The NFL 2011 Thread

[BennyProfane]

So, after watching both games:

The Pats from last week would beat the shit out of either of the Giants/49ers that played this week.

The Pats from THIS weekend, however, may have a real game on their hands.

Either way, both the 9ers and the Giants sucked tonight. By which I mean, both Smith and Manning sucked.

Oh, and the important question: did Reebok get some kind of really good deal on red zippers, or what? Stupidest looking jackets EVAR!

[Mark Asher]

That Giants player didn't exactly rip the ball out of the punt returner's arms. It was like a little finger poke and the ball came free.

I wonder what Harbaugh thinks about the QB position now? Is he sold on Smith? You'd have to think if Peyton Manning was healthy and available, he could take the Niners further.

And Crabtree again continues to prove he's mediocre. One catch for three yards. Yeah, I find WR divas a bit annoying, especially when they haven't produced enough to deserve diva status.

[Mark Asher]

So, after watching both games:

The Pats from last week would beat the shit out of either of the Giants/49ers that played this week.

The Pats from THIS weekend, however, may have a real game on their hands.

Either way, both the 9ers and the Giants sucked tonight. By which I mean, both Smith and Manning sucked.

Oh, and the important question: did Reebok get some kind of really good deal on red zippers, or what? Stupidest looking jackets EVAR!

I don't think Manning sucked. I think the Niners are a tough defense to play against. Smith, though, other than those two big passes, sucked -- at least when passing. He looked good on the scrambles.

[Woolen Horde]

Suck it, Harbaughs. But especially Jim.

I'm sure Pete Carroll is writing a thank you note to Tom Coughlin right now.

[Sarkus]

Either way, both the 9ers and the Giants sucked tonight. By which I mean, both Smith and Manning sucked.

Seriously? It was a defensive struggle, as both teams are pretty good in that regard. And people need to stop saying Manning "sucked" in this game. 32/58, 325 years, 2 TDs, 0 Int's is not "sucked."

[RichVR]

Called it. Good night.

[Volksy]

I have a feeling Pats / Giants will be more entertaining than Pats / Niners, based on what we saw today from the Niners offense. Eli throwing up some prayers that Cruz / Nicks might catch has to be better than Alex Smith constantly going three-and-out. That cat must have used every ounce of his mojo last week.

Still a helluva game if you like defense and playing in the elements.

[Woolen Horde]

Watching Bradshaw getting called out by little old Grandma Mora in her fur coat just now was hilarious.

[RichVR]

I'll change my bet. Giants beat Pats. Easily.

[Sarkus]

Harbaugh wouldn't do a post-game interview. Stay classy Jim.

[Thongsy]

The Pats from THIS weekend, however, may have a real game on their hands.

Either way, both the 9ers and the Giants sucked tonight. By which I mean, both Smith and Manning sucked.

Yeah, that is what kinda happens when you face a good team with a good team with great defenses. It's easy to put up Madden numbers facing bad teams.

[Lorini]

Harbaugh wouldn't do a post-game interview. Stay classy Jim.

He will get fined for that and yes, he should have done his interview, it's the least he could do for the fans that care about that kind of thing.

[Jon Rowe]

Go Giants I guess.

Seems like it is 2008 around here...

[sluggo]

Eli did not suck today. The 49ers' defense played an epic, championship-quality game in every possible way, and deserve credit for it.

That defense: (a) did not allow the Giants to have a rushing game; (b) harassed Eli like crazy all day long (6 sacks and numerous knockdowns); (c) covered the Giants receivers like white on rice. On every replay when the Giants tried to go downfield, there were usually two players from the 49ers secondary right there step for step. I think the weather had a little to do with it as well, but it was a marvelous defensive performance.

As for Harbaugh, I just saw him giving a postgame press conference on ESPN, courtesy of the NFL Network. I guess he just skipped the Fox interview? Dunno.

[sluggo]

Watching Bradshaw getting called out by little old Grandma Mora in her fur coat just now was hilarious.

I know, right? I can't decide if the right question is "how did that happen?" or "why doesn't that happen more?"

[Old Man Gravy]

Harbaugh wouldn't do a post-game interview. Stay classy Jim.

I really like Alex Smith (especially when he scrambles), and the Niners defense is awesome. But Harbaugh is the biggest douche the NFL has seen since... well, since Harbaugh was playing in the NFL.

[Thongsy]

As for Harbaugh, I just saw him giving a postgame press conference on ESPN, courtesy of the NFL Network. I guess he just skipped the Fox interview? Dunno.

Screw Fox. He knew there was nothing positive to come out of it. As long as he's there at the post-game press conference the NFL isn't going to do a damn thing.

Niner fans seem to be ripping Kyle Williams a new one, along with the refs for the forward progress call. I can't blame them for being angry but it was a wet game with Kyle Williams second game as a return man. He'll take the blame but I can't fault him too much.

The Niners offense just couldn't get anything going. Crabtree and the other receivers did nothing to help Alex Smith and the passing game. Playcalling was a bit bland, it seems Roman liked to abandon the running game a bit too quickly as the season was wearing down and in the postseason which was evident in this game.

As for the forward progress call, as much as I hate it since the Niners were able to cause a fumble and strip the ball it was the correct call. Fans just need to stop being so bitter.

[Lloyd Heilbrunn]

Special Teams hates the Harbaughs.

[gameoverman]

Flacco almost beat the Patriots, FLACCO! I see the Giants steamrolling over the Patriots now.

[Sarkus]

Yeah, Smith just didn't have a very good game from what I saw. Its one thing to have passes broken up and stuff like that, but there were at least a couple of late game/overtime short throws by Smith that were hitting the ground before reaching the intended receivers. That could have been the result of the Giants pass rush, I guess, but Manning seemed downright pinpoint accurate in comparison and he was getting hit all day as well (as noted above by Sluggo.)

The 49ers just hit that wall a lot of young (in playoff experience terms) teams do where they just aren't quite ready. I expect them to be very good again the next few years, at least, though I saw where they do have a number of key free agents to deal with.

As for the Giants, that they can win with Manning passing almost all the time tells me they can keep up with whatever firepower the Pats manage in a couple of weeks. Should be a higher scoring affair then what we saw today, thats for sure.

[delirium]

Eli did not suck today. The 49ers' defense played an epic, championship-quality game in every possible way, and deserve credit for it.

That defense: (a) did not allow the Giants to have a rushing game; (b) harassed Eli like crazy all day long (6 sacks and numerous knockdowns); (c) covered the Giants receivers like white on rice. On every replay when the Giants tried to go downfield, there were usually two players from the 49ers secondary right there step for step. I think the weather had a little to do with it as well, but it was a marvelous defensive performance.

Aye. Great game. I'll take a defensive battle any day over a game with Rodgers/Brady/Brees just trading TDs back and forth. I didn't watch many Niners games this season, but damn, that defense is something to see.

[Lorini]

The Niner's played the Giants a lot better than the Packers did. But Alex Smith's Cinderella seemed to go back to being the pumpkin this time, no late game heroics.

[MrGrumpy]

I'll change my bet. Giants beat Pats. Easily.

Flacco almost beat the Patriots, FLACCO! I see the Giants steamrolling over the Patriots now.

Giants are Patriot kryptonite, so yeah they probably win.
On the bright side, Brady played like shit and the Pats still won.
And last I checked, yards gained don't win football games.

[Woolen Horde]

I know, right? I can't decide if the right question is "how did that happen?" or "why doesn't that happen more?"

http://deadspin.com/5878330/terry-br...old-ladies-man

[sluggo]

BTW, I forgot to mention this, but the one conference championship that was played on a Saturday was the 1982-83 NFC title game at RFK, where the Redskins beat the Cowboys 31-17 before winning Super Bowl XVII the following week.

I dug up some recaps on the game that confirmed it was in fact on a Saturday -- there are references to how the Skins would get Sunday off to watch the Jets and Dolphins (the Mud Bowl) -- but I have no idea why they played that game on Saturday that year. That was a strike year, and they had a wacky playoff format where 8 teams from each conference made the playoffs instead of 6, so maybe that had something to do with it.

[Robert Sharp]

Those were both great games. I really enjoyed them. Love to see defensive struggles, and that's what we got in both of them. I found myself wondering why Rice and Gore weren't used a bit more, but overall I can't really complain about the playcalling in either game, either. I expected more from the 49ers passing game, though.

[Mark Asher]

Those were both great games. I really enjoyed them. Love to see defensive struggles, and that's what we got in both of them. I found myself wondering why Rice and Gore weren't used a bit more, but overall I can't really complain about the playcalling in either game, either. I expected more from the 49ers passing game, though.

They needed more from the passing game. Seemed like Smith was too cautious, checking down a lot and throwing balls where no one could catch them on a lot of plays. It's good to throw it away at times but the elite QBs often will put it in a spot where the receiver and no one else has a chance to make a difficult, great catch.

The Niners have convinced me that they have the best defense in the NFL. I could see Aldon Smith getting 20 sacks next year. Guy is already dominating as a rookie.

[Lorini]

I agree with this, it's not a 20 second game.

[Tim James]

I've never seen football players look as stunned as the Ravens after that missed kick. Usually after a missed field goal, there's a lot of emotion or frustration or disappointment or turning to each other to try to make sense of it. The Ravens just stared straight ahead, dumbfounded. It was certainly different.

[Omniscia]

I agree with this, it's not a 20 second game.

Nobody puts Billy in a corner!