2009 NFL Season Thread

[illwauk]

That being said, my confidence in the Saints winning it all this year has eroded tremendously over the past two weeks. They beat the Skins via voodoo magic, & had their hands full with an extremely shorthanded Falcons squad. Not saying that this means the Saints are overrated, but an undefeated season is no longer a guarantee for these guys. I like the Colts MUCH better than the Saints at this point, & maybe even the Vikings when they aren't playing badly like they did last week against Arizona.

The Saints are overrated IMHO. They've run the table against a mostly creampuff schedule, but there's a good chance they'll be stuck with either the Cardinals or Packers as their first playoff opponent, and I can see both of those teams coming out of New Orleans with a win. (And wouldn't Fox just love to have as the NFC Championship matchup a third, final showdown between the Packers and Vikings?)

Not only Fox but the whole NFL universe possibly the most hyped NFL Game not named the Super Bowl in history. My dream matchup.

The way everything is shaping up, it looks like a possible Green Bay-Minnesota game would take place in the divisional round, not the Championship. But either way, if the Packers could smack the Vikodins in the mouth and knock them out of the playoffs, I'll be ECSTATIC. I dare say it would be more satisfying than actually winning the Super Bowl.

Besides... I really want the Saints to win the Super Bowl. Given what New Orleans has been through in the past four years, they more than deserve a championship.

[IceCap]

Brett Favre beating up on the Panthers to the soundtrack of Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth gushing over how he's the greatest of all time ever.

Why wouldn't NBC want to showcase Brett Favre for one of their final SNF games since this is going to be Brett's farewell season?? Hell, John Madden might even come out of retirement to help knob Brett call the game and put Brett's face all over his goddamn horsetrailer!

It's his last SNF game....this time for reals!

last time favre was on sunday night he spent most of his time on his ass thanks to the cardinals d. loved every moment of the game.

I would quite enjoy it if they went ahead with the Panthers/Vikings game for SNF only to have the Panthers show up for once and pull one over on the Vikings.

And yeah, I would totally be a Packer Backer if they meet the Vikings in the Playoffs.

[Jigga]

Glad to hear I'm not the only guy tired of the entire sporting world giving Favre a collective B.J.

Plus, wasn't flex scheduling created to avoid having the kind of matchups that wouldn't produce ratings, like the upcoming Vikings/Panthers game for next Sunday?

I think you're confusing ratings and good football here. Brett Favre will certainly produce better ratings than the Bungles/Bolts matchup featuring a quarterback no one can stand and one that has no personality whatsoever.

[tBBP]

Did somebody forget to tell the Cardinals that they could clinch the NFC West tonight? They are getting straight bent over right now.

EDIT: that is now FIVE turnovers. And, it seems Singletary finally rediscovered that Frank Gore plays on his team.

[BigMac12]

Did somebody forget to tell the Cardinals that they could clinch the NFC West tonight? They are getting bent over right now.

I think their garlic fries were spiked.

What a diaster.

[rams80]

Damnit Warner! Why do you have to go and undermine my argument about Null not being good because of turnovers with tonight's performance?

[Still MIGHTY]

Since no one mentioned it yesterday

Colts win to continue to 13-0

NFL record 22nd consecutive regular season win

NFL record for most wins in a decade with 114, breaking the tie with the 90's 49ers.

Now I think barring the Colts resting the entire roster, they just have to be able to avoid a mistake in Jacksonville and they should get to 16-0. Coach Caldwell has said that "healthy" starters will play the whole game against the Jags, but I have a bad feeling that that number will decrease over the next to games. Not because the Colts will start dropping like flies, but because they will want them to rest.

Not that I think it will take an amazing effort to beat the Jets at home and finish up at the Bills, but you have to play the players. Keep all the starters in early and show how good of a team you are, get out to a big lead and then plug in the back-ups. And like I mentioned earlier, you get a bye week to start the playoffs anyway. And hell the Jets and Bills over the final two weeks? It shouldn't be a problem. I know that the Jets/Bills/Jags are just gearing up to take out the Colts and maybe the Jets are still shooting for that playoff spot, but show your worth and beat them down early.

Go for it.

[rams80]

Don't go for it. It is far more noble for them to weaken the Rams' strength of schedule.

[Coast2CoastAM2006]

memo to the all seeing, all powerful Jerry: please tell the cowboys that the season does not end in november and you can't take the month of december off. just because its december and some of us are on vacation, that don't mean you take the month off. Your team's putrid play in december is unacceptable. oh and please fire Wade.

thank you.

[FiddySicks]

So why exactly are people still worried abut the Jags beating Indy? Have any of you actually watched this team this season? They're terrible. Their most quality win was over the Jets, and they got blanked by Seattle 41-0. Sure they were competitive the last time they played them, but that was week 1. And sure they've given Indy fits in the past, but it won't happen this time. Jim Sorgi (if he's even still a Colt) could play the whole game and Indy will still walk away with an easy win.

So let's say Indy and New Orleans both go to the Super Bowl undefeated, who would you rather see pull off the dream season? I say the Colts simply becase it would make Peyton Manning beyond a legend, but Even as a Bucs fan, I'd be happy to see NO do it. Unlike the Pats two years ago, these two teams are easy to root for.

[Saintsfan]

So let's say Indy and New Orleans both go to the Super Bowl undefeated, who would you rather see pull off the dream season? I say the Colts simply becase it would make Peyton Manning beyond a legend, but Even as a Bucs fan, I'd be happy to see NO do it. Unlike the Pats two years ago, these two teams are easy to root for.

Personally I don't find the Colts easy to root for. They always just seem like a pretty uncharasmatic team, much less charasmatic than the Pats a couple of years ago, who after all where about the most electric offense ever in football. The Saints I think are easy enough to root for because everyone likes an underdog. But then again do the Colts deserve the Superbowl a little more than the Saints? And what are Caldwell and Payton going to be like under the pressure of playoff football? Maybe neither even make it to the Superbowl?

[Coast2CoastAM2006]

So let's say Indy and New Orleans both go to the Super Bowl undefeated, who would you rather see pull off the dream season? I say the Colts simply becase it would make Peyton Manning beyond a legend, but Even as a Bucs fan, I'd be happy to see NO do it. Unlike the Pats two years ago, these two teams are easy to root for.

Personally I don't find the Colts easy to root for. They always just seem like a pretty uncharasmatic team, much less charasmatic than the Pats a couple of years ago, who after all where about the most electric offense ever in football. The Saints I think are easy enough to root for because everyone likes an underdog. But then again do the Colts deserve the Superbowl a little more than the Saints? And what are Caldwell and Payton going to be like under the pressure of playoff football? Maybe neither even make it to the Superbowl?

unless creative is booking the super bowl, my guess is that who ever wins it DESERVES to win it.

[Saintsfan]

So let's say Indy and New Orleans both go to the Super Bowl undefeated, who would you rather see pull off the dream season? I say the Colts simply becase it would make Peyton Manning beyond a legend, but Even as a Bucs fan, I'd be happy to see NO do it. Unlike the Pats two years ago, these two teams are easy to root for.

Personally I don't find the Colts easy to root for. They always just seem like a pretty uncharasmatic team, much less charasmatic than the Pats a couple of years ago, who after all where about the most electric offense ever in football. The Saints I think are easy enough to root for because everyone likes an underdog. But then again do the Colts deserve the Superbowl a little more than the Saints? And what are Caldwell and Payton going to be like under the pressure of playoff football? Maybe neither even make it to the Superbowl?

unless creative is booking the super bowl, my guess is that who ever wins it DESERVES to win it.

I didn't really explain that point sorry. I meant in the sense that they have been consistently succesful over a long period of time, and with only one Lombardi Trophy to show for it, perhaps they are superficially more deserving of another win, than the Saints are. So if you are deciding who to root for you might take that into account. You might not though!!

[IceCap]

So why exactly are people still worried abut the Jags beating Indy? Have any of you actually watched this team this season? They're terrible. Their most quality win was over the Jets, and they got blanked by Seattle 41-0. Sure they were competitive the last time they played them, but that was week 1. And sure they've given Indy fits in the past, but it won't happen this time. Jim Sorgi (if he's even still a Colt) could play the whole game and Indy will still walk away with an easy win.

So let's say Indy and New Orleans both go to the Super Bowl undefeated, who would you rather see pull off the dream season? I say the Colts simply becase it would make Peyton Manning beyond a legend, but Even as a Bucs fan, I'd be happy to see NO do it. Unlike the Pats two years ago, these two teams are easy to root for.

Saints, all the way. Maybe it's just because of the recent "rivalry" between them and the Chargers, maybe I'm letting my Eli-hate spill over to Payton, but I can't stand the Colts.

Though I do agree with you that I would much rather see either of these two teams go undefeated and win it then the Patriots two years ago. Even the Colts win would be kind of worth it just so Manning could get the edge over Brady in the "who's the greatest QB of this generation?" discussion.

It should be pointed out, however, that when the Dolphins went undefeated in 1972 they did so with their backup quarterback for most of the time. Could either the Colts or Saints do what they're doing with Jim Sorgi or Mark Brunell under centre?

So let's say Indy and New Orleans both go to the Super Bowl undefeated, who would you rather see pull off the dream season? I say the Colts simply becase it would make Peyton Manning beyond a legend, but Even as a Bucs fan, I'd be happy to see NO do it. Unlike the Pats two years ago, these two teams are easy to root for.

Personally I don't find the Colts easy to root for. They always just seem like a pretty uncharasmatic team, much less charasmatic than the Pats a couple of years ago, who after all where about the most electric offense ever in football. The Saints I think are easy enough to root for because everyone likes an underdog. But then again do the Colts deserve the Superbowl a little more than the Saints? And what are Caldwell and Payton going to be like under the pressure of playoff football? Maybe neither even make it to the Superbowl?

So arrogance and cheating made the Pats charismatic? That sort of thing only works in pro wrestling.

No one deserves the Super Bowl more then any other team. The team that deserves the Super Bowl is the team that wins the Super Bowl. Assuming we get an 18-0 vs 18-0 Colts/Saints Super Bowl, how to you qualify one team as deserving it more? Both teams would have the same record. Again, discussing who "deserves" to win the Super Bowl is meaningless, because as the Patriots proved in 2007-08 you can have all the hype and statistics on your side and still lose when it matters the most.

[BlueSky]

So let's say Indy and New Orleans both go to the Super Bowl undefeated, who would you rather see pull off the dream season? I say the Colts simply becase it would make Peyton Manning beyond a legend, but Even as a Bucs fan, I'd be happy to see NO do it. Unlike the Pats two years ago, these two teams are easy to root for.

Personally I don't find the Colts easy to root for. They always just seem like a pretty uncharasmatic team, much less charasmatic than the Pats a couple of years ago, who after all where about the most electric offense ever in football. The Saints I think are easy enough to root for because everyone likes an underdog. But then again do the Colts deserve the Superbowl a little more than the Saints? And what are Caldwell and Payton going to be like under the pressure of playoff football? Maybe neither even make it to the Superbowl?

unless creative is booking the super bowl, my guess is that who ever wins it DESERVES to win it.

I didn't really explain that point sorry. I meant in the sense that they have been consistently succesful over a long period of time, and with only one Lombardi Trophy to show for it, perhaps they are superficially more deserving of another win, than the Saints are. So if you are deciding who to root for you might take that into account. You might not though!!

IMO that's irrelevant. It's not that simple. Did the Patriots not 'deserve' their first Super Bowl win, or the Steelers? Both those teams were awful for a very long time before getting their organizations squared away and building championship teams. Some might argue the Colts don't deserve any kind of success given their fly-by-night departure from Baltimore. In the interest of fairness I'll also say the flip-side argument doesn't hold water either, that New Orleans deserves a title given the travails of Katrina or simply for enduring the Saints since 1967.

In today's NFL, whoever prepares the best, trains the best, plays the best, overcomes their errors, has a little luck, avoids serious injuries to key players, handles the hype, and can take their play to the level needed to win playoff games and perform well on the Super Bowl stage 'deserves' to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. You get the trophy because you earn it. Frankly, it turned my stomach a little that Arizona even made the Super Bowl after going 9-7 and especially because they didn't even bother to show up for that humiliation the Patriots laid on them. But hey, they did make it, and had they won, they'd have deserved it.

Whether either or both end up undefeated, the NFL would have to love a Saints-Colts Super Bowl simply because of the Manning subplot: New Orleans finally claws its way to the Super Bowl only to find Mr. All-time Saint's son standing between them and a championship.

[Saintsfan]

I am not saying that the Colts deserve the Superbowl more than the Saints, more that some people might think that the Colts deserve it more.

I do agree that whoever ends up lifting the Lombardi Trophy deserves it. But in terms of who to root for, some might want the Colts to, because there success over the last 10 years is deserving of it, or that Peyton Manning's career is worthy of a second Superbowl.

On the Patriots, I think the cheating thing has been overplayed over time somewhat, as it makes for a juicy media story. Where the Patriots especially arrogant? I never thought of them as such, at least not beyond the level that any succesful sports team is arrogant to an extent. And the Brady/Moss combination IMO was exciting a QB/receiver pairing, in that year, as there has ever been in football.

[Still MIGHTY]

So why exactly are people still worried abut the Jags beating Indy? Have any of you actually watched this team this season? They're terrible. Their most quality win was over the Jets, and they got blanked by Seattle 41-0. Sure they were competitive the last time they played them, but that was week 1. And sure they've given Indy fits in the past, but it won't happen this time. Jim Sorgi (if he's even still a Colt) could play the whole game and Indy will still walk away with an easy win.

So let's say Indy and New Orleans both go to the Super Bowl undefeated, who would you rather see pull off the dream season? I say the Colts simply becase it would make Peyton Manning beyond a legend, but Even as a Bucs fan, I'd be happy to see NO do it. Unlike the Pats two years ago, these two teams are easy to root for.

I'm just a little worried because the Colts always end up doing something funky in Jacksonville. Whether it's Peyton throwing up interceptions like candy, or an injury, or just a randomly close game for no reason other than we're playing in Jacksonville. It's just playing on the road in Jacksonville that scares me a little. It's not a huge thing, but eh.

And Curtis Painter is the Colts back-up QB now. Sorgi for whatever reason is inactive, injured on the practice squad? idk.

And for Icecap,

No, I don't think that Indy or NO would be where theyre at without Manning and Brees at the respective helms. There is a reason that the both of them are at the top of the MVP conversation (save me the Brett Favre oogling.)

[Saintsfan]

Is Brees or Manning more vital to their team? That should be the conversation for MVP this season in my mind. I would personally go for Brees. But it should be a close vote. Could be co MVPs? Didn't that happen a few years ago?)

[Still MIGHTY]

Is Brees or Manning more vital to their team? That should be the conversation for MVP this season in my mind. I would personally go for Brees. But it should be a close vote. Could be co MVPs? Didn't that happen a few years ago?)

Yeah Peyton shared his first MVP award with Steve McNair when he was with the Titans in 2003.

I was thinking about that the other day and I think that it's a definite possibility this season. I'd probably prefer it that way. They both have great cases and it'd really be a shame for whoever doesn't get it. Let Brees and Manning split it.

[NEW.ERA]

Phillip Rivers and Chris Johnson still have lots to say about the MVP race and if it wasn't for Aaron Rodgers getting murdered for most of this season Rodgers would be in the discussion, hey he still could be best QB inside the Redzone and his Stats don't reflect that he's been on his arse 47 times.