Football Thread

There will be times where I just get into the mood where I want to talk about and think about football. And no, this isn't about soccer. *wink*

Of course, this may have been asked before, but what are your favorite football teams? NFL teams? College football teams? Do you have any experience in watching (or for some, even playing) high school football? When you do watch football, and I don't know how often TSC does, what do you think about? Do the various types of football formations interest or intrgiue you? There are such things as coaching philisophies and the like. Drafting college players and signing free agents also make things a bit interesting. Yeah, so you can tell that I'm into football. lol

So anyway, your thoughts?

I like the Browns.

FelixMargarita wrote:I like the Browns.

:Whoa!: You do? Wowzers! A fellow Browns fan I can talk to!

Yeah, but unfortunately for us, the Browns have had a really bad year this year. We have gotten a few wins lately, but still, we have a long way to go before we can catch up with the rest of the AFC North. I think with the addition of Mike Holmgren as our President of Football Operations, we'll be headed in the right direction soon. Mike knows a lot about the West Coast Offense, and I have a feeling we'll be seeing that kind of offense in Cleveland soon.

I stick with America's Team, the Dallas Cowboys. They've been up and down, winning against the formerly-unbeaten Saints recently, but getting crushed by the Giants in both meetings set them back a considerable amount then and now. Should Dallas defeat the Redskins in DC, then they control their own destiny unless the Giants lose and take care of that. Tony Romo has done better after Terrell Owens left for Buffalo, eliminating the unneeded drama amongst themselves. It's the Bills' problem now.

Even if the Cowboys make it, they may likely play the Saints again. Even though they pulled it off once, it is difficult for any team to beat one opponent twice in the same season. Plus, it'll be in the 'Dome, which though Dallas is 4-3 on the road plus whatever happens at Washington, they still have that December Curse lingering over them. Just seems they are too superstitious. Plus, there's the fact that the Cowboys haven't won a playoff game since 1996, so that's another trend they gotta break if they make it to the playoffs. The 'Boys do well all year long except for December. They've choked their way out of playoff contention and to quick-exits in the playoffs since they last won the Super Bowl in 1995. It's like a semester in high school; the final exam counts as a quarter of the grade. Dallas plays 4 games in December, a quarter of the season. It seems that every year since 1996, they bomb in the last quarter of the season and either mess up their playoff scenarios to the point where they're out or barely make it and then choke in their playoff game. The 2007 season was an exception as they went 13-3 that year and got the #1 seed. They face the Giants, a team they beat twice already, in the division round, and, surprise, they blow it on the last play of the game and leave the door open for the Giants to upend the Packers at Lambeau and the Pats in SB XLII.

Recent history doesn't make Dallas's playoff situation look good, and neither does their remaining schedule of playing at Washington, then hosting Philadelphia for the regular season finale. If Dallas can win both games, then they're in no matter what. They clinch with a win over the Redskins and a loss from the Giants, but the Giants can still get back in if the Packers should slip as well. If the Packers and Giants do end up tying, then head-to-head wouldn't break it since they haven't played each other this year, conference records would be 7-5 each, so then they would have to go to common opponents, which, seeing their schedules, assuming that the Giants go 1-1 and the Packers 0-2 so that that these two teams do tie for a playoff spot, the Giants hold the tiebreaker because even if New York loses to the Vikings, a common opponent between the teams, Green Bay would have lost to both of their final opponents, including the Cardinals, another common team, leaving the Giants at a hypothetical 3-2 against teams that have also played the Packers and Green Bay at 1-4 vs. opponents who also played New York.

Yeah. But if you think that's complicated, the AFC has five 7-7 teams from 7th to 11th (Miami, Jacksonville, New York Jets, Pittsburgh, and Houston) who are just under 6th-place Denver. Denver just needs a win and losses from all teams 7th to 10th to clinch this week, but if that doesn't happen, then the Broncos and every 7-7 team who hangs in there may be in for a wild ride should Denver lose next week. Then, it's a matter of who ties the Broncos and who holds what over another. But, if Denver wins their last two games, then all that complication goes away since they'll be 10-6 and the five tied teams will only get a 9-7 record at best.

So, yeah. One less headache for the teams who are already in. And to think I spun that from talking about the Cowboys.

Hamilton Tiger Cats. I like the CFL more then the NFL

The New York Giants.

Dallas Cowboys.

San Francisco 49ers.

I don't really care for the sport, but I do recall the happiness my dad felt when the Giants won the last SuperBowl. Priceless.

I love the NFL. That's pretty much all I do on Sunday, besides church. Anyways my favorite team would be the Patriots, and not because they're good. It's because my Dad is a huge fa of them (he used to live in Massachusetts) and he is the one that got me into football. Then my next favorite would be the Seahawks because, I live in Washington, and after that would be the Panthers, because when I was a little kid I like their uniforms so I decided to like the team. I also like the Jaguars too.

Mario94 wrote:
Even if the Cowboys make it, they may likely play the Saints again. Even though they pulled it off once, it is difficult for any team to beat one opponent twice in the same season. Plus, it'll be in the 'Dome, which though Dallas is 4-3 on the road plus whatever happens at Washington, they still have that December Curse lingering over them. Just seems they are too superstitious. Plus, there's the fact that the Cowboys haven't won a playoff game since 1996, so that's another trend they gotta break if they make it to the playoffs. The 'Boys do well all year long except for December. They've choked their way out of playoff contention and to quick-exits in the playoffs since they last won the Super Bowl in 1995. It's like a semester in high school; the final exam counts as a quarter of the grade. Dallas plays 4 games in December, a quarter of the season. It seems that every year since 1996, they bomb in the last quarter of the season and either mess up their playoff scenarios to the point where they're out or barely make it and then choke in their playoff game. The 2007 season was an exception as they went 13-3 that year and got the #1 seed. They face the Giants, a team they beat twice already, in the division round, and, surprise, they blow it on the last play of the game and leave the door open for the Giants to upend the Packers at Lambeau and the Pats in SB XLII.

Recent history doesn't make Dallas's playoff situation look good, and neither does their remaining schedule of playing at Washington, then hosting Philadelphia for the regular season finale. If Dallas can win both games, then they're in no matter what. They clinch with a win over the Redskins and a loss from the Giants, but the Giants can still get back in if the Packers should slip as well. If the Packers and Giants do end up tying, then head-to-head wouldn't break it since they haven't played each other this year, conference records would be 7-5 each, so then they would have to go to common opponents, which, seeing their schedules, assuming that the Giants go 1-1 and the Packers 0-2 so that that these two teams do tie for a playoff spot, the Giants hold the tiebreaker because even if New York loses to the Vikings, a common opponent between the teams, Green Bay would have lost to both of their final opponents, including the Cardinals, another common team, leaving the Giants at a hypothetical 3-2 against teams that have also played the Packers and Green Bay at 1-4 vs. opponents who also played New York.

Yeah. But if you think that's complicated, the AFC has five 7-7 teams from 7th to 11th (Miami, Jacksonville, New York Jets, Pittsburgh, and Houston) who are just under 6th-place Denver. Denver just needs a win and losses from all teams 7th to 10th to clinch this week, but if that doesn't happen, then the Broncos and every 7-7 team who hangs in there may be in for a wild ride should Denver lose next week. Then, it's a matter of who ties the Broncos and who holds what over another. But, if Denver wins their last two games, then all that complication goes away since they'll be 10-6 and the five tied teams will only get a 9-7 record at best.

So, yeah. One less headache for the teams who are already in. And to think I spun that from talking about the Cowboys.

Bold Prediction: Saints don't win a playoff game
Well, now that the NFC Playoff Picture is figured out, the only that matters are the seeds. And I think the only teams the Cowboys need to worry about are Eagle and Cardinals. I think their December funk is over, just look at Tony Romo. He averaged 300 yards game, and has 7 touchdowns,and only 1 inteception which was a tipped pass Roy Williams could've caught.

As for the AFC, I have no idea who's going to make those Wild Card spots, it could be just about anyone. I don't think the Patriots are getting to the Super owl this year though, they have lost too many key veterans on defense. But id they draft well next year, maybe. The dynasty isn't quite over yet. :Wink Wink:
Even More Bold Prediction: Bengals win the Super Bowl

Well, I wouldn't doubt either prediction. The Saints won't go into the playoffs with much momentum even if they win their last game, and the Bengals want to get something out of this year's playoffs, especially since Chris Henry died recently.

The AFC Wild Card is a mess, but that will be solved next week. There wouldn't be enough spots even if the teams competing for the Wild Card were fighting for the division titles as well as the Wild Card. So many teams fighting for two spots in the playoffs. Only two will escape, and the rest will be left feeling they were so close, and yet they messed up somewhere to cut themselves short.

Since the Eagles are 11-4 and the Cowboys 10-5 and Dallas defeated Philadelphia earlier, their matchup in Week 17 technically will be the NFC East division title game. But like the AFC Wild Card situation, the seeding situation is quite a mess. The Vikings lost, so the #2 seed is up for grabs for all 5 teams below the Saints minus whoever loses between Philly and Dallas. So this game between these NFC East rivals is not only for the division title, but for a possible and crucial #2 seed, since the #2 team also gets a first-round bye like #1, but without the guaranteed home-field edge.

Yeah. Things are hectic in both conferences. God knows how many teams competing for playoff spots, and five NFC teams fighting for the first-round bye next week.

The Cowboys, even though they are sucking this year.

The Cowboys need Brett Farve. BAD.

No, they don't. They already had problems with an old QB before with Drew Bledsoe, the guy before Tony Romo. I doubt Favre is gonna change anything in Dallas. Plus, he's old. He's gonna lose his touch if he keeps playing, and chances are, if Dallas takes him, he's gonna lose it there and it'll cost the Cowboys more than it's worth.

I just stopped liking Brett Favre after he came out of retirement the first time and liked him less when he came out again after he said there was no way he was returning.

geardawg wrote:The Cowboys, even though they are sucking this year.

The Cowboys need Brett Farve. BAD.

Are you serious?!?! Tony Romo has had a monster season this year, and this is easily their best season ( not to mention most drama free one too) this decade.

Oh, and the dreaded schism strikes back.

I gotta make a comment on the Minnesota Vikings right now.

What in the world is going on between Brett Favre and Head Coach Brad Childress? I mean, seriously, if you're the guy who brought in an old diva quarterback in Brett Favre to run your offense, then you would have to know the baggage that Brett would bring. Now, I know Brett's a good QB, and I happen to love the way he plays the game, but he needs to know his place. He's a player, and not a coach.

codeorange wrote:I gotta make a comment on the Minnesota Vikings right now.

What in the world is going on between Brett Favre and Head Coach Brad Childress? I mean, seriously, if you're the guy who brought in an old diva quarterback in Brett Favre to run your offense, then you would have to know the baggage that Brett would bring. Now, I know Brett's a good QB, and I happen to love the way he plays the game, but he needs to know his place. He's a player, and not a coach.

I already said in the above post, it's the dreaded schism. It has returned. Oh yes,, and the Vikings don't make it past the Wild Card game.

Well, apparently, Brad Childress thought he could try and rein in Favre and get him used to his system, which is hard to do with old QBs like Favre. Why do you think #4 left the Jets?

As long as he just quits this crap he's managed to spindle in the last two years, I don't care what he does. He lost my respect when he retired TWICE and came out of retirement TWICE. Why Roger Goodell let him back in the first place is beyond me, but he probably figured money over integrity. There should be a rule saying once you retire as a player, you can't play again. Either that, or you get one chance to come out of retirement, but if the commissioner disapproves, then you're just outta luck. Coming back as a coach, a GM, or an owner is fine, but not as a player. I ain't believing Favre will stay retired as a player until he stays out for 3 years or gets a coaching or managing position.

Mario94 wrote:Well, apparently, Brad Childress thought he could try and rein in Favre and get him used to his system, which is hard to do with old QBs like Favre. Why do you think #4 left the Jets?

He did want to be a Viking all along, but the Packers didn't want him in the same division, so he retired for a few minutes.

I believe ESPN's Tuesday Morning Quarterback, Gregg Easterbrook, sums this whole situation up in his latest article at the bottom of the post.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=easterbrook/091229&sportCat=nfl

Ugh. I don't know about you guys, but I can feel pretty drained after having to either hear about or watch so many bowl games. I'm serious when I say this. There are way too many bowl games right now! 34 of them! Did you know that back in the 1960's and 1970's, there were only 4 bowl games?

Nowadays, you don't even have to be that good to get into a bowl game. Just about any 6-6er can get in if they're in a good enough conference. And all these other mediocre teams getting to play even though they suck compared to those who make it into the BCS bowls. I mean, Wyoming? Middle Tennessee State? I can understand Northwestern, but these just above- or at-.500 teams? I think 4 or 5 is great, but the most should be 20. The top 40 teams is where you'll get all the good ones without any mediocrity. Freakin' Weedwhacker Bowl teams should have to sit home.

Or, better yet, get a playoff system into upper-Division 1 college football. Every college and pro sport has a playoff system except the FBS, formerly known as Div. 1-A. One loss in any other sport, college or pro, doesn't derail teams from their path to the championship, but one loss in the FBS is enough to destroy a team's hopes of a title, and two makes not going to the championship definite. Only one team has ever played in the BCS National Championship going in with two losses, and that was Louisiana State when they went in 11-2 against the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Tigers won, but top 10 undefeated teams, such as Hawaii, argued they should have had a shot at the title. There were no top 10 teams other than the Warriors who was unbeaten or 1-loss and their respective conference's champion. LSU was the only top 5 team aside from Ohio State who won their conference title, and despite their 2 losses, the BCS decided they were best suited to take on the #1 Buckeyes. A playoff system might be accused of being subject to opinion, but it would give more than just 2 teams a chance to prove themselves champion. Back in the days before the BCS, the #1 team had the option of choosing which bowl they wanted to play in out of those they were invited to, and if they won, they took the title. If not, then when the final standings came out, whoever was #1 claimed the national championship.

The BCS games should be used as sites of the playoffs should the FBS decide to make the postseason a playoff since BCS stands for Bowl Championship Series. If only one of those games is the championship, what's the point in calling the other 4 BCS games?

And then there's the Mike Leach situation. The Texas Tech Red Raiders are gonna have to do without Leach in the Alamo Bowl against Michigan State after Leach was fired over an incident involving WR Adam James, son of college legend and ESPN analyst Craig James. Adam James reportedly suffered a concussion, was taken to two different rooms, and left alone for three hours. Texas Tech investigated, suspended Leach on Monday and fired him Wednesday. New information about the situation is coming in every day, including a statement from an assistant coach that James was never taken to a second room (reportedly an electric closet) and had two trainers with him at all times. Mike Leach spoke out about the situation and said James wasn't putting in the effort anytime. When James suffered a mild concussion, he put him in a dim room because he didn't want to make it worse by keeping him outside in the light and prone to something else hitting him in the head. He said he felt Tech fired him to cut back on costs since he signed a 5 year/$12.7 million contract with an $800K bonus if he was still head coach by Thursday. They probably figured a competitive contract would get him to stay, then they could fire him when things got rough to save themselves a few million. Leach's attorney, though, plans on suing the school "soon," but in the meanwhile, Tommy Tuberville, who left his job at Auburn in 2008, has interest in becoming the new head coach in the 2010 season. For the bowl game, though, Ruffin McNeal will be the head coach and offensive and defensive coordinator.

So, that ends my college football rant. I'll likely come back with one about my NFL Playoff predictions.

codeorange wrote:Ugh. I don't know about you guys, but I can feel pretty drained after having to either hear about or watch so many bowl games. I'm serious when I say this. There are way too many bowl games right now! 34 of them! Did you know that back in the 1960's and 1970's, there were only 4 bowl games?

Well, don't watch them, that's what I do. : ):

Mario, I'll join you in the playoff prediction rant.

Can't this topic be about both American Football and International Football (Soccer)? :(

Starlight Rage Zone wrote:Can't this topic be about both American Football and International Football (Soccer)? :(

Uhh, no.

Why not? It clearly says "Football" and I was hoping to talk about it a bit.