way. You are just letting the kicker practising. I personally think the NFL should change the rules in order for this not to happen again. It just pisses of fans and it is useless ( go out there and study what the numbers tell you... ).
Even if I have the Cheatriots I have to say : the best coach is Bellichick. The guy knows what he is doing. The uptempo offense made the Houston run defense look like jv high school. Just a beauty. Watch for somebody to copy that in the next years.

- Manning. It still amazes me how the greatest QB in the regular season is one of the biggest ( if not THE biggest ) choker come playoff. For all the MVPs and regular season wins there is nobody that comes close to his playoff defeats. Not even Marino reaches his abilities in how to lose a playoff game.

- Ravens. Watching such a pitiful team in the AFC Championship game makes me think of the Steelers

[Pommah Profile]

Bellichick is the best. most likely heading to the stupor bowl again. In a way I'm glad the Steelers weren't in the playoffs, it would kill me to have them lose an AFC championship game to the Patsies AGAIN. 49ers could take them in the Super Bowl though.

My bet is Bellichick retires when Brady does. He knows he'll never find a Brady again, and sticking around without Brady will only diminish his record.

[Steelers76 Profile]

If The Ravens lose in The AFC Championship, they will be 0-3 in that title game in the last 5 years. That will take some of the sting of that Ratshits victory from The Broncos. Rooting for a Pats/Falcons S.B. Don't want to see a Harbum Brothers S.B. for obvious reasons.

[steelkings Profile]

Go AFC North!

Fuck Brady and the Patriots

[relictele Profile]

Bellichick is the best. most likely heading to the stupor bowl again. In a way I'm glad the Steelers weren't in the playoffs, it would kill me to have them lose an AFC championship game to the Patsies AGAIN. 49ers could take them in the Super Bowl though.

My bet is Bellichick retires when Brady does. He knows he'll never find a Brady again, and sticking around without Brady will only diminish his record.

I have learned to appreciate, if not love, Belichick/Brady because they are on a tandem mission to search and destroy all the nonsense that is pushed to the fore by the NFL and its media partners. We get film clips of Ray Lewis, Drew Brees, etc. along with a load of jumped-up DBs whose only apparent talent is talking a big game - because they certainly don't play it. In the meantime the Patriots look like a bunch of salesmen milling around the airport luggage carousel.

In the first B/B Super Bowl I was nonplussed by the Patriots' refusal to go along with the traditional individual player introductions. Instead, they demanded to be introduced as a team. I'm sure the broadcaster and their Steadicam operators weren't impressed but as time went on I respected the decision even more because it avoided the hypocrisy of all the 'football team' rhetoric when contrasted with players beating their chests and stomping the ground.

B/B will adopt a grim smile - or no smile at all - and drain the hype from whatever owner, coach and/or QB are the current darlings of the press. They will make onlookers wonder why we haven't heard a peep about the Patriots all week while certain franchises and players get 25 hour-a-day coverage. Tattoos, slogans, fans' stupid homemade signs, touchdown dances, etc. The Patriots score, exchange a fist bump, and await their next victim with the dead-eyed coldness of a shark.

Speaking of DBs and their war dances, I notice a distinct lack of choreographed steps when they are playing the Patriots. Maybe it has something to do with Brady finding receivers in 1-on-1 matchups and nailing the throw/catch with clinical effectiveness. How many times will the Patriots kill the defense by avoiding the plodding, predictable goal-line dive plays and instead snapping the ball quickly and throwing a screen pass to a WR inexplicably left open for an easy TD? Presumably DBs are chosen for their ability to keep pace with WRs - so how do these hot dogs explain getting shredded by a 5-9 (probably even shorter) flyweight white guy who's had a knee reconstructed?

Whisper it: these Patriots are a lot like Chuck Noll's Steelers. Know your job, know the opposition's job, do your job, win this one and expect to win the next one.

[Pommah Profile]

Relictele, I'm afraid you are correct.

I always felt if Bradshaw had been able to last a few more years, Noll would have hoisted another Lombardi.

[SoCal Stiller Profile]

It drove me nuts all season to watch Ben predictably snap the ball with 1 to 3 seconds left ALL of the time. First of all, the defense is right on the snap count and get off on the ball quickly on our line. Second, you're not exactly wearing out the opponent as they stand around for 30 seconds between plays. Lastly, it can't be comfortable for our 300 LB linemen to be down in a 3-point stance for 20 to 25 seconds while the opposing D is shifting and moving around right in their faces. They're also making it difficult for Ben to get in any kind of rhythem. Maybe the coaching staff needs that extra 20 seconds to get the damn play in? It's no wonder Ben screams for no-huddle more than most QB's!

The TOP stat sure is misleading when it comes to this team. The pats run twice as many plays in the same amount of time. Changes in philosophy need to be made if we're going to compete against the top QB-Coach tandems in the league!

[LenSherwood Profile]

A sobering reality about the Doncos Ratbirds game was that Pittsburgh lost to the same team last year only it was quarterbacked by Tebow. The Ratbirds beat Manning. That speaks volumes about where the Steelers are at this point.