NFL playoffs

[IceCap]

All the rigging in the world can't help you if the injury bug hits you hard (last year's Steelers) or if your team just doesn't have enough talent or clutchness (many Steelers teams between 1979 and 2005).

So the league gives them special treatment and throws games their way....except when they don't. Ok. Good to know.

[ninersdd]

Another topic: Will the Patriots stomp their feet all over the Jets?

[Kevin W.]

Another topic: Will the Patriots stomp their feet all over the Jets?

As much as it will sicken me to see either of those teams win, yes.

[cameroncrazie07]

Sorry to all Falcons fans out there, but I saw that one coming from a mile away.

[knnhrvy16]

The Steelers sell a crapload of merchandise and have one of the biggest bandwagons in the NFL. Also, the Rooneys are arguably the most powerful owners in the league. That's why the Steelers get obvious preferential treatment.

Oh I'm not claiming that at all, those were dang good teams back in the 70's and won it rightfully I believe.

This is winning it rightfully?

That's a story about Terry Bradshaw. One person, not a team. Look, I'm as anti-steroid as the next person (and frankly dislike the Steelers teams of those eras just as much), but last I checked, football was a team effort. I don't think Lynn Swann's acrobatic WTFWUT catches and Franco Harris' clutch was effected in any way by Bradshaw's juicing.

And keep in mind, if you read my story a few posts back, you'll know that I really do not like the Steelers from the 70's (and frankly today) AT ALL, and for good reason.

[infrared41]

The Steelers sell a crapload of merchandise and have one of the biggest bandwagons in the NFL. Also, the Rooneys are arguably the most powerful owners in the league. That's why the Steelers get obvious preferential treatment.

Oh I'm not claiming that at all, those were dang good teams back in the 70's and won it rightfully I believe.

This is winning it rightfully?

You got that right. We love to pick on "Red Sox Nation" because of all the bandwagon fans that showed up in October of 2004 but the truth is the Steelers lead all of sports in frontrunner fans. It's been that way pretty much since their second Super Bowl win. Red Sox frontrunners aren't even in the same league with Steelers frontrunners in both number and their ability to be annoying. Steelers frontrunners are everywhere and they're easily the most annoying fans in sports. And yeah, Steelers fans are some of the biggest "whiners" in sports.

To be fair, I don't think the Steelers get "obvious preferential treatment." The only game I've seen where the officiating was clearly benefitting the Steelers was in the Super Bowl against Seattle. Other than that, I honestly can't say I've seen it Pittsburgh's case and I'm someone who firmly believes that NFL officials will definitely call a "looser" game for some of the "marquee" teams.

Finally, I'd bet most everyone in the NFL was on steroids back in the 70's. The Steelers really were just that good. I was there dude.

[GriffinM6]

Great now my 2 favorite teams can't meet In the super bowl.What was up with the Falcins D.Oh well butter luck next time guys.GO STEELERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Still MIGHTY]

Bill Simmons on twitter:

I have a new nickname for Matt Ryan: "Matt."

[knnhrvy16]

Bill Simmons on twitter:

I have a new nickname for Matt Ryan: "Matt."

Ohhh boy. Zing?

He didn't play well at all today. At all. But, I hope he doesn't get knocked down too much about this, by others - and himself. The kid is still young, he's got alot of great years ahead of him.

[Sodboy13]

They are the only team proven to have juiced in the '70s.

Holy man, The Raiders.

[TFoA]

Bill Simmons on twitter:

I have a new nickname for Matt Ryan: "Matt."

Yeah, the "Matty Ice" nickname is on probation.

[HedleyLamarr]

Granted, it wasn't exactly the offense's fault the Falcons lost tonight...but I wonder just how focused Falcons' OC Mike Mularkey was for this game. He's had a few head coaching interviews these past two weeks, and for the offense to look this inept....it's definitely worth at least some discussion in the local media this week.

Green Bay is peaking at the right time. The way they played tonight, no one could have beaten them, and I'm including the Patriots...who nearly lost to the Packers when Rodgers didn't play.

[PurpleRush]

Random thread thoughts / responses :

I would have to think Red Sox fans would be on top of the obnoxious list, especially since almost every road telecasts showcases the number of Sox fans in attendence at some point.

As for the 70s, everyone did stuff like steroids and stickum and such. That's the way it was.

Not sure how the Pats got lumped in with the Yanks, since they don't steal everyone's best player for outrageous money.

Pencil Green Bay into Arlington. I wouldn't mind Seattle winning tomorrow.

A Pats / Steelers AFC title game will evoke numerous posts of one side getting the calls next week.

[Cujo]

If the AFC Championship is Steelers vs Patriots (again), you might as well punch New England's tickets to North Texas. I mean, when was the last time Pittsburgh actually defeated New England in the playoffs -- or hell, the regular season for that matter?? None of Pittsburgh's Super Bowl wins went through the Patriots. I give the Steelers ZERO CHANCE of winning an AFCCG in Forboro. ZERO.

And not to sound like "Dim Light" here, but if anyone's gonna take out the Pats in the AFC, it's the Jets. Believe it or not, the Jets have defeated the Patriots 3 of the last 5 times they've plays, with one of those games being in New England, so New York's got a shot at doing this, unlike Pittsburgh. Therefore, if NYJ doesn't back up their all their talk with a win tomorrow, it is a guaranteed New England Super Bowl.

[ninersdd]

If the AFC Championship is Steelers vs Patriots (again), you might as well punch New England's tickets to North Texas. I mean, when was the last time Pittsburgh beat New England in the playoffs -- or the regular season for that matter?? The Steelers don't have a prayer. Not to sound like "Dim Light" here, If anyone's gonna take down the Pats, it's the Jets. I wanna say the Jets have defeated the Patriots 3 of the last 5 times they've faced off. If NYJ doesn't back up their talk, it's a guaranteed New England Super Bowl.

The Steelers killed the Pats in 08' albeit with Cassel, not Brady as QB.

[illwauk]

Granted, it wasn't exactly the offense's fault the Falcons lost tonight...but I wonder just how focused Falcons' OC Mike Mularkey was for this game. He's had a few head coaching interviews these past two weeks, and for the offense to look this inept....it's definitely worth at least some discussion in the local media this week.

This is just plain garbage and Falcons fans have every right to be pissed. If I were an NFL owner and a guy came to talk to me about a coaching job while he still had obligations with his current team, that would let me know that I don't need to be hiring him.

Green Bay is peaking at the right time. The way they played tonight, no one could have beaten them, and I'm including the Patriots...who nearly lost to the Packers when Rodgers didn't play.

I know I definitely didn't expect them to get this far with the bi-polar a** regular season they had, but I'm certianly not complaining.

As far as Aaron Rodgers... man... how can you not feel like he deserves every bit of everything he has going for him right now? He came into an absolute crap situation through no fault of his own with everything working against him and the media (at least at first) as well as half the Cheesehead Nation meth-addicted St. Brett fanboys wanting him to fail, yet he handled everything with more class and poise than anyone could have asked of him and took only three short years to get the Packers right back to where St. Brett left them. And now he may have a chance to not only play the Bears is what would no doubt be the biggest game in the most storied rivalry in the NFL, but win a Super Bowl in the same city where he first took over for St. Brett who, for all his Favreness, could never win a game there.

[Cujo]

I mean, when was the last time Pittsburgh beat New England in the playoffs -- or the regular season for that matter??

The Steelers killed the Pats in 08' albeit with Cassel, not Brady as QB.

That's nice. So when the last time Pittsburgh beat the New England WITH TOM BRADY, if ever?? I sure can't seem to recall.

[Drakonius26]

I mean, when was the last time Pittsburgh beat New England in the playoffs -- or the regular season for that matter??

The Steelers killed the Pats in 08' albeit with Cassel, not Brady as QB.

That's nice. So when the last time Pittsburgh beat the New England WITH TOM BRADY, if ever?? I sure can't seem to recall.

He lost to Pittsburgh back in 2004, 34-20, it snapped New England's 21-game winning streak.

Anywho, if you really think about, none of the football dynasties have ever been legitmate...

The Green Bay Packers played before the merger, so technically three of their five championships were only NFL Championships. That would leave them with only two true Super Bowl titles. Plus, most football fans don't consider back-to-back championships as a dynasty, unless they win three in four years or four championships throughout the decade. (This coming from a fan of the Packers and Patriots.)

The Pittsburgh Steelers juiced their way to championships... maybe that's true, and even if they didn't, they played before the era of free agency, so you could put an asterisk on their dynasty too if you really wanted to get technical about it, because it's easy to win when you have most of the best players. (It would be like a kid playing Madden on Rookie, setting all the sliders to his advantage, and then playing as the Patriots/Colts/Saints. Aside from the mentally challenged or physically disabled, almost anyone could dominate Madden then. Not impressive.)

The San Francisco 49ers, they too won two of their championships before mandatory drug-testing was enacted in 1987 and also their back-to-back titles before the era of free agency and the salary cap. So technically, they should have an asterisk too, right?

The Dallas Cowboys, they wouldn't be able to field a team if Roger Goodell's personal conduct policy existed back then (sorry Cowboy fans, had to say it.) Not to mention Jimmy Johnson admitted to taping their opponent's signals too, before the Patriots were crucified for doing so with their dynasty of the 2000's.

The fact is, even if Super Bowl XL was rigged (which it probably was, from holding penalties to phantom touchdowns), the NFL doesn't have a desire to rig every single game to promote the Steelers, since the NFL is a strong enough product to survive without them (contraction/relocation/etc.), if that day ever comes. It's not a joke like the NBA, that desperately has to make sure either the Lakers or Celtics are good, just to draw decent ratings, even though at this point it's no more legit than professional wrestling.

I, as a Patriots fan, could easily claim that Super Bowl XLII should've ended once Manning was sacked, shortly after Tyree made that incredible catch because the officials were screwing around with the clock after the Jacobs conversion, which gave them extra time to complete their comeback. But instead of doing that, I look at it realistically... they made more plays than we did. And if the Patriots were so good, they should've beat them by way more than a 14-10. Same as the Seahawks vs. Steelers, or Saints vs. Seahawks. The fact is, they didn't and deserved to lose. In fact, if you're not up on your opponent by more than 10 points, you probably deserved to lose the game anyway, because any team worth a s*** would run up the score until the games out of reach.

End of rant.

[Seadragon76]

You know, as a Seattle fan (A true Seattle fan, not a bandwagoner like some people who I will not name for their sake), I've gotten over Super Bowl XL. That was 6 years ago. Did the refs make some questionable calls? Yes. Did the Seahawks just crap out on the biggest stage in the franchise's history? Yes. Now, I will admit that this loss hurt badly. But, to say that Steelers didn't deserve this win is just plain balderdash. They won, get over it.

Now, back to last night's games and boy... Atlanta sure laid an egg at home, didn't they? You know, for a team everyone thought would be the team to reach Arlington, it almost seems sad to see them go down in flames. Well, at least the Thrashers and Hawks don't suck, so Atlanta fans can enjoy them now... if they went to those games.

[Lights Out]

They are the only team proven to have juiced in the '70s.

Holy man, The Raiders.

Ah yes, forgot about them.