The OtherArena

[jdw]

Just to wet people's appetites:

Charles Pierce on Learning to Love the Antichrist: In praise of Bill Belichick

:)

John

[jdw]

Pats don't see to be intent on putting this game out of reach, hence the Ravens taking the lead into the 4th. Good for ratings... not good for Pats Fans. :)

John

[Tomer]

What a terrible chipped kick by the Baltimore kicker to seal the Patriots win. I mean, really?

[corrado]

And it all ends in a shank.

Very bad loss for the Ravens. This was the best the ravens and Flacco have looked in weeks. But very heartbreaking end for them.

So whoever wins the NFC may have a slight chance as the Pats didnt look that great. But I still think theyre the favorites for the Super Bowl.

[corrado]

And for the second time in four years, the Giants and Patriots will face off in the Super Bowl. Great game and a great win for the Giants who overcame a tough defense in the 49ers. 49ers really had nothing on offense. Esp with the wideouts.

I do think the Giants can pull off the upset but its going to be tough. Now that the Pats d is much improved.

[Bob Morris]

Ravens lost that game more than the Pats won it. I know everyone will want to dump on Flacco, and he did make a bad decision on that pick... but he also put the Ravens in a position to get the win. Lee Evans should have hung onto that ball... protect it better and that Pats defender can't easily swat it out of his hands.

Pats were lethargic much of today. If that Pats team shows up in the Super Bowl, they aren't going to win. Didn't catch all of the Giants game but you can tell the Giants are motivated. They had to grind it out today.

I'm pulling for Eli and the Giants in the Super Bowl. Time for Eli and Coughlin to get more respect. No disrespect to Belichick, Brady and company, as they are a great group, but I want to see Eli and Coughlin shut up their critics once and for all.

To quote Deion Sanders: I BELIEVE IN ELI!

[jdw]

The two relatively close Super Bowl rematches:

X Pittsburgh Steelers 21 Dallas Cowboys 17
XIII Pittsburgh Steelers 35 Dallas Cowboys 31

XXVII Dallas Cowboys 52 Buffalo Bills 17
XXVIII Dallas Cowboys 30 Buffalo Bills 13

The 49ers-Bengles rematch was further apart, but the 49ers won both of those if one wants to count it.

The last reasonably close rematches where the win(s) switched were:

1952-54 & 1957 Lions-Browns

Lions won three, while the Browns won in 1954.

1950-51 & 1955 Browns-Rams

Browns won two, while the Rams won in 1951.

Basically those seven out of eight years that the Otto Graham Browns were in the NFL Title game, where they went 3-4.

John

[corrado]

I think the real biggest loser in all of this are the Jets. Think about it, their biggest rivals are going to face off against the team that shares their stadium on the grandest stage of them all.

Of course you really cant feel bad for them given their talking and all.

And it is amusing seeing the Giants revel in this:

The table has turned

[JAG]

I was at the Niner game and it ended up being quite depressing.

Everyone will blame Kyle Williams (and they should), but I'm going to beat my Alex Smith drum.

He was 12 of 26 with one completion to a WR (and it was for 3 yards). He still only makes simple reads and they have to roll him out too damn much. The WRs suck, too, but they were 1 for 13 on third downs and wasted an amazing defensive performance.

That defense held Eli twice in fucking overtime and lost. They only allowed 10 legitimate points all game and fucking lost.

And now we're stuck with Alex for at least another year. His turnovers are going to rise and the Niners likely won't be as good on defense or special teams next season, add that to first place schedule and the Harbaugh magic may have to be put on hold for awhile.

Jagdip

[corrado]

Maybe the Peyton to San fran rumors will resume. There were a few newsbits every now and then about Peyton being courted by San Fran. But with Alex Smith guiding them to the near top, those rumors were squashed. Now even though I cant see it happening, I would expect to see news about San Fran and Peyton in a gossip feel.

Now with Manning and that defense (which is the best defense in the league) That could be a Super Bowl team. Maybe Reggie Wayne would join Peyton.

[jdw]

I'm not a huge Alex Smith fan, but I wonder... and I'll toss this oout to Jag and Glenn since you guys watch the 49ers closely:

He had a rather huge improvement under the new Coach. There was the lockout, so there was no off season workout / camp / film room / etc. It was a new coach with a new system and pretty much "on the job re-training" for him.

The coach is clearly great. He has a track record of developing QB's, and in a way that makes them really smart. Luck is obviously a special case: smart kid, gifted athlete, hard worker in the film room. But Luck would credit Jim a lot for helping make him what he is.

With a full off season of work by Jim help Smith improve above the level of this season?

Then the second level question:

Even if he improves again next year, do you think there's a ceiling on him? That Jim could coach him up to a certain level of effective, but he doesn't have the tools or head to be a high end QB?

John

[Bob Morris]

One remark to JAG: "First place schedule" is so cliche. Team placement affects a whopping two games on the schedule. Big deal.

The Broncos, for example, will still have to play five playoff teams next year, even if they hadn't made the playoffs: Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Atlanta and New Orleans. Between New England and Houston, the Pats are the only team that is likely to present a problem.

Besides, who really knows what's going to happen to teams next year. Every year, people talk about how tough a schedule is before the season, then the season ends and they declare it wasn't so tough because X number of teams didn't make the playoffs.

As for the Niners, they were going to get the Pats, the Lions and the Packers no matter what because the NFC West is to be matched up with those divisions. And it's not like the gap is that large between the Niners and the Saints (who have a bunch of pending free agents) or between them and the Giants. But the Niners would have drawn three playoff teams regardless of where they placed.

I wouldn't worry too much about the schedule... especially since the NFC West is still not a good division.

[JAG]

Alex can't make many of the needed deep throws, so the ceiling is what you saw this year.

He's a low-risk, low reward QB. Add some weapons to boost the yards and a few TDs, but the turnovers will rise as well so I don't see the upside. The offense was last in 3rd down conversion this year and 1 for 13 yesterday.

But few see it my way among the fan base and media.

Jagdip