Well, I doubt it, but I’ll make sure to try counting them, next time.[/quote]
Well they did have that “Vick Yards” graphic during the game.
It was nice that Dunn and Duckett had 200+ yards rushing before you even added Vick’s yards. It allowed them to run a really efficient passing game (12 for 16).
They have a realistic chance against the Eagles, it’ll be important for them to get off to another fast start.
More important, they can’t get off to a slow start. If the Eagles put up 14 points in the first quarter, this will force Vick to pass, which is not a good thing. The Eagles have a mediocre run defense, but a very good pass defense, so the Falcons have to hope to get an early lead and then pound it down the Eagles throats.
Trick play- No, but the Pats just execute. Any time I see ‘trick plays’ that fail it is usually becasue of lack of concentration. Payton’ not knowing the rule’ kinda cracked me up.
Cower and the SB- Why? Sorry, the guy makes me sick. Looks like my old roommate and acts like my old boss.
Dominance-With the exception of 3 games they beat the rest(11 games) by more than 10 points. how is that not dominating? 7 of that 11 by more than 2 touchdowns.
You really think Peyton was ignorant of the rule? I think he executed the play exactly as designed and the refs simply interpreted the rule a little differently than the person who designed the play. It was a beautiful play though.
I think the Patriots may have the best LBs in the league, as a unit. They are just so prepared for the game. They aren’t overly athletic or fast, but they always know where to be and where everyone else on the defense will be. They are extremely impressive.
I thought the Colts would win going away, but at the time the weather wasn’t supposed to be bad. But what really got me was Manning’s attitude. Peyton looked dejected quite early in the game. You can’t do that as the leader of your team. In that sense, I think Brady is a better QB. He never looks down…he rallies his team. I don’t, however, think Brady is a great QB overall, despite all the praise he gets. He’s on a great team, but that defense wins as many games as he does (important games). Brady is good though, and his attitude makes him perfect for the Patriots.
I’m not entirely convinced Brady is human. The networks love to do closeups of the QB in tense situations such as 3rd and long or important drives. Brady never seem to have any expression on his face except a mild boredom.
THE ENTIRE SECONDARY IS IN THE PRO-BOWL.
Seriously, can the Eagles move to the AFC? The rest of the NFC is a bunch of clowns. I don’t understand how anyone thought the Eagles/Vikings game was going to be close.
It’ll be even more ridiculous next year. Nineteen million under the cap and nobody is leaving? T Holt’s a free agent? Imagine that shit for a second. Try defending Owens, Holt, McNabb and Westbrook. And if you do stop them you get to face the best defense in the NFL? Good luck.
Vick is a tool, next week is a blowout. See ya in Jacksonville, Tom Brady.
THE ENTIRE SECONDARY IS IN THE PRO-BOWL.
[/quote]
Yeah, I never said they weren’t great. They’re just not tall, which is what I meant when I said “against the Vikings weaponry.” Sheesh. The Eagles with Holt? Look everybody, Cathcart wants the Eagles to buy the SB ring. ;-)
How did they get $19mil under the cap btw? How can they be contenders this long and still have that much cap room? The Eagles best player might just be their accountants and front office!
Did you guys hear that Eagles fans mooned and and pelted the Vikings bus with snowballs before the game? Rest easy GB, Philly’s got your back.
Well we tried growing new players but that takes like 18-20 years. But I guess Favre plays for free, right? ;)
How did they get $19mil under the cap btw? How can they be contenders this long and still have that much cap room? The Eagles best player might just be their accountants and front office!
Yup, and everyone in Philly knows it. Joe Banner is a mastermind. And I’m convinced that Reid and Johnson are the best coaches in the NFL. They lost Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor and sent three members of the secondary to the Pro-Bowl. Johnson could put me in at linebacker and still have one of the best defenses.
Did you guys hear that Eagles fans mooned and and pelted the Vikings bus with snowballs before the game? Rest easy GB, Philly’s got your back.
Back in the day those snowballs would have had razors in them. I hope our fans aren’t getting soft.
It’s funny… most teams’ fans don’t talk about the rest of their team’s fans in a way that excludes themselves, but every Eagles fan I know, including myself, does this. I’m a fan, but the fans are still a “they” to me. There really are two completely seperate groups of fans here. It’s great.
Well we tried growing new players but that takes like 18-20 years. But I guess Favre plays for free, right? ;)[/quote]
Well, there’s the draft, y’know. Also, Favre came to Green Bay as a second string QB Atlanta was actively trying to get rid of.
The way they get there is by strictly NOT overpaying for anyone (except McNabb). This has bitten them in the ass, because no matter how good Reid is as a coach, they haven’t been able to get over the hump for three years running. They also run offensive schemes that minimize their weaknesses (e.g. at defensive end).
So while it was laudable that he let Douglas and Trotter go instead of overpaying (and hindsight shows those were smart decisions), he’s also bitten himself in the ass by not signing a #1 every down back or a top receiver.
The scary thing is that next year he has the money to sign both Shaun Alexander and Torry Holt if he wanted to without breaking a sweat, but it would be a 1-2 year window for them. And they’d be in cap hell the year after that.
The problem is that they are building for long-term competitiveness and relying on coaching to get over the hump where almost every team not named the Pats that has gone to the Super Bowl has relied on pushing the cap to get there (cf. Titans, Ravens, Bucs,Raiders).
Actually, the Eagles have refused to give long term deals to anyone over 30. That’s not such a crazy notion, but it doesn’t breed loyalty in that aspect.
Well…if you don’t want the players to stay, why would breeding loyalty in the players be a big deal?
And they lose good players that probably would not have broken the bank. Resigning Douglas or Trotter to stupid contracts is one thing, but I think they could have signed Vincent and/or Taylor again without breaking the bank. Their respective contracts would not have been that much, and that would easily be the best secondary probably ever fielded – 6 Pro Bowlers in their quarter defense. Not to mention that they don’t have to worry about injury concerns – if Shephard or Dawkins were to go down, I think they’d be pretty screwed right now if they had to go against the Steelers again (whereas against the falcons they could probably just put linebackers to cover the Falcons receivers =) ).