Are you ready for some Football?!? (NFL)

[Dungannon]

As much as it pains me to say it, Pittsburgh looked really good last night. I was hoping for a Miami win but the Steelers defense was very impressive.

 

[Ghostwind]

He's certainly no Don Shula.

 

[drothgery]

So is anyone else here as amused by what a dolt the Miami coach is? I mean the sillyness he indulged in trying to stretch out his challenge call which gave the Steelers a free touchdown was hilarious. He's whining about it in the news today.

If I were a Miami fan, I'd me mighty riled with him.

I'm going to be a contrarian and say that, even though the call was incorrect and led to a score, and even though Saban clearly wanted to make a challenge and got it in too late, not challenging the call was the right move. Batch's fumble earlier in the game nonwithstanding, 1st and goal on the 1 or 2 yard line is virtually certain to lead to a touchdown. Conceding the TD then give you more time to work with.

Having said that, terrible clock management seems to be a standard feature of the game these days.

 

[DaveMage]

I have no idea who to pick for the Super Bowl in each conference.

There's no team that stands out right now as being across the board stellar.

I think the Colts will miss Edge more than people think. The Patriots lost a lot of talent (though they still have Brady, so anything is possible).

The Chiefs should have an awesome offense, but they have to prove they can actually stop the other team from scoring. (And I'm not sold on their coach.)

In the NFC, I guess Seattle has to be the favorite again.

 

[Infiniti2000]

Batch's fumble earlier in the game nonwithstanding, 1st and goal on the 1 or 2 yard line is virtually certain to lead to a touchdown.

Especially with this soft Miami defense. Where was the exalted Zach Thomas on that play? Wasn't that his man who scored the non-TD?

Conceding the TD then give you more time to work with.

Yeah, enough time to throw two interceptions.

 

[drothgery]

Yeah, enough time to throw two interceptions.

When you're losing by enough that there's no time to win the game, you're going to throw more often, and take more risks throwing into coverage. Both are going to increase the chance of interceptions (and the chance of big plays). When your QB comes from the "throw deep to Moss and pray" school of passing, this isn't a great thing. But I still think another minute on the clock gave the Dolphins a better chance of winning (though not a good one).

 

[Captain Tagon]

But at that point they were only down by four and still had plenty of time to score.

 

[takyris]

I only know that I don't know enough to make any broad statements. Up here in the frozen north, I haven't seen enough preseason stuff to get a handle on who's got what.

I like the Niners and the Seahawks and the Broncos. At least two of those teams have the chance to do well this year.

 

[Fishbone]

Do the 49ers even have a team this year?
As a Vikings fan I can say I wasn't surprised by the blowup Culpepper had in the 4th quarter. He's been screwing us like that for years.
I think Miami is one of the most overrated teams in the league and playoff aspirations rather than the Division game or the Superbowl are more their speed.

 

[Dungannon]

San Fran has some talented individuals, but no way they come close to a playoff spot this year. They're another 2-3 years away I think.