It’s not all about the quarterback…and yet, it is.
by ScarletO on Jul 17, 2011 11:18 PM CDT
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PrintI hear that Admiral Halsey used to board a battleship and ask many of the sailors this question:
“Who is the most important person on this ship?”
Some sailors would reply the captain. Others would state that the Admiral was the most important person on the ship. The answers would continue until one insightful crewman would respond, “The gunner, sir.”
Halsey would then launch into his discourse. “You see, the only thing that sets this ship apart from a cruise ship are the guns. This ship moves from point to point to get a better shot at the target. Everyone one this ship works in concert to give the gunner the best chance for success.”
Guess who the Cowboys’ gunner is?
If you did not think or say “Tony Romo” quietly to yourself, you need to spend more time on this site reading O.C.C’s fine work and less time searching for cheerleader pics If this were a post by O.C.C., this would be a great place for a picture of a cheerleader. Feel free to put one in…or imagine one if this lockout has not erased those precious memories.
Conversely, if the gunner is the most important person on the WWII battleship U.S.S. Iowa, then the gunner must have also been the most important person on the old Japanese battleship Yamato. While the Iowa and her big 16-inch guns survived WWII, the Yamato and her massive 18-inch guns did not.
Why? The U.S.S. Iowa had better support around her. The Yamato was sunk after squadrons of dive bombers and torpedo bombers devastated her while she was with minimal escort.
Sometimes it is not all about the size of the guns.
Looking at the past nine Super Bowl winners, I find that the team that can best help their “gunner” while disrupting the opponent’s quarterback has been successful with only a few exceptions. I measured this assistance and disruption utilizing the quarterback passer rating formula. By subtracting the defensive quarterback rating from the offensive quarterback rating, a quarterbacking differential was derived.
In 2010, the Packers won the Super Bowl over the Steelers. The Packers had a quarterbacking differential of 31.7 (98.9 – 67.2), first in the NFL. The Packers had the best defensive quarterback rating, and the third best offensive passer rating. The Steelers had a quarterbacking differential of 22.1, good for fourth in the NFL.
In 2009, the Saints had the best quarterbacking differential: a whopping 37.4. Green Bay was second (33) and Indianapolis was fifth (14.8). Dallas was ninth with a quarterbacking differential of 14.1 that season.
The list of Super Bowl winners and their respective quarterbacking differential is as follows (Super Bowl losers are in parentheses):
2010: Green Bay – 1st (Pittsburgh – 4th)
2009: New Orleans – 1st (Indianapolis – 5th)
2008: Pittsburgh – 4th (Arizona – 17th)
2007: New York 24th (New England – 1st)
2006: Indianapolis – 4th (Chicago – 10th)
2005: Pittsburgh – 7th (Seattle – 4th)
2004: New England – 5th (Philadelphia – 4th)
2003: New England – 2nd (Carolina – 12th)
2002: Tampa Bay – 1st (Oakland – 2nd)
Notice that the only two Super Bowl winners that do not rank in the top 5 in quarterbacking differential beat teams that were. The Giants continued their magical (lucky?) run against a superior New England team with an injured Tom Brady. The Steelers beat a better Seahawks team with a big assist to the referees.
Only Carolina and Arizona (as well as the afore mentioned Giants) made the Super Bowl with a quarterbacking differential not in the top ten. Defensively the teams noted above ranked as follows in defensive quarterback rating:
2010: Green Bay – 1st (Pittsburgh – 2nd)
2009: New Orleans – 3rd (Indianapolis – 12th)
2008: Pittsburgh – 2nd (Arizona – 30th)
2007: New York 17th (New England – 11th)
2006: Indianapolis – 15th (Chicago – 3rd)
2005: Pittsburgh – 8th (Seattle – 13th)
2004: New England – 7th (Philadelphia – 8th)
2003: New England – 1st (Carolina – 11th)
2002: Tampa Bay – 1st (Oakland – 12th)
Again, the Giants 2007 Super Bowl victory stands out like a sore thumb. Peyton Manning outplayed Rex Grossman (big surprise there) in winning Peyton’s only Super Bowl in 2006. Interestingly, the Manning brothers are the only quarterbacks to win Super Bowls with teams owning worse defensive quarterback ratings. Otherwise, the team with the better defensive quarterback rating won the Super Bowl.
To those wondering about the Cowboys 2007 season that ended in Irving against the Giants, the Cowboys had the best quarterbacking differential in the NFC and 4th overall. Here is how Dallas has ranked in quarterbacking differential the last nine seasons:
2010: 15th (29th defense)
2009: 9th (16th defense)
2008: 19th (20th defense)
2007: 4th (5th defense)
2006: 12th (20th defense)
2005: 9th (9th defense)
2004: 30th (27th defense)
2003: 13th (3rd defense)
2002: 24th (7th defense)
Dallas made the playoffs in 2003, 2006, 2007, and 2009. Compare those defensive quarterback rating rankings against the Packers over the last few years.
Under Dom Capers, the Green Bay defense ranked 4th in the NFL in defensive passer rating in 2009 and 2008. The Packers defense was ranked 6th in defensive quarterback rating in 2007 and 8th in 2006. Those were significant improvements given that Green Bay was ranked 25th in defensive passer rating in 2005, and 31st in 2004. Despite having Brett Favre, Green Bay did not make the playoffs in 2005 and 2006. The Packers missed the playoffs with Rodgers in 2008.
It seems evident that defending against the opponent’s quarterback is more important than getting a great performance from the team’s own quarterback. That would mean that players such as DeMarcus Ware, Anthony Spencer, and Mike Jenkins have more to do with winning a championship than Romo, but Tony’s importance to the team remains paramount.
As stated before, however, without a good supporting cast, including defensive players that can disrupt opposing “gunners”, Romo and the Cowboys will struggle. Scary when considering that Akwasi Owusu-Ansah and Barry Church are currently the safeties on the Cowboys roster with a chance to start.
Another user-created commentary provided by a BTB reader.
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Nice post ScarletO
those #‘s are pretty significant imo, just look at P. Manning, arguably the best QB ever in terms of stats, he is great, however he has only won 1SB, so without the supporting cast (defense) it’s really tough for any QB to win it all.
If I've said once, I've said it a thousand times
QB can NEVER lead a team to championship without a good defense, simply a fact that can’t disputed.
In Romo we Trust
Except for when Peyton, Eli, Brady, Rich Gannon, Jake Delhomme, and Kurt Warner did it, based on the numbers above. None of their defenses were top 10, Eli’s was bottom half of the league, Warner’s was one of the worst. Or did I misunderstand the stats?
by Baked Potato Soup on Jul 19, 2011 12:27 PM CDT up reply actions
Those qbs did no such thing
First of all Delhomme and Gannon never won a championship, so why you mention them, I don’t know.
Colts in 2006 during the playoffs were actually playing like a top 5 defense easily once they got Sanders back, The GMen defense was the reason they made their playoff run and SB win, Pats had great defenses every year they won a SB and the Rams defense was pretty damn good although the offense got all the credit.
That defense made the game winning play against the Titans so try again Baked…like I said, simply a fact that can’t be disputed.
In Romo we Trust
They got to the Super Bowl
All those qbs led their teams to the Super Bowl with average defenses. The Giants and Colts won it.
Or are we suggesting that sometimes regular season stats are not what matters?
by Baked Potato Soup on Jul 20, 2011 12:04 PM CDT up reply actions
Giants and Colts didn't have average defenses
during their post season runs and neither did the Panthers and Raiders…..and you’re damn right team regular season stats don’t matter, like I said, the team dyanmic throughout the season cannot be overlooked.
In Romo we Trust
Come on, now you're pushing it. The Giants defense came on like a freight
train the latter part of the season and were tremendous in the playoffs.
Just going by the numbers.
And can the same be said for the Cardinals?
by Baked Potato Soup on Jul 20, 2011 12:01 PM CDT up reply actions
Isn’t that what the article was about?
by Baked Potato Soup on Jul 21, 2011 4:29 PM CDT up reply actions
Based on regular season numbers.
I’m thinking some people that post here might not have done so great on their SATs.
by Baked Potato Soup on Jul 24, 2011 8:53 AM CDT up reply actions
Really good info.
You just evolved sports books’ betting, congratulations.
Odd how the ’Boys (except ’07,) have made playoffs in so-so years.
Give me UR calls! Give me highstepping by CBs and PRs entering the endzone! Give me screaming on the sidelines and headbutting! Give me Fortitude, Solidarity and VIOLENCE! Bring me CHAMPIONSHIPS!
Bring me Ridolin LOL! - B'nSB
by BlueNSilverBlood on Jul 18, 2011 7:03 AM CDT reply actions
Good points
We’ve heard all about how the NFL has become a passing league or a quarterback league.
It follows that stopping the pass is essential if you want to win the game.
Yet in the last five years the Cowboys have been below the league average in defensive passer rating only once, in 2007.
by One.Cool.Customer on Jul 18, 2011 9:38 AM CDT reply actions
Passes the eye test. The passing defense of this team has been up/down, and was
horrible last year.
As the season progresses, one of the stats I look at when a game is coming up is the opponent’s passing efficiency on defense. That and average yard per rush, and you know how tough a game it’s going to be.
While the OLine will always be a concern, the Cowboys are going nowhere unless the secondary brings a better game, and the pass rush. It was no coincidence that the best year recently coincided with Spencer’s breakout. The pass rush in 2009 covered up an average secondary.
I’m hopeful with the new coaches, but Ryan is not going to work miracles like many here expect. Jenkins and Scandrick have to pick it up, and 2 decent safeties need to be signed, or we’ll suffer again.
Pessimists say the cup is half-empty, while optimists say it's half-full. Well, isn't it both? Realist Larry, 2009
Good stuff
It’s an interesting way to combine aspects of off and def performances into one measurable. Love the metaphores too, not to mention interesting results.
Though it does have it’s shortcomings, like any formula for football. I ma sure you will here plenty about QB rating as a stat, though I am not a huge hater personally. Then again, I am not aware of what goes into Def. QB rating (just what QB rating opposing QBs had against your defense?). But for example, while I figure that the ’07 Giants had much better defense than offense and a huge reason for them making to and winning the SB, the Def QB rating for the Giants seems awfully low in comparison to the type of defense they were that year.
And one question, You show the 2009 Cowboys defense ranked 16th (next to Def QB rating). What are these second rankings, yards? Certainly not points since we were top in the league in ’09. There are a few places on the Cowboys list where the ratings and ranks seem to not coincide. What do you think this is a result of, ability to stop run not noted in Def QB rating?
"I am a true believer. Anthony Spencer will have 7 or more sacks in 2011 and Stephen Bowen can ball!" - Kegbearer
"Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react. If you're in control, they're in control." - Tom Landry
The first number is the quarterbacking differential.
The number in parentheses is the average quarterback rating of the opposing quarterbacks against the Cowboys defense. Dallas has been average to below average for much of the century. The recent numbers show how the offense has carried the defense.
by ScarletO on Jul 18, 2011 11:40 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Cool, thanks
"I am a true believer. Anthony Spencer will have 7 or more sacks in 2011 and Stephen Bowen can ball!" - Kegbearer
"Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react. If you're in control, they're in control." - Tom Landry
I completely agree with the point here.
The only thing I would add is that when you see New York in 2007 up there with a defensive passer rating rank of 17th in the regular season, it speaks to the fact that getting hot for four games in the postseason can sometimes happen and turn the whole tournament on its head. I mean that Giants team may have not been great against the pass in the regular season, but it was absolutely incredible in the postseason in 2007. Same thing for the Colts defense in general in 2006.
Look me in the eye. It's okay if you're scared. So am I. But we are scared for different reasons. I'm scared of what I won't become. And you're scared of what I could become. Look at me. I won't let myself end where I started. I won't let myself finish where I began. I know what is within me, even if you can't see it yet. Look me in the eyes. I have something more important than courage. I have patience. I will become what I know I am.
That is really an excellent point
Given that a team winning the championship will play 19 or 20 games, it does not take a lot of great performance, just a sufficiently good regular season record and then three or four over your head games can take you to the promised land. Football is unique in it’s one loss and gone playoff system, but given the nature of the game, it will always be so, I would think.
If at first you don't succeed - blame someone else.
You stole thunder Creasy.
Which is fine because I could not have said it better myself. The Giants in 2007 put it all together and got hot at the right time, the 2006 Colts went from being the worst defense against the run into the best. Including holding the leagues best rusher two years running (Larry Johnson) to 21 yards in the opening round of the playoffs. So for you ScarletO: the Giants did NOT get lucky! Thinking a team can get “lucky” for 4 games in a row is… (add your own adjective).
That being said, you did an outstanding job with that QB differential metric! I mean, seriously impressive work there, ScarletO. This should be posted across SB nation. I realize you put the focus on the Cowboys, but those numbers for the last 9 SB participants would be of interest to everyone. Highly rec’d, sir.
Just get it done already...
Thanks, but with all due respect...
I maintain that the Giants where extremely lucky in 2007. The Giants were losing to the Buccaneers when Tampa Bay’s primary downfield threat, Joey Galloway, went out with an injury that sidelined him for the rest of the game. The following week, they played the Cowboys, which also had an injured receiver in Terrell Owens.
Those two injuries had a great deal to do with the Giants winning. In addition, remember that Parcells was just appointed Vice President of football operations in Miami and Sparano (as well as other coaches) already had one foot out the door. Coincidently, the offensive line had their worst game of the season: remember that Sparano dealt extensively with the offensive line.
Note to Sparano: karma is a _!
The next week, Favre looked like a very unhappy old man in -30 degree temperatures in Lambeau. Both teams were affected by the elements. The Packers high flying offense was grounded in part by the weather.
Finally, Brady was seriously injured going into the Super Bowl. He required surgery immediately following the game.
That had to be the most fortuitous four game stretch in the history of sports. Three teams had aguably their best offensive weapons injured, and the fourth had to play in ridiculously blustery conditions.
All of the numbers bear out that the Giants did not deserve to be there. Even if you wish to overlook the injuries and circumstances that all fell in the Giants favor, the fact is that their team accumulated the statisitics above over a 16 week period. That it changed so drastically contrary to any historical precedent set before or since speaks volumes as to how fortunate that team actually was.
As far as the Colts, they deserved to be there. Their quarterbacking differential was top 5 during the season. While their defense played better in the playoffs, and Manning had a drop off in his quarterback rating during the playoffs, they were a good team entering the tournament.
Almost forgot:
How many playoff games have the Giants won since that miraculous Super Bowl run in 2007?
Oh yeah, one fewer than the Cowboys…
Ya know Scarlet,
I’ve seen this “Giants got lucky” malarkey before. And I haven’t responded to any of it in a long time. But you got my juices going, my friend. :-)
How about this: The Giants trailed in every playoff game at one point or another, including trailing in the fourth quarter in 2 of the playoff games,(NE and your Boys). So with all the excuses you offer above, those teams were all good enough to have a lead at some point. And each time the Giants came back and won. They were just a resilient bunch who put it all together at the right time. Despite their key injuries and shitty QB.
I can do this all day. Wanna talk about practice squad players playing CB in playoff games against QB’s like Favre, Brady and Romo? No slouches there. And they were all playing at home.
And don’t give me this Brady’s injury crap. He was just fine in the SB. What did you see during the game that told you different? I’ve watched that game a few (ahem) times and he looked great. Even the announcers noticed it when he got hit in his bad leg on the first series and showed no sign of it bothering him.
It did not effect his throwing one bit. Remember those back to back 70 yard bombs that were right on target to Moss to end the game? And he is a pocket passer so I don’t wanna hear about any inability to move around. That part was taken care of by the Giants pass rush.
Look, I wouldn’t expect you to know as much about the Giants or their 2007 playoff run as I do, but you can continue to believe they were lucky, whatever makes you happy. No hard feelings.
Just get it done already...
First, it's good to get football juices going: I'll bill you later.
But most importantly, I do not want to be perceived as making excuses, because the better team won in Texas Stadium that day. Wade Phillips was wrong, as usual.
That Owens was not full strength was key in the Giants upset of Dallas. When Owens was healthy, Dallas won by a combined 21 points, and Terrell broke both games open with big catches.
Still, New York beat the Cowboys that day. The luck comes on the tail end of the previous statement.
Whoever said,“It’s not who you play, but when you play them.” must have been happy watching the Giants that year. Show me some numbers to support how good the Giants were that season.
I think it is possible that the Giants “put it all together at the right time”, but it is highly unlikely. What you suggest is that either New York was a team of underacheivers that suddenly played to their potential, or that the 2007 Giants were able to somehow play better than the best they played all season: as if they had super powers and just needed to change into their capes.
Upsets in sports happen because of match-ups. Without a healthy Owens, Galloway, and Brady, the Giants had favorable match-ups against the Cowboys, Packers, And Patriots.
That the Giants took advantage of those match-ups is to the Giants credit. That New York received those match-ups was really lucky.
But why do you care what a Super Bowl starved Cowboys fan thinks? When Romo wins his first Super Bowl, I will be happy to read the sour grapes comments. Those comments will all disappear after his second Super Bowl. I will miss them. Afterall, what will there be left to talk about?
;)
by ScarletO on Jul 20, 2011 10:26 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Darn. Doing this by phone sucks.
Packers should be Buccaneers, as Galloway played for Tampa Bay.
by ScarletO on Jul 20, 2011 10:29 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Well said Scarlet.
And yes, when (if) Romo and the Cowboys win a SB there will seemingly be less to talk about. Unless of course the Cowboys “get lucky” when (if) they win one under Romo and Garrett. BUT, you will still have to overcome your GM’s. Who still seem to be learning on the job.
Just get it done already...
As far as that bill for the jucies goes,
can I apply 10 points that I received on the Packers site the other day for answering a trivia question correctly?
In all seriousness, here are some 2007 NY Giants numbers like you asked:
14th ranked offense by points. By yards they were 4th in rushing, 21st in passing.
17th ranked defense by points. By yards they were 8th against the rush, 11th against the pass.
-9 TO ratio. Points differential was 22, good for 13th in the league.
Not a great passing team, but could run the ball very well. Very good overall defense, especially after the team and new DCoordinator Spags got on the same page.
They did “put it all together” in the playoffs. And on the road. How did they do it? The key was the final game of the season where they almost beat the Pats to deny them their 16-0 season. Giants had a lead in the fourth but Brady ultimately beat them. To a man, that game gave the players belief that they could hang with anybody in the NFL. That ALLLLL important confidence in sports was now a collective reality within the team.
The defense stepped up it’s game and was HEALTHY for the most part. Except in the secondary. But our pass rush made up for how thin we were back there.
The other key reason (and there are many more, of course), is Eli played much, much better than he had at any point in his career. Mainly, he did not turn the ball over. And whoever wins the TO battle wins 80something% of the time. It’s the single greatest statistical indicator of who will win the game in the NFL.
And Eli not turning it over (he had 20 regular season picks), had nothing to do with a hobbled Owens, or a hobbled Galloway. And I refuse to accept you putting Brady in there because there is way too much visual evidence for me to support the contrary. Eli’s only pick (no fumbles) was in the SB on a ball Steve Smith might say he should have caught, it bounced out of his gut. The lack of TO’s was huge. This might interest you, the Cowboy fan: The only TO in the Dallas game, was Romo’s final pass.
I’m glad you have come off your original blanket statement that the Giants got lucky. As of now, you say they were lucky in the match-ups. Sure, but isn’t that so often the case?
And why couldn’t TB, Dallas, GB, and NE take advantage of their favorable match-ups? Like us having a rookie TE who replaced Pro-Bowler Shockey? Or a rookie RB in Bradshaw who replaced Ward? Or the loss of a very good DE in Kiwanuka? Or having a practice squad player at starting corner for the Dallas and GB game? Or a Michael Strahan with a pulled groin that had to wrapped and shot up to numb it? If my Giants had lost, I probably would point to injuries such as those, but I’m not sure I would ever say the other team got lucky. It was not luck my friend. Match-ups or other-wise. It was great coaching, great execution, winning the TO battle and well, of course a little luck when the ball bounces your way. :-0
Just get it done already...
or timely penalties...
Ware’s imaginary offsides the first drive of the game….Romo’s intentional grounding that wasn’t… ;o)
by TruBluToTheCore on Jul 21, 2011 6:41 PM CDT up reply actions
Sorry.
I still think the Giants were lucky to win the Super Bowl. I just tried to be more specific as to how they were lucky. Skill had nothing to do with beating the Cowboys without Owens, beating the Buccaneers without Galloway, or beating the Patriots with a dinged-up Brady.
Yes, the Giants took advantage of those opportunities, but they did nothing to deserve them. They were lucky to get them. They were lucky.
I am not trying to be inflammatory. If it helps, I think Dallas was lucky to win its last Super Bowl. The coaching was awful, the execution was average, and winning Super Bowl XXX had more to do with luck than skill.
It was not pressure or great coverage that led O’Donnell to throw two really bad picks. That second pick really looked like O’Donnell had money on the game for the Cowboys to win ala Tim Donoghee (spelling?: the NBA referee that was found guilty of racketeering).
I believe that Dallas would have lost to the 49ers, had San Francisco beaten the Packers. Fortunately, as a Cowboys fan, that did not happen.
Luck happens. A good team will benefit from it. A bad team can get lucky, but rarely does a bad team have the capability to take advantage of it.
The Giants were a pretty good team. With a lot of luck, they won a championship. I feel the stats bear that out. Look at the statistics you provided: the Giants were not great at anything, merely average to good.
Just my opinion. Good luck to the Giants this season: at least until they play the Cowboys. Time to re-establish the dominance of The NFC Beast.
It's all good.
Being a fan of both the Giants and the Yanks, and being 40 years old, I have seen many championships for my teams. The good are almost always lucky when they win it all, to a degree.
Add in that I am a freakish fan of the Super Bowl and I know the games very well, I have seen luck involved very often.
Quite simply, I’m defensive about the 2007 team being called lucky because I saw a different team after that week 17 NE game. And I usually detect either jealousy or dislike (hate) for Eli and that team. I’m not saying I detect that from you though, you have been a pleasure to converse with. I just saw a different team after NE who took on the best the NFL had to offer. TB was a typical Wild Card round type of opponent, but then it was 2 #1 seeds and a 13-3 #2 seed.Four games in a row on the road is an awful lot of success to chalk up to luck.
Here’s to hoping the schedule makers knew what they were doing when they scheduled our teams to play twice in the final four weeks, including week 17, for the division.
Just get it done already...
I've also always thought that season finale loss.
Was highly beneficial to how they felt about their chances going into the postseason.
Some of those hardships you list though are reaching a bit. Shockey was and is an overrated creep. Besides having to involve him might have caused something very bad to happen in one of those close games were he in the lineup because Eli might have gotten antsy and forced the ball to him at the wrong time. Rookie running back has to contribute? What planet is that a hardship on? It’s just running back in a very favorable situation for a back running behind the Giants top notch line. Besides they still had their bruiser in BranJob.
As for the scrub street vendor corners; well, the Giants pass rush was THAT good in that postseason, at least, it didn’t matter who was back there because the QB’s simply didn’t get the time to exploit any mismatches. Now, to be fair, Romo oopsie daised two potential TD passes to T.O. that could’ve been the difference in the Divisional game. But do those get filed more under the Giants being lucky or Romo being chokey? A little of both I think.
I mean give ‘em their credit. But if somebody did a silly tournament where they pitted all the Super Bowl winners against each other; what are those Giants; the 44th-seed? They weren’t a great team by any stretch; but more of a hard-nosed team that won by the skin of their teeth while forcing other teams to play that bogged down “21 to win” style with their pass rush as the catalyst.
P.S.,
Maybe some day those great Giants Eli and Coughlin will even win a playoff game in their own stadium.
I went to bed, started thinking about your 2007 Giants being the 44th seed comment.
I could not sleep. I thought about every SB winning team and where I would rank the 2007 Giants. I’m out of bed to try and impress with my memory. :-)
The 2007 Giants are better than:
1969 Jets. This one was hard. That Jet team is like the Giant team in that they beat an awesome team. The 69 Colts were the #1 offense, #1 defense, and only lost one game all year to a CLE team that they beat in the NFL Championship game like 452 to 0. HOFers all over the place. If they had won the SB, they would be considered the greatest team of all time. No doubt in my mind.
1971 Cowboys. Can they decide on a QB by the SB or what?
No other 70’s team, too many powerhouses.
1980 Raiders. Overachieving WC Team that loved to have Plunkett take a 7 step drop and throw it downfield. Giants sack the shit out of him.
1991 Redskins. Another downfield throwing QB. Offensive juggernaut that scored more points than any other team in NFL history to that point. Sounds like the 2007 Pats. Get ready to meet your maker, Mark Rypien.
1992 1993, 1995 Cowboys…. HA HA, I keed! I keed!
1998 Broncos. Old team, old QB, small Oline, so-so defense. Your lucky I don’t put the 1997 team in there, too.
2001 Pats. Now here’s a lucky team! The Raiders were better except for the “Tuck Rule”. Then, how great it must have been to see Kordell Stewart at QB for the Steelers! Or was it Tommy Maddox? Does it matter? LUCKY TEAM!!! (for you Scarlet :-)
2002 Bucs. Probably better. Eli edges out Brad Johnson…. barely. (damn I’m funny.)
2005 Steelers. Not a great team, but great refs that day! Now there’s some more luck!
2006 Colts. F U Big Bro. And your suddenly great run stuffing D (after being ranked 32 all year) is not breakin’ our OLine or Jacobs. 27 breakin’ faces out there YEAH!
2008 Steelers. Maybe. How good was ARZ (9-7) that the Steelers needed a last minute score to ice it?
Final thought: 2007 Giants beat “The Greatest Team of All-Time”, right? That’s gotta be worth something?
Just get it done already...
This would be a great new thread or a real good poll question.
Where would the 66 and 67 Packers rank? How about the 80’s 49ers teams?
I will have to think about this.
what a lot of fans over look
is how well defenses play at certain times throughout the year. Statistically a defense might not be a top 10 defense throughout 12-14 games, but then come on like gangbusters in December and throughout the playoffs like the GMen di in 2007.
Thats why team stats are deceiving because if you get one or two players back from injury at the end of the year, that can make all the difference.
In Romo we Trust
I guess losing Shockey, Kiwanuka, and Derrick Ward
all to broken legs doesn’t fit into your narrative does it? Or Plax playing on a bad knee and a bum shoulder for the first 3 playoff games is irrelevant. Thank God he could gut it out enough in GB and play “back shoulder pitch and catch with Eli” to dominate that game. And then he slipped in the shower two days before the SB and could not cut left or right during the game. But he did have the first catch of the SB. And the last….
Beyond that I could make TONS of excuses for each playoff game the Giants have lost before and after the SB.
Just get it done already...
The '07 Giants were roughly as lucky as the '90 Giants.
When you consider the only thing more random than when a catastrophic injury might strike is which field goals cross between the goal posts and which ones don’t. When the only points you score to oust the two-time defending champs(9ers) on their own field is through five field goals including a last-second game winner and then win the Super Bowl because of a missed field goal; well, needless to say the football gods were in your favor.
I won’t harp too much on the ‘07 Giants because it’s all been said before except to add that the phantom unnecessary roughness call against Leonard Davis basically set up the Giants go-ahead TD; well only after you-know-who dropped a routine catch that could’ve gotten the Cowboys out of harm’s way even if the drive didn’t ultimately result in any points.
But luck shouldn’t be the primary narrative for the ‘07 Giants anymore than it should the ’90 Giants. What did both teams do well; to the likes of Montana and Brady? Beat the living hell out of the opposing QB; that’s what. Meanwhile the Cowboys defenders in that postseason were tackling like fruits(Toomer TD.)
All good point once again MM.
I especially like the last paragraph. :-)
Point to ponder: Scott Norwood had not made a kick on a grass field longer than 42 yards in his career. So when he lined up for that 47 yarder, I never had one single shred of doubt that he would miss it. :-)
Just get it done already...
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Shutdown Corner - NFL - Yahoo! Sports
- Things to know about NFL men who served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam
- How Kyle Orton almost cost the Colts Andrew Luck
- Detroit Lions DT Nick Fairley arrested again; now has more NFL arrests than NFL sacks
- Former high-school star Brian Banks does serious time on trumped-up charge, now hopes for an NFL shot
- Former ‘idiot kicker’ Mike Vanderjagt in trouble after accosting junior-high heckler
