NFL Thread

[Grenouille]

I can't deny those words of wisdom Being their biggest threat I follow them about as closely as I follow the Steelers, and I'll tell you this- this season the Ravens do not match up well against the Patriots. On the road, elite passing team ..... not the Ravens' cup of tea this year.

I mean this is truly sad, I'm singing praise for the Pats and rooting for them

Welcome aboard sprig. Would you like a blue or gray hoodie?

I agree with your points on the Ravens. The best offense they faced this year outside the division was the Chargers on the road. The results were not very kind to the Ratbirds. If Suggs and Ngata can get constant pressure on Brady they could give the offense some trouble, but probably not for the whole game.

The real question will be how much impact will Ray Rice have and if Flacco will be effective. If both happen then yes, I could see them winning.

 

[wofford29]

I really don't know what to think about Mike Nolan Coming to Atlanta. On the one hand he typically improves every defense he touches immediately. On the other hand he runs a 3-4 and Atlanta doesn't have the personal for that. I'm guessing with what is essentially no draft for us the next two years Dimitrof has plans for a heavy free agent and trade class.

 

[sprig0701]

Welcome aboard sprig. Would you like a blue or gray hoodie?

I agree with your points on the Ravens. The best offense they faced this year outside the division was the Chargers on the road. The results were not very kind to the Ratbirds. If Suggs and Ngata can get constant pressure on Brady they could give the offense some trouble, but probably not for the whole game.

The real question will be how much impact will Ray Rice have and if Flacco will be effective. If both happen then yes, I could see them winning.

Black and gold for me please

Yes, the only reason the Ravens won 2 season ago was 1) they couldn't stop Rice and 2) they couldn't stop Suggs. Flacco had a whooping 30-some passing yards in that game. Houston's D shut Rice out last week and the Pats neutralized Denver's pass rush. If the Pats continue those 2 things, it'll be ugly for Baltimore.

 

[FLOSI]

I really don't know what to think about Mike Nolan Coming to Atlanta. On the one hand he typically improves every defense he touches immediately. On the other hand he runs a 3-4 and Atlanta doesn't have the personal for that. I'm guessing with what is essentially no draft for us the next two years Dimitrof has plans for a heavy free agent and trade class.

The Niners went from 4-3 to 3-4 when Nolan became head coach (06 I think?), and that transition took a good three years. On the plus side, he will flip flop from 3-4 to 4-3 during games should his personnel not be adequate to run the 3-4 all game long.

Still, it's a weird hire. This is a team that wants to contend for a championship right now, yet they go out and hire a coach who's style doesn't fit the team's personnel? Just seems odd.

 

[Grenouille]

So Rob Lowe of all people is reporting on Twitter that Peyton Manning will retire.

Sad end to a great career if true.

 

[FLOSI]

Wait, Rob Lowe?

 

[Sweet Rabbit]

So Rob Lowe of all people is reporting on Twitter that Peyton Manning will retire.

Sad end to a great career if true.

nothing on ESPN.com yet

 

[ProgMatinee]

Kenny Chesney is in tears.

 

[Grenouille]

Wait, Rob Lowe?

Yes, that Rob Lowe who apparently is a close friend of Colts owner Jim Irsay.

It would be hilarious if an actor scooped the entire the sports media.

 

[Sweet Rabbit]

jeff saturday is considering retirement...if peyton retires, he probably will too

 

[sprig0701]

So Rob Lowe of all people is reporting on Twitter that Peyton Manning will retire.

Sad end to a great career if true.

Maybe Peyton should tweet that Rob Lowe is going to retire.

 

[DinoDB1975]

Catching up on some old posts and my $.02 ...

The analysts are already calling the Packers " One and Done ", that's harsh considering they're still praising Brees for his performance in the loss yesterday (and well deserved) but how about some respect for the Pack, I guess they lost it with their performance today.

I think that was out of context. All the analysts I heard calling Green Bay "one and done" was in the context of their regular season record. The Packers are the very first 15-1 "one and done" team in playoff history.

One of the major mechanics he needs to improve on is the throwing motion. That long wind up just takes too long. As a Gator fan it drove me nuts, but he always had a great line giving it plenty of time. In the NFL I don't know how long he can survive without getting rid of the ball faster.

Trent Dilfer broke down Tebow early in the season and said Tebow's biggest problem was not anticipating when a receiver will be open, instead waiting until he thinks a receiver will be open before passing the ball.

I can't deny those words of wisdom Being their biggest threat I follow them about as closely as I follow the Steelers, and I'll tell you this- this season the Ravens do not match up well against the Patriots. On the road, elite passing team ..... not the Ravens' cup of tea this year.

I mean this is truly sad, I'm singing praise for the Pats and rooting for them

And in other Steeler news, Coach Tomlin's father passed away. Them losing to Denver actually allowed him to spend his father's last few days of life with him. And did anyone know about Green Bay's OC's son being found in a river a few days before their play off loss? Man, I don't know how these guys do it. I lost my sister to a car accident and father to cancer 12 days apart about 5 years ago and I couldn't imagine not being there. To me, no millions of dollars could buy those days for me.

Yeah, in addition to the points you mentioned, from a offensive standpoint, the Pats' secondary needs to be challenged. It seems like the Ravens will be a good match-up, a power running game that needs to keep the Patriot's offense off the field, but unless Flacco can make some deep throws to keep the secondary honest, the Pats will overload to stop Ray Rice and Ricky Williams.

I didn't know about Mike Tomlin losing his father, but I knew about the Green Bay OC's son (sorry, I don't remember the OC's name, either). I think his body was pulled from the river the day before the game. That's tough.

And finally, today Sports Illustrated's home page had this pic from one of my favorite playoff games of all time (sorry, Flosi). The aftermath of Leonard Marshall CRUSHING Joe Montana; if I remember correctly, Montana missed most, if not all,, of next season and was traded to the Chiefs the season after that.

 

[FLOSI]

____ Leonard Marshall.



Great article though.... The Forty Niners are on the cover of SI this week. I need to pick it up and add it to the box of old SIs and newspapers.

 

[The Josh]

____ Leonard Marshall.

 

[OSCORP]

https://i721.photobucket.com/albums/ww219/Jed_York/aldon-smith-funny-sack_h_GIFSoupcom.gif

 

[JediMike71]

Does anyone know if McFarlane Toys is making an exclusive N.F.L. action figure for Super Bowl XLVI this year? I don't see any news about it over at their site, www.spawn.com.

Please let me know if anyone knows about it. Thanks!

 

[sprig0701]

Screw McFarlane!

 

[karamazov80]

Black and gold for me please

Aw. I knew that deep down you were a Saints fan. Who dat nation, unite!

So Rob Lowe of all people is reporting on Twitter that Peyton Manning will retire.

Sad end to a great career if true.

Well, I put the words "RETIRE" and "PLAY" on a piece of paper, tossed it in the yard, and the dog pissed closest to the word retire. So now we've got two equally valid pieces of evidence suggesting Peyton will retire. Thanks for the memories, fella!

 

[sprig0701]

Aw. I knew that deep down you were a Saints fan. Who dat nation, unite!

I didn't say black and fool's gold.

 

[Grenouille]

Well, I put the words "RETIRE" and "PLAY" on a piece of paper, tossed it in the yard, and the dog pissed closest to the word retire. So now we've got two equally valid pieces of evidence suggesting Peyton will retire. Thanks for the memories, fella!

Unless you were in St. Elmo's Fire and Tommy Boy I'm not sure I can take your report seriously.

As for this weekends games..

Pats over Ravens 30-20. I'm confident they win, but not at the hubris levels of 2007. Lesson learned. Tough game put away with a late TD.

49ers over Giants 21-17. I hope the field is a muddy mess like the '94 NFC title game at Candlestick. The legend of Alex Smith continues for another week.