NFL and College Football (American Football) Thread

[wingdarkness]

Oh quit acting like a snobby know it all. You really know how to get on my nerves.

Don't mix the koolaid packets, that was meant for another member, not you, but words on a screen tend to take a life of their own...

As for the rest I actually enjoy Buck-Aikmen the most...They add a level of prestige to the telecast not found many places anymore in the NFL IMO...They're not quirky or goofy to a noticable degree, and they play well off one another without forcing it...Now I am a journalism graduate and English graduate so I do tend to analyze this more harshly than most random viewers who can careless about who commentates a game or worse yet hate them...I wish they were doing the Superbowl, although I've grown to like Jim Nantz and Phil Simms aswell...But like what's been said, Aikman doesn't pull punches, nor does he come off like a cartoon character (which is fine for Madden and others)...He a rather serious commentator, which isn't the norm right now in sports-broadcasting...I think he did an excellent job during the Championship game and his comments on the Favre sack were poignent, and at the very least gave question...The penalty for the sack on Favre was in question like he examined, and people around me agreed and disagreed and they were all Saints fans...

I guess knowing who your favorite sportscaster was (if you even have one) would give me a better understanding to why you think Aikmen says dumb things all the time, because i just don't see it...

[GuidoHunter_Toki]

Originally Posted by wingdarkness

I guess knowing who your favorite sportscaster was (if you even have one) would give me a better understanding to why you think Aikmen says dumb things all the time, because i just don't see it...

I wouldn't take my comments about Aikman to heart, I came down hard on him because I'm still riled up from the game. I generally seem to dislike many of the commentators nowadays and remember most of the bad aspects of their commentary more so than the good ones. I agree that Aikman is one of the few serious commentators out there; with that said his voice irritates me. So thats one way I find him a strain on the ears.

I guess if I were to pick, my favorite commentator would be Boomer. And no it is not just because he roots for my Eagles a lot. He has a lot of energy and he really gets me engrossed in what he is talking about.

[wingdarkness]

^Esiason?! LOL, he's the like the worst to me...Over judgmental, absurd, obtuse, not down to earth...Goes to show...

[GuidoHunter_Toki]

Originally Posted by wingdarkness

^Esiason?! LOL, he's the like the worst to me...Over judgmental, absurd, obtuse, not down to earth...Goes to show...

The even funnier part is that I agree with everything you said. Like I said I generally hate most commentators nowadays. Although I think you make Boomer out to be worse than he actually is. Anyhow I say Boomer just for the fact that he is the only commentator I don't seem bored hearing talk and heck he at least makes the highlights exciting (although I wouldn't chuck that up to commentating anything). I do listen to as much commentary as I can (heck I watch Sportscenter about 2 or 3 times a day), yet I often find myself bored by the commentary. I think every commentator brings up good thoughts for discussion, but all them come across as very absorbed by thier opinions at times.

Now I know I said I didn't like Aikman or Buck, but I have an even greater hatred for Michael Irvin.

[wingdarkness]

Originally Posted by GuidoHunter_Toki

The even funnier part is that I agree with everything you said. Like I said I generally hate most commentators nowadays. Although I think you make Boomer out to be worse than he actually is (I don't entirely agree with the "not down to earth" part. Anyhow I say Boomer just for the fact that he is the only commentator I don't seem bored hearing talk. I do listen to as much commentary as I can (heck I watch Sportscenter about 2 or 3 times a day), yet I often find myself bored by the commentary. I think every commentator brings up good thoughts for discussion, but all them come across as very absorbed by thier opinions at times.

Wow, not to press the subject, but I really hated Boomer when he was in the booth...I mean he sounded like what you accuse Aikmen of...Bitter, overly judgmental of players...Absorbed with his own opinion...Yeah he has the whole charity thing going for him and I respect that, but he's far too obnoxious for my liking...Aikmen is really just a classic throwback type of commentator....When he gets mad it's over by the time he starts the next comment...Boomer stays mad and harps on $hit over and over and over and has to be more right than his studio partners all the time...Maybe you do just like him for his Iggles luv^^...

[GuidoHunter_Toki]

Originally Posted by wingdarkness

Wow, not to press the subject, but I really hated Boomer when he was in the booth...I mean he sounded like what you accuse Aikmen of...Bitter, overly judgmental of players...Absorbed with his own opinion...Yeah he has the whole charity thing going for him and I respect that, but he's far too obnoxious for my liking...Aikmen is really just a classic throwback type of commentator....When he gets mad it's over by the time he starts the next comment...Boomer stays mad and harps on $hit over and over and over and has to be more right than his studio partners all the time...Maybe you do just like him for his Iggles luv^^...

Yea maybe. Honestly though I agree with you that he is a bad fit for booth commentating with the way he goes about his discussions. Even though it pains me to say it, commentators like Aikman are better fits for the booth. I like guys with energy, but unfortunately it is hard to find someone like that with a good match of seriousness in how they carry on a discussion. I'm usually fine with Boomer as a pre/post game commentator though.

[monir]

Hear me. Hear me. Here me. 1 and 5 here. Yeah, I'm here. My pick for Superbowl, say I, are the Saints. They escaped by actually defying the trend in my pick which is to lose and actually, win. So, Saints are obviously the team of destiny. It can also mean, Saints are losing by the virtue of me picking them... TWICE.

Once again, advance apology to Wingy.

[wingdarkness]

We gonna win this thing monir...I'm currently rewatching the game again on NFL network...Our D played waaaaay better than the stats indicated...Lots of drives kept alive by flags, 50/50 catches, and turnovers we DIDN'T recover...We were more dominate than the Colts overall this season with a tougher schedule...And playing against the Vikes Defense will have us ready to use that run game more...I'm feeling really good about our chances right now...I believe in my team...They've shown me so much this season and they never give up...They really are a TEAM and we're gonna win this Superbowl as a team...

[monir]

On another positive note for the Saints offense, one of the best pass rusher that I've ever seen since I started following NFL was hobbling away during the Jets game and never returned. Dwight Freeny truly is the heart of that defense and I don't care how careless of a statement that is. I also agree that Saints defense was very good in the last game. It was the offense that seemed to be in awe through most of the game. I really thought the Viking gave that game away though at the same time I need to acknowledge that a victory is a victory.

Saints defense also seem to be better suited for team like the Colts, so if the offense show up, it might end up being a blow out. Then again, Peyton is no ordinary quarterback, who truly is the essence of this team's success.

It should be a good one!

[wingdarkness]

Originally Posted by monir

On another positive note for the Saints offense, one of the best pass rusher that I've ever seen since I started following NFL was hobbling away during the Jets game and never returned. Dwight Freeny truly is the heart of that defense and I don't care how careless of a statement that is. I also agree that Saints defense was very good in the last game. It was the offense that seemed to be in awe through most of the game. I really thought the Viking gave that game away though at the same time I need to acknowledge that a victory is a victory.

Saints defense also seem to be better suited for team like the Colts, so if the offense show up, it might end up being a blow out. Then again, Peyton is no ordinary quarterback, who truly is the essence of this team's success.

It should be a good one!

As I watched the game again I just think it was clear that we could never establish an offensive rhythm...The Vikes had 15 more minutes of possession and ran almost 30 more plays...Imagine if our offense had 25 more plays in that game...It was just one of those weird games were penalties and turnovers really stymied the flow of the game...It's almost like getting all those turnovers, whether it had been a TO deep near our endzone or near their endzone, negatively affected our offense because they had so many short TD drives where they had to press for scores that they never really had a true full-field type of rhythm drive to get that cohesion the offensive usually has....It was like start-stop-start-start-stop, and never just a good flow for us...

I think the colts defense is gonna be surprised by our offense if we run the ball early...Because unlike the Vikes game we'll get a chance to establish the run, then our play action game will kill them...The way the game ebbed and flowed we never had that natural drive to establish the run...We'll do that in the Superbowl...

[GuidoHunter_Toki]

Originally Posted by wingdarkness

I think the colts defense is gonna be surprised by our offense if we run the ball early...Because unlike the Vikes game we'll get a chance to establish the run, then our play action game will kill them...The way the game ebbed and flowed we never had that natural drive to establish the run...We'll do that in the Superbowl...

If the Saints run does get established that offense could start spelling trouble for the Colts. The Jets always complimented thier good running game by using play action, but they were not a good enough offense overall to really use it to full effectiveness. This will not be the case with the Saints. Unless the Colts have a sudden explosion of defensive wrath I don't see them being able to match the Saints offense well at all, especially if they get the run game going (which I expect they will).

I think once again the deciding factor will be if the Saints defense creates turnovers. The Colts have the offense to match whatever the Saints dish out and it is going to be quite the challenge. However if the Saints get their usually turnovers and actually capitalize off them with some points (something they didn't do well in the Vikings game) and their offense plays to its full potential, they'll be in great position to win the game.

I'm even more confident about the Saints chances after rewatching the Jets/Colts game. The Jets were able to reel off some very good passes early in that game. The Colts secondary had trouble in the early goings and throughout the game I noticed bad coverage. Sanchez didn't notice all of the opportunities and I don't expect Brees to follow suit and with his throwing ability, even the slightest of an opening is enough for him to get the ball in there. The Colts are going to need to pull out all the stops on defense (as do the Saints).

[wingdarkness]

^Well the Colts don’t have as good a defense as the Vikings…I mean, minus their 2 safeties, the Vikes have a far better defense and most importantly a more powerful defensive front…We got a good power-game as we proved this season with our 6th rank running game, but the vikes have even more of a power based defense…Colts are undersized and I think we can definitely establish out power-game…We almost gotta win the coin toss though so we can go on offense first and set a tone (I usually prefer getting the ball first in the second half, but I think we have to make Peyton chase our scores and not the other way around)….Nevertheless I am confident that Colts will struggle mightily on defense if we can get some rhythm in our running game again…

[Chaos Bunny]

I'm a rather large Saints Fan.. I also root for Tampa Bay. While disappointed in the BUC's, I'm quite proud of the Saints. I was hoping for a Saints vs. Jets super bowel as both teams are long over due and very much worthy of a Super Bowel win.. but hell, Saints vs. Colts will be good. Dibs on Saints to win though. <3

[hinakatbklyn]

Indy actually got the ball first against the Jets but were trailing at halftime. The Jets couldn't capitalize on getting the ball in the second half. Peyton apparently had too much experience against first timers.

The team that wins the super bowl I don't think is going to worry about the coin toss. If somehow the game gets to OT, the coin toss may play a factor.

[Demongod86]

The reason that nobody wins against the colts 2nd half is that in the first half, Manning takes time to figure out their game plan. Then in the second half, he rips them a new one.

Yeah, I know, Manning = teh borkeds.

[wingdarkness]

Originally Posted by hinakatbklyn

Indy actually got the ball first against the Jets but were trailing at halftime. The Jets couldn't capitalize on getting the ball in the second half. Peyton apparently had too much experience against first timers.

The team that wins the super bowl I don't think is going to worry about the coin toss. If somehow the game gets to OT, the coin toss may play a factor.

I mean it's not a real concern, but perfect world scenario for me is that we win the toss and elect to get the ball and score first to make Peyton have to chase us instead of us chasing him...If Peyton has that ball with under 2 minutes left in the game I want him to atleast be going for the tie and not the win ...Which requires him to chase our score (God forbid he gets a 10-14 point lead he can milk, because if he does we're likely done)...

[Samari]

Originally Posted by Dilla

Because you guys are using Troy Aikman, who is no more than a sports head than Tom Jackson is. I don't care what happened between Jackson and Belicheck. Tom Jackson's opinion on a football play is worth no more than Troy Aikman's opinion.

Please quote where I advocated that I hold Troy Aikman's opinion with high regard.

[D-KLAC]

well after some think here my keys to win the superbowl

colts
1.let peyton doing his "peyton"
2.pressure lots of brees, bush, wr, etc

saints
1.stop peyton manning at all cost
2.attack the colts's D

& my pick on the saints really colts won it before (darn ya colts from beating da bears) besides the saints really need it from rebuild era from Hurricane Katrina time & besides they deserve it.

[LusterFlare]

I'm going with the Colts in this one.

[hinakatbklyn]

This could get really interesting. If the Saints somehow keep the 4th quarter lead, this would be Shockey's way of getting back at the Giants by grabbing the touchdown catch. But with like 5 minutes left, Payton Manning has too much time to work with.

Edit: Peyton finally made a mistake. And at a time where no mistakes could be made. New Orleans may finally have room to celebrate. But I better wait until the timer reads 0:00 and they still have the lead.