2007 NFL Thread

[The Stig]

Atari Bigby was worse than awful that game. It seemed like every time there was a blown coverage or a bad penalty it was his name who was being mentioned by the commentators.

By the way, if people thought Mark Tillmon was a bad commentator, they seriously didn't listen to Bryant Gumbel trying to do an NFL game. Talk about a fish out of water. It's okay to not be the most analytical commentator out there, but confusing the teams 4 times in the first 10 minutes is downright unacceptable.

[Boz]

thestig said:

It's okay to not be the most analytical commentator out there, but confusing the teams 4 times in the first 10 minutes is downright unacceptable.

Or you could just be Dick Enberg and say, "To hell with the first 10 minutes! I'm going to confuse the teams and the players for the entire broadcast! Oh, my!"

[RDF]

boz1 said:

thestig said:

It's okay to not be the most analytical commentator out there, but confusing the teams 4 times in the first 10 minutes is downright unacceptable.

Or you could just be Dick Enberg and say, "To hell with the first 10 minutes! I'm going to confuse the teams and the players for the entire broadcast! Oh, my!"

Any homoerotic poetry from Enberg? Merlin Olsen carried Enberg during their days at NBC--and kept things not only coherent-but focused on football--and plays, not the rippling muscles and sublime good looks as Dick loves to interject into a broadcast.

[FormerHoya]

Off topic, but the most homoerotic announcing job ever was done by Bill Walton during a 2001 Illinois - Arizona game, it went something along the lines of, "Just look at Sergio McClaine's body. His with his bulging arms and muscular legs, he looks more like a greek god than man out there. [2 mins pass] Look at Sergio McClaine's body!!!"

[hoyarooter]

Oh, my. I remember when Dick was really good, back in the days when he did UCLA football and basketball and Rams football. Unlike Chris Roberts, the guy who does the Bruin games now, who stinks.

[The Stig]

Ravens' defense gets jobbed by the Ravens' bench....

[williambraskyiii]

they should also give an immediate bonus to the offensive lineman that jumped before the snap on that second 4th down...plus that last hold call was questionable...

[bubbrubbhoya]

Wow. That was such a bizarre end to the game. I really don't think the Ravens got screwed by the refs (only by the bench, yeah), but boy, how many times can fate intervene for the Patriots? Wow. By the way, why did the Ravens stop running it up the gut in the 4th quarter? McGahee (former Bill...I always point out former standout Bills, because there are a lot on a lot of teams) was a beast.

[Jack]

Garbage sandwich game by Pats receivers- so many balls off their hands. Also very poor tackling on McGahee, but that is actually nothing new with this team. Overall, incredibly fortunate to come out with a W.

[RDF]

I wish Junior Seau would get injured again--he not only is washed up--he is the biggest mouth on the team and has had nothing to do with past success. Just STFU and play you old piece of crap--seeing him out there for so many reps reminded me of how much Colvin will be missed.

I didn't get to see the 4th down play AFTER the timeout because ESPN picture blacked out on my tv--which is typical of ESPN. Will someone take MNF from them or at least get rid of Tirico and Kornheiser?

The holding in endzone was a cheap call--but the game was lost on Boller's INT and Reed's fumble of his INT return. You get a FG on either possession--tie game--you get a FG on both--you win.

[DanMcQ]

RDF: the defender saddled his man up and held him from the line of scrimmage until he tried to make a cut - over 8 yards. It was right in front of the ref. How was that a cheap call?

First game where Brady has had multiple receivers drop balls on their hands, two in the endzone.

Pats linebacker tackling was horrible, but as Jack says that is nothing new. The Ravens O-line beat up the Pats D-line for the most part and the Pats linebackers need their line to keep those linemen off them to be successful. RDF, your love for Seau is well known, but wishing injury on a player? That's cold.

Mr. Tony gave himself a hernia rooting for the Ravens last night. Mr. Jaworski was strangely silent about the commotion he caused mid-week with his comments about Moss that Brady slammed.

[BuffaloHoya]

bubbrubbhoya said:

I always point out former standout Bills, because there are a lot on a lot of teams...

Name me three. I'll even spot you Pat Williams.

And McGahee doesn't count. He was SICK last night, but he's still the same old overrated Willis, choosing to show up when he wants too, playing three or four inspired games a year, and dogging it for the rest. The guy has a ton of talent, and makes so little out of it.

Based on his rep, the way he talks about himself... and considering the number of carries he has, the guy should have 1300 yards by now. Instead, he's got five or six typical stinkers with a few very good games sprinkled in.

EDIT: Am I the only one who found it a bit creepy how much Tirico was fawning over Brady and (most of all) repeatedly calling him "Tom" like they were friends?

[TigerHoya]

some of the Ravens were complaining that the ref on that call near the end call a Ravens player "boy."

[bubbrubbhoya]

buffalohoya said:

bubbrubbhoya said:

I always point out former standout Bills, because there are a lot on a lot of teams...

Name me three. I'll even spot you Pat Williams.

And McGahee doesn't count. He was SICK last night, but he's still the same old overrated Willis, choosing to show up when he wants too, playing three or four inspired games a year, and dogging it for the rest. The guy has a ton of talent, and makes so little out of it.

Based on his rep, the way he talks about himself... and considering the number of carries he has, the guy should have 1300 yards by now. Instead, he's got five or six typical stinkers with a few very good games sprinkled in.

EDIT: Am I the only one who found it a bit creepy how much Tirico was fawning over Brady and (most of all) repeatedly calling him "Tom" like they were friends?

Must you always bait the only other Bills fan on the board into a Editeding contest? Are you bitter that you aren't the only one? Just wondering.

Takeo Spikes, Nate Clements, Antoine Winfield. Eric Moulds, Willis McGahee (yup...he was a standout Bill, or didn't you notice?), Travis Henry (was a standout Bill before this whole drug thing).

Some are getting old, but these are all standout Bills who, like most standout Bills, moved on in free agency.

[bubbrubbhoya]

danmcq said:

Mr. Tony gave himself a hernia rooting for the Ravens last night. Mr. Jaworski was strangely silent about the commotion he caused mid-week with his comments about Moss that Brady slammed.

And how about all the time they gave to Shula? Was I the only one who thought that started to verge on inappropriate?

[BuffaloHoya]

bubbrubbhoya said:

Takeo Spikes, Nate Clements, Antoine Winfield. Eric Moulds, Willis McGahee (yup...he was a standout Bill, or didn't you notice?), Travis Henry (was a standout Bill before this whole drug thing).

Some are getting old, but these are all standout Bills who, like most standout Bills, moved on in free agency.

Ahhh... I misunderstood. I thought you meant players who went on to be standouts after leaving Buffalo, not players who were good here then left... of which there are a decent amount, I agree. Takeo, Nate, Jonas Jennings, Sam Adams, Peerless and Moulds certainly haven't done/didn't do much since leaving. Moulds, actually, has done nothing.

Henry is a beast. Plain and simple. Too bad he's one of the NFL's biggest knuckleheads.

Good call on Winfield. He's been solid in Minny so I'll give you that. Never consistently makes big, game-changing plays, but might be the best tackling corner in the game and is a respectable cover guy.

There is NO WAY McGahee was a standout Bill. And I'm the guy who begged for the Bills to draft him, had the jersey, kept telling eveyone to wait for the potential to be fully realized... it just never came. In no way was he a standout here and to argue he was is just insane.

EDIT: Ruben Brown has sucked for the Bears for the $$$ they threw at him.

[BuffaloHoya]

bubbrubbhoya said:

danmcq said:

Mr. Tony gave himself a hernia rooting for the Ravens last night. Mr. Jaworski was strangely silent about the commotion he caused mid-week with his comments about Moss that Brady slammed.

And how about all the time they gave to Shula? Was I the only one who thought that started to verge on inappropriate?

His time was really odd. You could tell he felt compelled to heap praise on the Pats to make up for his ridiculous "asterisk" comment earlier in the year. Just rang hollow and phony...

[Boz]

OK, first for the Ravens...

First, I am surprised Rex Ryan made it out of the locker room alive. It wouldn't have shocked me to find out that Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Bart Scott & Corey Ivey gave him a blanket party after the game.

Second, as Jaws pointed out, you have to play a perfect game to beat the Pats. The Ravens didn't do that. Reed's turnover and Boller's INT were killers and the Ravens should have gotten points on both of those drives.

On the other hand....

Give me a break, Dan. That holding call was borderline at best. And I don't think Pats fans should be holding officials to the letter of the law when it comes to defensive back coverage, given what they get away with on a regular basis. That was game, set, match Ravens and the refs took it away. What you call "saddling up" is also called "great blanket coverage" on many, many other instances.

Moreover, no one will ever convince me that Gaffney controlled that ball before he went out of bounds on the final TD. No way, no how. (Of course, the Pats would've had first and goal at the one had it been overturned, so they would've scored anyway most likely, but it was still the wrong call).

Finally, a second "give me a break" to Randy Moss. Did I really hear you say that talking during the game and showboating is "not how Belichick raises his players"? You didn't really just say that, did you? Do you remember who you are? And I think the Patriots were doing just as much jawing as any Ravens throughout the game (Rodney Harrison, anyone?)

The Patriots are a grat team and they found a way to win. Congratulations to them, but I think they know they were indescribably fortunate to do so. If I am the Colts, Steelers or other AFC playoff teams, though, I think I'm looking at that team a lot differently after the last couple of weeks and I'm pretty encouraged going into the playoffs about my chances against them. (Particularly the Steelers, who can bring a lot of heat and execute the same game plan the Ravens did, but better...I guess we'll see next week, or two weeks, or whenever it is they play).

[DanMcQ]

Boz - blaming that game on refs calls is loser talk. I'd give you the call IF the Ravens defender had not jerked Watson by the shoulder pads as he tried to make his cut.


I do have to give Billick props for blowing three kisses to Rodney Harrison however - classic.


As for the Gaffney call, it looked to me that he was pulling the ball with his left hand into his right. The key was that the ball appeared to be always in contact with his hands. The other key was that the play was ruled a catch and there was not enough on the replay to overturn it. But then, I am as biased about that play as all you Kornheisers out there.

[williambraskyiii]

Dan = Homer