2009 NFL Playoffs

[Saintsfan]

A couple of points that occur to me from the NFC Championship- first off the Football Gods prove that in there estimation kicking a team when they are down is a worse crime than resting players. (Tee hee at there great sense of irony at having Favre picked off in the games crucial play!)

Secondly, here is my view as far as any tie breaking situation is concerned, in the NFL or really any sport. A game lasts for 60 minutes (as far as Football is concerned). If you haven't done enough in that time to win the game, you can't complain when and how you lose. But the second thing is I am not sure that giving both teams possesion of the ball would sort out the inequalities, or might at least throw them in the other direction. Team A gets the ball first and makes a FG. Team B then knows when they get into the scoring zone that a TD wins it for them, which changes there decision making process, and could put the advantage onto them. Bit once again the big point is that if you can't win the game in regulation, IMO you lose the opportunity to bitch about how you loose it. (As tough as that might be!)

[BlueSky]

Just a quick take...I'm obviously jazzed that the Saints won but boy was that ugly. They reverted to almost every single bad behavior they'd supposedly fixed this season. I'll list them tomorrow, I'm too tired tonight (up at 4am, worked 6A to 5P, watched the game).

Funny thing, I was in a daze when Hartley kicked the FG, like I was waiting for the Vikes to call time out or something. They'd already done that of course but I just kind of sat there, watched the ball sail through the uprights, set down the remote, and said, "Holy s***!"

I went to my first Saints game in December 1969 and have lived since then believing that sooner or later, if you just hang on long enough, every dog has its day.

My dog is finally going to have his.

It would have to be against Peyton Freakin' Manning...

December 1969? Damn, that's when my mom was born.

Manning is tough. But let's not forget, Brady and Favre were both thought to be tough too. But the Saints beat them both.

Yep, December of '69. I was 8. Last game of the season, Saints 27, Steelers 24. Went to a couple of games the next year. One I remember is when some guy kicked some long field goal or something.

Sure wish I'd been smart enough to save that ticket stub and/or program.

OK, last night I felt the Vikes had lost the game more than the Saints had won it. After watching all the highlights though, I realize that view was because I was really tired (worked 3 straight days 6A-6P) and just that fatalistic view that somehow, despite the great season and all the progress the franchise has made since Payton arrived, they are after all the Saints and what do the Saints do? They find a way to blow it, breaking every last heart in the Who Dat Nation in the process. So I was a little shellshocked when they won. I'm sure fans of several franchises can relate (Browns come to mind).

The D was what they were all season, giving up yards by the dozen but making big plays left and right along the way. Brees was off the whole game, missing several open receivers, and the O really stunk in the second half but came through when they had to. Garrett Hartley came up big. Second-year guy who looks like a high school senior and had that choke miss vs. TB hanging over his head, and oh, no pressure, this is only to GO TO THE SUPER BOWL! And he knocks it right down the middle. Great job under unbelievable stress.

There were a number of bad officiating calls affecting both teams IMO but in fairness I have to spotlight two: the lack of a "Brady rule" call on Vilma's INT - really don't get that - and the PI call on the pass to David Thomas. That was a horrible call, especially in OT of a championship game. Had it gone against the Saints in a similar situation, my wife described perfectly what my reaction would have been: "You'd be squalling like a stuck pig!" She's right. Just an awful call. At least it was a first down play and didn't give them a fresh set of downs on a third and long or some such. It all evened out pretty well in the end but I truly try to be as objective as possible and those two calls just seem inexplicable. Of course, to be devil's advocate on the PI call, if the Vikes' DB holds on to the ball that was gently placed into his hands on a previous pass to Colston, that play never happens.

I mentioned bad behavior the Saints reverted to. Here's the list, in no particular order. I mention this not to throw cold water on the win but to say, "Fix this stuff, boys, if you want to have ANY shot in Miami."

- "Cute" play calls (double reverse)

- Inability to convert third downs, especially third and short

- Stupid challenges (spot on the fumbled third down exchange that was obviously short)

- Dropped passes

- Porous defense

- Stupid penalties (late hit on Vikes' muffed punt, McCray's shot on St. Brett on Vikes' reverse)

- Mental mistakes (Shanle's attempted fumble recovery [FALL ON THE F***ING BALL!!], Reggie's muffed punt)

As for St. Brett, I still despise his selfishness and how he jerked the Packers around, but I have to admit I gained some respect for him last night. He hung in there and made plays despite getting absolutely hammered ("...lookin' like fools with ya Favre on the ground..."), and he was even in the pile chasing Harvin's fumble. Guys got balls, I'll give him that.

I'm sure I missed something I'll have to come back to later but that will do for now.

Again, the parallels between the Falcons and Saints continue....both teams reach their first Super Bowl with a field goal in OT to beat the Vikings. (Coincidentally, the Jets lost in the AFC Championship by 13 points that day, too.)

Enjoy it, Skyaa. I won't be cheering for the Saints, but I know what you're going through. The Falcons ran into that buzz-saw called Elway in their Super Bowl appearance, but I didn't care.

Now that's just weird. Didn't realize that, thanks for sharing it.

[rams80]

A couple of points that occur to me from the NFC Championship- first off the Football Gods prove that in there estimation kicking a team when they are down is a worse crime than resting players. (Tee hee at there great sense of irony at having Favre picked off in the games crucial play!)

Secondly, here is my view as far as any tie breaking situation is concerned, in the NFL or really any sport. A game lasts for 60 minutes (as far as Football is concerned). If you haven't done enough in that time to win the game, you can't complain when and how you lose. But the second thing is I am not sure that giving both teams possesion of the ball would sort out the inequalities, or might at least throw them in the other direction. Team A gets the ball first and makes a FG. Team B then knows when they get into the scoring zone that a TD wins it for them, which changes there decision making process, and could put the advantage onto them. Bit once again the big point is that if you can't win the game in regulation, IMO you lose the opportunity to bitch about how you loose it. (As tough as that might be!)

Congratulations. You've discovered why the team that wins the toss elects to go second in college O/T.

[BlueSky]

I found this excerpt from Joe Posnanski's SI.com article hilarious. He's talking about the last Favre pick.

===

Yes, I shouted "Run!" at the TV. It was a reflex. But, of course, Brett Favre did not run. He clearly had no intention of running. Instead, he attempted the single dumbest pass anyone can remember -- a rolling right, throwing left, cross-his-body back-to-the-middle-of-the-field pass, the sort of pass they teach you not to throw about 47 minutes after you are born.*

*First lesson: This is how you breast feed. Second lesson: Cry and someone will change your diaper. Third lesson: In the NFL, you don't throw across your body back into the middle of the field.

The play has been dissected to death already -- and rightfully so -- and there is no shortage of things Favre SHOULD HAVE DONE instead of throwing that pass. Hell, he could have stopped in the middle of the play and started doing an interpretive dance to protest the treatment of Conan O'Brien and THAT would have been smarter than what he did.

===

[NJTank]

I found this excerpt from Joe Posnanski's SI.com article hilarious. He's talking about the last Favre pick.

===

Yes, I shouted "Run!" at the TV. It was a reflex. But, of course, Brett Favre did not run. He clearly had no intention of running. Instead, he attempted the single dumbest pass anyone can remember -- a rolling right, throwing left, cross-his-body back-to-the-middle-of-the-field pass, the sort of pass they teach you not to throw about 47 minutes after you are born.*

*First lesson: This is how you breast feed. Second lesson: Cry and someone will change your diaper. Third lesson: In the NFL, you don't throw across your body back into the middle of the field.

The play has been dissected to death already -- and rightfully so -- and there is no shortage of things Favre SHOULD HAVE DONE instead of throwing that pass. Hell, he could have stopped in the middle of the play and started doing an interpretive dance to protest the treatment of Conan O'Brien and THAT would have been smarter than what he did.

===

Its mistake like this that makes Favre a great QB instead of one of the greatest of all time.

[JQK]

*giggle*

[BBTV]

cross swords - lol.