And The Beat Goes On....

[afterhours]

i think that this game will be the the toughest challenge yet. ravens have great "d", but methinks that the champs will prevail. patriots by 6.

[partsjay]

They do have a great "D", but I have to say, ( and I'm not a Pats Fan ), I like the Pats by at least 10 if not 14.....my prediction....

Pats............24
Ravens.......10

[Vectorfisher]

Nope 3 if they get lucky and some breaks otherwise Ravens walk away with a win.

[afterhours]

get lucky? you really think that these guys got lucky in say....24 of their 25 games. can't wait for the playoffs, when they get lucky and payback those pretenders from that burg!

[Vectorfisher]

Oh yah you mean the pretenders that actually manhandle every team they have beat It will be nice to see them packing for home from Heinz field

[afterhours]

yeah those guys NOBODY'S gonna beat the patriots twice in a season. plus we should have some of our wounded back- secondary, "o" line, receivers, and that guy named dillon. our house,your house, won't matter- we win!

[Vectorfisher]

You just keeping we already have a little wager I am just dying to see you and Bigfish in Steeler jerseys fishing with me

[BigFish]

The Patriots are the luckiest team in football and they have the Superlucky rings to prove it! XL or XXL Pats shirt for you Vectorfisher?

Pats got the Bowl rings and for being great contestants....the Steelers got some great parting gifts!

[Vectorfisher]

Hey I was wondering when you were gonna chime in, yah you guys got your 2 rings but we got 4 and were the only team in history to win back to back superbowls 2x

[BigFish]

Lets see....I can't seem to remember when they won their last Superbowl it was so damn long ago? Was it during the Carter administration?

PS Vectorfisher- The Steelers were just "lucky"!

[afterhours]

1980.

[Squid kids Dad]

Are the steelers already packed for the super bowl again..??

[Raider Ronnie]

Originally posted by BigFish
Lets see....I can't seem to remember when they won their last Superbowl it was so damn long ago? Was it during the Carter administration?

PS Vectorfisher- The Steelers were just "lucky"!

Larry,
This NFL of today can't compare to the 1970s and the Steelers from then!!!
Today, The Pats are BY FAR the best in the league with the salary cap and playing a team game,
BUT, there are far too many teams now WAY too many no talented players, 1/2 of the starting quarterbacks don't belong in the league!!! (including Kerry Collins)
If you ask me,
The NFL is going down the toilet!!!
The super bowl has since the 1990s , become a joke and gotten worse every year!!!
More about the pregame show, the half time show, how much a tv commercial cost. ect....

[BigFish]

Sorry Afterhours...I was close though...the first year of the Reagan administration!

RR....what are you trying to say....that the Pats are playing in a time where there is such mediocrity that they just happen to be fortunate? They have been beating all comers......so what more can they do?

[afterhours]

superbowls a joke since the '90's? patriots have won 2 out of 3 jokes. these guys are like rodney(rip), they get no respect, they just win baby! notice all this crap comes from supporters of dinosaur dynasties? any fin fans to chirp in?

[BigFish]

The fact that the league is "different" than it was in the 70's and 80's is true...but its a fact of life that all things change.....and you can't fault the Pats for the disparity in the league! They go out and dominate the teams that are put on the field to oppose them with the team that was built by Coach Bill.

You sore sports can't take anything away from the Pats.....you sound like Yankee fans!

[Raider Ronnie]

Originally posted by BigFish
Sorry Afterhours...I was close though...the first year of the Reagan administration!

RR....what are you trying to say....that the Pats are playing in a time where there is such mediocrity that they just happen to be fortunate? They have been beating all comers......so what more can they do?

Larry,
If you read my post, I gave the Pats credit for being BY FAR the best with cap and playing a team game.
But the game is a joke today!!!
It's not suprising they have no Terrell Owens or Randy Moss types on their team also!!!
Todays rules are a joke also!!!
If a pass rusher even sneazes near a quarterback they throw a flag!!!
Same goes with cornerbacks covering wide recievers !!!
I think it's sad when the most important part of a team is the cap managers and accountants rather than the football people!!!

[BigFish]

I got what your saying Ron.....given the crappy state of football today, the Patriots are fortunate to be able to take advantage of the situation and load up on Superbowl rings! It works for me.....how bout' you Afterhours.....any problem on your end?

[afterhours]

no problems here larry!!!

[Vectorfisher]

Talk about dinosaurs it only took the Pats what 80 years to get a ring And we all know why the Steelers have been where they are for sometime, THEY DONT PAY!!! Like comparing the Yankees to Florida Marlins. I will say Bill Cowher has done a pretty good job keeping his team pretty competetive throughout, I think he only has one year his team didnt make the playoffs. I agree with Ronnie though the league is all about $$$$$$ now more than ever and it really shows, it's too bad because baseball is not far behind.

[afterhours]

that's dinosaur dynasties, ancient history, past glory days, back in the day, i remember when.... patriots are it - NOW, today, '2004. i guess that if your team does'nt win everything sucks, if by some remote miracle and a stroke of God your team won- would it still suck or would it be all good again?

[Vectorfisher]

And one other thing, if the correct call was made during a certain playoff game the Pats only have one ring and everybody in New England knows Brady WAS NOT throwing the ball he likes to pump the ball and tap it off his left hand when he gets nervous in the pocket, FUMBLE they got a huge break thats why they have two rings instead of one!! And yes when your team is losing it sucks no different when your favorite NASCAR driver can't stay anywhere near the top 10 in points, it sucks but that's life and you just gotta roll with it, I just see the Patriot Empire crumbling and I have heard the Pat chants long enough it's time for another team to step up to the plate, after all how many times can you hear someone on the news or talk radio talk about the Pats being a dynasty Cmon gimme a break they won 2 of 3 and one of them they didnt deserve I will step down now before I get too worked up

[afterhours]

VF- never called them a dynasty, just the best current team out there. just dammed lucky later.

[BigFish]

In the 1976 or 8 season...forget which....if the call that was made against the Pats (which was Bulls&#t) was called correctly....the Pats would have gone to the playoffs instead of the Steelers! Point being, bad calls are made all the time...before instant replay and even with it! I love when guys cry over spilled milk! I have cried over my share....call it what ya want....Pats win...Pats win...Pats win!


By the way...what time are the Superbowl Champion Pats on TV today? Can anyone tell me? (Gotta take the tykes to the movies)

[fishsmith]

Game time - 4:15

The tuck call was correct, it was just not a familiar call, but you'll never forget it now.

Go Pats!!!

[Vectorfisher]

Tuck my butt everyone knew what the real deal was

[Mike P]

Yup, this isn't the same NFL as in the 70s and 80s. If you watch it week after week, you'll see that the skill level of players is head and shoulders above that of the 70s.

Players at every position are bigger, stronger, faster and more athletic. Used to be, you could take any dumb piece of meat and make him an offensive tackle if he was slow, or a defensive one if he had a little bit of quickness. All an offensive tackle used to have to do was block straight ahead. Today's more complex blocking schemes require quickness and agility out of offensive tackles and centers (BTW, you think that Mike Webster at 230 lbs could play center in today's game?). You get a guy coming out of college like Gallery, 325 lbs and he has 4.8 speed in the 40.

The reason for the perceived "mediocrity" is basically the cap. You can't have a 70s Steelers dynasty any more. The cap was instituted to improve the League's "competitive balance", which is a nice way of saying "soread the talent around and keep fans in as many cities as possible interested".

Another reason the game seems worse today is that every team is over-coached. It's not that complex a game, but these guys on the sideline treat every play like a NASA launch. You're right about there being fewer good QBs, but part of the reason for this is that in today's NFL, a QB is an overpaid puppet. Who was the last QB who called his own plays in the huddle? Montana, maybe?

[BigFish]

Was that a XXL Vectorfisher? They sure don't play like a team that is lucky.....more like a team that plays smart and exploits every little situation that comes along to their advantage! That all spells W-I-N-N-E-R!

[Raider Ronnie]

Originally posted by BigFish
Was that a XXL Vectorfisher? They sure don't play like a team that is lucky.....more like a team that plays smart and exploits every little situation that comes along to their advantage! That all spells W-I-N-N-E-R!

Bla Bla Bla.....................

[BigFish]

Announcers just called this the "most impressive victory this season" following the fumble recovery in the end zone that scores a TD....."exploiting every little situation that comes along"!