Toy Soldier Brigade
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It's Eli, Payton is selling pizza. Go Giants !
N.f.l. 2012 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter sammy719
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mikemiller1955
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righttttttttttt...I saw that commercial...everybody's gotta work...
mikemiller1955
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New England is an early 3 point favorite...the o/u is 55 1/2...
The Baltimore loss is beyond frustrating for me. Second championship game loss in 4 years. A game they should have won walking away but they screwed it up. The Pats hung around and played well enough so that they could benefit from the Raven's incompetence in the Red Zone. A good team makes it's own luck and above all puts TD's on the board when the opportunity is there. The Ravens did neither. Being a Baltimore fan has proven to be a real test over the years, whether as a Colt's fan of the '60's or a Raven's fan of today. Occasionally reaching the peak of the mountain but far more often slipping and falling off that mountain one step below the summit. Oh well, there is always next year.:rolleyes2:
-- Al
-- Al
Terp152
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Being a Baltimore fan has proven to be a real test over the years, whether as a Colt's fan of the '60's or a Raven's fan of today. Occasionally reaching the peak of the mountain but far more often slipping and falling off that mountain one step below the summit. Oh well, there is always next year.:rolleyes2:
I feel your pain!!:redface2: Add the Terp March melt downs and I need to increase my hi blood pressure meds. Chris
Combat
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Congrats to the Giants. Their D played well and Eli was tough as nails. He took a real beating in that game. Comparing Alex Smith to Tebow is a bit harsh though - to Tebow. Tebow was 4-0 this year in OT games and generally did well in close games. Smith was awful. The worst NFC championship game QB performance since 1986 when Dieter Brock took the Rams into Chicago in a wind storm. Smith was that bad and looked scared in the 4th Q and OT. I bet Harbaugh doesn't waste any time looking for a new QB.
Warrior
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Yeah, just a little.
How many times are we going to see some moron punt returner not get away from the ball and have it clang off him and end up being recovered by the other team.
My friend coaches pop warner football and his kids aren't as stupid as that guy was yesterday.
The early line is Patriots -3, over/under is over 50?
Can't see it.
The Giants present all kinds of match up problems for the Patriots, they can run the ball, they have 3 recievers, Eli is playing great, the can pressure the quarterback.
Their weak link is the secondary.
This is a huge catch 22 for me; happy they got to the Super Bowl, but I really can't present a case where the Patriots win this game, Eli will shred the Patriots secondary all day long.
Has anyone heard from Louis by the way; he went face down into his bean dip after Tynes made that kick I suspect..................
Louis is still in shock. I'm sure he'll be ok once the doctors clear the bean dip from his breathing passages and convince him that Coughlin has, indeed, once again, gotten to the SB.
Congratulations to both George and Louis as their teams get to face off in Super Bowl of Revenge II. It will be entertaining as it has a certain satisfying 'payback' angle to it. -- Al
jazzeum
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You forgot to mention the Bradshaw fumble "no call" which would have given the Niners the ball around the Giant 20 with about 2 minutes or so to play. Harbaugh remarked that on every play the refs let it play to conclusion, except one. Guess one which it was?
Brad
Brad
Combat
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I thought that one was clearly a make up call for the fumble that bounced off the SF punt returner which should have been a Giants TD. The Bradshaw non-fumble was an awful call, but the TV announcers chimed in like every time a guy is stopped the play is blown dead before he hits the ground. Say what? You can't fumble if you are knocked backwards but not yet on the ground! I also wonder about the dropped TD in the Ravens game. The guy has possession of the ball with both feet on the ground. It's then swiped out of his hands. I'm surprised that one wasn't reviewed since the entire game hinged on the call. It was very close and depends on how the rule is worded. I always thought possession in the end zone is a TD. But admit I don't know the exact rule. Of course neither did the announcers of the game.
I sure understand. My doctor told me I already take too many BP meds so the only solution is to stop following sports. Fat chance. Not as long as I can say "Just wait till next year". Problem is, one day I won't be able to wait till next year!{eek3}:wink2: -- Al
mikemiller1955
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I can't tell you how many times I have seen 3-4 defensive players hold a running back or receiver up for several seconds while they strip the ball...
that was a bad call...
Currahee Chris
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I think there were two critical plays in the Ravens game that sealed that one-
1.) Kicking the FG in the first quarter- you had 8 inches to go- even if you dont make it, the Ravens are tough fibered enough to not collapse emotionally- the Patriots still got 95 yards to go- go for it!!
2.) Flacco's interception halfway through the 4th quarter- the Run was working just fine!! The Pats couldn't stop Rice/Williams- 3,4,5,6 yards a pop. Why call a pass play??
A bitter bitter bittersweet loss for the Ravens. To me- you could see the difference between winning and losing in that game- winning takes risks- the Patriots get an interception and first thing they do BAM!! Brady lets it rip to the end zone- yeah, it got picked off- but you go for it!! Winning takes risks and that FG in the first quarter for the Ravens just summed up the difference in winning and loosing to me.
1.) Kicking the FG in the first quarter- you had 8 inches to go- even if you dont make it, the Ravens are tough fibered enough to not collapse emotionally- the Patriots still got 95 yards to go- go for it!!
2.) Flacco's interception halfway through the 4th quarter- the Run was working just fine!! The Pats couldn't stop Rice/Williams- 3,4,5,6 yards a pop. Why call a pass play??
A bitter bitter bittersweet loss for the Ravens. To me- you could see the difference between winning and losing in that game- winning takes risks- the Patriots get an interception and first thing they do BAM!! Brady lets it rip to the end zone- yeah, it got picked off- but you go for it!! Winning takes risks and that FG in the first quarter for the Ravens just summed up the difference in winning and loosing to me.
tdubel
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Doug,
I have not rewatched that play over again, but all of the radio and announcers in Baltimore today are saying while surprised it was not reviewed, the replay clearly shows only 1 foot down, the ball coming loose before the 2nd foot down. So, who knows, it was close, but hats off to the DB who continued to play the whole play and strip the ball. The announcers likened it to the fade play where a receiver gets both feet down in the endzone, but they wait to make sure he has possession before signaling TD.
Bottom line is the Ravens did it all but win and that is what counts in the end.
TD
Currahee Chris
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Yeah, I just didn't feel like that was a TD catch. A review should have been called for given hindsight but it just looked like an excellent defensive play.
Combat
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I think the question is whether he had possession. It was a bang-bang play on the drop but he did have the ball in the end zone for a moment. I'm not saying it was a catch, but I just wonder what the rule is on a TD catch:
Louis Badolato
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George,
First of all, congrats on your team's 7th AFC Championship. Your earlier post on the subject is about as honest and accurate a post as a fan can have about a win by his team despite it being outplayed. I will try to make a similarly honest assessment of my Giants.
I think both defenses played incredibly well, with the exception of a few blown coverages which led to two huge touchdown passes by Alex Smith to Vernon Davis, and a big play to Cruz (leading to the TD pass to Ballard later in the drive) and a TD pass to Manningham on 3rd and 15. These blown coverages, however, were more through the route design and formation employed by the offense than they were misreads by the DB's, so I would give both teams defenses an "A". Both defenses knocked down or dropped possible interceptions (2 possible INT's dropped by 49ers, 1 by the Giants), or they would have gotten an "A+".
I think the Giants offense gets a "B-". They couldn't run the ball very well (about 90 yards rushing, of which about 75 were by Bradshaw), Eli had to throw the ball 58 times, and was hit 20 times, but still managed to complete 32 passes for 316 yards and 2 touchdowns in that wet, windy mess, converted a high percentage of 3rd downs (primarily in the 1st half, but also on the touchdown drive in the 4th quarter), and had no turnovers. I would give the 49ers offense a C-, as they only coverted one third down in the entire game (on the last play of regulation, when the Giants were in a prevent, they completed a pass underneath and the receiver was tacked after time expired), only completed 1 pass to his wide recievers for 3 yards, and also did not run the ball terribly well.
The key to this game was special teams, which, in the case of both teams, both gave and took away 10 points. The Giants special teams allowed this rookie back up punt returner and the kick returner to each break a big return out to just shy of midfield, each leading to a 49ers score (1 TD, 1FG). The San Francisco back up punt returner Williams tried to get close enough to a bouncing punt to grab it and make another big play, ended up letting it bounce of his knee, and through shear bad luck gave the Giants offense the break it needed to score a TD in a second half when poor play calling (what was Gilbride thinking trying to run the ball on just about every 1st and 2nd down in the 2nd half, leaving Eli in 3rd and 8+ situations where the 49ers blitz was nearly taking his head off?) made it almost totally ineffective. The same back up punt returner then fumbled the ball in OT, again giving a Giants offense (that couldn't seem to get a first down after penetrating 49ers territory on 3 drives late in the game and in OT) the ball in field goal range. Tynes, the Giants FG kicker, made two field goals and two extra points on that incredibly sloppy field, including his second OT kick to win an NFC championship game. I would give the Giants special teams a C+ because of the key turnovers, and the 49ers special teams a C- or D for the same reason.
The Giants were very lucky to win this game. If the ball doesn't bounce off Williams' knee, we don't win. If the 49ers DB's don't collide when either Nicks ran the wrong route or Eli through to the wrong spot, we probably don't win this game. The ref made the right call blowing the whistle after three 49ers were pushing Ahmad Bradshaw backwards, as his forward progress had clearly been stopped, but they could just as easily have held off on the whistle and Bradshaw would have fumbled.
On the other hand, if the same 49ers rookie who twice fumbled punts doesn't have one big return, and the kick returner doesn't have a huge return off of the kick following the Giants last touchdown, the 49ers don't score 10 of their 17 points. If the Giants linebacker (I didn't see which one it was) can hold onto the ball that hits him in the hand instead of knocking it down, the Giants get another score. If Osi falls on the ball instead of trying to pick it up and run with it when Gore fumbled towards the end of the 1st quarter, the Giants probably get another score.
In short, it was a very close game that could have gone either way and I am very happy that the Giants were the luckier of two very evenly matched teams who came out on top.
Louis Badolato
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The Ravens lost the AFC championship game, but I think Flacco proved he is a top tier quarterback. I know that for the year, the Patriots pass defense was ranked last or second to last, but they got healthy down the stretch, and have played very well in the post season (albeit in the first game against Tebow's flawed offense). Flacco, in my opinion, outplayed Brady in this one game (I emphasize in this one game - Brady is one of the top 5 ever, he had an off day), threw for 300+ yards in an AFC Championship, drove down the field late in the 4th quarter for what should have been at least the equalizer, and hit a receiver in the hands for what should have been the winning touchdown. I don't know whether it was poor judgment on the receiver not to pull the ball into his body rather than try to turn away from coverage, or a great play by the defender (probably a combination of the two) but the ball ended up on the turf. It was clearly an incomplete pass, but just as clearly should have been caught for the TD.
The missed kick could be blamed, at least in part, on John Harbaugh. As his kicker and holder were running onto the field late, and rushed to get set up as the play clock ticked down under towards 1, I turned to my friend Mark, and said "Harbaugh has two time outs, why doesn't he use one and let his kicker get set up properly?" With only 1 second left on the playclock, they snapped the ball, and Cundiff totally shanked the kick. A miss like that was either the result of the kicker choking completely under the pressure, or of the kicker being out of his routine and having his timing all messed up. If it was the latter, then two questions need to be answered: 1. Why were the kicker and the holder running onto the field late (they left the sideline with only 13 seconds left on the playclock) and 2. why didn't Harbaugh call time out?
What ever the answer is to these questions, I feel very bad for Ravens fans, as their team beat itself. I was both right and wrong about this game. I was right that the Patriots would win, but I was wrong about my harsh judgment of the Ravens after the Texans game. The Texans must be better than I thought they were, as the Ravens certainly played well enough to win against a tremendous Patriots team.
The missed kick could be blamed, at least in part, on John Harbaugh. As his kicker and holder were running onto the field late, and rushed to get set up as the play clock ticked down under towards 1, I turned to my friend Mark, and said "Harbaugh has two time outs, why doesn't he use one and let his kicker get set up properly?" With only 1 second left on the playclock, they snapped the ball, and Cundiff totally shanked the kick. A miss like that was either the result of the kicker choking completely under the pressure, or of the kicker being out of his routine and having his timing all messed up. If it was the latter, then two questions need to be answered: 1. Why were the kicker and the holder running onto the field late (they left the sideline with only 13 seconds left on the playclock) and 2. why didn't Harbaugh call time out?
What ever the answer is to these questions, I feel very bad for Ravens fans, as their team beat itself. I was both right and wrong about this game. I was right that the Patriots would win, but I was wrong about my harsh judgment of the Ravens after the Texans game. The Texans must be better than I thought they were, as the Ravens certainly played well enough to win against a tremendous Patriots team.
Louis Badolato
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Louis is still in shock. I'm sure he'll be ok once the doctors clear the bean dip from his breathing passages and convince him that Coughlin has, indeed, once again, gotten to the SB.
Thanks, Al! Sometimes its better to be lucky than good. Last night, the Giants were both. The 49ers played just as well, and could very easily have won that game, but the ball bounced the Giants way (literally). The Patriots were equally fortunate to come away with a win over a Ravens team that played much better than I thought it would, particularly Flacco, who answered any questions I had about whether he could QB a team to a superbowl.
Well, poor George has to suffer through two weeks of replays from Superbowl 42 before his team gets to take the field and try to get revenge. I suspect even I will get tired of seeing Tyree pin the ball to his helmet, and Plaxico dancing out the back of the endzone . . . but not for at least a week and a half!^&grin