40 years since the Immaculate Reception? Damn I’m old. You know the Raider fans say Fuqua toched that ball, thus making that an illegal recption. Jack Tatum swore that up to the day he died.
2.
dmbeaster
Jack Tatum was known as the “Mouth” for good reason. the play was legal if Tatum touched it last, which was always unclear, as the ball bounced away as Tatum defended the pass to Fuqua. The rule was stupid anyway.
3.
Suffern ACE
Tatum never touched that ball!
#raidersfansvstheworld
4.
Spaghetti Lee
I was under the impression that Christian Ponder wasn’t any good and that the Texans would beat the stuffing out of the Vikes and help my Bears make the playoffs. YET HERE WE ARE.
You know what? I would absolutely believe the Packers would just lie down next week against MIN if it would keep the Bears out of the playoffs. It’s been that kind of season.
5.
Suffern ACE
@dmbeaster: it was a rule to solve the problem of football players playing volleyball. Now the forward lateral rule…that’s a rule we could do without.
So Baby Jesus will go home to Jacksonville next year to play for the Jags, and a few years later the Jags move to Los Angeles. Oh by the way to any 49er fans, prepare for Beast Mode tonight.
The rule was put in to stop RC Owens from jumping up and tapping the ball to a teammate. It was changed back in the late 70s.
9.
red dog
49ers and Seahawks will play a rough and tumble old time football tonight which the Niners will win…if Akers can make a field goal or two.
10.
Corner Stone
@Spaghetti Lee: Ponder isn’t any good. The Texans are about as flat as I have seen them in two years. They look like these guys are wearing green and yellow or something.
Just an awful showing.
11.
Anoniminous
Back in the day I was a rabid Raider fan, saw the game, was 100% convinced We Wuz Robbed! and spent several months being an asshole about it all calmly maintaining an injustice was committed.
Now, I could give a damn.
ETA:
Tho’ I still get some minor satisfaction the Stealers lost to Miami in the championship game.
I’m sure this will sound hilarious to any objective observer, but I’m starting to think the whole Jay Cutler experiment was a failure. 5 wasted years of 7-9 wins, never good enough to make the playoffs but never bad enough to draft anyone really good. Meanwhile, our division has arguably the best QB, best RB, and best WR in the NFL, at least this season, all on different teams. Sickening, absolutely sickening. No, God forbid the Packers stumble around in the quarterback wilderness for a decade or so like a normal team after Favre left. No, they just happen to have Aaron Rodgers, because nothing-not one thing-has gone wrong for the Packers since 1991. Meanwhile, the Vikings were supposed to go 4-12 this year, but oh wait, Adrian Peterson’s a fucking cyborg who doesn’t know the meaning of the phrase ‘ACL tear’. Argh argh argh.
@Spaghetti Lee: You’re talking to someone who watched Billy Wade, Bobby Douglas and Bob Avellini. Arggh indeed.
15.
Thlayli
If these scores hold up, and the Skins win next week, they win the division. Who saw THAT coming??
16.
Corner Stone
Shit. Moderation on this lazy ass, boring Sunday? I guess that fits.
17.
Raven
@Thlayli: Looks like the Aint’s are doing their duty!
18.
Raven
I guess no one in Pittsburgh gives a fuck, what a snoozefest.
19.
Corner Stone
Texans deserve to lose this game. They look like shit. Schaub looked on every play like his first instinct was to tuck his head down and take a sack so he didn’t take a chance on getting hurt.
Here’s some good numbers for you. Bears since 2004: 31st in yards, 26th in offensive touchdowns, 31st in passer rating, 31st in turnovers by the offense. 29th in QB sacks allowed.
This shouldn’t be so hard. Most other teams have figured it out, at least occasionally.
22.
Mr Stagger Lee
@Spaghetti Lee: Well here some available QB’s, Matt Flynn, Mark Sanchez, maybe Michael Vick.
Kurt Cousins or one of the Arizona QB’s.
23.
Raven
@Mr Stagger Lee: I think have moved to a discussion of O line?
24.
Mr Stagger Lee
@Raven: Actually I am hoping for a Bungle win, I ought to turn to the Cowboy-Saints game, but I can’t turn away. :-(
Ha ha ha, oh man that’s a depressing list. I’m positive that if the Bears signed Cousins, he’d be one of those quarterbacks everyone gets excited about because he’s young and has ‘upside’ and hasn’t been a starter yet, and once he became a starter he’d turn into Rex Grossman Jr.
I don’t think I could root for Vick, and even if he was good he’s already 32 or 33 years old or so. The others are all crap.
You know what? I would absolutely believe the Packers would just lie down next week against MIN if it would keep the Bears out of the playoffs. It’s been that kind of season.
Two things here:
1). The Packers will be playing for the second seed and the bye.
2). We hate the Vikings at least as much as we hate the Bears.
36.
Suffern ACE
Rothlesberger playing more like Lynn Dickey with each passing year.
Last night we had Christmas dinner. Almost ten pounds of Dungeness crab for five of us. And it was sweet, sweet crab.
I’ve been useless this a.m., just stretched out on the couch with the Red Zone flashing by. Waiting for the Niners to come on later. I’ll be awake for that.
39.
Mr Stagger Lee
you got to be kidding!!!! Miles Austin catches a TD!!! Goat horns on Johnny Patrick if the Aints lose this.
40.
Joel
Nawlins got lucky!!!!
41.
Corner Stone
Are there any decent games on today? As the second entree of poo today I get either CLE @ DEN or NYG @ BAL.
Wooooo…
Ugh, my hapless Raiduhs continue their decade of derpage. Can’t remember the last time I saw a top 10 offense so thoroughly gutted in just one season. Just sad and boring to watch.
OTOH, pulling for the Bungles to go far in the playoffs. Anyone but Manning or Brady, and the Texans are the worst 12-2 team since Schottenheimer’s Chargers. Ten bucks says Houston is one and done in the playoffs.
They’re gonna need an exorcism to chase Big Al’s vile ghost from the locker room before the Raiders can be a football team again. Long, strange trip, indeed.
48.
Corner Stone
@trollhattan: What’s going in your burrito?
If I may escape the double entendre.
49.
West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)
Call me a hater, but I hope the 49er’s get bounced in the playoffs. I’ve lived in Nor Cal since the early 70’s and think the Niner fans are insufferable when the team is successful. I don’t feel that way about the Giants (baseball), but Niner fans are the worst.
50.
Corner Stone
That was an awful throw by The Noodler. Jus’ turrble.
@trollhattan: Yeah, hopefully this offseason is the exorcism, they can chase out the check-cashing turds (I’m lookin’ at you, Richard Seymour), retain some of the nice FA signings, such as Philip Wheeler, and get a decent draft.
Al Davis had guts and vision in his day, but he obviously didn’t know when to say when, and could never scknowledge when the game had passed him by. Just his two most infamous pissing contests, with Marcus Allen and later with Jon Gruden, probably cost the team at least two additional Super Bowl victories, maybe more.
But Greg Knapp has really fucked the offense up royally. They can’t find the end zone with both hands and a flashlight right now; offhand, I don’t think they’ve scored a 1st qtr TD all year, and haven’t had a TD at all in almost 3 full games. Pathetic.
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.): Yeah, I live in NorCal as well (near Chico), and I agree — Niner fans are annoying when the team is doing well. Most of them around here were Steelers or Raiders fans in the ’70s, and hopped on the bandwagon in the ’80s.
I have a feeling the Seahags will give them some comeuppance tonight, either way it should be a good game.
54.
Joel
@Mr Stagger Lee: Jack Tatum was a piece of shit anyways, on account of Darryl Stingley.
55.
Joel
@Mr Stagger Lee: Jack Tatum was a piece of shit anyways, on account of Darryl Stingley.
Speaking of stupid rules did you know it is illegal to take more than 3 steps toward the line of scrimmage before leaping to block a kick? Back in the day the MN Vikings blocked a ton of PAT and FG attempts. The last one defeated the Miami Dolphins & kept them out of the playoffs. Don Shula was head of the “competition committee” & got that rule passed. Oddly enough the NFL had to start adding a lot of stupid rules to cut down on the ease of kicking FGs (first it was ball at the line of scrimmage now at the point of kick, narrowing the goal posts).
Instead of letting the players abilities decide the game we get a lot of stupid crap.
57.
Joel
@Mr Stagger Lee: Matt Moore probably belongs on that list. He’s not awesome, but he’s been capable, which is really all the Bears need. They could also blow their wad on Flacco.
58.
Joel
@Mr Stagger Lee: Matt Moore probably belongs on that list. He’s not awesome, but he’s been capable, which is really all the Bears need. They could also blow their wad on Flacco.
Its always possible that the Texans know they are in the playoffs & don’t give a crap. Play not to get hurt. Meanwhile the queens know they have to run the table & get help.
I would say they get their asses handed to them by the Fudge Packers next week EXCEPT the FPs may think it is funny to play just hard enough to lose because it would piss of the Bears (queens? Packers? Bears? is their a more homoerotic division in this homoerotic game?)
60.
West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)
@Heywood J.: I was expecting to get immediately trashed for daring to speak against Niner Nation! I am, afterall, a lowly Rams fan. I can’t work up much hatred for the Seahawks; other than one Super Bowl loss, they haven’t really done much to get all that resentful about. But “Seahags” is a pretty good nickname. The Rams are called the Lambs by some. I kind of like Forty-Hinders and Forty-Whiners.
Eh. I like Seahacks or Seashmucks better. Some go with Seachickens, but I feel that lacks elegance.
62.
Schlemizel
@efgoldman:
Yes, I think thats been a rule for a long time. Its also illegal to push a ball carrier forward but if you watch you see it done anytime a scrum forms around a running back. Watch a fullback or OT come blasting in from behind & try to drive the carrier forward a couple yards.
Matt Blair could time his leaps perfectly (if not he was off side so there was a risk in his trick) but he got such great height that he blocked many kicks & screwed up a bunch more as they tried to kick it higher to get over him.
63.
cokane
HAHA
SUCK IT COLE
GO BENGALS
64.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
No one blocked ’em like Ted Hendricks. He was practically the entire highlight reel of the Packers’ ’74 season with his picks, sacks and blocked kicks. One year, and then he was gone.
65.
Corner Stone
@Schlemizel: That’s fine except they are still competing for the 1st seed and the bye in the playoffs.
I agree, if we think we have a shot to run in the playoffs, then rest Schaub and put Yates in there. Keep Foster out and run Tate and Forsett.
But they didn’t do that. They ran 1st string players and acted like this was all sewn up. They did a bunch of planking in this game.
66.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
Its also illegal to push a ball carrier forward but if you watch you see it done anytime a scrum forms around a running back. Watch a fullback or OT come blasting in from behind & try to drive the carrier forward a couple yards.
That one’s been a rule for a very long time, but it’s rarely called unless the pusher actually extends his arms. In case you didn’t know it, Chuck Mercein wasn’t signalling a TD when he dove over the pile behind Starr on that famous play in the Ice Bowl- he was making an effort to show the officials that he wasn’t aiding Starr across the goal line.
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.): One of my best friends is a 3rd-generation Lambs fan, like, going all the way back to Cleveland diehard. Fisher’s a good coach, if they can grab a decent WR and couple linemen in the offseason they’ll be competitive next year.
Weird to see the NFC Worst suddenly become a solid division. If the Cardinals can find a QB and a running game, it could get interesting. Meanwhile my Raiduhs contribute to what has devolved into the crappiest division in the NFL; only the Donkeys are over .500, after 15 games.
68.
Corner Stone
Oh no! Brandon Weedon is out of the game for CLE! Whatever will they do now to compete?
These are the Hyde Giants. The Jekyll Giants beat the Packers and Saints, but haven’t been seen since.
70.
Corner Stone
I don’t even understand this mess. If the NFL is going to put 14 games on the Sunday right before Christmas, shouldn’t a couple of them at least be competitive and/or significant in some way?
This is a hot mess.
71.
FlipYrWhig
@efgoldman: Srsly. Usually the Giants come alive in December. Now they seem to be hitting the snooze. Lotta mediocre teams this year.
I prefer to refer to them by their city, St. Loser.
75.
West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)
@Heywood J.: Your friend must be rather elderly; they moved to L.A. in 1946! And I thought I was old-school because I fondly remember Roman Gabriel throwing to Jack Snow with Deacon and Merlin stuffing the run.
I was such a huge fan of Jerry Kramer I never saw anything but 64 pushing Jethro over & 15 falling down in the gap. If anyone was running around I didn’t notice.
I don’t watch many games any more but it seems every one there is obvious ‘assist’ penalties now. Meanwhile holding seems to get called when it does not happen about as often as when it does & pass interference is determined by some geeks upstairs with 20-sided dies
77.
Corner Stone
@Heywood J.: Indeed. I celebrate all his TDs scored after the whistle has not been blown.
78.
JWL
@Heywood J.: The age of a person most assuredly defines a great deal about all home grown Niner fans. They were basically a .500 ball club year-in-and-out when I was a kid; got real good three years in a row when I was in high school; then tanked egregiously until the Walsh/Montana /Young golden era began. Those who jumped on board during those years were caught flat-footed when it all ended. Fans my age and older knew the era’s days were numbered going in, which made that incredible run all the more amazing after it finally ended. Go Niners.
How can they guess that in March? If I ran the league the first weeks of the season with be inter-divisional followed by intra then the final weeks would be division opponents again as those games would be more likely to be meaningful.
But every year there are teams that disappoint and those that surprise plus with the modern athlete ‘coasting’ can happen late in the season.
80.
Corner Stone
Oh Law & Order SVU reruns, will I ever get tired of you?
81.
Corner Stone
@Schlemizel: Yeah. Maybe they shouldn’t have an 18 game season after all.
Not sure this is a scheduling thing or a question for the competition committee.
82.
West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)
@JWL: Yes, I, too, remember those solid years with Brodie throwing to Gene Washington. Things did indeed get ugly until Walsh coached Montana to greatness. I think I’m resentful because I think the team sort of “bought” a couple championships in the late 80’s-early 90’s with Deion Sanders, Ken Norton, Jr., et al. I guess that’s modern sports though. Certainly the Lakers, Dodgers, Angels (the teams I grew up watching) do the same thing.
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.): No, he’s about 40 years old, I mean that his father and grandfather were also diehard fans, starting when they were in Cleveland (which is odd, since his family has been in NorCal since the 1850s).
I’m in Orland, so pretty close by. Of course, no one from more than fifty miles away knows where (or what) Orland is, so it’s easier to just say Chico.
I never saw it from that angle! Its probably too late already. To anyone who cares it was all Kramer. Helped that he was writing a book about the season. Where is Ken in that shot?
87.
Mr Stagger Lee
@JWL: Remember also the rise of the Niners coincided with Al Davis moving Raiders from Oakland to LA, some of the casual fans became fans of Joe Cool, Jerry Rice, Lott, Clark et al. Only hardcore fans at Ricky’s in San Leandro and gangbangers were fans of the Raiders, back then.
88.
JWL
@Heywood J.: Well, I’m a true blue Niner fan, and freely admit to watching way more Raider games during those execrable years. God bless Eddie D., but he definitely gained his expertise as he learned on the job. And, of course, I’m talking Stabler era Raiders here. They were a fun club to watch play.
89.
West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)
@JWL: Curiously enough, I’ve had two students who were the niece (grand-niece?) and newphew of a couple old school Raiders: Lamonica and Biletnikoff. Yeah, the old Raiders were fun to watch. I’ve got a friend who just wrote the team a letter (a couple weeks ago) to officially declare the end of his fandom. Can’t say I blame him.
90.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
I’m not so sure it’s the book as much as it was Tommy Brookshier and Lombardi in one specific moment. With the CBS cameras on him in the post-game locker room, Brookshier mentions Kramer’s block, shows Lombardi the play from an end zone angle- one in which Bowman’s block is partially obscured from view- and Lombardi reacts by saying, “That’s a fine block. Alright, Jerry!” while clapping his hands.
I played it frame by frame & it still looks like Kramer blows the hole open to me. But these things are never all one guys doing anyway. But I saw something more interesting. Kramer moves, just the tiniest of a bit BEFORE the ball is snapped. I watched it 3 times & feel pretty sure he should have been called for motion.
92.
Redleg
Well I’ll be dipped in shit- the Bengals actually win a must-win game! Howdya like that?
93.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
I wasn’t irritated. It was a double team. ‘31 Wedge’ is a double team. It was 41 years ago, so it’s really not that important to me. However, (laughs), if somebody comes along and claims that I had nothing to do with it or very little to do with it, it was a double team. Jethro Pugh will even admit that I got into his ribcage and pushed him into the end zone.
_
I thought Jerry (Kramer) had hit him and stood him up. I talked to him years later, and he said, ‘No, they were pass rushing.’ I think they had figured we were going to try one short pass, and if it was not open, Bart was going to throw it high and we would kick a field goal and we would play on into the overtime. So, I talked to Jethro about 10 years ago, and he said he was pass rushing and that’s why he was so high. I got into his rib cage and pushed him into the end zone.
_
My good friend Jerry Kramer in several of his books has indicated that it was his block. The play was over once he hit Pugh. I don’t know how he justifies it. He’s had this ‘I’ problem since he’s left. You know, ‘I’, ‘I’, ‘I’. There’s no ‘I’ in team and there’s no ‘I’ in double team. It was a double team.
_
Am I upset about it? No
95.
JWL
ESPN is reporting:
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Jets backup quarterback Tim Tebow was so frustrated when the starting job was conferred upon Greg McElroy early last week that he told the coaches he didn’t want to be used in any Wildcat packages Sunday against the San Diego Chargers, multiple Jets sources told ESPNNewYork.com.
Ryan should have started T-Bo today, and had him run the wildcat all game long.
I see this is really important to you & thats OK. I get that is a justice thing, fair is fair. Its just that I no longer care enough. Those three guys would know better than anyone else & I’ll take their word on it.
I’m much more fascinated by the fact that Kramer false starts on the play. Guess the cowpie got that back against the queens on the push off
@Heywood J.:
It’s hard to resurrect a club after so long in the wilderness, but nothing’s impossible.
They need a new coaching staff (obviously), front office and a lot of new talent. They also have to stop fighting the league and Alameda county. I think that least is not possible with Al and his jumpsuit now gone to the big tapas bar in the sky.
I honestly have no idea whether his son has the skills to pull it off–it’s not going to be easy.
99.
JWL
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.): Give the man his due. Eddie D. played by the NFL rules-as-they-then-existed, and belongs in Canton. He didn’t “buy” anything. Eddie simply paid his contractors a fair wage for services rendered. And you neglected to mention the great Fred Dean on your list, who proved the final piece of their first Super Bowl winner (much as the great Deion Sanders did 14 years later).
100.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
It’s not that important to me. I mean, I didn’t bring up the block. IMO, it’s just one of those historical inaccuracies that needs to be corrected when it comes up. It isn’t as important to correct as the popular historical notion that the Civil War was not first and foremost about anything other than slavery. It’s more like the the popular but wrong notion that George Washington had wooden false teeth.
101.
West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)
@JWL: It’s difficult for a Rams fan to give the 49er’s their due, but I do have grudging respect for what they accomplished. FSM knows it’s more than the Rams managed to accomplish with some pretty solid teams over the years. I do maintain, however, that the Rams of the 70’s — some damn good teams! — played during an era of ALL-TIME great teams: the Steelers, the Raiders, the Dolphins… The 49er’s first championship came against a virgin Bengals team, a Broncos team that had lost several Super Bowls… Of course, to be fair, the Rams one Super Bowl victory came against a Super Bowl virgin Titans team.
Didn’t Eddie D. end up booted out of the league for some reason?
@JWL: Dude, I said that I have respect for what the Niners have done and that they did more than the Rams have done. The Rams lost their first Super Bowl against an excellent Steelers team though, so that should count for something. By contrast, the Niners won two of their championships against the Bengals (who have won how many Super Bowls?).
107.
Honus
@Anoniminous: Yeah, that was big blow to the Steelers faithful since the win over the Raiders was their first playoff game ever. From 1933 until 1970 the Steelers were the definition of futility.
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.): The Niners won the first one against the Bengals by one point on a last minute drive by Joe Montana if I remember. But the was a good Bengals team- Ickey Woods, James Brooks and Boomer Esiason working behind Anthony Munoz and Max Montoya. If Roger craig hadn’t broken Tm Krumrie’s leg in the first quarter, the outcome may have been different.
110.
West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)
@JWL: No worries… It would be pretty silly to get too worked up over decades-old football games. I’m not emotionally invested in the outcome of games played between adult men who are (often) being paid millions to play a child’s game. But the Niners DO have ugly uniforms! So there’s that….
The ‘Niners first- following the ’81 season- was against a Bengals team that had the underrated Ken Anderson at QB. Forrest Gregg was the head coach. That one was decided late on a ‘Niners goal-line stand. IIRC, Munoz was a pup on that team. The ’88 team was the one coached by Wyche, starring Norman Essiason, Tim Krumrie and Ickey Woods.
That earlier Bengals team was really good. Anderson, Trumpy, Mike Curtis….Got to see a lot of ’em here in West Michigan in the ’70s and early ’80s, before the Colts moved to Indy and NBC decided we were in their region.
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Mr Stagger Lee
40 years since the Immaculate Reception? Damn I’m old. You know the Raider fans say Fuqua toched that ball, thus making that an illegal recption. Jack Tatum swore that up to the day he died.
dmbeaster
Jack Tatum was known as the “Mouth” for good reason. the play was legal if Tatum touched it last, which was always unclear, as the ball bounced away as Tatum defended the pass to Fuqua. The rule was stupid anyway.
Suffern ACE
Tatum never touched that ball!
#raidersfansvstheworld
Spaghetti Lee
I was under the impression that Christian Ponder wasn’t any good and that the Texans would beat the stuffing out of the Vikes and help my Bears make the playoffs. YET HERE WE ARE.
You know what? I would absolutely believe the Packers would just lie down next week against MIN if it would keep the Bears out of the playoffs. It’s been that kind of season.
Suffern ACE
@dmbeaster: it was a rule to solve the problem of football players playing volleyball. Now the forward lateral rule…that’s a rule we could do without.
Raven
@Spaghetti Lee: The Bears suck I hate to say.
Mr Stagger Lee
So Baby Jesus will go home to Jacksonville next year to play for the Jags, and a few years later the Jags move to Los Angeles. Oh by the way to any 49er fans, prepare for Beast Mode tonight.
Thlayli
@dmbeaster:
The rule was put in to stop RC Owens from jumping up and tapping the ball to a teammate. It was changed back in the late 70s.
red dog
49ers and Seahawks will play a rough and tumble old time football tonight which the Niners will win…if Akers can make a field goal or two.
Corner Stone
@Spaghetti Lee: Ponder isn’t any good. The Texans are about as flat as I have seen them in two years. They look like these guys are wearing green and yellow or something.
Just an awful showing.
Anoniminous
Back in the day I was a rabid Raider fan, saw the game, was 100% convinced We Wuz Robbed! and spent several months
being an asshole about it allcalmly maintaining an injustice was committed.Now, I could give a damn.
ETA:
Tho’ I still get some minor satisfaction the Stealers lost to Miami in the championship game.
neener, neener, neener
Spaghetti Lee
@Raven:
I’m sure this will sound hilarious to any objective observer, but I’m starting to think the whole Jay Cutler experiment was a failure. 5 wasted years of 7-9 wins, never good enough to make the playoffs but never bad enough to draft anyone really good. Meanwhile, our division has arguably the best QB, best RB, and best WR in the NFL, at least this season, all on different teams. Sickening, absolutely sickening. No, God forbid the Packers stumble around in the quarterback wilderness for a decade or so like a normal team after Favre left. No, they just happen to have Aaron Rodgers, because nothing-not one thing-has gone wrong for the Packers since 1991. Meanwhile, the Vikings were supposed to go 4-12 this year, but oh wait, Adrian Peterson’s a fucking cyborg who doesn’t know the meaning of the phrase ‘ACL tear’. Argh argh argh.
Corner Stone
@Mr Stagger Lee:
I made the argument that the Jags were the only place he could go and play QB, before he was traded to the Jets.
Raven
@Spaghetti Lee: You’re talking to someone who watched Billy Wade, Bobby Douglas and Bob Avellini. Arggh indeed.
Thlayli
If these scores hold up, and the Skins win next week, they win the division. Who saw THAT coming??
Corner Stone
Shit. Moderation on this lazy ass, boring Sunday? I guess that fits.
Raven
@Thlayli: Looks like the Aint’s are doing their duty!
Raven
I guess no one in Pittsburgh gives a fuck, what a snoozefest.
Corner Stone
Texans deserve to lose this game. They look like shit. Schaub looked on every play like his first instinct was to tuck his head down and take a sack so he didn’t take a chance on getting hurt.
rikyrah
Go Bears!
Spaghetti Lee
@Raven:
Here’s some good numbers for you. Bears since 2004: 31st in yards, 26th in offensive touchdowns, 31st in passer rating, 31st in turnovers by the offense. 29th in QB sacks allowed.
This shouldn’t be so hard. Most other teams have figured it out, at least occasionally.
Mr Stagger Lee
@Spaghetti Lee: Well here some available QB’s, Matt Flynn, Mark Sanchez, maybe Michael Vick.
Kurt Cousins or one of the Arizona QB’s.
Raven
@Mr Stagger Lee: I think have moved to a discussion of O line?
Mr Stagger Lee
@Raven: Actually I am hoping for a Bungle win, I ought to turn to the Cowboy-Saints game, but I can’t turn away. :-(
Spaghetti Lee
@Mr Stagger Lee:
Ha ha ha, oh man that’s a depressing list. I’m positive that if the Bears signed Cousins, he’d be one of those quarterbacks everyone gets excited about because he’s young and has ‘upside’ and hasn’t been a starter yet, and once he became a starter he’d turn into Rex Grossman Jr.
I don’t think I could root for Vick, and even if he was good he’s already 32 or 33 years old or so. The others are all crap.
Roger Moore
@Mr Stagger Lee:
I’ll believe it when it happens. The NFL won’t let any team move to LA until no team wants to try extorting a new stadium from its current city.
Mr Stagger Lee
@Spaghetti Lee: That could have been the discussion of Matt Flynn, had Russell Wilson, not been the the third candidate for Rookie of the Year.
Corner Stone
Are my eyes lying to me or are the Packers hanging 55 to 0 on the Titans right now?
Suffern ACE
@Corner Stone: yeah, but they’re about to blow it. Late game lapses, just like the losses to Seattle and Indy.
Raven
AJ Green!
Suffern ACE
Did the titans really do an onsides kick with 1 minute left trailing by 48? I’m following that game on yahoo.
Mr Stagger Lee
Well the Bungles pull it out. Condolences to the Blog Boss.
JenJen
OMG Who Dey!! I can’t believe it!! My beloved Bengals! Is this really happening?
Kinky Beats
@The Honorable Mr. Cole
Sorry about your Steelers. At least this season didn’t involve getting your hopes dashed by that douche Tebow.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Spaghetti Lee:
Two things here:
1). The Packers will be playing for the second seed and the bye.
2). We hate the Vikings at least as much as we hate the Bears.
Suffern ACE
Rothlesberger playing more like Lynn Dickey with each passing year.
Jewish Steel
Bears V Cardinals
if you want to crown them, then crown their ass!
Bob In Portland
Last night we had Christmas dinner. Almost ten pounds of Dungeness crab for five of us. And it was sweet, sweet crab.
I’ve been useless this a.m., just stretched out on the couch with the Red Zone flashing by. Waiting for the Niners to come on later. I’ll be awake for that.
Mr Stagger Lee
you got to be kidding!!!! Miles Austin catches a TD!!! Goat horns on Johnny Patrick if the Aints lose this.
Joel
Nawlins got lucky!!!!
Corner Stone
Are there any decent games on today? As the second entree of poo today I get either CLE @ DEN or NYG @ BAL.
Wooooo…
Heywood J.
Ugh, my hapless Raiduhs continue their decade of derpage. Can’t remember the last time I saw a top 10 offense so thoroughly gutted in just one season. Just sad and boring to watch.
OTOH, pulling for the Bungles to go far in the playoffs. Anyone but Manning or Brady, and the Texans are the worst 12-2 team since Schottenheimer’s Chargers. Ten bucks says Houston is one and done in the playoffs.
Also, too, steal this book.
CW in LA
Aww yeah, Cowpies and stealers both lose – a good morning indeed.
MikeJ
Somehow I don’t think the Shehawks are gonna win by 50 again.
trollhattan
@red dog:
Beer stock is brimming and ready, burrito assembly line being prepared. I’m ready.
Corner Stone
@Heywood J.: That’s 12-3, tyvm.
We beat CHI @ CHI, BAL, DEN and the #ChuckStrong Colts.
So probably not the worst 12-3 team to exist.
trollhattan
@Heywood J.:
They’re gonna need an exorcism to chase Big Al’s vile ghost from the locker room before the Raiders can be a football team again. Long, strange trip, indeed.
Corner Stone
@trollhattan: What’s going in your burrito?
If I may escape the double entendre.
West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)
Call me a hater, but I hope the 49er’s get bounced in the playoffs. I’ve lived in Nor Cal since the early 70’s and think the Niner fans are insufferable when the team is successful. I don’t feel that way about the Giants (baseball), but Niner fans are the worst.
Corner Stone
That was an awful throw by The Noodler. Jus’ turrble.
Corner Stone
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.): I hope the 49er’s get bounced as well.
Fuck all these Harbaughs running free.
Heywood J.
@trollhattan: Yeah, hopefully this offseason is the exorcism, they can chase out the check-cashing turds (I’m lookin’ at you, Richard Seymour), retain some of the nice FA signings, such as Philip Wheeler, and get a decent draft.
Al Davis had guts and vision in his day, but he obviously didn’t know when to say when, and could never scknowledge when the game had passed him by. Just his two most infamous pissing contests, with Marcus Allen and later with Jon Gruden, probably cost the team at least two additional Super Bowl victories, maybe more.
But Greg Knapp has really fucked the offense up royally. They can’t find the end zone with both hands and a flashlight right now; offhand, I don’t think they’ve scored a 1st qtr TD all year, and haven’t had a TD at all in almost 3 full games. Pathetic.
Heywood J.
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.): Yeah, I live in NorCal as well (near Chico), and I agree — Niner fans are annoying when the team is doing well. Most of them around here were Steelers or Raiders fans in the ’70s, and hopped on the bandwagon in the ’80s.
I have a feeling the Seahags will give them some comeuppance tonight, either way it should be a good game.
Joel
@Mr Stagger Lee: Jack Tatum was a piece of shit anyways, on account of Darryl Stingley.
Joel
@Mr Stagger Lee: Jack Tatum was a piece of shit anyways, on account of Darryl Stingley.
Schlemizel
@Thlayli:
Speaking of stupid rules did you know it is illegal to take more than 3 steps toward the line of scrimmage before leaping to block a kick? Back in the day the MN Vikings blocked a ton of PAT and FG attempts. The last one defeated the Miami Dolphins & kept them out of the playoffs. Don Shula was head of the “competition committee” & got that rule passed. Oddly enough the NFL had to start adding a lot of stupid rules to cut down on the ease of kicking FGs (first it was ball at the line of scrimmage now at the point of kick, narrowing the goal posts).
Instead of letting the players abilities decide the game we get a lot of stupid crap.
Joel
@Mr Stagger Lee: Matt Moore probably belongs on that list. He’s not awesome, but he’s been capable, which is really all the Bears need. They could also blow their wad on Flacco.
Joel
@Mr Stagger Lee: Matt Moore probably belongs on that list. He’s not awesome, but he’s been capable, which is really all the Bears need. They could also blow their wad on Flacco.
Schlemizel
@Corner Stone:
Its always possible that the Texans know they are in the playoffs & don’t give a crap. Play not to get hurt. Meanwhile the queens know they have to run the table & get help.
I would say they get their asses handed to them by the Fudge Packers next week EXCEPT the FPs may think it is funny to play just hard enough to lose because it would piss of the Bears (queens? Packers? Bears? is their a more homoerotic division in this homoerotic game?)
West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)
@Heywood J.: I was expecting to get immediately trashed for daring to speak against Niner Nation! I am, afterall, a lowly Rams fan. I can’t work up much hatred for the Seahawks; other than one Super Bowl loss, they haven’t really done much to get all that resentful about. But “Seahags” is a pretty good nickname. The Rams are called the Lambs by some. I kind of like Forty-Hinders and Forty-Whiners.
Geoduck
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.):
Eh. I like Seahacks or Seashmucks better. Some go with Seachickens, but I feel that lacks elegance.
Schlemizel
@efgoldman:
Yes, I think thats been a rule for a long time. Its also illegal to push a ball carrier forward but if you watch you see it done anytime a scrum forms around a running back. Watch a fullback or OT come blasting in from behind & try to drive the carrier forward a couple yards.
Matt Blair could time his leaps perfectly (if not he was off side so there was a risk in his trick) but he got such great height that he blocked many kicks & screwed up a bunch more as they tried to kick it higher to get over him.
cokane
HAHA
SUCK IT COLE
GO BENGALS
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@efgoldman:
It was legal in the NFL.
@Schlemizel:
No one blocked ’em like Ted Hendricks. He was practically the entire highlight reel of the Packers’ ’74 season with his picks, sacks and blocked kicks. One year, and then he was gone.
Corner Stone
@Schlemizel: That’s fine except they are still competing for the 1st seed and the bye in the playoffs.
I agree, if we think we have a shot to run in the playoffs, then rest Schaub and put Yates in there. Keep Foster out and run Tate and Forsett.
But they didn’t do that. They ran 1st string players and acted like this was all sewn up. They did a bunch of planking in this game.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Schlemizel:
That one’s been a rule for a very long time, but it’s rarely called unless the pusher actually extends his arms. In case you didn’t know it, Chuck Mercein wasn’t signalling a TD when he dove over the pile behind Starr on that famous play in the Ice Bowl- he was making an effort to show the officials that he wasn’t aiding Starr across the goal line.
Heywood J.
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.): One of my best friends is a 3rd-generation Lambs fan, like, going all the way back to Cleveland diehard. Fisher’s a good coach, if they can grab a decent WR and couple linemen in the offseason they’ll be competitive next year.
Weird to see the NFC Worst suddenly become a solid division. If the Cardinals can find a QB and a running game, it could get interesting. Meanwhile my Raiduhs contribute to what has devolved into the crappiest division in the NFL; only the Donkeys are over .500, after 15 games.
Corner Stone
Oh no! Brandon Weedon is out of the game for CLE! Whatever will they do now to compete?
Thlayli
@efgoldman:
These are the Hyde Giants. The Jekyll Giants beat the Packers and Saints, but haven’t been seen since.
Corner Stone
I don’t even understand this mess. If the NFL is going to put 14 games on the Sunday right before Christmas, shouldn’t a couple of them at least be competitive and/or significant in some way?
This is a hot mess.
FlipYrWhig
@efgoldman: Srsly. Usually the Giants come alive in December. Now they seem to be hitting the snooze. Lotta mediocre teams this year.
Heywood J.
@Corner Stone: Forsett is more effective when the refs let him run after being tackled.
FlipYrWhig
@Corner Stone: bring back Bernie Kosar! Does Brian Sipe still play for Donald Trump’s New Jersey Generals?
CW in LA
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.):
I prefer to refer to them by their city, St. Loser.
West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)
@Heywood J.: Your friend must be rather elderly; they moved to L.A. in 1946! And I thought I was old-school because I fondly remember Roman Gabriel throwing to Jack Snow with Deacon and Merlin stuffing the run.
We’re darn near neighbors — I live in Chico.
Schlemizel
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
I was such a huge fan of Jerry Kramer I never saw anything but 64 pushing Jethro over & 15 falling down in the gap. If anyone was running around I didn’t notice.
I don’t watch many games any more but it seems every one there is obvious ‘assist’ penalties now. Meanwhile holding seems to get called when it does not happen about as often as when it does & pass interference is determined by some geeks upstairs with 20-sided dies
Corner Stone
@Heywood J.: Indeed. I celebrate all his TDs scored after the whistle has not been blown.
JWL
@Heywood J.: The age of a person most assuredly defines a great deal about all home grown Niner fans. They were basically a .500 ball club year-in-and-out when I was a kid; got real good three years in a row when I was in high school; then tanked egregiously until the Walsh/Montana /Young golden era began. Those who jumped on board during those years were caught flat-footed when it all ended. Fans my age and older knew the era’s days were numbered going in, which made that incredible run all the more amazing after it finally ended. Go Niners.
Schlemizel
@Corner Stone:
How can they guess that in March? If I ran the league the first weeks of the season with be inter-divisional followed by intra then the final weeks would be division opponents again as those games would be more likely to be meaningful.
But every year there are teams that disappoint and those that surprise plus with the modern athlete ‘coasting’ can happen late in the season.
Corner Stone
Oh Law & Order SVU reruns, will I ever get tired of you?
Corner Stone
@Schlemizel: Yeah. Maybe they shouldn’t have an 18 game season after all.
Not sure this is a scheduling thing or a question for the competition committee.
West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)
@JWL: Yes, I, too, remember those solid years with Brodie throwing to Gene Washington. Things did indeed get ugly until Walsh coached Montana to greatness. I think I’m resentful because I think the team sort of “bought” a couple championships in the late 80’s-early 90’s with Deion Sanders, Ken Norton, Jr., et al. I guess that’s modern sports though. Certainly the Lakers, Dodgers, Angels (the teams I grew up watching) do the same thing.
Heywood J.
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.): No, he’s about 40 years old, I mean that his father and grandfather were also diehard fans, starting when they were in Cleveland (which is odd, since his family has been in NorCal since the 1850s).
I’m in Orland, so pretty close by. Of course, no one from more than fifty miles away knows where (or what) Orland is, so it’s easier to just say Chico.
Heywood J.
@JWL: Yep, the true Niner fans stuck with them during the O.J. Simpson years. That was sad.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Schlemizel:
Here’s the photo.
FWIW, I really like Jerry Kramer, but the guy has got to step up and share the credit for that block with Ken Bowman before it’s too late.
Schlemizel
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
I never saw it from that angle! Its probably too late already. To anyone who cares it was all Kramer. Helped that he was writing a book about the season. Where is Ken in that shot?
Mr Stagger Lee
@JWL: Remember also the rise of the Niners coincided with Al Davis moving Raiders from Oakland to LA, some of the casual fans became fans of Joe Cool, Jerry Rice, Lott, Clark et al. Only hardcore fans at Ricky’s in San Leandro and gangbangers were fans of the Raiders, back then.
JWL
@Heywood J.: Well, I’m a true blue Niner fan, and freely admit to watching way more Raider games during those execrable years. God bless Eddie D., but he definitely gained his expertise as he learned on the job. And, of course, I’m talking Stabler era Raiders here. They were a fun club to watch play.
West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)
@JWL: Curiously enough, I’ve had two students who were the niece (grand-niece?) and newphew of a couple old school Raiders: Lamonica and Biletnikoff. Yeah, the old Raiders were fun to watch. I’ve got a friend who just wrote the team a letter (a couple weeks ago) to officially declare the end of his fandom. Can’t say I blame him.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Schlemizel:
Be prepared to pause this video at the 45 second mark. Bowman is #57. Kramer is #64, to Bowman’s right.
I’m not so sure it’s the book as much as it was Tommy Brookshier and Lombardi in one specific moment. With the CBS cameras on him in the post-game locker room, Brookshier mentions Kramer’s block, shows Lombardi the play from an end zone angle- one in which Bowman’s block is partially obscured from view- and Lombardi reacts by saying, “That’s a fine block. Alright, Jerry!” while clapping his hands.
Schlemizel
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
I played it frame by frame & it still looks like Kramer blows the hole open to me. But these things are never all one guys doing anyway. But I saw something more interesting. Kramer moves, just the tiniest of a bit BEFORE the ball is snapped. I watched it 3 times & feel pretty sure he should have been called for motion.
Redleg
Well I’ll be dipped in shit- the Bengals actually win a must-win game! Howdya like that?
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Schlemizel:
Read this, please.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
And then there’s this from Bowman:
JWL
ESPN is reporting:
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Jets backup quarterback Tim Tebow was so frustrated when the starting job was conferred upon Greg McElroy early last week that he told the coaches he didn’t want to be used in any Wildcat packages Sunday against the San Diego Chargers, multiple Jets sources told ESPNNewYork.com.
Ryan should have started T-Bo today, and had him run the wildcat all game long.
Schlemizel
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
I see this is really important to you & thats OK. I get that is a justice thing, fair is fair. Its just that I no longer care enough. Those three guys would know better than anyone else & I’ll take their word on it.
I’m much more fascinated by the fact that Kramer false starts on the play. Guess the cowpie got that back against the queens on the push off
trollhattan
@Corner Stone:
Late reply, but worth it. [ahem] Roast pork butt.
srsly.
trollhattan
@Heywood J.:
It’s hard to resurrect a club after so long in the wilderness, but nothing’s impossible.
They need a new coaching staff (obviously), front office and a lot of new talent. They also have to stop fighting the league and Alameda county. I think that least is not possible with Al and his jumpsuit now gone to the big tapas bar in the sky.
I honestly have no idea whether his son has the skills to pull it off–it’s not going to be easy.
JWL
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.): Give the man his due. Eddie D. played by the NFL rules-as-they-then-existed, and belongs in Canton. He didn’t “buy” anything. Eddie simply paid his contractors a fair wage for services rendered. And you neglected to mention the great Fred Dean on your list, who proved the final piece of their first Super Bowl winner (much as the great Deion Sanders did 14 years later).
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Schlemizel:
It’s not that important to me. I mean, I didn’t bring up the block. IMO, it’s just one of those historical inaccuracies that needs to be corrected when it comes up. It isn’t as important to correct as the popular historical notion that the Civil War was not first and foremost about anything other than slavery. It’s more like the the popular but wrong notion that George Washington had wooden false teeth.
West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)
@JWL: It’s difficult for a Rams fan to give the 49er’s their due, but I do have grudging respect for what they accomplished. FSM knows it’s more than the Rams managed to accomplish with some pretty solid teams over the years. I do maintain, however, that the Rams of the 70’s — some damn good teams! — played during an era of ALL-TIME great teams: the Steelers, the Raiders, the Dolphins… The 49er’s first championship came against a virgin Bengals team, a Broncos team that had lost several Super Bowls… Of course, to be fair, the Rams one Super Bowl victory came against a Super Bowl virgin Titans team.
Didn’t Eddie D. end up booted out of the league for some reason?
Mr Stagger Lee
BEAST MODE!!!!!
Mr Stagger Lee
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.): Yes he was busted for bribing the Governor of Louisiana, he sold the team to his sister.
JWL
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.): @West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.): The Rams, huh?
How many Super Bowls have they won?
billgerat
Ta-da. SF doesn’t have a chance.
West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)
@JWL: Dude, I said that I have respect for what the Niners have done and that they did more than the Rams have done. The Rams lost their first Super Bowl against an excellent Steelers team though, so that should count for something. By contrast, the Niners won two of their championships against the Bengals (who have won how many Super Bowls?).
Honus
@Anoniminous: Yeah, that was big blow to the Steelers faithful since the win over the Raiders was their first playoff game ever. From 1933 until 1970 the Steelers were the definition of futility.
JWL
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.): Dude. Relax. Take it easy. I only asked a simple question: “How many Super Bowls have the Rams won”?
Granted, I posed it with a smirk on my face.
But, of course, you understood that.
Such is the stuff rivalries are made of….
Honus
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.): The Niners won the first one against the Bengals by one point on a last minute drive by Joe Montana if I remember. But the was a good Bengals team- Ickey Woods, James Brooks and Boomer Esiason working behind Anthony Munoz and Max Montoya. If Roger craig hadn’t broken Tm Krumrie’s leg in the first quarter, the outcome may have been different.
West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)
@JWL: No worries… It would be pretty silly to get too worked up over decades-old football games. I’m not emotionally invested in the outcome of games played between adult men who are (often) being paid millions to play a child’s game. But the Niners DO have ugly uniforms! So there’s that….
JWL
@West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.): Cool.
So, how many Super Bowls have the Rams won?
opie_jeanne
@Heywood J.: I know where Orland is because we almost moved to Willows for a job in 1992.
West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)
@JWL: One Super Bowl, two championships (pre-merger). Shoulda won against New England had Spygate not thwarted them.
West of the Rockies (formerly Frank W.)
Oh, and Seattle is spanking the Niners at present.
billgerat
50 points, anyone?
opie_jeanne
I am enjoying the heck out of this Seattle game. I haven’t paid much attention to pro football in years.
billgerat
42 is good enough. :)
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Honus:
The ‘Niners first- following the ’81 season- was against a Bengals team that had the underrated Ken Anderson at QB. Forrest Gregg was the head coach. That one was decided late on a ‘Niners goal-line stand. IIRC, Munoz was a pup on that team. The ’88 team was the one coached by Wyche, starring Norman Essiason, Tim Krumrie and Ickey Woods.
That earlier Bengals team was really good. Anderson, Trumpy, Mike Curtis….Got to see a lot of ’em here in West Michigan in the ’70s and early ’80s, before the Colts moved to Indy and NBC decided we were in their region.