steelers not in the post season-I need medication (in Off-topic)

or something. Steelers not in the playoffs, and how it happened, and after winning a superbowl the year prior.... am not used to this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6_91j86v5I

Its okay, you can cheer for America's Team now :)

Watch as we force favre into an early retirement...

All of the games except the SD/NYJ are must watch TV. If Baltimore wins, they are going to the SB. The NFC is much more exciting atm. Romo vs. Favre (with APeterson)... if Romo pulls this out it could be huge! The QB talent this year is amazing... Manning, Favre, Warner, Brees, Flacco, Romo... wOw

forgot Rivers

Yeah, its has totally become a QB league, just based on the playoff teams. Although, I don't know why the bengals put the shackles on Palmer, he used to be in the same conversation as brees and romo, now he is probably on par with orton and the other "game-managers"

I think the NFC is gonna be very interesting, especially if Warner can keep his hot streak alive, he is way more dangerous than Favre, imo.

Ravens-Pats and Jets-Bengals proved that if you have a great defense, a great front 5, and a great running back, you're going to do just fine without a great QB. Flacco had a QB rating of 10, and Sanchez.... well, he's no Brady/Manning or even close.

Teams that can just pass, pass, pass are like basketball teams that can shoot 3s. They live by them, but they also die by them.

I feel like the future of the NFL from here (here being a pass-pass-pass league with star QBs) is a team that can run dominantly, a defense that can stop high-flying QBs, and a QB that can complement the run game enough to push the secondary back so the run-blocking can develop.

I feel bad for, Palmer. He is an amazing QB ... to think what could have been. The Bengals had quite arguably the best wide receiver unit in the NFL for years. Chad Johnson, Chris Henry, T.J. Houshmandzadeh...BUT you have a T.O. type with CJ (85), CH dies, and TJ traded... good lord the adjusting CP has had to deal with. Not to mention the trouble those guys got into the last few years... and CP tried to be a voice of reckoning.

Along with the knee injury that was caused by the Steelers in the '05 playoffs, jeez. It did help, however, modify the rules:

"During the off-season, the league's rules committee modified the rule regarding low hits on quarterbacks. The new rule prohibited defenders from hitting a passer at or below the knee unless they are blocked into him. Injuries to Palmer, Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger, and Tampa Bay's Brian Griese were cited as reasons for the new rule. The rule now requires that defenders take every opportunity to avoid hitting a quarterback at or below the knees when the quarterback is in a defenseless position looking to throw with both feet on the ground."

I agree with a lot of that Mitt... just look at the Saints last few games at the end of the season. Favre having AP is a huge + for him. If he had to pass like in the past, I'm sure his interception # would be WAY up.

Yeah... A Manning is in the playoffs, but it's the wrong one. My Giants really tanked this year...

Oh well, go Colts!

I will never forget where I was and how the crowd I was with reacted during that Giants play during the superbowl. Teenage Mutant Ninja Mannings!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE591GEdYIY

In regards to your post about the rule change Kevlar, I am all for the safety of the players on the field. No one wants to see a player go down on the field, let alone a star on their own team. With all the restrictions on who can hit who and where they can hit them it seems like it gets to the point where the players have to drastically alter their playing styles.

I saw an interview the other day with Ray Lewis and they asked him if he thought Quarterbacks got treated better and were coddled, Lewis responded with something like 'quaterbacks aren't the only people on the field who have someone coming at their knees every play, I have 300lb linemen coming at my knees every play too'. And that's the way I look at it. How many times do you see RB's blocking low on a blitzing linebacker or db?

What Ray-Ray is talking about is called Chop Blocking and it's illegal as well.

That is very true, and a number of teams have used that formula effectively in recent years: Bears, Panthers, Giants, and Ravens were all teams that made it to the super bowl.

Even still, passing is becoming more common just because the way the rulebooks keep changing. Receivers cant hardly be touched by DBs anymore, and receivers get away with a lot now (evidenced by Fitzgerald against the Packers). Add to that all the rules protecting the QB and you can see where the nfl is headed.

Mikel, he could be talking about chop blocking, which is perfectly legal.

Chop blocking is not legal, it is a 15 yard penalty.

http://www.nfl.com/rulebook/penaltysummaries

It's okay American football sucks.

I think Ray Lewis is talking about cut blocks, which are legal as long as you are not engaged already. The play where a linebacker does a blitz and the running back drops down and tries to take them out at the ankle to get them out of the line of the quarterback throwing the ball. This type of block is perfectly legal and can hurt people, but it is legal because the player has the option of trying to get around the block or hurdle the block.

I think this is what Ray Lewis was talking about but I could be wrong.

Yeah, cut blocks are only illegal if the person being blocked is already busy with someone else -- just saw that penalty called recently (can't remember which game), and the commentator said a cut block is entirely legal, but only if it is the only block going on for that person.

It made sense, I pictured the old school trick, kneel behind someone while a friend pushes them over you (I never did that, but it's an old classic). Would be the same for a chop: if someone is engaged and gets cut, it is too easy to lay them out, possibly side-impacting a knee or ankle in the process...