@joe from Lowell: Boy, that pissed me off. I feel for the Bucs this year. Watching a losing team get in when you go 10-6 in a storybook year and stay home…
The thing about Seattle weather is that it’s a fairly steady drizzle for what seems like 9 months solid. “Puget Sound Sunshine”.
The actual official rainfall is not that great, but then again, the Seattle Tacoma metro area has a plethora of microclimates, one area gets lots of rain, three blocks over, there’s a rain shadow and it’s just drizzle.
Run D was very good until they lost Red Bryant. Frank Gore will attest. Since then…meh to bad.
37.
Ailuridae
Great effort (and some timely bounces) from the Seahawks so far. Wow. I’m a Cowboys fan so my only dog in this fight is watchable football and somebody being more likely to beat the Iggles in before they get to the Superbowl.
I am totally escaping into this game. Making some pasta and sauce and not changing the channel to the news until the break between the games.
Assuming that cooking questions are still game for NFL open threads – can anyone recommend an inexpensive quality garlic press? Sprained my wrist and thumb pretty badly so I am without knife skills for a month or so (I was thinking about trying to mince left-handed and then thought better of it)
re. garlic press, I like our Zlyss. Cast aluminum, Swiss made, you can press cloves without peeling first, although you get more if you do peel them. Not hard on the hands unless you’re doing a whole lot.
42.
Yutsano
@billgerat: Where the fuck has this damn Seattle team that’s played the last two games been all year?
EDIT: Holy shitballs. Carroll must have greased the palms of the refs well or something.
43.
dr. bloor
The name of this thread should be changed from “NFL Open Thread” to “Seahawks-Saints Open Thread.” Whoever wins shouldn’t even bother showing up next week.
Making some pasta and sauce and not changing the channel to the news until the break between the games.
Don’t hold out on us. Are you microwaving a jar of Prego, or what?
I want details.
52.
Villago Delenda Est
You know, I will enjoy heads assplodin’ all over NFL fandom should the lowly Seahawks (my team, I’ll admit) manage to be unsucky in the playoffs to the same degree they sucked in the regular season.
53.
burnspbesq
OT in a football thread, but this is pretty funny.
The two teams just gave up 44 points in one half of football. They both suck.
65.
Bruce (formerly Steve S.)
Even if the Saints pull this one out I’d be awfully worried about that defense if I were them. For those who don’t follow the Seahawks closely, their offense is almost completely rebuilt, nobody knows who is playing on the line from week to week, and the quarterback hurts himself getting out of bed in the morning. They have no excuse for giving up 24 points in a half.
Sorry for the following question, but have the announcers mentioned the tragedy that occurred in AZ today? I just started watching the game because I’ve been busy making soup in preparations for our impending power outages in the ATL area.
Where the fuck has this damn Seattle team that’s played the last two games been all year?
It only matters who wins in the end. They were saving themselves. Why kill yourself getting a 12-0 record when you wind up in the same place with a shitty record?
Seattle plays smarter, not harder. Seattle, land of the slacker.
Zona-Stanford men’s basketball game has been postponed until tomorrow afternoon. Apparently the folks who normally do security for Zona games at McKale are part of the investigation.
@burnspbesq: K, question? We have friends who are seemingly progressive, at least on the local level. Rock and rollers, involved in the community and all around nice folks. They are also lawyers and highly placed in the Federalist Society. Is this possible?
It’s the lack of a running attack by the Aint’s! :) :)
91.
Yutsano
@gwangung: I honestly wanna say they scored too quickly. When I realize I should be happy they scored at all. I wonder if they saw all the “NO wins easily” press and decided to tell them to fuck off.
They are also lawyers and highly placed in the Federalist Society. Is this possible?
Definitely possible if they have a careerist streak. FedSoc membership has become a litmus test in conservative legal circles. In a Republican controlled state AG’s office, you won’t get hired without it.
I was a FedSoc member for a year. It’s not 100 percent bat-guano crazy. Remember, I’m the guy who thinks Gonzalez v. Raich and Wickard v. Filburn were wrongly decided.
95.
Rommie
It just shows what can happen with a competent QB running an offense. There’s still plenty of time for Matty H to implode, but Brees needs to step it up no matter what.
@burnspbesq: Huh, they seem firmly entrenched here in Athens. She used to ride with me to a firm in Atlanta once in a while but and he hung his own immigration shingle here in town.
@Rommie: Matty has his moments of pure genius when all four cylinders fire in the right order and he just cruises. I’m thinking we’re witnessing one of those moments. Of course it is just the third quarter and the Seahacks have plenty of time to melt down yet.
99.
The Dangerman
Regardless of how today turns out, next year’s Seahawks/49er games will be high theatre; Carroll and Harbaugh flat out don’t like each other (and I hold Harbaugh entirely innocent for his part in it; Carroll’s a dick).
Now they are running a crawl saying the Charter NBC signal is fucked and you can get it on your “over the air” antenna. That helps when you live 66 miles from the goddamn transmitter and don’t have an antenna!
@burnspbesq: Well, I guess since we have been friends for 15 years we’ll go to their epiphany party!
105.
Omnes Omnibus
@stuckinred: From my experience, I have not known anyone with an in-depth involvement with the Federalist Society who was not a a Republican or right-leaning libertarian. I am not is saying it is imposserous, but I have yet to see it. Others may have differing experiences.
@Omnes Omnibus: My brother, the lawyer, said the same thing. I remember being with these folks at a bar and they had a Vietnamese friend and I was chatting away about being in the VVAW and she looked at me like I was, well, an AmeriCong!
But that defense has a whole lot of pieces. Curry, Thomas, Howthorne Tatupu.
So Seattle loses 15 or so draft slots in the first round by making the playoffs. Does anyone know if after the first round if it reverts to actual record and not playoff positions? It would only seem fair.
Heh I was moderated for my reaction…. Wow… stunned…. 2 minutes left…. Please don’t blow it on my birthday.
152.
Stillwater
@Andy K: Never saw Walter Payton or Jim Brown run, huh?
Sweetness did this kind of shit routinely. But not on a 7-9 team in the playoffs against the defending champs. Just, usually a 7-9 team bound for winter golf.
Old skool Packers fan, and I can say the same about Payton versus my team. I still consider him the best football player I’ve seen since I started watching (in 1972).
154.
Yutsano
@zzyzx: Hmm…could be interesting…I think Brees is trying to force things. That and an incomplete pass stops the clock. I’d love an INT right about now.
EDIT: And they score. Seahacks need one first down and it’s ovah.
EDIT II: Not sure that going for two was all that smart. Especially being thin on the RB side of things.
No, he didn’t. But I remember watching that game, and smiling. The Vikes of that era are the reason why I still hate the Vikes more than any other team- even the Cowboys from the time they got Dorsett until Parcells arrived in Dallas.
169.
billgerat
We win! Who’d have thunk?
170.
Rommie
Congrats Seahawk fans – I hope you play Chicago, they are beatable.
He didn’t have what you could consider a very good O-Line either in those early days. And there was really no passing game, either.
177.
Bruce (formerly Steve S.)
Dear NFL,
We feel truly awful that a team with a losing record beat the league’s glamour boys. Truly, truly awful. This is such a horrible injustice. In fact, this is such a horrible injustice that someday it might even have its own Wikipedia page.
@Rommie:
their defense surely won’t suck as much as the two teams that played today.
180.
Scarshapedstar
Yeah bruce, I’m sure the Seahawks are gonna bring home the Lombardi trophy. Lol
181.
Stillwater
@Andy K: I grew up in Chicago, watched the whole thing. He had no help till, what?, 82-83? He really was the best running back, maybe the best football player, prolly the most exciting player, I’ve ever watched. I mean, there were years that he was voted as being one the top ten hardest hitters in the league. As a running back.
182.
4jkb4ia
I know this is just a football game, but I am going to be sick. You could accept the Rams not going with equanimity because it was a formality and they couldn’t win.
(Fingers crossed for Rep. Giffords)
183.
madmommy
Well that just sucked. The Saints got flat out-played today. The 12th Man factored for a few false starts as well. The Saints had no run game to speak off, and the receivers got the dropsies at the worst possible time. Oh well, there’s always my DVD of last year’s highlights!
Congrats to the Seahawks and I hope the Jets can beat the Colts.
184.
Rommie
@arguingwithsignposts: The Bears are also a better matchup than Atlanta, as Cutler is capable of Epic Fail in any game. Plus there’s always the chance of a Snow Bowl.
But the Vikes of that era still couldn’t seal the deal, nor the ’98 or ’09 versions. The Pack was in the wasteland for a lot of years, but eventually got to the Promised Land with Favre subbing in for Moses. The Vikings are the Cubs of football.
Yep. I’m staying in myself, but I bet the bars will be making a good haul tonight from those celebrating.
187.
Villago Delenda Est
Oh, man the “who dat” taunting is absolutely out of control over at the ESPN comments on this game.
188.
Stillwater
@Rommie: Cutler is capable of Epic Fail in any game.
True, but less so lately. He’s really seemed to settle into a run first offense and be happy with 18 or 20 passing attempts a game. Maybe Cutler is learning. But you know, I could be misreading things since two weeks before the post season I picked the Bears as the sleeper Superbowl pick.
NFL history. Seattle Seahawks, first team with a losing record in the regular season to win a playoff game. New Orleans Saints, first team to choke away a playoff game to a team with a losing record.
He really was the best running back, maybe the best football player, prolly the most exciting player, I’ve ever watched.
I agree 100%.
I forget which one of his former Bears’ coaches said it, but they thought he could have been the best in the league at any position on the field except for O-line and D-tackle. The reason they played him solely at RB (well, they did occasionally line him up as a WR) was because that gave them the best chance to win. They didn’t want him nicked up from playing an LB or DB spot. And I believe that.
194.
Mark Centz
And Seattle fans begin to dream of a rematch vs. the Stealers, and this time in a venue where black and gold are not so welcome. And zebras that are not as neutral as John Roberts.
195.
Mark S.
Hey Jet punt returner, if you’re not gonna catch the ball, get the fuck away from it!
196.
de stijl
What are the mechanics behind a coach throwing the challenge flag?
I assume teams have folks in the press box who call down with a “Throw the red flag!” message when appropriate. Do those guys have access to all of the network’s camera feeds? Do they just look at the Jumbotron like all the schlubs in the stands?
(Assuming also that players on the field give the head coach feedback whether or not to challenge.)
And Seattle fans begin to dream of a rematch vs. the Stealers, and this time in a venue where black and gold are not so welcome.
Mark, there aren’t many fanbases out there that would match up evenly with the Steelers at the Super Bowl, unless the game was being played in that opponents backyard. The Packers, Cowboys, Giants and Bears fans could match them up anywhere, but that’s about it. Unless the Seahawks some day build a dynasty that people across the country can identify with, they’ll never match up in the stands.
198.
ThresherK
The Vikings are the Cubs of football.
Slightly OT, but do the Vikings have the widespread fanbase of the Cubs?
Growing up in the Northeast I have to wonder, what about hereditary fanship? IIRC the Cubs have had clear-channel radio signals establishing their fanbase for years prior to the “upstart” baseball teams west of the Mississippi. WGN TV can’t have hurt that. All that “lovable loserdom” wasn’t propogated just by people going to Wrigley, right?
(That also goes for the Redskins in the south, StLouis baseball Cardinals in the south and west, and vestiges of NY Giants fandom in New England before the Patriots. Feel free to add examples.)
Slightly OT, but do the Vikings have the widespread fanbase of the Cubs?
I don’t think so…But then I think the majority of Cubs fans who live outside of Chicagoland are fans more of the park they rarely get to and the idea of more daytime baseball than other teams rather than the team on the field.
The only Vikes fans I know here in Michigan are either Minnesotans or the most disenchanted Lions fans.
I know I read an article within the last six months about the fanbase size and “reach” of various franchises. IIRC the order was something like Cowboys, Steelers, Packers and the rest is lost to memory.
My Google skillz are failing me and I can’t find the article I was thinking of unless Manchester United moved from the EPL to the NFL.
201.
Just Some Fuckhead
Couple more games like that and Seattle will have a winning record.
And this thought: I think that the widespread popularity of the Cubs can be linked directly to cable tv- more specifically, basic cable. When cable first started to become available, WGN got itself on a lot of systems throughout the country. I’m within radio-listening distance of WGN AM, but never listened to Cubs games until after I started watching them after school in the late ’70s.
If you look at the Cubs attendance for the Mon-Th day games, you’ll see that it trended downward, and did so more steeply than the rest of the AL and NL, until the advent of cable. I recall a lot of empty seats in the bleachers in ’77 or so, but as the years rolled on, attendance built…And it sure as hell wasn’t because the Cubs were performing better. Thew slow build in attendance exploded after Jack Brickhouse retired and was replaced by Harry Carey, who liked to occasionally call games from the bleachers. Once Harry got there it became hard to get decent seats- hell it got hard to get bad seats, and there are a ton of those at Wrigley.
I think the Cubs fucked up by moving their games off of WGN tv. I think they’re eventually going to end up losing their share of the new fan base.
Couple more games like that and Seattle will have a winning record.
Heh. You made a funny!
204.
Barb (formerly Gex)
@stuckinred: Indeed. You can maybe get by in the regular season with a weak running game. But this is the playoffs.
205.
MikeJ
@Just Some Fuckhead: A couple more games like that and the Seahawks will be Superbowl champs.
206.
Barb (formerly Gex)
@trollhattan: I still think many will want to rethink whether the weaker record should have had the home game.
207.
Barb (formerly Gex)
@Andy K: That’s almost a constant for the Bears, innit?
208.
Barb (formerly Gex)
@de stijl: Remember when Shaun Alexander got, what, 5 TDs on us in one half? The Vikes are one of the most embarrassing teams in the league. I’ll give you another: the Love Boat. Yet, they are in my blood.
Well, ya gotta figure that there are those who won’t root for the Cowboys or the Texans. For instance, I’m sure you’ll find a lot of football fans in San Antonio who root for NFL teams from outside of Texas because they just dislike those from Houston and Dallas. It’s different in a state like mine, with one major city with one team in the league…Although, in the Upper Peninsula (from where my paternal grandparents came) , due in no small part to proximity, Michigeese and Michiganders root for the Packers.
ruemara
I’m going to take a nice meditative walk and hide in Azeroth until the real world doesn’t seem so sucky.
zzyzx
Eh, I live in Seattle. I need a diversion from the game…
stuckinred
My NBC signal totally sucks, analog or HD I’m getting terrible breakup and those crazy spanish captions!
Ailuridae
I thought for a little bit the Seahawks were going to put up a heck of a fight. But they are really overmatched.
If Russell Okung is this good with two high ankle sprains he might end up in the HOF if he can ever get healthy.
joe from Lowell
In 2008, the Patriots went 11-5 and didn’t make the playoffs.
jinxtigr
Oh hell yeah we do. ;) I think I’m gonna play a bunch of Gran Turismo 5, not being a football guy. Hang in there, everybody, this too shall pass :)
Dave
@joe from Lowell: Boy, that pissed me off. I feel for the Bucs this year. Watching a losing team get in when you go 10-6 in a storybook year and stay home…
Yutsano
@Ailuridae: How bad is it?
:: peeks over at ESPN ::
Yup, pretty bad. But at least Seattle scored.
Ailuridae
@stuckinred:
Do you have broadband at home. NBC does a really great feed for SNF and I imagine for their playoff games.
Watching an NBC NFL feed and not having to listen to Al Michaels is nice. And Mike Mayock is near the absolute top of the field as an analyst.
PaulW
Seattle better not f-cking win. This is a rough day as it is.
stuckinred
@Ailuridae: God, I have to watch the game on this computer instead of on my big ass HD TV? Thanks though, I’ll check it out.
zzyzx
W00T! TD Seahawks! Nice drive!
MikeTheZ
Huh, Seahawks showed up and Saints D didn’t.
Stillwater
@Ailuridae: Down by three ain’t enuf fight for you? It’s the playoffs, baby. Anything could happen.
stuckinred
@MikeTheZ: The Saints are hurting at RB.
Loneoak
@joe from Lowell:
The question is whether this year’s teams are more uniformly good or crappy?
billgerat
I’m mildly shocked that Seattle has kept it within 3.
Barb (formerly Gex)
@stuckinred: What? No PC to TV output?
stuckinred
@Barb (formerly Gex): Yea but my trip to NBC dot com does not show this game being streamed.
Stillwater
Haaaaawwwks!
Tom levenson
Why do I think that the news that the Bills’ and the Bengals’ staffs r going to coa h the senior bowl is an act of cruelty.
Stillwater
Bit of a wasted opportunity there.
sherifffruitfly
GOOOOO HAWKS!!!!!!
(from a Seattleite)
It’s best with my best friend – he loves both the hawks and the saints. So he roots and boos every play.
Yutsano
@Stillwater: And just like that it’s tied. A lot of bookies in Vegas are shitting right now.
billgerat
Where has that Seattle D been all year?
zzyzx
The rain is delayed alas…
stuckinred
@billgerat: I’m telling you that with all the injuries at running back the Saints are not the same.
guhm61
@stuckinred:
Try this:atdhe.net
MikeTheZ
Wow, I dunno which is worse. That last pass by Hasselbeck or the commentary.
Stillwater
@Yutsano: Yeah, that. ANd all those folks who bet the saints would cover.
trollhattan
Sea
Hawks
Sea
Hawks!
That is all.
Cheers
stuckinred
@guhm61: say wha?
Stillwater
@MikeTheZ: At least it isn’t Al Michaels.
You agree with that, don’t you?
Villago Delenda Est
The thing about Seattle weather is that it’s a fairly steady drizzle for what seems like 9 months solid. “Puget Sound Sunshine”.
The actual official rainfall is not that great, but then again, the Seattle Tacoma metro area has a plethora of microclimates, one area gets lots of rain, three blocks over, there’s a rain shadow and it’s just drizzle.
stuckinred
@Stillwater: that’s the next game
trollhattan
@billgerat:
Run D was very good until they lost Red Bryant. Frank Gore will attest. Since then…meh to bad.
Ailuridae
Great effort (and some timely bounces) from the Seahawks so far. Wow. I’m a Cowboys fan so my only dog in this fight is watchable football and somebody being more likely to beat the Iggles in before they get to the Superbowl.
I am totally escaping into this game. Making some pasta and sauce and not changing the channel to the news until the break between the games.
Assuming that cooking questions are still game for NFL open threads – can anyone recommend an inexpensive quality garlic press? Sprained my wrist and thumb pretty badly so I am without knife skills for a month or so (I was thinking about trying to mince left-handed and then thought better of it)
billgerat
@stuckinred:
The Saints didn’t win all year with the run alone. Try a better reason.
stuckinred
@billgerat: Yea genius, the inability to run doesn’t allow the defense to defend the pass more effectively does it? Who the fuck are you kidding.
stuckinred
@Ailuridae: Try the Trader Joes frozen garlic cubes. Very nice and no chemicals.
trollhattan
@Ailuridae:
re. garlic press, I like our Zlyss. Cast aluminum, Swiss made, you can press cloves without peeling first, although you get more if you do peel them. Not hard on the hands unless you’re doing a whole lot.
Yutsano
@billgerat: Where the fuck has this damn Seattle team that’s played the last two games been all year?
EDIT: Holy shitballs. Carroll must have greased the palms of the refs well or something.
dr. bloor
The name of this thread should be changed from “NFL Open Thread” to “Seahawks-Saints Open Thread.” Whoever wins shouldn’t even bother showing up next week.
gwangung
Um. What happened????
billgerat
TOUCHDOWN!!!!
That was awesome.
trollhattan
Repeating myself:
Sea
Hawks
Yeah
Mark S.
What’s going on? The Seahawks aren’t supposed to be doing this to the Super Bowl champs!
guhm61
@stuckinred:
I gathered you couldn’t stream the game. You can get it at atdhe.net.
stuckinred
@dr. bloor: That’s what they said about Seattle all week.
stuckinred
@Mark S.: ask billgerat, he’s an expert
joe from Lowell
@Ailuridae:
Don’t hold out on us. Are you microwaving a jar of Prego, or what?
I want details.
Villago Delenda Est
You know, I will enjoy heads assplodin’ all over NFL fandom should the lowly Seahawks (my team, I’ll admit) manage to be unsucky in the playoffs to the same degree they sucked in the regular season.
burnspbesq
OT in a football thread, but this is pretty funny.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/565756-maryland-basketball-team-travels-to-land-of-mordor-to-face-duke
Yes, terrapin stew is on the menu for tomorrow night.
Ailuridae
@trollhattan:
This one?
That’s a really sharp design. I hadn’t even thought about not have to peel the clove first. Awesome
arguingwithsignposts
@guhm61: thanks for the link. i was blanking on the combination of letters.
joe from Lowell
@dr. bloor:
When was the last time two BC quarterbacks met in the NFL playoffs?
Cat Lady
where did jeffreyw and his food pr0n get to? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you jeffreyw for snacks.
stuckinred
Georgia beats Kentucky!!!! Yes
trollhattan
@Ailuridae:
Yep, that’s the one. If it’s still made as nicely it’s a lifetime buy.
arguingwithsignposts
pete carroll’s tears are delicous.
billgerat
@stuckinred:
I still expect Seattle to lose, but I’m enjoying the hell out of this so far.
stuckinred
@Cat Lady: I’ll see if I can raise him.
burnspbesq
@stuckinred:
Men or women?
dr. bloor
@stuckinred:
The two teams just gave up 44 points in one half of football. They both suck.
Bruce (formerly Steve S.)
Even if the Saints pull this one out I’d be awfully worried about that defense if I were them. For those who don’t follow the Seahawks closely, their offense is almost completely rebuilt, nobody knows who is playing on the line from week to week, and the quarterback hurts himself getting out of bed in the morning. They have no excuse for giving up 24 points in a half.
stuckinred
@burnspbesq: men’s!
JPL
Sorry for the following question, but have the announcers mentioned the tragedy that occurred in AZ today? I just started watching the game because I’ve been busy making soup in preparations for our impending power outages in the ATL area.
Ailuridae
@billgerat:
+1. Really not what I expected in terms of outcome. It has been a real joy to watch.
dr. bloor
@joe from Lowell:
Heh. I wonder if Matty Ice even knew Hasselbeck had been at BC last century.
stuckinred
@dr. bloor: you like those 10-3 games huh?
MikeJ
@Yutsano:
It only matters who wins in the end. They were saving themselves. Why kill yourself getting a 12-0 record when you wind up in the same place with a shitty record?
Seattle plays smarter, not harder. Seattle, land of the slacker.
stuckinred
@JPL: Congresswoman shot in Tucson, somehow survived, federal judge, 9 year old among 5 or 6 others killed. There are 2 long threads downstream.
burnspbesq
@stuckinred:
Dulce et decorum est!
dr. bloor
@stuckinred:
Don’t really have a preference, but teams that give up this many points don’t generally go very far in the playoffs.
stuckinred
@burnspbesq: Are you a lawyer?
burnspbesq
@JPL:
Zona-Stanford men’s basketball game has been postponed until tomorrow afternoon. Apparently the folks who normally do security for Zona games at McKale are part of the investigation.
jeffreyw
@Cat Lady:
You rang?
stuckinred
@jeffreyw: Do you believe in magic?
jeffreyw
@stuckinred:
I sensed a disturbance in the Force…like a hundred hungry people crying out.
JPL
@stuckinred: Thanks..Earlier I had on NBC and they seemed to be ignoring it.
Go Seahawks!
Yutsano
@jeffreyw: But at least we weren’t silenced. And perfect timing too it’s halftime.
burnspbesq
@stuckinred:
Guilty as charged.
stuckinred
@JPL: Well, since they have a 24 hr news channel that has wall-to-wall coverage. . .
stuckinred
@burnspbesq: K, question? We have friends who are seemingly progressive, at least on the local level. Rock and rollers, involved in the community and all around nice folks. They are also lawyers and highly placed in the Federalist Society. Is this possible?
gwangung
What? What happened? Again????
MikeBoyScout
31-20 goes to show you anything can happen in the playoffs.
Svensker
Holy crap. Hawks.
billgerat
Who dat?
It wasn’t New Orleans.
The Dangerman
Last night, I predicted a Saints win but not covering the spread. I might have been wrong.
stuckinred
It’s the lack of a running attack by the Aint’s! :) :)
Yutsano
@gwangung: I honestly wanna say they scored too quickly. When I realize I should be happy they scored at all. I wonder if they saw all the “NO wins easily” press and decided to tell them to fuck off.
JPL
@stuckinred: I have an antenna but good point..
stuckinred
@Yutsano: It’s not like they could have had a 27 minute drive!
burnspbesq
@stuckinred:
Definitely possible if they have a careerist streak. FedSoc membership has become a litmus test in conservative legal circles. In a Republican controlled state AG’s office, you won’t get hired without it.
I was a FedSoc member for a year. It’s not 100 percent bat-guano crazy. Remember, I’m the guy who thinks Gonzalez v. Raich and Wickard v. Filburn were wrongly decided.
Rommie
It just shows what can happen with a competent QB running an offense. There’s still plenty of time for Matty H to implode, but Brees needs to step it up no matter what.
stuckinred
@burnspbesq: Huh, they seem firmly entrenched here in Athens. She used to ride with me to a firm in Atlanta once in a while but and he hung his own immigration shingle here in town.
stuckinred
@burnspbesq: I guess if it’s online there is no harm posting it.
Yutsano
@Rommie: Matty has his moments of pure genius when all four cylinders fire in the right order and he just cruises. I’m thinking we’re witnessing one of those moments. Of course it is just the third quarter and the Seahacks have plenty of time to melt down yet.
The Dangerman
Regardless of how today turns out, next year’s Seahawks/49er games will be high theatre; Carroll and Harbaugh flat out don’t like each other (and I hold Harbaugh entirely innocent for his part in it; Carroll’s a dick).
billgerat
@Yutsano:
The whole key has been that the front line has been giving Matt time to throw.
MoeLarryAndJesus
@burnspbesq:
“I was a FedSoc member for a year. It’s not 100 percent bat-guano crazy.”
85% is still a pretty high percentage.
burnspbesq
What a glorious day for underdogs in the FA Cup. Four Premier League teams beaten by teams from the lower divisions, and two draws.
stuckinred
Now they are running a crawl saying the Charter NBC signal is fucked and you can get it on your “over the air” antenna. That helps when you live 66 miles from the goddamn transmitter and don’t have an antenna!
stuckinred
@burnspbesq: Well, I guess since we have been friends for 15 years we’ll go to their epiphany party!
Omnes Omnibus
@stuckinred: From my experience, I have not known anyone with an in-depth involvement with the Federalist Society who was not a a Republican or right-leaning libertarian. I am not is saying it is imposserous, but I have yet to see it. Others may have differing experiences.
stuckinred
@Omnes Omnibus: My brother, the lawyer, said the same thing. I remember being with these folks at a bar and they had a Vietnamese friend and I was chatting away about being in the VVAW and she looked at me like I was, well, an AmeriCong!
John - A Motley Moose
WTF?! Going for it on a 4th and 1 in your own territory when there is still 20 minutes to play? That’s just stupid.
Yutsano
The Saints got 18 minutes left. Let’s see what they can do with them.
stuckinred
@Omnes Omnibus: Ooo, the google says he was
Director of Policy Development,
National Security Council
stuckinred
@John – A Motley Moose: Especially when your running game is kaput!
Yutsano
@stuckinred: Brees is trying to air everything out now. Don’t think that will cut it, especially when his receivers have a case of the drops.
@Andy K: This is why I don’t usually gamble. I do have a tendency of buying drinks however.
Andy K
Whoever laid money on the home dogs is buying the drinks tonight.
stuckinred
@Yutsano: That happens when you keep getting your dick knocked in the dirt.
stuckinred
@Andy K: Where you been, in the parking lot of Lambeau?
John - A Motley Moose
I hope Seattle wins and goes on to win the SB. That will be a controversy that will make the craziness over HCR or the deficit seem like non-events.
The Dangerman
@Andy K:
I wish I had the right combination of money and onions to bet this one; the point spread was ridiculous.
Seattle had the chance to close the door there; had to get at least 3.
Yutsano
@John – A Motley Moose: Nah. Gunna. Happen. Nice thought though. It would certainly spark a few interesting conspiracy theories.
The Dangerman
First playoff game with new overtime rules; my new prediction is O/T and NO wins.
billgerat
@John – A Motley Moose:
Seattle has about as much of a chance of that as the Republicans do governing responsibly.
zzyzx
Well we made it interesting at least…
Andy K
Oh shit! How new is that Abe and Mary Todd Lincoln ad from that insurance company that might get my comment tossed into moderation? That’s funny!
Yutsano
And the defense decides to take the 4th quarter off. Sigh. Well it was kinda fun there for awhile…
zzyzx
If this were a 55 minute game…
Ailuridae
@Yutsano:
But that defense has a whole lot of pieces. Curry, Thomas, Howthorne Tatupu.
So Seattle loses 15 or so draft slots in the first round by making the playoffs. Does anyone know if after the first round if it reverts to actual record and not playoff positions? It would only seem fair.
zzyzx
If this were a 56 minute game… Wow, we made it interesting for real.
Yutsano
@Ailuridae: Oh yeah, there are some decent pieces there for sure.
And someone needs to explain why the hell NO punted there. If you’re giving it to the Seahacks, they can abuse the clock for four minutes easily.
EDIT: HOLY SCHNICKIES! I DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING!!
Rommie
Okay, WOW!
billgerat
The Saints are done for.
The Dangerman
Wow. Who got pushed off like a ragdoll?
Edit: OK, 22 fell down more than pushed down.
Andy K
@zzyzx:
Or….?
de stijl
That may have been the studliest thing I’ve ever seen! Holy crap!
Stillwater
OMFG! That was one of the best runs I’ve ever seen!
sherifffruitfly
ZOMGGOSEAHAWKS!!!!!!!!!
trollhattan
Holy muck, Fatman!
Sea
Hawks!
Stillwater
Just counted on the replay – he broke 7 tackles!
Andy K
That was a helluva run!
Ted Thompson didn’t want to trade for Lynch WHY?
Mark S.
Au revoir, New Orleans.
wmd
that was an incredible run.
Phyllis
That was a helluva thing to watch.
Yutsano
@Mark S.: Laissez les bon temps roulez indeed!
EDIT: Am I selfish for hoping that NO doesn’t score on this drive?
Andy K
@de stijl:
Never saw Walter Payton or Jim Brown run, huh?
mr. whipple
Seachickens? WTF?
stuckinred
@Andy K: Or Sayers but still.
MikeBoyScout
Turn out the lights
The party’s over
They say that all
Good things must end
Stillwater
And it ain’t over!
WTF? Chicken defense?
de stijl
@Andy K:
Old skool Vikes fan. I’ve seen the bad end of Walter Payton’s studliness before.
Andy K
@stuckinred:
I’ve seen film of Sayers running by guys, but not going pad-to-pad and bulling them out of the way.
And even if I did, I can’t give props to two Bears in one sentence now, can I?
Mark S.
@Stillwater:
Yeah, they got down to the 20 pretty quick.
ETA: Go for two and onside. Is Yutsy still breathing?
The Dangerman
Best I ever saw? Sanders. Sweetness is close. OK, maybe flip ’em.
Game ain’t over; touch and 2 and an onside kick would make this very interesting.
Ailuridae
@zzyzx:
If the Queen had bollocks …
zzyzx
Heh I was moderated for my reaction…. Wow… stunned…. 2 minutes left…. Please don’t blow it on my birthday.
Stillwater
@Andy K: Never saw Walter Payton or Jim Brown run, huh?
Sweetness did this kind of shit routinely. But not on a 7-9 team in the playoffs against the defending champs. Just, usually a 7-9 team bound for winter golf.
Andy K
@de stijl:
Old skool Packers fan, and I can say the same about Payton versus my team. I still consider him the best football player I’ve seen since I started watching (in 1972).
Yutsano
@zzyzx: Hmm…could be interesting…I think Brees is trying to force things. That and an incomplete pass stops the clock. I’d love an INT right about now.
EDIT: And they score. Seahacks need one first down and it’s ovah.
EDIT II: Not sure that going for two was all that smart. Especially being thin on the RB side of things.
Ailuridae
@Yutsano:
I’m with Mayock. Greatest run I have ever seen in the playoffs.
Unreal. And I kind of hate Lynch
Stillwater
Big play here, no?
Andy K
@Stillwater:
Jesus, what was his record year? ’77 or ’78? When he carried the Bears to the playoffs? Shit, he just willed that otherwise bad team there.
Stillwater
Helluva an effort by the O-lineman on that 2 point try. Tried to carry the back into the endzone.
de stijl
@Andy K:
Did Payton ever ding the Pack for 275? That was painful, my friend.
zzyzx
Don’t even need a first… just have to recover this….
Andy K
Hey, the ball has to travel ten yards. Thanks, announcer guy. I didn’t know that.
burnspbesq
Two-point conversion attempt fails. If SEA recovers onside kick, it’s over.
Mark S.
Kicked it a tad hard there. Now Yutsano can breathe.
Morbo
BEAST MODE ACTIVATE! Man, Lynch ran that poor DB over hardcore.
zzyzx
Ok I guess we do need a first…
Stillwater
@Andy K: For a lotta years. It wasn’t till they got Singletary and stacked up some defense that he wasn’t the only player on that team.
arguingwithsignposts
suck on it Pete Carroll and your losing ass team.
ETA: and I hope Hasselbeck gets his ass sacked over and over next week.
Andy K
@de stijl:
No, he didn’t. But I remember watching that game, and smiling. The Vikes of that era are the reason why I still hate the Vikes more than any other team- even the Cowboys from the time they got Dorsett until Parcells arrived in Dallas.
billgerat
We win! Who’d have thunk?
Rommie
Congrats Seahawk fans – I hope you play Chicago, they are beatable.
stuckinred
And, as I said, the Saint’s lack of a running game was the key. Thank you.
zzyzx
Best present ever!!!
trollhattan
Well I’ll be, Skippy. Guess we’ll put that discussion of re-rigging the playoff system for a bit.
Way to go, Hawks!
Villago Delenda Est
NFL history. Seattle Seahawks, first team with a losing record in the regular season to win a playoff game.
Yutsano
@billgerat: As good an excuse as any not to leave the house tonight methinks. Obnoxious Seachicken fans can be quite nausea-inducing.
Andy K
@Stillwater:
He didn’t have what you could consider a very good O-Line either in those early days. And there was really no passing game, either.
Bruce (formerly Steve S.)
Dear NFL,
We feel truly awful that a team with a losing record beat the league’s glamour boys. Truly, truly awful. This is such a horrible injustice. In fact, this is such a horrible injustice that someday it might even have its own Wikipedia page.
Again our apologies.
Sincerely,
The Seattle Seahawks
P.S. Fuck you.
wmd
Who dat got eliminated?
arguingwithsignposts
@Rommie:
their defense surely won’t suck as much as the two teams that played today.
Scarshapedstar
Yeah bruce, I’m sure the Seahawks are gonna bring home the Lombardi trophy. Lol
Stillwater
@Andy K: I grew up in Chicago, watched the whole thing. He had no help till, what?, 82-83? He really was the best running back, maybe the best football player, prolly the most exciting player, I’ve ever watched. I mean, there were years that he was voted as being one the top ten hardest hitters in the league. As a running back.
4jkb4ia
I know this is just a football game, but I am going to be sick. You could accept the Rams not going with equanimity because it was a formality and they couldn’t win.
(Fingers crossed for Rep. Giffords)
madmommy
Well that just sucked. The Saints got flat out-played today. The 12th Man factored for a few false starts as well. The Saints had no run game to speak off, and the receivers got the dropsies at the worst possible time. Oh well, there’s always my DVD of last year’s highlights!
Congrats to the Seahawks and I hope the Jets can beat the Colts.
Rommie
@arguingwithsignposts: The Bears are also a better matchup than Atlanta, as Cutler is capable of Epic Fail in any game. Plus there’s always the chance of a Snow Bowl.
de stijl
@Andy K:
But the Vikes of that era still couldn’t seal the deal, nor the ’98 or ’09 versions. The Pack was in the wasteland for a lot of years, but eventually got to the Promised Land with Favre subbing in for Moses. The Vikings are the Cubs of football.
billgerat
@Yutsano:
Yep. I’m staying in myself, but I bet the bars will be making a good haul tonight from those celebrating.
Villago Delenda Est
Oh, man the “who dat” taunting is absolutely out of control over at the ESPN comments on this game.
Stillwater
@Rommie: Cutler is capable of Epic Fail in any game.
True, but less so lately. He’s really seemed to settle into a run first offense and be happy with 18 or 20 passing attempts a game. Maybe Cutler is learning. But you know, I could be misreading things since two weeks before the post season I picked the Bears as the sleeper Superbowl pick.
Bruce (formerly Steve S.)
@Villago Delenda Est:
Fixed.
Nina
Who dat? Who dat? Da Hawks dat!
Villago Delenda Est
@Bruce (formerly Steve S.):
I accept with gratitude your very constructive editing of my post.
gwangung
@Villago Delenda Est: Total win.
Andy K
@de stijl:
And we still lead the League with 12 NFL Championship banners.
@Stillwater:
I agree 100%.
I forget which one of his former Bears’ coaches said it, but they thought he could have been the best in the league at any position on the field except for O-line and D-tackle. The reason they played him solely at RB (well, they did occasionally line him up as a WR) was because that gave them the best chance to win. They didn’t want him nicked up from playing an LB or DB spot. And I believe that.
Mark Centz
And Seattle fans begin to dream of a rematch vs. the Stealers, and this time in a venue where black and gold are not so welcome. And zebras that are not as neutral as John Roberts.
Mark S.
Hey Jet punt returner, if you’re not gonna catch the ball, get the fuck away from it!
de stijl
What are the mechanics behind a coach throwing the challenge flag?
I assume teams have folks in the press box who call down with a “Throw the red flag!” message when appropriate. Do those guys have access to all of the network’s camera feeds? Do they just look at the Jumbotron like all the schlubs in the stands?
(Assuming also that players on the field give the head coach feedback whether or not to challenge.)
Andy K
@Mark Centz:
Mark, there aren’t many fanbases out there that would match up evenly with the Steelers at the Super Bowl, unless the game was being played in that opponents backyard. The Packers, Cowboys, Giants and Bears fans could match them up anywhere, but that’s about it. Unless the Seahawks some day build a dynasty that people across the country can identify with, they’ll never match up in the stands.
ThresherK
The Vikings are the Cubs of football.
Slightly OT, but do the Vikings have the widespread fanbase of the Cubs?
Growing up in the Northeast I have to wonder, what about hereditary fanship? IIRC the Cubs have had clear-channel radio signals establishing their fanbase for years prior to the “upstart” baseball teams west of the Mississippi. WGN TV can’t have hurt that. All that “lovable loserdom” wasn’t propogated just by people going to Wrigley, right?
(That also goes for the Redskins in the south, StLouis baseball Cardinals in the south and west, and vestiges of NY Giants fandom in New England before the Patriots. Feel free to add examples.)
Andy K
@ThresherK:
I don’t think so…But then I think the majority of Cubs fans who live outside of Chicagoland are fans more of the park they rarely get to and the idea of more daytime baseball than other teams rather than the team on the field.
The only Vikes fans I know here in Michigan are either Minnesotans or the most disenchanted Lions fans.
de stijl
@ThresherK:
I know I read an article within the last six months about the fanbase size and “reach” of various franchises. IIRC the order was something like Cowboys, Steelers, Packers and the rest is lost to memory.
My Google skillz are failing me and I can’t find the article I was thinking of unless Manchester United moved from the EPL to the NFL.
Just Some Fuckhead
Couple more games like that and Seattle will have a winning record.
Andy K
@Andy K:
And this thought: I think that the widespread popularity of the Cubs can be linked directly to cable tv- more specifically, basic cable. When cable first started to become available, WGN got itself on a lot of systems throughout the country. I’m within radio-listening distance of WGN AM, but never listened to Cubs games until after I started watching them after school in the late ’70s.
If you look at the Cubs attendance for the Mon-Th day games, you’ll see that it trended downward, and did so more steeply than the rest of the AL and NL, until the advent of cable. I recall a lot of empty seats in the bleachers in ’77 or so, but as the years rolled on, attendance built…And it sure as hell wasn’t because the Cubs were performing better. Thew slow build in attendance exploded after Jack Brickhouse retired and was replaced by Harry Carey, who liked to occasionally call games from the bleachers. Once Harry got there it became hard to get decent seats- hell it got hard to get bad seats, and there are a ton of those at Wrigley.
I think the Cubs fucked up by moving their games off of WGN tv. I think they’re eventually going to end up losing their share of the new fan base.
Yutsano
@Just Some Fuckhead:
Heh. You made a funny!
Barb (formerly Gex)
@stuckinred: Indeed. You can maybe get by in the regular season with a weak running game. But this is the playoffs.
MikeJ
@Just Some Fuckhead: A couple more games like that and the Seahawks will be Superbowl champs.
Barb (formerly Gex)
@trollhattan: I still think many will want to rethink whether the weaker record should have had the home game.
Barb (formerly Gex)
@Andy K: That’s almost a constant for the Bears, innit?
Barb (formerly Gex)
@de stijl: Remember when Shaun Alexander got, what, 5 TDs on us in one half? The Vikes are one of the most embarrassing teams in the league. I’ll give you another: the Love Boat. Yet, they are in my blood.
Barb (formerly Gex)
@Andy K: I’ve seen tons in Texas and Arizona.
Andy K
@Barb (formerly Gex):
You must be talking about the passing game. If so, yes.
BruceFromOhio
The sour look on Manning’s mug on failure to convert third down is far, far too entertaining. More, please, Jets D?
Andy K
@Barb (formerly Gex):
Well, ya gotta figure that there are those who won’t root for the Cowboys or the Texans. For instance, I’m sure you’ll find a lot of football fans in San Antonio who root for NFL teams from outside of Texas because they just dislike those from Houston and Dallas. It’s different in a state like mine, with one major city with one team in the league…Although, in the Upper Peninsula (from where my paternal grandparents came) , due in no small part to proximity, Michigeese and Michiganders root for the Packers.
matoko_chan
Here you go Cole.
Divert this.
Greenwald on Wikileaks twitter subpoena.