Showing posts with label Super Bowl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Super Bowl. Show all posts
  • Can The Saints Go Marching In? The New Orleans Saints are hands down the best team in the NFL right now. They made the New England Patriots look mediocre. They handed the Patriots their worst defeat since their 38-13, week 3 loss to the Miami Dolphins last season. Matt Cassel took over quarterback duties in place of Tom Brady due to his season ending knee injury. The Dolphins offense was invigorated by the newly found Wildcat offense. In some ways the outcome of that game wasn’t all that shocking. For one the Patriots didn’t have their pro bowl quarterback Tom Brady. Matt Cassel hadn’t started a game since high school. He is the only quarterback in NFL history to have started an NFL game without starting in college. The defense had personnel changes it was trying to accommodate as well.

    Teams don’t find their identity that early in the season. Suffering a demoralizing loss in week 12 is more alarming. Can the team psychologically recover from that loss? What type of character does this team possess? In order to be successful in this league you have to be able to bounce back. Have a short memory. Re-discover your swagger. It usually comes down to which teams are able to peak at the end of the season, most of the time. Last year the Arizona Cardinals looked terrible down the stretch. Their division, the NFC West, was equivalent to the AFC West division. The Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, and Denver Broncos were all bad teams. The San Diego Chargers were the only respectable team to emerge from the AFC West last year. The NFC West had terrible teams in the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, and St. Louis Rams last year. The Cardinals were the only one from that division to emerge as a respectable squad. They ended up winning the NFC West with a shoddy 9-7 record. Once the playoffs began the Cardinals defense played exceptionally well. Better than they had all season. Edgerrin James appeared to have reverted to the back he was three years prior to the actual calendar date. The passing game was firing on all cylinders. Larry Fitzgerald was having his best games of the season at the most crucial time. Everything was clicking for them. Hence Super Bowl XLIII hosted the Arizona Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers.

    If the New Orleans Saints defense continues to fly around the field and playing with a chip on their shoulders, watch out. Combine that with their offense and Congress should pass legislation deeming the Saints an illegal organization. They make it seem unfair that opposing defenses can’t field 12 or 13 defenders to contain them. I do mean contain them. Don’t confuse that with stopping them. Talk about a defensive coordinators worst nightmare come to life.

    Observing the Saints offense this year has been educational. It is a reminder that the game has evolved. Team speed has never been more essential. Gone are the days of the Lombardi sweep plays, physical bump ‘n run defenses, and Buddy Ryan hurling punches at fellow staffers on the sideline. The game resembles more of the AFL’s vertical passing style. To think, as fans we will be witnessing the three greatest offenses of all time, in the span of one decade. The 2001-’02 St. Louis Rams, 2007-’08 New England Patriots, and now the 2009-’10 New Orleans Saints.

    Drew Brees has to be revered as one of the game’s elite. He possesses unbelievable passing accuracy. He was hitting his receivers in stride 30 or more yards down field at will. He was able to consistently throw the ball in seemingly impossible spaces, which only his receivers could get to. The entire Saints team has been nothing short of spectacular. It will be interesting to see if they can keep performing at such a high level.

    The 2001-’02 St. Louis Rams lost to the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI. The 2007-’08 New England Patriots, who entered the Super Bowl 18-0, lost to the New York Giants. The Giants were a 10-6 wild card team that year. The Two most dominant offensive teams in NFL history lost to teams that were considered to be inferior. To put it best, any given Sunday

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  • From A Packer Fan: A Letter To Brett Favre Dear Brett Favre,

    First off I want to say thank you. Yourself, Reggie White, Mike Holmgren, and Ron Wolff gave me something that many fans will never have. A Super Bowl victory. I figure I was really about six years old when I remember caring about the Packers. I watched through 17 years of pretty much 8-8 seasons and very little hope of ever seeing the team in the big game. I was actually super excited about Don Majkowski. A new quarterback, someone who wasn't a failed draft choice. Nothing against Lynn Dicky, or David Whitehurst, but the "Majik Man" gave us playoff hope. Then he went down, and they put you in. We all know the rest of the story.

    Playoff games, respect, the feeling of what it must have been like to see the great Lombardi teams. No longer was the Packer highlight reel capped off with Bart Star crossing the one in the Ice Bowl. We were for real, Lambeau Field was restored as hallowed ground, and a damn tough place to get a win. You embraced the weather, something we are all proud of in Wisconsin, and you used it to win. You started every game no matter if you were hurt, sick, or tired. You did everything that was asked of you, and we were more than happy to pay you what you wanted.

    Again Thank You.

    Now we all saw the first meeting against the Vikings. The shot of you walking up to the line against the Green Bay defense was "surreal" as Mike Tirico pointed out. I am not even going to discuss the Jets or any of the nonsense about coming back or not coming back. You are now a Viking.

    My disdain for the Vikings has always been the same. I will not travel through the Minneapolis Airport because it is in Viking country. Minnesota may be the land of 10,000 lakes, but I won't fish in any of them. I relish in the fact that the Viking have lost 4 Superbowls. My kids really don't ever wear purple and NEVER with yellow. Did I mention I hate the Vikings?

    So Mr. Favre, when you come out of that tunnel, I am going to boo you. When our defense sacks you, I am going to cheer and yell primal screams, and when Charles Woodson pick sixes you I will probably loose my mind in delight! I can not root for you, nor can I say how great you ARE. You are a Viking.

    So again I thank you for everything you WERE and DID for Green Bay. I praise you for what you DID for me, my friends, and the state of Wisconsin. However on Sunday, and going forward, YOU SUCK AND THE VIKINGS SUCK, and I hope you loose the rest of your games and finish out of the playoffs.

    Go Packers,

    A Packer Fan

    PS When we retire your number at Lambeau Field, I will cheer the loudest along with all of the other great fans in Green Bay!

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  • Brett Favre: The Green Bay Hangover There was a great shot on MNF when Brett Favre walked up to his center and surveyed the Green Bay Defense. Mike Tirico aptly called it surreal. Packer fans were excited and apprehensive prior to the game. Vikings fans, well they were just jacked up.
    Favre, Monday Night Football, Green Bay Minnesota. Huge game for Packer fans, Viking fans, and NFL fans in general.

    Favre brought enough to win the game. Had a couple of great throws, had enough Adrian Peterson to get him into scoring range, and had enough Jared Allen on the other side of the ball to put Aaron Rodgers on his back 4&1/2 times.

    You had a feeling that the Vikings were going to win and maybe win big.
    However with all they had going for them did they really play that well? If they want to make their run to the Bowl, they are going to have to step up higher than what we saw last night.
    Few things that could have made last night a bit more interesting and thoughts on where the Vikings really are:

    Massive penalties against Green Bay hurt the Packers offensive attack
    Ryan Grant ran the ball pretty well against that front 4
    A really bad call on a great play by Charles Woodson caused a 14 point swing and really was the difference in the game
    Peterson put the ball on the ground again

    This should have been a blow out. The Green Bay line is awful. They really have no run attack, and they are still figuring out a new defensive scheme. I have to think that if the Vikings are going to go all the way they should be destroying teams like Green Bay, especially at home.

    Last weeks' Favre heroics, saved a game for them that they should have lost to an OK 49er team. Favre always gets up for Monday Night games, and you knew he was going to be up for this one. It was an experience for Green Bay fans to move past the legend and move on, and a way for Vikings fans to stick it to their arch rivals I am sure the Vikings fans are buying their Superbowl tickets as I write this!

    It was not a playoff game, Green Bay is mediocre at best, and the Vikings have alot of work to do. They seem a long way from beating the Saints, the Giants, or a Philly team with McNabb at the helm.

    Enjoy your victory Viking fans, if your real star Adrian Peterson keeps rolling all will be fine, but if defenses can stuff your run game, look out. As the weather gets colder, the schedule gets a little tougher, and you run into games that do not have the emotional attachment for Favre like last night, the interceptions and forced play will rear its ugly head. Don't celebrate too much too early, the hangover could get rough in December.

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