NFC Championship Game: Carolina Panthers 14 vs. Philadelphia Eagles 3 (Final)

1/18/04 | me

[sully777]

"the player is neither heard from or seen again in the same uniform and winds up a 'journeyman.'"

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Well, you seem to be correct in a general sense with the exception of TOM BRADY.

Wait, hold the phone, didn't McNabb replace Rodney Pete at a critical moment in a game. McNabb is a journeyman? And did Rodney Pete replace another scrambler named Randall Cunningham? Maybe Philly's problem is relying on a scrambler QB in their game plan.

Tada! Another McNabb excuse. Philly relies too heavily on McNabb talents and overburdens the scrambler equation in their game plans. McNabb and his supporters on all the sportsradio shows can say, "McNabb is the best ever, but there's only so much love to go around baby! You can only carry a useless team so far."

I still say that NOT ONE SCRAMBLER IN HISTORY HAS WON THE SUPERBOWL, including the lily-white Tarkenton.

[SamAdams76]

Cheap shot - purposefully tackling a man down on the field in a manner so as to inflict an injury.

Welcome to the NFL!

Tackles are made to inflict pain. I doubt that players want to inflict injury but sometimes that is the result. But pain - absolutely. That's how the Patriots beat the Rams in the Super Bowl. They hit those receivers so hard that they were afraid to catch the ball. It's a rough game and this is what football players are paid to do. Of course, they need to do it within the rules. That's why they call penalties for such things as grabbing facemasks, "driving" into other players and butting with the helmets.

Still, a good clean tackle is often painful and can sometimes result in injury. It's part of the game. Until the whistle blows the play dead, any player with the ball in his hand is fair game. If anybody was at fault in the McNabb incident, it was the referee for not blowing the play dead.

[Hermann the Cherusker]

That's the theory of the Eagles offense too and its mades us 46-18 in 4 seasons. Problem is, our two main WR's (Pinkston and Thrash) were not good enough. Three RB's, QB McNabb, WR Mitchell and TE's Smith and Lewis were though, and that's why we got where we did. A good reliable kicker like Vinateri or Akers is a big plus too. Lets see what next year brings.

Better thing is fewer prima donnas and more appreciation of the team effort. Maybe NE is lucky to have no prima donnas with Brady as QB.

Good luck against Carolina. I will be pulling for the Patriots this year.

[rintense]

I still say that NOT ONE SCRAMBLER IN HISTORY HAS WON THE SUPERBOWL, including the lily-white Tarkenton.

Steve Young. Although even Walsh said Young had to learn how to be a great passing QB before he was great, period.

[sully777]

"Welcome to the NFL!

Tackles are made to inflict pain. I doubt that players want to inflict injury but sometimes that is the result. But pain - absolutely. That's how the Patriots beat the Rams in the Super Bowl. They hit those receivers so hard that they were afraid to catch the ball. It's a rough game and this is what football players are paid to do. Of course, they need to do it within the rules. That's why they call penalties for such things as grabbing facemasks, "driving" into other players and butting with the helmets. "

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ESPN is running NFL Films archives on one of their 15 channels. One of the NFL FILMS productions showed the the history of the game. The AFL and later the NFL combine, passed rules against unnecessary roughness so that the game appealed to a wider audience. The old game plan was to punish each side with pain to the point that only the strongest survived. The most talented were the biggest targets. At one point they showed Gayle Sayers being carried off by teammates with his legs dragging on the ground like he was shot in the back.

Point of the film is that although rules have been passed to make NFL a kinder gentler game, they still allow for hard hitting to intimidate. Cheap shots are illegal hits that are meant to initmidate. Raiders made their dynasties out of such actions. Take the 15 yards and make the guy wish he was cowering on the sidelines. If the refs don't see it (when do the refs see everything, including all the Philly cheap shots, holds, clips, etc.) then it's a clean shot.

You're right; it's football. This is why most on east coast hate Philly--should be caled Wussadelphia.

[Hermann the Cherusker]

A leader is someone (unless a QB), who does not need to have the ball every play, but does play great every play. Staley was a real leader on the Eagles this year, with the way he worked with Westbrook and Buckhalter, and made key blocks on plays he wasn't a part of as an RB takign the ball up field.

[Hermann the Cherusker]

"Phil's QB receiver corps is at fault for Philly's Ints NOT MCNABB?"

One interception happened while Detmer was in, and another happened when Thrash took a massive hit after the catch and let the ball get loose. That would leave at most two to charge to McNabb, and one was clearly Pinkston running a wrong route.

[Hermann the Cherusker]

McNabb was hit well after going down timewise (watch a replay), and the hit was made on his leg sticking up in the air when it could just as easily have been made to the body. No question it is a physical sport, but it looked like he was trying to break his leg by laying all 330 lbs into it.

Yes, it was the Ref's fault for not blowing the play dead after another Panther tripped McNabb, just like they screwed up the field goal in the Eagles-Green bay game by blowing a whistle during the play for an illegal timeout call by Green Bay.

[Johnny_Cipher]

I still say that NOT ONE SCRAMBLER IN HISTORY HAS WON THE SUPERBOWL, including the lily-white Tarkenton.

(cough) 1972, Roger Staubach, Cowboys, Super Bowl MVP (cough)

[SamAdams76]

The Eagles have been phenomenal over the past four years - getting to the NFC Championship game three years in a row is no small feat. Even the Patriots can't say that. Obviously they have a system in place that works. They just can't get over that NFC Championship game hump though. I'm sure that next year, Philly will be right back in the thick of things.

Having seen the game last night, I think I'd rather have had the Pats play Philly in the Super Bowl. I think Carolina is in a great position to pull off an upset. Nobody is expecting them to win so they won't have any undue pressure. All they have to do is show up with the right game plan (as the Patriots did against the Rams two years ago).

[sully777]

You're delusional. I have listened to about four reg. season Philly games on radio. McNabb generally throws higleypigley and his receivers becoming acrobats to try and catch his slung crap.

If McNabb is the savior of the Eagles; he's also the devil in the details. You can't have him sinless yet instrumental in all their successes.

[Hermann the Cherusker]

Playing dirty is why I have given up on Basketball.

Sports become pathetic and distasteful when they rely for victory upon what the players get away with against the rules.

You mention the Raiders - notice they still aren't very well loved? Just like the lingering memories you obviously have of Buddy Ryan's injury bounty program for the Eagles.

No we don't want the English gentlemen and French gentlemen lining up and the generals arguing over who will have the honor of the first volley, but this isn't the Roman Gladiatorial games either.

"If the refs don't see it (when do the refs see everything, including all the Philly cheap shots, holds, clips, etc.) then it's a clean shot."

What a sorry theory of sports rules and morality. Is it okay to poke a guy in the eyes if the Ref doesn't see it? How about to bite him? Is there anything that is beyond the pale "if the refs dont' see it"? This is Enron and Tyco style accounting applied to football play.

[Capt. Jake]

330 pounds? Favors is a linebacker, so you are off by a little bit weight-wise. As for how long McNabb had been down before being hit, the only relevant fact is that he had not been down long enough for a whistle to blow.

All of that aside, it would not have surprised me to see a flag. And if I was a Philly fan, I would be upset with the no-call, but much more upset with my team.

[Hermann the Cherusker]

I'm happy with my "delusions". I'll take 12-4 over 4-12 anyday.

[SamAdams76]

I remember the Raiders dynasty well. That was a vicious bunch. The Patriots had one of their wide receivers (Darryl Stingley) paralyzed from the waist down for life by a Jack Tatum hit...in a pre-season game for crying out loud.

Certainly I don't like to see that happening in football and I'm glad the NFL took some steps to help prevent future incidents like that from occuring.

[sully777]

"Steve Young. Although even Walsh said Young had to learn how to be a great passing QB before he was great, period."

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I point that out in post #1492. I know you didn't read it because I can safely say I didn't read #'s 51-1399, or was that 1299? LOL.

Drew Bledsoe scrambled and so did Marino when he was young. Steve Young was *young* when he was a scrambler, so was Favre (though he still loves to scramble) and that old fart from Denver that lost 4-5 Superbowls before winning his last two (which he won as a pocket QB with an awesome running game with superb D). Montana was a scrambler earlier in his career.

Point about scrambling is that it shows that the opposing team's D has all of your guys covered, or that the rookie can't read coverage/know the field, so he runs. Most rookies scramble because they lack confidence.

But the true scramblers like Cunningham, Vick, McNabb, Tarkenton, McNair NEVER WIN THE RING. They will win ONLY WHEN THEY CHANGE TO REAL QB. (sorry for yelling) which they can't because they are avg. at best--which is the reason why they scramble. It's a viscious circle, or as Lynard Skynard would say "viscious cycle."

[discostu]

At least two of Philly's INTs were entirely the fault of the receiver, one where the receiver decided to cut behind the cornerback on a slant route (on slants the receiver should ALWAYS be in front of the corner, and you can see in the replay he deliberately stoped and pushed to get behind the guy), and the one where the receiver got hit and popped the ball straight up in the air. Doesn't matter who threw the ball those INTs belong on the receivers' resumes. Unlike Manning's INTs which were clear over and under throws where he had open receivers but the ball didn't get to them.

McNabb played 3 quarters with a broken ankle, he's got the toughness. He only missed one play to get taped up form the rib hit and went right back out there. It wasn't until the second drilling in the injured spot that he couldn't take it anymore, and anybody that's ever dinged up their ribs would understand why. Simply breathing is incredibly painful when your ribs hurt. anybody thinking he wussed out is just dumb.

[baseballfanjm]

Manning wasn't a whiner, like some of the Titans were after they lost. He accepted defeat and placed it on his shoulders, and gave credit to the Pats where it was due. Good sportsmanship.

[91B]

Before you repeat "330 lbs" again, you should know that http://www.panthers.com/team/ lists Favors at 6'1 244 (that's a whole 86 pounds shy of 330 and only 4 pounds heavier than the 6'2 240 pound McNabb). As has been pointed out on another thread, the hit violated none of the special protections afforded to QBs under NFL rules. Maybe we can ping a Packers fan to bring you some cheese to go with that whine.

[sully777]

Do I ever remember that hit: Wasn't that 77 or 78 and he was upended and fell on his head and his neck snapped from the weight on the collision on "artificial [concrete] turf"? That was the Grogan era.

BTW, are you really an Alden?