2008 NFL Season Thread- The Road to Super Bowl XLIII

[Havok]

Ward and Big Ben out?

[Medic]

Ward and Big Ben out?

Yay and Nay, respectively.

[Medic]

#35 on the Ravens just got decapitated on that block. Holy shit. "Corey Ivy"

[Havok]

The Steelers are ahead on luck so far. The one broken play, that against any other team, the Ravens would have intercepted and returned for a touchdown. That roughing the kicker penalty was fucking ridiculous. The first time I've ever seen it called where the guy coming in did not actually touch the kicker. I mean, c'mon Pittsburgh, the Refs are doing their job. Pick up the slack.

And yeah... Corey Ivy got fucking killed. If it was any other team, I would consider it a good clean block, however... WHAT A FUCKING CHEAP SHOT!!! NUCLEAR FIRE!!!11

[Medic]

Flacco's 3 for 14, 39 yards and an I-N-T.
That won't cut it for the 2nd half.

[Bilbo]

I see the Steelers (or we say Stealers) are still blessed by the refs. That roughing the punter penalty was a complete load of shit.

[Elfdart]

Looks like I'm 2-0 this week. I knew the zebras wouldn't let the Steelers lose.

[Bilbo]

Looks like I'm 2-0 this week. I knew the zebras wouldn't let the Steelers lose.

One fieldgoal now and even the Zebras will be thwarted.

[Medic]

Sunuvabitch.

Okay, now I'll admit to bandwagoning, even if I only want to see someone LOSE.

GO CARDINALS!

EDIT: WOAH. #25 on the Steelers just killed McGahee and himself.

[Medic]

Hey guys, I hear rugby's the most violent sport in the world.

I'm sure Willis McGahee agrees wholeheartedly with that. Padding, helmets and breaks and you STILL see guys fucked up like this.

edit: 3-7, or, worse-than-Madden territory on picking winners. Though admittedly, I pick with my heart -- I did not honestly expect San Diego to win IN Pittsburgh, but neither was that game a pleasant surprise. Quite a rude shock, in fact -- the defense was worse than I reckoned. The offense did about as good as I thought it would, they just rarely had their chances, especially in that 3Q.

[Flagg]

Boo. Two teams I fucking hate in the Superbowl. Now I have to root for the fucking Steelers to win.

[Darth Fanboy]

Oh my fucking christ, how did the refs help the Steelers win this week? Some of you guys are starting to sound like McCain supporters!

[Steve]

Boo. Two teams I fucking hate in the Superbowl. Now I have to root for the fucking Steelers to win.

Why not the Cardinals? The Phillies and Red Sox got to end their droughts, why not let the Cards finally get the Lombardi after decades of being the NFL's collective punching bag?

[Havok]

FUCK! I really can't express my hatred for the Steelers. I suppose, if I met you all on an individual basis and beat you all about the head until you were near death, it might possibly convey it. Fuck.

I am going to be rooting whole heartedly for Arizona, but I just can't see them beating the Steelers.

FUCK!

On the free agent front, I would love for the Niners to grab Terrell Suggs, although I think if Ryan gets the head coach job in NY, he may follow him there, possibly with Ray Lewis or Bart Scott, depending on who the Ravens can get to stay.

Also Peppers would be a great at end opposite Justin Smith in a 4-3, bumping Suggs back to LB (even though he is more of a 3-4 OLB) with Spikes and Willis, if the Niners could swing that. That combo would give them great flexibility moving back and fourth from the 4-3 to the 3-4 like they seem to want to stick with.

[Flagg]

Boo. Two teams I fucking hate in the Superbowl. Now I have to root for the fucking Steelers to win.

Why not the Cardinals? The Phillies and Red Sox got to end their droughts, why not let the Cards finally get the Lombardi after decades of being the NFL's collective punching bag?

Because Kurt Warner is a drooling infected cunt?

[Havok]

Oh my fucking christ, how did the refs help the Steelers win this week? Some of you guys are starting to sound like McCain supporters!

This particular week, not much. The completely phantom "roughing the kicker" call was a good effort, but for the most part, I would say that the calls actually went Baltimore's way. The overturned catch on the one. The TWO PI calls that put the ball on the one for the Ravens.

No, despite my absolute hatred for the team, city and fans, they won it fair and square this time.

[Havok]

Because Kurt Warner is a drooling infected cunt?

Why? Because he believes in God and thanks him for what he thinks he has allowed him to do in his life? If it is something besides that, fine, but if it is just that, then you are just being an asshole.

[Darth Fanboy]

Because Kurt Warner is a drooling infected cunt?

I'd love to hear the rationale behind this, the guy picked his career up out of the toilet TWICE and each time he's made it to the Super Bowl.

[Elfdart]

Because Kurt Warner is a drooling infected cunt?

He's also one of the best QBs to ever play the game. The only two playoff games his teams lost were the result of fumbles by a punt returner and a receiver. I would never bet money against a team while he's under center.

[Flagg]

Kurt Warner is one of the many cunts who opposes stem cell research and starred in an advertisement opposing funding for it. He also QB'd for the hated Rams when they stole the NFC title from the Bucs back in 1999. Fuck Kurt Warner.

[Havok]

Kurt Warner is one of the many cunts who opposes stem cell research and starred in an advertisement opposing funding for it. He also QB'd for the hated Rams when they stole the NFC title from the Bucs back in 1999. Fuck Kurt Warner.

Fair enough for me.

[thejester]

Graham better get up for the SB, but sounds like his punting was ordinary.

[Havok]

I'd love to hear the rationale behind this, the guy picked his career up out of the toilet TWICE and each time he's made it to the Super Bowl.

He's also one of the best QBs to ever play the game. The only two playoff games his teams lost were the result of fumbles by a punt returner and a receiver. I would never bet money against a team while he's under center.

Absolutely.

OK. So the question is, how much better is Pittsburgh's defense over Philadelphia's D? It is basically a bigger, stronger, maybe a tad slower, 3-4 version. Can the Cardinal's O-line keep them off Warner long enough? Keep in mind that Wisenhunt and Grimm have first hand knowledge of the Steelers D and will certainly have the Cardinals ready to play. Polomolu is also going to be out of the blitzing equation, as he will have to be back double covering Fitzgerald and/or Boldin, who should be at 100% with two weeks to rest, not to mention Breaston.

I think we can all agree, this is going to be Cardinal's O Vs Steeler's D, so can the O overcome the D?

[Darth Fanboy]

I'm going to say its the opposite, we know it will be a war between the Cardinal Offense and Steeler defense. It is going to be up to the other half of each team to make the breakthroughs to give their team an advantage. Not to take away credit from the Cardinal defense, but they certainly are not as good as the Ravens, and the Steelers have big play capability. The Cardinal D was also very weak in the second half against Philly and although they made a key stop late, they were getting worked for much of the third quarter. If the Cardinals defense doesn't contain the big play guys (Parker/Holmes/Ward) ad can't pressure Roethlisberger, then their chances drop significantly.

[Medic]

I'm with Fanboy on this one, the Cardinal O / Steeler D will... resolve itself however it does.

But mark as advantage Steelers the Cardinals D / Steelers O.

Ben Rothlisberger against a blistering Baltimore pass rush, avoided going down time and again, excelled outside the pocket and when it didn't come at all, had hours in the pocket all night long. Against San Diego's non-existent pass rush, it killed them, against Baltimore's constant pass rush, it burned them (enough) and against the Cardinals? I haven't seen many of their games all year, but Baltimore, they are not. They could stop the Steelers run but that won't be enough. Also, Ben has placed the ball superbly this post-season, it is too low, too high, or too far left or right for the defender to even think of a pick-6 but it's where the receiver can grab it. So I don't see the Cardinals bending (giving up yards) but not breaking. (by red-zone stands and turnovers)

Special teams... probably advantage Steelers too, Santonio Holmes is a threat. It really looks like Warner's arm has to win this, and with those receivers he can, but it looks like their only "route" to victory. Nothing else looks to be in the cards. Still, I'm rooting for them. They will be the quintessential underdog in this bout.

edit: signature changed to reflect the futility of it all.