NFL Regular Season 2009

[Jayson]

I saw the Bradshaw/Johnson debate too. Funny thing is that Bradshaw came back later and said the if it was himself at 40 he would have done the same thing.

[JediJman]

Well, I thought pretty much all the games this week were dull.  Even the closer scoring Jets/Chargers game was out of hand by the end.  Maybe others like seeing a team pounded over and over, but it feels like the Packers/Cards game last week was the only one with any real excitement to it. 

Kudos to the Vike fans out there on another solid win today.  I didn't see any need for that last TD, to Shianco, but I don't have any problem with it either.  Most teams that get ahead by the end prefer to just manage the clock for their win, but I'd rather watch a team keep playing than just milking the clock.  Honestly, continuing to pass is much more risky - Dallas should have been thanking Minnesota for giving them a better chance to make a play.  Besides, no one seems to complain about the Patriots when they score 60pts in a game.   

It would have been neat to see Farve vs. Warner.  A combined 79+ years for the 2 starting QBs.

You mean a combined 79 years of life?     It's not like they were playing right out of the womb.  I think the Saints/Vikes will be a much better game - you could tell that Arizona had nothing left in the tank after the OT win last week.  I was definitely cheering for Warner on Saturday though.  It would be nice to see them win one after getting to the big game last year.

An interesting story will be if the Jets can muster a game and beat Indy, who rolled over and let NY win (figuratively) to get into the playoffs when they rested their starters.

I hadn't thought about that before, but that would be a great story.  Hopefully it might lead to a few more teams keeping their starters in the last few weeks.  I'm fine with a team resting their stars when they get ahead, but it isn't really fair that someone plays Indy full force earlier in the year, while the Jets get a free pass in the final weeks due to a clinched seed.  I like Indy, but it would be interesting to see Indy pay the price for this.

[Jeff]

Most teams that get ahead by the end prefer to just manage the clock for their win

Yeah, but considering Childress is horrible with clock management [insert one of Scott's many rants here], I'd much rather see him run up the score than practice his brand of "clock management".   

[John C]

You never ever let up on a team in the playoffs.  You step on their neck and stomp it if you can.  It's up to them to stop the bleeding. 

[Jesse James]

The people that whine about running up the score are the same people that think winners and losers of a little league game should get trophies. The object is to put more points on the board than the other guy and make any chance of a comeback as difficult as possible. Done and done.

That made me laugh out loud because I've had many Saturdays and Mondays I could've used you at the field Jay.   I needed someone to say something similar to a handful of pissed off parents.

So I actually called all 4 this week and wish greatly I had put money on that SD/NY game because I think I'd have done well.

Next week's...  I dunno.

I'm going with NYJ just because I want it to happen more than I want to see Indy again.  I'm not sure who to pick in the NO/MN game especially after MN's performance today...  I'm leaning towards NO though right now, but they're the two teams I was pulling for equally when this playoff year started.  NO's line is going to give MN fits I think, and alter their D a bit...  Good luck.

About running up the score...

It's the NFL, they're all paid well, so I'm of the opinion that there should be no complaining about the score getting run up.  Stop them if you can, but don't bitch when they don't let up on you. 

I guess in the pro's they expect some chivalrous letting off the gas though, and that's sort of an unspoken thing among them...  I didn't see the last play to know if MN gave them a full backfield implying a run or something, but regardless they're professionals so complaining about it's pointless.

Justin's right with the danger of the play though...  MN had it in-hand, so I think from a coaching POV, they took a risk there that was pretty big...  Someone breaks through and hits Favre the wrong way and suddenly MN's in a whole new situation.  The run's a generally safer play in a situation like that, and probably more what I would've done just because the pass is so important to MN I think.

Watching a team pound another's boring unless you really like the team doing the pounding, haha...  I always enjoyed the Steelers choking another team to death and crushing their will to even fight back, but yeah it's all about perspective.

[John C]

I wish the Vikes would have pulled Favre, Peterson and the other starters when it was 27-3, but I guess Chilly in his infinite wisdom wanted to build up some momentum, keep the team going at a high rate and maybe send a message to the Saints although I would think by now they know what to expect.  That game will have some points scored, but I wouldn't expect a Green Bay/Arizona score.  Maybe 35-31 or something similar.

[Paul]

It would have been neat to see Farve vs. Warner.  A combined 79+ years for the 2 starting QBs.

You mean a combined 79 years of life?     It's not like they were playing right out of the womb. 

Of course, only Madden and Bradshaw think Farve threw his first pass to the OB/Gyn that delivered him.  And since they don't frequent the forum, I assumed everybody would figure that out.


JJ that was my theory exactly.. they are gonna run a play like that and risk letting Tavares Jackson start the NFC Championship game.  

Ok, watching some of the local coverage on this 'Running up' thing and something I had not noticed...

Dallas called a time out a play or two before that... and what were they going to do if they had gotten ball back?  Score a touchdown and go for the rarely seen 21.5 point conversion?

So, sorry Terry Bradshaw and Keith Brooking, the Cowboys deserve it.

I don't know what to think about next week's NFC game though... Reggie Bush has 1 game finally that lives up to his billing, can he do it 2 games in a row.  And Adrian Peterson has yet to go off.

[GrandMoffNick]

There is no such thing as running up the score in the NFL. The stuff about Favre or whoever getting hurt on a play like that does have some validity, but I like keeping the momentum going.

And thank you to Paul for the timeout comment. Exactly. If you are going to use your time outs when your down by that much, which I have no problem with Dallas doing, then don't become a little whiny baby and go cry to the other team if they use that time to score.

[Mikey D]

Same old Chargers.

This running up the score **** is hilarious.  It was hilarious in 07 with the Pats and all their haters and it's still hilarious with the Cowboys bitching and crying.  Where was this feeling when they were scoring at ease against the Eagles the last two weeks?

I'm torn on the AFC Championship.  I really don't like either team, but I hate the Jets more, so I'll take the lesser of two evils.

I'm not much of a Favre fan, but I like the Vikings and definitely have no problems with the Saints.  I think the home team wins it (and would have said the same thing if the game was played in Minny).

Super Bowl:
Saints (pick made for selfish reasons)

However, nothing is going to compare to the Pro Bowl.  Wade vs. Norv?  That has epicness all over it.

[JediJman]

However, nothing is going to compare to the Pro Bowl.  Wade vs. Norv?  That has epicness all over it.

   I'm going to go Saints and Indy this week.  I think that might be the first time that a #1 seed faces a #1 seed - would be a grat match-up.  I'm surprisded to see the Jets make it this far, but they seem to be getting by on one or two great/lucky plays versus really dominating another team like the Vikes and Colts have done.  I do think the Vikes game might be close and I'd give the Vikes the advantage if it was here in MN.  They're still in good shape not having to play a cold weather game.

[ruiner]

It's too bad the Colts and Saints couldn't keep their perfect season going. . . that would've been one helluva Super Bowl.

[Scott]

I was just reading through the thread and I laughed at my owns comments of how much I hated Farve and how I hope he died etc etc.  This year has been one hell of a trip for Vikings fans and I think good ole #4 won over pretty much every cynic and baby like myself with his play on the field.  I still think he is a primadonna douche but that doesn't mean I hope and pray almost hourly that he can win two more games.

Most of you guys here cheer for teams that have won a Super Bowl, let alone two or three or five.  Maybe Eagles fans know the pain and suffering of what it is like to have a perrenial winning franchise that just cannot get over that hump.  There is something magical in the air up here and it just seems like destiny that this is the Vikings year.  It is going to happen.  If it doesn't...I'll be crushed like I always am.  I have cheered for this team since forever.  I remember being humiliated by Tony Dorsett's 99 yard run on MNF.  1987 was another magical run in which they beat the Saints and 49ers only to lose a heartbreaker to the Redskins.  The early Denny Green years had 5-6 playoff teams before he even got a sniff of winning a playoff game.  The 98 team was the last team of destiny.  I'll be man enough to admit that I sat an cried on my couch as Morten Andersen's kick ended the Vikings season.  2001...I actually started shoveling my driveway in the last NFC Championship folly.  I'm not even old enough to really remember the 4 Super Bowl defeats (unlike a Canuckian).  Sorry for ranting...come on Farve...two more games!

[JediJman]

Well, as a Packer fan deep in Minnesota territory, nothing would ruin my week/month/year more than seeing the Vikes win a Super Bowl.  We have to deal with enough anti-packer BS day in and day out - having the purple finally win one would be pure agony.  I won't be at all surprised to see them go and win, but I will be dissapointed if it ends up that way and may need to ask my boss if I can just telecommute until next season.

Anyone else up here catch the funny bit on KFAN yesterday?  A bunch of guys from a station in Dallas called up to give the Common Man a hard time, since they apparently just beat MN in hockey this week.  Apparently they felt that was big payback for the Vikings knocking the Cowboys out of the playoffs.  Common had some hilarious come backs to put them in their place, but the best line came from one of the Dallas guys as they were signing off.  He asked, "Hey Common, you sure you got room in the trophy case for another Lombardi trophy?"  Priceless.

Go Saints!

[P-Siddy]

A bunch of guys from a station in Dallas called up to give the Common Man a hard time, since they apparently just beat MN in hockey this week.  Apparently they felt that was big payback for the Vikings knocking the Cowboys out of the playoffs. 

Hmm, hockey doesn't equate with football in the sports world, so if these boys feel better about it, fine.

[Rob]

Most of you guys here cheer for teams that have won a Super Bowl, let alone two or three or five.  Maybe Eagles fans know the pain and suffering of what it is like to have a perrenial winning franchise that just cannot get over that hump. 

As a Bucs fan I know what it's like... the thing that sucks though, is when you finally do win one the fans (at least in Tampa) started to act like Superbowls grow on trees... they ran Gruden, the best coach in franchise history, right out of town 5 years later... there were some down years, mostly because of salary cap issues, but he still managed to win another pair of division titles (3 total in his 6  years)... but patience all but disappeared.  Tampa fans became fickle, and embarrassing.

And now we've got Raheem the Dream Morris and a 3-13 team.  A team Gruden won 9 games with last year.