I cant help but root for Tebow.  It is my bad, ungifted QB fetish.  I just cant shake it.

APRTW wrote:

I cant help but root for Tebow.  It is my bad, ungifted QB fetish.  I just cant shake it.

There ought to be a pill or something you can take to remedy that.
I cracked up when the Broncos completed something a 12-yard pass in the second half and Simms said, without a hint of humor, "That's the first back shoulder throw I've ever seen Tebow make."

APRTW wrote:

I cant be helped.

Will power, my friend. Will power.

I honestly don't know who to root for on Saturday. The Patriots are the embodiment of all things evil in the universe, but I can't root for the Donkeys under any circumstance that doesn't benefit the Raiders.

This is definitely taking on a life of it's own!  Tebow threw for 316 yards so now the headline is: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/01/09/tebows-biblical-game-316-yards-invokes-key-verse/?test=faces

Denver's defense is not going to stop Brady, so we may end up with a 55-52 game.

I don't think Baltimore would make the same mistake with Denver that Pittsburgh did. That was one of the worst game plans I've seen since Lovie Smith and Mike Martz combined to blow Super Bowl 36. Even Tebow can play pitch and catch. Leaving no safeties over the top was one of the most egregious mistakes I've seen in a long time.

The book on Tebow is to make him stay in the pocket and make him go through his progressions. God, even Joey Harrington could do what Tebow did yesterday.

"The book on Tebow is to make him stay in the pocket and make him go through his progressions."

The Raiders tried that and Tebow shredded them for 100 yards on the ground. Of course, that comes with the caveat that it's the Raiders' defense he was facing. Michael Huff can't tackle a tortoise in a phone booth.
I think you're on to something when you say the key is forcing him into quicker reads. So I think you have to use a 4-man rush. The mantra early was to blitz him, but that hasn't always worked because he's agile enough to avoid the blitz and then you've got him scrambling down the field.
I'd keep seven in coverage so he can't hit those quick passes over the middle. It sort of like a Tampa 2, but with even looser coverage from the corners. He's not accurate enough to warrant press coverage on the wide receivers. If he wants to throw 10-15 yard outs, I'd let him try all day. He's not going to complete enough of those to sustain drives all night long.
Ironically, what hurt the Stealers yesterday was Polamalu's penchant for free-lancing. Look at the play in OT. He's reading run the whole way, and he was 10 yards from the line of scrimmage when he should have been providing help over the middle. Ed Reed tends to do the same thing. One thing the Patriots have going for them is Belichick's defense doesn't permit any of that.

I see very little hope that the Super Bowl wont turn out Patriots vs Pakcers.  I will be glad I have to work.

APRTW wrote:

I see very little hope that the Super Bowl wont turn out Patriots vs Pakcers.  I will be glad I have to work.

I tend to think defenses eventually prevail in the post-season, which means of the teams left the 49ers will end up playing the Ravens. Green Bay's penchant for giving up a lot of yards but not a lot of points has to come back to bite them in the ass at some point, right?.
If I'm a Packers' fan, I'd be wary of the Giants this weekend. I'm not saying the Giants are going to win, but I think they have the type of team that can win in Green Bay.
The San Francisco/New Orleans game is an interesting contrast. I suppose it comes down to how well Alex Smith plays. If the 49ers can control the clock, they'll win.
The favorites in the AFC seem like pretty clear-cut winners.

"Everyone said that there wasn't a chance in hell that the Broncos would beat the Steelers too so who knows."

I don't pay attention too much to the analysts, but anyone who said that obviously didn't take into account that the Stealers were playing without Mendenhall and Clark, and with a banged up Roethlisberger, on the road. The Patriots don't have the same injury concerns, they're coming off a bye week, and the game is in New England, so the Donkeys have to travel 2,500 miles on a short week. And the Patriots have the best coach in the business. As you say, nothing is impossible, and New England can be beaten because its defense stinks, but there's a lot stacked against Denver in this one.

"That said - I wish I had a little money to put down on Denver to win"


There are two kinds of bettors - people who lose money to their bookies and people who lie about being up on their bookies.
And then there's a pyschological angle. This may be one of those you-had-to-be-there type of deals, but I work with a guy who spends a great deal of time, effort and money wagering on football. He took Denver +8 1/2 on Sunday. If Pittsburgh kicked a field goal on the first possession of overtime and then Tebow threw a pick-6 on Denver's ensuing possession, he would have lost his bet by a half-point.
That scenario had about 0.000001 percent chance of happening, yet this guy was probably white-knuckling from the time the Stealers tied the game in the fourth quarter until the Broncos won the coin toss before overtime.

APRTW wrote:

Speaking of overtime.  I thought there was no sudden death overtime in the playoffs?

It's modified sudden death.  If the offense scores a TD on the first possession, the game ends.  But if the Broncos had only kicked a field goal, Pittsburgh would have been given a possession to tie or win the game.

artie_fufkin wrote:

APRTW wrote:

Speaking of overtime.  I thought there was no sudden death overtime in the playoffs?

If the team that has first possession kicks a FG, the other team gets a possession. If the team that has first possession scores a TD, the game is over.

The coin toss helped out too!

It's been a while since I paid that much attention to Football & frankly I didn't understand the fumble issue.  Did the rules change about fumbles?  I thought if a guy goes down & the ball spits out that it's a fumble.  It appears there's a lot more to it these days.  That play where the Steelers got to the one yard line & the ball spit out of his arms looked like a fumble to me.

It also looked like the Steelers got away with a lot of "facemask" grabbing.

Last edited by Webstergrovesalum (1/10/2012 1:29 pm)