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The Armchair Quarterback

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Wednesday January 18, 2006

 I'm trying to care about the rest of the playoffs. I really am.
 

Some thoughts on the upcoming games and a few afterthoughts on last weekend's games:

The Steelers/Colts game has to be on of the most fascinating postseason games I've ever seen. There were so many "what the hell?" moments that after a few days I'm still pondering them. Two obvious ones:

  1. I know it's been asked a million times and the only thing left on this beaten horse is the hoofs but what was Pete Morelli thinking when he reversed the Polamalu interception? I don't buy the conspiracy talk. It was just one of the worst calls in NFL history. Kind of like my decision to eat that piece of pizza I had been saving in the fridge since before Christmas. No thought towards the consequences. Morrelli's call has to rank right up there with Nick and Jessica's brain fart on ending a cash cow marriage. Even die hard Colt fans have to be asking, "What the hell?"
  2. Why does Nick Harper cut back instead of running towards the right sideline after picking up the Bettis fumble? There is no way Roethlisberger has the speed to cut him off if he doesn't cut right back into him. This has to be one of the worst running decisions ever. I've watched the replay serveral times. The lane was wide open if he just veers to the right. Say it with me, ---"what the hell?"

Morelli is taking a lot of heat for his Polamalu call. I can't imagine what it would be like if Harper runs that Bettis fumble back and the Colt's win. Does he ever work another NFL game in his life? Wouldn't his life be in danger? I saw the report about a brick being thrown through his window. That's with the Steelers winning.

Well enough about the past, how about this week's games? Both games seem very evenly matched which means they should be pretty closely contested right? Which means they'll probably be blowouts.

  • Can the Jake Plummer continue to defy expectations? He hasn't been god-like this year or anything but he has been efficient and effective and those aren't words I would have put with Jake Plummer before this season. It would be kind of like calling Paris Hilton modest and studious after seeing her next year at UCLA going for her bachelors degree while wearing turtlenecks and knee length skirts. Even after seeing it with your own eyes it would still be hard to shake the image of her in the Carl's Jr semi-porn commercial wouldn't it? Anyway, I think the Steelers will shut down the Broncos running game and Jake will have to make some plays. Interceptions are going to be a key to this game. Roethlisberger shocked the hell out of me with his first half play last week and if he can do it again the Broncos are in trouble. ------I was wrong on 3 out of 4 games last week so who should I jinx this week? I'll take the Broncos by 3.

  • The Panthers have to head into rainy Seattle this week and that should be an edge for the Seahawks. As a Ram fan I should hate Seattle and wish them ill this weekend. I don't. They just haven't been in the NFC long enough and rivalries take some time. Plus they haven't really done anything to earn my dislike yet. For example the Ram SuperBowl loss to the Patriots solidified my Patriot hate for several decades. Before this year it was the Rams who were providing the crushing losses to the Seahwaks. If I was a Seahawk fan I would hate the Rams. This year's Ram losses to the Seahawks really weren't that dishearting because St. Louis wasn't going anywhere anyway. As such, I wouldn't really have heartburn if the Seahawks go the Superbowl. Especially if doing so causes overconfidence next season and major contract issues that hurt their chances to win the division in the future (woops--that sounds like I could be developing some potential Seahawk dislike. Let it simmer for another season and we'll see how it goes).-----I'll pick the Panthers by a touchdown.

Posted by The Armchair Quarterback at 6:10 PM - 3 Comments   Add a Comment  
 
Monday January 16, 2006

 NFL Playoff Thoughts: Round 2
 

Patriots/Broncos
I’m usually not this excited about being wrong. The Broncos made my year. It’s really pathetic that I get as pumped about a team losing (even one I hate) ---as I do my own favorite team winning. Such is the extent of my Patriot animosity. I still think the Pats are a great team and if they get their secondary healthy and run the ball better they’ll be dangerous again next year. However, I clearly built these guys up to be better than they were this year. In my defense I previously had picked against New England for 4 straight years and they had pissed me off enough times that I had lost the ability to be rational about their team or their quarterback. I’m convinced Brady is still the best QB in the game but I guess this proves he’s mortal and not a servant of Satan (although let’s not rule out the possibility that the guy with the horns and cheesy goatee had some money on the Broncos). The Broncos look tough, Mike' Shanahan's eyes still creep me out, and to Jake Plummer's credit he didn’t implode this season, as many predicted (including myself at the beginning of the season). Sure the Patriots helped Denver out by not securing the ball better, but isn’t that how New England won some games in the past?

Colts/Steelers
I’m officially never picking the Colts in the postseason again. They choke in big games, and by they, I mean Manning. This guy is going to go down as the biggest choke job in the history of the NFL. So he was pressured a bit. Big deal. He still looked like crap on many plays where he had some time. It’s not even a question now; Manning plays tight when the stakes are high. His college career should have taught us that. The Steelers played great for a half. The Colt secondary got their jockstraps handed to them. But let’s be clear about this, the great QBs find a way to make it happen even when they are playing against a good defensive scheme. What really gets me is Manning then tells the press after the game that he doesn’t want to point fingers because he’s a good teammate buuutttt…..his protection broke down. He could have stopped after saying that or even included himself in the criticism but he chose to spell it out a second time for the press and again blamed his protection. Way to take responsibility. What a retard. If I was an offensive lineman for the Colts I’d let a really “good teammate” like Payton get a nice big dose of broken protection in the first game next season. Anyway, Manning's a whiner and a pussy and probably can't even spell the word "clutch".
Oh and this ought to answer the question of whether or not it’s a wise choice to rest an offense for a month when they depend on timing and rhythm.

Seahawks/Redskins
I’m impressed with Hasselbeck. He’s growing on me. He didn’t dazzle but he played well and held his crew together even with Alexander going down. The Redskins have a nice defense and an offense that sucks. So Seattle scored just enough and didn’t give up points they shouldn’t have. The Colts, Bears, and Pats wish they could say the same thing. That's what the playoffs are about. This was the game I cared the least about so I don't have much more to offer other than I'm very sad to see the Clinton Portis sideshow end.

Bears/Panthers
Woops. My bad. I had the Bears defense down as being really great. I’m thinking that a great defense doesn’t let the Panther's main and sometimes only offensive weapon torch them seemingly every play. Maybe Steve Smith is just that awesome. He’s destroyed just about everybody else this year, so why not Urlacher and Co.? Still it was a good season for Chicago. Nothing to be ashamed of . Except for Kyle Orton's beard.
Posted by The Armchair Quarterback at 11:03 AM - 5 Comments   Add a Comment  
 
Thursday January 12, 2006

 Genius at work. Quiet please.
 

Sometimes I just shake my head at things athletes say. The latest example is Pittsburgh Steeler linebacker, Joey Porter. Joey's words of wisdom this week involve his calling out the Colts for their unwillingness to give him a free ride in their upcoming game. --- "They don't want to just sit there, line up and play football... they want to try to catch you off guard. They don't want to play smash-mouth football, they want to trick you. ... They want to catch you substituting. Know what I mean? They don't want to just call a play, get up there and run a play. They want to make you think. They want it to be a thinking game instead of a football game."

.......so in other words Joey, you want them to make you comfortable, disregard any advantage they might have, and go away from their strengths (here's a hint Joey: Colt football isn't smash mouth) . I'm sure this type of rhetoric is going to cause Manning and co. to throw out the game plan just to stick it to Mr. Porter. Or not.
Posted by The Armchair Quarterback at 12:51 PM - 2 Comments   Add a Comment  
 
Monday January 9, 2006

 NFL Playoff Thoughts: Round 1
 

Patriots/Jaguars
Any Patriot that says they weren't licking their chops about the prospect of playing the Jags instead of the Steelers is flat out lying. Jacksonville is a decent team, but they were going nowhere in the playoffs. You knew it, I knew it, and belive me the Patriots knew it. Yeah, the Pats didn't always look good this year against above average competition. So what? It's January and they've got Tom Brady. And Tom Brady is the best damn quarterback in football. Excuse me while I go pull out my armpit hairs with my teeth. Sorry, any Tom Brady love on my part(or Patriot praise for that matter) requires immediate self mutilation. I wish it wasn't so but the only team that has a shot at beating the Patriots is the Colts. The Steelers and Broncos don't have Tom Brady. And no, I won't get off this point. Brady has sold his soul to the devil and has powers beyond a mortal human being. You can't compete with that. You just can't.
Next Week: Pats/Broncos----I'm picking the Patriots. Yes, I hate myself. I will be performing a painful toenail extraction later this evening.

Redskins/Buccaneers
I think both of these teams overachieved this year and the fact that they both made the playoffs is a bonus. So the Bucs should feel positive about their season and look to the future. Simms looks like he could be a legitimate starter with a few more games under his belt. Although he really looks shaky when he doesn't get enough time for a 7 step drop. When he can take that deep drop with protection, he can hit about anybody. When he throws short or he's hurried he's less than stellar.
Next week: Redskins/Seahawks---It's been a nice run for the Redskins but they are going home next week.

Giants/Panthers
Eli, Eli, where art thou? Oh yeah....throwing an interception, that's where. I hope this is not an omen for his Kenny Loggin lovin older brother. Where did the Giant's run defense go to? And how can you score 0 points at home? That was so painful to watch that I even started to have the"hi, I'm Eli and I'm constipated" look on my face. Anyway I'm not really a Giants fan but I did have visions of a Manning Bowl and counting how many times the two brothers were asked how it would feel to play each other. Not to mention the ten million camera shots of Archie that we would have had the pleasure to see if they both were in the big game. "Oh look there's Archie picking his nose, I wonder if that means he's rooting for Payton?" or "look Momma Manning is on the phone,..read her lips..she just laid a grand on Eli, she must know something.." ---Lets be honest, that's quality football drama that will be lost.
--Anyway, the Panthers have Steve Smith on their team. He's freaking good by the way, and I'll always cheer a former Ute. Delhomme would still scare the sh-- out of me if I was a Panther fan but his crazy interceptions have been in hibernation for a couple of weeks...so they got that going for them..which is nice.
Next week: Panthers/Chicago---I'm going to have to agree with Greg over at SportsBlah.com and The Zoner and put the Bears in the awesome category. My pick is for the Bears as long as Kyle Orton keeps the stocking cap on his head and the helmet in his arms.

Bengals/Steelers
I was really pissed when Palmer went down. Talk about bad luck. Perfect deep throw to start the game. I don't know if they would have won but it would have been a hell of a lot more interesting. Kitna is a good backup but we all knew once the Steelers went up that this game was over. -
--By the way, I really like Pittsburgh's Willie Parker. Anybody with a name like "Fast Willie" is welcome at Wednesday's Tag-Team Uno Night with me anytime.
Next week: Steelers/Colts---I can't remember the last time the Colts looked good--it may have been somewhere around Thanksgiving. That's the problem with putting it on cruise control for so long. However, when you see Palmer going down for the Bengals you realize it would have only taken one play in December where Manning hit the deck and the Colt's chances would have been slim and nada in the postseason. So they're rusty but if they survive against the Steelers maybe they'll be prepared when they play the Patriots. I think the Steelers definately have a shot at this but I'm picking the Colts to pull it out.
Posted by The Armchair Quarterback at 1:42 AM - 4 Comments   Add a Comment  
 
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Author: The Armchair Quarterback
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Age: 36
 
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