NFL 2008

[naiwf]

The Giants need to win this week, and THEN they can rest everyone if they want to.

[Evil Chase K]

Hey Chase, any word on if the Steelers are just going to hold open tryouts for offensive linemen? Ben's just been getting pummeled today. And as I say that, a huge pass to Santonio Holmes.

Also, I love how still being in a close divisional race has led me to cheering for the Cowboys lol. Oh NFL, you do crazy things.

The Steelers OLine is still gelling together. There's only one guy on that line with more than 2 years experience as a starter on the Steelers team so of course it's going to take a while for them to gel. Plus, our retarded offensive line coach Larry "Porn Emailer" Zerilein insist on using a zone blocking scheme when our offensive line, still a remnant of the Cowher-era, was designed to be a tough, mauling line. Quick thinking and brains aren't their strong suit.

As for my thoughts on the Steelers/Cowboys epic showdown...

My thoughts...

- TO is a bitch. He was quiet, sad, and reserved in the first half. Then scores a flukey TD and all of a sudden he's getting in Ike Taylor's face. Then they lose and he cries on the bench. Fuck him.

- 2 of Romo's 3 INTs weren't his fault. Though Troy Polamalu likely would've still picked the first one off, TO simply gave up on that ball. If he continues his route he might've stopped Troy from catching it. And the last one, Witten said he ran the wrong route. I believe him.

- James Harrison = Defensive Player of the Year.

- The Steelers offense came through when it absolutely had to. Don't think Dallas gave them that drive, the Steelers earned it. Great drive.

- I was very impressed with the Cowboys' secondary. They were everywhere in the first half and made numerous excellent plays.

- The Steelers need to learn how to stop the draw play. I think they'll correct it.

- During a tv timeout after the Cowboys' stop of the Steelers on the goalline, they were dancing and celebrating to the Steelers' defense theme song. Overconfidence that they had secured the game. No doubt this really worked to awaken the Steelers. Nice going asshats.

- Dallas wasn't as soft as I thought. They fought hard, but they simply weren't good enough.

- Did I mention TO is a bitch?

- Bradie James acting like an idiot when he made a big play can be contrasted by Deshea Townsend celebrating with his teammates following his game winning pick six. Bradie, there's no need for a monkey dance. Get off the fucking field.

- The Cowboys had a decent gameplan to stopping James Harrison. It didn't work as well as they would have hoped though.

- This might be the first game where I Harrison was only held a few times and not every play like usual.

- For the sake of Cowboys fans I hope the 'Boys are tough. This loss will hurt them and TO is a bitch. Hopefully they can recover because their remaining schedule is brutal. Some teams would fold up after this one and lose the remainder of their games.

- My offensive game ball goes to Ben Roethlisberger. No picks, put together a drive when he absolutely HAD to. That's what champions do.

- Defensive game ball = Troy Polamalu. Early pick, some amazing picks, usual stellar play. He combines the best aspects of Ed Reed and Bob Sanders into one player. A truly great player.

- Next up: Baltimore. Whatever the Over/Under for points is set at next week....take the under.

Edited December 8, 2008 by Evil Chase K

[alldaws1]

What are defensive players supposed to do when they make a big play, go sit on the bench and hang their heads?

It was a very good comeback by the Steelers, but they were given it by mistakes, whether you want to hold Romo, Witten, Owens or the whole offense accountable. Credit to them, though, they took full advantage of them like a good team should and it only boosts my belief that they're the best team in the NFL right now.

[JStarr]

If the NFL wants to help conserve energy, they should leave the scoreboard turned off during the Steelers and Ravens. Lord knows they may only need it for, like, a safety or something in the last three minutes.

[Lowerdeck]

If the NFL wants to help conserve energy, they should leave the scoreboard turned off during the Steelers and Ravens. Lord knows they may only need it for, like, a safety or something in the last three minutes.

Well, they need the clock at least.

[naiwf]

I think they should just play first team to 7 wins.

[HailtotheYo]

I'd go as far as first to a first down

[MyKILLv2.0]

I wanna be the first to jump on the Panthers to the Superbowl bandwagon... they looked good tonight on MNF.

[naiwf]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_...?urn=nfl,127609

Jerry Jones is apparently tougher than Marion Barber

At the very least, Mr. Jones believes he's in a position to question Marion Barber's toughness. Barber didn't play in Pittsburgh yesterday with calf and pinkie toe injuries, and Jones roundaboutly called him a sissy yesterday. From Star-Telegram.com:

Jones believed Barber’s dislocated right pinkie toe was an injury that he could have played with against Pittsburgh. Before the team boarded for its flight to Pittsburgh on Saturday, Jones was stunned Barber did not make the trip.

After not practicing all week and with an additional sore calf, Barber felt he couldn’t play. Jones said Barber could have taped and braced the toe well enough to allow him to play.

"He can play with that injured toe," Jones said. "He can play with the soreness and a combination of those things. I see nothing that led us to believe he couldn’t."

That's a fantastic way to alienate a running back. I'd love to be there when Jones calls Barber into his office and says, "Awww, does him him a wittle pinkie toe boo-boo?"

I think it's usually best to tread lightly where another man's injury is concerned, especially for a guy like Barber, whose toughness, to my knowledge, has never been up for debate before. I'm sure Mr. Jones is frustrated after the loss, but unless he's dealt with the exact same injuries and performed the exact same tasks he's asking someone else to perform, it's probably not wise to call that guy a wuss.

I wouldn't count on that Barber/Cowboys relationship lasting a whole lot longer. If Jones thinks Barber's a sissy, and is willing to publicly insult him about it, I can't see him making Barber a cornerstone of the franchise, either. And I can't see Barber wanting to play for a guy who thinks he's Charmin-soft.

It has begun! I like how Jones just insulted the one guy on the team everyone else regards as being tough. I absolutely can't wait for the titanic meltdown if they don't make the playoffs this year. It will be glorious.

[Lowerdeck]

In one of my fantasy leagues, the company league before we all got laid off, it was down to Antonio Bryant for me vs. DeAngelo Williams and Steve Smith for the other guy. I had a 88-45 lead on him heading into the Bucs/Panthers game.

Bryant then goes 200 yards with two TDs, 32 points. Which is good cause Smith and Williams cleared that 43 point lead. Too bad I was also 4-8 and in 8th place, if this counted for anything this would be a monster win.

[MyKILLv2.0]

Last night, I went into the night with a two point lead on my opponent in my league with only one spot left for each team able to gain points. They had the Buccs D, I had DeAngelo Williams.

Needless to say I raped that outcome... and am seriously starting to LOVE Williams.

[JStarr]

And anyone running for 300 yards on Tampa Bay? I mean, seriously, did anyone call that? And be honest.

Williams and Stewart are both finally finding a nice groove at the same time, and Carolina's looking like one of those "teams no one wants to play in the playoffs."

The NFC South isn't quite as defensively rugged as the East, but it's actually got matchups that are a little more fun to watch, I think. I'll sit through a Falcons, Saints, or Panthers game long before I'll sit through a Redskins or Eagles game. The Cowboys are fun to watch just to play the "How many shots of TO bitching at someone?" drinking game. Guaranteed you'll be talking to the wall by halftime, and probably ralphing by the fourth, if you have halfway potent liquor. (Y)

[Lowerdeck]

So yes, the company league (before we all got laid off). I have no idea how I'm in 8th place. I'm 4th in points, but had a few crushing close losses a few weeks.

I have Michael Turner, Brian Westbrook, Thomas Jones, Ryan Grant ... and for a while Mewelde Moore but now Pierre Thomas - and only two RB spots.

Who of those five goes this week?

[alldaws1]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_...?urn=nfl,127609

Jerry Jones is apparently tougher than Marion Barber

At the very least, Mr. Jones believes he's in a position to question Marion Barber's toughness. Barber didn't play in Pittsburgh yesterday with calf and pinkie toe injuries, and Jones roundaboutly called him a sissy yesterday. From Star-Telegram.com:

Jones believed Barber’s dislocated right pinkie toe was an injury that he could have played with against Pittsburgh. Before the team boarded for its flight to Pittsburgh on Saturday, Jones was stunned Barber did not make the trip.

After not practicing all week and with an additional sore calf, Barber felt he couldn’t play. Jones said Barber could have taped and braced the toe well enough to allow him to play.

"He can play with that injured toe," Jones said. "He can play with the soreness and a combination of those things. I see nothing that led us to believe he couldn’t."

That's a fantastic way to alienate a running back. I'd love to be there when Jones calls Barber into his office and says, "Awww, does him him a wittle pinkie toe boo-boo?"

I think it's usually best to tread lightly where another man's injury is concerned, especially for a guy like Barber, whose toughness, to my knowledge, has never been up for debate before. I'm sure Mr. Jones is frustrated after the loss, but unless he's dealt with the exact same injuries and performed the exact same tasks he's asking someone else to perform, it's probably not wise to call that guy a wuss.

I wouldn't count on that Barber/Cowboys relationship lasting a whole lot longer. If Jones thinks Barber's a sissy, and is willing to publicly insult him about it, I can't see him making Barber a cornerstone of the franchise, either. And I can't see Barber wanting to play for a guy who thinks he's Charmin-soft.

It has begun! I like how Jones just insulted the one guy on the team everyone else regards as being tough. I absolutely can't wait for the titanic meltdown if they don't make the playoffs this year. It will be glorious.

I don't think there needed to be any comment on it at all from him, surprisingly running back wasn't the problem against the Steelers. We had a decent game from Choice and I don't think Barber could have done much better on a dislocated toe with his style of running against that defense. If anything it's great news that we can rest Barber if needed in these crucial games, even against the solid defenses we'll be playing, nothing like that needed to be said, hopefully it blows over and doesn't turn into a big mess. He did give Barber a big 6- or 7-year contract so I'd think he'll be around for a while to come.

[Hajjhowe]

Jerry Jones is funny. He should have a 'Crazy owner' contest with Al Davis.

[Kyle_]

Jerry Jones is funny. He should have a 'Crazy owner' contest with Al Davis.

Davis would slaughter him in that, wouldn't even be fair.

[Vendetta]

So..now that I've had time to digest this..this atrocity of a game. I have come to the following conclusion. Everybody knows, at least you do if you have watched any of the game film, that when Tampa plays Carolina they always have three deep to cover Smith and put 7 guys in the box to stop the run. What happened Monday Night was how good the offensive line and the fullback were able to get a body on a body and shred our defense.

It was not just that the line and the fullback played better it was also because the defense didn't tackle particularity well. If you watch most of those runs Williams and Stewart broke through three or four arm tackles. Not to mention stiff armed the hell out of Barber a few times. To many times Philips and Jackson laid a hit on Williams and Stewart and they just bounced off instead of wrapping up and driving through like your taught to from Pop Warner on up.

It was embarrassing to watch but I guarantee that Monte will chew ass all this week and that the Defense will make a statement in Atlanta.

[HailtotheYo]

LOL, Pacman .....

[alldaws1]

Way to add to the thread and poke fun at the fact a player's career might be over due to a neck injury. Real classy.

It's another blow to Dallas but I'm hoping it's not career-ending, you never want a player to have their career shortened like that. It's quite surprising too, seemed like just a bit of a stinger during the game, nothing like this.

[HailtotheYo]

Way to add to the thread and poke fun at the fact a player's career might be over due to a neck injury. Real classy.

It's another blow to Dallas but I'm hoping it's not career-ending, you never want a player to have their career shortened like that. It's quite surprising too, seemed like just a bit of a stinger during the game, nothing like this.

Blow it right out your fucking ass.

There's a thing in this world called Karma and it just punched him right in the face. He was lucky as all hell to have been let back in the league in the first place and he went right back out and acted like a freakin jackass. Some people get what they deserve. He's not in the hospital fixing to die or anything. You're just pissed because Pacman was a total wash for you this year, kinda like I alluded to a while ago.

Yeah, when I read that Pacman was done for the year I chuckled a little. But hey, when you're the kind person he is that's the kind of reactions you get. I can promise you I'm not the only person in the world that feels this way.

Oh, and before you try to get all self rightous and crap the sources coming out of the Cowboys (and Phillips) have said "Our people don't think it's career-threatening or anything else that he would have to be operated [on] or anything like that, but it is something that might put him out this year."

and from NFL.com

IRVING, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam Jones might miss the rest of the season after injuring his neck against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Cowboys coach Wade Phillips said Wednesday that Jones will miss Sunday's game against the New York Giants because of a herniated disk. Phillips said a second disk might be damaged, but team doctors don't consider the injury career-threatening.