Official NFL 2010-2011 Thread

[Magpel]

Good game! When the Packers were driving for what became their final FG, I said to my posse, "either they score a TD or Pittsburgh wins," and I believed it. Can't do ti every time I guess.

 

Congratulations, Geoff! Great season, acutely reminiscent of the Giants' season a three years back--barely making the playoffs and then running the table on the road. Love it.

 

 

[kanker.]

Congrats to my main man ProfD on the Pick Em win. Obviously the win was secure for him after last week, but still, now it's offical. I kind of figured 2nd and 3rd would be set too considering Geoff and I were both going to pick the Packers...

[Geoff Grace]

Good game! When the Packers were driving for what became their final FG, I said to my posse, "either they score a TD or Pittsburgh wins," and I believed it. Can't do ti every time I guess.

 

Congratulations, Geoff! Great season, acutely reminiscent of the Giants' season a three years back--barely making the playoffs and then running the table on the road. Love it.

 

Thanks, John.

 

Reminiscent, yes. But the Giants accomplished an even bigger feat by beating an 18-0 team.

 

Not to knock the Steelers, though. Two Super Bowl wins of recent vintage is pretty remarkable as well.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[Geoff Grace]

Congrats to my main man ProfD on the Pick Em win.

Yes, well done, ProfD!

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[kanker.]

Good game! When the Packers were driving for what became their final FG, I said to my posse, "either they score a TD or Pittsburgh wins," and I believed it. Can't do ti every time I guess.

 

Congratulations, Geoff! Great season, acutely reminiscent of the Giants' season a three years back--barely making the playoffs and then running the table on the road. Love it.

 

Thanks, John.

 

Reminiscent, yes. But the Giants accomplished an even bigger feat by beating an 18-0 team.

 

Not to knock the Steelers, though. Two Super Bowl wins of recent vintage is pretty remarkable as well.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

One of those Super Bowl wins for the Steelers sits in between this Packers win and the Giants win in my rankings. The 2005 Steelers, the first 6 seed to win a SB, beat the 3 seed, the 1 seed, and the 2 seed in the AFC to reach the SB, and then beat the NFC 1 seed. Very impressive IMO, one hell of a great run.

[MikeT156]

Congratulations Geoff. The NFL title is back in Title Town. The Steelers can't expect to turn the ball over like that and win. Ben made some bad decisions and bad throws, especially in the first half. The one throw he tried to make to Wallace into double coverage that was intercepted was a rookie QB mistake. You can't get away with those kind of stupid mistakes. I was afraid it was going to get uglier than it did in the first half. I don't remember which GB receiver dropped a sure TD pass in the first half, but if he would have caught it, they would have been up 28-3.

 

Green Bay won fair 'n square, they deserved to win the game. At least the Steelers made a game of it in the second half. The Pack has a young team so I would bet they will be in the thick of the NFC playoffs for some years to come.

 

No sour grapes on my part, the Steelers weren't all that good all season and I was surprised they made it to the Super Bowl.

 

Cheers,

 

 

Mike T.

[KenElevenShadows]

Congrats to all Green Bay fans. Including Geoff, of course.

[Griffinator]

But GB got one back when it mattered most, and welcome to the 3-win club, Green Bay

Thanks, Scott.

 

You're off by one, however--in the tens column. That's a record 13 NFL Championships!

 

(If you're just talking about Johnny-come-lately Super Bowls, then you're still off by one. Green Bay is now 4-1 in Super Bowls.)

 

Best,

 

Geoff

 

My bad - 4 win club.

[richwhite9]

A good game, one of the better bowls.

 

Not sure what the story lines will be in the history books but I think Brett and the two criminals from Philly and Pitt will make for a nice spin. Even Jerry Jones' failure to get the stadium ready fits into a nice Packers storyline and good versus evil theme in a memorable winter and recession.

[Magpel]

Packers = young, talented team with great QB. Watch out.

 

BTW, if Pittsburgh has driven and scored, the Packers could've looked to a bout 6 drops-many of them quite significant. There should be a formula. 3.5 drops = 1 turnover.

[Dan South]

Separated at Birth

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1102/nfl-super-bowl-xlv-separated-at-birth/content.1.html

 

[Geoff Grace]

Packers = young, talented team with great QB. Watch out.

Deep too. They won the Super Bowl with 15 players on the IR list, 10 of them starters.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[Geoff Grace]

Congratulations Geoff.

Congrats to all Green Bay fans. Including Geoff, of course.

Thanks, guys.

 

Green Bay won fair 'n square, they deserved to win the game. At least the Steelers made a game of it in the second half. The Pack has a young team so I would bet they will be in the thick of the NFC playoffs for some years to come.

 

No sour grapes on my part, the Steelers weren't all that good all season and I was surprised they made it to the Super Bowl.

And yet they were an intimidating opponent.

 

Green Bay may have won the Super Bowl fair and square, but the Steelers won the AFC Championship the same way.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[KenElevenShadows]

The Packers won with a lot of injuries, not just during the game, but during the year, so I'd say they deserve it.

[MikeT156]

by Kenelevenshadows:

 

Congrats to all Green Bay fans. Including Geoff, of course.

 

AFAIK Geoff Grace is the only Packers fan that's a regular on this Forum. Of course, there are some band wagon fans that just don't like the Steelers, so there's no point in congratulating them.

 

by Geoff Grace:

 

....but the Steelers won the AFC Championship the same way.

 

I doubt that SCOT will agree with you on that statement.

 

Mike T.

[Geoff Grace]

You know, today is probably the happiest Super Bowl of my life so far. Before today, I've never had the experience of my longtime favorite team winning a Super Bowl.

 

When Green Bay won its first two Super Bowls, I was too young to be aware of the significance of the games and I wasn't yet much of a Packers fan. And of course my favorite team of my childhood and early adult years, the Los Angeles Rams, never won a Super Bowl.

 

Then when the Packers won a Super Bowl on January 26, 1997, I was happy; but they had just moved into my number one spot after the Rams moved to St. Louis. It wasn't like today, when they've been not only one of my favorites of my lifetime but my absolute favorite for the last 15 seasons.

 

Even the day that John Elway and the Broncos finally won a Super Bowl wasn't as good as today, because that victory came at the expense of the Packers.

 

Yes, today is a great day--a long awaited Super Bowl victory for my longtime favorite team!

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[Griffinator]

by Kenelevenshadows:

 

Congrats to all Green Bay fans. Including Geoff, of course.

 

AFAIK Geoff Grace is the only Packers fan that's a regular on this Forum. Of course, there are some band wagon fans that just don't like the Steelers, so there's no point in congratulating them.

 

by Geoff Grace:

 

....but the Steelers won the AFC Championship the same way.

 

I doubt that SCOT will agree with you on that statement.

 

Mike T.

 

Hey, just because they didn't have to play the Pats doesn't mean they didn't win the game fairly. The Jets didn't show up until the second half - they have only themselves to blame for losing.

[RABid]

Take that Skip Bayless, who a few weeks ago on ESPN2 First Take proclaimed that Green Bay made a mistake going with Aaron Rodgers over Brett Favre.

[MikeT156]

by Griffinator:

 

Hey, just because they didn't have to play the Pats doesn't mean they didn't win the game fairly. The Jets didn't show up until the second half - they have only themselves to blame for losing.

 

Thanks Scott, I was at least HALF kidding. The Steelers didn't have a lot of credibility in my eyes this year. Judging by the by the number of mistakes they made in the SB, and the number of bone-headed plays they made this season, they've got a lot of work to do.

 

Besides that, they need to get some younger players in a number of positions and learn the rules of the game. Leaving a live ball sit on the field for an easy Raven's TD shows a level of ignorance that is inexcusable for professionals.

 

 

Cheers,

 

 

Mike T.

[Griffinator]

by Griffinator:

 

Hey, just because they didn't have to play the Pats doesn't mean they didn't win the game fairly. The Jets didn't show up until the second half - they have only themselves to blame for losing.

 

Thanks Scott, I was at least HALF kidding. The Steelers didn't have a lot of credibility in my eyes this year. Judging by the by the number of mistakes they made in the SB, and the number of bone-headed plays they made this season, they've got a lot of work to do.

 

Besides that, they need to get some younger players in a number of positions and learn the rules of the game. Leaving a live ball sit on the field for an easy Raven's TD shows a level of ignorance that is inexcusable for professionals.

 

 

Cheers,

 

 

Mike T.

 

I'm surprised that you didn't comment on them doing it again in this game - fullback stood there and stared at the RB being tackled instead of at the ball which was behind him and a lot closer to him than the guy who recovered it....

[MikeT156]

Yeah, he was not thinking, or possibly blind. The Steelers were lame. The fact that they had a chance to win the game in the last two minutes makes me wonder how it could come down to that. The fact that there was a penalty that put the Steelers back on their 10 yard line goes to show that they were determined to beat themselves. Poor use of Times-out too. Basically, a Cluster F..K.

 

Gotta love Aaron Rogers. He was put in a very difficult position and now that he has succeeded in bringing an NFL title back to Green Bay, he's humble. Also, when his receivers dropped passes that he threw right into their hands, he didn't react in a negative way. He was more like "Oh, darn" than "You stupid incompetent as****** son of a....." None of that stuff. Class.

 

 

Cheers,

 

 

Mike T.

[ProfD]

Congrats to my main man ProfD on the Pick Em win.

Yes, well done, ProfD!

 

Best,

 

Geoff

Thanks fellas.

 

I enjoyed the Super Bowl game. The teams matched up as I figured they would. At times, both teams played similar to the way they did in their divisional championship.

 

I couldn't understand why the Packers went away from the running game. I thought they should have pounded the ball more. It became clear when I looked at Rodgers' numbers. He was going to the MVP if they won.

 

Despite the turnovers, the Steelers stayed focus. Tomlin is a great coach. Scoring a TD right before half-time, I knew they weren't out of the game. Had it not been for the picks and fumble on a great hit by Mathews, the outcome might have been different.

 

IMO, it was a great Super Bowl game. The half-time show was wack as h*ll though.

[Dave Bryce]

Congrats to brother Geoff and the Packer fans!

 

Worked out really well for me - in the pool at the Super Bowl party I attended, I came closest to guessing the final score (I picked 31-24), and I had the GB 1, PIT 5 square at the end of the 4th quarter.

 

dB

 

 

 

[Dan South]

Mike and Mike brought up an interesting point this morning. If the Eagles hadn't rallied to beat the Giants in that amazing comeback, GB probably wouldn't have made the playoffs at all. GB fought long odds and did everything that they needed to do to capitalize on their opportunities, however implausible.

[Jeff Klopmeyer]

Its time to say goodbye to the 2010-11 NFL season, one I enjoyed greatly, with a final edition of Tuesday Morning (Keyboard) Cornerback.

 

Ill start this ultimate column of the year by telling you that I have an odd reaction to the Super Bowl, and it involves being annoyed at all the people who seemingly dont follow, understand, or really give a shit about football in any way, shape or form for 51 weeks out of the year suddenly developing expertise about the game. I know thats silly; its all just entertainment. I dont watch many films, but I certainly have the right to complain about who wins Oscars. This is America, dammit, and were allowed to pretend we know more about any subject than everyone else at any given time. Therefore, Ill let go of my misplaced sense of propriety regarding folks who pay more attention to the commercials than the game.

 

Before we talk about that very game, lets wrap up our annual Pick Em Pool. Of the nine of us that put in a pick for the Big Game, seven chose Green Bay, and two chose Pittsburgh (the rest didnt bother). Still, the final standings remained fairly close, but we officially have a winner: congratulations to ProfD who had a very respectable season. Here are the final 2010-11 standings:

 

1. ProfD - 141 (141-119)

2. kanker - 138 (138-122)

3. Geoff Grace - 137 (137-123)

4. antimatter -135 (135-125)

5. jeffk_nfl2010 - 128 (128-132)

6. Mid Life Crisis - 127 (127-133)

7. dB -124 (124-136)

8. richwhite9 - 124 (124-136)

9. griffinator -120 (120-140)

10. Magpel - 120 (120-140)

11. saku - 116 (116-144)

12. GovernorSilver - 112 (112-148)

13. Jay - 36 (36-224)

 

In addition to the Prof, congrats also go out to our three runner-ups kanker, Geoff Grace, and antimatter, who kept the top rungs competitive all year long. Finally, congratulations to me for being the best of the losers, by a nose.

 

Super Bowl Musings

 

There was a moment during Super Bowl XLV -- just a quick moment, but a moment nonetheless -- when, I must admit, I found my attention wandering. It was almost the end of the first half, and Jennings caught a sweet 21-yard toss from Rodgers, making it 21-3. I knew one of two things would happen next: either the Steelers would remember their championship pedigree and make a game of it, or we were headed for a modern version of Super Bowl XXIV (49ers 55, Broncos 10, wake me when its over).

 

But in reality, the game was closer than the scoreboard indicated. At no point was Pittsburgh making it easy for Green Bay (except in the column of dumb penalties). Defensively, the Steelers looked strong, and if it werent for the decidedly mediocre play of Ben Roethlisberger, the game would have been a lot tighter at that point. Also, with Woodson, Shields, and Driver getting hurt by halftime, I knew nothing was guaranteed in the second half.

 

(A side note: in my early teens, I broke my right collarbone exactly how Charles Woodson broke his yesterday, playing cornerback and jumping to successfully defend a pass, then landing on my shoulder, and let me tell you: the pain is unbelievable.)

 

The third quarter was scary, if you were a Packers fan. Green Bays offense sputtered, going 4-and-out on a number of straight possessions, and it really looked like the injuries had finally decimated the team to the point that they wouldnt be able to hang on for the win. The momentum shift was palpable. But somehow, they found the strength to turn it around at the start of the fourth quarter, and even after giving up a couple of touchdowns, I was pretty confident that the Lombardi Trophy was headed home.

 

All in all, the Packers postseason was phenomenal, and Rodgers has inarguably entered the pantheon of great QBs of this era. Interestingly, theres only been one other 6th-seed team to win the Super Bowl... the 2005 Pittsburgh Steelers. But we all knew the seeding was pretty goofy going in, especially in the NFC, so I dont think its very shocking that the Pack, who had massive momentum going into the playoffs, would continue to play as well as they did. It didnt hurt that Rodgers became only the fourth guy in history to have three TDs, 300 yards, and zero picks. Hats off to the Pack for a superb game.

 

Non-Football Thoughts

 

 Honestly, how do you screw up the words to the National Anthem at the Super Bowl? And -- nothing against Christina Aguilera, who usually has a very well controlled voice -- the lyrical blunder kind of hid the fact that she also wasnt hitting pitches in some places.

 

 I really dislike just about everything about the Black Eyed Peas, and always have, and they could have put on the best performance of their lives yesterday and I still wouldnt have enjoyed it, so Im in no position to judge them. I honestly wouldnt care if they eliminated halftime shows entirely.

 

 The ads: this wasnt a year of amazing creativity in Super Bowl ads. I had a few giggles, but spent most of the game being unimpressed by any of my fellow marketing weasels' output. The Darth Vader VW ad was well done, but most Volkswagen ads are pretty great. Some of the Doritos ads -- especially the housesitter who reincarnates Grandpa -- had me laughing. Bridgestones Reply All ad was cute. But there were some major blow-its as well. The Groupon Tibet ad was in as poor taste as anything Ive seen, and while some people are lauding the 2-minute (aka $12 million) Chrysler ad with Eminem, I found it to be overly dramatic and didnt impart to me any confidence to buy American. The only other ad I really enjoyed was one by the NFL, which had various TV scenes throughout the years modified with appropriate team jerseys. That was cool.

 

Final thought: the Super Bowl has now passed New Years Eve as the #1 day in the USA to party at home, and my party consisted of myself, my girlfriend, my bronchitis-affected son, and my ancient cat, who all ate sandwiches, chips, and sodas (well, not the cat) and had a fun time together. Ultimately, thats what the Super Bowl is about. While I tend to mutter in solitude and occasionally swear out loud at my TV during the regular season, the Super Bowl is a good time to come together and enjoy an event as friends and family. Despite what others will imply, its not about ads, and barely about football. So, I hope you also had a fun day yesterday, and that the team you disliked the least won.

 

And so, that concludes our 2010-11 season. Id like to thank everyone who hung around the Keyboard Corners NFL thread this year... the entire season would be much less fun without you, especially our esteemed mod for allowing, condoning, encouraging, and actively participating in our NFL fun. Finally, as a true NFL fan, I leave you with these two words that I hope reverberate through the spring and summer and have some magical effect on the 2011-12 year...

 

GO RAIDERS!

[antimatter]

Well said Jeff!

 

and Congrats to ProfD on the Pick em' pool Victory!

[Dan South]

Thanks for the thoughtful and detailed recap, Jeff! I, too, broke my collarbone while defending a pass. It was a pick-up game with friends after school - no pads, of course. I dove, knocked the receiver out of bounds, and landed on a half-buried brick. It was as though all of the pain that I had ever felt in my entire life was focused on one spot for one second. Luckily, the shattered bone numbed up quickly, but my arm was left a heavy blob of useless tissue. Looking back on it, I try to put the experience in a positive light. At least I didn't hit that brick with my head.

 

Monday Morning Quarterback: The first Steeler drive after halftime was successful and 100 percent on the ground. They were within four points. Why did they abandon the run?

 

Ads: There were some turkeys, but...

 

I found the Chrysler ad inspiring. Am I going to buy a Chrysler? Probably not, but I'm going to think about Chrysler and Detroit differently than I did before. There are lots of NFL fans in the rust belt - guys who hunt and fish and work those tough jobs - I'll bet this ad was very well-received by that demographic.

 

I liked the Bud Lite product placement ad (sword fighting period piece) and the Bridgestone Reply To All ad. 'Reply To All' conjures up one of those deep-rooted phobias like showing up late for a final exam or realizing that you forgot to return a library book five years ago.

 

The VW ad was my favorite. I loved watching little Darth struggle to master his powers.

 

Richard Lewis, Roseann, Joan Rivers, and Hugh Laurie supplied a measure of much-needed humor. P Diddy was a waste of space, as were Ozzy and the country singer lady.

 

The finger-licking Doritos ad was not a good way to start the game. It creeped me out from the get-go.

 

Go Steelers! We still love the Black and Gold!

 

[GovernorSilver]

Having a chuckle at Nick Canepa (aka the SDUT's Professional Whiner): http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/feb/03/if-only-chargers-could-have-had-polamalu-matthews/

 

If Nick's aunt had a pair, she'd be an uncle, right?

[MikeT156]

Even though we lost, we had a GREAT SB Party at our American Legion. The place was full. Great Buffet dinner for 10 bucks. They kept the food out until the game was over. I read that SB Sunday is the biggest home party event in the US, it has over taken New Years Eve parties.

 

The Steelers fan pages are getting pretty brutal. I suppose its to be expected. Lots of finger pointing and many fingers toward Ben. He was very inaccurate in the first half and made bad decisions and bad throws. Lots of fingers pointing everywhere else, except at Mike Tomlin, he didn't make any excuses. Steelers didn't deserve to win.

 

 

Mike T.

[Jeff Klopmeyer]

It was as though all of the pain that I had ever felt in my entire life was focused on one spot for one second. Luckily, the shattered bone numbed up quickly, but my arm was left a heavy blob of useless tissue.

 

Not that I was going to play in any symphony orchestras beyond the middle-school range, but my early career as a violinist ended the same day my arm ended up in a sling for six weeks. I mentioned out loud the moment Woodson hit the ground and then held his arm in that all-too-familiar way, "He just broke his damn collarbone," which I don't think was reported until after the game (they were calling it a shoulder injury at first). But I remember that feeling... which I pray I'll never feel again. Ow!

 

The silver lining behind my clavicle fracture was that since I couldn't hold a violin, it caused me to focus on playing guitar and piano after my injury healed, which turned out to be a good thing.