NFL Football

[mike]

Cool, Vrede. If it weren't for the fealty McCarthy has for Crosby (I do, as well) that would have been a great addition to the Packers.

Crosby appears to have finally gotten out of his slump as he made a few field goals (no misses) against the Titans.



Still, I hope he (the subject of your post) gets a chance!

[mike]

Vrede, your vid above just made it to Maddow (Chris Hayes subbing tonight) as the Best New Thing in the World ... cool!

[mike]

Green Bay moves on to San Francisco! WooHoo!

Green Bay:24 Minnesota:10 in the wild card game ...

[Bungalow Bill]

I'm quickly running out of teams to pull for. I was hoping the Redskins would win.
Who knows what would have happened if RG III was 100% instead of about 50%
or so. About the only team left that I can feel enthusiastic about are the 49ers, so
I hope they win. I can't stand the Pats and I'd rather see the Texans win, but I
don't believe that will happen, but then again that's why they play the game.

The debate about the Redskins name change has been going on for years and I
doubt it will be changed anytime soon. I've seen a few polls where a majority of
Native Americans don't find it offensive and they'd be the ones to know.

[mike]

I'm rooting for ... SF (sorry mike) ...

... About the only team left that I can feel enthusiastic about are the 49ers, so
I hope they win. ...

..., and Sea this weekend.

Don't care as much about the other game, though I expect NE to win. Y'all?

Would love to see a Bal-Sea SB, but am not predicting it.

I'm looking for a Green Bay-Denver Super Bowl.

[Bungalow Bill]

Of course there's no way I'm pulling for the Ravens. If it does come down to
Green Bay and Denver, I'd go with Green Bay, but I still hope SF will pull it
out. Gonna be a busy weekend.

[mike]

NFL star Junior Seau suffered from brain disease

Junior Seau, one of the NFL's best and fiercest players for two decades, suffered from a degenerative brain disease often associated with repeated blows to the head when he committed suicide last May, the National Institutes of Health said in a study released Thursday...

As we learn more about this I wonder if we are in the last years of football as we know it.

"As we know it?"
It's already changing. Much is being done regarding concussions and blows to the head.
The players are bigger, stronger and much faster than what they used to be. I find it amazing to watch some plays unfold in real time as opposed to slow-motion replay.
It's fast out there.

But football (American) will always be football.

The Seau story is, indeed, a very sad one.

[mike]

Agreed, to a point.

Same as the permanent damage that happened to a friend of mine on the German Olympic Decathlon team after a he suffered a severe knee injury after joining in a pick-up game of football (European) right before the Olympics thereby negating his participation thereof.

The risks are known. There are efforts to minimize such but nothing can ever be done to eliminate the risks entirely.

Heck, I take my life into my own hands every time I get in a car to meet a friend to go kayaking ... those roads aren't safe, I tell ya! But, I do know the risks.

GO, PACK, GO! BEAT SF!

[mike]

Still, the risks are better known, now, than in previous years.

There is that head-butting of a soccer ball to consider as well.

The NFL will only be gone if enough players, cognizant of the injury potential, decide not to play.

No players, no game. I don't see that happening and I'm glad steps are being taken to recognize the potential debilitating effects of ongoing blows to the head.

There continues to be a lot of boxers out there and MMA has taken a stronghold in many people's enjoyment of "sport" (I hate it).

I would posit that Bernie should have had a better offensive line but that would be callous and detrimental to my real concern regarding what he went through and, apparently, is continuing to go through, so I won't.

[Sometime Lefty]

Right now a helmet to helmet hit is legal on a running back. A quarterback or a receiver can be hit helmet to helmet once they start running. I see a rule change coming, actually many, they will get a handle on this.

I read a while back that the helmets todays players use are only marginally better then the old leather helmets. Expect to see newer and better helmets soon, maybe with sensors to measure hits and keep a cumulative score.

[mike]

I missed the beginning of the game as I was helping my neighbors today.

Wow! This is, indeed, one heckuva game.

Still pulling for Denver ...

Oh, and, GO, PACK, GO!

[mike]

Holy Cow!!!!!! OT!!!!!

[mike]

31 seconds left, holy crap!

Edit: You have fast fingers.

I keep two monitors going. ... wish I had a few more ...

[mike]

Brilliant phrasing, too.

Not really, it's only what I was thinking at the moment. Wow!!!

[mike]

Good call on that one. The receiver was down with possession of the football ... nuts!

Crazy game, indeed.

[mike]

Thank goodness for two monitors, see ya once the Denver game is over ... told ya I wish I had more.

Green Bay up 7-0!!!!

[mike]

Nuts, 7-7 now, in the Green bay game and Peyton was just picked off.

[mike]

Well, Denver is out ... still, what a game!

GO, PACK, GO!

[Bungalow Bill]

Great game, but what the hell was fuckbrain Fox thinking when all they needed
was a first down to win and on 3rd and 7 he went with a running play? Then they
had 31 seconds left in regulation and he just let the clock run out instead of taking
a few shots down field. Dumbass.

[mike]

Fox was counting on his defense.
In and of itself, probably not a bad thing until one sees what happened.

Denver needed another monitor on that end of regulation touchdown play.