However, I just gotta ask (not trying to hijack a post, but).....can we please talk about football? ;)Yes. Yes we can. The Giants are murdering fools. The Cowpolks are back in it--though I only believe our corners when Newman is playing, and I don't know what to say about Donovan McNabb. One week he's sucking up the joint, the next week he's the mad bomber. Anyway, in honor of the Giants dominance, I present this humble offering.
« The journey into white music continues... | Main | At once weird and yet oddly interesting » NFL Talk01 Dec 2008 01:06 pm
Uncular asks:
Comments (47)
Unfortunately, as a Bengals fan, not much to add, but I always like to read how folks are feeling about their teams. There is this discussion though; John Harbaugh: Coach of the Year? Or do you give it to Mike Smith (Falcons)? Two coaches who have done spectacular things with rookie QBs. 
No way. They haven't won anything yet, and Tiki was a much better player for a much longer time than Plax.
i'm just happy DeAngelo Williams saved my season. I finished in 4th place and made the playoffs in my fantasy league.
The explanation for Donvan's inconsistency is clear: against cincy: against baltimore: this all not counting sacks... Against the Cards: Its hard to be a good QB when every play Reid calls is a PA pass. Its easy when people actually have to mind the run.
Alright, maybe not a much longer time, but Tiki was definitely a better player.
If Plaxico (dumb as he is and thats pretty dumb) is gone for any extended period of time the Giants are gonna fall off. He isn't just a so so guy. He is a legitimate baller and a weapon on days when the Giants go up against pro bowl caliber corners. Also with Dallas looking like they are back to mashing fools the Giants are gonna want to have every tool in their toolbox ready to hold them off. On another note, I don't think anybody really wants to see Pittsburgh right now. Their defense is kicking people's teeth in and they are getting healthy on offense. The dismantling the put on NE was eye opening especially after the QB for NE had just put up back to back 400 yd games. A sleeper that folks better wake up to is the Bucs. Their defense is playing as good as I have seen any defense play all year and Jeff Garcia and Joey Galloway are back to full health. They have a rookie return man that is ballin also. They might sneak up on some folks in the playoffs especially with the way Cadillac Williams has come back the last two weeks.
Let me scream this out of my system once and for all: WTF Plaxico?!?! There. And to all who are thinking otherwise, the Giants can and will continue to dominate without him. Just watch.
Nice Obama reference to start off with. I'd just like to say that I'm glad the Giants have done away with the failed policies of the past.
I had two miserable experiences on Thanksgiving Day: 1) Watched the Lions inch closer to 0-16
I'm enjoying the fact that my Denver Broncos may win the most undeserved playoff spot ever, particularly if the Jets or Pats don't make it. That will please me...
dlp, Thank you. I am getting so tired of the "Andy Reid is a genius for benching McNabb" talk. Cincy was 26th in defending the run and 10th in defending the pass. We ran it 5 times in the first half of that game. It's pretty easy to beat a one-dimensional team no matter how talented the QB, especially when you attack their strength. Unfortunately, it looks like Reid found religion a little too late. . . again.
Doug, you're a Lions fan? My condolences. I would not be the slightest bit surprised to see the Vikings lose to the Lions this week. It's the sort of game they lose. Hell of a whuppin' the Vikes put on the Bears last night. I'm not a terribly animated sports fan most of the time, but I was leaping out of my chair and cheering for that 99-yard pass, and the goal-line stand that preceded it. if the Vikes do manage to make the playoffs they sure won't get past the Giants (they'll be lucky to beat whichever wild-card team they draw, probably the Bucs or the Cowboys).
Hey TNC...I hate to break it to you, but the Falcons are sitting in that #6 playoff spot right now, AHEAD of your Cowboys. And Dallas has a bit of a tough schedule ahead of them...far tougher than my Falcons' remaining games. I'm clinging onto my hope for a little while longer that we can still edge into the the playoffs this year. It's been quite a thrill ride. And as for Coach of the Year, it's got to go to Mike Smith -- but again, I'm biased.
Bucs fan here. Giants this and Giants that. The Bucs are 9-3, playing in a far more brutal division (the lowest record is the Saints at an even 6-6, and even they can be scary good with that offense), with the Panthers right on their heels (next week's Monday Nighter: BIGGEST GAME OF THE YEAR). The Bucs have right now some of the best young talents on defense (Barrett Ruud for Pro Bowl!) and the best role model guys as aging veterans still able to make major plays (Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber). Yes, we've got question marks on offense (few game-breakers at WR), but you can't question the heart of guys like Garcia and Dunn. The way the postseason is shaping up, the Bucs have a decent shot of making the Super Bowl.
Anyone catch that Packers/Panthers game? That was a pretty great game. What do you guys think of kicking the field goal on 4th and nothing?
The Giants are playing like the team that steamrolled them in the 2001 Superbowl. Stifling defense and complete control of possession with a steady running game. It's like a Bill Parcells wet dream. The Titans are also outstanding, their loss to the Jets notwithstanding. Still several weeks to go and the Cowboys and Steelers could make things interesting.
I wonder if we could find a way to do a NFL playoffs pool and a College Football bowl game pool just for bragging rights, no money. BTW in my opinion Texas got straight hosed by the BCS and the Big 12 conference. THATS why we need playoffs but we will never ever get it.
@sgwhiteinfla, why don't you have blog for me to read? @Paul W, I don't believe in that offense @ all. @T-NC, the 'boys ain't going no where. 1st round & out.
Eddy What do you mean? Am I posting too much? lol
Thank you Norsecats, some in Detroit are holding out hope that Minnesota will be the one win, though most people seem to want the Lions to go winless.
My last comment is that people are sleeping on Indy because of their poor start. But they have won 5 straight and are 8-4 and they have Cincy and Detroit up next (sorry Doug) and they are about to get Bob Sanders back soon. There is still an outside chance they could catch Tennessee because their last two games are against Jax and Tennessee. Regardless of if they win the division or not, if they get in the playoffs some people are going to be sh!ttin their pants.
Watching the LT highlights reminded me of Steve Wallace of the 49ers, and how he shut down LT. The development of the Blind side tackle position started there. If you haven't read it, read Michael Lewis' "[url=http://www.powells.com/biblio/039306123x]The Blind Side:Evolution of a Game[/url]" for more of that history. It's partly about that point in history, and partly about [url=http://www.nfldraftdog.com/2009_NFL_Draft/michael_oher.htm] Michael Oher[/url], Ole Miss's left tackle and his life and high school career.
Steelers fan here, looking forward to Sunday both because it should be a good game and for old times' sake. Do Steelers fans earn a place on the list of folks who can hate on the Cowboys in the basis of sheer history? In January 1979 I sat on the bare floor of the living room, just after moving into the first house my parents ever bought, watching Super Bowl XIII on a black & white TV that came free with the other appliances. I don't remember much about the game itself, since I was only 8 years old, but man, I hated me some Cowboys! The fear and loathing of the 70's teams gave way to a more pure loathing for the Jimmy Johnson-coached teams, and then to a grudging respect after 1995. When you play a team in the Super Bowl three times, I think you're allowed to look forward to the next game with them with a little extra animus, right? However, in the spirit of bipartisan cooperation, I hope no Dallas players are seriously injured by the bone-crushing tackles they receive on their way to an ignominious defeat.
wallyz, the only thing that shut down LT in his prime was the unwillingness of refs to call holding on a high percentage of plays: LT was one of the most held players in the 50 years i've been watching the game. as for this year's giants: they certainly appear to be the best balanced team in the game, but as cleveland showed, even the giants' butt can be kicked in the right circumstances. were i coaching against them in the playoffs, i'd spend my afternoon throwing at whoever corey webster is covering; although he came on strong down the post-season stretch last year, he's still an iffy corner....
sgwhiteinfla, I see the Indy-Detroit game going down a lot like the Tenn-Detroit game. So I am holding out no hope on that one.
"Let me scream this out of my system once and for all: WTF Plaxico?!?! There. And to all who are thinking otherwise, the Giants can and will continue to dominate without him. Just watch." I agree. There was some wailing and nashing of teeth here in the 'burgh when the Steelers let Plax go. Then they won the Super Bowl that year. The Rooneys don't tolerate players with off-field issues and that was one of the reasons they let him walk. Salary cap and Hines's contract being another, but the Giants are solid without him. They'll be fine. Looking forward to Sunday's showdown TNC!
By the way, for my money Reggie White hands down was the best pass rusher ever to play the game. People forget he played two years in the USFL and thus probably could have had at least about 10 more sacks to his all time total. And he rushed the passer from every position on the D Line. There will NEVER be another one like him! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifFhcb2cq-s
What a Giants' defense that was back in 1986: Pepper Johnson, Carl Banks, Jim Burt, Harry Carson. I'm a Redskin fan so they were the source of many nightmares. Theisman and the compound fracture on Monday night anyone? Random LT musings. (1) Any Given Sunday was on this past weekend, and you have to wonder just how much the script writers picked LT's memory for stories about the league that don't make Sports Illustrated. (2) LT has two of my favorite miked up quotes ever: "Let’s go out there like a bunch of wild dogs and have some fun!" [Ray Lewis should be paying LT royalties on fired up speeches] and the second when he kneeling over a QB victim shaking his head and saying "Son, y'all gotta do better than this." (3) Watching the highlights in the this tape only reinforces my belief that he's the best LB I've seen in my lifetime. (Singletary, Derrick Thomas, and Ray Lewis come the close. I never saw Lambert or Bucktus play.) When LT closes in for a tackle the only comparison that comes to mind is watching a Natl. Geographic special on a lion in the Serengetti leaping and running down an antelope. Terrible beauty, speed and power a predator using God- given skills to make a kill. Damn I love football.
Reggie A LB that gets slept on a LOT is Kevin Greene. The dude was a pass rushing beast and he loved contact. And when you think LBs you gotta be thinking Steelers. I mean as much as I love my Cowboys you just can't debate the string of beasts the Steelers put out at LB. From Ham and Lambert and that crew to Kirkland, Greene, Brown and LLoyd to Porter, Bell and Gildon to the young bucks they have now like Harrison, Woodley and Timmons. The Steelers have a lock on pass rushing LBs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ithf1_sqyZI
sgwhiteinfla, I must admit to the nfc bias in my picks -- as a skins fans those were usually the games I watched. But on the afc side definite props to Greene and that entire black and gold crew you've cited (a whole thread could be devoted to debating best linebacker crew ever Giants, Bears, or Steelers) but for my money the guy that is just every superlative you can think of about that position is LT.
@sgwhiteinfla, 1. My favorite football stat website, www.footballoutsiders.com, identified Hixon as a talented diamond in the rough long ago--at every opportunity to fill in for Plax, he has produced. He even has a similar build and game to Plax. Dont sleep on the Black (G)Man, Jerry Reese. He has been drafting and signing his tail off since he got the job. Me, I've picked up Hixon in FF everytime I saw Plax go down. This will be like when Kevin Boss replaced Jeremy Shockey, bank on it. 2. Mike Tomlin's Steelers Academy is where they "learn how to / f*** up your anatomy / steadily, calm but deadly..." to quote the illest Wu posse cut ever (Winter Warz). They are slept on but by stomping a mudhole in the Pats, they've served notice that they fear no one. I for one think they would crush Tennessee in a fair one. If they can stabilize that offense, they could be my nod to win the AFC. 3. Tampa is definitely a sleeper (Ive rooted for them since the cradle) and we operate better that way. Every time we become media darlings we crap the bed. Furthermore, we've lost 3 of 5 road games--which, since we are on track for the #2 seed, wont immediately be an issue but if we have to go to NY to play the Giants for the Superbowl bid, I dont know if we can pull off the upset...(Norsecats--wild card? you DO realize the Division Is Ours right now, yes? We might even still hold it if we lose to Carolina on MNF although Id much rather see us win) 4. I agree this is the best Ive seen our D play since 2002 (CHIP!!!!) and '99 so I hope we go as far as we can since Kiffen may not be returning next year (sends chills down my spine just typing that...man, I hope he doesnt go) 5. I too love our rookie return guy Clifton "Peanut" Smith, and am happy to see Caddy making progress. Galloway tho, is not only not fully healthy I think, but finished. He has done nothing on the field since his return. It might be the Start Of His Ending. @PaulW, We def. have a decent shot at the Big Dance, esp if we land that #2 seed by taking care of business over the next four games, which is a very soft schedule. Carolina and ATL on the road both worry me, but San D and Oakland at home to finish dont. I think we go at least 11-5 with a shot at 12-4 / 13-3. Four game win streak baby!! And YES Barrett Rudd for Pro Bowl! But the Giants still worry me--they completely shut us down last year, and I still cant forget getting clowned by NY transplants in the stands of Ray Jay. I think Im traumatized.
After Tiki Barber retired, he jammed Eli Manning by saying he wasn't a leader. Then Manning won the Super Bowl and Barber was a little chump drinking coffee on some bad morning show. Jeremy Shockey goes to the Saints and the Giants are supposedly doomed without his catch and blocking. I'm not convinced the Giants can't win without Plexico. Question. If Plexico talks of himself in the third person, does that make his gunshot wound hurt less?
At 0-11 I'd say it's time for the Lions to seriously consider firing Wayne Fontes.
Nice post TNC. I know its gotta be killin the Cowboy fan in you to watch. My favorite LT quote of all time was hearing Jaws admit that he still has LT nightmares 20 yrs later. The Giants are feeding off the same people/sentiment who said they didn't have a chance last year. This year's song was that last year was a lucky fluke. As a lifelong blue fan this season is a real treat! How ya like em now? :P
just to return to the plaxico question: he's had exactly 1 superstar receiver type game this season (game 1, the first game against the skins) and the gints are 11-1. he definitely adds something to the offense and i'd just as soon he were out there playing well as not, but certainly the evidence of the season to date is that he hadn't been that significant (which isn't to say he couldn't be come playoff time, assuming he's even still on the roster).
Juba, my mistake. I thought the Panthers were still 1 game up on your Bucs. (Who looked awfully solid when they took apart the Vikings a couple weeks back.) DougEMI - are people from Detroit actually rooting for a winless season? on the grounds that hey, if you're going to be bad, might as well be the worst? (You have some experience with awful teams in Detroit sports--witness the Tigers the year they lost 119 games...)
There are quite a few, at least from what I hear on sports radio and from my friends and family. There is a faction who just have grown to hate the Lions and want to embarass the Ford family into selling them and there are also those who just want the first draft pick. Some even want the NFL to take away the Thanksgiving game. The Red Wings have had a pretty good run over the past ten years or so, but I am not much of a hockey fan so it has been pretty bleak.
BTW in my opinion Texas got straight hosed by the BCS and the Big 12 conference. As a Gator, I can tell you that I'd rather face Texas in the BCS Championship. I think Oklahoma is the better team. But I agree 100% about the need for a playoff. The situation in the Big 12 South is such that Oklahoma is punished for beating TTech so badly. Because now everyone wants to look at it as if it's a two team race. By the way, for my money Reggie White hands down was the best pass rusher ever to play the game. Reggie White wears Jerome Brown pajamas. Derrick Thomas is another underrated pass rusher whose life was cut tragically short by car accident. Bruce Smith comes to mind as an all-timer. just to return to the plaxico question: he's had exactly 1 superstar receiver type game this season The Giants won't miss a beat. Plax is a great player on Sunday, but the team doesn't need him. It'll be just like Shockey. They are a plug and play team at this point. Why is nobody talking about the beatdown the Broncos put on the Jets? Jets overrated or Broncos legit?
Another vote for Burress taking a hike here. The Giants can do without him. They don't need the drama. "What a Giants' defense that was back in 1986: Pepper Johnson, Carl Banks, Jim Burt, Harry Carson. I'm a Redskin fan so they were the source of many nightmares. Theisman and the compound fracture on Monday night anyone? I'm glad that Theisman play didn't make the LT retrospective. Regarding Jim Burt, I think his hit on Joe Montana is the hardest hit I've ever seen in the NFL. BTW, if memory serves, the quarterback LT tells, "Son, y'all gotta do better than that" was Randall Cunningham.
DougEMI, Honestly I think that if the Ford family has the nerve to ask for a few billion in a bailout, they should be made to sell the team first. Real talk. Just Karl, "Reggie White wears Jerome Brown pajamas. Derrick Thomas is another underrated pass rusher whose life was cut tragically short by car accident." FANTASTIC post. Jerome Brown was sick--a Warren Sapp before Sapp who never lived to get the glory. Sapp worships Jerome Brown and picked his #99 in honor of his idol.
"Bucs fan here. Giants this and Giants that. The Bucs are 9-3, playing in a far more brutal division (the lowest record is the Saints at an even 6-6, and even they can be scary good with that offense), with the Panthers right on their heels (next week's Monday Nighter: BIGGEST GAME OF THE YEAR)." Far more brutal division? The NFC South has four pretty good teams, but it'd be nice to see them beat the NFC East head-to-head ONCE this year before crowning their asses (last chance - Carolina at Giants in a few weeks). Comparing games against the top out-of division opponents, the NFC East is 2-1 against Pittsurgh, 1-1 against Baltimore and 3-1 against Arizona, while the NFC South is 0-3 against Denver and 1-2 against Minnesota.
Kurt, Fair point--but we held the cowboys to under 175 yards total offense on the road and lost due to a sad display of red zone offense. I think on a neutral field we beat the Cowgirls 60-70% of the time.
Do the Cowboys get to have Romo for the game? Honestly, that loss, sandwiched between demolitions by the Giants and THE RAMS of the Brad Johnson Experience, was with all due respect embarrassing. If you take as a given that the NFC South is awesome, then Tampa has some impressive wins this year. Other than that, who have they beaten?
Sorry, didn't mean to come off so aggressively. I'm not trying to rip Tampa. That's how they look from the outside, though. They won a terrible division at 9-7 last year, got buried in the wild card game, and now (to their credit) are 9-3. They seem to have basically the same personnel, with an offense driven by a 38 year old quarterback and a 33 year old running back. What is it about them that makes them a real threat?
The defense, brother! Same as it ever was...
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I'm a Giants fan and I have a question. Is it me or is Plax's ongoing offfield problems and his seamless replacement by Hixon and Steve Smith a bigger example of the Ewing Theory than Tiki's departure followed by the Greatest Super Bowl Ever Played?
Posted by AMT | December 1, 2008 1:26 PM