Monday, January 23, 2017

NFL Monday recap - AFC/NFC Championships

Steelers: Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. We didn't come to play. We had no fire. We gave up way too soon. No leadership from the players. No leadership from the coaches. Makes Terry Bradshaw and his comments look more authentic.
  • Started out slow for the Black and Gold. It took Bell getting hurt for the offense to pull themselves out of the hole and start playing their game. Unfortunately, it didn't last long.
  • I never panic when Bell gets hurt. I love back up D'Angelo Williams. Four hours before the game I almost chose him for my playoff fantasy team. If you're going to lose your one of your killer B's, it's good to know you have the killer D. Too bad he couldn't carry the rest of the team on his back.
  • Not even our kicker, he who kicked six in a row last week, could score after we finally got a touchdown. 
  • It took us until the fourth quarter before we got major yardage with a twenty yard pass.
  • We never got going. Blame the nine game winning streak. Blame the flu. Blame the facebook debacle. Blame the 3:00 a.m. alarm. I blame the guys. You want something bad enough you've got to go out and at least act like you want it. The team that wanted it, the team with the hunger, the team with something to prove, went out and got it. Bottom line.
  • I've said it once, and what the hell, I'll say it again. LaGarrette Blount. Ugh. Hate that bad guys win.
  • AB was double teamed, and everyone seemed surprised by that. Really? I thought it would have happened earlier in the season. If I were a coach in the NFL, I would have double teamed him. Everyone kept saying the Steelers had so many other wide receivers, but, uh, yeah, they could hold on to the damn ball!
  • Officiating wasn't great. Boo Hoo. That wasn't our problem.
Other:
  • The Atlanta defense totally shut down the Packers offense. They couldn't get anything going in the first half, and by the second half it was too late.
  • Aaron Rodgers was attacked by the Falcons defense all night. He will be one sore, miserable human being come morning.
  • Aaron Rodgers did quite a bit of running with the ball. He's one of the better running quarterbacks, but in the third quarter he was hit in the head after sliding. It wasn't flagged in the end because as the ref informed the fans and television audience Rodgers hadn't slid "leading with his feet". Apparently, sliding must be feet first to avoid a hit. Who knew? The next time Rodgers slid, and he did, he made sure to follow that.
  • Of course, during his run in the fourth quarter toward the end zone Rodgers let his emotions show and pulled off the helmet of Falcons Robert Alford. That resulted in a flag, 
  • And then to make matters worse Rodgers shoulder bumped Alford as he went back on to the field. Alford stumbled back and tumbled to the ground as if he had been punched in the face. defender, winning our Football Oscar of the game.
  • The Packers fumbled in the fourth quarter, but the Falcons didn't even challenge it. I would like an explanation on why they didn't throw the red flag as the replay seemed in their favor. What, you felt you were ahead, who cares? Uh...have you met Aaron Rodgers?
  • Last week Troy Aikman looked awful with a beet red face and bloodshot eyes. While the redness wasn't as bright this week, I'm still a bit concerned about either the air circulation in his booth or his lack of sunscreen.

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