This morning, I told onea my mans ‘nem that I was willing to put money on the Ravens. Turns out I was right. Wasn’t a particularly pretty game, but that’s the way Baltimore wants to keep the games. Shootout, they got a problem. Well…picture a shootout with that defense. Still, depending on what the Stillers do tomorrow, it could be an all-AFCN AFC Championship. Stillers gotta take care of bidness tomorrow.
The Cardinals!! What the devil?! They’re playing outta their minds right now. It almost seems like they’re shooting their wad this round, though. I just can’t see them playing like this two weeks in a row. Not poo-poohing the Cards, but if they win tonight, I like the winner of tomorrow afternoon’s game to play in February. But the Cards is lookin real good tonight. Can’t front on that.
Well, the Turnpike Bowl is still a possibility. Both teams looked really good today, with the Eagles D actually messing around and impressing me again. They haven’t really done that since week 3 against the Steelers. In a way, they shut the run game down, but mostly when it mattered. Cuz Jacobs did get yardage. But those TWO 4th-down stands? Ridiculous.
Stillers offense looked atypically good too. Again, I was actually impressed. Starting when I started watching the game, they just looked good. One week and we’ll know.
January 10th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
East Coast bias is what was working against the Cards. In a classic case of groupthink, all the pundits picked the Panthers for the same reason (Steve Smith), and unless they rally, they are done. But I’d take Warner to Fitzgerald over Delhomme to Smith 8 days a week.
As for the Titans and Ravens, that was a brutal game. Losing Chris Johnson was the decisive factor working against the Titans, because he ate the Ravens’ lunch in the first half. The one consolation for the Ravens is that the Chargers and Steelers will be equally brutal. The Titans need to 1) get Vince Young ready, because in his prime, Collins was a marginal QB; 2) make LenDale White lose 20 or so pounds; 3) find a stud receiver.
January 10th, 2009 at 11:47 pm
but you gotta admit, the cards was lookin pretty shaky down the stretch, while the panthers, with their division quite in play as of their monday night game vs. the bucs when both teams were 9-3, handled their business, with their only loss coming in overtime vs. the giants. i thought they had all the tools to win the bowl. cept jake kept turning the ball over.
hope the eagles can hold on to the ball tomorrow.
January 11th, 2009 at 11:15 am
I tell you what, I’ll do a little advance punditry analysis for the Sunday games. I suspect most of the pundits expect the Steelers to beat the Chargers and the Giants to beat the Eagles.
The Steelers need this to be a low scoring game and for Ben not to get hit too much. Ben will get hit, and the Chargers will score at least 23 points. The key is whether the Chargers will be able to avoid a critical error when the game is on the line, like a QB fumble in the endzone, a tipped pass that gets intercepted, a blocked punt. Mike Tomlin still has to prove he can get the job done in the playoffs, lest he becomes a 21st century Marty Schottenheimer, always winning double digits during the regular season, but not able to kick it up in the playoffs.
The Giants need their running game to work. They need to pass less than 25 times, because Brian Dawkins is the type of safety who will finish every pass play with an exclamation point, and all of the Giant WRs are on the small side, so that takes its toll. Donovan needs to be willing to run, and may gain 50 yards on the ground. If he does, the Eagles will be loosey goosey and it will be difficult for the Giants to keep up.
Are you ready for a Charger/Cardinal Super Bowl?
January 11th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
First Quarter Review:
The Giants passed too much, especially for a team going into the wind with a rested Brandon Jacobs. Lo and behold, Eli throws an interception that leads to seven.
January 11th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
Halftime: Eagles 10 Giants 8
Eli’s interception was offset by Donnie’s interception and Grounding for a Safety, and it’s anybody’s game in the second half.
Donnie could have avoided that safety by simply using his legs and pushing out of the end zone. On that last drive, Donnie did run, with great success.
Too many passes by Eli. Jacobs is hot. Just like I yelled at Kobe during Game Five of the 2004 NBA Finals, “FEED THE BIG MAN!”
Dawkins is playing softer than I’ve seen; is he hurt?
January 11th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Will someone point me towards the real Philly Eagles, please?
And what happened to Eli Manning? Did the bell strike 12 or what?
January 11th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Philly got ‘em.
Desean Jackson kept his dropsy under control, and the Giants did exactly the wrong things at the wrong times offensively.
Too much Eli, not enough Jacobs.
Donovan orchestrated!
January 11th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
DS, for the Giants to be effective, they can’t throw that many passes.
January 11th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
True, not enough of the run.
January 11th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
SAY WHAT!! TOUCHDOWN CHARGERS…but watch the dumb sh.. VJ
January 11th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Big play for the Steelers, and it’s all knotted up! Watch out for the kickoff return; let’s see if they kick to Sproles.
January 11th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
Oh boy….
I gotta root for the Chargers….
But…
January 11th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Halftime: Steelers 14 Chargers 10
Buddy Ryan famously said that prevent defense prevents victory. The Chargers let a half of good work go for naught on that last defensive drive. I don’t understand rushing 3 men AND allowing WRs to break free, but this is still anybody’s game.
January 11th, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Go Steelers!
January 11th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
Now that the Titans are out, only Baltimore has a chance of beating the Steelers.
OK, if Donovan plays the way he did today, maybe.
January 11th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
The Pennsylvania daily double!
I’m not surprised the Chargers could score 24, I am surprised the Steelers could reach 35. That was an impressive offensive showing by them. The Chargers made the one play they couldn’t afford on a tipped pass. But when that punt hit Weddle in the head, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes featuring Teddy Pendergrass’ BAD LUCK rang in my ear. Too much to overcome, especially since Pittsburgh was scoring TDs, not FGs, today.
January 11th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
It’s going to be Pittsburgh and Philly in the Super Bowl kids, and it’s going to be a good one.
Steelers are looking fantastic, though the defense was a little off tonight.
Hey BB, man you’ve gotta come back to Booker rising and help me out, because I just can’t stand it over though there without at least one other intelligent person. It’s become a cultural strategist wasteland, and Shamara’s hit numbers are in the toilet, so she’s crying.
I stayed away mostly through the holidays, but I just can’t leave Shay to wallow with those fools unchallenged.
January 11th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
I really hope the Chargers can be healthly next year. Gates did not play in the second half, LT didn’t suit up, and Merriman was gone all year. They need to keep Sproles in the fold, and I think they’ll be favored to win the AFCW next year. Norv gets them ready in the playoffs, they just can’t seem to keep all their top weapons on the field. Maybe next time…
January 11th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
Ahem…
The Chargers were damn lucky the Steelers didn’t score 50 points. Seriously.
I know LT and Shawne Merriman were injured and didn’t play. I don’t think it would have mattered, because without them, the Chargers still possess the most talented roster in the league. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… as long as they’re coached by Norvil the Awful, they’ll be at a disadvantage in big games.
Because he’s soft. All those cute screen passes and hitches that work so well in the regular season aren’t worth the chalkboard they’re drawn up on if your team lacks the will to run and stop the run. It’s that simple. The G-men were hit by essentially by a similar malady in the form of a 6′-5″, 280-lb. marshmallow who can’t crush a Ritz cracker in a food fight. That’s why Coughlin pinned his hopes on his Jedi QB.
I don’t even want to type the San Diego team’s name. PFFT! Until further notice, they’ll be known by me as the C-words.
Watching the Titans-Ravens game reminded me of an old B-flick called Bataan that dramatized U.S. forces getting their asses kicked when Japan 1st invaded the Phillipines. Only in yesterday’s game, the squad that was undermanned and outgunned won. !?!?!? I was really surprised the Titans committed that many errors, but no so much that Baltimore would be laying wood and having a puncher’s chance of winning. As in boxing, when you keep air-mailing blows, it’s a matter of time before your opponent lands a hook that cleans your clock.
How about those… Cardinals? What grit! What intensity! And defense! Maybe it’s just a coincidence the U.S. elected it’s first Black to be President and the Cards are in the NFC Championship. Hopefully, these aren’t the signs of the Apocalypse.
Av… I told you to have faith in your Eagles. Go all in. Immediately! Otherwise, you’re proving why Philadelphians don’t deserve Andy Reid, McNabb, or the Eagles. All Reid does is the complete opposite of head coaching dilettante Norvil the Awful; win when it counts most (the Super Bowl excluded). Doesn’t this make 5 NFC championship games in 10 seasons?
January 11th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Steelers vs. Ravens is going to be a war.
That’s all I’m saying. I need to read the injury report on Thursday or Friday.
January 11th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
Even better…5 in the last 8. Man, I ain’t even gon’ hold you: I’m publicly a lot more ambivalent about the Igs than I am in real life. Even onea my boys, yesterday, I was all talmbout ‘i might not watch, cuz i don’t like to get that emotional about somethin i can’t control.’ When he texted me today? I had to fess up. You KNOW I couldn’t stay away from that. When I got home, Dono had just thrown an interception — I knew because I was listening to the radio in the car.
I been with these fools since I first moved to Philly. All the ups and and downs. I remember that 3-13 season crisply. I also remember not speaking to anybody after some of those NFC Championship losses. I be tryin to logic it, like the outcome of the game has no real impact on my personal life, but when they play bad? I can’t sleep. (That game against the Bears? Not a wink.) It’s hard to go completely all in, but the team I saw today looked a little different. Even when they lost the lead, it never looked like they weren’t really in control of the game. They just looked like the better team out there.
And yeah, I’d definitely take Andy over Norv. But I’m likin Tomlin a lot, too. Young Omar Epps is gettin it done.
January 11th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
yeah… Stillers-Ravens III is gonna be an all-out war. If Fast Willie plays like he did today, though, I’d definitely like the Stillers.
January 12th, 2009 at 1:58 am
MIB, you been mighty silent the past five weeks to be shoveling that much shit after the Chargers lose. Tell the truth, wasn’t my pregame prognostication pretty dead on? Better than the dudes on ESPN, CBS or FOX…
Aaron, BR insulted my sensibilities one too many times. Booker T. Washington’s name and likeness is being used in vain.
January 12th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
No, you were off, Bro. Blinded by the West Coast love haze, no doubt. Topping the network pundits is not exactly an accomplishment.
You said, “Ben will get hit”. He didn’t. OK, San Diego managed to hit your projected point total, but the game was over by that point for all intents and purposes. And damn (again) if the C-words didn’t get their asses totally kicked. 1 offensive play in 15 minutes?
I’ll give you ‘Zona. Do you want to take them again this week — at home, no less — against the Eagles?
I’ve been here and consistent in my observations the whole season. I’ve said repeatedly on this blog from 7 years of first-hand observation Norv Turner sucks as a head coach. What I don’t do much of is prognosticate, because I’ve got no control over matters and no vested stake in who wins.
But I think I did say on another thread the C-words would be unplugged by Pittsburgh. I believed the Eagles could beat the Giants, and was the 1 person on this blog who didn’t sell out Reid and McNabb a few weeks back. I missed on the Cardinals (r-r-r-r-r-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-g-h-t, like 5,999,999, 900 or so other people on the planet said they’d win) and Titans. I did say the Titans-Ravens game would be a hitters paradise, but that the Titans had an advantage on every other team in the conference. They did roughhouse the Ravens, judging by the way they moved the ball between the 20s and the number of Ravens that were carted off the field. But how was I to know they’d cough up the ball like that?
January 12th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Pittsburgh max protected Ben, which I mentioned was the Steeler’s key to the game. The tipped pass after the Sproles runback is one thing I said specifically the Bolts had to avoid, and the punt on the helmet is just one of those flukey plays that sometimes occur. I was wrong about Pittsburgh and low scoring, but they haven’t shown that much offense since Swann and Stallworth lined up.
So even if Norv wins it all, you won’t give him no run? Heard that. It’s how I feel about Charlie Weis.
January 12th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
now, i’ll give you that i gave up on AR, but Dono? Never. I might have wanted him moved to a team w/ a GM who he wouldn’t hafta sue for mismanagement, though. Come on. As much as people talk about Dono, the numbers he’s put up with spotty-at-best talent is remarkable. You can talk about Peyton, and even Brady, but if you surround D with either one of their skill players, that dude would have numbers comprable – if not superior to – theirs. How AR was a lineman and has refused to get a power back OR top-notch wide receivers…not a good look. Donovan could have all-time numbers. He was puttin up 3500+ and gettin to the NFC Championship wit Stinkston and Trash as his X and Z.
January 12th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Do philly fans actually deserve a winner? It’s like you expect them to crash and burn at any moment. How ’bout a little optimism?
January 12th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
bb, i don’t know if you been watchin them dudes this year, but only in the last few weeks have they been puttin together complete games. i’m sayin – i ain’t new to this, i’m true to this. i got burnt by them dudes 3 years in a row. actually, the first year wasn’t a burn. we were happy to be there. 2nd year? burn. when they lost to tampa bay in the nfc ‘chip to close out The Vet? That was pain. N/m, I had stuff goin on personally that exacerbated the Eagles loss — or was it vice-versa — but them losing was horrible. Then the next year was almost worst. Made it to the brink w/ Stinkston and Trash, and then couldn’t pull it off. Only way you suffer is if you go all-in. That’s why I can never get hurt watchin PGH, cuz I like em, but I don’t really care. Eagles, I care. Maybe too much. During the week, I can talk all sensible and even, but on Sundays? Everybody knows. Including my neighbors, probably. (And yes, I have gone out on the balcony and screamed before.)
January 12th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Ave, you are crackin’ me up.
I’m just waiting on the injury report.
January 12th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
The key to the game for the Steelers, BroBrown, was their 160+ yards rushing while holding the C-words to 15. And again… 1 offensive play in 15 minutes?!?!
The formula for winning football is very simple: running the ball and stopping the other guys from running the ball.
January 13th, 2009 at 11:05 am
MIB, go easy on me.
I was actually scoped yesterday (torn meniscus; you can read all about it on my blog’s entry entitled, “Last Run”). I am starting my rehab today, and hope to be ready in time for training camp. If I can just convince the Bolts that a 49 year old man with a top speed of 10 mph but GREAT HANDS can help get them over the hump…
January 13th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
BB, we gotta start callin you Magic now, huh?
Hope your recovery’s quick.
January 18th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
It’s looking good for the Cards, bad for the Eagles.